MovieChat Forums > Knots Landing (1979) Discussion > Jill

Jill

posted 9 years ago by thenakedeye
5 replies | jump to latest

Was anyone else disappointed when she turned up in Gary's car?

Jill Bennett was like one of the most valuable rarities in a soap opera: a sympathetic character who is also pure evil, with virtually no redeeming qualities whatsoever... Her unforgettable scheme to eliminate her competition Valene was I think the most gripping in Knots history.

Beautiful and almost weirdly self-aware, her character struggled to fit in with the rest of the cast right from the get go, and it's amazing that she held out for 5 seasons before going completely psycho....

One thing I thought I knew for certain at the time (and was wrong about) was that Teri Austin was going to go on and become a HUGE and major TV star, when she only ever went on to play a few, remote 'other woman' types thereafter.

[–] Rajesh_pimp06 9 years ago

I hated Jill Bennett from start to finish. I was glad when she was killed off. Really overrated character and in looks. I realize I am probably alone in this opinion. I just never got the appeal of Jill. I also didn't like her and Gary together. Just didn't sense much chemistry. Like he had with Val and Abby. Nothing against Terri Austin. Just didn't like the character of Jill. And couldn't understand her appeal. One of my favorite scenes is when Frank Willams makes a threat to "snap her scrawny neck of her body" or something to that effect. Can't remember the exact quote.



[–] radrobd 9 years ago

Her first two seasons Jill was pretty unmemorable. What changed was Austin's performance during the improvised script during Season 8 at Laura's funeral. Producers saw that Austin could play evil and they went full throttle. The character became much more interesting when she turned evil. I thought for sure they were going to bring Austin back after Jill was killed (a la Lisa Hartman). I thought she would turn out to be "Sally's friend" (Amanda).

[–] thenakedeye 9 years ago

Jill's infamous "Poor Val" speech:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnySkqjfdyU

Jill's plans begin to unravel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB770rhdhdE

and of course the tables are turned:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wS1whTrULhQ

[–] Rajesh_pimp06 9 years ago

I loved the episode titled "Poor Jill" It was great to see Valene fight back.



[–] hnt_dnl 9 years ago

I liked the idea of Jill and Mac better, but the writers obviously never wanted Mac to be a "cheating husband" character, so they put Jill with Gary.