All language subtitles for TV.We.Love.S01E06.1080p.WEB.h264-EDITH_track3_[eng]

[narrator]
The golden age of television.

I Love Lucy didn't just change
American television,

it invented
American television.

[narrator]
Back when one screen

brought everyone together.

Watching television
was a family event.

[narrator]
The shows that shaped us.

[Gary Cole] The Brady Bunch
was part of the American soul.

-It's timeless.
-[narrator] The familiar faces.

[Bob Costas] Ralph Kramden
was loved on The Honeymooners.

-Pow! Right in the kisser.
-He was a presence.

[narrator]
The unforgettable moments.

Dynasty captured
the essence

of what the 1980s
were about in America.

[narrator]
These are their stories.

[Jeff Zucker]
Cheers is the pinnacle

of how great
the sitcom can be.

[narrator]
This is TV We Love.

[retro piano playing]

[narrator] It's 1981,
Reagan is sworn into office

and ushers
in a whole new era for America.

This decade,
it's called interruption,

was probably epitomized
by Dynasty.

[Jim Colucci] Dynasty could not
have been more perfectly timed.

[narrator]
Bigger, bolder, brasher,

and unapologetically '80s.

I require one bedroom
for my wardrobe

and one for myself.

Dynasty also starred
powerful women.

They looked great
and they dressed great.

[narrator] The country
becomes Dynasty obsessed...

[announcer] Joan Collins
is one of the most photographed

and written about people
in the world.

[narrator] ...as it morphs
into a cultural phenomenon.

[Catherine Oxenberg]
100 million people a week

globally watch the show.

[Gordon Thomson]
The world was Dynasty mad.

[Jim] The early '80s were
an interesting time.

Primetime soaps were
a relatively new phenomenon.

Dallas is
an enormous breakthrough

in that it brings the idea of
the continuing storyline

to primetime television
in a hit show.

All the other networks,
the two other networks,

I should say, NBC and ABC,

wanted their own version
of Dallas.

Where do we get
one of those?

ABC went to Aaron Spelling
and said,

"Give me a Dallas."

Aaron Spelling was
a mega hit producer

who worked on shows
like Charlie's Angels,

Fantasy Island.

He really figured out
the formula

for nighttime soap operas.

ABC knew how important
Aaron Spelling was.

And certainly, he was

one of the most important
producers of that era.

Esther Shapiro and her husband

brought a script to Aaron
and he said,

"I think
we can really work with this."

Dallas was already
on the air.

They were on a ranch,
they wore ranch clothes.

But Aaron wanted this
totally elegant.

We began thinking of a series
that had everything

that you're not supposed to put
on television.

Rich people, the Midwest,

older women particularly,

strong, powerful,
lots of business,

entrepreneur, greed, opulence.

At one time,
the title of the show was "Oil".

We talked about that a lot.

Lo and behold,
the Shapiros came up

with a title called Dynasty
that I just loved.

I think
that said everything.

They did
a tremendous job.

We worked together,

but I give full credit
for Dynasty to them.

When Dynasty premiered,
I really remarked

on quite how different
it was from Dallas.

It really was
this upstairs-downstairs drama

focusing on
the ultra-wealthy Carringtons

who were led
by Blake Carrington,

an oil tycoon.

[Jim]
The storytelling, which I found,

was so ratcheted up
on Dynasty.

It's more verbal,
it's more visual,

it just was
more catchy.

[Dynasty theme song playing]

[Pamela Sue Martin]
My agent sent me the script

for the pilot.

I said, well, "I don't really
want to do television."

I envisioned myself as having
a film career at that time.

And he said,
"Oh, it's just a pilot,

just do it,
it won't be any big deal.

And sell me into
the harem of a sheep

for three barrels of crude
and a box of cigars.

[Al Corley] The audition
was like a film audition.

They had it at a soundstage,
they had a real film camera,

they had a director,
it was a big deal.

Got a call late that day
and said,

"You got the part,
playing Steven Carrington."

I also said, you know,
"I'm rich," you know,

because I was making, like,
I don't know,

300 bucks a week
doing theater.

It's like, wow, okay.

I can eat better.

They said, "We're picking you up
for 13 shows.

And we're shooting
a three-hour pilot."

It's like
a three-hour pilot?

We barely shot
one-hour pilots.

I show up,
we shoot the whole thing

with George Peppard
as my father.

[Pamela] George Peppard
played my father initially.

He wasn't getting along
with the producers

or maybe perhaps seemed
sort of demanding.

