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"I don't see any more security in being married than in not being married," Donna Mills told Suzanne Adelson in 1983. At the time, Donna could be seen on the TV series, 'Knots Landing'. Donna played Abby, "Abby wants power. She wants it even more than money. She likes money a lot, but she likes the power of being in control. She’s very confident of her abilities and her brains. If something goes wrong, she’ll figure out a way. She’ll overcome any obstacle because she’s very clever. 

"I think characters like Abby and J.R. are popular because they act out a lot of people's fantasies. I didn't think Abby was evil! Abby would do things that weren't very ethical, but she was never evil. She had a humanity that characters like her on the other soaps didn't have. I tried to convince the writers that most women would take action in a crisis, not melt like an ice-cream cone." 

Donna also made known, "I was very particular on 'Knots' about who bought my clothes. Most shows like that have a wardrobe designer who brings a couple of things to choose from, and then they fit it, and that's it. We did most of our shopping at Neiman Marcus and spent some money." In 1986, James Grantust visited Donna at her $1.5 million 16-room home, located in Benedict Canyon, Los Angeles to interview Donna on the $1.1 million contract with FabergĂ© she had  just signed. "I'm a mess," Donna told James wearing a long jersey with hair hanging in knots. "Abby wouldn't be caught dead in this getup. She wears expensive silk outfits to bed. After all, that's where she earned them." 

Donna disclosed, "I would spend at least one day a week - whatever day I had off - shopping for the next show. A lot of times, I'd have 7 or 8 outfits in one show. There might be a gown or cocktail dress, but even if Abby was at home lounging, I felt the clothes had to be special. I created a deal with Escada, whose clothes are very expensive. They gave the show half off of wholesale. I got it because the Escada people liked me. They were very well-made clothes yet flamboyant and colorful. Esacada size 4 fit me perfectly. But even the jackets had to be taken in, because I'm small-boned. 

"When I first started out, I did some modeling, and I used to feel tremendously inferior because I'm 5'4", and I was always around these 6-foot women. I felt like a shrimp. And I hated that. So to be on 'Knots' in these wonderful clothes - I'd feel tall. But the fittings! We'd have to fit everything. I'd have to be in the fitting room on my lunch hour or after work." William Travilla remembered, "I go shopping with every female star from 'Dallas' and 'Knots Landing' and Donna is the only one who stops traffic on Rodeo Drive. She has the best tush in Hollywood." Donna maintained, "I'm not one of those teasing types who leaves herself open for come-ons. Once men get up close, they figure out that I'm just plain Donna and the fun is over." 

Then 40-year-old, Gloria Loring told Karen Lateo in 1987, "For the first time in my adult life, I have no man. People often ask me was Liz (Curtis on 'Days of our Lives') like me, and my response to that is I invested into Liz great proportions of my own sensibilities, my past, things that they had already written that were part of my life - a difficult relationship with a father, my sense of survival, my fighting instincts, my basically loving heart. 

"Liz was always a loving person but she did a lot of dumb things I would never allow myself to do. My dad’s an alcoholic and, growing up in an alcoholic home, you don’t talk about it much. I was never physically abused but the emotional abuse leaves a tremendous scar. The relationships I chose were with difficult, demanding men. I always had to have a man in my life because I was trying to work out my relationship with my father. In a bizarre way, (my son) Brennan’s diabetes has been a gift to me. It has made me reach out and achieve what I thought was beyond my grasp. I learned that if I wanted to do something badly enough I can do it." 

'Soap Opera Digest' graded 'Knots Landing' with an A for its 1986-87 season finale episode. Stella Bednarz remarked, "'Knots Landing' has never been following the traditional cliff-hanger format. They prefer to treat the last show as (more or less) another segment in a continuing series. So, comparing 'Knots' to its counterparts is, as they say, like trying to choose between apples and oranges. But don’t underestimate the power of a 'typical' episode. The direction was sensitive and skillful and the writing clever. Even the musical underscoring seemed especially meaningful. Yet, it was just another 'typical episode' of 'Knots Landing.'"

Of its counterpart, 'The Colbys', Stella Bednarz graded a B. She made the comment, "If the rest of the season had been as entertaining as the cliff-hanger, 'The Colbys' might have avoided cancellation. As it is, they managed to pull off a farewell that held audience interest from start to finish. Let’s begin with that finish. The writers conceded what had to be the most unusual character exit in soap history when a UFO flew away with Fallon on board.

"The others were more standard dilemmas. 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.'"

The daytime soap opera 'All My Children' ran from 1970 to 2011. Back in 1985, star Susan Lucci told Polly Rayner of 'The Morning Call', "Erica was only 15 when the series began, much to my chagrin. I remember telling my friends that she's a high school girl, but a very sophisticated one. She was a complex person from the day one … a lot like Kate from 'Taming of the Shrew' or Scarlett O'Hara, full of surprises and flirtations; she's more naughty than evil, and finds it difficult to separate fact from fiction."

By 1985, Erica Kane (reportedly named after AmERICA) was "still a vixen in a bigger area. I go to New York City, become a top model, then I had my own cosmetic firm and now I'm editor-in-chief of a magazine, 'Tempo', which is somewhat like 'People' magazine. I've been married 6 times, twice to the same man. I see the show continuing for many years. Right now it's splitting No. 1 position with 'General Hospital', and has a great following of people from all walks of life, men and women, young and old. The show is incredibly successful … it will go on and on, and the bad girl is a necessary ingredient in that show. It's what makes the show sparkle."

Susan Lucci was nominated for the Daytime Emmy Award for her performance as Erica Kane on 'All My Children' 18 times before finally winning in 1999. She told the 'L.A. Daily News' in 2008, "I had talked about Erica being involved with a politician and the political world a couple of years ago. But the time is right now. I'm so glad that we’re doing it right now because I’m loving it. I love the part of Erica Kane. I've got one of the best parts ever written for a woman as far as I’m concerned."

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