"The Colbys" (1985) TV series 1985-1987

Creators:

Eileen Pollock
Robert Pollock
Esther Shapiro
(more)

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

20 November 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

This night time spin-off from the then top-rated series "Dynasty" featured the adventures of Jeff and...

Plot Keywords:

Spin Off | Beautiful Woman | Character Name In Title

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 1 win & 11 nominations

Cast

Charlton Heston	...	Jason Colby (49 episodes, 1985-1987)
John James	...	Jeff Colby / ... (49 episodes, 1985-1987)
Katharine Ross	...	Francesca 'Frankie' Scott Colby Hamilton Langdon (49 episodes, 1985-1987)
Emma Samms	...	Fallon Carrington Colby Colby (49 episodes, 1985-1987)
Stephanie Beacham	...	Sable Scott Colby / ... (49 episodes, 1985-1987)
Tracy Scoggins	...	Monica Colby / ... (49 episodes, 1985-1987)
Maxwell Caulfield	...	Miles Colby / ... (49 episodes, 1985-1987)
Ricardo Montalban	...	Zach Powers / ... (48 episodes, 1985-1987)
Claire Yarlett	...	Bliss Colby (47 episodes, 1985-1987)
Kim Morgan Greene	...	Channing Carter Colby / ... (25 episodes, 1986-1987)
Barbara Stanwyck	...	Constance 'Conny' Colby Patterson (24 episodes, 1985-1986)
Joseph Campanella	...	Hutch Corrigan (23 episodes, 1985-1986)
Ken Howard	...	Garrett Boydston (23 episodes, 1985-1986)
Adrian Paul	...	Kolya 'Nikolai' Rostov / ... (20 episodes, 1986-1987)

Series Directed by
Don Medford		(4 episodes, 1985-1987)
Jerome Courtland		(1 episode, 1985)
Gwen Arner		(unknown episodes)
Gabrielle Beaumont		(unknown episodes)
Bruce Bilson		(unknown episodes)
Roy Campanella II		(unknown episodes)
Harry Falk		(unknown episodes)
Kim Friedman		(unknown episodes)
Curtis Harrington		(unknown episodes)
Richard Kinon		(unknown episodes)
Nancy Malone		(unknown episodes)
Irving J. Moore		(unknown episodes)
Robert Scheerer		(unknown episodes)

Series Writing credits
William Bast		(20 episodes, 1985-1987)
Paul Huson		(5 episodes, 1985-1987)
Oliver Clark		(unknown episodes)
Rick Edelstein		(unknown episodes)
Frank Furino		(unknown episodes)
Mary Ann Kasica		(unknown episodes)
Eileen Pollock		(unknown episodes)
Robert Pollock		(unknown episodes)
Charles Pratt Jr.		(unknown episodes)
Don Roos		(unknown episodes)
Michael Scheff		(unknown episodes)
Esther Shapiro		(unknown episodes)
Richard Shapiro		(unknown episodes)
Doris Silverton		(unknown episodes)
E. Jeffrey Smith		(unknown episodes)
Dennis Turner		(unknown episodes)

Series Produced by
William Bast	....	producer (48 episodes, 1985-1987)
Paul Huson	....	producer (unknown episodes, 1985-1987)
Christopher Morgan	....	producer (unknown episodes, 1985-1986)
Dennis Hammer	....	producer (unknown episodes, 1986-1987)
Douglas S. Cramer	....	executive producer (unknown episodes)
Esther Shapiro	....	executive producer (unknown episodes)
Richard Shapiro	....	executive producer (unknown episodes)
Aaron Spelling	....	executive producer (unknown episodes)
E. Duke Vincent	....	executive producer / supervising producer (unknown episodes)

Series Original Music by
Bill Conti		(unknown episodes)
Angela Morley		(unknown episodes)

Series Film Editing by
Chuck McClelland		(unknown episodes)
Chuck Montgomery		(unknown episodes)

Series Set Decoration by
Deborah Siegel		(unknown episodes)

Series Makeup Department
Marina Hart	....	key hair stylist (unknown episodes)

Series Production Management
Catherine McCabe	....	production manager (49 episodes, 1985-1987)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Wendy Shear	....	second assistant director (49 episodes, 1985-1987)
Chip Chalmers	....	second assistant director (12 episodes, 1985-1986)
Ricardo Méndez Matta	....	dga trainee (6 episodes, 1985-1986)
Richard T. Schor	....	first assistant director (unknown episodes)

