Knots Landing
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Knots Landing was a primetime soap opera that aired from 1979 through 1993. Knots Landing was a suburb of Los Angeles, and at the beginning of the series it centered around the lives of four married couples. By the end, the show’s storylines revolved mostly around crime investigation and corporate intrigue, as LA Law became a competitor. It was created by David Jacobs and Michael Filerman, who were initially rebuffed upon proposing it to CBS. CBS wanted something more glamorous (hence the creation of Dallas. When “Dallas” became a smash hit, CBS asked Jacobs to revisit “Knots Landing” in hopes of another smash hit. While it took a few seasons before Knots Landing became popular, the show would go on to have 14 seasons and much critical acclaim.
Knots Landing originally began with Dallas characters Gary and Valene Ewing moving from Texas to the California cul-de-sac that would house the show’s main characters for the next 14 seasons. Gary was the middle Ewing son and the black sheep of the Ewing family. An alcoholic whose father and older brother J.R. had never treated as an equal, the insecure Gary left Valene when they were 17 years old, a year after marrying her. With Gary gone, J.R. had Valene followed and run out of town as he took her daughter (with Gary) away from her. Years later, Valene and Lucy reconnected and this caused Valene and Gary to reunite. They re-married and were given a house by Gary’s family in California.
Knots Landing lasted for fourteen seasons, one more than its parent series Dallas. In 1997 the cast reunited for a two-part television movie called Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac.
Plot Summaries
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Season One (1979-1980)
13 Episodes (1-13) Nielsen Ranking: #30
Produced by: Joseph B. Wallenstein
Upon arriving in California, Gary and Val met their neighbors: Sid and Karen Fairgate, the self-described “neighborhood Brady Bunch;” Richard and Laura Avery, the struggling couple; and Kenny and Ginger Ward, the clueless newlyweds. In the show’s first episode, a giddy Valene, still with a thick southern accent, ran on the beach, proclaiming that she’d never before seen the ocean. Valene then discovered she had a knack for writing, enrolling in classes to get her high school diploma. Gary took a job at Sid’s car shop, Knots Landing Motors. He did such a good job that in the season finale, he was promoted. Unfortunately, Gary got drunk at his promotion party, causing a binge in the two-part season finale, “Bottom of the Bottle.” Meanwhile, GInger caught her record producer husband Kenny cheating on her with a singer, Sylvie, and broke up with him. When stubborn Richard lost his job as a lawyer, Laura was forced to take a job in real estate. The formerly slavish Laura was liberated by this and began to show an interest in her boss, Scooter.
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Season Two (1980-1981)
18 Episodes (14-31) Nielsen Ranking: #28
Produced by: Joseph B. Wallenstein
Knots Landing came back in season two with the introduction of Sid Fairgate’s sister Abby. Abby was 14 years his junior and he’d always been oblivious of her scheming ways, but Karen was suspicious of almost everything Abby did. When Abby took a job at Knots Landing Motors, she convinced Gary to go behind Sid’s back and buy cheap car parts. Abby also went out of her way to make sure Val found out Gary was cheating on her with Judy Trent, the attractive wife of a man he was sponsoring in AA. Even though Abby set her sights on Gary, she temporarily settled for Richard, taking no great effort to conceal the affair from Laura. Abby abruptly dumped Richard when her husband threatened to take her children away, setting the precedent that men were rather disposable to her. Kindergarten teacher Ginger began dating the father of one of her students while separated from Kenny, but took Kenny back upon discovering that she was pregnant. When Sid discovered the car parts Gary and Abby had been buying were actually stolen, his brakes were disconnected in order to keep him from testifying to this in court. Season Two ended with Sid Fairgate’s car going off a cliff.
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Season Three (1981-1982)
22 Episodes (32-53) Nielsen Ranking: Not in Top 30
Produced by: Joseph B. Wallenstein
Sid was paralyzed after his car went off the cliff. He asked Karen to sign papers allowing him to undergo life-risking surgery in order to re-gain use of his legs. Karen very reluctantly agreed to sign, a decision she’d come to regret when Knots Landing made the shocking decision to kill off its leading male character. After Sid’s death, Karen was left a widow with three children. She took over Knots Landing Motors, firing Abby (but not Gary.) Karen would be forced to hire Abby back due to the fact that Abby’s “barely legal” style of keeping books could be deciphered by nobody. Ginger became annoyed as Kenny refused to take interest in her aspirations as a singer. Valene attempted to forge a bond with her mother Lilimae, who moved in with her and Gary. Lilimae had all but abandoned her as a child in her hopes to be a country music singer. Laura began an affair with her boss Scooter after years of being unhappily married to Richard. She planned to leave Richard, but then discovered she was pregnant. She planned on aborting the pregnancy, but decided not to after Richard got physically violent. After losing his job, Richard became depressed and pulled a gun on Laura. An incident erupted and Richard was sent to a mental institution. After Karen passed up the opportunity to fund a methanol powered vehicle project, Gary and Abby devoted hours to making it work without her help (or money.) Abby made repeated passes at Gary, and finally they slept together. In the season finale, Valene discovered this, leaving Knots Landing in tears.
