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Fantasy Knots Landing Fantasy Knots Landing
'Starring' (in alphabetical order)
Tyne Daly
William Devane
Kevin Dobson
Josh Duhamel
Michele Lee
Jesse McCartney
Donna Mills
Ted Shackelford
Michelle Trachtenberg
Joan Van Ark
Special Guest Star: Nicollette Sheridan
Previously on Fantasy Knots Landing…….
Lori Fairgate had a dream, and in that dream she was with Brian Cunningham – the man she had an affair with during the previous season who was now the father of her unborn child:
Lori: “I can’t bear to be with Michael when I’m in love with YOU”
Brian: “But Lori you have to understand I’m with Kate now”
Lori: “No” (bursting into tears)
Brian: “I’m in love with Kate now”
Lori: “No…don’t say that”
Brian: “And I’m leaving town to start afresh with her”
Lori: “You can’t…no…”
Brian: “I’m going now….goodbye”
Lori: “No…don’t go”
Brian made his way out the motel room door with Lori clinging onto him screaming:
“NO…NO…DON’T… PLEASE DON’T GO…NO….”
At that point, Lori then awakened screaming once more! Michael too awakened and instinctively wrapped his arms around his wife assuring her:
“It’s okay honey. It was just a bad dream. That’s all…”
Lori trembled with fear as Michael attempted to console her….
However a little later, Lori lied about the contents of her nightmares when quizzed by Michael:
Lori: "You see Michael...I...I..." (finding it hard to say)
Michael: "What?"
Lori: "I was... abused by my father"
Following some money troubles, the pair were forced to move into the Mackenzie’s’ spare room and during their time there, Michael confided in his mother telling her about Lori’s ‘troubles’. It was during a well meaning heart to heart with her daughter in law that Karen soon realised just how disturbed Lori actually was:
Karen: “Michael told me all about the nightmares and it’s perfectly understandable after all you’ve been through”
Lori: “What have I been through Karen? I don’t understand”
Karen: “Michael was so worried for you. I just want you to know that I’m here if you ever need to talk”
Lori: “Talk about what?”
Karen: “The ABUSE Lori. Michael told me that you were abused as a child”
Lori: “I don’t know what you’re talking about Karen. I was never abused as a child”
Karen: “But Michael said you were having nightmares”
Lori: “Yes I WAS having nightmares but not about THAT. Michael started asking questions and I HAD to tell him something”
CUE a horrified Karen as she digested just how warped Lori’s mind actually was……
Meanwhile, Abby used her close relationship with her handsome beau Peter Choy to help make money from her ‘OceanView’ problem which she had inherited during the previous season:
"About three months ago, I inherited a piece of land that I worked damn hard to get hold of. The problem being though that I had a fallout with the landowner before he blew it up. No one wanted it - and those who did wanted it purely to make money out of it"
"And he didn't want it to be resold?"
"Something like that... the problem being though that there's no way on earth I could ever sell that land. Anyone seeking the proper permits to build on it would soon uncover its history and it wouldn't be profitable for me to turn things around..."
"Maybe there's a way I can help you turn things around" suggested Peter
Peter then manufactured a prime stage at an International Environmental Convention to make the speech of his life – partly, to promote his own career path but also, to impress Gary Ewing whom Peter, himself had invited to the event:
“I ask you to consider for yourself the benefits my friends. Not only would we be sending a unanimous, strong message to our trading partners on the other side of the world, however we would be changing attitudes and lifestyles here at home" he told his audience before continuing; “The reality being that we would not only be changing attitudes, but saving our resources and perhaps even LIVES as well. Thank you for your time ladies and gentlemen…”
Even Gary (fully aware of how corrupt Sumner and his cronies actually are) seemed impressed as he met Peter for the first time:
Gary: “You did Sumner proud out there today”
Peter: “Thank you. Your name is?”
Gary: “Oh sorry. Gary Ewing. I run Ewing Enterprises. We specialise in all aspects of environmental construction. Mainly housing”
Peter: “I was once a consultant for a low cost housing firm in Nevada. That’s mainly my forte”
Gary: “That’s what WE do. As a matter of fact, I’m eyeing up a number of new projects right now”
Peter: “Well why don’t we meet up tomorrow for lunch? I’ll show you what I’ve got and you can see if you like anything”
“Fantastic” replied an enthusiastic Gary.
