Michele Lee directed the final episode of the 1991-92 season of the TV series, 'Knots Landing'. Speaking to 'The Morning Call' in March 1992, Michele Lee enthused, "I'm starting to prep to direct the cliff-hanger. I've been directing for the last three years (since the 1989-1990 season), but this is the first year that I'm directing the cliff-hanger."
Karen, Michele Lee observed, "served as a symbol of strength and hope and survival for the female … I do feel unique. I have a chance to portray such a positive role model for women in a show that portrays so many aspects of real life. Karen is a female who exemplifies goodness and morality and has never swayed from this. There aren't too many women on TV of her strength. I think that's because I'm you - I'm all those ladies out there. I am that viewer of 'Knots Landing'."
Of scenes between Karen and Valene, Michele Lee told Deborah Wilker, "If we're (Michele and Joan Van Ark) doing a scene and we have to connect and we're not quite there, we'll look at each other, and I know this sounds corny, but I'll hum the (show's) theme song. There's just something in the theme that touches a note with us, just some emotional connection. I'll hold her hand, gaze into her eyes, sing a couple notes and we're there."
The 'Knots Landing' theme was composed by Jerrold Immel. Ron Grant, Joel Rosenbaum, Christopher Klatman, Lance Rubin and Larry Riley also produced music for the teasers and scenes. In an interview with Randall D. Larson in 2011, Jerrold Immel recounted, "The last six or seven years of 'Knots Landing' (around 1987), that was the period where more and more producers were looking for electronic scores.
"I had been connected to 'Knots Landing' – David Jacobs, who created that, produced it and everything, became a very good friend; he told me that he suggested me for the score because he heard something else that I had done on television and thought that I was the right guy. Once I did, he naturally had other projects that he wanted me to do and eventually I think I did probably about five or six series for David alone.
"In fact I got a nomination for a score that I did for 'Knots Landing' that was all digital. I used four keyboard-synthesists, a percussionist, and a woodwind player who played the EWI (Electronic Wind Instrument). That score was a very grim score – I went to the coldest colors I could find and found them with this, and that score got a nomination. Anyway, around 1987 the producers came to me and said 'we would like to take the show into electronic music and we need to do smaller budgets.'
"So I formed a team then with Craig (Huxley) because he had the performance and programming skills, plus the Synclavier, and I had already worked with him on 'Megaforce' (1982). So that became a logical partnership. In addition to 'Knots Landing' we went on to do other things – we did one feature film which was really awful ('The Retaliator' 1987), but we also did a show for Leonard Katzman, 'Walker, Texas Ranger' with Chuck Norris.
"That show was a deal between Chuck Norris and CBS – they had a partnership on it. Leonard Katzman was brought in because they were having trouble finding an identity with it, and he called me in (around 1994) to do a new Main Title for it. So I took Craig with me on that, so he and I came up with a new theme and did the scores for several episodes. I believe John Parker also did some episodes, and also electronically; I only did it for half a season.
"Chuck Norris didn't like anything that Katzman brought so he started out by firing the writers and then pretty soon he was firing the editors and eventually got to me. It wasn't that he didn't like the music, it was just that somebody suggested to him that he could sing a song and that would be the theme and he could make lots of money that way, so that was the end of my theme! And it was also the last thing that Craig and I did together."
"I had been connected to 'Knots Landing' – David Jacobs, who created that, produced it and everything, became a very good friend; he told me that he suggested me for the score because he heard something else that I had done on television and thought that I was the right guy. Once I did, he naturally had other projects that he wanted me to do and eventually I think I did probably about five or six series for David alone.
"In fact I got a nomination for a score that I did for 'Knots Landing' that was all digital. I used four keyboard-synthesists, a percussionist, and a woodwind player who played the EWI (Electronic Wind Instrument). That score was a very grim score – I went to the coldest colors I could find and found them with this, and that score got a nomination. Anyway, around 1987 the producers came to me and said 'we would like to take the show into electronic music and we need to do smaller budgets.'
"So I formed a team then with Craig (Huxley) because he had the performance and programming skills, plus the Synclavier, and I had already worked with him on 'Megaforce' (1982). So that became a logical partnership. In addition to 'Knots Landing' we went on to do other things – we did one feature film which was really awful ('The Retaliator' 1987), but we also did a show for Leonard Katzman, 'Walker, Texas Ranger' with Chuck Norris.