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Season Four (1982-1983)
22 Episodes (54-75) Nielsen Ranking: #20
Produced by: Peter Dunne
With the charges dropped against Sid Fairgate’s killers, an angry Karen marched into the office of federal prosecutor M. Patrick “Mack” Mackenzie. Mack was as upset as Karen about it, and the two of them proceeded to bring the men to justice. Meanwhile, they fell in love, and married half-way through the season. Meanwhile, Valene returned to Knots Landing a best-selling author, though it was bittersweet without Gary, who vacated the cul-de-sac along with his new girlfriend, Abby. Gary had come into money after his father’s death, and decided to go into the record business. He teamed up with Kenny, producing the record of the beautiful Ciji. Upon finding a suicide note at the cul-de-sac house, a guilty Laura decided to take Richard back in. Richard then proceeded to open a restaurant, Daniel (so named after their newborn son.) Abby financed the restaurant, and in a cross-promotion, proceeded to demand that Ciji sing there every night. Ginger resented Ciji, as Kenny spent a lot of time worrying about Ciji’s career and almost no time at all on Ginger’s. Laura and Ciji became best friends, which prompted the insecure Richard to fear the women were having a lesbian relationship. Meanwhile, Valene’s publicist Chip convinced Lilimae (who foolishly thought he was her soulmate) to let him live with them. Chip began dating Karen’s daughter Diana and Ciji at the same time, and panicked when he impregnated Ciji and she learned he was actually a con-man named Tony Fenice. In season four, Knots Landing finally became a huge ratings success, and the climax came when Ciji’s dead body washed up on the beach. Gary, who had resorted to drinking due to the dirty business dealings of Abby, didn’t remember where he was the night of Ciji’s death, but became a suspect when he woke up on the beach the morning her corpse was discovered. After Ciji’s death, Laura refused to forgive Richard for being rude to her while she was alive, and he finally left Knots Landing for good. Kenny and Ginger also left Knots Landing, with Kenny being offered a job in Nashville. In the season finale, the characters prepared for Gary’s trial, while Lilimae discovered Chip’s real identity. However, Diana and Chip had already skipped town.
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Season Five (1983-1984)
25 Episodes (76-100) Nielsen Ranking: #11
Produced by: Peter Dunne
In the season premiere, Gary was acquitted of Ciji’s murder. Meanwhile, Valene began dating reporter Ben Gibson. Diana married Chip while on the run with him. Even though Chip confessed to Diana that he’d killed Ciji, the state had no case without her testimony. When it looked as though Chip would walk, Lilimae took matters into her own hands by running down Chip with her car. Meanwhile, Abby’s relative died and both she and Karen received a land inheritance at Lotus Point, California. Abby then secretly formed a subsidiary, Apolune Corp., of Gary’s company forcing her enemy Laura (whom Gary’d hired for her expertise in real estate) to look the other way as she broke the rules. Abby convinced Gary to marry her in order to get half of his 10% inheritance of Ewing Oil. However, before marrying Abby, Gary first slept with Valene one last time. By the time Valene discovered she was pregnant (with twins!), she was in love with Ben, but he couldn’t take the fact that she was pregnant with another man’s babies and they broke up. Abby hired Ciji’s doppelganger Cathy as a farmhand to keep Gary occupied so he wouldn’t know about her crooked business practices, but when Chip saw Cathy, he thought he was seeing a ghost and freaked out, falling on a pitchfork. The ordeal with Diana, who now refused to talk to Karen, caused Karen to become progressively more depressed, and she began becoming addicted to pain killers. State Senator Greg Sumner, who was running for US Senator, received the endorsements of Mack and Karen, as well as Abby, who wanted to buy herself a senator. Greg hired Mack to lead his Senate Crime Commission investigating the crooked Wolfbridge Group, and when Abby convinced Greg to get her an illegal land variance to build on Lotus Point, Greg pinned it on Mack, ending the 20-year friendship of Greg and Mack permanently. Meanwhile, Wolfbridge forced Abby to let them become her partners in the development of Lotus Point. When Mack discovered that Apolune owned all the land in Lotus Point except Karen and Abby’s inheritances, he thought Apolune was a division of Wolfbridge, but Laura finally confessed that Apolune was Abby’s company. When Gary discovered this, he threw Abby out of the office. She ran to Greg, who was in bed with Laura. When Mack faked Gary’s death to get Wolfbridge, Karen left him, believing his obsession with Wolfbridge had cost her everything. In the exciting season finale (and one-hundredth episode), Mack tried to trick Mark St. Claire (the head of the Wolfbridge Group) into attempting to shoot Gary (whom they hated for holding up the Lotus Point project) but St. Claire’s assassin hit Karen instead, and Abby was kidnapped by the Wolfbridge Group when they realized they’d failed.
