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 Holabird AdvocateProviding all the news we see fit to print since 2002!Wednesday, June 02, 2010 Not too long ago I saw that CBS ( pronounced See BS) was bringing back "Hawaii Five-O" for next fall. I've also heard that Conan O' Brien has a new show in which he hopes to "Bring Back Hee-Haw". While I applaud both of these efforts, there is one genre that needs to make a comeback- The Nightsoap. "Peyton Place" was the first successful Nighttime Serial Drama. It was imitated, but not quite duplicated. Then "Dallas" came along. After CBS pulled their "Who Shot JR?" stunt, nightsoaps were the in thing. Every network has at least one of them, but only one came close, and some may say surpassed the Ewings of Dallas. That would be the Carringtons of Denver. As I mentioned yesterday, I've been watching reruns of "Dynasty" online, and I must say that show was quite daring. It was the first show to display the filthy rich in all of their decadence. Blake Carrington's 48 room mansion dwarfed the Southfork ranch house. It must have also been shocking to have a gay person played completely straight (that is-not for laughs a la Billy Crystal in "Soap") as Steven Carrington was. Blake's daughter Fallon made Lucy Ewing look like a Sunday School Teacher. I'm just now getting reacquainted with Alexis BC (before Colby) in the second season. The term "guilty pleasure" is used when talking about this show, for good reason. It is not the kind of show people should enjoy, but they did, and still can, just as I do. A lot of the issue dealt with on "Dynasty" are still being dealt with today. America's dependence on foreign oil for a start. Poor Blake lost most of his fortune and was reduced to living on a paltry $200 million (must have been rough) when his company was forcibly removed from a country in the Persian Gulf. Any resemblance to Iran could have been intentional, since the show began shortly before the Reagan presidency. With the Enron mess behind us, and the BP mess still in the headlines, petroleum based energy still makes for good drama. Don't get me wrong, I grew up watching "Dallas", but Bobby and JR had a more common touch. Perhaps it was because they lived on a ranch. Blake was rich, powerful, and didn't care who knew it. None of the Ewings had a limo, or a driver. Blake did! He was a bit of a control freak too! The best thing about these shows is that it showed me that while I did have my problems, rich folks don't have it too easy either. Compared to the Ewings and Carringtons, my life is pretty much worry free. But then who wants to watch me on TV! As Hank JR sang it "This ain't Dallas, this ain't Dynasty". I have something better!
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