In the conclusion to the first season Angela's crazy daughter Emma finally tells the truth about the death of Chase's father, Angela's brother Jason Gioberti at the inquest. But only after being prodded to tell the truth by her father Douglas Channing (Stephen Elliott) and then after watching him die (In yet another gratuitous an overly dramatic scene killing off a peripheral character) of a massive coronary bypass on the floor of the courtroom.
A codicil in Jason Gioberti's estate (something about dying under mysterious circumstances) finally kicks in as a result of the court proceedings making Chase (Robert Foxworth) half-owner of Falcon Crest. Of course his tyrannical Aunt Angela (Jane Wyman) has no intention of letting Chase share her power.
He has grounds for a civil suit but does not proceed even after she has smeared his family in the media yet again. Chase has grounds to take all of Falcon Crest if he were to pursue it vigorously. But he remains content to take half knowing Angela will try to keep him from even enjoying that.
Douglas Channing's will (Yep, another last will & testament yielding a tectonic power shift on this show) is heard during deliberations in the court proceedings revealing a surprise new owner of his newspaper the San Francisco Globe - his long-lost son Richard Channing.
Whilst evidently unknown to Angela the mystery man is less mysterious to his enemies on the East Coast where he is feared for reasons which will have to wait until the beginning of Season Two. Why Douglas left him the Globe remains a big mystery.
The excesses of this show are evident in this episode. Characters are not only dealing with two wills concurrently but they happen to be left behind by characters who died in separate incidents. It wasn't until the infamous Moldovian Massacre on Dynasty that soap writers figured out you could trim a cast list writing out multiple characters at once with a single catastrophic event.
Veteran Stephen Elliott made his final appearance on Falcon Crest but would continue to reprise the role of Scottie Demarest on rival (or companion) night-time soap Dallas.
A codicil in Jason Gioberti's estate (something about dying under mysterious circumstances) finally kicks in as a result of the court proceedings making Chase (Robert Foxworth) half-owner of Falcon Crest. Of course his tyrannical Aunt Angela (Jane Wyman) has no intention of letting Chase share her power.
He has grounds for a civil suit but does not proceed even after she has smeared his family in the media yet again. Chase has grounds to take all of Falcon Crest if he were to pursue it vigorously. But he remains content to take half knowing Angela will try to keep him from even enjoying that.
Douglas Channing's will (Yep, another last will & testament yielding a tectonic power shift on this show) is heard during deliberations in the court proceedings revealing a surprise new owner of his newspaper the San Francisco Globe - his long-lost son Richard Channing.
Whilst evidently unknown to Angela the mystery man is less mysterious to his enemies on the East Coast where he is feared for reasons which will have to wait until the beginning of Season Two. Why Douglas left him the Globe remains a big mystery.
The excesses of this show are evident in this episode. Characters are not only dealing with two wills concurrently but they happen to be left behind by characters who died in separate incidents. It wasn't until the infamous Moldovian Massacre on Dynasty that soap writers figured out you could trim a cast list writing out multiple characters at once with a single catastrophic event.
Veteran Stephen Elliott made his final appearance on Falcon Crest but would continue to reprise the role of Scottie Demarest on rival (or companion) night-time soap Dallas.