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Season Six (1984-1985)
30 episodes (101-130) Nielsen Ranking: #9
Produced by: Peter Dunne/Lawrence Kasha
Greg Sumner killed Mark St. Claire, who was holding Abby (whose hair miraculously lost six inches despite the fact that the season 6 premiere was set immediately after the season 5 finale) hostage in a boat. After being shot, Karen, when faced with the same surgery predicament as Sid, declined to be operated upon, and was given 6 months to live. Lilimae’s son Joshua, whom she’d abandoned as a baby, came to live with her and Valene. He began dating Cathy, who’d moved in with Laura. When Gary purchased Ben’s television station, Abby began running it. One night, she was reading Ben’s notes, and found one addressed to Valene. She was shocked to learn that Gary was the father of Valene’s babies. Abby told Scott Easton, a man working for Lotus Point, about her issue, and he had Valene’s babies kidnapped after their birth (without Abby’s knowledge or consent.) Valene was told that the babies were stillborn, and when she insisted that she’d heard them crying, nobody believed her. Valene, heartbroken over the loss, left Knots Landing for Tennessee, where she developed psychosomatic amnesia, calling herself Verna Ellers (a character from one of her novels) and becoming a waitress. Meanwhile; Gary, Karen, and Abby (who was forgiven by Gary for her season 5 scheming) agreed to become partners in Lotus Point. Karen refused to take Mack back, but did so on Gary’s insistence after she confided to him that she was dying. Mack convinced Karen to have the surgery correcting her back problem, and she came out without a scratch. Meanwhile, industrialist Paul Galveston befriended Gary, and offered Gary a chance to develop on Empire Valley, a large piece of real estate. Gary agreed, and soon began construction. Galveston died, however, leaving his company to Greg Sumner, who was revealed as Galveston’s son! Assuming he would inherit Empire Valley, Greg resigned from the Senate. Unfortunately for Greg, Galveston left it to Gary. Greg’s mother (played by Ava Gardner) paid him an extended visit. She took a liking to Abby and paid Abby to pretend to have slept with Greg in order to break Greg and Laura up. Cathy and Joshua married, though on their wedding day she had second thoughts, due to the fact that fame on Abby’s television network had warped the initially innocent Joshua. “Verna” became engaged in Tennessee. Gary finally found her and brought her back to Knots Landing. She re-united with Ben, but still refused to believe that her babies were dead. Karen and Ben did some investigating and discovered that Valene’s doctor had paid off a nurse, and when they tracked down the doctor, he killed himself. Abby, full of guilt (though not technically guilty,) tracked down Valene’s babies. In the season finale, Abby and Val, and Mack, Ben, Gary, and Karen independently arrived at the house. As the adoptive father pulled up in his car, the adoptive mother (at the doorway) yelled, in suspenseful slow-motion, “Harry, go, they want to take the babies.” This season finale, titled "The Long and Winding Road" after a Beatles song, ranked as the #1 program for the week in the Nielsens. This would be the only episode out of Knots' 344 total to rank thus.
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Season Seven (1985-1986)
30 episodes (131-160) Nielsen Ranking: #17
Supervising Producer: David Paulsen Produced by: Lawrence Kasha
In the season premiere, Valene waited restlessly outside the house of the couple who had her babies. She (and the audience) didn’t have to wait long; the babies were returned to her in episode 2. Valene and Ben agreed to raise the babies together, and they married. Also married this year were Laura and Greg, whose estrangement ended when he convinced her that his mother was out of their lives for good. Empire Valley went awry when Gary discovered that Galveston Industries and its partners were secretly building an underground espionage there. Gary blew up Empire Valley to stop this and ceased his development there. Gary blamed Abby, who had helped Greg and gone behind his back. This proved to be the last straw for the Ewing marriage, and Gary informed Abby at the end of the season that he’d be divorcing her. Meanwhile, Gary rocked the boat for the Gibsons as he donated part of Empire Valley to them. Peter Hollister became Greg’s new secretary, and Jill Bennett became Mack’s new colleague. These two characters initially had nothing to do with one another but it was ultimately revealed that they were siblings of a family that had been swindled by Paul Galveston and wanted revenge. Jill abandoned her side of the plan when she fell in love with the now-single Gary, while Peter, in going through Greg’s files, discovered a woman named Sylvia Lean who’d been receiving monthly payments from Galveston Industries for over 20 years. She had given birth to Galveston’s now-deceased son, who Peter pretended to be, demanding compensation from Greg. Abby discovered the truth and demanded 51% of Peter’s compensation in return for keeping it secret, but when Peter discovered that Abby had known that Valene’s babies had been kidnapped from the start, he used this against her. Joshua became increasingly violent and abusive toward Cathy, who left him. Not wanting to lose her, he decided that they should die together. He proceeded to try to throw Cathy off of a tall building, but Lilimae arrived in time to stop him. She disowned Joshua, and he stumbled, shocked. He proceeded to fall of the roof and a sad Lilimae spent the rest of the season mourning him, while Cathy moved on to Ben, whose marriage to Valene was failing due to the continued threat of Gary, who by then knew that he was the father of her twins. Ben cheated with Cathy and in the season finale, prepared to leave Valene and go on a singing tour with her as her manager. Meanwhile, a beautiful young girl named Paige arrived at Mack’s door claiming to be his daughter. If that wasn’t enough of a shock for him, his wife Karen didn’t come home from work at Lotus Point that night. She had “just disappeared.”