"That show was a deal between Chuck Norris and CBS – they had a partnership on it. Leonard Katzman was brought in because they were having trouble finding an identity with it, and he called me in (around 1994) to do a new Main Title for it. So I took Craig with me on that, so he and I came up with a new theme and did the scores for several episodes. I believe John Parker also did some episodes, and also electronically; I only did it for half a season.
"Chuck Norris didn't like anything that Katzman brought so he started out by firing the writers and then pretty soon he was firing the editors and eventually got to me. It wasn't that he didn't like the music, it was just that somebody suggested to him that he could sing a song and that would be the theme and he could make lots of money that way, so that was the end of my theme! And it was also the last thing that Craig and I did together."
Of 'Knots Landing', Michele Lee maintained, "The reason for the show's success: One, they have to keep coming up with new story lines to keep the characters interesting and two, television reflects so many things, politically and otherwise. A character goes through changes as the country goes through changes. If you skip a beat, your show fails."
At the time, "There's a part of Karen that's been missing for a while, because it's been missing in America. Part of her character used to be her deep involvement in social issues. She worked for the American Civil Liberties Union. She was the liberal of the cul-de-sac. When the Equal Rights Amendment was promoted, she was involved in it.
"Also Save the Whales. There was always talk of her being a demonstrator who was arrested in the '60s. Think about it. For a while there, we only dreamed about how we were going to get rich. All of a sudden we started helping our community again. So now (in 1992) I think it's time for Karen to get active again. Because that's what's happening in America."
In 2008, 'The Writers Life' magazine interviewed Camille Marchetta. Of writing for the TV series, 'Dallas', Camille Marchetta recounted, "For the couple of years I was on the show, I was the story editor. Arthur Lewis, the executive-story editor, the producer, Leonard Katzman, and I were the entire writing staff. We would work out story lines together, take turns writing scripts, and use freelance writers for every fourth or fifth episode. Of course we all disagreed, and a lot. That's the fun of story meetings.
"But the disagreements never got nasty. We all liked and respected each other too much for that. In the room, Leonard Katzman had the final say; but of course we had Lorimar and CBS executives to contend with. Though, the more successful we got, the more they left us alone to do as we wished. I only worked with David (Jacobs) on the mini-series and found him to be very kind and generous and totally supportive of my work – though he rewrote my entire script. But that happens all the time, and often has to do with production changes. By the time I joined the staff, David had moved on, to create and produce 'Knots Landing'."
The final weekly episode of 'Dallas' went on air in 1991. Michael Hill of 'The Baltimore Sun' described 'Dallas' as "a cultural touchstone." Of its impact, "Almost single-handedly, it created the genre of the prime-time soap, and its meteoric success cluttered the development of all three networks for the next several years with attempts to duplicate the hold its labyrinthian plot held on the American consciousness.
"Only two shows - the still-popular 'Knots Landing' and ABC's 'Dynasty' - succeeded, and both were worthy, interesting contributions to the medium. But, beyond that direct impact, the fact that 'Dallas' proved that the viewing public would not only put up with continuing story lines, but was fascinated by them, opened up a whole new world to prime-time programs."
David Jacobs made the point, "I don't think 'Dallas' gets enough credit for that. Before 'Dallas', in almost every show - 'Barnaby Jones', 'Kojak', 'McCloud', whatever - the idea was to have the hero stay the same from week to week. After 'Dallas', even in shows that were not soaps, there almost had to be an acknowledgment in this week's episode of whatever happened last week."
Michael Hill continued, "The result of being freed from the restraints of a static weekly formula was to allow for much more complex storytelling, to let characters grow and develop more naturally, to make the medium more responsive and immediate. Certainly some shows continue to find success with the old formula - 'Murder, She Wrote', 'Matlock', 'Hunter' - but many more ran through the opening that 'Dallas' created to a higher plane of prime-time television. It can be argued that if 'Dallas' didn't exist, then neither would 'Hill Street Blues', 'St. Elsewhere', 'L.A. Law' or 'thirtysomething'; that even shows like 'Cheers' would look different. Clearly television would be a more barren place."
Of scriptwriting, Camille Marchetta offered, "Imagine this: you spend weeks, sometimes months of your life working on a script; you do the best job you can; in fact, you think you've done a pretty good job. Full of pride, excitement, expectation, you turn it in – only to find out that a huge number of people (the producer, production company executives, network executives, etc.) think you've missed the goal - by an inch, by a few feet, by a mile, it doesn't matter - you've missed it.
"It's like giving birth to a child, presenting it to the world, and instead of praise for the perfection of your baby, what you get is a litany of its failings. It hurts. Always. That's when, if you really want to be a television (or film) writer, you have to step back, take a breath, remind yourself that there's no way on earth you could have delivered the ideal script they've been carrying around in their heads since long before you began writing. You were destined to disappoint. It's not your fault.
