Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Before getting this DVD set, I had not seen one episode of "Knots Landing." I'm 21, didn't have any interest in the series but started watching the show it spinned-off from, "Dallas", on DVD and decided to give this a try. Well, I was not disappointed at all. This was, as they hype on the back, the "original desperate housewives." If "Dallas" was about the Ewing men, "Knots Landing" was about the women living in the cul-du-sac in Knots Landing, California, and their men.
Perhaps what made this series so appealing was the women. Yeah, we had seen Joan Van Ark's character on "Dallas" a few times but even on this show she comes off as rather weak and bland. Michelle Lee comes in and owns the show from the first scene she appeared in. It was as if she had been playing the role for years. Her acting is on spot, her expression and feelings made her character and the show something entirely different from "Dallas." Also, Constance McCashin who plays Laura Avery was a surprisingly strong character who really progressed in this short first season; she goes from being a typical at-home housewife to suddenly getting her hand in her household affairs.
"Dallas" is great but it seemed to be for the men. It was about aggressiveness in business, the Ewing brothers feuding, and the women sort of took a back seat. "Knots Landing" was about the entire community. It was nice seeing the families and cast always together, interacting, helping each other out. If one of them had a problem, it became everyone's problem. The show started off great, taking on big issues that common, everyday people seemed to face; pregnancy, education issues, rape, alcoholism, and so on.
It was easy to get into this series. While it felt it took "Dallas" a little while to hit its stride, "Knots Landing" seems to know where it's going from day one. Quality wise, it was a nice transfer to DVD. The show itself is not dated at all. I'd say if you're into shows like "Desperate Housewives" or other primetime soaps and dramas, you'll like this. It has a nice balance of comedy and serious issues. The box is slim, which is nice. I did feel as if the discs were a little strange. The "Dallas" seasons use double-sided discs but these are all one sided. The last two discs have two episodes on them each, which seems like a waste of disc space. Yet, the last disc does have a snipet from the "Knots Landing" reunion that aired on CBS not too long ago. It features Joan Van Ark and Ted Shackelford talking about Gary and Val's relationship throughout the entirety of the show. Be warned, it does spoil some plots of the later seasons.
Rarely do I feel anything is perfect, and while this may have some flaws, the episodes, the acting, the actors and everything about this series completely trumps that and puts this in the rare category of a must have (at least on my lists). Definately check this out; there's a reason this show lasted 14 seasons.
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Knots Landing: The Complete First Season (1979)The second longest running drama in TV history and cultural phenomenon that defined nighttime drama is finally coming to DVD! Dubbed "The Original Desperate Housewives" (William Heck, USAToday), Knots Landing depicts the lives and loves of five suburban families, who live in this always interesting upper-middle class southern California cul-de-sac. DVD Features:Audio CommentaryInterviews
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