Between September and November 1986, 'The Colbys' went head-to-head against 'Knots Landing' on Thursday nights at 9:00p.m. (New York time). "It is the first time 2 prime time soaps have played opposite each other," it was explained. Horrified fans complained, "I'm writing in reference to recent complaints about 'Knots Landing' and 'The Colbys' being on at the same time...." Commentators chided, "'The Colbys' and 'Knots Landing' are killing each other off on Thursday nights.....The 'Dynasty's' spinoff is the clear loser.....That bad start could harm 'The Colbys'.....The switch of 'Knots Landing' to 9:00p.m. cost the series some viewers, but it appears to have done its job against 'The Colbys.'"
Claire Yarlett recalled, "The pressure is on. It takes 10 days to shoot an episode, but one airs every 7 days. Our advance is narrowing." In the end, Maxwell Caulfield conceded, "The bottom line is the ratings are horrible...Our show has yet to find its audience." Finally on November 13, the announcement was made, "This is the last week that 'Knots Landing' will be head-to-head with 'The Colbys.'"
Soap Opera Digest pointed out, "If the rest of the season had been as entertaining as the cliffhanger, 'The Colbys' might have avoided cancellation. As it is, they managed to pull off a farewell that held audience interest from start to finish...The only major flaw was pushing Sable into the background for most of the episode. Perhaps the writers sensed that the end was near and intentionally kept Sable away from the life-and-death crises so they could arrange her smooth transfer from Los Angeles to Denver. She was clearly the most fascinating character on 'The Colbys' and could certainly shake things up on 'Dynasty.'"
Stephanie Beacham played Sable made the point, "(Villains) are the characters the audiences pay attention to...But it's important that these villains aren't single-dimensional in their dastardly deeds. There has to be an underlying reason behind their madness; otherwise, you're simply giving flesh and blood to a cartoon. With my character, everything vicious that she does is motivated. Sable is not a vacuous person; there are factors that cause her to behave so badly...The viewers have got to see the 'why' behind her actions. If I can show the audience just a little bit of what's inside that nasty Sable's head, then it makes it more fascinating."