Meanwhile, back in the disturbing world of Lori Fairgate, a moment of anger that caused her to tear up a photograph of Brian & Kate gave birth to a revelation in her mind that she could actually split up the pair FOREVER….
And with a devious plan in mind, designed to devastate the lives of those around her, Lori sought to KILL Kate by running her down using a hired car in the car park of a busy shopping mall. On the eve of Kate’s wedding to Brian, Lori found the perfect opportunity to commit such a deed – manufacturing events to exact precision…
AS WE SEE LORI DRESSED UP IN A JILL BENNETT STYLE WIG AND DRIVING TOWARDS KATE WHITTAKER IN SLOW MOTION – HITTING HER TARGET, WHOSE BODY WAS EJECTED INTO MID AIR AS LORI SPED OFF INTO THE DISTANCE….
Kate survived the attempt on her life though lost her expectant baby. Meanwhile Lori started to fear she might be found out as she listened to Mack’s theories over the breakfast table:
Mack: “You can bet your bottom dollar they’re not driving the same car anymore love. Chances are that if the person DID have criminal intent, they probably hired the vehicle in the first place. The cops are checking out car rental depots as we speak”
Lori: “Do you think?” (worried)
Mack: “Oh yeah. Megan told me the other day that they told Sumner that. When you think about it, it’s a natural line of enquiry”
And so, Lori took no chances – and headed out to the car depot where she rented the vehicle in the first place – BURNING it to the ground:
CUE Lori looking on with immense satisfaction at the lengths she has gone to in order to cover her tracks….
UNTIL she returns home late that night to find KAREN on the staircase waiting up for her in the dark:
Karen: “What’s that smell?”
Lori: “Huh?”
Karen: “Do you smell…gasoline?”
Meanwhile, despite the concerns of Valene and Mack, Gary pressed ahead with his purchase of Peter’s land (which he had bought from Abby beforehand) following a tour of OceanView itself….
As Gary signed on the dotted line, so Abby and Peter celebrated with a glass of champagne – in bed:
“It was a long time coming, but I hope today was worth it for you” commented Peter
“Ooh it certainly was, and now I’m an extremely rich woman. And who’d have thought that it would be my former husband who’d make me that. Ironic isn’t it?”
Peter soon left town once his mission was accomplished to take up an important environmental role in the Clinton Government – but it didn’t take Abby too long to get over him whenever she clapped eyes on her new, handsome business acquaintance, Mr Jeremy Fox:
Greg: “Boys and girls, I know you’ll join with me in welcoming Jeremy to the team and wish him a long and prosperous career here at the Sumner Group”
Abby: “Welcome aboard Jeremy. My name is Abby. Abby Fairgate” (batting her eyelids)
Jeremy: “Pleased to meet you Abby” (shaking her hand back)
Though before Peter left town, we witnessed an exchange between both he and Jeremy to suggest the pair were old foes in the past:
Peter: “I know all about you my friend and I know all about your seedy past back east. So don’t relax too much and don’t think you can start afresh quite so easily”
Jeremy: “Oh so you think you know me then?”
Peter: “I know I know you pal. So don’t upset me because you don’t know what I may or may not tell…”
Jeremy: “Well it’s a good job you are leaving town then. Otherwise, I’d need to keep an eye on you wouldn’t I?”
Peter: “You don’t scare me”
Jeremy: “I have contacts in Washington who can eliminate you just like that” (clicking his fingers)
Meanwhile, following an attempt by the Abster to cheat Anne out of her ‘payoff’ for shopping Abby to Greg earlier in the season, Anne used the information contained in some valuable Sumner Group papers PLUS some research on the Internet PLUS some good old fashioned tittle tattle with Greg to blackmail Abby into giving her the money (with interest) back:
Anne: “We know what you were up to Abby. We know that Doug Weisman left you that land in his will after blowing up its foundations…we know you sold the land to Peter Choy and we know he sold the land onto Gary Ewing. We also know that Gary Ewing doesn’t have a clue the foundations of those mines are unstable”
Abby: “PROVE IT” (angry)
And so Anne, (with a little help from newly returned gigolo Nick Schillace) DID just that….
While an upset Abby confided in her new love Jeremy:
Abby: “If only Peter was out of the picture I’d be fine”
Jeremy: “But isn’t he in Washington?”