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Season Eight (1986-1987)
30 episodes (161-190) Nielsen Ranking: #26
Produced by: Lawrence Kasha
Karen's kidnapper turned out to be an old friend of Greg's and Mack's who was bitter toward Mack, whom he blamed for having caused the death of his wife. Mack suspected Greg for the kidnapping, but ultimately believed that Greg had nothing to do with it (although the increasingly self-righteous Mack never apologized to Greg.) Ben returned to Valene and promised to make their marriage work, however this promise was comprised when he was contacted by Jean Hackney, who had once tricked Ben into doing a mission for an underground organization. This organization wanted Ben to kill Greg Sumner, and when Ben and Valene’s children were threatened, he finally agreed to do this. Luckily, he didn’t succeed, although Jean Hackney’s insistence on following him meant that he had to flee the country and leave Valene at the end of the season. Laura refused to forgive Valene for Ben's plan to kill Greg and ended their friendship. Laura announced to Greg that she was pregnant. He didn’t want the baby, but upon the birth of their daughter, discovered that he wanted to be a father after all. Speaking of new fathers, Mack had a difficult time handling Paige, who moved in with the Mackenzies and seduced Karen’s son Michael. When Karen discovered Paige Matheson was dead, Paige told the Mackenzies she’d faked her own death in order to escape her overbearing, rich grandparents. Paige’s mother (and Mack’s first love) Anne arrived in Knots Landing to be with her daughter, whom she’d believe dead for a whole year. Anne moved in to Laura’s house on the cul-de-sac, which was up for rent after Laura decided to move in with her husband Greg. Anne attempted to seduce Mack, but ultimately failed. She left Knots Landing, dejected, and after a year of instability the Mackenzie marriage came out stronger. Meanwhile, Abby’s daughter Olivia became increasingly rebellious, turning to drugs. When her drug dealer beat up her younger brother Brian, she gave all her drugs to Abby, who then encouraged her daughter’s friendship with Peter Hollister. Olivia’s friendship turned to crush. However, Peter was only interested in Paige, who also took a job at Lotus Point. At the end of the season, Abby walked out of the the bathroom drying her hands, and found Olivia standing over Peter’s bloody body. They both assumed the other had killed him, and Abby shooed Olivia away from the scene. She hid Peter’s corpse under the soil where cement was to be poured the next day. In the final scene of the season, Karen informed Abby that there was a crack in the cement, and it would probably have to be re-poured.
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Season Nine (1987-1988)
29 episodes (191-219) Nielsen Ranking: Not in Top 30
Produced by: Lawrence Kasha/Mary-Catherine Harold
A meloncholy Laura extended the olive branch to Valene at Karen's insistence. It was revealed that Paige was the one who’d accidentally caused the death of Peter. No charges were brought against her, but Abby swore that she would make Paige pay for having framed Olivia for the crime. Laura revealed to Greg that she was dying of cancer. Greg refused to accept it, and Laura left him to go to a clinic, where she died. Laura’s funeral brought the return of Richard, who moved his and Laura’s sons back to the east coast with him and his new wife. Mack got drunk at Laura's funeral (although Valene, angry that Karen had hidden from her the news of Laura's pending death, informed him that he was the only one who thought he was being cute.) Greg was left to raise Meg, his daughter with Laura. When Karen and Mack, who was in the midst of a mid-life crisis, offered to adopt the child, Greg reluctantly agreed. Paige began to work for Greg Sumner as his personal assistant, and began to find herself increasingly attracted to him. Lilimae left Knots Landing after falling in love, and Valene was left without her or Ben. Gary therefore took an increased interest in their twins. Valene’s resistance to this was an annoyance to Jill, who was living with Gary and didn’t like him paying attention to anybody except for her. Jill made an elaborate plan where she edited audio recordings of Ben’s voice to make Valene think Ben was trying to contact her. She also had forged letters made promising a return. Jill then stole the tapes of Ben’s messages and the letters, leaving Valene with no proof when she tried telling people. Jill then, while on a business trip in San Francisco, secretly drove back to Knots Landing and forced Valene to take a whole bottle of sleeping pills in order to make it look like Valene had killed herself. After Laura’s death, Frank and Pat Williams and their daughter Julie moved onto the cul-de-sac. Mack and Karen were suspicious of them at first, but became their friends upon discovering they were actually in the Witness Protection Program. Business at Lotus Point began to slow down, and Karen, Gary, and Abby agreed to expand the marina to accommodate the business of Manny Vasquez. Meanwhile, Paige, Michael, and Paige’s Irish boyfriend Johnny went on an archaeological dig in Mexico. When it became apparent that Manny Vasquez was selling drugs through Lotus Point, its owners tried to stop him. He told them that Paige and Michael would not re-enter the United States until he was allowed to conduct business at Lotus Point.
