All My Children2001
Created by Agnes Nixon, the show is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia and centered around the lives and loves of the various families. Known for its characters "staring off camera while delivering bad news", it has become the benchmark for cheesy soap drama around the world. It has suffered a ratings slump from over 20 million in the 70's to just over 3 million today, but still remains popular (behind the newer "The Young And The Restless")
Dallas1985
How can one sum up the saga of Dallas in eight lines? Impossible! Let's just agree it's probably the most famous and popular US soap exported to Britain; offered first to ITV, but snapped up by BBC1 in 1979 where it stayed, except for a brief sojourn on ITV in the mid-80s.
Dallas - Donna Reed titles1984/85
During the 1984-85 season, illness caused Barbara Bel Geddes to be replaced as Miss Ellie (Eleanor Southworth Ellie Ewing Farlow to you and me) by the Hollywood star Donna Reed. When Bel Geddes was well enough to return to the role, Reed was fired. She sued the production company and received an undisclosed seven-figure settlement. Poor Donna died in 1986 at the age of 64 in California, from pancreatic cancer.
Dallas1987
Our first clip dates from 1985, this clip is from 1987, plus we feature titles from 1989 and 1991. Notice how the Lorimar-Telepictures, and then Lorimar Television name is first added, and then removed, while the final series adopts a totally opaque graphic style of lettering, more akin to Dynasty...
Dallas1989
Fantastic theme tune, unforgettable title sequence, amazing storylines (except for Bobby's return from the dead, explained away in a nightmare!) and a superb cast. Larry Hagman, Linda Gray, Patrick Duffy, Barbara Bel Geddes, Victoria Principal, Ken Kercheval et al. What more can I say?!
right clip - closing credits
Dallas1990 / 1991
By 1990 the signature graphic style of the original titles are gone, in favour of simple live action shots with glossy CG lettering
right clip - same sequence from 1991
Channel 4 - Dallas Night Ident2000
In 2000, Channel 4 celebrated the brillance of Dallas with a special themed night of programmes, here's their ident.
Dynasty1987 Seen by many as a poshed up rival to the already popular "Dallas" and famed for its big hair and big shoulder pads, it was set in Denver, Colerado and was based around the oil rich Carrington family and all matter of hangers-on and money mad leechers. Obviously the makers had a love of the south of England, why else would they use the TVS logo in the transitions between the various shots in the opening titles? (I know its not actually the TVS logo but it looks like it!)
Falcon Crest1980s The series centers around the feuding factions of the wealthy Gioberti/Channing family in the Californian wine industry starring Jane Wyman as Angela Channing, the malevolent owner of the Falcon Crest Winery, and Robert Foxworth as Chase Gioberti, Angela's nephew who inherits a half share of Falcon Crest following the death of his father. The series was set in the fictitious Tuscany Valley (modeled after the Napa Valley) just north of San Francisco.
Knots Landing1979 - 1993
Created by the team behind Dallas, producers Michael Filerman and David Jacobs, and regarded as its sequel. In fact, they conceived Knots first, the saga of various couples living in a luxury coastal cul-de-sac, including Gary Ewing (Ted Shackelford), estranged from his rich relatives. They wrote him into the first series of Dallas, and when it became a hit, they revived their plans for Knots, which debuted on CBS in 1979. Knots appeared on BBC1 throughout the 80s (the clip here is from 1982 with BBC1 continuity), and has also turned up on UK Gold.
Knots Landing1990
Another new title sequence, gone are the Crossroads-esque titles, replaced by more modern captions and fonts.
Knots Landing1990s
Unlikely as it may seem, the composition and design of the music and titles for this latter-day series appear to have been influenced by Simon May and Nancy Kominsky respectively. Feverish, multi-coloured palette knife scrapings, overlaid with monochrome vignettes of the cast, set to a tune that's the wrong side of Howard's Way.
One Life To Live2001
One Life to Live is set in the fictional city of Llanview, a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The show originally concentrated on the wealthy Lord family, the less wealthy Siegels (the first attempt to showcase a Jewish family on daytime television until the short-lived 1974 daytime serial, How to Survive a Marriage), the middle-class Rileys and Woleks, and the African-American Grays. One Life to Live has been called "the most peculiarly American of soap operas: the first serial to present a vast array of ethnic types, broad comic situations, a constant emphasis on social issues, and strong male characters."
Created by Agnes Nixon, who also created "All My Children" (see clip above)