It was nuts,
it was difficult.

It was
a very odd situation.

[Gordon] George Peppard
was a pain in the ass.

[Candy Spelling] George
was not the team player.

[John James]
I introduced myself.

He looked at me
and went...

[imitating blowing out
cigarette smoke]

That's what he said.

And the next thing I know,

he was being replaced
with John Forsythe.

You got to come back and
shoot all those scenes again.

John Forsythe was
certainly well-known

to the Spelling Company

and was well-known
to viewers

as the voice of Charlie
on Charlie's Angels.

-Good morning, angels.
-[all] Good morning, Charlie.

And so, they had a relationship
with John Forsythe,

who is
the perfect choice.

John Forsythe,
as Blake Carrington,

brought sort of an icy steel
to his character

and was very much
in command.

You do something
about it.

And don't bother me again
with this business

until it's finished.

Whereas Linda Evans
as Krystle,

a little more warm,
a little more embracing.

I married Blake
because I love him.

And because
I want to make him happy.

And together,
they just were this glamorous,

iconic couple that
you really enjoyed watching

and seeing the yin and the yang
between the two.

I love you even more tomorrow
than I did yesterday.

I love you too, darling.

Linda Evans is just
such a lovely person.

She had
her own personality,

she had
the angelic white blonde hair.

She practically glowed
with goodness.

We are introduced
to this world

really through Krystle's eyes.

She was like
a young employee

who fell in love
with Blake.

[ceremonial tone playing]

The show begins
with the marriage

of Blake and Krystle.

And their romance
really is

the ultimate through-line
of the whole show.

I will.

It came on in mid-season,
as they called it then,

in January of 1981.

It was the week of
the presidential

inauguration with Reagan.

I, Ronald Reagan,
do solemnly swear

that I will faithfully
execute the office

of President
of the United States.

[Dynasty theme song playing]

And here comes this show
that is big and bold

and over-the-top
and is going to end up embodying

what we associate with Reaganism
and with the '80s.

Dynasty is very much
a reflection

of the Reagan era
and conspicuous consumption

and, you know,
Wall Street and Gordon Gekko.

Read it right.

This decade,
it's called interruption,

was probably epitomized
by Dynasty.

[Jeff] I love Dynasty,

and I am not afraid
to admit that.

I think it captured
the essence

of what the 1980s
were about in America.

[Jim] Dynasty could not
have been more perfectly timed.

It was a way
to just escape

into this insane world

of conspicuous consumption
and money.

Dynasty was not a white-hot hit
when it premiered.

It did okay,

and ABC obviously
was being patient with it.

Number 26 in the ratings
is not the worst place to be.

It's just not the top 20 where
you're really guaranteed safe.

I actually was on set a lot
in the beginning.

The sets on Dynasty
were incredible.

Everything had to be
beautiful, opulent,

what old Hollywood was.

The caviar on set
was generally real.

Mm-hmm,
it's excellent caviar.

[Jack Coleman]
The flowers were all real.

They'd throw a spread
on camera,

which was cracked crab,

and it would all be real,
and you could eat it.

And tiny new potatoes
with sour cream and caviar.

I was
a very new director.

I had
barely directed anything.

I don't think
I'd ever had caviar

before I did the show.

It was the first time
I'd ever tasted caviar.

Real crystal,
real chandeliers.

I have one of them in my house,
by the way.

Real everything.

We had, you know,
Brink's people on set

with some of the diamonds
and the jewels and the furs,

and, you know, that was back
when furs were real furs.

The first episode they gave me
was insane

because the episode
was surrounding

a huge birthday party
for one of the kids.

And it was at a Pasadena estate,
and there were literally

maybe 200 people there,
extras, jugglers, clown people,

and I freaked out
when I read the script.

"Oh, my God,
how am I gonna get this?"

But John Forsythe came up to me,
and he said,

"This is amazing,
we love you, this is great."

And I thought,
"Okay, I got through day one.

If it gets any bigger,
you're going to have to rent

-the convention center downtown.
-I've thought of that.

-Or my football field.
-[Krystle laughing]

It was campy, it was fun,
it was costumes.

Can I drop you off somewhere?

No. I have a date.

I think if you look
at daytime soaps

or nighttime soaps,

they all have
a little camp in them.

I married you because
I made a deal with the devil.

I asked you to wear
the emerald necklace tonight.

It was a big gay thing,
the gay community loved it.

I'm trying to find myself,
to sort out my life.

The phrase used to be,
"I love you."