"Also, their concerns are different from yours. You want to create a masterpiece. Sure, they'd like a masterpiece too, but one that's brilliant - their way, not yours, and will earn them a lot of money too. Your job, as a paid writer, is to give them what they want. So, lick your wounds, try to make sense of their (sometimes conflicting) notes, and look for a way to rewrite the script that will both protect its integrity and meet their needs. It's not always possible, but a professional writer has to try."
Post 'Knots Landing', Donna Mills formed her own production company after securing several development deals with the networks. In 1990, Donna Mills spoke to 'Scripps Howard News Service', "I like making decisions. There's something very satisfying about making decisions. Sometimes they're right and sometimes they're not. But I find that more bad things can happen from indecision than from bad decisions.
"As an actress, you get some feedback when your show is on. People come and tell you - sometimes they tell you it's not so good - but at least you have some feedback. As a producer, there are long, long periods of time when you're developing a project when there is no reward, and no monetary award. As a producer in television, you don't get any money until the network orders it."
Michele Lee also mentioned in 1992, "I've got two properties in development. I'm producing and acting in my next movie for CBS, which is going to be done during my hiatus from 'Knots'. This will be the second movie I'll be producing. I'll be doing the pre-pro (pre-production) in April (1992) and physically shooting it in May (1992), which will give me about a month off before I have to report back to work (on 'Knots Landing').
"I'm very good with story and script and a producer really needs to be if you're going to develop a script or an idea. I think my network has been very supportive of me in terms of my talent. They want me in movies and my movies do well for them. I'm not exclusive. I can work for other networks, but CBS tries to find movies for me and they're my family. Again, that goes back to my need to have my people around me."
Of Donna Mills, Luaine Lee reported in 1990, "She and her partner have already lined up part of the financing in the Soviet Union for a six-to-eight-hour mini-series, 'A Pride of Royals' based on the relationships between Kaiser Wilhelm, Czar Nicholas and King George V. Mills would not star in this production." Donna Mills continued, "I just pitched a series to CBS that I don't want to be in. It's an hour dramatic series. But it sort of took us a long time to get an appointment.
"They said if I wanted to be in it, they would see us immediately. Since I didn't want to be in it, they weren't quite so anxious. It's hard to tell because people are always nice. I have never thought it was a detriment to be a woman, to be blond, to be attractive, or whatever. Because of that, they'll always be courteous. Then it's up to you to prove you can be more serious. But at least it opens the door."
Playing Karen on 'Knots Landing', Michele Lee told 'Scripps Howard News Service' in 1992, "It brought with it a certain notoriety. It was like, 'Oh, yes, Michele Lee, she's on this show. So let's get her on X.' Or 'We need her because she has a TVQ. The audience knows her.' It has afforded me the opportunity I never would've had. It has opened the door to my directing. It opened the doors for me to produce movies, which I would've had a more difficult time doing.
"I do a movie a year on my hiatus and it is Karen who started it all. I've been in front of a small camera with my family basically because I marry crews and the actors I work with and they become family. It's very comfortable ... I like to look at the whole. I love connecting the dots. That's what acting my role is: connecting the dots to make a whole."
Speaking to Jay Bobbin of 'Tribune Media Services' in 1989, Donna Mills discussed the making of the TV movie, 'The Lady Forgets', which was not filmed in sequence. "A television filming schedule is always compressed, so we did in four weeks what they do in a feature film in 16 weeks. It was really hard, and we'd shoot in the daytime one week and at night the next, so I kind of felt like I had jet lag for three weeks straight … I did other TV movies and mini-series during hiatuses from 'Knots', but those are very short periods of time off and you never sort of let go of the series character you're playing - in my case, Abby … When I look back on it, the character Abby was always there, since I knew that I'd still have to play her 10 months a year.''
In 1998, Michele Lee played Jacqueline Susann in the movie on the USA cable network. "In terms of my enthusiasm for the piece and the woman that I played, yeah, she's one that you could chew up the scenery with. This woman was someone who kind of shoved doors open. She didn't just open new doors - she slammed them open. She had an incredible sense of humor. It was a very frightening and, at the same time, exhilarating character."
Author Barbara Seaman remarked, "I think that our society finally caught up with her. She was just about 30 years ahead of her time. Her behaviors were considered indecent and improper for a woman in the 1960s and early 1970s. But today (in the 1990s) her behavior is much more acceptable. Women are allowed to be more assertive and ambitious."
