At the beginning of the movie, the stars of one of the hottest shows on TV walk into a red carpet event with excited fans on either side. One fan doesn't recognize the man with the beard and has to ask who he is. A writer, the man says. The fan proceeds to announce he's no one.
Oh, how wrong that is!
Four years earlier, TV writer Richard Shapiro is dreaming of writing the next 'I, Claudius'. He and his wife Esther see a group of rich people in a park and wonder about their lives, figuring the people will sue over their inheritance. ABC, meanwhile, needs a hit show. Everyone is wondering who shot J. R., the evil oil magnate on 'Dallas'. The Shapiros realize people want to see TV shows about the rich, and ABC likes the idea but wants Aaron Spelling as a part of the deal. Esther wants to produce the show herself and accepts Spelling's presence reluctantly.
The show goes through a series of titles including 'Fort Worth' and 'Oil'. People aren't interested in cows, so the Fort Worth idea is history. 'Shogun' was popular, and though it was about the Japanese, perhaps the Chinese idea of a 'dynasty' will work.
After a rocky start, partly because the Shapiros want to make a statement when the viewing public just wants the superficial, 'Dynasty' becomes a big hit, and the eventual goal is to beat 'Dallas'.
I was a 'Dallas' fan and only saw a few 'Dynasty' episodes, but I still enjoyed this. Alice Krige made a great witchy Joan Collins. Pamela Reed was very good as Esther, and Ritchie Singer also did a good job as her husband. At first I thought Bartholomew John was realistic as John Forsythe (who I know primarily from 'To Rome with Love' and 'The Powers That Be'), but he seemed cartoonish later on--which was not necessarily a bad thing. Definitely coming across as cartoonish were the actors playing Aaron Spelling and his wife, but I liked them just fine. And Melora Hardin was TOO perky as Linda Evans; I would have said she was better suited for Heather Locklear, except Heather was a lot younger then, and not really perky. Locklear was on screen only briefly, which I thought was a shame. I've enjoyed her performances in 'Spin City' and 'LAX' in recent years, and even though the actress came across as a blonde bimbo, I would have enjoyed more from her.
Hardin showed range later on, as did Krige, in a scene where Joan and Linda were shown to be friends.
I particularly liked the blue-collar couple--she loved the show while he thought it was garbage, but later he was a fan too. As the show's popularity increased, fans from around the country and even the world were shown wearing wigs and clothes like their favorite characters. A Moldavian viewer was quite confused about the depiction of his country.
As with most movies like this, there were many incredible coincidences. Footage of President Ronald Reagan was often shown on TV screens at the ABC offices, and this was footage that likely would have been carried live--it's AMAZING certain events happened exactly when they did. We were advised at the movie's start that fictional events and characters, time compression and composite characters were used. Also shown: Oliver North's testimony on the Iran-Contra scandal and the swearing in of George Herbert Walker Bush. About Iran-Contra: in the days of three networks and little interest in cable, someone got bored with 'Dynasty' and changed channels to find Reagan speaking on that subject. Surely not live. The networks would have all carried the speech.
POSSIBLE SPOILER HERE
Of course all good things must come to an end. 'Dynasty' eventually fell off in popularity, and the show was cancelled. I thought the ending was handled well, even if the reality of the situation wasn't what the parties involved would have preferred. It was funny to hear the theme music of 'seinfeld' as everyone walked off the set for the last time; I guess we know who took over the space.
Oh, how wrong that is!
Four years earlier, TV writer Richard Shapiro is dreaming of writing the next 'I, Claudius'. He and his wife Esther see a group of rich people in a park and wonder about their lives, figuring the people will sue over their inheritance. ABC, meanwhile, needs a hit show. Everyone is wondering who shot J. R., the evil oil magnate on 'Dallas'. The Shapiros realize people want to see TV shows about the rich, and ABC likes the idea but wants Aaron Spelling as a part of the deal. Esther wants to produce the show herself and accepts Spelling's presence reluctantly.
The show goes through a series of titles including 'Fort Worth' and 'Oil'. People aren't interested in cows, so the Fort Worth idea is history. 'Shogun' was popular, and though it was about the Japanese, perhaps the Chinese idea of a 'dynasty' will work.
After a rocky start, partly because the Shapiros want to make a statement when the viewing public just wants the superficial, 'Dynasty' becomes a big hit, and the eventual goal is to beat 'Dallas'.
I was a 'Dallas' fan and only saw a few 'Dynasty' episodes, but I still enjoyed this. Alice Krige made a great witchy Joan Collins. Pamela Reed was very good as Esther, and Ritchie Singer also did a good job as her husband. At first I thought Bartholomew John was realistic as John Forsythe (who I know primarily from 'To Rome with Love' and 'The Powers That Be'), but he seemed cartoonish later on--which was not necessarily a bad thing. Definitely coming across as cartoonish were the actors playing Aaron Spelling and his wife, but I liked them just fine. And Melora Hardin was TOO perky as Linda Evans; I would have said she was better suited for Heather Locklear, except Heather was a lot younger then, and not really perky. Locklear was on screen only briefly, which I thought was a shame. I've enjoyed her performances in 'Spin City' and 'LAX' in recent years, and even though the actress came across as a blonde bimbo, I would have enjoyed more from her.
Hardin showed range later on, as did Krige, in a scene where Joan and Linda were shown to be friends.
I particularly liked the blue-collar couple--she loved the show while he thought it was garbage, but later he was a fan too. As the show's popularity increased, fans from around the country and even the world were shown wearing wigs and clothes like their favorite characters. A Moldavian viewer was quite confused about the depiction of his country.
As with most movies like this, there were many incredible coincidences. Footage of President Ronald Reagan was often shown on TV screens at the ABC offices, and this was footage that likely would have been carried live--it's AMAZING certain events happened exactly when they did. We were advised at the movie's start that fictional events and characters, time compression and composite characters were used. Also shown: Oliver North's testimony on the Iran-Contra scandal and the swearing in of George Herbert Walker Bush. About Iran-Contra: in the days of three networks and little interest in cable, someone got bored with 'Dynasty' and changed channels to find Reagan speaking on that subject. Surely not live. The networks would have all carried the speech.
POSSIBLE SPOILER HERE
Of course all good things must come to an end. 'Dynasty' eventually fell off in popularity, and the show was cancelled. I thought the ending was handled well, even if the reality of the situation wasn't what the parties involved would have preferred. It was funny to hear the theme music of 'seinfeld' as everyone walked off the set for the last time; I guess we know who took over the space.