Dynasty (TV series)

Dynasty
The iconic trio of Krystle, Blake and Alexis, as featured on the Season 3 (Part 1) DVD
Genre	Soap opera
Created by	Richard & Esther Shapiro
Directed by	Irving J. Moore et al.
Starring	John Forsythe Linda Evans Joan Collins John James Pamela Bellwood Gordon Thomson Pamela Sue Martin Jack Coleman Michael Nader Lee Bergere Catherine Oxenberg Kathleen Beller Emma Samms Geoffrey Scott Heather Locklear Diahann Carroll
Theme music composer	Bill Conti
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	9
No. of episodes	220[1] (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Aaron Spelling Douglas S. Cramer Richard & Esther Shapiro
Running time	46 Minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	ABC
Original run	January 12, 1981 (1981-01-12) – May 11, 1989 (1989-05-11)
Chronology
Related shows	The Colbys Dynasty: The Reunion Dynasty: The Making of a Guilty Pleasure

Dynasty is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 12, 1981 to May 11, 1989. It was created by Richard & Esther Shapiro and produced by Aaron Spelling, and revolved around the Carringtons, a wealthy oil family living in Denver, Colorado.^[2] Starring John Forsythe and Linda Evans as oil magnate Blake Carrington and his new wife Krystle, Dynasty was ABC's competitor to CBS's prime time series Dallas.^[2][3]

The show's ratings for the first season were unremarkable,^[4] but the second season arrival of Joan Collins as Blake's scheming first wife Alexis heralded Dynasty's rise into the Top 20,^[5][6] By 1984, it was a top ten show and by 1985, it was the #1 series on television.^[5][7] Dynasty was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best TV Drama Series every year from 1981 to 1986, winning in 1984.^[8] Dynasty spawned a successful line of fashion and luxury products, and also a spin-off series called The Colbys. Dynasty dropped from #7 to #24 during the 1986-87 season,^[5] and was ultimately canceled in May 1989 after a nine-season run.^[9]

Beginnings

Producer Spelling, already well-known for his successful ABC series, including Starsky and Hutch, Charlie's Angels, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Vega$, and Hart to Hart,^[10] took on Richard and Esther Shapiro's vision of a rich and powerful family who "lived and sinned" in a 48-room Denver mansion.^[2] Esther Shapiro claimed that an inspiration for the show was I, Claudius, a fictionalized depiction of the Julio-Claudian dynasty of Roman emperors.^[11] The working title for Dynasty was Oil, and the starring role originally went to George Peppard. In early drafts of the pilot script, the two main families featured in the series were known as the Parkhursts and Corbys; by the time production began, they had been renamed the Carringtons and Colbys. Peppard, who had difficulties dealing with the somewhat unsympathetic role of patriarch Blake Carrington,^[12] was quickly replaced with John Forsythe (who voiced the eponymous Charlie in Spelling's Charlie's Angels). Filmed in 1980, the pilot was among many delayed due to a strike precipitated by animosity between the television networks and the partnership of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. Dynasty finally premiered on ABC as a three-hour event on January 12, 1981.^[2]

Series history

The Carringtons

As Dynasty begins on January 12, 1981, powerful oil tycoon Blake Carrington (John Forsythe) is about to marry the younger Krystle Jennings (Linda Evans), his former secretary.^[2] Beautiful, earnest, and new to Blake's world, Krystle finds a hostile reception in the Carrington household — the staff patronizes her, and Blake's headstrong and promiscuous daughter Fallon (Pamela Sue Martin) resents her. Though devoted to Krystle, Blake himself is too preoccupied with his company, Denver-Carrington, and blind to Krystle's predicament. Her only ally is her stepson Steven (Al Corley), whose complicated relationship with Blake stems from their fundamental political differences and Steve's resistance to step into his role as future leader of the Carrington empire. Meanwhile Fallon, better suited to follow in Blake's footsteps, as a woman is underestimated by — and considered little more than a trophy to — father Blake. She channels her energies into toying with various male suitors, including the Carrington chauffeur Michael Culhane (Wayne Northrop). At the end of the three-hour premiere episode "Oil", Steven finally confronts his father, criticizing Blake's capitalistic values and seemingly-amoral business practices.^[13] Blake explodes, revealing the secret of which Steven thought his father was unaware: Blake is disgusted by Steven's homosexuality, and his refusal to "conform" sets father and son at odds for some time.^[13][14]

