I think people exaggerate what "Knots Landing" was a little. It was an amazing show, and an incredibly addictive one at that, but it wasn't this deep, realistic show that people say it was. Even in the early years, there were episodes that never could have happened in real life. Knots Landing was as much of a soap opera as "Dynasty," "Dallas," or "Falcon Crest." The special thing about Knots is that the story lines were very intelligent and well-thought out (and I think people confuse "intelligent" with "realistic" because while they probably COULD have happened, it was a 1 in a billion chance.) The Knots writers were able to keep things consistent for the most part, come up with storyline based on the characters, and have multiple story lines going at once. The show was fantastic because the storyline was so engrossing.
Then in season 8, Knots Landing started getting self-conscious. THIS is when the show started trying to be "realistic" and a "social commentary." IMO, once they started taking themselves too seriously, the show lost its brilliance. I couldn't have cared less about the season 12 child abuse. In seasons 1-7, Knots Landing was so good because it was so FUN. In seasons 8-14, it became increasingly less fun to watch (and also, the show in seasons 9-10 lost actresses Constance McCashin, Donna Mills, and Julie Harris who'd been there since seasons 1, 2, and 3 respectively.) So when I say Knots Landing is engrossing drama that everyone needs to see, I'm really only talking about the first seven seasons .
Then in season 8, Knots Landing started getting self-conscious. THIS is when the show started trying to be "realistic" and a "social commentary." IMO, once they started taking themselves too seriously, the show lost its brilliance. I couldn't have cared less about the season 12 child abuse. In seasons 1-7, Knots Landing was so good because it was so FUN. In seasons 8-14, it became increasingly less fun to watch (and also, the show in seasons 9-10 lost actresses Constance McCashin, Donna Mills, and Julie Harris who'd been there since seasons 1, 2, and 3 respectively.) So when I say Knots Landing is engrossing drama that everyone needs to see, I'm really only talking about the first seven seasons .