Michele Lee also spoke to 'Knight-Ridder/Tribune', "She represented something that was, I think, pre-feminist, although at the time I'm sure people didn't see it that way. She made things happen for herself … I equate her in some ways to Madonna, Barbra Streisand or certainly Oprah. These are women who are self-made, who know what they want and how to market themselves. These are businesswomen."
At the time, "There's a part of Karen that's been missing for a while, because it's been missing in America. Part of her character used to be her deep involvement in social issues. She worked for the American Civil Liberties Union. She was the liberal of the cul-de-sac. When the Equal Rights Amendment was promoted, she was involved in it.
"Also Save the Whales. There was always talk of her being a demonstrator who was arrested in the '60s. Think about it. For a while there, we only dreamed about how we were going to get rich. All of a sudden we started helping our community again. So now (in 1992) I think it's time for Karen to get active again. Because that's what's happening in America."
In 2008, 'The Writers Life' magazine interviewed Camille Marchetta. Of writing for the TV series, 'Dallas', Camille Marchetta recounted, "For the couple of years I was on the show, I was the story editor. Arthur Lewis, the executive-story editor, the producer, Leonard Katzman, and I were the entire writing staff. We would work out story lines together, take turns writing scripts, and use freelance writers for every fourth or fifth episode. Of course we all disagreed, and a lot. That's the fun of story meetings.
"But the disagreements never got nasty. We all liked and respected each other too much for that. In the room, Leonard Katzman had the final say; but of course we had Lorimar and CBS executives to contend with. Though, the more successful we got, the more they left us alone to do as we wished. I only worked with David (Jacobs) on the mini-series and found him to be very kind and generous and totally supportive of my work – though he rewrote my entire script. But that happens all the time, and often has to do with production changes. By the time I joined the staff, David had moved on, to create and produce 'Knots Landing'."
The final weekly episode of 'Dallas' went on air in 1991. Michael Hill of 'The Baltimore Sun' described 'Dallas' as "a cultural touchstone." Of its impact, "Almost single-handedly, it created the genre of the prime-time soap, and its meteoric success cluttered the development of all three networks for the next several years with attempts to duplicate the hold its labyrinthian plot held on the American consciousness.
"Only two shows - the still-popular 'Knots Landing' and ABC's 'Dynasty' - succeeded, and both were worthy, interesting contributions to the medium. But, beyond that direct impact, the fact that 'Dallas' proved that the viewing public would not only put up with continuing story lines, but was fascinated by them, opened up a whole new world to prime-time programs."
David Jacobs made the point, "I don't think 'Dallas' gets enough credit for that. Before 'Dallas', in almost every show - 'Barnaby Jones', 'Kojak', 'McCloud', whatever - the idea was to have the hero stay the same from week to week. After 'Dallas', even in shows that were not soaps, there almost had to be an acknowledgment in this week's episode of whatever happened last week."
Michael Hill continued, "The result of being freed from the restraints of a static weekly formula was to allow for much more complex storytelling, to let characters grow and develop more naturally, to make the medium more responsive and immediate. Certainly some shows continue to find success with the old formula - 'Murder, She Wrote', 'Matlock', 'Hunter' - but many more ran through the opening that 'Dallas' created to a higher plane of prime-time television. It can be argued that if 'Dallas' didn't exist, then neither would 'Hill Street Blues', 'St. Elsewhere', 'L.A. Law' or 'thirtysomething'; that even shows like 'Cheers' would look different. Clearly television would be a more barren place."
Of scriptwriting, Camille Marchetta offered, "Imagine this: you spend weeks, sometimes months of your life working on a script; you do the best job you can; in fact, you think you've done a pretty good job. Full of pride, excitement, expectation, you turn it in – only to find out that a huge number of people (the producer, production company executives, network executives, etc.) think you've missed the goal - by an inch, by a few feet, by a mile, it doesn't matter - you've missed it.
"It's like giving birth to a child, presenting it to the world, and instead of praise for the perfection of your baby, what you get is a litany of its failings. It hurts. Always. That's when, if you really want to be a television (or film) writer, you have to step back, take a breath, remind yourself that there's no way on earth you could have delivered the ideal script they've been carrying around in their heads since long before you began writing. You were destined to disappoint. It's not your fault.
"Also, their concerns are different from yours. You want to create a masterpiece. Sure, they'd like a masterpiece too, but one that's brilliant - their way, not yours, and will earn them a lot of money too. Your job, as a paid writer, is to give them what they want. So, lick your wounds, try to make sense of their (sometimes conflicting) notes, and look for a way to rewrite the script that will both protect its integrity and meet their needs. It's not always possible, but a professional writer has to try."
