I have often said that I would have preferred it had CBS, Lorimar, Leonard Katzman, or whoever would have done what needed to be done to get Morgan Fairchild back as Jenna Wade when the decision was made to make her a regular on Dallas in 1983. I don't have anything concrete to justify why she wasn't brought back, but I do have a few theories. For one, I don't think the producers were entirely open to bringing too strong of a female presence on the show, and Morgan would definitely have given Jenna an edge that the writers might have found too threatening to go up against the likes of Hagman's J.R. It was clear they didn't want Jenna to be the villain of the show, and Morgan doesn't seem to be anyone's first choice to play the heroine. Likewise, I've often felt that the producers felt that bringing in Priscilla Presley would generate a certain amount of publicity to give the show a shot in the arm ratings-wise. Stunt casting, to put it simply. But like I said, those are just two theories of mine, but I would certainly have liked to see what Morgan could have done with the character as the series moved on into the mid-to-late 1980s. Would she have survived on the show and stuck around until the end? Who knows?
For the longest time, I often read that it was Morgan Fairchild that was going to be brought into a tenth season of Dynasty had ABC green-lit the series in 1989. The side-act concerning a mysterious woman in a limo was rumored to have been Fairchild, although some thought it was an attempt by the producers to bring Diahann Carroll back. There was a fan-made introduction to Dynasty made several years ago that included Fairchild as the newest star of the show's never-produced tenth year. I personally think I would have liked Morgan joining the rest of the Carrington/Colby clan, but I'm not too positive as to how she would have been brought in. I use to ponder the thought that she could have been linked to Sammy Jo (Heather Locklear) or Krystle (Linda Evans), especially considering the writing was softening Sammy Jo in those later seasons. She could have spiced up the acid tongue spats had she been brought on, especially if the rumors to Joan Collins quitting were true.
As a side thought, she could have possibly given The Colbys (or Dynasty II: The Colbys, whichever title you guys prefer) an extra edge, and perhaps help the show climb up the viewership chart. Of course this theory is shaky, considering the shows she had previously headlined were not ratings winners. Even though Paper Dolls, another ABC show, failed to gain an audience, I still find it baffling that Morgan was not among the names mentioned to come into television's glitzy new melodrama. As it's been said time and time again, she embodies that over-the-top, glamorous soapy drama, but sadly never found her niche about the shows circling the networks back in her heyday. Had she been in California, I see her being a socialite that Miles Colby (Maxwell Caulfied) falls for, particularly after his relationship with Fallon (Emma Samms) hit the rocks. Of course, I haven't seen all of The Colbys, so I'm not too sure how my side story here would have worked in what all they already had going on.
It's almost impossible to think of Morgan Fairchild on a show like Knots Landing. In theory, she would have stuck out like the sorest of thumbs in a serial centering around middle class families living in a scenic little subdivision by the beach. But had the story and character been developed right, she could have slid in and been a rival for Abby (Donna Mills), or she could have even been Paige's (Nicollete Sheridan) older half-sister from her mother Anne (Michelle Phillips). Like I said, the story would have to been done precise for it to all work out properly.
But this is all what could have been.
I've got to finish Flamingo Road and Paper Dolls so I can better weigh how she does we a series that was tentatively slated to be hers.
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