Modulating the "camp" on DYNASTY (2025)

Rove said:

Batsh!t mental. That cracks me up.

I blame the entire demise of night time serials squarely on the shoulder pads of Dynasty. Though the writing and story-arcs were flawed compared to Dallas, Falcon Crest and Knots Landing, there was a short period of time where viewers were flocking to Dynasty. It's draw card was fashion, camp and Alexis and Krystle's yearly cat-fight. There are two groups to blame here. Those viewers flocking to Dynasty to watch the silliness and those behind the scenes of Dynasty believing "give the people more of what they want." It ultimately came crashing down with the Moldavia Massacre episode and the returning season when all the major characters stood without a hair out of place. Seriously? Not one bullet from an automatic weapon managed to spoil Krystle's hair?

Dallas was much stronger in their season leading up to "Swan Song". But. It looked like the writers during the off-season fell into the trap of having to beat Dynasty at its own game by doing exactly what Dallas should not have done. Think, Angelico Nero. Followed soon there-after by "Blast From The Past". Dallas and Dynasty had lost its core audience by tripping each other up.

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Aaron Spelling's effect on TV hasn't been universally good, no.

Is this camp?...Audra and PeeWee Devilbus meet Gomez and Morticia:

And yet nuDYNASTY is overt camp.

What's the difference?

Snarky's Ghost said:

And yet nuDYNASTY is overt camp.

What's the difference?

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Nobody takes that show seriously.
Whereas with DYNASTY, once upon a time many people did.

When camp came to town...

As @Snarky's Ghost in his first post, season 1 was straight drama (not really even soap) and while there were the zings and one-liners, often by Fallon, the tone was serious. For some reviewers and perhaps fans, too serious.

With "Enter Alexis," there is still drama. The drama is more fun, but it is still drama. Yet at the end of episode 2, after two dramatic scenes in a row (Blake and Steven almost get in a physical fight; then Krystle collapses and tells Blake she thinks she is pregnant), this scene appears. Look at how the tone changes completely from everything we had seen thus far (and not just on this show).

Suddenly the music sounds playful, mischievous, we see Alexis directing furniture movers as in a pantomime, and the camera is shaking as Blake is angrily moving to the studio, whereas Joseph raises his eyebrows. But the music and direction have made it clear this won't be a dramatic confrontation, but the "pass me the popcorn as I watch this" type. I think this is the introduction of the camp element, but here it is clearly a fun element, and it helps that Blake is so serious. When Alexis intrudes into the Blake universe like a gadfly, it works. When she announces "I am moving in" she is not yapping the eventually monotonous "I will destroy you" threats, but warns him that his peace of mind is gone, his universe is not what it was, and it is a delight.
The problem was, after a while, the camp was not the break in the show--the drama was the break in the camp. And it did not work within the ridiculousness of the context.

Michael Torrance said:

The problem was, after a while, the camp was not the break in the show--the drama was the break in the camp.

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In a nutshell.

At minute 30:20, Douglas S Cramer says that "the whole approach to the show became campish, and that's what really worked for the audience. It made our show unique and distinctive." Then at 36:30 he states that they knew that "if we'd find thee right way to do DYNASTY, it would run a decade. But that right way had to be a style, and a tone, and an approach that made it quite different from DALLAS, but that was compelling."

Michael Torrance said:

the whole approach to the show became campish,

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Yes, campish..

When you move away from the two lead women as archetypes (a word used by some analysts of the series' popularity) you get into trouble: Alexis needs to be ever-scheming as if she lusts over it, and Krystle needs to be wandering amid outcroppings near the house where she can talk to her crucifix (in a husky, not squeaky, voice) in private.

Krystle is touched by Jesus; Alexis is touched by Satan (or any sailor who docks in Denver -- which is why Alexis is so angry and frustrated because there are no docks in Denver). Played mostly straight, if not entirely.

Krystle is as holy as that holy pilot, while Alexis is as holy as her bedroom scene with Cecil.

This is good camp:

Krystle and Alexis, four years apart, face off in the main hall about whose house this is (oh, I know, I know, the second clip is really Rita, but Krystle was pretty much Rita by this point):

Snarky's Ghost said:

This is good camp:

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I think this scene may be the best to showcase DYNASTY's bravado during season 2, as well as its artful planning. The Queen of Cups was not a chance reference, as I posted in the peach Dynasty forum about the same-titled episode

Michael Torrance said:

But I also can't help being nostalgic for a time when the name DYNASTY in its early seasons meant attention to detail. Look, for instance, how they used a simple card reading to reinforce the idea of Krystle we had from the first two seasons. She was represented with the Tarot card "Queen of Cups," and the internet tells us "The Queen of Cups is a beautiful, introspective woman who sits on a throne at the edge of the sea ...Unlike most of the cups in the Suit of Cups cards, this cup is closed – an indication that the Queen’s thoughts and feelings come from her subconscious mind and the depths of her soul ...It is as if she is connected with her emotions (as represented by the water), but not overwhelmed with them."

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The writers (Pollocks, who I think did their best work in that season) tapped onto the archetypal conflict of Krystle and Alexis @Snarky's Ghost talks about, since also in that scene where Krystle is referred as the Queen of Cups Alexis is dressed like a Harlequin red tartan demon. But more importantly, the reason the show could have Adriana foretell the future is because the show knew what they were planning for the year. If only Adriana could see how that would change in the next few seasons.

We've done this comparison stuff before --- not camp per se, but here's how Krystle talks down a crazy lady, six years apart:

Alexis with that turban seems to be the inspiration for this scene

Michael Torrance said:

The writers (Pollocks, who I think did their best work in that season)

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That certainly seems to be true -- or at least they had some oversight/supervision in Season 2 which was soon gone. (Ed Ledding, perhaps, who refuses to talk to us??)