Back to the Cul-De-Sac: `Knots Landing' returns as miniseries on CBS

By Deborah Wilker

Sun-Sentinel, South Florida

When it's from the heart, when it makes sense, when it looks good, TV reunions can be immensely satisfying. And why should we expect anything less of ``Knots Landing,'' last seen in prime time in 1993 after an epic 14-season run?

Packaged as a four-hour miniseries, airing tonight and Friday, ``Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-De-Sac'' isn't just a sweeps reunion, it's an affordable way to get this costly sudser back on CBS. ``Knots Landing,'' welcome home - if only for a little while. True to its roots, ``Back to the Cul-De-Sac'' is one sweeps event that will not feature gratuitous celebrity cameos, gay outings, hot lava, or any of the other gimmicks Hollywood has come to rely on in the absence of genuine material. What we're left with - what we've always been left with on ``Knots'' - are the absorbing struggles of the lively middle class. Marriages hit the skids, fortunes sag, grown children return, human frailties abound.

It's now four years later and the denizens of Seaview Circle are meeting mid-life head-on. Karen - ever the moral center - strains to understand Mack's latest crisis. Val's renewed bliss with Gary unravels. Abby yearns for a fresh start in Malibu. Sumner anguishes over his daughter. The actors who created these characters - Michele Lee, Kevin Dobson, Joan Van Ark, Ted Shackelford, Donna Mills and William Devane - rejoin each other and their roles seamlessly. Though all have moved on to other series, stage work and TV movies, none may ever find characters that fit as well. Born in a vastly different TV era, ``Knots Landing'' moved with the times, but never lost its suburban-'70s soul - still the essence of its charm. It's central characters, Karen and Val, are still the closest of girlfriends - the kind of loving next-door-neighbors most of us don't have anymore. Their husbands Mack and Gary, both of whom could have been making millions in law and construction, have instead spent the years helping poor people - a vestige of their '60s idealism.

This latest script is a bit timeworn (Sumner bests Abby; trusting Val is duped by a rogue), but properly sentimental - packed with witty asides and retro-references. Abby, that old spark plug, can still do just as much damage under the hood of a guy's car (a clever nod to her days in Sid's garage) as she can in his bed. That this miniseries resolves its crises too simplistically is the price paid for shoe-horning a season's worth of chaos into just four hours. There's barely enough time to weave in Michelle Phillips as Anne; ditto Brian Austin green, returning as Brian (Abby's son), a role he played pre-``90210.'' Kate (Stacy Galina) is now his love interest.

Val's twins (Emily Ann Lloyd and Joseph Cousins, who still look surprisingly alike) are middle-schoolers, and Karen's son Michael (Pat Peterson) has taken a wife. Original cast members Tonya Crowe (Olivia), Claudia Lonow (Diana) and Kim Lankford (Ginger) also appear. Even Nicollette Sheridan, who is steadfast about a film career, could not stay completely away; she returns as Paige, opening the show with a tiny unbilled cameo. (The opening titles are also a scream, so be prompt!) The willingness of this cast and crew to return is hardly surprising.

The set was always one of the more familial in Hollywood. That the nation's TV critics and Emmy voters summarily ignored them only strengthened their bond. Despite little network marketing, and no free ride from a cushy (or even remotely compatible) lead-in, ``Knots Landing'' prevailed - against some of the longest odds in TV history. Even killer time-slots opposite NBC's acclaimed landmarks, ``Hill Street Blues,'' ``Cheers'' and ``L.A. Law,'' couldn't stop it. Ultimately ``Knots'' outlasted those shows, and every other prime-time entertainment series, except one. Only ``Gunsmoke'' ran more seasons. But its endurance also ultimately did it in. Standard '80s production costs were suddenly too high in the '90s. And most of the cast had been on so long, their annual raises alone broke the bank. Corners were cut, and though the quality dipped only slightly, the show's creator, David Jacobs, couldn't bear it. In 1992 talks began with CBS about ending it by mutual agreement. The next year some cast members took concessions to keep ``Knots'' alive one last season - unheard of in Hollywood, but that's how much these people liked their work. Luckily for fans, they still do.