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Season 1 – Knots Landing

Play trailer Poster for Season 1 – Knots Landing Dec 1979 Drama Romance Play Trailer Watchlist
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18% Tomatometer 11 Reviews 75% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
The desperate housewives of Wisteria Lane have nothing on the characters in this "Dallas" spinoff, which saw recovering alcoholic Gary Ewing and his wife, Valene, settling into a Southern California cul-de-sac to escape the dirty dealings back home in Texas. Gary worked for car dealer Sid Fairgate, whose wife, Karen, became one of Valene's best friends. Sid's recently divorced sister, Abby Cunningham, stirred things up when she moved into the neighborhood with her two children and promptly starting wrecking marriages. Other characters who played prominent roles were Val's mother, Lilimae Clements, and powerful state senator Gregory Sumner and sex kitten Paige Matheson.
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Knots Landing — Season 1

Knots Landing — Season 1

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Critics Consensus

Knots Landing ties itself into knots to be as juicy as Dallas, but this spinoff lacks the glamor and memorable characters that make the lasciviousness fun.

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Critics Reviews

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Megan Rosenfeld Washington Post 07/21/2021
The problem with Knots Landing is that while Dallas succeeds as soap opera because the characters are larger than life, these characters are caricatures of life. There's romance in a ranch; there isn't much in a subdivision. Go to Full Review John J. O'Connor New York Times 07/21/2021
The characters run to easily identifiable types -- nice guys versus nasties. The situations are elementary -- sex, money and ambition. And the resolutions are inevitably comforting. Knots Landing has few pretensions to profundity or even subtlety. Go to Full Review Sheridan Morley London Evening Standard 07/21/2021
I suspect the whole thing is an expensive and elaborate plot to make us long for the return of J.R. Go to Full Review Steven Reddicliffe Miami Herald 07/20/2021
Alas, Knots Landing isn't nearly as good -- meaning as wonderfully bad -- as Dallas... "Knots" is an unhappy marriage of "Family" pathos and "Dallas" horniness of plenty, a union that turns out to be something of a drag. Go to Full Review Gerald B. Jordan Kansas City Star 07/20/2021
This extension of Dallas only adds another hour to prime time trash, which in the case of Dallas has been a ratings winner for CBS. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Cameron R 02/04/2025 First class series. It grows from a very average suburban drama during the first 3 years into a fantastic melodramatic piece of art from Season 4 and remains consistently good until the end. Better written and better acted than Dallas and Dynasty too. See more Mike P 02/11/2024 This always felt like a meh ripoff of Dallas to me...It's a low-key Dallas for normies...It's Dallas-Lite...And maybe that's why I don't like it...It's missing the manic lunacy and luridness that makes Dallas so great...It's missing that deliciously trashy and exciting southern gothic quality that Dallas has...And it's not over the top enough...Not the people; not the stories...It's got no one like psychopath JR Ewing on board to truly stir the pot and cause so much chaos...I mean Abby Cunningham just can't hold a candle to JR...(Or Alexis Carrington-Colby, for that manner). She seems more like Martha Stewart on a bad day or something...Or like Shirley Maclaine in Terms of Endearment or something...I mean, she's unpleasant... Sort of mildly unpleasant...But not villainous with a capital V for Vendetta... She's not really formidable to a creepy degree; and just oozing with evil the way Alexis and JR are...And the show suffers for it. And the rest of the cast are just normal, blah characters...Very Forgettable...Like extras from a very blah Lifetime TV Movie...They're not spicy enough; or sexy enough... I mean Karen, Val, Garry and Abby are just no match for JR, Cliff Barnes, Sue Ellen and Miss Ellie... There's no contest. One group is Tennessee Williams; the other group is Judy Blume... One group is fire; the other group is fluff. So thumbs down on this forgettable Dallas sequel. I know Dallas was really created by Lorimar as an elaborate launching pad for THIS show...But ironically: Dallas turned out to be better. By accident. Dallas turned out to be the real phenomenon; the real cultural force... The one that deserves to be celebrated and remembered... So the verdict is: NO on this vapid show sequel which forever stands in the shadows of it's superior parent program. 👎 See more 06/14/2021 Great season. Very entertaining. See more Read all reviews
Knots Landing — Season 1

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Cast & Crew

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Michele Lee

Actor

Joan Van Ark

Actor

Ted Shackelford

Actor

Constance McCashin

Actor

Pat Petersen

Actor

Steve Shaw

Actor

Episodes

Episode 1 Aired Dec 27, 1979 Pilot Newly remarried Gary and Valene Ewing arrive at their home in Knots Landing, Calif., and attend a party to meet their neighbors. Details Episode 2 Aired Jan 3, 1980 Community Spirit Community-spokesman Gary discovers that his brother J.R. is behind an oil company's plans for offshore drilling near Knots Landing. Details Episode 3 Aired Jan 10, 1980 Let Me Count the Ways Karen sets out to save the career of her daughter's controversial high-school teacher, who is under attack for unorthodox methods. Details Episode 4 Aired Jan 17, 1980 The Lie Neglected Laura claims to have been attacked by a local rapist after a strange man she met in a bar forced his attentions on her. Details Episode 5 Aired Jan 25, 1980 Will the Circle Be Unbroken Val's mother Lilimae, a country singer, comes to move in with her daughter, who is anything but happy about the turn of events. Details Episode 6 Aired Jan 31, 1980 Home Is for Healing Lucy Ewing discovers that her long-separated parents have finally remarried, and decides to leave Texas to join them in California. Details Episode 7 Aired Feb 7, 1980 Land of the Free A motorcycle gang injures Michael; Karen presses charges and becomes the target of a fear campaign. Details Episode 8 Aired Feb 14, 1980 Civil Wives To Sid's surprise, Karen invites his visiting ex-wife to stay with the family; Ginger discovers that Eric is infatuated with her. Details Episode 9 Aired Feb 21, 1980 The Constant Companion Mysterious gifts and telephone calls resurrect a painful, 8-year-old memory for Ginger; Val decides to get a high-school diploma. Details Episode 10 Aired Mar 6, 1980 Small Surprises Karen discusses mixed emotions about her pregnancy with Sid; Karen suffers from complications; Eric dates Ginger's younger sister. Details Episode 11 Aired Mar 13, 1980 Courageous Convictions Richard won't allow Laura to get a job despite the couple's deep financial woes; Karen has misgivings about Diana's new boyfriend. Details Episode 12 Aired Mar 20, 1980 Bottom of the Bottle A champagne celebration party throws recovering alcoholic Gary off the wagon; Ginger accuses Kenny of infidelity. Details Episode 13 Aired Mar 27, 1980 Bottom of the Bottle Val claims Gary's attempted suicide was a cry for help; Gary escapes from the hospital; Ginger catches up with Kenny. Details

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Season Info

Network
CBS
Genre
Drama, Romance
Original Language
English
Release Date
Dec 27, 1979