I love Dynasty
because of the dichotomy.

Obviously, it's campy,

it's flashy, it's fabulous,

but it also is
a very serious drama.

Don't try to deny it,
Blake Carrington.

You had him beat up,
and I know it.

If I did or I didn't,
that's no concern of yours.

Some of the issues
that the show tackled

were reproductive rights.

Your abortion is set
for Tuesday.

A message
I took for you.

Pick up the phone
and cancel it!

[Derrik J. Lang]
Gay rights.

I'm gay,
and I want you to face it.

We pitched some very touching
subject matter.

I didn't ever see
a gay character

on television until then.

The character of Steven
was a seminal moment

in television for gay men.

What I am is somebody
who's in love with a person.

My interest was,

that's something
that I haven't seen,

how am I going
to do that?

I thought it was special.

If you ever really loved me
the way I loved you,

you'll understand.

I think that
without Steven,

without Dynasty,

their gay representation
on television

would have definitely
been slower.

Steven is gay.

I got a lot of fan mail
from gay men

who said, you know,

"When I saw your show,
finally, there was a voice."

Finally, there was someone
that I could relate to."

-Take care, buddy.
-You too, buddy.

At the end of the first season,
Blake Carrington

attacks Steven Carrington's
male lover,

Ted Dinard.

-Get your hands off my son.
-Dad, we were--

I said,
get your hands off him!

No, no!

[rod clanks]

[dramatic tone playing]

[Derrik] And kills him.

You've killed him.

The storyline of my father
killing my lover...

which was accidental,
or was it?

And that's sort of
the play on it.

I think it was a way
to get into a court scene.

People of the state of Colorado
versus Blake Carrington.

Steven Carrington, my character,
had to make a choice

to defend his father

or defend myself
and my right to be gay.

Blake's kind of the villain
in that story.

It made me confused
as a viewer.

"Wait, am I supposed
to like this guy?"

Because he's saying
bad things to Steven,

and yet he's so innately likable
even when he's doing it.

They wanted me to be a J.R.
in Dallas figure,

and I was opposed to that.

The show needed a villain.

Uh-oh, Blake's not bad enough.
Who do we get?

Your Honor,
our witness has arrived.

This was going to be the villain
for the '80s.

Let's find somebody really big,
really good.

The hat arrived first.

[dramatic tone playing]

[whimsical tone playing]

What's she doing here,
what's going on?

In the courtroom scene,
when Alexis walks in

for the very first time,
it's actually an extra.

My God,
that's my mother.

There was
going to be either

Elizabeth Taylor,
Sophia Loren,

that Aaron had wanted
to play Alexis.

Sophia Loren's husband

came to meet with me
in the office.

Then he heard
that we shot, like,

eight pages a day.

He said, well,
we don't do that in a week, so.

They turned it down,
and it became Joan Collins.

[Candy] I'll tell you
about Joan Collins.

The network did not
want her.

He had to fight really hard
for her.

She had done some,
a few B movies.

Aaron really fought
for Joan.

You know, and Joan comes in,
and is this just absolute boss,

and I don't know that
we'd ever seen the boss bitch

done quite like that
on network television.

Would you state
your full name, please?

Alexis Morell Carrington.

You were
the first wife

of the defendant,
Blake Carrington.

You're the mother of his
children, is that correct?

Yes, it is.

When I saw her do
the first scene,

it was just perfect.

There were threats made.

Something about
how my children

might not recognize me
if I tried to see them.

Joan just took that character
and just ran with it.

When I need a trump card,
I'm going to play it.

Joan just liked
hurling barbs at people.

Still the impotent boyar.

Verbal assaults.

You double-crossing scum.

She was absolutely brilliant
at it.

-You bitch!
-Shh!

You're beginning to sound
more and more like a fishwife.

The whole idea

of bringing Joan Collins in
with that accent.

There are two Mrs. Colbys now,
you know.

The way she wore clothes
and that feeling she had,

it was
just perfect casting.

You're even more beautiful
and more ugly

than that grand English lady
I vaguely remember.

Joan Collins obviously added
a huge element to Dynasty

once she arrived
and became

one of the best villains
in television history.

I'm glad to see that your father
had your teeth fixed,

if not your tongue.

And she played
my real mother.

-Hello, Stephen.
-Hello.

Who is that person?

Who is that character?
Who is that actress?

People always went,
"What's Joan Collins,

is she really a bitch?"
No, she's not.

She can be,
but she's fundamentally not.