Abby: “Yes he is…but I mean out of the picture completely. As long as he is in public life, he’ll always be a threat to me”
Jeremy: “But surely, Anne and Nick must be more of a concern”
Abby: “Let’s just say it would be better if all THREE were out the picture…”
Karen meanwhile got the shock of her life when she overheard a midnight telephone conversation between Brian and Lori:
“I know you must be distraught at the thought of losing the baby” Lori told Brian; “in a few months time though, I’ll be having my own baby”
Brian: “Do you think that compensates huh? Knowing you are having a baby? Do you think it makes the pain any less bearable?”
Lori: “Of course not, but at the end of the day Brian, my baby is yours too”
CUE a stunned Karen upon hearing these words!!!!
Karen soon uncovered a plan by Lori to run off with Brian and set off to Brian’s condo whenever she discovered Lori had cleared her belongings out of the bedroom to speak sense to Brian with an impassioned speech:
“I’m going to tell you something Brian that no one else knows… a long time ago I fell pregnant with Diana. But, I didn’t know who the father was. However, your Uncle Sid proposed and I knew how much I loved him, but I also knew that if I told him the truth about Diana, it’d break his heart. I decided to stay quiet till at least I knew for sure – and history proved me right. And now… I see the same thing happening again. Sid’s son, in the exact same position as his father. Now you’re a good man too Brian. Are you willing to break Michael’s heart? Can you honestly say you love Lori so much that’s it worth causing so much pain over?”
CUE a guilty looking Brian as Karen assumingly concluded;
“Of course you don’t. You’re just confused that’s all. But none of this is right is it?”
And once Brian changed his mind about fleeing town with Lori, so Lori had to return home in a desperate bid to save her marriage to Michael before he found her ‘Dear John’ style letter – only to find Karen, once again, waiting for her on the Mackenzie staircase with the letter itself in her hands.
Then, with great satisfaction, Karen ripped up the letter into four pieces in front of Lori’s eyes. The look on Lori’s face said it all – a contemptuous look towards her mother in law. Contempt especially at the smug look of victory painted on Karen’s face.
In the weeks to follow, Lori created a secret terror campaign designed to cause her mother-in-law much fear in retaliation for her attempts to block a potential union with the real love of her life, Brian…
First up, she led Karen into believing she had aborted her unborn child – knowing it would devastate Karen:
Lori: “I already had the termination this morning. There IS no baby anymore”
Karen: “What? WHY DID YOU DO THAT?” (livid)
Lori: “Karen it’s my body. I have the right to choose”
Karen: “How…” (dumbstruck) “How could you do such a thing? You had no right. You should’ve discussed this with Michael first”
Lori: “I didn’t need to discuss anything with Michael. He wasn’t the father. Remember?”
Karen: “OH YES YOU DID LADY. Instead you opted to become a cold hearted CHILD KILLER”
Lori: “What a first class hypocrite you are… you bang on about me ‘not having the right’, you accuse me of being a child-killer…now forgive me if I’m wrong, but is this the same Karen Mackenzie talking who 30 years ago attended every ‘pro choice’ rally taking place on the West Coast? Who publicly supported a woman’s right to choose?”
Karen: “That was DIFFERENT”
“You know what I think? I think your so called liberalism is a sham. Your championing of the underdog is nothing more than an ego trip. You may think of yourself as liberal, tolerant, open minded even. But deep down, if you only had the guts to say so, you’re nothing more than an ego driven, smothering, inflexible control freak”
Karen then SLAPPED Lori – but then, the pair heard Mack and Michael return home and it was only then when Karen discovered the true extent of how crazy Lori had become:
Lori: “I went to the clinic today, and I have some news for you”
Michael: “Really?”
“LORI….NO…” interrupted Karen
Mack and Michael both appear concerned until Lori announces:
“I had a scan taken today to determine the sex of the child, and I’m pleased to confirm that our SON is perfectly healthy”
“Our son?” replies Michael. “You mean, we’re having a boy?”
