PILOT REVIEW: Dynasty

DYNASTY

Starring: Elizabeth Gillies, Nathalie Kelley, James Mackay, Robert Christopher Riley, Sam Adegoke, Rafael de la Fuente, with Alan Dale, and Grant Show

Based on the Television Series Created by Richard & Esther Shapiro
Developed by Sallie Patrick, Josh Schwartz, and Stephanie Savage
Written by Sallie Patrick, Josh Schwartz, & Stephanie Savage, Directed by Brad Silberling

THE PREMISE
Dynasty is a reboot of the hit 1980s primetime soap of the same name. While the original was the poster child for the opulence and greed of the 1980s, the remake comes at a time where dynasties seem about as relevant as ever (Trump, Clinton, Kardashian, you name it...). The plot setup is similar but there are definitely 2017 adjustments to it. Blake Carrington (Grant Show) is the CEO of Carrington Atlantic and newly engaged to Cristal (Nathalie Kelley), which upsets his heiress daughter, Fallon (Elizabeth Gillies) and his distant son, Steven (James Mackay).

THE REVIEW
I have never watched a full episode of the original Dynasty. Although it was a huge hit at the time, it has not aged all that well or become a show in the canon of drama classics. But I think most who watched it at the time would agree that is was fun in a trashy sort of way. This reboot is so obviously trying to be that same type of show, but it all feels a little forced. Even if I hadn't seen it in the trailer, it was so obvious that a cat fight between Cristal and Fallon was coming pretty much from the second they met and sure enough, it happened at barely half an hour in.

The show is also constrained by the network it's airing on and being on network TV in general. If this was on Netflix, I don't think it would look so cheap. For a show that's all about opulence, it's very clear that it's operating on a CW budget and that just doesn't work because if there's one thing a show called Dynasty needs, it's an excessive amount of glitz and glamour. Secondly, being on network TV meant for laughable lines like "you're Blake effing Carrington." Again, on a service like Netflix, that line (uncensored) would pack a lot more of a punch.

There were definitely homages to the original (a flashback where a younger Steven was playing the original theme song on piano in the background was a nice touch). And there were valiant attempts to update it for 2017 (more diverse for sure). But ultimately, this would file under the ever growing list of "remakes we don't need." I would rather just see a new show about a new family. Even if it invited comparisons to Dynasty, it would still be more of an original story than this one. If you were a fan of the 1980s version, this is not going to compare. If you weren't, this title means nothing.

WILL I WATCH IT AGAIN?
Most likely not.