Soap operas have to cheat
their storytelling so often

because if you want
to cast an actor,

a hot young actor, well,
who's that actor going to play?

A long-lost child.

You're my son.

[Gordon] I remember
doing my screen test,

and she had just emerged
from the stage door.

"Hello, Miss Collins,
I'm Gordon Thompson."

Thinking back on it,
it's astonishing

that one of
the enormous stars of this

now very successful show,
series,

was going to do
a screen test

with a complete unknown.

One of my lines was...

My real name...

is Adam Alexander Carrington.

It was
an enormous treat.

So you'd think I would know
that "You got the job."

It went very well.

It's a welcome home gift,
darling.

[Mark Zunino] When I started,
I was really a gopher.

I was terrified
of Joan.

Before I had even met her,
I was told

to go in her dressing room
with sketches,

sitting in her dressing room,

and she came off set,
not in the best of moods,

and I was there,
and she turned around,

and she started screaming,
and I'm trying to tell her,

"I'm here
to show you sketches,"

but she kept screaming
and screaming.

All of a sudden,
the door flew open,

and it was Heather Locklear,
and I said,

"I'm here to see Joan
and show her sketches,"

and she said,
"Honey, Joan's not here today,

it's only Alexis."

You don't love Joan.

You're kind of
a little afraid of Joan,

but you're fascinated
by Joan.

Dynasty was not a huge hit
until Alexis showed up.

I do as I please.

I always have,
and I always will.

It was interesting to see it
suddenly go,

you know what, we've kind of
found our lane here,

and our lane is not
kitchen sink drama.

It's opera.

[Alexis grunts]

If you want a rematch,
just whistle.

We have to talk about

Alexis and Krystle's
big cat fight

that went right
into the lily pond.

Oh, you miserable bitch!

[dramatic tone playing]

Once Dynasty established

that there would be physical
cat fights between women,

that was something audiences
were tuning in for.

Will this week be one of
the weeks where they, you know,

Alexis and Krystle dive
into the lily pond?

Oh, no, no.

They were wet constantly,
like drenched,

and I know it wasn't easy
for them,

but watching it
was just so much fun.

Linda was very physical
and loved fighting,

and Joan was not.

With the cat fights,
I think they were like a drug,

and next week's cat fight
has to be that much crazier.

You have to up the dosage of
that drug for the audience

to make it stand out.

There were many cat fights
on Dynasty.

I did one of them.

They went down
a muddy hill

and then fought
in mud.

You stupid bitch!

Look what you've done
to this outfit!

A lot of people
that watched the show,

and knowing that
there were Chanel suits,

there was Nolan Miller suits,
there were dresses,

but we never, never, ever

put a Nolan Miller suit
in mud.

So rest assured, yes,
the suits were safe.

I'd rather concentrate
on your outfit.

It's rather becoming.

Nolan Miller was one of, really,

one of the superstars
of Dynasty,

whether people knew his name
at the time or not.

Nolan Miller had come
to Hollywood in the '50s.

The most auspicious thing
that happened to him

and happened to Aaron Spelling
is that they met each other,

and they formed
this partnership.

His dream was to be a couturier,
and so I said,

"Well, if I ever get a show,

we'll do
some costumes together."

Nolan and Aaron's
first big,

successful collaboration was
The Love Boat.

It was an excuse for Nolan

to really swing
for the fences

and really design
his dream gowns,

and so, by the time Dynasty
came around in 1981,

The Love Boat had been on
for three seasons.

They were revving at top gear
right from the start of Dynasty.

When I first started with Nolan,
it was crazy

because nobody ever
gave a budget.

When I went fabric shopping
or sourcing things,

you know,
do I have a limit

of how much
I can spend, no.

The budget started out,

when I first was there,

at $15,000 a week,

and then,
I was always over budget,

and it was a problem,
and Aaron talked to me,

so he raised it
to $25,000 a week.

You don't care what they spend,
it's a dream come true.

You come in, and they've got
the finest everything

for you to choose
what you want to wear.

Aaron, he was a master
at detail.

If an extra walked by
and had the same color on

as one of the principals,

he absolutely would have
to reshoot this.

There's been no show

that I did before, during,
or after

that has ever had a budget
like that for a wardrobe.

The clothes literally became
one of the stars of the show.

[dynamic music playing]

[Jim] The '80s happened to be
an explosion of fashion

that Dynasty helped happen
with those Nolan Miller designs.

The shoulder pads and the hair
got bigger and bigger and bigger

as they tried
to outdo themselves

and be more
and more glam

and more and more
aspirational.