“We certainly are”
“That’s wonderful” replies Mack
Meanwhile, Karen stood there looking even more bemused…
Later still, Karen made an exhibition of herself at Val’s home when, following claims by Lori that Karen had hit her, Karen went to town with her daughter-in-law claiming that it was LORI who was behind a series of threatening letters she had been receiving:
Lori: “Mother? What are you doing here?” (frightened)
Karen: “To show you THIS” (holding aloft the letter)
Lori: (reading the letter) “Karen…I didn’t send you this”
Karen: “Like hell you didn’t”
Lori: “Karen…please…why are you saying all these things? This isn’t fair” (turning on the waterworks) “Val knows you pushed me down the stairs”
Karen: “What? That’s absurd” (clearly denying it)
Val: “Is it true Karen? TELL me if it’s true”
Karen: “You don’t believe her do you?” (in horror to Val)
Lori: “I don’t care who believes me. The only people I care who believe me are the police, and that’s where I’m going RIGHT NOW”
In a moment of madness, Karen’s temper came to the forefront as she once again SLAPPED Lori so hard that she fell backwards onto Val’s stairs:
Meanwhile, the pressure Lori was putting Brian under started getting to him. Agitated by the constant text messages and phone calls on his cell phone, he soon started to take his anger out on his new wife Kate:
Kate: “Ever since we got married, you’ve resented me”
Brian: “No I haven’t”
Kate: “Yes you have”
Brian: “That’s not true”
Kate: “Yes it IS true. Maybe it’s something about the Cunningham men huh? The minute they get a ring on their wives’ finger, they think they can screw them about huh? Is that it?”
Brian: “Kate stop it…stop it now” (welling anger)
Kate: “Oh you don’t like it now do you? Now I’m getting too close to the truth aren’t I?”
IN A MOMENT OF RAGE, BRIAN THEN PHYSICALLY HIT OUT AT HIS WIFE – in front of little Molly too, causing both mother and daughter to move in with Megan (who Karen was also lodging with by that point) on the cul-de-sac….
Kate and Molly weren’t Megan’s only houseguests though as Megan also entertained her son Patrick who had arrived on vacation for a few days from his home in Boston.
Fearful that she might lose Patrick once again, and in a desperate bid to keep him in Knots Landing, Megan therefore chose to announce some startling news to Patrick over lunch with him and Greg:
“Patrick? Meet your father…”
And to Greg:
“Greg? Meet your son”
Meanwhile Nick Schillace and Anne Matheson Sumner embarked on a ‘romantic’ weekend in the capital city of Washington with Nick on a mission to blackmail PETER CHOY with the revelations he and Anne had discovered about his activities with Abby at OceanView:
“Now I know enough about you Mr Choy” claimed Nick; “To know you’re too intelligent not to have researched that land’s history. I am also guessing that you don’t want Gary Ewing being made aware of this or going to the media”
“I don’t care if Gary Ewing comes after me or not. If he didn’t care enough to have his men research the history of that land that’s not my fault”
“Maybe” answered Nick; “However if your colleagues in Washington let alone Mr Clinton heard about this, how would that make you (or them) look? Imagine the scandal if news got out that the Government’s Environmental Advisor was not so environmentally friendly after all. That would be a terrible scandal. Tut tut tut…”
THE PAIR WERE UNAWARE THOUGH THAT SOMEONE WAS INSIDE THE BEDROOM CLOSET WATCHING THEIR LITTLE CONVERSATION
A few days later as Anne and Nick returned home, Abby received a startling call from Jeremy who was also at the airport:
Jeremy: “Look Abby, there’s something on TV that I think you’re going to want to see….”
And so, a curious Abby turned on the TV set with the cordless phone in her hand as a local newsflash hit the airwaves. Abby stood in shock as she watched the sight of ANNE & NICK being ARRESTED at the airport upon their arrival from Washington as the anchor announced:
"Several officers from the Los Angeles Police Department were waiting for the couple as they returned from a trip to Washington where they are wanted to help police with their enquiries following the murder of the Government's newly appointed Environmental Advisor, Mr Peter Choy. Mr Choy, aged 35, was found dead in his hotel suite yesterday after failing to appear at a White House Gala Dinner on Monday night. The pair are believed to have been the last to see Mr Choy alive"
“Enjoy your ‘bonus’ Abby” exclaimed Jeremy as he hung up the phone…
“Oh Jeremy, what have you done???” exclaimed a nervous Abby…
The insanity then temporarily stopped when Lori then gave birth to a bouncing baby boy whom she named William Sydney Fairgate – thus incensing Karen even more however the birth of Lori’s baby was not the only new arrival in town when Mack received a phone call:
“I’ll be right there. I’m going to catch the first flight out…”
Before telling the person on the other end:
“I love you too”
Whenever he got off the telephone, he explained to Karen:
“That was Paige. She has just given birth to a baby girl”
Michael then surprised his wife upon her homecoming from the hospital when he brought her home to a new luxurious Cliffside villa that overlooked the Pacific Ocean:
“Oh Michael…I don’t know what to say? This must have cost an absolute fortune. Oh Michael…. I love you so much” (replied a jubilant Lori who thought all her Christmases had come at once).
