I loved Dynasty. I watched the show as a kid. Looking back on it, Dynasty was a great reflection on the Reagan/Thatcher years. In that era poverty had become almost taboo, so TV shows that focused on working class people or rural people disappeared in favor of shows about fabulously wealthy people. Dynasty was a part of that trend. Joan Collins was outrageously fantastic as Alexis. She made the show, and she gave life to Crystal's character as Crystal seemed like a quiet, low self esteem woman who couldn't stand up to Blake's daughter and SERVANTS of all people, until her fights with Alexis helped make her more outspoken.

After watching all the seasons and having it end the way it did, really made me MAD! I was never able to watch the complete series until I got it on DVD and watched the series from start to finish. Had I known how it was going to end I wouldn't have wasted my time! Having Krystal's character go out without really seeing her die in Switzerland, Fallon & Kristina being left in the underground tunnels with the lost art, do they die? Blake being shot and Dex and Alexis falling off the balcony....they left this with a huge cliff hanger and leaving the viewers wondering what happened. This was as big of a let down as the ending of the Soprano's was!

"Dynasty" started off as a drama series about the rich Carringtons,headed by Blake,(John Forsythe)gay son Steven(Al Corley),wayward daughter Fallon(Pamela Sue Martin)and new wife innocent Krystle(Linda Evans) The poor family were Matthew Blazidel(Bo Hoskins)Claudia(one of my favourite characters played by Pamela Bellwood)just out of a mental ward and daughter Lynsey(Katy Kurtzman) After thirteen episodes,the ratings were poor,the arrival of Joan Collins as super-bitch Alexis,bitter ex wife of Blake sent the ratings through the roof as did the cat fight between Alexis and Krystle. Claudia was the only Blazidel to return in the 2nd season but several seasons later,Matthew made a dramatic return when he tries to kidnap Krystle,Steven(Jack Coleman by this time)saves them all by stabbing Matthew. The show continued to get glossier and glossier,Pamela Sue Martin was a big loss to the series,when she left after season 4 as was Al Corley,who left after season 2,unhappy at gay Steven suddenly and unconvincingly getting a glamorous young wife.,Sammy -Jo(Heather Locklear) The storyline that haunted Dynasty was the Moldivan Massacre when the entire cast were shot at Amanda's(Catherine Oxenberg)wedding to Prince Michael (Michael Praed)with only Steven's lover Luke(Bill Campbell)and Lady Ashley Mitchell(Ali McGraw)perishing. Although this cliffhanger caused the show to get to no1,the follow up episodes were disappointing and it was the start of the end of Dynasty,the double of Krystle storyline was just plain mad really! I did like the show though with special credit to Joan Collins for turning it around,Dianne Carroll as Dominique was also a great character,Stephanie Beacham adding a new nemesis for Alexis as Sable when Linda Evans left in the last season. I look forward to seeing the rest of this great show on DVD soon.

I watched Dynasty from episode one and very rarely ever missed the Wednesday night saga of the Carringtons. Having recently purchased the DVD set of the first season, I've been giving the show a lot of thought... Like many other TV shows both past and present, Dynasty started without a clear focus and eventually matured into something unique and far removed from what the producers originally intended. The show had two distinct eras: pre-Alexis and post-Alexis. No, Joan Collins didn't make or break Dynasty, but she gave it a heck of a fun "flavor." At its inception, Dynasty was a serious, almost somber account of the lives of the super rich Carringtons of Denver, CO. There was patriarch Blake, confused son Steven, spoiled brat Fallon, and Blake's new and very overwhelmed wife, Krystle. Having now watched a little of that first season, I find myself eagerly waiting for Alexis to turn the family on its collective ear! Dynasty's ultimate strength, and also its downfall, was in its becoming campy and larger than life. While some of us may expect the super-wealthy to act crazy, Dynasty added plot lines and characters that were the traditional soap-opera themes magnified with a huge budget, and beautiful people... illicit affairs, long-lost children, traumatic pregnancies, murders, trials, etc... There were frequent mis-steps (the Moldavian Prince, Michael, comes to mind as well as the entire 'The Colbys' series) and there were truly fun characters like Alexis and son Adam whom we loved to hate. But to me, the bottom line will always be that Dynasty was campy and much larger-than-life. It was a lot of fun those eight years, always wondering what would happen next...