In counterpoint to the Carringtons are the Blaisdels; Denver-Carrington geologist Matthew (Bo Hopkins)  — unhappily married to the emotionally fragile Claudia (Pamela Bellwood)  — is Krystle's ex-lover. Returning from an extended assignment in the Middle East, Matthew quits and goes into business with wildcatter Walter Lankershim (Dale Robertson), and as Blake's behavior begins pushing Krystle towards Matthew, the men are set as both business and romantic rivals.^[2] Blake is further enraged when Steven goes to work for longtime friend Matthew, in whom Steven sees qualities lacking in Blake. Though previously in a relationship with another man, Steven finds himself drawn to Claudia, who is putting her life back together after spending time in a psychiatric hospital. Fallon makes a secret business deal with Blake's old friend and more-powerful business rival Cecil Colby (Lloyd Bochner), marrying his nephew Jeff (John James) to secure Cecil's financial assistance for her father. When Blake stumbles upon Steven in an innocent goodbye embrace with his former lover Ted Dinard (Mark Withers), Blake angrily pushes the two men apart; Ted falls backward and hits his head, the injury proving fatal.^[2][13] Blake is arrested and charged with murder,^[2] and an angry Steven testifies that Ted's death had been the result of malicious intent. A veiled surprise witness for the prosecution appears in the season finale "The Testimony", and Fallon gasps in recognition: "Oh my God, that's my mother!"^[2][14]

Enter Alexis

In the first episode of the second season, titled "Enter Alexis", the mysterious witness removes her sunglasses to reveal British actress Joan Collins as a new arrival to the series.^[2] Collins' Alexis Carrington blazed a trail across the show and its storylines; the additions of Collins and the "formidable writing team" of Eileen and Robert Mason Pollock are generally credited with Dynasty's subsequent rise in the Nielsen ratings.^[2] The Pollocks "soft-pedaled the business angle" of the show and "bombarded viewers with every soap opera staple in the book, presented at such a fast clip that a new tragedy seemed to befall the Carrington family every five minutes."^[2] Alexis' testimony nonwithstanding, Krystle is immediately put off by the former Mrs. Carrington's condescending attitude and manipulations; Krystle's subsequent discovery that Alexis had caused Krystle's miscarriage by intentionally startling her horse with a gunshot settles Alexis as Krystle's implacable nemesis. Other new characters of the season are the psychiatrist Nick Toscanni (James Farentino), who tries to seduce Krystle while bedding Fallon and plotting against Blake, and Krystle's greedy niece Sammy Jo Dean (Heather Locklear), who marries Steven for his money. The season finale sees Blake left for dead on a mountain after a fight with Nick. By that time, Dynasty had entered the Top 20.^[5][6] In the third season, Alexis marries Cecil on his deathbed and acquires his company, Colbyco. In the meantime, Adam Carrington (Gordon Thomson), the long-lost son of Alexis and Blake who had been kidnapped in infancy, reappears in Denver. Also introduced are Krystle's ex-husband, tennis pro Mark Jennings (Geoffrey Scott), and Kirby Anders (Kathleen Beller), the daughter of longtime Carrington majordomo Joseph (Lee Bergere). Kirby catches Adam's eye but weds Jeff after his divorce from Fallon. In the middle of the season, news that Steven has been killed in an accident in Indonesia comes to the Carringtons; he survives, but undergoes plastic surgery and returns to Denver portrayed by Jack Coleman. In the third season cliffhanger, Alexis lures Krystle to Steven's cabin and the two are locked inside while the cabin is set ablaze by an unseen arsonist (later revealed to be Joseph, who had meant for the fire to kill only Alexis and not Krystle).

