The Dynasty Years documents and analyzes in detail the Dynasty phenomenon, an event in 1980s television which heralded a profound transformation of European television. From the operatic camp of Krystle and Alexis' fight in the lily-pond or the Moldavian wedding massacre to the unprecedented gay sub-plot, Dynasty represented, in the words of co-producer Esther Shapiro, the ultimate dollhouse fantasy for middle-aged women. Using evidence from audience survey results, newspaper and magazine clippings and letters to broadcasters and drawing on semiotics, psychoanalysis, feminism and critical...

The Dynasty Years documents and analyses in detail the Dynasty phenomenon, an event in 1980s television which heralded a profound transformation of European television. From the operatic camp of Krystle and Alexis' fight in the lily-pond or the Moldavian wedding massacre to the unprecedented gay sub-plot, Dynasty represented, in the words of co-producer Esther Shapiro, the ultimate dollhouse fantasy for middle-aged women. Using evidence from audience survey results, newspaper and magazine clippings and letters to broadcasters and drawing on semiotics, psychoanalysis, feminism and critical...