History Series / Dynasty1981

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Once ''Dallas'' took off, Richard and Esther Shapiro created this series about oil families living in Colorado, which Creator/AaronSpelling produced. It initially focused on Krystle Grant Jennings being just married to oil magnate Blake Carrington, and her tempestuous relationship with Blake's children from his first marriage. The next season, his ex-wife Alexis shows up and the fun ''really'' starts.

Just as ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'' would later top ''Series/{{Buffy|TheVampireSlayer}}'' in terms of FantasyKitchenSink, this show topped ''Dallas'' in terms of every SoapOpera trope the writers could think of (with [[AllJustADream one extremely notable exception]]).

* EvilBrit: Alexis - played of course by actual Brit Joan Collins, whose cut-glass accent certainly enhances the character's EvilIsSexy vibe.

* IconicSequelCharacter: Alexis is probably the show's most notable character, but doesn't appear until the start of season two.

No relation to the Music/{{KISS}} [[Music/{{Dynasty}} album]] of the same name.

[[Series/Dynasty2017 A reboot series]] with a new cast premiered on October 2017.

* SweaterGirl: About as common as the furs on that show.

* SomethingElseAlsoRises: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMTQrn7C1yI The opening credits]] are spectacular in this sense, with all the men being represented by skyscrapers, oil gushers, fountain and foaming champagne bottles.

* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: Amanda's [[OtherDarrin second actress]], Karen Cellini, was American and didn't attempt to have an English accent for the role, unlike the original actress Catherine Oxenberg.

** [[spoiler: Fallon disappeared after a car crash at the end of season 4. She was presumed dead in a plane crash in the following season, though later turned up alive later in season 5, with a [[OtherDarrin different actress]]. She then appeared for the first couple episodes of season 6 before moving to the show's spin-off ''The Colbys'' for two seasons, before permanently returning in season 8.]]
** [[spoiler: Steven left Colorado at the end of season 2. He moved to an oil rig, which blew up in an explosion, leaving him presumably dead. He was later discovered alive, with a [[OtherDarrin different face after surgery]]. His intended PutOnABus moment in season 7 was averted, and he stayed until the end of the following season, where he left Denver. He returned for the miniseries.]]

** Interestingly, Ted [=McGinley=], Rock Hudson, and Cassie Yates are represented by horses.

* StraightGay: Steven. In particular demonstrated by his penchant for getting into fights with some of the other guys on the show, especially his brother Adam. He possessed no stereotypically gay attributes, which was fairly notable for a show that aired during TheEighties. Also, several other gay characters (often Steven's exes) can qualify under this trope because they lack stereotypical mannerisms.

The show had a spinoff, ''The Colbys'', but it only lasted a couple of seasons. ''Dynasty'' unfortunately didn't last much longer either.

Once ''Dallas'' took off, Richard and Esther Shapiro created this series about oil families living in Colorado, which Creator/AaronSpelling produced. It initially focused on Krystle Grant Jennings being just married to oil magnate Blake Carrington, and her tempestuous relationship with the children from Blake's last marriage. The next season, Alexis, the wife from the first marriage, shows up and the fun really started.

Once ''Dallas'' took off, Richard and Esther Shapiro created this series about oil families living in Colorado. which Creator/AaronSpelling produced. It initially focused on Krystle Grant Jennings being just married to oil magnate Blake Carrington, and her tempestuous relationship with the children from Blake's last marriage. The next season, Alexis, the wife from the first marriage, shows up and the fun really started.

* NiceHat[=/=]NiceShoes[=/=]HighClassGloves: as with PimpedOutDress, all these tropes are on display in multiple episodes.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Dynasty_characters#Overview The OtherWiki has a whole list dedicated to the many cast members of ''Dynasty'']].

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* ButNotTooGay / ButNotTooBi: Steven's relationships with women are a lot more explicit than his relationships with men, as was standard for 80s television. Jack Coleman is quoted as saying of his character's relationship with Luke, "It was very much ''The Donna Reed Show'' in terms of four feet on the floor, nobody actually ever touching."

-->'''Alexis Colby''' I'm so happy that you two finally met. Well, what do you think of your good-looking brother?

The iconic TV series featuring the lives of wealthy oil magnate Blake Carrington and his tumultuous family, their shoulder padded clothings and scenic catfights.

Respective pages:
* The [[Series/Dynasty1981 1980s original]] starring Creator/JohnForsythe as Blake Carrington, Creator/LindaEvans as Krystle, and Creator/JoanCollins as Alexis.
* The [[Series/Dynasty2017 2017 reboot]].

If a direct link led you to this page, please correct it so that it points to the proper wick above.