With the show's popularity soaring in the fourth season, former President Gerald Ford guest-starred as himself in 1983, along with his wife Betty and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. New characters included the charming and ambitious Farnsworth "Dex" Dexter (Michael Nader), the unscrupulous playboy Peter De Vilbis (Helmut Berger), and Blake's illegitimate African American half-sister, Dominique Deveraux (Diahann Carroll). The main storylines included a custody battle between Steven and Blake over Steven and Sammy Jo's son Danny, and a false accusation of illegal weapons dealings orchestrated by Alexis to ruin Blake's financial empire. In the season finale, Fallon disappears just before her second wedding to Jeff (now divorced of Kirby) as her car seemingly collides with a truck on a stormy night (to accommodate the departure of Pamela Sue Martin from the series), while Alexis is arrested for the murder of Mark Jennings.

In the fifth season, Alexis is exonerated and her secret daughter Amanda Bedford (Catherine Oxenberg) comes to Denver and discovers that Blake is her father. Steven has married Claudia but leaves her for a man, and Sammy Jo discovers she is the heiress to a huge fortune. At the end of the season, an amnesiac Fallon, now portrayed by actress Emma Samms, reappears while the rest of the family go to Europe for the wedding of Amanda and Prince Michael of Moldavia (Michael Praed). During the season, the series 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. 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 that year.^[5][7]

The "Moldavian Massacre"

Undoubtedly the most famous Dynasty cliffhanger is the so-called "Moldavian massacre" during the May 1985 season finale. Amanda and Michael's royal wedding is interrupted by terrorists in a military coup of Moldavia, riddling the chapel with bullets and leaving all of the major characters lying seemingly lifeless. It became the most talked-about episode of any TV series during the calendar year of 1985, with a viewership of 60 million.^[15] In 2011, Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly named it one of the seven "Unforgettable Cliff-Hangers" of prime time dramatic television.^[16] When the series resumed in the fall, viewers quickly learned that only two minor characters had died: Steven's boyfriend Luke Fuller (Billy Campbell) and Jeff's love interest Lady Ashley Mitchell (Ali MacGraw). In the 2006 CBS special Dynasty Reunion: Catfights & Caviar, Gordon Thomson reiterated that it was the follow-up that was the letdown, not the cliffhanger itself. Joan Collins was conspicuously absent from the season six opener; she was in a tense contract renegotiation with the show, seeking an increased salary.^[17] As a result, the first episode had to be rewritten to explain her absence and many scenes were given to Krystle. Collins' demands were met (she reportedly signed a $60,000 per episode contract) and she returned to the series in the season's second episode.^{[citation needed]}

Continuing seasons and decline

Forsythe and the women of Season Six (1985-1986)

Though still a top-10 show, Dynasty dropped from #1 to #7 in the ratings in the sixth season,^[5][18] which featured a lookalike woman named Rita who poses as Krystle, introduced Alexis' sister Caress (Kate O'Mara), and launched the spin-off The Colbys. Spurned by Blake, Alexis finds his estranged brother Ben (Christopher Cazenove) and the two successfully plot to strip Blake of his fortune. Steven's budding relationship with closeted Bart Fallmont (Kevin Conroy) is ruined by Adam's business-motivated public reveal that Bart is gay, and the May 21, 1986 season finale finds Blake strangling Alexis while the rest of the cast is in peril at the La Mirage hotel, which is accidentally set on fire by Claudia, which ended in her demise.

As the seventh season begins in September 1986, Blake stops short of killing Alexis, Claudia has died in the fire, and Amanda (now played by American Karen Cellini following Oxenberg's departure) is rescued by a returning Michael Culhane. Blake turns the tables on Ben and Alexis and recovers his wealth, but loses his memory after an oil rig explosion. Alexis finds Blake and, with everyone believing he is dead, perpetuates the belief that they are still married. Living with a clean slate, Alexis finds herself softening to Blake, and ultimately tells him the truth as he reunites with Krystle. Krystina receives a heart transplant but is kidnapped; Sammy Jo's marriage to Clay Fallmont (Ted McGinley) crumbles and she falls into bed with Steven; Amanda leaves town, and North and South's Terri Garber arrives as Ben's daughter Leslie Carrington. Adam's season-long romance with Blake's secretary Dana Waring (Leann Hunley) culminates in a wedding, which is punctuated in the May 6, 1987 season finale by Alexis' car plunging off a bridge into a river and the violent return of a vengeful Matthew Blaisdel. Dynasty dropped to #24, and out of the top 30 in the 1987–1988 eighth season.^[5]

