Wednesday 8 May 2013

2003: When Crossroads Became A Spoof Of 1980s American Soaps...

Did you like 1980s American soaps? There was Dallas, originally quite a hard-edged saga of Texan oil millionaires on a ranch, initially viewers almost felt they could get dung on their cowboy boots if they stepped into the scenario. Then came Dynasty - with improbable clothes and far more romantic/melodramatic story-lines. Dynasty followed on from Dallas, but had its own influence on the slightly older series, which also became camper, dressier, etc.

So, what has all this to do with Crossroads? Well, watching episodes from the 2003 version, as produced by Yvon Grace, I can't help wondering why she bothered? This wasn't King's Oak. it wasn't Crossroads. No number of Meg Mortimer Suites could make it so. Here we had what largely appeared to be a spoof on 1980s American soaps - Dallas and Dynasty, specifically, circa 1983-1987.

We had the bitch (very Alexis!), the bad guy (very JR!), power struggles, intrigue, a very 1980s neon sign. But even more we had obvious nods towards 1980s land with two of the main female characters having a fight in a fountain (very Krystle and Alexis in Dynasty!) and then the whole series was a dream (very Bobby Ewing in 1986).

I'd love to see a revival of Crossroads. But I found the 2001 version too youth orientated and the follow-up too '80s spoof.

Perhaps one day the seemingly impossible might happen. But until then, as far as I'm concerned, the last time I visited King's Oak was in 1988.

Everything that followed, I've discounted.

And, as it was all a dream, that's just as well really...


2 comments:

Sara said...

I thought this version seemed less of a continuation of Crossroads and more a homage to Dallas and Dynasty in the Eighties.

Anonymous said...

Itv should never have brought it back,for me crossroads ended in 1988 and as you say after that it was all a dream.thankfully.