Dynasty: The Reboot

I was addicted to the original Dynasty series back in the 80s where it epitomised the best of the era. Big shoulder pads, stilettos, jumpsuits and pencil skirts. Not to mention plenty of romps in the bedroom and boardroom.

Dynasty was the rival to Dallas; another very popular 80s drama that revolved around the antics of a filthy rich family who made their money from oil. While Dallas was set in Texas, Dynasty was based in Denver.

The story was about oil tycoon Blake Carrington, played by John Forsythe and his large family. There was his glamorous and understanding wife, Krystal, played by Linda Evans who had married into the family and was getting used to their lavish lifestyle. Blake had two grown up children; rebellious Steven, played by Al Corey and later Jack Coleman who he often fought with and spoiled Fallon, played by Pamela Sue Martin and later Emma Samms who was the apple of his eye.

Two more kids would come into the mix at a later stage but that is for another day. The centre of the show was the feud between Krystle and Alexis Carrington, played by Joan Collins who was hell bent on ruining/snaring Blake, depending on what mood she was in.

Dynasty ran for eight years with the last episode airing in 1989. A miniseries called, Dynasty: The Reunion was aired in October 1992 and that was it for the Carringtons.

Last year the reboot version aired on CW and after a slow start it was really caught the imagination of the public. The show is created by Stephanie Savage and Josh Schwartz who brought us Gossip Girl and The OC so my expectations were very high.

The dialogue is amazingly sharp but also plays homage to classic scenes in the original series with the fashion and the music. The show has been brought up to date with a lot of the unpolitical language in the original erased, also one of the impressive aspects of the new show is that the women really rule the show.

Unlike the old show where the women fought over men and were seen looking after the home or had a casual approach to their careers; the modern day Cristal and Fallon are real powerhouses.

Fallon sets up her own start-up which becomes a force to be dealt with and Cristal is the Director of Public Relations at Carrington Atlantic.

However, while there a huge similarity to the original, this version is also very different. For instance it is set in Atlanta as opposed to Denver.

Blake is a lot younger – in the original he was in his late 50s while the new Blake is played by Grant Snow and in his 40s.

Cristal, played by Nathalie Kelley is not only spelt differently but she is Latina while the original character was a cool blonde.

Jeff Colby, played by Sam Adegoke is African American while the original character was an All American guy.

Fallon, played by Elizabeth Gillies and Alexis, played by Nicollete Sheridan are icy blondes.

On paper this scenarios sounds crazy but it actually works and the reboot Dynasty is just delicious to watch.

You can watch Dynasty on Netflix.