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Season Ten (1988-1989)
28 episodes (220-247) Nielsen Ranking: #27
Co-Executive Producer: Lawrence Kasha Produced by: Mary-Catherine Harold/Lynn Marie Latham/Bernard Lechowick
Nobody believed Valene when she said that Jill had tried to kill her. Jill had a solid alibi, for she had slipped drugs into a man’s drink and brought him to her hotel room. He passed out, but she was there when he woke up the next morning so he suspected nothing. Jill had actually left for Knots Landing during the night. When the man got an STD and Jill and Gary’s tests turned up negative, Gary decided to do some investigating. He discovered that the man remembered nothing of the night he had supposedly slept with Jill. Finally, everybody believed Valene’s story. Jill was left friendless, and she tied herself up and put herself in Gary’s trunk so he’d be framed for trying to kill her. Jill actually did die, unfortunately, and Gary was suspected for her death. Luckily, Mack was able to get the charges dropped (as he had done with Paige a season earlier.) A con artist tried to extort money from Frank and Pat by threatening to reveal their location to the men who had threatened Pat's life when she testified against them. Mack halted the con artist, and used dental records from a deceased family to make the men believe that the Sollars family (the original identity of the Williamses) was dead. The young crowd was able to get out of Mexico, and Manny Vasquez’s nephew Harold (who was also dating Abby’s daughter Olivia) killed his uncle when his uncle tried to kill Mack. Paige seduced Greg and the two began dating. Unfortunately, Greg wanted to become mayor of Los Angeles and he realized the much-younger Paige would not make a good political wife. He asked Abby to marry him instead, and Abby got her revenge against the broken-hearted Paige, who kept her job at Greg’s company nonetheless. Mack had another mid-life crisis and quit his job, opening a private practice. Meanwhile, continued tough times at Lotus Point meant that it had to be sold. Abby was thrilled to discover that there was oil underneath Lotus Point, and secretly created the Murakame Corporation, which she told her colleagues was Japanese so they wouldn’t know she was the one buying out Lotus Point. Paige discovered that it was just a front, and Abby barely avoided being brought up on fraud charges. She left Greg (and Knots Landing) for a job in Japan, singing “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” in the limousine as she pulled away, unpunished for her various evil deeds during her nine-season tenure.
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Season Eleven (1989-1990)
29 episodes (248-276) Nielsen Ranking: Not in Top 30
Co-Executive Producer: Lawrence Kasha Produced by: Mary-Catherine Harold/Lynn Marie Latham/Bernard Lechowick
Valene and Gary became involved with divorced couple Danny and Amanda, respectively. Danny had beaten and raped Amanda, but Valene was uncharacteristically blind to this. Valene proclaimed that she loved Danny more than she’d ever loved Gary or Ben. By season eleven, Valene’s accent was gone completely. As Danny became more and more abusive and distant, Valene finally realized the truth, and proceeded to kick him out of her house. Meanwhile, Paige fell in love with Tom Ryan, a dirty cop. The two planned on getting married, but on the day of their wedding, Tom became a “runaway groom.” Instead, Gary proposed to Valene, who accepted. Karen started a talk show, but began to be stalked by what seemed to be an obsessed fan. It was actually one of her producers, who had been put up to it by another producer (Robin Strasser) who couldn’t stand Karen. Karen’s stalker was ultimately put to justice when his accomplice betrayed him. Danny refused to give up on Valene, and one night while drunk driving on the cul-de-sac, he ran down Pat Williams. Olivia married Harold, but they had monetary woes due to Olivia’s decision to disown her mother Abby. They left the show mid-season, before Olivia had a chance to scheme for money as her mother had. Karen’s son Eric left his wife Linda at the Mackenzie household. Linda carried on with Eric’s brother Michael, then proceeded to divorce Eric. She was shown the door at the Mackenzie household. Paige’s mother Anne returned to Knots Landing penniless, and took up with Greg Sumner. Meanwhile, Greg’s daughter Mary Frances visited him after a 6-year estrangement between them. She had been involved in underground crime rings, and was murdered.
Season Twelve (1990-1991)
27 episodes (277-303) Nielsen Ranking: Not in Top 30
Co-Executive Producer: Lawrence Kasha Produced by: Mary-Catherine Harold/Lynn Marie Latham/Bernard Lechowick
Frank had Pat’s life support disconnected and she died. Greg’s sister Claudia and his niece Kate (who looked exactly like the late Mary Frances) moved to Knots Landing as talented tennis player Kate began attending university. Kate met Steve, a man claiming to be her brother, at school, and it was revealed that Steve, who had been put up for adoption by Claudia, was the product of a tryst between Claudia and Paul Galveston. When Claudia planted drugs on former felon Steve and he fled from the police, his death was caused by her! Mack took a liking to a high school kid named Jason, who, it was revealed, was being beaten by his father. Mack, in yet another mid-life crisis, regained the memories of his own physical abuse at the hands of his father, and took Jason into the Mackenzie household. Valene and Gary got together and were briefly happy after Danny’s murder (by Julie, as revenge for her mother’s death), but a fall off a horse led to a campy storyline where Valene went insane. After a season of irrational behavior (most notably frying the twins’ pet hermit crabs) Valene was miraculously cured, and she proceeded to marry Gary. Anne met Italian Nick Schillace, with whom she both fell in love and spent the season scheming. Ultimately, their plans all backfired, and in the season finale, Anne was left homeless. Meanwhile, Paige and Linda competed at the Sumner Group (the re-named Galveston Industries), and when Linda started sleeping with Greg, it became about more than just money.