With The Colbys cancelled, Jeff and Fallon return for Dynasty's eighth season, their marriage now falling apart again. Matthew, returned from the dead but troubled by headaches, holds the Carringtons hostage in hopes that Krystle will run away with him. Steven ends the siege by reluctantly stabbing his old friend to death. Alexis is saved by a handsome and mysterious stranger, Sean Rowan (James Healey); she marries him, not realizing that he is Joseph's son and Kirby's brother, bent on revenge. Steven and Sammy Jo's reconciliation is short-lived as the pursuit of children unravels Adam and Dana's marriage. Sean begins to manipulate and destroy the Carringtons from the inside, with he and Dex fighting to the death in the March 30, 1988 season finale. Blake comes home to find Krystle missing and their bedroom in shambles.

The ninth and final 1988–1989 season brought a move from Wednesday to Thursday, and new Executive Supervising Producer David Paulsen, who took over the plotting of the series. In a money-saving move, Evans appeared in only a handful of episodes at the start of the season as an ailing Krystle seeks brain surgery in Switzerland but is left in an offscreen coma. Similarly, Collins was contracted for only 13 out of the season's 22 episodes; former Colbys character Sable (Stephanie Beacham) was brought in as both a platonic confidante for Blake and a nemesis for Alexis, and Tracy Scoggins also reprised her Colbys role as Sable's daughter Monica. A storyline involving a murder and an old secret tying the Carrington, Colby, and Dexter families together spans the season as Alexis and Sable spar first over business and then over Dex.

Ratings, however, continued to drop and were further exacerbated by the timeslot switch as now the series was facing off against the strong NBC Thursday night line-up, which had regularly drawn the lion's share of the audience that night (led by The Cosby Show, which had supplanted Dynasty as the #1 show on television in 1986 and had continued to hold that lead). In May 1989, new ABC entertainment president Robert A. Iger cancelled Dynasty; with the last episode of season nine now the series finale, the show ended with Blake, Alexis, and Dex in mortal peril.^[9][19]

The "catfights"

Over the run of the series, the rivalry between Alexis and Krystle is a primary driver for the melodrama. Alexis resents Krystle's supplanting of her position as mistress of the Carrington household and tries to undermine her at every opportunity, while Krystle makes increasingly bold efforts to keep Alexis from interfering in the lives of their mutual loved ones. The pair have numerous verbal spats, accented by slaps across the face, but on more than one occasion they have physical altercations. "Unfortunately, the thing people remember about this show is the catfights," noted Collins in 1991.^[9] Krystle and Alexis famously brawl in Alexis' cottage^[20] and later in a lily pond,^[21] hurl mud at each other at a beauty salon,^[2] and slide down a ravine together into a puddle of mud^[22] before their final showdown in a fashion studio in the 1991 miniseries Dynasty: The Reunion.^[9] In 2008 Entertainment Weekly termed Alexis and Krystle's catfights "the gold standard of scratching and clawing."^[23] Later in the series Alexis battles Blake's half-sister Dominique Deveraux (Diahann Carroll)^[24] and her own cousin Sable Colby (Stephanie Beacham);^[25] Heather Locklear's Sammy Jo has catfights with both Amanda (Catherine Oxenberg) in a swimming pool^[26] and Fallon (Emma Samms) in a horse trough and the mud around it.^[27] Evans even battles with herself at the climax of a 1985–1986 storyline in which Krystle is imprisoned and replaced by a lookalike, also played by Evans.^[28]

Spin-offs and television events

A spin-off, The Colbys, debuted in 1985 as Fallon "returned from the dead" and ex-husband Jeff followed her to Los Angeles, where they became embroiled in the family intrigues of Jeff's wealthy California relatives. Pamela Sue Martin had been asked to reprise the role of Fallon, but declined; the show lasted for just two seasons, ending in 1987, and both Fallon and Jeff returned to Dynasty.