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->''"They don't write female characters like they used to."''
-->-- '''Roger''' (while watching one of ''Dynasty''[='s=] many {{Cat Fight}}s), ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad''

Imagine ''Series/{{Dallas}}'', but in UsefulNotes/{{Denver}}, replace Creator/LarryHagman with Creator/JoanCollins, and throw in a few catfights and ''lots and lots'' of shoulder pads.

Once ''Dallas'' took off, Richard and Esther Shapiro created this series about oil families living in Colorado. which Creator/AaronSpelling produced. It initially focused on Krystle Grant Jennings being just married to oil magnate Blake Carrington, and her tempestuous relationship with the children from Blake's last marriage. The next season, Alexis, the wife from the first marriage, shows up and the fun really started.

Just as ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'' would later top ''Series/{{Buffy|TheVampireSlayer}}'' in terms of FantasyKitchenSink, this show topped ''Dallas'' in terms of every SoapOpera trope the writers could think of (with [[AllJustADream one extremely notable exception]]).

The show had a spinoff, ''The Colbys'', but it only lasted a couple of seasons. ''Dynasty'' unfortunately didn't last much longer either.

The entire series has been released on DVD.

[[Series/Dynasty2017 A reboot series]] with a new cast premiered on October 2017.

No relation to the Music/{{KISS}} [[Music/{{Dynasty}} album]] of the same name.
----
!!Tropes shown on ''Dynasty'' and ''The Colbys'':