Series Art Department
Douglas M. Keenan	....	property master (49 episodes, 1985-1987)

Series Sound Department
John S. Coffey	....	sound mixer (unknown episodes)
Richard LeGrand Jr.	....	sound editor (unknown episodes)

Series Special Effects by
Gary Zink	....	special effects (unknown episodes)

Series Stunts
Larry Holt	....	stunt performer (unknown episodes)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Scott Hamilton	....	assistant camera (49 episodes, 1985-1987)
Ralph Gerling	....	camera operator (unknown episodes)

Series Music Department
Bill Conti	....	composer: theme music (49 episodes, 1985-1987)
Neil Argo	....	orchestrator (2 episodes, 1987)

Production Companies

• Aaron Spelling Productions

Distributors

• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1985-1987) (USA) (TV) (original airing)

Also Known As:

Dynasty II: The Colbys (original title (first four episodes title))
Die Colbys - Das Imperium (West Germany) [de]
Dynastie II (France) (dubbed version) [fr]
I Colby (Italy) [it]
Les Colby (France) (dubbed version) [fr]
Los Colby (Spain) [es]

Runtime:

60 min (49 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Bel Air, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Aaron Spelling Productions

Trivia:

This series is the final acting project for Barbara Stanwyck.

Quotes:

Jason Colby: I don't trust you either. I don't take kindly to a married man making a play for my daughter.
Sen. Cash Cassidy: Stay out of this - it's none of your business.
Jason Colby: My family is my business. If I ever see you touch her again, you won't be able to run far enough or fast enough. If you don't believe me - *boy* - you ask your father what it's like to cross me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Girls on Top: Bring Me More Flamingoes (#2.4)" (1986)

The guiltiest of all guilty pleasures...dessert for the brain.

The year that Dynasty rose to be the number one rated show in the U.S., this spin-off was created. Original Dynasty character Jeff Colby was invited to Los Angeles and soon found he had a whole family he hadn't gotten to know previously. And what a family! The cast was made up of some very heavy hitters like Charlton Heston, Barbara Stanwyck and Ricardo Montalban. In a twist that can only happen in TV soap opera, Jeff also found that his presumed dead first wife was now an amnesiac, married to his cousin Miles! Small world! (And this was only the beginning......) The plots on this series were more than a little contrived and far-fetched and the producers/writers apparently wanted there to be some sort of violent scuffle between Miles and Jeff in almost every episode. The show is so fever-pitched at times that it's unintentionally funny. Still, the trappings (the clothes, the sets, the jewelry, the cars...) were so glamorous and there was enough drama mixed in with the hilarity that I became an instant fan. In fact, I grew to love The Colbys more than I did Dynasty which was seemingly impossible. The primary reason for this was the tour de force, monumental performance of Stephanie Beacham as Sable. Seemingly tossed in with all the "stars" as a sort of trophy wife character, she soon emerged as the only real reason to watch the show! Her character was so intriguing and her delivery of all those delicious lines was so captivating that she mopped the floor with almost everyone on the show! Every look she gave, every breath she took was calculated to knock viewers' socks off. Katharine Ross barely registered in her drab part, but when she and Beacham went at it, sparks flew. Stanwyck and Beacham created a fascinating enmity as well and when Stanwyck abruptly quit the series, things were never the same. I had recalled, from the original run, the scene in which Beacham begs Heston not to marry Ross. The first time I saw it it blew me away. Fifteen years later when the show re-emerged on SoapNet (something I will be forever grateful for as I thought I'd never see the thing again!), I waited for that scene and once again.....Beacham killed me. She is without question, the most underrated actress TV has ever seen. There were times (and yes, this is embarrassing to admit) when I actually cheered at the screen during her scenes the way most men would cheer a football game. She was that amazing to behold. Small wonder that when she turned up years later on Dynasty, I had to take her side against former favorite Alexis. Those fireworks are even greater! The Colbys is a mesmerizing time capsule of '80's excess. It is uneven and unbelievable at times, but, throughout, Stephanie Beacham held it all together. Another very fine performance came along later in Shanna Reed as an alcoholic senator's wife. Unfortunately, it all just got too out of hand and viewers were tiring of that type of show. Cheers began to beat it to death in the ratings. Thankfully, it has been rescued from the vaults so that new fans can discover it's hidden treasures. The opening credits and sweeping theme song only add to the fun.