A miniseries, Dynasty: The Reunion, aired in October 1991.^[9] Billed as a wrap-up for the dangling plotlines left by the series' abrupt cancellation 2½ years earlier, The Reunion resolved some storylines but ignored others.^[9]

The cable channel SOAPnet aired repeats of all nine seasons. In January 2004, creator Esther Shapiro participated in a marathon of the show's episodes, called "Serial Bowl: Alexis vs. Krystle", giving behind-the-scenes tidbits and factoids.

On January 2, 2005, ABC aired a fictionalized television movie called Dynasty: The Making of a Guilty Pleasure chronicling the creation and backstage details of Dynasty. It received mixed reviews both for content and for historical accuracy, and was criticized by Forsythe, Evans, and Collins in separate press releases.^[29] Filmed in Australia, the movie starred Bartholomew John as Forsythe, Melora Hardin as Evans, and Alice Krige as Collins.^[30] The film begins with a disclaimer noting the inclusion of "time compression and composite and fictionalized characters and incidents," and takes dramatic license with both the historical timeline and events, as well as the fictional storylines originally presented on Dynasty.

On May 2, 2006, a television special named Dynasty Reunion: Catfights & Caviar aired on CBS. It assembled former cast members from the series, including John Forsythe, Joan Collins, and Linda Evans, as well as the four original actors who played the Carrington children (Pamela Sue Martin, Al Corley, Gordon Thomson, and Catherine Oxenberg). The cast reminisced about their time filming Dynasty together in this special, which was filmed at the Filoli mansion used for exterior locations in the series.

The Shapiros announced on January 12, 2011 that they had written a prequel feature film script set in the 1960s, and were shopping it to studios seeking to begin a Dynasty film franchise. ^[31]

In an interview in September 2011, Joan Collins chatted about a Dynasty revival - "I've been in constant contact with Esther Shapiro, who wrote it, and apparently they've written a script."

Behind the scenes

An exterior view of Filoli, used as the Carrington mansion on the TV series Dynasty.

The Filoli estate in Woodside, California was used as the 48-room Carrington mansion in the opening credits, establishing shots, and some outdoor scenes in the pilot episode. Some of the other exterior shots of the Carrington mansion (including the lily pond catfight) were shot at a 17-room Palladian house called Arden Villa.^[32]

John Forsythe was the only cast member to appear in all 220 episodes of the series. Linda Evans appeared in 204 of the 220 episodes, leaving the series after appearing in only six episodes of the ninth and final season. Joan Collins, who did not join the cast until the second season, also missed one episode in season 6 and nine episodes in season 9, and was subsequently present for a total of 195 episodes. Forsythe and John James were the only two original cast members to appear in the final episode.

Commercial tie-ins

The creations of series costume designer Nolan Miller became so popular that Dynasty spawned its own line of women's apparel^[2] called "The Dynasty Collection" — a series of haute couture designs based on costumes worn by Joan Collins, Linda Evans and Diahann Carroll. Christopher Schemering's The Soap Opera Encyclopedia notes that later, "capitalizing on that success, the show put out a men's fashion line, Dynasty sheets and towels, 'Forever Krystle' perfume, dolls, and — in keeping with the nothing-is-sacred spirit of the show — even wall-to-wall carpeting and panty hose."^[2]

In addition, the Crystal Light beverage hired Linda Evans as a spokesperson due to her character's name (Krystle) on Dynasty^{[citation needed]}.