They were couture,
real haute couture.

I salivated
over those clothes.

The clothes
were sensational.

[indistinct] was
so damn glamorous. [laughs]

One of the fascinations
about Dynasty

that causes
millions of people

to watch every week
is the fashion.

[Mark] In the whole running
of the show,

the clothing were the only thing
that actually won an Emmy.

No actor ever won an Emmy,

but Nolan won an Emmy
for wardrobe.

If you think about it,
the cast of Dynasty

were basically influencers.

[woman] They'll be able to dress
like the characters of Dynasty,

smell like the characters
of Dynasty,

and make their homes
look like it.

[announcer]
Dynasty star Joan Collins

has her own
jewelry collection.

Nolan was asked numerously

to create
retail fashion lines.

[announcer]
After the show began,

Miller started receiving
thousands of letters

asking where viewers
could buy

the same kind of clothes
on the show.

He finally recreated a line
for Bloomingdale's,

which was epic.

[announcer]
He made 101 classic outfits

from the hit series available
to high fashion fans everywhere.

[Mark]
It was chaos at the store

when they debuted
the collection.

The characters,

they had all shown up,
all the actors.

It really was something.

I really think that Dynasty
got it right

in that it embraced
the femaleness of it all.

They wisely knew
who their audience was

and who was watching.

[Al] The role of women
on Dynasty

was an important issue.

Almost from the beginning,
they looked great

and they dressed great.

They weren't in the kitchen

or taking the kids to school
or taking them to soccer games.

It wasn't really until Dynasty
that we had seen women

in very powerful roles

as CEOs of companies.

If I do not get
that approval,

I shall fire you all
on the spot.

Don't think that just because
Blake Carrington isn't here

that I won't be keeping
an eye on you.

Every one of you.

You are now working for me.

I suppose they call it a bitch
because it's a woman.

If it was a man,
they would call it

a very dedicated career person
who's strong and forceful.

But because it's a woman,
they call her a bitch.

What do you want,
Miss Deveraux?

For now,
not much really.

When Diahann Carroll
joined Dynasty

as Dominique Deveraux...

From now on,
every deal you make,

every step you take,

turn and look over
your shoulder

because sooner or later,
I will be standing there.

She broke the glass ceiling
to some degree

in representation especially
of Black wealth and opulence.

You're suing me.

Exactly.

And bringing a whole new level
of storytelling to Dynasty

that we hadn't seen before

on that show or, really,
in television.

Women are interested
in seeing women look beautiful

and be powerful
and be smart.

Joan was the first woman
at age 50

that was put on the cover
of Playboy magazine.

Hugh Hefner approached her.

She nervously said yes,
did it,

and so, it really was
a new chapter for women.

And it was about a whole
resurgence of beautiful women.

[announcer] Joan Collins
is one of the most photographed

and written about people
in the world.

[Michael] It really morphed
into a cultural phenomenon.

[Catherine Oxenberg]
We loved the fact that

we were on the magazine covers

and everybody
was talking about the show

and that we felt
we were invincible.

100 million people a week
globally watched the show.

The visibility was huge.

[Michael] The world
was Dynasty mad.

Dynasty and Dallas became
era-defining hits

and were alternating with,
you know,

who could be number one
and who could be number two

in the primetime lineup.

[announcer] ABC's soap opera
Dynasty finished

on top of the Nielsen ratings
last week.

Nobody ever dreamt, I think,
in their wildest dreams

it was going to be
as successful.

-Dynasty!
-Dynasty.

Thank you very much.

I want to thank Sophia Loren
for turning down the part.

[audience applauding]

-And thank you very much indeed.
-Very, very grateful.

The parties they threw
got fancier.

The hair got bigger,
the shoulder pads got bigger,

the cars got fancier.

[reporter]
Up over the mountain to Encino,

to the hot club
where a big party was going on.

They had Dynasty parties
on the night that Dynasty showed

and they'd all watch it together
and scream at the same scenes.

What gave you the idea
to throw the party?

There was this whole kind of
thing going on in America

of everybody having Dynasty
parties on Wednesday night.

You know, if so-and-so says
a certain line,

you know,
you got to chug a beer.

Everybody sort of got
into this sort of Dynasty fever

and we would all go
to gay bars

in West Hollywood
the night of the show,

and it was great

because we sort of saw it
with the fans.