* AbortedArc: Many of which have led to WhatHappenedToTheMouse moments for the show.
** Nick Toscanni (James Farentino)'s ultimate fate was left ambiguous when he left Blake for dead at the end of season 2. He left town, though nothing was stated about what actually happened to him.
** Daniel Reece (Rock Hudson)'s story arc, including the revelation of being [[spoiler: Sammy Jo]]'s father, was cut short because of Hudson's declining health.
** [[spoiler: Joel (George Hamilton) and Rita (Linda Evans, who also played Krystle) left the show in a way that almost guaranteed their returns. Namely, Joel had kidnapped Krystle and believed that her lookalike Rita was her, and having fallen in love with Krystle, he believed that Rita was her and wanted to leave for South America with "Krystle", though Sammy Jo had switched the women at the last second. With Rita's knowledge of Joel's feelings toward Krystle, she attacked Joel while he was driving, and they went over an embankment. A search party is employed to find them, in which they recover the crashed car, though both were missing. They didn't return, and the storyline was promptly forgotten.]]
*** Apparently, the idea for the conclusion of this storyline was to bring them back for two episodes, but this was scrapped.
** Caress, [[spoiler: Alexis']] sister was PutOnABus in order to dig up secrets on [[spoiler: Ben Carrington]], but she never returned to the series nor the miniseries, thus rendering that potential storyline moot.
* AndStarring: Bo Hopkins as Matthew Blaisdel.
* AnyoneCanDie: As typical for a soap opera. Of the people who were in the main credits (even as special guest stars) at one point or another: [[spoiler: Joseph Anders, Cecil Colby, Walter Lankershim, Mark Jennings, Peter De Vilbis, Lady Ashley Mitchell, Daniel Reece, Sean Rowan, and the entire Blaisdel family (Claudia, Matthew, and Lindsey).]] Subverted with [[spoiler: Fallon and Steven, who turned up alive]]. It's also unclear if [[spoiler: Dex]] survived the conclusion of [[spoiler: season 9.]]
* ArtisticLicenseGeography: In reality, Moldavia (the country where the terrorist attack takes place) was part of the USSR and definitely not a monarchy.
* BackFromTheDead:
** [[spoiler: Fallon, late in season 5 (after having been declared dead and buried earlier on in the season). It turned out that it was another woman with a strong physical resemblance to her who got killed in the {{Cliffhanger}} car crash at the end of season 4; Fallon herself was inflicted with amnesia.]]
** Also: [[spoiler: Steven]], who was thought to have been killed in an oil rig explosion.
* BetaBitch: Sammy Jo could be considered this to Alexis. Alexis has always knocked down Sammy Jo for her "immature" scheming, which becomes HilariousInHindsight, considering that the actress who portrayed Sammy Jo, Heather Locklear, would go on to play another iconic AlphaBitch, Amanda Woodward, on ''Series/MelrosePlace''.
* BigScrewedUpFamily: Possibly a TropeCodifier.
* BolivianArmyCliffhanger: A season of ''Dynasty'' ended with a terrorist attack on a wedding... long story... and everyone apparently all dead. The first episode of the next season was one of the highest rated episodes in that show's history. The resolution was that a couple special guest stars from the previous season were killed off.
* BuryYourGays: Ted Dinard and Luke Fuller. [[spoiler: Subverted with Steven, who is revealed to be alive after being presumed dead in an oil rig explosion]].
* ButNotTooGay / ButNotTooBi: Steven's relationships with women are a lot more explicit than his relationships with men, as was standard for 80s television. Jack Coleman is quoted as saying of his character's relationship with Luke, "It was very much ''The Donna Reed Show'' in terms of four feet on the floor, nobody actually ever touching."
* CastFullOfRichPeople: It's about a family of oil barons and their associates in Colorado.
* CatFight: What this show is best known for nowadays. The show's writers obviously had huge fun thinking up new venues for hissing, spitting, slapping fights between Joan Collins and (usually Linda Evans, but sometimes whichever other actress was being featured at the time, such as Diahann Carroll or Stephanie Beacham) at least once a season.
* ChildByRape: Subverted; Kirby's pregnancy with Adam's child ends in a stillborn birth.
* {{Cliffhanger}}: OnceASeason. The show ended on one, as well, which left the fates of [[spoiler: Adam, Alexis, Dex, Blake, Fallon, and Krystina]] in the balance.
* CommutingOnABus: Sammy Jo appeared sporadically during her first four seasons on the show (season 2-5), often going back and forth from Denver and New York, before she got off the bus permanently in season 6, remaining on the show until the end.
* DeathIsCheap: Pulled on [[spoiler: Fallon and Steven]] because their "deaths" were never permanent, even though they would be instantly fatal if the show went with a more realistic approach (e.g. [[spoiler: plane crash and gas explosion, respectively]]). And don't forget [[spoiler: the entire wedding party at the "Moldavian Massacre"]].
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The first season didn't have Alexis.
* EvilBrit: Alexis - played of course by actual Brit Joan Collins, whose cut-glass accent certainly enhances the character's EvilIsSexy vibe.
* FishOutOfWater: Krystle, upon arriving to the Carrington household. Not helped by how Blake is quite the {{Workaholic}}.
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** In late season two, Alexis and Blake mention their eldest son Adam during a fight, who was kidnapped as an infant and never returned. At the start of the following season, Adam shows up and becomes one of the show's most notable villains.
** In the season four episode "Birthday", Alexis mentions being pregnant four times. At the time, it was known that she had ''three'' children (Adam, Fallon, and Steven). When Krystle notes the discrepancy, Alexis claims she had a miscarriage. Eleven episodes later, in season five's "Amanda", this is revealed to not be true when Amanda shows up and reveals that she is Alexis' daughter.
* GambitPileup: Well if half the cast is trying to manipulate things, this is inevitable.