Two fictional novels were published, based on scripts from early episodes — Dynasty (1983)^[33] and Alexis Returns (1984)^[34] — written by Eileen Lottman. In 1984, Doubleday/Dolphin published the companion book Dynasty: The Authorized Biography of the Carringtons, which included an introduction by Esther Shapiro.^[35] The Authorized Biography featured storyline synopses in the form of extended biographies of the main characters, descriptions of primary locations (like the Carrington Estate and La Mirage) and dozens of photos from the series.^[35]

Reception

U.S. ratings

Dynasty was a top-30 hit for its second through seventh seasons, reaching #1 for the 1984–1985 season.^[5][7]

• Season 2 (1981–1982): #19^[5][6]
• Season 3 (1982–1983): #5^[5][36]
• Season 4 (1983–1984): #3^[5][37]
• Season 5 (1984–1985): #1^[5][7]
• Season 6 (1985–1986): #7^[5][18]
• Season 7 (1986–1987): #24^[5]

Awards and nominations

Dynasty was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best TV Drama Series every year from 1981 to 1986, winning in 1984.^[8] Forsythe and Collins were also nominated for Best Actor and Best Actress every year from 1981 to 1986, and Evans was nominated for Best Actress every year from 1981 to 1985. Evans won in 1982 (tying with Barbara Bel Geddes of rival series Dallas),^[38] Forsythe won in 1983^[39] and 1984,^[8] and Collins won in 1983.^[39]

DVD releases

The first season of Dynasty was released on Region 1 DVD on April 19, 2005 by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.^[40] The rights to subsequent seasons (and Season 1 rights for other regions) reverted to CBS DVD (distributed by Paramount) in November 2006.

The show is rated  PG  for Parental Guidance in Australia and  PG  in New Zealand for adult themes.

	Season	Ep #	Region 1	Region 2 (United Kingdom)	Region 2 (Germany)	Region 2 (Sweden)	Region 4 (Australia)	Additional Content
	Season 1	15[41]	April 19, 2005[40]	March 9, 2009[42]	July 3, 2008	April 9, 2008	April 9, 2008[43]	All 15 episodes of the first season,[41] interviews with original cast members Pamela Sue Martin and Al Corley, two commentary tracks by creator Esther Shapiro and Corley, Family, Furs and Fun: Creating DYNASTY series overview featurette.[44]
	Season 2	22	August 14, 2007[45]	March 9, 2009[46]	March 5, 2009	October 22, 2008	October 1, 2008[47]	All 22 episodes of the second season, Interactive Season 2 Family Tree[48] (Blake, Alexis, Krystle, Fallon, Jeff, Steven, Sammy Jo and Little Blake profiles).
	Season 3, Volume 1	12	June 17, 2008[49][50]	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	US/Region 1: First 12 episodes of Season 3
	Season 3, Volume 2	12	October 21, 2008[51][52]	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	US/Region 1: Second 12 episodes of Season 3
	Season 3, Complete Season	24	N/A	May 18, 2009[53]	September 3, 2009	April 29, 2009	April 2, 2009[54]	All 24 episodes of Season 3 released in a single volume
	Season 4, Volume 1	14	April 7, 2009[55][56]	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	US/Region 1: First 14 episodes of Season 4
	Season 4, Volume 2	13	February 2, 2010[57]	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	US/Region 1: Second 13 episodes of Season 4
	Season 4, Complete Season	27	N/A	March 8, 2010	December 3, 2009	November 25, 2009	December 24, 2009	All 27 episodes of Season 4 released in a single volume
	Season 5, Volume 1	15	July 5, 2011[58]	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	US/Region 1: First 15 episodes of Season 5
	Season 5, Volume 2	14	July 5, 2011[59]	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	US/Region 1: Second 14 episodes of Season 5
	Season 5, Complete Season	29	N/A	June 21, 2010 [60]	July 8, 2010	July 28, 2010	August 5, 2010	All 29 episodes of Season 5 released in a single volume
	Season 6, Complete Season	31	TBA	January 24, 2011	December 9, 2010	November 24, 2010	TBA	All 31 episodes of Season 6 released in a single volume
	Season 7, Complete Season	28	TBA	TBA	December 8, 2011	November 16, 2011	TBA	All 28 episodes of Season 7 released in a single volume
	Season 8, Complete Season	22	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA
	Season 9, Complete Season	22	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA

See also

• List of Dynasty episodes
• Carrington family tree
• List of Dynasty characters
• Dynasty minor characters

