The_Secret_(Dynasty_1984)

<i>Dynasty</i> (1981 TV series) season 5

Dynasty (1981 TV series) season 5

Season of television series

The fifth season of Dynasty originally aired in the United States on ABC from September 26, 1984, through May 15, 1985. The series, created by Richard and Esther Shapiro and produced by Aaron Spelling, revolves around the Carringtons, a wealthy family residing in Denver, Colorado.

Quick Facts Dynasty, No. of episodes ...

Season five stars John Forsythe as millionaire oil magnate Blake Carrington; Linda Evans as his wife Krystle; Jack Coleman as Blake and Alexis' earnest son Steven; Gordon Thomson as Blake and Alexis' eldest son Adam; John James as Blake's former son-in-law Jeff Colby; Pamela Bellwood as Steven's wife, Claudia; Heather Locklear as Krystle's niece and Steven's ex-wife Sammy Jo; Michael Nader as Alexis' husband Dex Dexter; Catherine Oxenberg as Blake and Alexis' youngest daughter, Amanda; Michael Praed as Amanda's fiancé Prince Michael of Moldavia; Diahann Carroll as Blake's half-sister Dominique Deveraux; Billy Dee Williams as Dominique's husband, Brady Lloyd; Rock Hudson as Sammy Jo's biological father, Daniel Reece; Ali MacGraw as photographer Lady Ashley Mitchell; and Joan Collins as Alexis Colby, Blake's ex-wife and the mother of Adam, Fallon, Steven and Amanda. The season also introduced recast Emma Samms as Blake and Alexis' daughter Fallon.

Development

Driven by the new head writer and producer Camille Marchetta, who had devised the wildly successful "Who Shot J.R.?" scenario on Dallas five years earlier, Dynasty hit #1 in the fifth season.[1][2] During the season, Dynasty attracted controversy when Rock Hudson's real-life HIV-positive status was revealed after a romantic storyline between his character Daniel Reece and Evans' Krystle. Hudson's scenes required him to kiss Evans and, as news that he had contracted AIDS broke, there was speculation Evans would be at risk.[3] The event led to a Screen Actors Guild rule requiring the notification of performers in advance of any scenes that require open-mouth kissing.[4]

Undoubtedly the most famous Dynasty cliffhanger is the so-called "Moldavian Massacre" which occurs in the May 15, 1985 fifth-season finale. Amanda and Prince Michael's royal wedding is interrupted by terrorists during a military coup in Moldavia, riddling the chapel with bullets and leaving all of the major characters lying seemingly lifeless. Esther Shapiro later said, "It was a fairy-tale terrorist attack. It was beautifully shot, like a Goya painting."[5] It became the most talked-about episode of any TV series during the calendar year of 1985, with a viewership of 25.9 million.[6][7] In 2011, Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly named it one of the seven "Unforgettable Cliff-Hangers" of prime time dramatic television.[8]

Plot

In the story, Alexis is exonerated for Mark's murder and her secret daughter Amanda comes to Denver and discovers that Blake is her father. Steven has married Claudia but leaves her for another man, and Claudia starts an affair with Adam. The marriage of Blake and Krystle is in crisis after the birth of their daughter Krystina; Dominique struggles to be accepted as a Carrington, and loses her husband Brady Lloyd in the process; and Sammy Jo discovers she is the heiress to a huge fortune. At the end of the season, an amnesiac Fallon reappears while the rest of the family go to Europe for the wedding of Amanda and Prince Michael of Moldavia.

Cast

Cast notes
  1. Evans also plays Krystle's look-a-like Rita Lesley for 4 episodes starting from "Photo Finish" (ep. 5.23).
  2. Locklear appears only in "Disappearance" (ep. 5.1), "The Rescue" (ep. 5.4), "Photo Finish" (ep. 5.23), "Sammy Jo" (ep. 5.26), "The Heiress" (ep. 5.28) and "Royal Wedding" (ep. 5.29).
  3. Oxenberg is added to the opening credits from "Amanda" (ep. 4.7).
  4. Williams appears only in "Disappearance" (ep. 5.1), "The Mortgage" (ep. 5.2), "Amanda" (ep. 5.7), "The Avenger" (ep. 5.13) and "Triangles" (ep. 5.17).
  5. Praed appears in the opening credits from "The Ball" (ep. 5.18), except for "The Collapse" (ep. 5.20) or "Life and Death" (ep. 5.21).
  6. Samms first appears as a guest star in "Kidnapped" (ep. 5.27) before being added to the opening credits for "Royal Wedding" (ep. 5.29).
  7. MacGraw and Hudson are credited as "special guest star". Hudson appears on a semi-regular basis from "The Holiday Spirit" (ep. 5.12) to "Sammy Jo" (ep. 5.26), missing the occasional episode. McGraw appears from "Foreign Relations" (ep. 5.16), except for "Triangles" (ep. 5.17).
  8. Carroll appears on a semi-regular basis, missing the occasional episode.

Episodes

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Reception

In season five, Dynasty was ranked #1 in the United States with a 25.0 Nielsen rating.[1][2]

References

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    Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (October 2007). "Top-Rated Programs by Season". The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present (9th ed.). pp. 1689–1692. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.
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    Harmetz, Aljean (October 31, 1985). "A Rule on Kissing Scenes and AIDS". The New York Times. Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 14, 2015. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
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