"Dynasty" reunion highlights

In case you didn't catch it last night (and what could have been more important, anyway?), here are some highlights and notable quotables from last night's broadcast of "Dynasty Reunion: Catfights & Caviar" on CBS.

The setting was casual, though the dress was certainly nice (Joan Collins and Linda Evans in Nolan Miller, of course). Cast members gathered at the Filoli mansion, filming site for the Carrington mansion scenes in the show, and chatted over champagne, their conversation interspersed with clips from the series. Collins arrived through the Filoli's front door and was greeted by Evans, who'd just come down the grand staircase. After the first commercial break, they were joined by Pamela Sue Martin and Al Corley, also descending the staircase. Gordon Thomson later entered boldly through the double doors. After subsequent commercial breaks, Catherine Oxenberg came down the stairs to join the group, then Collins and Evans chatted about their catfights (and a montage of the show's catfights was shown with Pat Benatar's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" playing over it -- that was fun). John Forsythe finally made his appearance at the end of the reminiscing. Interview clips of other cast members, such as Pamela Bellwood and Emma Samms, were also shown.

Joan Collins
"My most exciting time in 'Dynasty' was when we became the No. 1 show. We loved the enthusiasm that everyone had for the show. ... We felt we were invincible."
To Evans: "I think not just you and me, but John, were pivotal parts in it (the show). You had this great relationship all the way through the show."
On Alexis: "I'm constantly defending her, because I liked her, and so did the audience."
On the Moldavian Massacre: "We had no idea who was going to live or die." (Evans then mentions the sprinkling of blood on the actors in the massacre scene.) "The more blood we had, the less chance we had of coming back."
To Evans: "Those catfights, I'm still in agony over all of them. ... Let's drink to the catfights! And you always started them. I always said, Alexis doesn't fight with her fists, she fights with her tongue. ... The first one was the pillow fight. The feathers flying all over the place. And at the end, what was it that you said?" (The clip is shown: "If you want a rematch, just whistle, if you can.") ... "The fight scene that everyone seems to remember the most is the lily pond. ... When I went into the water, that was my stunt girl again!"

Linda Evans
"I think that everybody's under the illusion that if you're rich you have no problems, and we showed them complex lives."
"What an amazing, amazing life experience. I wouldn't have changed it for anything in the world. How wonderful to have experienced it. How wonderful to have lived it."
To Collins: "People always thought of us as archetypes. ... I think we represent both sides of every woman. ... I must say I don't think 'Dynasty' would have been the success it was without you."
"You have to admit that after five years, they had no idea what to do with our characters. I had to play my double, have a Southern accent and red hair."
To Collins, on the catfight with Krystle's "twin," Rita: "That was probably one of the most difficult things I'd done in my life. ... It was exhausting. I must say, it's much more fun beating you up! ... You were threatening to my life, to my husband, to someone that I love. And I would allow you and allow you, until one day you crossed over that threshhold."

Gordon Thomson
"One of the nastiest things Adam ever did, and one of the toughest things I found to do, inside, was rape. ... I really was a son-of-a-b--ch."
"I must say, bad and evil as I appeared to be, I couldn't hold a candle to you, Joan."
On the Moldavian Massacre: "I was given a joke T-shirt: 'I survived Amanda's wedding.'

John Forsythe
On Blake: "He was such a strong character, so varied, so multifaceted."
"Joan Collins was a tremendous plus to the show. I expected she was going to be good, but not to the extent that she was."
"At the airport, I was bustling along, and this woman stopped me and she hit me with her purse. I asked her what's wrong, and she said, 'I don't like the way you're treating Krystle!'"

Pamela Sue Martin
On leaving the show: "I just felt like I'd been inside a studio for a long time and it was time to get outdoors."
On Forsythe: "He treated me like a daughter because (smile) ... I was always misbehaving."

Catherine Oxenberg
To Collins: "You're the first person to turn the word 'b--ch' into a compliment. ... She used to call me Little B--ch, and I called her Big B--ch."

Al Corley
On leaving the show: "There are a lot of pressures in doing TV shows and a lot of pressures from sponsors. ... I just felt it was hard to go any further with the character."
"I had no idea how important this character was to a lot of people."
To Collins: "My favorite over-the-top, when I was on the show, was when you killed Lloyd Bochner." (Laughs, then the clip is shown of Cecil's love-nest heart attack) "You said you liked being on top!"

Jack Coleman
"At first I tiptoed around a little bit like, oh, I'm the new Steven."

Emma Samms
"'Dynasty' was about a very rich family, and the joy of it was, it didn't make them happy."