Suddenly, Michael was in Lori’s good books again…..
AND SO….
Upon hearing news of the birth from Karen, a dejected Brian, who by this point had lost his wife, his unborn child and little Molly (as well as having Greg, who by now had heard about what he did to Kate, pay him off to flee town) then went to visit Lori in her new home to not only see his newborn son but attempt a reconciliation with Lori.
However Brian wasn’t quite prepared for the answer he was about to receive from Lori:
“You’re not Sydney’s father Brian. It’s Michael. He has been since day one. I was just using you to get out of a dead end situation. You were my passport to get away from Michael”
Needless to say, Brian was stunned and returned to confront his Aunt Karen:
“Michael is the father of Lori’s baby. Don’t pretend you don’t know. You MUST know” he yelled at her.
“What?” was the reply from a shell-shocked Karen…
“I’ve wanted a child of my own for so long…. and here I am…. in my hour of need, when I think that I might just have something left worth clinging onto, she takes that away from me….so now? Now I have nothing….”
However the pair were unaware that Kate was standing at Karen’s front door listening to them – thus forcing Brian to make one last ditch attempt to save his marriage as he tearfully pleaded with Kate:
“Look Kate…it’s not too late….come with me and we’ll speak to Lori together. She has just confirmed the fact that it’s Michael who is that kids’ father not ME. It’s all over between her and I now I swear - with nothing to get in the way of the two of us…”
Kate started to think about Brian’s words as he once again pleaded with her:
“Come with me…and we’ll speak to Lori together…and maybe then you’ll believe me huh?”
Meanwhile Greg also learned a fascinating revelation from the love of his life, Megan – who had secretly been doing a little investigating into Kate’s accident:
Megan: “Karen came to me a while back with some concerns she had over Kate’s accident. She kind of had an idea as to who was responsible but has had that much to deal with of late she didn’t have time to look into her suspicions – so I did so for her”
Greg: “And?”
Megan: “And I discovered who was responsible”
Greg: “You did?”
And with that, Megan revealed to Greg:
“It was Lori Fairgate…”
An incensed Karen meanwhile sat alone at the kitchen table in a deserted house following on from her encounter with Brian and dwelling on all Lori’s wrongdoings over the past year. It was then she decided that was enough was enough and to sort out the whole mess once and for all.
Later at Lori’s came the big confrontation:
Karen: “You’ve lied to Michael, lied to Brian, split up him and Katie, pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes making everyone believe you’re so sweet and innocent and you’ve got away with it but I am not going to let you get away with this anymore”
Lori: (smirking) “How, what are you going to do mother?”
Karen: “What I should have done a long time ago…get rid of you”
Lori: “So how do you intend to “get rid of me” then? Are you going to drive me away huh? Drop me off in some desert in the middle of Arizona? Because I guarantee you mother, I’ll find my way back”
“You are SUCH a hateful person” responded Karen as she threatened her daughter-in-law; “The truth is lady, you dug your own grave. I’m just the one who is going to throw you in it”
And therefore with Brian, Kate, Greg and Karen all on the warpath and gunning for revenge against Lori, we read the final scene of Season Four intently as Michael Fairgate returned home from his first day back at work to find the front door open and no signs of his wife or child as he anxiously cried their names as he searched the house.
Then he walked into the kitchen to find a body on the kitchen floor. The look on his face clearly showed this person was someone he knew – and knew WELL.
Was it Lori? Or had one of the above four persons been accidentally killed as they confronted her about their various anxieties????
WHO HAD KILLED WHO???????
Episode One - "Calm Before the Storm"
Written By: Robert McCormack
Across town at the cul-de-sac, we hear the telephone ring out at the Mackenzie household. However inside, there is no answer.
Our cyber camera pans across that familiar living room from the dining table at the top down past the staircase and on towards the telephone table near the door where the telephone continues to ring out.
After a dozen or so rings, the focus of our episode then transfers to the other end of the line and to MACK who is currently in New York City on vacation visiting his daughter Paige who, just days earlier, gave birth to a bouncing baby girl. Mack is stood looking out the window of Paige’s plush, Art Deco style, Upper East Side Apartment in the city’s Manhattan district, and it is soon evident by his growing fascination at the sight of a couple in the street below chasing after one of the city’s famous yellow cabs on such a wet night, that his patience as he waits on Karen to answer the phone is wearing somewhat thin….
