I thought it would when it first premiered and that the big clout to get high ratings would be with Charlton Heston and the other cast members. It went off the air after a mere two years due to low ratings and this was in an era where rich families in prime time soaps were big hits.
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The more I study it, the greater the puzzle becomes.
The Golden Voyage of Sinbad
The show was scheduled against NBC's impenetrable two-hour sitcom line-up (COSBY, FAMILY TIES, CHEERS, NIGHT COURT) of the era, so it never had a chance -- plus, it was expensive.
THE COLBYS, though not that great except when Barbara Stanwyck and Stephanie Beacham were facing off, was actually better than the concurrent seasons of DYNASTY, its parent series.
But the wealth-based nighttime soap genre of the period went into a bizarre kind of freefall beginning at around 1985 anyway. It was the hottest TV trend of the early-'80s when shows like DALLAS and DYNASTY and gothic FALCON CREST and clever KNOTS LANDING were all the rage and seemed so exciting.
But by the last half of the '80s, each show seemed to completely and disastrously lose its sense of identity (except perhaps for KNOTS, always the smartest of the bunch).
So THE COLBYS may have just come in too late, in addition to its terrible time slot.
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Non-sequiturs are delicious.
"But the wealth-based nighttime soap genre of the period went into a bizarre kind of freefall beginning at around 1985 anyway. It was the hottest TV trend of the early-'80s when shows like DALLAS and DYNASTY and gothic FALCON CREST and clever KNOTS LANDING were all the rage and seemed so exciting.
But by the last half of the '80s, each show seemed to completely and disastrously lose its sense of identity (except perhaps for KNOTS, always the smartest of the bunch).
So THE COLBYS may have just come in too late, in addition to its terrible time slot. "
Yes, the show didn't premiere at the right time. There's an old expression, strike while the iron's hot. I remember talk of a Dynasty spin-off (featuring The Colbys) as early as season 3 of Dynasty (1982-1983). I'm not sure why they waited so long, but it wasn't the right time. Dynasty ended its 5th season (1984-1985) as the #1 rated show on American TV. Thus, it seemed that was the perfect time for a spin-off, but the next season, most of the prime-time soaps went off the rails and ratings started to dip as The Cosby Show became the #1 show on TV, while Dynasty's ratings plummeted (thanks to Moldavia, Krystle/Rita and other bad storylines). By the time, The Colbys premiered, Americans were weaning off the prime time soaps, which had been red-hot just the season before.
The had the big names, but the Storylines were awful and boring. The fight between Jeff and Miles over Fallon went much too long. Miles seemed to be a real psycho and stalker.
shareBad writing ruined this show, along with killing Connie, who IMO was the real core of it. I know Fallon was the reason this show even came on the air, but Emma Samms and her stupid spaceships were ridiculous. Dominique should have gotten more air time and Francesca should have gotten less. I didn't like her character at all. Sable was great. And she was able to cross over to Dynasty very well as a rival for Alexis. She needed one with Krystle out of the picture and Sable was a lot more fun to watch than Saint Krystle with the hair that never moved. John James was great on this show, but I never liked him with Emma Samms. His character was perfect with Pamela Sue Martin as Fallon, but not Samms.
Actors are mere products of a good writer's imagination
Only when Sable was on-screen, especially with Stanwyck or Montalban, did the show crackle.
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LBJ's mistress on JFK:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcXeutDmuRA
It premiered a couple of seasons too late. The bloom was off the nighttime soap rose at that point. Plus, the show was awful.
shareI'm not, It is a carbon copy of Dynasty. It's like watching the same show. If tne Colbys was created by someone other than the Dynasty creaters, they would have gotten sued.
Rich guy 4 adult children. One b**chy wife/ ex- wife big mansion.
The thing that bother me most was the adult children still living at home when they could obviously afford not to. If they couldn't afford to move out that would be one thing, but they could.
All the reasons stated by the other posters are correct and also we the viewers were asked to root for Jason and Frankie who were the most selfish persons on the show.
Frankie, deserts her sons so she can travel Europe without the having a child as constant burden and worst she has sex with her sister's husband who is also her husband's brother while her husband is serving his country in the Korean War.
And Jason, beds his wife's sister who is also his brother's wife.
The only one who was a sympathetic character was Sable who was betrayed to the two people closet to her.