References and notes

1. ^ The first three episodes of Dynasty were first broadcast in the US as a single, three-hour television special ("Oil"), and the two 1985 episodes which set up the spin-off The Colbys also aired in a single two-hour block ("The Titans"). This technically makes the number of US broadcasts 217; however in syndication these episodes are presented individually, totalling 220.
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o} Schemering, Christopher (September 1985). The Soap Opera Encyclopedia. pp. 80–81. ISBN 0-345-32459-5 (1st edition). 
3. ^ Corliss, Richard (April 3, 2010). "Charlie's an Angel Now: John Forsythe Dies at 92". Time magazine (Time.com). http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1977623,00.html#ixzz0yITk3bNe. Retrieved September 25, 2010. 
4. ^ Mar, Alex (May 25, 2011). "The Dynasty That Could Have Been". Slate (State.com). http://www.slate.com/id/2293600/. Retrieved May 27, 2011. 
5. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n} Brooks, Tim; Earle Marsh (October 2007). "Top-Rated Programs by Season". The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows (9th ed.). pp. 1689–1692. ISBN 978-034549773-4. 
6. ^ ^{a b c} 1981–1982 Ratings – ClassicTVhits.com
7. ^ ^{a b c d} 1984–1985 Ratings – ClassicTVhits.com
8. ^ ^{a b c} "The 1984 Golden Globe Award Winners". RopeofSilicon.com. http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/award_show/golden_globe_awards/1984. Retrieved January 20, 2010. 
9. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Gliatto, Tom; Vicki Sheff (August 5, 1991). "Alexis Strikes Again!". People (Vol. 36, No. 4): pp. 66–68. http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20115641,00.html. Retrieved February 21, 2009. 
10. ^ Idato, Michael (September 19, 2005). "The Great Escape". The Sydney Morning Herald. SMH.com.au. http://www.smh.com.au/news/tv--radio/the-great-escape/2005/09/17/1126750167460.html. Retrieved February 25, 2009. 
11. ^ Sturges, Fiona (January 24, 2011). "The good, the bad and the wildly bitchy". The Independent. Independent.co.uk. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/the-good-the-bad-and-the-wildly-bitchy-2192378.html. Retrieved July 20, 2011. 
12. ^ Hack, Richard. "Portraying of Characters: Casting (Excerpt of Aaron Spelling/Douglas S. Cramer interview)". The Hollywood Reporter. UltimateDynasty.net. http://www.ultimatedynasty.net/autorizedbio.html. Retrieved February 25, 2009. 
13. ^ ^{a b c} Tropiano, Stephen (March 19, 2003). "The Prime Time Closet: Outing TV's Heterosexual Homosexuals". PopMatters.com. http://www.popmatters.com/columns/tropiano/030319.shtml. Retrieved February 25, 2009. 
14. ^ ^{a b} "Dynasty Episodes Guide: Season One". Shoulderpads.net. http://shoulderpads.net/guide/. Retrieved December 29, 2008. 
15. ^ E! True Hollywood Story: Dynasty (2001)
16. ^ Tucker, Ken (March 25, 2011). "Unforgettable Cliff-Hangers". Entertainment Weekly (Issue #1147): 12. 
17. ^ "Behind Dynasty 's breakdown ... and recovery". TV Guide. UltimateDynasty.net. May 17, 1986. http://www.ultimatedynasty.net/archives/archives15.html. Retrieved November 20, 2009. 
18. ^ ^{a b} 1985–1986 Ratings – ClassicTVhits.com
19. ^ Walker, Joseph (May 24, 1989). "Dynasty Cliffhanger is Just That". Deseret News. DeseretNews.com. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/47975/. Retrieved September 25, 2010. 
20. ^ Season 2 episode "The Baby" (March 3, 1982)
21. ^ Season 3 episode "The Threat" (April 13, 1983)
22. ^ Season 6 episode "Ben" (February 26, 1986)
23. ^ "Girl-on-Girl Action". Entertainment Weekly (Issue #1018). October 31, 2008. 