And so, as Mack reluctantly places down the receiver onto the handset, he then lets out a sigh and thinks for a moment about the fact that his wife isn’t home before commenting:
“That’s not like Karen. She said she’d be at home today”
“Well maybe she run out on an errand” answers PAIGE
“Yeah….she must’ve done” concludes Mack though his gut instincts tell him something is not right. Maybe he has a sixth sense that trouble is brewing back home? Who knows? Right now though, his priorities lie with his daughter Paige and of course, his first grandchild – Rachel.
Mack then leaves the window and heads across the room revealing Paige’s love of Art. Lots of pictures adorn the walls featuring the best in NYC architecture including black and white photos of the Chrysler building, the Empire State Building, and the World Trade Center on the walls. Mack walks over towards his daughter Paige who is sat up on the sofa snuggling underneath her favourite blanket with the remote control in her hand as she settles down for another instalment of her favourite TV series, Ally McBeal:
“What’s her full name again?” asks Mack
“Rachel Karen Matheson”
“Karen? You chose Karen?”
“Sure I did. I told you at the hospital”
“No you didn’t”
“Yes I didn’t”
“You don’t think I’d remember something like that? Naming my grand-daughter after my beloved wife?” (holding out his arms and demanding a hold of the sleeping baby)
Paige then (rather grudgingly) has to get up from her comfortable seat to remove the baby from her Moses basket. She then hands Mack the baby declaring:
“Mack. I TOLD you. Anyway what is the big deal?”
“It IS a big deal” he tells the child. “It’s a big deal when your grandfather can’t remember a conversation that took place just 2 days ago
As Mack stands cradling the sleeping child in his arms, he is full of smiles as he eyes up his adorable little grandchild:
“She’s so perfect” he comments. “Just like her mother. The cutest little nose, red rosy cheeks and a head full of hair. Do you know what?” he tells the child; “Your great grandmother was born with a full head of hair. Ooh yes she was….and HER mother as well. Even your great Aunt Megan was too. You’re the latest in a long line of Mackenzie’s to be born with a full head of hair. It must be the Irish in you. That’s what it is. It’s the luck of the Irish”
With Paige glued to the television and no one else to speak to but Rachel, Mack then bursts into song – singing an old folk song he remembers his mother singing to Megan when she was a girl on her mother’s knee:
"She's only a bird in a gilded cage,
A beautiful sight to see.
You may think she's happy and free from care,
She's not, though she seems to be….”
At that point, Paige then interrupts the singing lawyer:
“Mack please….”
Before Mack tells Rachel:
“Ooh…your mommy doesn’t like your grand-daddy’s singing does she? Oh no she doesn’t….”
“I’m trying to watch this program”
“Sorry” replies the apologetic grandfather as he takes the child over to the window and has a look out the window to see if that young couple caught their taxi. Needless to say they have as there isn’t a sinner to be seen outside. Just the rain. Lots and lots of pouring rain dancing on the sidewalk outside and pouring down the multiple steps that lead to the various entrances of each house on the street below.
Bored, with nothing else to take up his attention, Mack soon starts singing again:
“Oh my lovely rose of Clare, you're the sweetest girl I know
You're the queen of all the roses, like the pretty flowers that grow
You are the sunshine of my life, so beautiful and fair
For I will always love you, my lovely rose of Clare”
As Mack sings his heart out in the corner of the room, so Paige rolls her eyes to the ceiling – clearly unimpressed by her father’s dulcet tones. At that point, clearly irritated, Paige soon turns the TV set off and gets up from the sofa – attracting Mack’s attention by the window:
“What are you doing?” he asks
“Well, since I can’t hear the tube, I’m going to go and look at the menu for a great Thai restaurant five blocks away”
“Huh?” (confused while holding the baby)
“Mack, we HAVE to eat and it is dinnertime”
“Well why didn’t you just say? I’d have got it”
“Well first of all because I’m not ill or anything. I just had a baby and second of all, because you’re HOLDING that baby”
“Hey…having a baby is a BIG deal. I’ve been living with Lori for the past seven months. Trust me. I know what you women go through now”
“Well then, you’ll know it’s not that big a deal”
“Huh….I wouldn’t say that. Lori looked in a lot of discomfort”
“Well maybe that’s her, but you forget that I’m an independent kind of girl”
“So is Lori”
“Strong willed”
“So is Lori”
“And I don’t go seeking attention from no one”
“Hmm…well that CAN’T be said for Lori”
The pair laugh as they consider Lori and her melodramatics over the past few years as Paige assures Mack on her way out to the hall:
“Mack I’m going to be fine. I’m only grabbing a takeout menu. That’s all”
Mack then smiles at his daughter telling her:
“I’ve every faith that you’re going to be fine – you and my little Irish Colleen here” (speaking down to the child once more)…..
