Dynasty: The Making of a Guilty Pleasure, 2005

CAST: Pamela Reed (Esther Shapiro) – Reed has been a popular supporting actress for over 25 years. She can be seen in such movies as Junior and Proof of Life. Most recently she has had a recurring role on the TV series Jericho.

Bartholomew John (John Forsythe) – Popular New Zealand based actor.

Melora Hardin (Linda Evans) – Recently starred in the US version of The Office, as Jan.

and Alice Krige (as Joan Collins) – South Africa born actress, perhaps best known for her role in Star Trek: First Contact as the Borg Queen. Krige has worked extensively since the early 80’s.

PLOT: This made for TV movie chronicles the conception and production of Dynasty, of one of the biggest drams series’ of all time. It covers the shows’ full run right up to the wrap of the reunion movie in the early 90’s.

No sex, no violence, if 'bitch' is still counted then there's a bit of language. PG/TV-14 (at a guess).

THOUGHTS: Being a fan of the show I guess I’m partial to the glossy and playful tone of this ‘biopic’ of one of TV’s most successful shows. From the outset the makers are honest with us about this being an unapologetic dramatisation of the making of one of the most overly dramatic shows ever made. I’ve read that the movie was condemned by all three leads from the show (John Forsythe, Linda Evans and Joan Collins). I think the question that they should’ve asked themselves is whether Dynasty fans really wanted a no-holds-barred expose or a glossy tele-movie, my guess is the latter! Who cares about historical accuracy when you have great sets, great hair and nine years of drama to cram into 90 minutes!

Alice Krige was excellent as Joan Collins, in fact the whole cast did a good job. However, I thought the portrayal of Linda Evans as some kind of dozy starlet was pretty mean, but highly entertaining. I also liked the way the focus was more on the producers Esther and Richard Shapiro and their vision for the show. One particularly noticeable omission is the lack of 80’s attire, surely actors in 1981 would be wearing the clothes of the time. These people look like they’ve just steeped out of a 2005 department store. Also, the budget didn’t quite stretch to the fabulous frocks from the real Dynasty. Rarely an episode went by when either Joan Collins or Linda Evans were draped in a dead animal or two. On the whole, though, this is excellent entertainment, no doubt far from removed from the reality of the real Dynasty set, but like the great show itself – 100% pure fun.

CAN I BUY IT? Yes, Region 4.