I think
one of the downsides

of Dynasty becoming
a huge success

is that there was
a lot more pressure on the show

to become more mainstream
and shy away

from some of the more
controversial storylines,

and as a result,
they pulled back quite a bit

from some of those storylines

that were real landmarks
of Dynasty early on.

Where would you like me
to put the money?

Come on, don't tell me this is
your first time with a hooker.

No, it wasn't.

It's interesting,
the early episodes of Dynasty,

they were
a lot grittier.

I wanted you to be
a man.

I am a man,
just not your kind.

Dynasty became
a bit of a different show.

It was
less about business,

it was less about
the gritty storylines.

Behind the scenes,

there was always
a lot of discussion

about how gay Steven could be.

They had a hard time,
for whatever reason,

committing to Steven
just being completely gay.

You said to me
that it made you sick,

me putting my hands
on another man.

Okay, I'm putting them
on women.

I remember being on the set,
across the table in the scene

with my gay lover,

and I reached over

and I was going
to just put my hand

on his hand in the scene.

And someone from ABC came over
and said,

"You can't do that."

I said, "What do you mean?"

And by the way,

"If you're going
to hug him,

you have to either be saying
goodbye or hello."

That was surprising to me,

it caught me off guard
as an actor.

-Hi.
-Hi.

How do you have
an out gay character

who can only maybe, like,
touch and hug his partners?

So, they started exploring

his relationships
with other characters,

specifically female characters.

I'm Sammy Jo Dean,
Krystle Carrington's niece.

They decided
to make him bisexual,

and they made him,
he got married to Sammy Jo,

Heather Locklear.

You missed
a really big opportunity here.

Now it's like he's gay,
he's not gay,

you know,
and it's redundant as an actor.

If you're not willing
to go in

and go a little bit
below the surface,

even in a soap opera,

what's the point of
the character?

So I was really disappointed,
to be quite honest.

When I showed
my unhappiness

with where the character
was going,

and I think they just said,
you know, "Okay, well, fine."

I said, "Okay, fine,"
that was it.

He didn't appreciate that,
didn't think it was right,

and as a result,
ultimately, left the show.

[announcer] Steven was
first played by Al Corley,

but when the actor complained
about the show,

he was killed off, then
brought back by Jack Coleman.

Good evening, Ben.

You are trying to visualize
what you will look like?

I was on the phone
with my mother,

and all of a sudden,

the operator came in, said,

"We have an emergency phone call
from Howard Goldberg, my agent,"

and he said,
"You got it."

He was on that unfortunate rig
in the China Sea

where there's the explosion,

and Steven went from Al to me.

Are you ready
for a look?

Thank you, Dr. Chen,

for giving me a face
I'll be able to live with.

As you do,
you survive an oil rig fire,

and you come back
with a new face.

The immaculate surgery,

and facial reconstruction
without a scar,

and perfectly coiffed hair,
I might add.

Steven!

That was maybe one
of the most Dynasty things

of all Dynasty things.

You know,
I thought it was pretty silly,

but under the circumstances,

the character was popular
in certain areas,

so they really
couldn't kill him off.

What did end up happening
with Steven is he did end up

getting watered down,
and I can't imagine

that it was not the case
that the timing

of the HIV-AIDS epidemic
had a lot to do with it.

A mystery disease
known as "The Gay Plague"

has become an epidemic
unprecedented

in the history
of American medicine.

The first reports I ever saw,
and I think that ever aired,

about something that was
then called GRID,

gay-related immunodeficiency,
were in 1981.

[announcer]
When AIDS was first discovered

more than two years ago,

it was sometimes called
"The Gay Plague".

That's because virtually all of
the victims were homosexual.

GRID became named HIV-AIDS.

[reporter]
It appeared a year ago

in New York's gay community.

[Jim] Suddenly,
gay sex was dangerous.

Gay romance
led to something dangerous,

and we had to pull back,
we were all afraid.

[announcer]
70% of its victims are gay men.

[announcer 2] The deadly disease
has been mostly striking

homosexual men.

Thousands of people
in this country have AIDS.

This is not a political issue,
this is a health issue.

This is not a gay issue,
this is a human issue.

The irony is that Dynasty
would eventually be at the heart

of that controversy of HIV-AIDS
with its Rock Hudson storyline.

Rock Hudson
was cast on the show,

and it was
in the middle of AIDS.

I have a rule.

I never go after anything
that can't be taken.

Does that rule hold
only for companies,

or does it apply to wives
as well?

Rock came on the set,
and first of all,

I was thrilled to be working
with him.

