The pilot was shot in a real mansion, although the remaining episodes from Season 1 were in a studio mock-up of that mansion. But the rooms and the halls looked more real, yes, like a real house.
Season 1 was more of a drama than a soap (and it's a myth that the first season bombed -- it actually did okay, but ABC had such high aspirations for it, they almost cancelled it anyway because it hadn't exploded into a top hit yet).
It is true, too, that DYNASTY needed a little more zip, more glamour and perhaps melodrama. And Season 2 got the balance right: the plot and character elements from the previous year were maintained, but more commercial elements like Alexis and the wardobe were added. (They'd soon go too far with it, throwing out legitimate storytelling and character development almost entirely, which was a huge mistake).
But, yes, after Aaron Spelling took over more control of the show after Season 1 ended, he preferred "flat lighting" which makes everything look like a studio set instead of the real interiors of a mansion.
And the plots and dialogue started to become kind of shlocky and not very well fleshed-out, beginning around Season 3 (and it just got worse).
When they finally brought in a new producer for Season 9 (albeit too late to save the show, and the lead cast was already wandering off) not only did the stories get a lot better but he dropped the flat-lighting, so once again the rooms began to look a bit more "real".
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LBJ's mistress on JFK:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcXeutDmuRA
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radrobd
8 years ago
The pilot was shot in a real mansion, although the remaining episodes from Season 1 were in a studio mock-up of that mansion. But the rooms and the halls looked more real, yes, like a real house.
The pilot was shot at Filoli mansion near San Francisco. The mansion was also used for the exteriors of the mansion in the opening credits and during the 9 seasons.
I visited the mansion in real life about 8 years ago. They do tours. The kitchen itself was quite small and not as large as the one on the show. I believe the ballroom where the wedding was held in the pilot was the real ballroom from the mansion.
Season 1 was more of a drama than a soap (and it's a myth that the first season bombed -- it actually did okay, but ABC had such high aspirations for it, they almost cancelled it anyway because it hadn't exploded into a top hit yet).
Season 1 was a rip-off of
Dallas. CBS had a hit with Dallas, so ABC decided to imitate it but go bigger. On Dallas, the family lived in a modest ranch mansion (12 bedrooms) while on Dynasty, there were 48 rooms (not all bedrooms, but still). It was very much a soap (although the Shapiros described it as a "continuing novel for television"). Each episode in season 1 ended with "To Be Continued".
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PrometheusTree64
8 years ago
I don't know. Season 1 didn't seem that much like DALLAS to me, let alone a rip-off.
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paranoja
8 years ago
I don't know. Season 1 didn't that much like DALLAS to me, let alone a rip-off.
I tend to believe people get confused with this - the
concept of a rich oil tycoon family with an outsider joining is very Dallas; but the shows themselves in style are very different, especially in season one. For starters - Dynasty is serialised from the start, but it was also far more grand than Dallas ever was right from the start.
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jarrodmcdonald-1
8 years ago
When they finally brought in a new producer for Season 9 (albeit too late to save the show, and the lead cast was already wandering off) not only did the stories get a lot better but he dropped the flat-lighting, so once again the rooms began to look a bit more "real".
I agree. Another thing that helped was all the exterior filming they did for Delta Rho and the lake. There was more realism and it seemed less "studio" bound than the previous season.
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