Season Thirteen (1991-1992)
22 episodes (304-325) Nielsen Ranking: Not in Top 30
Co-Executive Producer: Joseph Hardy Supervising Producer: Tom Romano (ep. 304-318) Senior Producer: Ann Marcus (ep. 319-325) Produced by: Mary-Catherine Harold
After Nick left her, Anne was left homeless and bankrupt, wanting to be rich more than ever. She started an advice show on night-time radio which became a smash hit. Linda was murdered by the crazy Brian Johnston, who then proceeded to hold the Mackenzies hostage for an entire episode. Jason left the Mackenzie household for a program in Sweden while Julie left Knots Landing for the east coast. Frank dated a woman played by the then-unknown Halle Berry. Gary invested in a project that turned tidal waves into usable electric energy. The man behind it, Joseph, became Kate’s boyfriend. Paige, who felt it was a good idea, joined Gary, along with her new boyfriend Pierce. Pierce’s wife Victoria showed up and revealed that Pierce had killed his previous girlfriend. Unfortunately for Paige, she didn’t believe it. Paige was shot by Pierce (aiming for Greg, whom he hated) and temporarily paralyzed, giving a delusional Pierce (who thought she was the previous, pregnant girlfriend he’d already killed) a chance to kidnap her. Mack and Greg rescued Paige and Pierce was arrested. Claudia disliked Joseph and asked Greg to get him a job away from Kate. When this happened, Gary, who had tied up all his money in Tidal Energy, was left bankrupt. Valene attempted to console him, and the two of them spent the rest of the season enjoying a happy marriage. Unfortunately, Valene was given an assignment. She was to write a biography on Greg Sumner. Mary Robeson told Valene that she was Meg’s grandmother, as she was Laura’s biological mother. Valene refused to believe it, and when she investigated Mary Robeson further, she was kidnapped in Florida.
Season Fourteen (1992-1993)
19 episodes (326-344) Nielsen Ranking: Not in Top 30
Co-Executive Producer: Ann Marcus Supervising Producer: Barbara Corday Produced by: Mary-Catherine Harold
Gary believed Valene dead when he saw a car with her in it blow up. Greg attempted to retire from the Sumner Group, leaving one-third to Claudia, one-third to Paige, and one-third to Mack and Karen (in a trust for Meg.) However, Anne’s surprised pregnancy by him prompted him to return to Knots Landing to marry here. When Anne discovered she had suffered from hysterical pregnancy, her marriage to Greg became miserable. Anne was finally rich, but unhappy. She longed for Nick, who had returned to Knots Landing. When Mack sought out $1,000,000 from Claudia under the table to bribe Mary Robeson to stop seeking custody of Meg, Claudia gave him only $500,000 and gave the rest to Nick to start a restaurant. When Paige demanded an audit, Claudia had to ask Nick for the $500,000 back. Unfortunately, Nick had already spent it and attained for Claudia $500,000 from a different source. It turned out a man named Treadwell and his mysterious partner had been trying to take over the Sumner Group with this $500,000. Karen didn’t believe Mack would do something like that and left him, staying with Diana in New York City. In the series finale, Karen returned to Mack, and Nick’s accomplice Vanessa Hunt killed Treadwell, paving the way for Valene to return to Gary. Treadwell’s partner was revealed as none other than Abby, who, returning for the first time in four years, told Greg that she would be taking over the Sumner Group. Unfortunately, Abby was left with nothing as Greg threatened to reveal her dirty dealings in Japan. Tom, in charge of the investigation of Mary Robeson’s murder (it was her brother,) and Paige began falling in love again. In the finale, however, Anne offered Greg a divorce and he was free to get back together with Paige, finally. Claudia and Anne both coincidentally made plans to go to Monaco, and on the way to the airplane, they fought over Nick. In the final scene, a new couple moved onto the cul-de-sac in Frank’s old house. “It’s probably their first house,” mused Valene. Gary went to get charcoal for the fire, when another car pulled up. To his surprise, Abby got out of it! She informed Mack, Karen, Gary, and Valene that she’d bought Claudia’s house (which had been hers when she lived on the cul-de-sac.) Valene rushed Gary away from Abby as Mack went to start cooking. Abby was left with Karen, to whom she proclaimed, “Just like old times, isn’t it?”
Out of the KL cast, only Shackelford and Van Ark crossed over to Dallas in 1980 (for J.R.'s shooting), 1981 (for Lucy's wedding to Mitch Cooper), 1982 (for the reading of Jock Ewing's will), and 1991 (in a J.R.'s dream sequence, where Gary is a lawyer consulting Val as a client.) Shackelford would cross over in 1985 for Bobby Ewing's funeral -- which, of course, turned out to be a dream, an issue that was resolved on Dallas but never on KL.
