Falcon Crest! What was your favorite 'shocker'?

[GuidingLite]

Over the years, Falcon Crest, while not as glitzy as Dynasty, nor as popular as Dallas, did well to show some 'shocking' twists along the way. Out of the list below, what was your favorite?

1. Julia Cumson shot Carlo Agretti (this was a shock as 'major characters' were rarely EVER the real culprit!)

2. Richard Channing was Angela's son

3. Julia Cumson didn't die in the well-house fire

4. Maggie Channing dies in the pool

5. Chase Gioberti doesn't come up from the San Francisco Bay after rescuing Melissa Agretti and his son

6. Melissa Agretti was the true heir to Falcon Crest (she found this out before dying in the fire at the house

7. Richard and Maggie kiss....and the house blows up!!!!

[Jagger1966]

Hands down, Julia being Carlo's killer. I NEVER saw that one coming. My money was on Shannon Tweed's Diana. Don't know why, but I figured she was the only expendable character. Runner-up would be Melissa dying, just because I hadn't heard anything about Ana-Alicia leaving the show.

[GuidingLite]

Melissa's death surprised me as well....I wasn't expecting the fire at Falcon Crest story....I was VERY happy when Melissa found the document that meant Falcon Crest was her's and she kicked Angela out, lock stock and wine barrel! I love things like that, and wish it had played out longer as a power struggle and game of revenge between Melissa and Angela.

[BFFJR]

For me it would be when Julia was revealed to be the killer - and she subsequently shot and killed Jacqueline. Unfortunately, for me, this was the peak for the show as they never seemed able to top this cliffhanger - and didnt this happen at the end of the second season? After that, in an effort to top themselves, Falcon Crest just seemed to unspool becomming an over the top cartoon, what with the plane crash with every character on board and the car chase that left Chase presumed dead. Between these over the top cliffhangers and the constant cast turnover, the show seemed to lose its footing - and killing Melissa and then Maggie, the heart of the show, was the nail in the coffin, in my opinion

[stinastina]

The whole thing with Maggie getting her big fat ring stuck in the pool blew me away !

[GuidingLite]

I was pretty surprised with Maggie's drowning as well.....but I knew something was up, and Susan Sullivan was listed as a guest star instead of in the main cast credits....that was so sad.....I loved the character of Maggie. :(

[Jagger1966]

Unfortunately I knew it was coming because during the summer hiatus Susan Sullivan did the talk show circuit and spilled the beans about Maggie's watery demise. But even knowing how she was going to die didn't prepare me for how gruesome it actually was. I thought maybe she'd hit her head and drown. Wasn't expecting the ring in the drain.

[witchboy]

Richard being Angela's son was a great shock, and the best cliffhanger.
Maggie's horrible death was a shock, but I just found it upsetting, not a titilating cliffhanger to keep you watching, but a sign that a great show was dying along with it's most beloved heroine.

[GuidingLite]

To this day I can still recall the juxtaposition of scenes of Maggie getting her ring caught and realizing she couldn't surface, and Richard being driven to the courthouse, and watching him crumple to the ground when he was told (even if we didn't hear the words, or his anguish) that she was dead. It was one of the few soap moments that actually made me cry......

[Lucky1138]

To this day I can still recall the juxtaposition of scenes of Maggie getting her ring caught and realizing she couldn't surface, and Richard being driven to the courthouse, and watching him crumple to the ground when he was told (even if we didn't hear the words, or his anguish) that she was dead. It was one of the few soap moments that actually made me cry......

You're right, Maggie's death was all the more shocking by the way she died, but gotta admit, it was very original! Julia as the killer also was pretty out of left field. FC was so great, anyone know if it's available on DVD or anything? I haven't seen it since it got canned!

[GuidingLite]

There has been talk of releasing season one on DVD for some time, but nothing has materialized yet. There are websites that you can visit that have random episodes of FC available to view.

[stinastina]

I'm glad you told us that there are some episodes online. I am definitely going to look for them. :-}

[antmunoz]

The deaths of Melissa and Maggie. The show never recovered from either, and I didn't expect either. Most of the other previous deaths I had presumed based on pre-season press, but even though I knew Susan Sullivan was leaving, I did not expect Maggie to be killed off.

I thought the death of Jacqueline was a real waste because Lana Turner was just perfect for the show, and Angela needed a female counterpart of her generation. Too bad Jane Wyman was such an off-screen beeyotch.

[Antonio8885]

The deaths of Melissa and Maggie. The show never recovered from either

Those were the first two shockers that came to mind! At least when Robert Foxworth left the show, his Chase character was presumed dead. Adding insult to injury, they attempted to bring Ana-Alicia back as another character (realizing their mistake, as do many daytime soaps!). Whatever happened to her? I think she's credited in one movie since her FC departure (ROMERO with Raul Julia). At least Susan Sullivan went on to do other things, most notably her hilarious supporting turn in the sitcom DHARMA & GREG!

[bputman]

Julia Cumson shot Carlo Agretti was a great shocker!

Unfortunately, it destroyed the character and Abby Dalton was written out completely. Too bad because I liked the character the first two years.

[GuidingLite]

In ways I have to agree that making Julia the killer 'destroyed' the character....to have her a murderess and ship her off to a convent was too bad....the character had a LOT of potential on the show, and that went down the tubes when she was made Carlo's killer....

[finn3602]

I just thought it was interesting that both Maggie and Chase died by drowning! It's like they had run out of ways to kill people off the show.

[crester]

Richard being Angela's son was the biggest and best.
Julia as the killer was probably a close second.
Another was the Jeff Wainwright saga w/Maggie.