Return to ‘Dynasty’ : Those Loose Ends? They’re Tying Them Up Now

When last we left them, Alexis Morell Carrington Colby Dexter Rowan was tumbling over a balcony railing to possible death below. Blake Carrington’s life was in jeopardy after an exchange of gunfire with a policeman. And Krystle Carrington was off snoozing in a coma somewhere in Switzerland.

Those were just some of the cliffhangers in the 1989 season finale of “Dynasty,” the long-running soap opera for admirers of the rich and famous. But with a soap opera of sorts being played out behind the scenes, viewers never found out what happened next. Because of dwindling ratings, inflated star salaries, revolving producers, far-fetched story lines and a network programming chief who reportedly simply didn’t like the show, “Dynasty” was abruptly ended by ABC after eight years and 217 episodes.

“I think one of the things that disappointed (us) was that we never had a chance to satisfy our audience and tie up some loose ends,” co-executive producer Aaron Spelling said. “Had we known that we were on our last episode, we never would have ended with a cliffhanger.”

Now, shooting in some 90 locations throughout Los Angeles, “Dynasty” is being rebuilt as a four-hour miniseries to air in October, with the principal cast and creative team reunited. The passage of time, new management at ABC and persistent viewer interest seem to have cleared the path for a project that has been in discussion for the last two years.

For the show’s stars, the miniseries is a way to make peace with millions of fans scattered throughout dozens of countries. “I thought that what happened at the end of ‘Dynasty’ was unforgivable, from the network standpoint, and I dare say our producers were a little to blame as well, not seeing far enough ahead to know that we might be canceled,” John Forsythe said last week on location at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre. Forsythe, who ruled a business empire as Blake Carrington, had just finished a scene battling with high-powered attorneys over a lucrative property deal.

“We should have ended with some kind of dignity, because no matter what one thinks about soap opera, we were a (top-rated) show for many years,” he said. “The thousands of letters I got were just impossible to answer, all on the same theme: Why did you do that? How could you do that? Is this the end? How does it all come out?”

Joan Collins agreed. “When you have dedicated viewers who have watched a show religiously, taped it for eight years, I think that it is a great disservice to them to end a show just because the network didn’t like it, which is practically the case,” she said coolly, relaxing with a cigarette near the set in her air-conditioned trailer.

“To just end the show arbitrarily up in the air like that, I think it’s quite, quite shocking. I was surprised by the cold-blooded nature of it all. So at the time, and this was 26 months ago exactly, I said, ‘Well, I hope they’re going to do an hour episode or a movie or something to sort of pick this whole thing up.’ ”

That’s what a lot of people hoped, but it took a lot longer to put the deal together than anyone expected.

For their part, Forsythe, Evans and Collins accepted slightly deflated salaries this time around to help see the project through. “We did that, yes, because we wanted to finish it,” said Evans, who portrayed Blake’s faithful wife, Krystle. “It was something that I felt would be nice to be a part of, resolving all the characters and just putting it to rest in a kind of pleasant way. Because ‘Dynasty’ gave us each so much. It changed our lives and our careers.”

ABC does not seem bothered by the passage of time. In fact, ABC’s vice president of movies and miniseries, Allen Sabinson, maintained that the timing of the “Dynasty” miniseries is perfect.

“Absence makes the heart grow fonder,” he explained. “Had we done the show the next year, it probably would have held less interest. There are fewer prime-time serials on the air today. ‘Dallas,’ ‘Falcon Crest,’ ‘The Colbys,’ ‘Dynasty’ are all gone. There are many fans of that form that don’t have shows to watch.”

The challenge for the “Dynasty” writers was to create a miniseries that would satisfy the old viewers and stand alone as a comprehensible story for a generation of new viewers. That means audiences won’t see the continuation of Alexis’ swan dive or Blake’s incarceration for shooting the policeman.

“We left the characters in a cliffhanger. And the decision was not to pick up where we left off, but in the course of the show to let the audience know what happened to them,” co-executive producer and co-writer Esther Shapiro said. “Many people have forgotten the last episode, so we’re going into the story in real time. We’re now out of the age of greed and glitz and into the ‘90s, which is the buying up of America. Blake’s family is spread all over the place, his mansion is gone, Krystle is far away and he’s just coming out of prison. And we pick them up there, and watch what he has to do to get back his family, his home, his business.”

Shapiro said that movies and miniseries based on one-hour dramas may represent a coming trend in an economic climate that no longer favors one-hour dramas, which are expensive to make and fare poorly in reruns. At the end of its run, “Dynasty” reportedly cost close to $2 million per episode.

“In the hour form, there are fewer and fewer shows because of the economics,” she said. “The audience seems to miss them, especially those with great characters--’thirtysomething,’ ‘China Beach,’ ‘Dynasty.’ This may be a way to deal with that audience appetite. Not to go on every week, but to do a few hours every year, or every other year.”

Although ABC has acknowledged the possibility of a future TV movie based on the recently canceled “thirtysomething,” Sabinson doesn’t necessarily see that as a coming trend. “There aren’t many shows that the public has a high interest in,” he said. “There have always been reunion shows--’Return to Mayberry,’ ‘Get Smart,’ ‘I Dream of Jeannie.’ That is a form audiences are always interested in. But how many shows out there merit it? In this day and age, I don’t think there are many.”

Are there going to be more “Dynasty” miniseries in the future? ABC and the show’s producers say they would like to think so. But the three stars seem divided.

In response to the question, Forsythe said: “I would doubt that. I really would, unless this thing comes off with a tremendous bang.”

Collins said: “If this show is successful and the public likes it, I don’t see why we couldn’t do one every year or so, like they do for ‘Columbo’ or ‘Perry Mason.’ Why not? I enjoy my character. I love playing her.”

Evans, who had quit the series even before it ended (which is why Krystle was away in Switzerland), said: “I’m looking at it as a wrap-up.”