Behind the Scenes
The actors had more input than actors on other 1980s primetime soaps. In 1987, the writers wanted Mack (Kevin Dobson) to have an extramarital affair with Anne (Michelle Phillips.) Michele Lee, who played Mack's wife Karen, protested this to David Jacobs, saying, "There has to be one stable couple on the show." [1] (http://www.knotslandingonline.com/joan_van_ark_interview.html) The extramarital affair storyline was nixed, and Michelle Phillips, who had been signed to a contract, was written out for a few seasons before returning in 1990. When she did return, Anne did not persue Mack. William Devane, who played Greg Sumner, re-wrote most of his character's dialogue, to the point where, in co-star Michele Lee's words, "most people (on set) were (probably) frightened of him." [2] (http://www.knotslandingonline.com/michele_lee_interview.html) The Gary/Val/Abby triangle that provided story throughout the mid-1980s was suggested by Ted Shackelford and Joan van Ark in 1980, and the producers hesitated for a year and a half before going through with it in 1982. [3] (http://www.knotslandingonline.com/joan_van_ark_interview.html) The famous storyline where Valene's babies got kidnapped in 1984 was originally dreamed up as one of scheming Abby's plots. Donna Mills, who played Abby, acknowledged that her character was evil but didn't think she was that evil. Fearing the audience would never forgive her character for kidnapping another woman's babies, she asked the writers to make Abby cause the kidnappings by accident, and the writers complied.
The writing team of Bernard Lechowick and Lynn Marie Latham (who were the head writers from 1986 to 1991) was controversial among both fans and actors. Their humor-imbued style of writing made them the favorites of Michele Lee, while John Pleshette (who at that point directed "Knots Landing" episodes) felt they were "awful people." [4] (http://www.knotslandingonline.com/john_pleshette_interview.html) Joan van Ark, whose character was struck by a brain illness in season 12 and proceeded to thereafter go crazy, felt that Latham and Lechowick had turned her character into the "village idiot." Joan van Ark and Donna Mills' favorite "Knots Landing" writer was Peter Dunne, [5] (http://www.knotslandingonline.com/joan_van_ark_interview.html) who was responsable for making Knots Landing a top ten show in 1984.
Season 13 saw a large ratings drop for the show after creator David Jacobs had a health crisis and pulled back his involvement in production. Jacobs has publically stated that the way he knew the show was in trouble when his cleaning ladies, who he heard gossiping about Knots Landing every Friday during past seasons, suddenly stopped discussing the show in late 1991. He attempted to save face by shutting down production on November 20, 1991 [6] (http://www.knotslandingonline.com/ted_shackelford_interview.html), firing head writer John Romano, and replacing him with Ann Marcus.
Who Lived Where
Knots Landing's signature cul-de-sac, Seaview Circle, was actually Crystalaire Place in Granada Hills, California.
16961 Seaview Circle
Kenny Ward (Seasons 1-4)
Ginger Ward (Seasons 1-4)
Erin Molly Ward (Seasons 3-4)
16969 Seaview Circle
Abby Cunningham (Seasons 2-4, reunion)
Brian Cunningham (Seasons 2-4)
Olivia Cunningham (Seasons 2-4)
Gary Ewing (Season 4)
Claudia Whittaker (Seasons 12-14)
Kate Whittaker (Season 12)
Alex Barth (Season 13)
16975 Seaview Circle
Richard Avery (Seasons 1-4)
Laura Avery (Seasons 1-8)
Jason Avery (Seasons 1-8)
Daniel Avery (Seasons 4-8)
Cathy Geary (Seasons 6, 7)
Anne Matheson (Season 8)
Patricia Williams (Seasons 9-11)
Frank Williams (Seasons 9-13)
Julie Williams (Seasons 9-13)
16972 Seaview Circle
Karen Fairgate Mackenzie (Seasons 1-14, reunion)
Sid Fairgate (Seasons 1-3)
Diana Fairgate (Seasons 1-4)
Michael Fairgate (Seasons 1-12)
Eric Fairgate (Seasons 1-9)
Mack Mackenzie (Seasons 4-14, reunion)
Mary Frances Sumner (Season 5)
Paige Matheson (Seasons 8-10, 13)
Meg Mackenzie (Seasons 9-14, reunion)
Jason Lochner (Seasons 12-13)
16966 Seaview Circle
Gary Ewing (Seasons 1-3, 13-14, reunion)
Valene Ewing (Seasons 1-13, reunion)
Lilimae Clements (Seasons 3-9)
Chip Roberts (Season 4)
Joshua Rush (Seasons 6-7)
Cathy Geary (Seasons 6-7)
Bobby Ewing (Seasons 7-14, reunion)
Betsy Ewing (Seasons 7-14, reunion)
Ben Gibson (Seasons 7-8)
Aunt Ginny (Seasons 10-12)
Danny Waleska (Seasons 11-12)
Credited Cast
- Ted Shackelford as Gary Ewing.
- The son of Jock and Ellie Ewing, first introduced in the TV series Dallas. Gary, the middle Ewing son between JR and Bobby, was the family black sheep.
- Joan Van Ark as Valene "Val" Clements Ewing Ewing Gibson Waleska Ewing (1979-1992, 1993).
- The love of Gary's life, and the mother, with Gary, of Lucy Ewing.
