You Can’t Not Watch Knots Landing on Amazon Prime

Here’s a fun fact to blow your minds: Yes, technically, Knots Landing is a spin-off from mega-hit Dallas. Gary Ewing is the middle brother of JR and Bobby Ewing, who made one appearance on the Mother Ship show, played by David Ackroyd before Ted Shackelford took over the role for the next decade-plus.

But the original KL concept pre-dated Dallas. It was supposed to be an American version of the Swedish series Scenes From a Marriage by Ingemar Bergman (yeah, the director who also had Death playing chess on the beach in black and white). That series didn’t get picked up. But when CBS wanted a Dallas spin-off, Lorimar made one of the characters a Ewing, and we were off to the races! You can watch the entire series from the start right here on Amazon Prime. Here’s why you should definitely do that.

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More People, More Romance

Dallas, Falcon Crest, and Dynasty all started with one core family and a second antagonist family. Sometimes, the two families were already related, but they all intertwined quickly, and then everyone was related to everyone else. This made romantic prospects sticky since practically everybody on the canvas was an ex or, even worse, a cousin.

KL avoided that problem by starting with multiple families. They didn’t focus on an industry but on a cul-de-sac, which means the main folks were neighbors but NOT relatives. Good call, show!

Girl Power

Like Dynasty getting a shot in the arm with Joan Collins’s second-season appearance, KL perked up with the arrival of Donna Mills (General Hospital, Madeline) also in the first season’s episode 2, and, in the last episode of season seven, with the appearance of the daughter Mac (Kevin Dobson) never knew he had, Paige, played by Nicolette Sheridan.

But what made KL unique was that it wasn’t just bad girls. (Yes, Dallas had angelic Pam, but the rest were pretty devilish.) From the first episode to the last, Karen (Michelle Lee) was a good girl who once passionately defended her right to see the world through rose-colored glasses.

We Knew Them Then

And then there are the guest stars, everyone from a very young Alec Baldwin (Joshua) to the grand dame of the American theater, Julie Harris (LiliMae). Also keep your eyes peeled for Halle Barry (pre-Oscar), Karen Allen (pre-Raiders of the Lost Arc), Brain Austin Green ((pre-Beverley Hills 90210… and marriage to Vanessa Marcil), Marcia Cross (pre-Melrose Place and Desperate Housewives), and three GH stars, Jane Elliot (Tracy), Doug Sheehan (Joe), and Sam Behrens (Jake)!