End of Act One.... Act Two...
Our attention then switches to the street below – and as the increasingly heavy downfall dances on the darkened road outside, so a small Delivery Van pulls up outside the block stopping at Paige’s front step. After a few moments, the delivery guy takes a run for it – rushing up the fifteen steps that lead to the door itself before buzzing to get into the building…
Obviously, the delivery guy arrives at the apartment out of breath and soaking wet! He hates delivering to this particular side of the city and as Mack soon becomes concerned over his heavy breathing, so the delivery guy explains just WHY he hates this route so much:
“Too….many….steps….” (panting)
“Nonsense” replies Mack; “You need to get fitter”
The young worker then hands over a canvas bag filled with Thai food for the pair. Paige attempts to pay him till Mack intervenes. Realising how lousy it must be delivering in such weather, Mack then places a fifty dollar note in his shirt pocket:
“Keep the change” instructs Mack
“Gee…thanks Sir” answers the delighted young boy as he examines his tip.
Mack then follows Paige into the kitchen as she retrieves the food from the sack and starts dishing the contents out onto some dinner plates:
“Here. I’ll get that” insists Mack
“MACK. I’m not helpless” answers Paige – clearly cheesed off at Mack’s protective desire to do everything for her.
“I just want to take care of you that’s all”
“But you’re smothering me Mack. I’m used to taking care of myself”
“Yeah but what happens in the future? When Rachel grows up huh? It’s not going to be easy being a single parent you know”
“Who says I’m going to be a single parent?”
“But what if you are? Chicken Satay?” (referring to the food)
“No. Mine is the Penang Curry. And what if I’m not? None of us know what is round the corner Mack”
“But you HAVE to plan for the worst” insists Mack
“You make it sound like I’m condemning myself to a life of depression and hardship here. My life is much more settled now and I’m much more content than I was during the time I spent living in Knots Landing”
“That’s because you spent most of your time hanging round Gregory Sumner”
Paige rolls her eyes at that point muttering:
“I was wondering when HE was going to be brought up”
“If only you’d listened to my advice in the first place but oh no….you HAD to find out the hard way”
“That’s what life is about Mack. Finding things out for yourself. Can you imagine how much I’d have resented you if you’d tried to keep Greg and I apart?”
“Come on. You’d have got over him and settled down with someone else like Tom Ryan”
“This food is getting cold here. Come on out to the sitting room” insists Paige.
As the pair then take their seat on the sofa out in the lounge with Mack carrying a trayful of plates and Paige carrying glasses of milk, so Paige continues to defend her romance with Greg:
“You know despite the way he treated me and despite his unwillingness to commit to anything long lasting, I cherish that time we spent together and I wouldn’t have swapped it for anything else”
“But look where it’s got you” (wolfing into his Chicken Satay)
“Yes. Look at where it has got me. I wouldn’t say that’s so bad would you? He has left me with a beautiful daughter whom I plan to raise alone and even if I don’t meet anybody else, I’ll still have Rachel. I’ll never be alone so long as have her”
“But all that wasted time” (shaking his head)
“That time wasn’t wasted. Four years we spent together. Four years worth of happy memories spent with a man I loved and he loved me”
“Did Sumner ever tell you he loved you?”
“Some of the time yeah”
“Some of the time” (laughing) “Paige you don’t want to be with someone who just tells you he loves you SOME of the time. You want to be with someone who tells you that ALL of the time”
“I don’t want to be with anyone who TELLS me he loves me atall. I want to be with someone who SHOWS me he loves me”
“Like Sumner showed you?”
“MACK” (annoyed)
“Like he showed you the day you walked out on him last year at the ranch? When he didn’t even fight to keep you?”
“He DID fight” (defensive)
“Oh really? Well did he fight with passion in his heart? Like he mean’t it? Did he leave you with an option? An alternative that made it possible for you to stay with him?”
Paige says nothing as Mack concludes:
“No of course he didn’t. Otherwise why would you be here huh?”
