As a college student during the early 1980s, I missed a lot of television. I watched Cheers faithfully, because it was set in the restaurant and pub where I and several of my fellow Emerson College classmates congregated. But I never found the time for the night time soap opera Dynasty. With the release of the thirteen-episode, four-disc set Dynasty: The Complete First Season (20th Century Fox) and many hours of non-stop viewing, I now consider myself completely caught up in this department.

The new calming influence in Carrington’s life, his former secretary Krystle (Linda Evans), had her own issues, including experiencing firsthand the clash of classes, being several years younger than her suitor and still having a flickering flame for married ex-beau Matthew (Bo Hopkins), who also happened to work for Blake. Watching the first season of Dynasty, which aired in early 1981, one is reminded of the fashion and hair offenses of the era. While the mega-shoulder pads had yet to make their small screen debut, there were still plenty of laughable color combinations and fabrics to be feared, many of which could be seen being worn by Krystle, a girl from humble Ohio beginnings who was way out her league in Denver. As for hair disasters, Krystle’s bleached and fried tendrils reinforced the concept of “I just washed my hair and I can’t do a thing with it.”

Now to Blake’s ne’er do well children. Pamela Sue Martin, probably best known for her performances in the classic disaster flick The Poseidon Adventure and the unintentionally disastrous mid-1970s Nancy Drew Mysteries series, played Fallon as the classic rich bitch who was sleeping with the chauffeur Michael (Wayne Northrop) as well as Cecil (Lloyd Bochner), one of her father’s business associates. She eventually married Cecil’s nephew Jeff (John James), someone closer to her own age, but naturally continued with her extracurricular sexual exploits.

However, the most interesting character, as well as the most compelling story line of the series (sorry Blake and Krystle) was that of Blake’s gay son Steven. Al Corley, who played Steven during the first season, could be alternately handsome and odd looking, depending on the camera angle. Even a gay character such as Steven didn’t escape the styles of the times, although it was his blonde-highlighted super blow-dried hair that pegged him for the period. Homophobic Blake didn’t hold back when confronting Steven about his homosexuality, even referring to his son as a faggot in an early episode. Blake wanted Steven, who was home in Denver for his father’s wedding to Krystle, to give up his “New York ways” and return home and come to work for the family business.

Steven, however, was deeply conflicted. Not only was he torn over the prospect of going to work for his father, but he was also unsure of his feelings for his lover Ted (Mark Withers), whom he had left behind in the apartment they shared on Perry Street. Steven was experiencing such inner turmoil that he did things that only further complicated his existence. For instance, he went to work for Matthew and Walter (Dale Robertson), who had their own smaller scale oil rig and drilling operation and were constantly aware of the threat posed by Blake’s much larger conglomerate. He also began an affair with Claudia (Pamela Bellwood), Matthew’s unstable wife.

But Ted couldn’t seem to live without Steven and showed up in Denver to pursue him. In addition to having to deal with Blake’s open displays of disgust, Steven also encountered relentless homophobia and ignorance from some of his fellow co-workers on the rig, especially after one of them saw Steven and Ted in an intimate moment in a roadhouse. Tragically and dramatically, everything came to a head when, in a rage, Blake accidentally killed Ted, leading to a high profile criminal trial. The season ended, incidentally, with a surprise witness, Alexis, Blake’s ex-wife and the mother of Fallon and Steven, being called to the witness stand to testify. She entered the courtroom, dressed to the nines (at least for the early eighties) in a wide-brimmed hat and veil. If you look closely, you will see that it is, in fact, not Joan Collins, but another actress playing the part, as Collins wasn’t cast until after the season was shot. The episode ended, like many before it, with the “To be continued…” tag.

Now that I am hooked, bad acting and even worse writing and all, I’m a bit ashamed to admit that I can’t wait for the next installment. Especially since a new Steven, like the new Darren on Bewitched, made his debut in a future season.

Get Dynasty Season 1 on DVD