He was sick at the time,

and I felt very bad.

He was very thin.

We certainly knew early on
in the show

that something was not right
with him,

and he was very weak
and very gaunt and pale.

[Michael]
In Dynasty, there were scenes

where Rock Hudson's character

kisses Krystle,
Linda Evans' character.

I don't think Rock Hudson
had come out as gay

or that he had AIDS
at the time.

Mr. Rock Hudson
had acquired

immune deficiency syndrome,

which was diagnosed
over a year ago.

We were told by
a lot of medical people

that AIDS could be transmitted
that way by kissing,

and I was just so scared
for Linda.

When it came out
that Rock Hudson, you know,

had AIDS and that he had kissed
Linda Evans on Dynasty...

I think everybody wondered
why he would do that.

In those days,
no one knew a damn thing

about AIDS,
and it was panic time.

I don't sense a feeling of panic
on the soundstage,

but I think
it's very frightening

how people are taking this.

The way she handled it
in the press was

the way she handled it
in private,

and she just said,
"I'm not worried about that."

Linda Evans was an enormously
good sport about it.

She took his side.

I think
she was incredibly courageous

in showing the world how to be--
I'm tearing up,

in how to be gracious
about this disease

and not be freaked out
and not blame or stigmatize

someone who had
the disease.

[announcer] As for Rock,
his role on Dynasty

would prove to be his last.

He returned home from Paris,
and in a matter of weeks,

the one-time robust and powerful
screen legend was gone.

I just recently realized
that he died

the same year that
he was working on our show.

I think
it was really important.

We were hobnobbing
with high-ranking members

of the Republican Party
in a way that...

you know,
it couldn't be ignored.

You know, Ronald Reagan
didn't mention the word AIDS

until I think year seven
of his eight years in office.

We will, I will, do all that
God gives us the power to do

to find a cure for AIDS.

In a way, it actually educated
the public a little bit more

and brought this conversation
to the forefront

as people were just learning
what it meant to

both be HIV-positive and
also be contracted with AIDS.

I'm very proud of the work
that Dynasty accidentally did

on the HIV-AIDS front.

I'm worried about you being out
in that kind of a world.

You are
talking about AIDS, right?

I'm talking about a disease
that kills.

Dad, I'm as aware
of the problem as you are.

Dynasty stayed on top
for as many years as it did

by being bigger, bolder,
brasher.

[dramatic tone playing]

Oh, my God!

It was strange,
it was almost like

as it started climbing
into this great success,

it became a campy version
of itself.

So, a storyline
that might have played out

in season one,
is going to be amped up

if you're doing anything like it
in season six.

I knew her.

It was totally over the top,
and it knew it.

Earnest
in its over-the-top-ness.

Bitch!

My favourite example
of this,

I think it was called
"The Royal Wedding".

Sun will shine
on a happy bride after all.

Amanda Carrington, brilliantly
played by Catherine Oxenberg,

she's getting married
to the Prince of Moldavia.

There is apparently unrest
in the kingdom,

and there are terrorists who
want to take down the monarchy,

and what better place to do that
but at Amanda's wedding?

-I thee wed.
-Let us pray in peace.

[gunshots booming]

-[guests screaming]
-Protect the King!

Amanda!

[indistinct]

"Who Shot J.R." had been done
five years earlier

and was celebrated

as one of the great stunts
of all time.

[gunshots booming]

So "Who Shot J.R." had been
a brilliant moment

in American television.

[gunshots booming]

Dynasty, we'll top that.

We're going to end
the season

with who shot
the entire cast of Dynasty.

Take that, Dallas.

There is
almost a pyramid-like

pile of carnage.

And of course,
the next season,

most of them get up
and do one of these things.

No, my wife and my family
are in there.

I've got to get in there.

So, lazy, pulling fast one,

cheating, all horrible things
they do to the audience.

But it was so much
fun while it lasted.

The scripts on Dynasty,
generally speaking,

left something to be desired.

Like, Moldavia?
Where is Aaron Spelling?

He's this wonderful producer,
and he let all this crap happen?

A friend of mine
who was an associate producer

wasn't allowed to say it,
but she told me.

At the writers' meeting,

Esther
and her husband Richard Shapiro,

who invented the show,
writers' meeting,

Esther shows up.

"First person
who laughs is fired.

'Richard has had a vision.

"Aliens."

[cosmic tone playing]

Aliens!

[Gordon]
What a load of [bleep].

Pardon me, pure [bleep].

The idea was ludicrous
and laughable.

