MUSEUM OF TELEVISION & RADIO'S 12TH ANNUAL TELEVISION FESTIVAL IN LOS ANGELES, THE: KNOTS LANDING {LONG VERSION}
Summary
One in a series of evenings and special screenings presented as part of The Museum of Television & Radio's 12th Annual Television Festival in Los Angeles. Held this year at the Directors Guild Theatre Complex, the festival celebrates the excellence and diversity of American television, and is dedicated to television's creative community. This evening honors "Knots Landing" (1979-1993), the night-time drama serial, spun off from the series "Dallas," about the residents of a small southern California community, noted for the high quality of its writing and acting, and its focus on story and character development. Robert M. Batscha, president of the Museum, introduces the following members of the "Knots Landing" creative team: cast members Tonya Crowe, Stacy Galina, Kim Lankford, Michele Lee, Claudia Lonow, Donna Mills, Don Murray, Kathleen Noone, John Pleshette, Joan Van Ark, Constance McCashin, and creator/executive producer David Jacobs. Jacobs then introduces the screening for the evening, a 1983 episode entitled "Celebration." The episode is preceded with footage of the 1979 premiere of "Knots Landing," and clips from various episodes, including the series finale, "Just Like Old Times" (1993). "Knots Landing: Celebration" is then seen in its entirety. After the screening, the panelists take questions from the audience on the following topics, among others: whether there will be a "Knots" reunion movie; how much the actors had to say about the development of their characters; the prodigious size of the actresses' hairdos in the 1983 episode; why Constance McCashin was written out of the show; favorite episodes of the cast; the close familial bonds that developed among the cast members; the death of Steve Shaw, who played "Eric Fairgate"; cliffhangers that generated the largest viewer response; relationships and story as the strengths of the series; what happened to the characters of "Ginger and Kenny Ward"; a humorous story about a hot tub scene with John Pleshette and Donna Mills; Van Ark's feeling that the character relationships grew richer as the actors melded with their characters over the years; the snubbing of the series and its cast by the Emmy Awards because of its genre; how "Knots" was ahead of its time and probably more suited to the 1990s than the 1980s in its "middle-class" point-of-view and willingness to deal with relevant social and political issues; the original casting of the series; whether Mills and Lee would do series work again; Jacobs' enjoyment of writing for this group of actors; and Jacobs as a writer of extremely "act-able" material.
Details
- NETWORK: Paley
- DATE: March 17, 1995 9:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 2:00:58
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:39386
- GENRE: Seminars
- SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Robert M. Batscha … Moderator
- Tonya Crowe … Panelist
- Stacy Galina … Panelist
- David Jacobs … Panelist
- Kim Lankford … Panelist
- Michele Lee … Panelist
- Claudia Lonow … Panelist
- Constance McCashin … Panelist
- Donna Mills … Panelist
- Don Murray … Panelist
- Kathleen Noone … Panelist
- John Pleshette … Panelist
- Van Ark, Joan … Panelist
- Steve Shaw