Spinning Off

[Radio Mike]

I have a question - when the Knots Landing spin-off episode of Dallas was first shown in the UK, I clearly remember Ted Shackelford and Joan Van Ark appearing in the main opening credits of the show (3 pictures, names in huge yellow letters etc)

But any time this has been repeated on UK Gold, they're not there, and they're credited as guest stars during the end credits.

Does anybody else remember this, or know why the titles were changed?

Also, did anybody ever hear of plans for a series to spin off from Knots Landing? I seem to remember reading an interview with David Jacobs ages ago, when he hinted that some of the younger characters such as Paige and Johnny Rourke could be used in their own series to keep viewers interested while the main show was on its summer break. Did anything come of this?

[Pamela Barnes]

Yes that would of been the case but for some reason the openers have been chanaged in some way for reruns. Maybe for reruns the old openers didn`t hold up with time, I know the original Dallas mini series opener has been changed, the orignal one can been seen on the Ultimate Dallas site.
The Dallas episode you speak of was an an extra episode shown that week to prepare fans for Knots so Val and Gary were given star billing. Reruns are purchased internationally etc without showing Knots in mind so the usual credits are shown for continuity purposes.

[Pamela Barnes]

Sorry I just read your 2nd question. There are `always` plans for spin offs. Jacobs etc would fish with these ideas and if they bait isn`t taken they won`t happen, which was the case here. Again the same with Dallas, there were spin off ideas all the time in regards to Pam and Bobby.

Sorry but they didn`t happen

[OnTheMarkTexas]

As far as I know, based on interviews on this site with David Jacobs and Kim Lankford, that there were at least two instances when a possible KL spin-off was toyed with.

At some point during the first four years, Lorimar briefly considered giving Kenny & Ginger their own show. But that never came to fruition -- because according to Kim Lankford -- James Houghton had expressed interest in leaving the show and the promise of a possible spin-off didn't sway his decision. When he and Kim Lankford were cut loose at the end of season 4, he took a "that's life" outlook about it.

Also, the "Love In" episode from season 9 was originally intended as a "backdoor pilot" for a summer series that would have centered on the youger KNOTS characters.

The short-lived primetime soap BERRENGER'S featured the recurring character of Det. Morrison (Steve Kahn) who had played the same character during seasons 4 and 5 of KNOTS. While not a spin-off, the two shows did exist in the same universe. I guess the connection was downplayed considering that the shows aired on two different networks.

[montyc]

As far as I know, based on interviews on this site with David Jacobs and Kim Lankford, that there were at least two instances when a possible KL spin-off was toyed with.

At some point during the first four years, Lorimar briefly considered giving Kenny & Ginger their own show. But that never came to fruition -- because according to Kim Lankford -- James Houghton had expressed interest in leaving the show and the promise of a possible spin-off didn't sway his decision. When he and Kim Lankford were cut loose at the end of season 4, he took a "that's life" outlook about it.

Also, the "Love In" episode from season 9 was originally intended as a "backdoor pilot" for a summer series that would have centered on the youger KNOTS characters.

The short-lived primetime soap BERRENGER'S featured the recurring character of Det. Morrison (Steve Kahn) who had played the same character during seasons 4 and 5 of KNOTS. While not a spin-off, the two shows did exist in the same universe. I guess the connection was downplayed considering that the shows aired on two different networks.

The season 9 spin off was referred to as Knots Landing Junior by the press and died when the actor's strike took place.

If I recall correctly it would have had Micheal, Paige, and Johnny as the main characters.

[Knots Man]

The short-lived primetime soap BERRENGER'S featured the recurring character of Det. Morrison (Steve Kahn) who had played the same character during seasons 4 and 5 of KNOTS. While not a spin-off, the two shows did exist in the same universe. I guess the connection was downplayed considering that the shows aired on two different networks.

I'd no idea about this. How cool is that?

Now if only 'Desperate Housewives' had thought about renaming Edie Britt 'Paige Matheson', then we'd have had an even more high profile example. Who knows, perhaps even Michele Lee, Kevin Dobson & William Devane could have popped in for visits

[Benny JR]

That is interesting. I will have to look for the other show mentioned AND the s9 ep. too!

[Kevmac]

I'd no idea about this. How cool is that?

Now if only 'Desperate Housewives' had thought about renaming Edie Britt 'Paige Matheson', then we'd have had an even more high profile example. Who knows, perhaps even Michele Lee, Kevin Dobson & William Devane could have popped in for visits

Now there's a thought OnTheMarkDC .......... That would have been fab !

[jockistheman]

Does anyone know if the scene where Lilimae "shouts" Joshua off the roof is on Youtube? How about when she ran down Chip? There are tons of Dallas clips, but very few Knots ones that I could find.

[Seaviewer]

The short-lived primetime soap BERRENGER'S featured the recurring character of Det. Morrison (Steve Kahn) who had played the same character during seasons 4 and 5 of KNOTS. While not a spin-off, the two shows did exist in the same universe. I guess the connection was downplayed considering that the shows aired on two different networks.

I remember that being on here. It screened in the hour after Knots but that was already pretty late so I didn't stay up the extra hour - and, besides, I didn't want to dull my Knots experience by watching another show right after it... But I wish I'd watched it now.

[Knots0709]

I have a question - when the Knots Landing spin-off episode of Dallas was first shown in the UK, I clearly remember Ted Shackelford and Joan Van Ark appearing in the main opening credits of the show (3 pictures, names in huge yellow letters etc)

But any time this has been repeated on UK Gold, they're not there, and they're credited as guest stars during the end credits.

Does anybody else remember this, or know why the titles were changed?

Also, did anybody ever hear of plans for a series to spin off from Knots Landing? I seem to remember reading an interview with David Jacobs ages ago, when he hinted that some of the younger characters such as Paige and Johnny Rourke could be used in their own series to keep viewers interested while the main show was on its summer break. Did anything come of this?

Well, Ted Shackelford and Joan Van Ark never appeared in the opening credits of Dallas in the United States. Since this is the country of first publication, this really makes me doubt they would do a special cut for other countries. It is really, especially back then, expensive to do one credit sequence like that for one episode. Dallas used alot of split screens and scrolling panels and it is expensive to do that on film. The credits you see are the original credits that aired in the United States on CBS, which is the first place all episodes of Dallas were broadcasted.

[WaveCrest]

Well when I've seen Dallas on UK TV Gold and Channel 4 they didn't include Ted Shackelford and Joan Van Ark in the main cast credits. Same with the "Return Engagements" episode on the season 2 (DVD 3) Region 2 set.

I never knew that before about the other programme which featured a KNOTS character, or the season 9 episode. Thanks for posting that. And the 'Kenny and Ginger spin-off in the 80s' possibility.