* ImpossiblyCoolClothes: The outfits were the ''piece de resistance'' as far as the 1980s go. Not to mention ridiculously expensive. But these days, a lot of them are subject to heavy FashionDissonance.
* IconicSequelCharacter: Alexis is probably the show's most notable character, but doesn't appear until the start of season two.
* KarmaHoudini: Adam was never arrested after raping Kirby; in fact, Kirby almost ''married'' him even after that happened.
* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Dynasty_characters#Overview The OtherWiki has a whole list dedicated to the many cast members of ''Dynasty'']].
* LongestPregnancyEver: [[spoiler: Kirby fell pregnant after being raped by Adam in the middle of the third season but didn't lose the baby until the middle of the fourth season, well over a year after the rape had occurred in real time. This was due in part to the fourth season (and Kirby's pregnancy) picking up right where the third season left off, despite the five month gap in between episodes]].
* LoveDodecahedron: It seems like the dating pool of the Carrington family is limited to people their relatives have already been with. See TangledFamilyTree below for some examples.
* LukeYouAreMyFather: Dominique eventually told [[spoiler: Tom Carrington]] that she was his daughter.
* ManipulativeBastard: More than a few, including Adam, who was almost a KarmaHoudini as well.
* MidseasonReplacement: Premiered in the middle of the 1980-1981 television season.
* MrsRobinson: For much of the series' run, the fortyish/fiftyish Alexis was romantically paired with the noticeably younger (and hunky) "Dex" Dexter.
* NiceHat[=/=]NiceShoes[=/=]HighClassGloves: as with PimpedOutDress, all these tropes are on display in multiple episodes.
* NoBisexuals: Depending on what season and how it was written, Steven may or may not have had some genuine attraction to Claudia and Sammy Jo. [[spoiler: Not that it ever lasted. By the reunion mini-series he had settled down permanently with Bart Fallmont, a love interest from a previous season.]] During that time, bisexuality is never mentioned as a possibility.
* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: Amanda's [[OtherDarrin second actress]], Karen Cellini, was American and didn't attempt to have an English accent for the role, unlike the original actress Catherine Oxenberg.
* TheNthDoctor: Steven, due to MagicPlasticSurgery after [[spoiler: the explosion on the oil rig]].
* OohMeAccentsSlipping: Fallon, after British [[TheOtherDarrin Emma Samms]] took over the role from Pamela Sue Martin.
* OverlyLongName: Alexis Morell Carrington Colby Dexter Rowan.
* ParentWithNewParamour: Fallon is very, VERY displeased to see her dad has remarried.
* PassiveAggressiveKombat: A staple of the show.
* PimpedOutDress[=/=]CostumePorn: ''Dynasty'' was '''the''' leading example of this trope during its glory days, with all its female characters being encased in glorious, often over-the-top outfits and gowns by Nolan Miller. Joan Collins' shoulder pads became iconic.
* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: Blake, who doesn't accept Steven's sexuality until the miniseries. Even Alexis accepts it quicker than he does.
* PoorlyDisguisedPilot: ''Dynasty'' started out as a 3-hour TV movie. Additionally, an episode in season 5 introduces, and focuses, heavily on Jeff's family in California. This sets up the premise to ''The Colbys''
* PrettyInMink: ''Dynasty'' could well be in the top ten shows of all time in terms of furs. If combined with ''The Colbys'' it likely tops them all.
* PromotionToOpeningTitles: Aside from the Carrington family, the show frequently upgraded major characters for any given season, only for them to be PutOnABus or KilledOffForReal at the conclusion of their story arcs.
* PutOnABus: Most of the actors who are credited for a single season on the show as a regular often receive this treatment. Amongst the main cast, here are some examples:
** [[spoiler: Claudia was moved to a mental hospital in early season 3 after being accused of kidnapping Fallon and Jeff's baby son (though in reality, it was a baby doll) and dropped the "baby" off the roof of an apartment building. She returned once later in the season, before rejoining the cast from season 4 until her death at the end of season 6.]]
** [[spoiler: Fallon disappeared after a car crash at the end of season 4. She was presumed dead in a plane crash in the following season, though later turned up alive later in season 5, with a [[OtherDarrin different actress]]. She then appeared for the first couple episodes of season 6 before moving to the show's spin-off ''The Colbys'' for two seasons, before permanently returning in season 8.]]
** [[spoiler: Steven left Colorado at the end of season 2. He moved to an oil rig, which blew up in an explosion, leaving him presumably dead. He was later discovered alive, with a [[OtherDarrin different face after surgery]]. His intended PutOnABus moment in season 7 was averted, and he stayed until the end of the following season, where he left Denver. He returned for the miniseries.]]
** [[spoiler: Amanda was PutOnABus to England in the middle of season 7 "to think", when the actress was let go from her contract. She never returned nor was she mentioned again.]]
** [[spoiler: Kirby Anders, ex-wife of Jeff and ex-fiancee of Adam, left for Paris after Alexis blackmailed her when Kirby attempted to shoot her, the end of season 4, the same episode Pamela Sue Martin (the original Fallon) left the show. She returned for the mini-series seven years later.]]
** [[spoiler: Jeff left for ''The Colbys'' in early season 6. He returned in season 8, after that show's cancellation, and stayed on permanently.]]
** [[spoiler: Krystle started to lose her mind at the end of season 8, as a result of a brain tumor. In season 9, she only appeared in six episodes before receiving neurosurgery and being placed in a ConvenientComa in a Swiss hospital for the remainder of the show. She returned for the mini-series in 1991.]]
** [[spoiler: Dominique left town at the end of season 7, to re-establish her music career in Europe.]]
* RichBitch: A TropeCodifier. Alexis is one of the most notorious in TV history, but actually about half the cast is like this.