- Michele Lee as Karen Fairgate Mackenzie.
- Valene's neighbor, and best friend. First married to Sid Fairgate, later to Mack McKenzie. The mother of Diana, Eric and Michael Fairgate.
- Don Murray as Sid Fairgate (1979-1981).
- Karen's first husband, and the owner of Knots Landing Motors. Sid was killed when his car was sabotaged.
- John Pleshette as Richard Avery (1979-1983, 1987).
- A lawyer, and a cruel, shallow man. Unhappily married to Laura, he struggled to assert himself after she launched a successful career in real-estate.
- Constance McCashin as Laura Avery Sumner (1979-1987).
- The wife of Richard Avery, and later, Greg Sumner. She was a real estate agent. She died of cancer.
- James Houghton as Kenny Ward (1979-1983).
- A record producer who at first cheated on his wife Ginger, but reformed upon the birth of their daughter Erin Molly.
- Kim Lankford as Ginger Ward (1979-1983).
- A kindergarten teacher who wanted to be a singer, she was jealous of her husband's involvement in Ciji Dunne's career.
- Claudia Lonow as Diana Fairgate (1979-1984, 1993).
- Karen's daughter who fell in love with the evil Chip (Michael Sabatino). She left Knots Landing to study in New York City.
- Patrick Petersen as Michael Fairgate (1979-1991).
- Karen's son who would grow up to have an affair with his brother Eric's wife, Linda.
- Donna Mills as Abby Fairgate Cunningham Ewing Sumner (1980-1989, 1993).
- Sid's sister, and the neighborhood troublemaker. She destroyed Gary and Val's marriage, and married Gary herself.
- Tonya Crowe as Olivia Cunningham Dyer (1980-1990).
- Abby's rebellious daughter who became addicted to cocaine.
- Julie Harris as Lilimae Clements (1980, 1981-1987).
- Valene's mother who moved in with Valene and proceeded thereafter to interfere with her daughter's life.
- Kevin Dobson as Mack Mackenzie (1982-1993).
- Karen's second husband. He was an attorney who worked for the governor before opening his own private practice.
- Lisa Hartman as Ciji Dunne (1982-1983)/Cathy Geary Rush (1983-1986).
- Ciji and Cathy were both singers. Almost everyone in Knots Landing was suspect for Ciji's murder. Next season, Ciji's doppelganger Cathy Geary showed up after being released from prison.
- Douglas Sheehan as Ben Gibson (1983-1987).
- Valene's second husband. He was a journalist at Abby's television station.
- William Devane as Greg Sumner (1983-1993).
- Initially a politician, Greg became a businessman after inheriting the corporation of his father (Howard Duff). Greg schemed with or against Abby most of the time.
- Alec Baldwin as Joshua Rush (1984-1985).
- Lilimae's son who was abandoned by her as a baby. He came on Knots Landing as a rather innocent young preacher. After marrying Cathy, he became extremely violent and eventually went crazy, dying after accidentally falling off a roof.
- Teri Austin as Jill Bennett (1985-1989).
- Gary's mistress who died accidentally, stuffing herself in his trunk so it would seem like he'd tried kidnapping her.
- Nicolette Sheridan as Paige Matheson (1986-1993).
- Karen's step-daughter, she engaged in a May/December romance with Greg Sumner.
- Michelle Phillips as Anne Winston Matheson (1987, 1989, 1990-1993).
- Paige's mother and Mack's first love, she competed with her daughter for Greg's affections.
- Larry Riley as Frank Williams (1988-1992)
- Frank moved to Knots Landing with his wife Pat and daughter Julie as part of the witness protection program. He eventually took a job in Mack's lawfirm.
- Kathleen Noone as Claudia Whittaker (1990-1993)
- Greg Sumner's sister, who moved to town under the guise of accompanying her daughter for college; in reality, she wanted to meddle in Greg's affairs.
- Stacy Galina as Kate Whittaker (1990-1993)
- Claudia's daughter who resembled Greg's late daughter Mary Frances. She was a tennis player, but after Gary Ewing caused her arm to break (thus ruining her career) she set her sights on him.
Famous Guest stars include:
- Ava Gardner (1985) (as Greg Sumner's mother)
- Dick Sargent (1985) (as himself)
- Ruth Roman (1986) (as Sylvia Lean)
- Michael York (1987-88) (as Abby's first love)
- Red Buttons (1987) (as Lillimae's boyfriend)
- Mary Lou Retton (1992) (as herself)
Trivia
Ted Shackelford and Michele Lee were the only cast members to stay with the series throughout its entire run.
Michele Lee was the only actor to appear in all 344 episodes of the series and her character, Karen, was the only one to live on the cul-de-sac throughout the entire series.
As of June 2005 producers are planning a primetime Reunion special in which actors will reminise about their work on the series [7] (http://soapoperanetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=241&Itemid=61)
The "Knots" in the title comes from the expression "tying the knot" since the show was originally about marriage. The "Landing" comes from the fact that David Jacobs felt like the cul-de-sac looked like someplace to land.fr:Côte Ouest la:Nodi Appulsus