Falcon Crest - the show that turned wine into saga every week for 9 years as the follow on from Dallas on CBS in America. The story centred around the rich harvesting vineyards of the fictional Tuscany Valley in San Francisco. The most successful and powerful vineyard was run by one Angela Channing - she had a poodle perm and a tight wardrobe and despite her dimples and coiffed hair, she was as ruthless as JR and calculating as Alexis. Jane Wyman was known for playing the heroine in her movies - she played a deaf mute in Johnny Belinda and won an Oscar for her trouble so the part of Angie Channing was a complete departure. Angela had her daughter, the alchemist Julia Cumson working for her, the slightly simple and disturbed Emma who was practically locked in the house for years and Julia's hunk of spunk son, Lance who had both Angela's dimples and a killer rack played by suitably spunky Lorenzo Lamas
Putting a spanner in the works was the arrival of Angela's nephew, the fabulously named Chase Gioberti - a rough looking (he had a beard) pilot from New York wanting to learn the family business. He brought his writer wife, Maggie and their children Cole and Vicky. Angela was determined to make life difficult for Chase and tried her damndest to drive him back to New York so that Falcon Crest would be her's completely but no such luck and the bearded troublemaker stuck around.
Added into the fray later was the fiesty Melissa Agretti, Angela engineered the union of her nephew Lance and Melissa so that the two greatest vineyards in the valley would be under her control. She didn't bargain on Melissa being almost as much of a schemer as she was. Or when her other long lost relative Richard Channing took over a newspaper in San Francisco, determined to ruin poor Angie although it turned out Angela was his mother. Angie stuck to her guns and protected the family business anyway she knew how and didn't care whom she trampled on to get her way.
One of the best things about Falcon Crest was the fabulous guest stars it showcased. The biggest was Lana Turner. She was Chase's mother, the glamazon Jacqueline Perrault. An old adversary of Angela's who conspired to ruin Angela - most people did but somehow Angela thrived on it, I'm sensing a pattern here. Jane Wyman hated Lana as she felt Lana was infiltrating on her turf. It got so bad that their scenes together had to be filmed separately and later spliced together. Jane put up with Lana's appearances for a season and a half but at the end of season 2, she warned producers - "it's Lana or me, you can't have both" Lana's character was buried at the beginning of season 3.
Then there was Gina Lollobrigida who was Angela's sister Francesca, Celeste Holm from All About Eve as Anna Rossini, Kim Novak put in a glam season as double agent Kit Marlowe, Jane Wyman ruled the roost but campaigned to have producers keep Kim on after her storyline wrapped as she loved having her Hollywood pal on the show. Camp as Christmas and Joan Crawford's sometime escort, Cesar Romero became Angela's doomed husband who was eventually killed off. All of these characters were brought into challenge Miss Angela but Angela outlasted the lot and Jane Wyman scripted the final soliliquoy of the final show.
Not only were the cast glamourous but they had more trauma than any vineyard or valley had ever seen. There was the shootout at the will reading where Jacqueline was killed. Maggie Gioberti and Richard Channing were having an affair and their house blew up. Melissa out-manouevered Angela and took Falcon Crest from her, Richard faked his own death and only revealed himself to Angela in a church. Melissa and Cole had an affair which almost ruined Lance, the whole Valley was involved in a massive earthquake, Jordan Roberts literally was a shizo who had a few cheeky personalities and massive hair thanks to the wonderful Morgan Fairchild! The whol cast was doomed in a flight to Italy but somehow the majority survived, Maggie was given a ring and died as it got caught in the swimming pool grate underwater, Angela spent almost a full season in a coma and Lance used every excuse possible to take his top off - all this and much more meant that Falcon Crest earned it's place as one of the great SuperSoaps, more glamourous than Dallas but not quite as outrageous as Dynasty but any show with Jane Wyman as a scheming bitch just had to be fabulous!!!!
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