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: Again, about half the cast.
* SerialSpouse: Alexis has been married four times, the longest marriage being with Blake at seven years.
* SexySecretary: Krystle was this to Blake, before marrying him.
* ShouldersOfDoom: All the shoulder pads.
* SoapOpera: One of the [[TropeCodifier trope codifiers]].
* SomethingElseAlsoRises: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMTQrn7C1yI The opening credits]] are spectacular in this sense, with all the men being represented by skyscrapers, oil gushers, fountain and foaming champagne bottles.
** Interestingly, Ted [=McGinley=], Rock Hudson, and Cassie Yates are represented by horses.
* StraightGay: Steven. In particular demonstrated by his penchant for getting into fights with some of the other guys on the show, especially his brother Adam. He possessed no stereotypically gay attributes, which was fairly notable for a show that aired during TheEighties. Also, several other gay characters (often Steven's exes) can qualify under this trope because they lack stereotypical mannerisms.
* SweaterGirl: About as common as the furs on that show.
* TangledFamilyTree: To a degree, the Carringtons while tying in the Colbys and some of the Carrington family staff. The series begins with Blake's marriage to Krystle, thus making her the stepmother of Steven and Fallon. Simple enough, right? Then...
** ...we meet Blake's first wife Alexis (the mother of Steven and Fallon) and learn later down the line of two other Carrington children Adam and Amanda (the former being kidnapped as an infant while Blake wasn't aware of the latter's existence for 20 years).
** Steven was married to Krystle's niece Sammy Jo, thus making him Krystle's nephew-in-law. Sammy Jo had Steven's son Danny, who subsequently is both Krystle's great-nephew and step-grandson.
** Fallon was married to Jeff multiple times (and has two kids by him), and was later briefly married to Jeff's cousin/[[spoiler: half-brother]] Miles, thus making her in addition to Jeff's ex-wife, his cousin-in-law and [[spoiler: sister-in-law]] (this would make Miles not only the first cousin-once-removed of Fallon and Jeff's kids but also briefly their stepfather).
** Jeff was also briefly married to Kirby Anders (the daughter of the Carrington family majordomo Joseph Anders, thus making him Anders' son-in-law).
*** Kirby herself almost married Adam, which would've made her an in-law of the Carrington family. [[spoiler: She later rekindles her relationship with him in the 1991 miniseries]].
** Alexis would ultimately marry four times; initially married to Blake for seven years, Alexis married Jeff's uncle Cecil on his deathbed in season 3 thus making her briefly Jeff's aunt-by-marriage. She was also married (and divorced) Dex Dexter and Sean Rowan, the latter of whom was [[spoiler: Anders' son and Kirby's brother, thus making Alexis their daughter-in-law and sister-in-law, respectively]].
** Amanda also had a short marriage to Prince Michael of Moldavia, while Alexis had an affair with his father King Galen.
** Given the show's liberal use of LoveDodecahedron, major characters frequently dated people who already had relationships with other family members. Some examples include Mark Jennings being married (and divorced) to Krystle and later having affairs with Alexis and Fallon (the latter being Krystle's stepdaughter); both Steven and Adam being (at different points) married to Claudia, thus making each other brothers-in-law; and both Sammy Jo and Leslie having short-lived relationships with Clay Fallmont ([[BrotherSisterIncest who might've been Leslie's half-brother if it's true that Leslie's father Ben Carrington was also]] ''[[BrotherSisterIncest his]]'' [[BrotherSisterIncest father]]). Also Steven dated Clay's brother Bart.
** Plus, we learn of Blake's half-sister Dominique and brother Ben, Dominique's daughter Jackie, Alexis' sister Caress, Ben's daughter/Blake's niece niece Leslie...and this doesn't even get into the spin-off ''The Colbys'' or the [[Series/Dynasty2017 reboot]].
*** For those who don't know: Sable Colby is, in addition to being Jeff's maternal aunt, Alexis' first cousin. Thus already making Jeff and Alexis first cousins-once-removed before Alexis even entered ''Dynasty''. Accounting Alexis' brief marriage to Sable's brother-in-law Cecil, this would also make her Sable's sister-in-law (sort of). Sable's children Monica and Miles are [[spoiler: not the biological kids of her husband Jason. However, if Jason is considered their legal father, this still makes them Jeff's half-siblings if only legally]].
** [[OverlyLongGag Did we mention Adam's son by a surrogate who intended to give the baby to him and his wife Dana before deciding not to?]]
* WhamEpisode: Several, but the most famous is Alexis' dramatic courtroom introduction at the end of Season 1. Not to mention the [[spoiler: the Moldavian Massacre in the season 5 finale]].
** Fallon being [[spoiler: abducted by a FLYING SAUCER in the desert]] in the final episode of ''The Colbys'' has to be a close second.
* WorstWeddingEver: The infamous "Moldavian Massacre" cliffhanger where terrorists stormed Amanda and Prince Michael's wedding and shot the party up. [[NeverTrustATitle In spite of its implied name,]] [[spoiler: only two people died: Steven's boyfriend Luke via HeroicSacrifice to save Claudia and Jeff's girlfriend Ashley.]]
* WritersCannotDoMath: Alexis and Blake's marriage is commonly described as having lasted seven years, though that's inconsistent. In season 9, it's revealed that Alexis was still around when Fallon was eight years old though logically, if one were to follow that timeline, she should've been younger.