24. ^ Season 7 episode "Fear" (December 31, 1986)
25. ^ Season 9 series finale "Catch 22" (May 11, 1989)
26. ^ Season 6 finale "The Choice (a.k.a.) The Vendetta" (May 21, 1986)
27. ^ Season 9 episode "Alexis in Blunderland" (December 15, 1988)
28. ^ Season 6 episode "The Vigil" (January 22, 1986)
29. ^ "Dynasty stars disinherit film". USA Today. December 30, 2004. http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2004-12-29-dynasty_x.htm. Retrieved May 1, 2010. 
30. ^ "Dynasty: The Making of a Guilty Pleasure: Credits". Der-denver-clan.de. http://www.der-denver-clan.de/de/dynasty_behind.207.html. Retrieved February 27, 2009. 
31. ^ http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/marc_malkin/b220158_shoulder_pad_alert_another_classic.html
32. ^ http://www.tvacres.com/homes_dynasty.htm
33. ^ Lottman, Eileen (1983). Dynasty. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-17084-8. 
34. ^ Lottman, Eileen (1984). Alexis Returns. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-24431-0. 
35. ^ ^{a b} Dynasty: The Authorized Biography of the Carringtons. Doubleday/Dolphin. 1984. pp. 150. ISBN 0-385-19525-7. 
36. ^ 1982–1983 Ratings – ClassicTVhits.com
37. ^ 1983–1984 Ratings – ClassicTVhits.com
38. ^ "The 1982 Golden Globe Award Winners". RopeofSilicon.com. http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/award_show/golden_globe_awards/1982. Retrieved January 20, 2010. 
39. ^ ^{a b} "The 1983 Golden Globe Award Winners". RopeofSilicon.com. http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/award_show/golden_globe_awards/1983. Retrieved January 20, 2010. 
40. ^ ^{a b} Dynasty: The Complete First Season (Region 1). Amazon.com.
41. ^ ^{a b} The first three episodes of Dynasty were first broadcast in the US as a single, three-hour special, but in syndication these episodes are presented individually. The DVD contains the full 15 segments of Season One, each with main titles and end credits, but the packaging advertises "13 episodes," noting that the series premiere is three parts.
42. ^ Dynasty: The First Season (Region 2). Amazon.co.uk.
43. ^ Dynasty: The First Season (Region 4). EzyDVD.com.au.
44. ^ Dynasty Season 1 Region 1 DVD packaging (2005)
45. ^ Dynasty: The Second Season (Region 1). Amazon.com.
46. ^ Dynasty: The Second Season (Region 2). Amazon.co.uk.
47. ^ Dynasty: The Second Season (Region 4). EzyDVD.com.au.
48. ^ Dynasty Season 2 Region 1 DVD packaging (2007)
49. ^ Dynasty – Studio Confirms Christmastime Scoop for 3rd Season DVDs" – TVshowsonDVD.com
50. ^ Dynasty: The Third Season – Volume 1 (Region 1). BarnesandNoble.com.
51. ^ Dynasty – Season 3, Vol. 2 Announced!" – TVshowsonDVD.com
52. ^ Dynasty: The Third Season – Volume 2 (Region 1). Amazon.com.
53. ^ Dynasty: The Third Season – Complete (Region 2). Amazon.co.uk.
54. ^ Dynasty: The Third Season (Region 4). EzyDVD.com.au.
55. ^ Dynasty – Season 4, Volume 1 DVD Set's Release Date Announced." – TVshowsonDVD.com
56. ^ Dynasty: The Fourth Season – Volume 1 (Region 1). Amazon.com.
57. ^ Dynasty – Season 4, Volume 2 DVD Set's Release Date Announced." – TVshowsonDVD.com
58. ^ Dynasty – Season 5, Volume 1 and 2 DVD Sets Release Date Announced." – TVshowsonDVD.com
59. ^ Dynasty – Season 5, Volume 1 and 2 DVD Sets Release Date Announced." – TVshowsonDVD.com
60. ^ Dynasty: The Fifth Season (Region 2). Amazon.co.uk.

External links

• Dynasty at the Internet Movie Database
• Dynasty at TV.com
• Ultimate Dynasty
• Der Denver Clan – German language Dynasty site
• Dynastie – French language Dynasty site
• Where are the stars of Dynasty now?