11 May: Dynasty’s Flamboyant Finale
With big hair, big drama, and even bigger shoulder pads, Aaron Spelling’s primetime soap-opera ‘Dynasty’ defined the 1980s. But, by May 11th, 1989, the show’s popularity was waning – and, even though the showrunners didn’t know it, ABC broadcast what was to be its final episode.
The nine-season saga chronicled the jaw-dropping lives of the fabulously wealthy Carringtons. Known for its ludicrously dramatic storylines — from amnesia to surprise murders — the show wrapped up in spectacularly unresolved fashion, with gunshots, people falling off balconies, and characters locked in bank vaults.
Created as a glitzy response to Dallas, Dynasty began modestly, but all that changed with the arrival of Joan Collins as the delightfully vicious Alexis Carrington. Her catfights with her rival Krystle — often conducted in designer gowns and usually ending in ponds or fountains — became the stuff of television legend.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover the show’s weekly wardrobe budget; revisit a shocking terrorist storyline; and reveal which famous executive was responsible for the series’ demise…
Further Reading:
• ‘End of the reign for ”Dynasty’’ (Entertainment Weekly, 1997): https://ew.com/article/1997/05/09/end-reign-dynasty/
• ‘Return to ‘Dynasty’ : Those Loose Ends? They’re Tying Them Up Now’ (Los Angeles Times, 1991): https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-07-16-ca-2527-story.html
• ’Dynasty’ (ABC, 1989):