MovieChat Forums > Falcon Crest (1981) Discussion > If Jeff Freilich hadn't left at the end ...

If Jeff Freilich hadn't left at the end of season 7...

posted 8 years ago by engle_james
6 replies | jump to latest

Here's what would have happened, according to an interview with him:

1) Richard (David Selby) wouldn't have appeared until mid-season, so he would have still been presumed dead.

2) Angela would have been pitted against Melissa to get Falcon Crest back, shades of All About Eve.

3) Although he didn't say it specifically, it sounds like Dan and Vicky would have stayed on the show. Eric, probably not.

4) Likewise, with Melissa, Vicky, and Dan still on the show, there would have been no Pilar or the rest of the Ortega family, or Nick Agretti and his son.

5) Rod Taylor (Frank Agretti) would have been a love interest for Angela.

6) During Richard's absence, he would have been working behind the scenes to help Angela regain control of Falcon Crest. He mentioned that Richard would have resumed his affair with Melissa to do that before reconciling with Maggie.

7) The Thirteen would have still been around, but only for the first part of the season before finally being dealt with.

All a moot point, since he left the show, but it was very interesting to read what might have been.

[–] radrobd 8 years ago

Interesting. Was there any mention of trying to bring Chase (Robert Foxworth) back? The season 7 cliffhanger was who was the mysterious man Angela was talking to: Chase or Richard (although I think most viewers assumed it was Richard)? Angela asked him, "When are you going to tell Maggie you're still alive?"

TV Guide reported at the time that producers asked Foxworth to come back, but he wasn't interested.

[–] paranoja 8 years ago

Interesting. Was there any mention of trying to bring Chase (Robert Foxworth) back? The season 7 cliffhanger was who was the mysterious man Angela was talking to: Chase or Richard (although I think most viewers assumed it was Richard)? Angela asked him, "When are you going to tell Maggie you're still alive?

From that interview, I'd assume they'd keep teasing on if it was Richard or Chase Angela spoke to, ultimately to be revealed to be Richard.

[–] engle_james 8 years ago

He was quite honest about Robert Foxworth; he said they became very close friends AFTER Robert left the show. Jeff said Robert was being wishy-washy about whether he was leaving or not, so Jeff made it easy by basically telling him he was being written off. Apparently, this was a stressful time, with his partner Elizabeth Montgomery sick with cancer, and he was moody and difficult and it was affecting the cast, especially Susan Sullivan. So they had Chase be a hero in his last episode by saving his son and sort of redeeming himself.

As for the cliffhanger, yes, they would have made it seem more like it was Chase Angela had been speaking to, in order for the audience to be surprised when it turned out to be Richard, but there was no real discussion with Robert about returning at that time.

Jeff spoke highly of Susan Sullivan as an actress and as a person, and said he wished he had gotten to know her better. He also liked Dana Sparks and Brett Cullen a lot, and got along well with David Selby. He said he was intimidated by Jane Wyman, which prevented him from getting to know her well. And like I said, he became very close to Foxworth once he left the show.

[–] PrometheusTree64 8 years ago

To me, it's not a "what might have been" scenario.

I liked Season 6, but the CASABLANCA parody at the airport near the end of that year didn't bode well for what Season 7 had in store. And Season 7 just became a ridiculously frenetic campfest, and ratings dropped, inspiring the network to pick up the phone and tell Michael Filerman to "fix it."

Unfortunately, Season 8 went too far in the other direction, becoming too serious and dour.

--
LBJ's mistress on JFK:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcXeutDmuRA

[–] engle_james 8 years ago

Just to add, Jeff said he quit the show because a higher up at CBS quit, and his replacement (and the network) cut the show's budget and he didn't like that. He made a lot of comments about how much the ratings went up under his run, but I don't believe that was the case. Having Kim Novak join the cast did bring a lot of press to the show, and I do the think the ratings for the first few episodes in season 6 did in fact improve, but gradually dropped.

[–] radrobd 8 years ago

Having Kim Novak join the cast did bring a lot of press to the show, and I do the think the ratings for the first few episodes in season 6 did in fact improve, but gradually dropped.

I do believe ratings went up at first during the 1986-1987 season, but not because of Kim Novak, but because Dallas' ratings went up with the return of Patrick Duffy (Bobby in the shower). Falcon Crest followed Dallas on Friday nights on CBS.