Post 'Knots Landing', Donna Mills formed her own production company after securing several development deals with the networks. In 1990, Donna Mills spoke to 'Scripps Howard News Service', "I like making decisions. There's something very satisfying about making decisions. Sometimes they're right and sometimes they're not. But I find that more bad things can happen from indecision than from bad decisions.
"As an actress, you get some feedback when your show is on. People come and tell you - sometimes they tell you it's not so good - but at least you have some feedback. As a producer, there are long, long periods of time when you're developing a project when there is no reward, and no monetary award. As a producer in television, you don't get any money until the network orders it."
Michele Lee also mentioned in 1992, "I've got two properties in development. I'm producing and acting in my next movie for CBS, which is going to be done during my hiatus from 'Knots'. This will be the second movie I'll be producing. I'll be doing the pre-pro (pre-production) in April (1992) and physically shooting it in May (1992), which will give me about a month off before I have to report back to work (on 'Knots Landing').
"I'm very good with story and script and a producer really needs to be if you're going to develop a script or an idea. I think my network has been very supportive of me in terms of my talent. They want me in movies and my movies do well for them. I'm not exclusive. I can work for other networks, but CBS tries to find movies for me and they're my family. Again, that goes back to my need to have my people around me."
Of Donna Mills, Luaine Lee reported in 1990, "She and her partner have already lined up part of the financing in the Soviet Union for a six-to-eight-hour mini-series, 'A Pride of Royals' based on the relationships between Kaiser Wilhelm, Czar Nicholas and King George V. Mills would not star in this production." Donna Mills continued, "I just pitched a series to CBS that I don't want to be in. It's an hour dramatic series. But it sort of took us a long time to get an appointment.
"They said if I wanted to be in it, they would see us immediately. Since I didn't want to be in it, they weren't quite so anxious. It's hard to tell because people are always nice. I have never thought it was a detriment to be a woman, to be blond, to be attractive, or whatever. Because of that, they'll always be courteous. Then it's up to you to prove you can be more serious. But at least it opens the door."
Playing Karen on 'Knots Landing', Michele Lee told 'Scripps Howard News Service' in 1992, "It brought with it a certain notoriety. It was like, 'Oh, yes, Michele Lee, she's on this show. So let's get her on X.' Or 'We need her because she has a TVQ. The audience knows her.' It has afforded me the opportunity I never would've had. It has opened the door to my directing. It opened the doors for me to produce movies, which I would've had a more difficult time doing.
"I do a movie a year on my hiatus and it is Karen who started it all. I've been in front of a small camera with my family basically because I marry crews and the actors I work with and they become family. It's very comfortable ... I like to look at the whole. I love connecting the dots. That's what acting my role is: connecting the dots to make a whole."
Speaking to Jay Bobbin of 'Tribune Media Services' in 1989, Donna Mills discussed the making of the TV movie, 'The Lady Forgets', which was not filmed in sequence. "A television filming schedule is always compressed, so we did in four weeks what they do in a feature film in 16 weeks. It was really hard, and we'd shoot in the daytime one week and at night the next, so I kind of felt like I had jet lag for three weeks straight … I did other TV movies and mini-series during hiatuses from 'Knots', but those are very short periods of time off and you never sort of let go of the series character you're playing - in my case, Abby … When I look back on it, the character Abby was always there, since I knew that I'd still have to play her 10 months a year.''
In 1998, Michele Lee played Jacqueline Susann in the movie on the USA cable network. "In terms of my enthusiasm for the piece and the woman that I played, yeah, she's one that you could chew up the scenery with. This woman was someone who kind of shoved doors open. She didn't just open new doors - she slammed them open. She had an incredible sense of humor. It was a very frightening and, at the same time, exhilarating character."
Author Barbara Seaman remarked, "I think that our society finally caught up with her. She was just about 30 years ahead of her time. Her behaviors were considered indecent and improper for a woman in the 1960s and early 1970s. But today (in the 1990s) her behavior is much more acceptable. Women are allowed to be more assertive and ambitious."
Michele Lee also spoke to 'Knight-Ridder/Tribune', "She represented something that was, I think, pre-feminist, although at the time I'm sure people didn't see it that way. She made things happen for herself … I equate her in some ways to Madonna, Barbra Streisand or certainly Oprah. These are women who are self-made, who know what they want and how to market themselves. These are businesswomen."
