"The Colbys" (1985-1987)

In some places, this show is listed as "Dynasty II", which is appropriate, since it was a spin-off of the popular 1980's nighttime soap opera. The focus was on Jeff Colby's (John James) family, who had just as many issues as the Carringtons on the other show (Jeff was married to Fallon Carrington). Fallon had gone missing, and Jeff was determined to find her. His travels led him to California, where he also intended to be a part of his uncle Jason's (Charleston Heston) vast corporate empire.

Jeff had an ally in his aunt Constance (Barbara Stanwyck), but Jason's underhanded wife Sable (Stephanie Beacham) viewed Jeff as a threat to the inheritance her three children should have. Sable was a cousin to Alexis Colby Carrington (Joan Collins), the resident mean witch on "Dynasty", proof that evil runs in families. Some of Sable's low down actions included trying to make strong-willed Constance look as if she was senile. She was so busy pulling games on people that she failed to see that Jason was in love with her sister Francesca (Katherine Ross). Sable was also hiding a secret: years before, she had been raped by a rival of Jason's, a man named Zachary Powers (Ricardo Montalban). Her twins, Miles and Monica (Maxwell Caulfield, Tracy Scoggins) were Power's children, not Jason's. Bliss (Claire Yarlett), a somewhat naive young woman, was the only child she actually had with Jason.

The usual messy twists and turns associated with these glossy soap operas took place, but unlike "Dynasty", "The Colbys" didn't have enough staying power to keep the various storylines going. The show came under fire for one of the most improbable cliffhangers ever: Fallon (Emma Samms), who had amnesia and showed up in time to have an affair with Miles (who didn't know she was married to Jeff), was kidnapped by aliens and whisked away in a spaceship. When the show was canceled at the end of its second season, Fallon was back on "Dynasty" with nary a mention of her outer space adventure.

My favorite character on this show was Barbara Stanwyck's character, a tough old chick who had Sable's number. Her character was killed off in Napal at the beginning of the second season. I believe Ms. Stanwyck was in failing health at that point and passed away a few years later. She was in the classic film noir, Double Indemnity (1944) as well as the TV Western, "The Big Valley" (1965-1969). Charleston Heston was in the films Ben-Hur (1959) and Planet Of The Apes (1968). Maxwell Caulfield appeared in Grease 2 (1982). Katherine Ross was in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969). Ricardo Montalbon was Mr. Roarke on "Fantasy Island" (1978-1984) and the granddad in Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams (2002).

"Fantasy Island" (1978-1984)

Another Aaron Spelling and ABC collaboration, about a tropical island where people came to fulfill long-held dreams. The place was run by mysterious character named Mr. Rourke (Ricardo Montalban). Next to nothing was revealed about where he came from, how he got the island, or how he gained the powers to make the fantasies happen. I remember an episode where Rourke had fallen in love with a woman and they married, but she died soon afterwards. Who knew that Rourke was a romantic? Other than that, Rourke remained an enigma. His assistant was a diminutive man named Tattoo (Herve Villechaize) who announced that visitors were arriving to the island with "The plane! The plane!"

The fantasies were not all fun and games. The people involved usually found themselves in be-careful-what-you-wish-for situations. Sometimes, they would find themselves in life-or-death situations or having to make hard decisions. At the end, valuable lessons were learned. Apparently, the island was a big place, because it had room to host all kinds of dreams, from being a race-car driver to being a movie star.

Audiences ate this show up, and it was at the top of the TV ratings for most of its run. Villechaize left the show at the end of the 1982-1983 season and was replaced by Christopher Hewitt, who appeared as Lawrence during the last season of the show. Villechaize later committed suicide. Montalban had been a movie matinee idol back in the day; recently, he appeared as a feisty granddad in the Spy Kids movie series. Hewitt went on to be the main character in the family friendly sitcom "Mr. Belvedere" (1985-1990).