I was going crazy
with some of those scripts

and with
some of those plot lines.

I just thought
they were awful.

When we got into aliens,

that felt
pretty sharky-jumpy.

-It destroyed the show.
-It had competition, too.

Other shows, of course, newer,
shinier shows came around.

I remember

approaching the set

for some reason
with Aaron,

and he said,
"Well, we're still alive."

I said, "Okay,
I didn't realize we're dying."

I think two weeks later,
we were canceled.

[Alexis screaming]

[gunshots booming]

Blake!

Blake.

Joan Collins was pushed
off a balcony,

Linda Evans was in a coma,
and John Forsythe was shot.

When the show
was abruptly canceled,

angry fans demanded
to know

what happened
to their characters.

I thought it was very unfair
to end the series

with fans,
everybody up in the air.

It would be nice
to end it

with some definitive thing,

to know what happened
to the people,

and to do it with
some kind of dignity.

The ninth season of Dynasty
ended up being the last.

They didn't know that,
so there were still

a lot of loose threads
when the show ended

that eventually
would be resolved

when they did
a reunion miniseries later on.

[announcer] Yes, it's true,
the family you love to watch

stab each other in the back
is back.

They felt they owed it
to the fans

who had watched Dynasty
throughout the years.

It all eventually got resolved
in that reunion special,

which wrapped it up
in a nice bow around a package.

-Hi, Dad.
-Hello, son.

Alexis?

Oh, my God.

Isn't it interesting
that Dynasty stayed on top

for almost exactly the length of
the Reagan administration?

It started in 1981
with the inauguration month,

and it ended in 1989.

The '90s
were about to dawn.

I, George Herbert
Walker Bush,

do solemnly swear.

Maybe we shouldn't be
about greed,

and we shouldn't be
about eating cake for dinner.

[Al]
I look back on it now,

you know, it was
a kind of a cultural thing.

It was a kind of product
of the time.

It was a good show
for what it was.

Richard and Esther Shapiro

made an attempt
to break some ground,

and I think they did.

So, I'm really proud
of that part of it.

It was so intense.

Those nine years
were so amazing.

I wouldn't have given them up
for anything in the world.

It was an extraordinary
thing to experience.

Dynasty has become
somewhat iconic,

and I think I'd quite like
to be remembered

for having given
a lot of people

a lot of pleasure and laughs.

It did not take anything
that seriously,

and I think that's why people
watch television

then and now,
is to escape.

Total escapism,

and also
the American dream.

Come to America,
and you can be a billionaire.

The legacy of Dynasty for me,

obviously, is the fashion.

I wish Nolan
could be here today,

because he would be
so proud.

Having dressed Elizabeth Taylor,
Sophia Loren,

Joan Collins,
is why over time

Julia Roberts,
Angelina Jolie, Beyoncé,

everybody would come to me,
because I was there.

And I owe that to Nolan,
I owe that to Dynasty,

I owe it to Aaron Spelling,
Joan Collins,

I owe it to everybody.

[Derrik]
When you think about history,

there are
lots of dynasties,

that's where the name
comes from.

Like, look at the Kardashians.

They basically are another
version of the Carringtons.

Super successful,
super well-known, rich,

and don't really care
what anybody thinks about them.

Being surrounded
by opulence,

and a dirty martini in
a crystal glass,

and fabulous [bleep] everywhere.

That is definitely leftover
from Dynasty.

Dynasty made it okay
to flaunt your wealth,

made the people
who weren't wealthy think

that's what wealthy people do
and should do.

You literally--
I will literally [bleep] you up.

The idea of the cat fight,
the claws out.

-I asked you something.
-Well, here's your answer.

[both screaming]

I worked
with all the Kardashians,

they love Dynasty.

Kris Jenner lived for Dynasty.

So, you can see that
when you look at

them dressing today

to what was happening
on Dynasty,

it's pretty parallel.

Succession probably owes
a little tip of the hat

to the rich,
miserable people.

Money wins.

[Pamela] Every decade has had
its TV shows

about how messed up
rich people are.

And people love that,
they love that.

Because let's face it, there's
only this many rich people

and everybody else
is in this group.

[Michael] I think
Dynasty's greatest legacy is

when you think the '80s,
you think Dynasty.

This was a show
that was pure Reaganomics.

It was pure greed.

It was pure go-go,
greed is good,

early '80s nonsense

that definitely
doesn't hold up today.

But it's--
it's a fun snapshot

of an era
that's now long past.

[jazz music playing]