12 January: Dynasty

On this date in 1981 Dynasty, a prime time soap opera inspired by Dallas, premièred on US TV. 10 things you might not know about Dynasty:

1. The working title for the show was “Oil”. It was intended to be primarily about the 1979 oil crisis, but TV audiences were much more interested in the personal lives of rich people.
2. Sophia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor, and Raquel Welch were all considered for the role of Alexis. In fact, when Alexis first appears, in a cliffhanger episode at the end of season one, the producers hadn’t actually cast her yet, and were holding out for Sophia Loren. In that scene, Alexis was played by an extra in sunglasses, a wide brimmed hat and a veil. It was only with the casting of Joan Collins that they made Alexis British.
3. In her first appearance, Joan Collins wore the exact same outfit as the extra had done. This was probably the only time a character was ever seen in the same outfit twice. It was a conscious decision by the producers that no-one would wear the same outfit twice, and costume designer Nolan Miller had a weekly wardrobe budget of $35,000 and designed 3,000 outfits.
4. As much as $25,000 was spent per episode on fresh Flowers for the sets at one point, until budget cuts meant they had to start using artificial flowers which could be re-used.
5. Steven Carrington was possibly the first openly gay character on prime time TV. The scenes of him with his gay lovers were kept pretty tame with no romantic touching or Kissing. There was also a homophobic character, Adam Carrington, who often bullied Steven for being gay. Al Corley, the first actor to play Steven, complained that Steven “doesn't have any fun”. He left the show and was replaced by Jack Coleman. Gordon Thomson, who played Adam, is gay in real life, while neither Corley or Coleman are.
6. Dynasty was Rock Hudson’s last acting role before he died of AIDS in 1985. As it wasn’t known at the time exactly how AIDS was transmitted, people feared for Linda Evans's health because she'd kissed Hudson in the show. It prompted the Screen Actors Guild to recommend no kissing scenes involving any high risk groups for AIDS.
7. The house the Carringtons lived in was The Filoli Estate in Woodside, California, which has 43 rooms, 17 bathrooms, and 17 fireplaces. Though the indoor scenes were specially constructed sets.
8. One of the most famous cat fights between Krystle and Alexis took place in a lily pond, with both of them in ball gowns. The actresses staged the fight kneeling down so it would look as if they were in deeper water. Producer Douglas S. Cramer said, "We walk a fine line, just this side of camp. Careful calculations are made. We sense that while it might be wonderful for Krystle and Alexis to have a catfight in a koi pond, it would be inappropriate for Joan to smack Linda with a koi."
9. Season five ended with a cliffhanger when terrorists crashed the wedding of Amanda and Prince Michael and started shooting at people. None of the actors even knew at that point which of them were going to be killed off. It turned out that none of the main characters died, only a couple of supporting characters Lady Ashley Mitchell and Luke Fuller.
10. Dynasty was so popular in Yugoslavia that when it aired there at 9pm, the streets would be empty.

Character birthday

Shadow, aka Rosemary Ellis, member of the G-Men. Her power fluctuates randomly between invisibility, intangibility and the ability to fly. The Ultraheroes universe power neutralising bracelets were devised for her so that she could live a normal life and only use her powers when she wished to. Originally a member of the Freedom League, she would eventually team up with Ultra-Grav to form a new team, the G-Men. Her story is told in full in Running in the Family. She also appears briefly in Fire in Her Blood.

Running in the Family

An alien craft approaches Earth. The alien on board is a fugitive, fleeing from an arranged marriage to freedom on our world. She befriends James, a genetics student, and shares her knowledge about the future of the human race with him. 

A science experiment gone wrong gifts James with superhuman abilities; but they come at a price, leading him to mentor others like himself. He founds a group of amateur heroes called the Freedom League.

The Freedom League suffers a string of losses and tragedies; it seems doomed to failure; but one of its members, Peter Mayfield, has vowed to form a group of his own. He is determined to keep his vow, despite having lost Rosemary, the one person he wanted by his side to help him.

Lizzie Hopkins is a talented young athlete and dancer. Peter sees her in action and guesses her exceptional abilities are far more than they seem. He offers to train and mentor Lizzie - but her mother is violently opposed to his suggestion.

As soon as she is old enough, Lizzie takes matters into her own hands; she seeks out Peter and his group for herself. She soon makes a discovery which shakes her world at its very foundations. Her search for the truth will resolve many unanswered questions, but it will also stir up old heartbreaks dating back to the Freedom League's early days.

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