Paige by now is upset by having such home truths spelt out to her and it all appears to be getting too much for her as the tears well up in her eyes:
“Why are you being so horrible to me huh?”
Then realising, Mack puts down his plate and attempts to console Paige who is sat beside him on the sofa wiping the tears away from her eyes with the sleeve of her right fist’s jumper:
“Oh Paige honey. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I love you kid. I just want what is best for you”
“Greg DID love me. I know he did” she insists as Mack sits comforts her by placing his protective fatherly arm around her – which she fully takes advantage of by nestling into him for a cry…..
“Hey I’m sorry. I should never have gone on like that. Hell I know Gregory better than anyone else and I know he loved you. Hell he STILL loves you. But he just can’t deal with his emotions don’t you understand? He never loved Jane and he didn’t love Abby. They were both business acquisitions to him. And he certainly never loved your mother that’s for sure. He married her out of sheer boredom I guess. He DID love Laura – but it took Laura about four years to break into those emotions and by the time she did, it was too late. But I saw the way he was with you and Paige kid I KNOW he loved you. But by that point I’d seen the way he’d treated all the others, and I didn’t want to expose you to that. I knew that having you and him together would only break your heart sooner or later and I didn’t want to see you go through that honey. Do you understand? I love you too much to see you go through that”
“Yes I understand and yes you were right all along”
“Good”
“But it doesn’t make the pain any easier. Do you know what I’d give to see him hold Rachel right now? In his arms? Looking like a proud father?”
“I know”
“There’s nothing I’d give more than to see the three of us settled down like a proper family”
Mack smiles as he looks into Paige’s eyes and sees the dream she still holds for her former lover:
“You know” continues Paige, “I often wonder what it’d be like had I told him I was pregnant and stuck with him…..and I often wonder what it’d be like…..if I returned…” (interrupted)
“To Knots Landing?” (interrupts Mack as he assumes he knows what she is going to say next); “…and show Sumner his daughter?”
“Mack, he has a right to know…”
“FORGET it” (rising from the sofa) “Gregory Sumner has no rights” (pointing the finger). He gave up those rights the day he treated you like dirt”
“It was I who walked out on him”
“Because he was treating you like dirt” (raising his voice)
“No he wasn’t. Because the two of us wanted different things from life” (shouting back)
At that point the baby awakens with Paige leaning over to rock the cradle as Mack softens the tone of his voice:
“Paige” pleads Mack. “Paige honey listen…..”
Paige then looks up at her father attentively as he continues:
“Return to Knots Landing kid” (opening his arms to invite her). “There’s nothing more that Karen and I would love than to have you back with us. Plus your mother is back in town now. Lord knows I never see her, but she’s there and she’d be pleased to see you. We’d all be pleased to see you….”
“But?” assumes Paige that there IS a ‘but’ coming
“STAY AWAY FROM GREGORY SUMNER. That’s all I ask. Look at you. Look at how far you’ve come. You made the break. You’ve started a new life for yourself – selling Real Estate, in a stylish new home. It’s only a matter of time before you meet someone you’ll want to share the rest of your life with. Why return to Sumner huh? Why go back?”
Paige considers Mack’s words – knowing he is right as he concludes:
“If you want to give that up and return back home there’s nothing I’d want more than to be near you all the time. To be near my grand-daughter all the time! But whatever you decide to do, just stay away from Gregory Sumner”
Paige nods in agreement – knowing her father is right as he attempts to lighten the mood by summarising:
“And this food has gotten cold”
Paige laughs as she gets up from the sofa to go and reheat the food until Mack steps in to prevent her from doing so:
“Hey” he assures her; “I’ll get it”
And so, as Paige settles back in her chair again, tucking the pink blanket under her legs for extra heat, she folds her arms and looks up at Mack as he heads back into the kitchen armed with a tray containing Chicken Satay & Peanut Sauce, Penang Curry with Chicken and a side dish of Fried Wide Noodles in Sweet Sauce.
Watching Mack exit the lounge, so a warm, comforting feeling then overcomes Paige as she looks across the room at her baby daughter lying asleep in the adjacent Moses Basket. For a brief moment, Paige then stares into space and starts to think back of the life she had in Knots Landing and the friendships and the relationships she formed with the residents there……
At this point, we zoom in on Paige’s face and wallow in memories of yesteryear as we see a young Paige arrive in Knots Landing – much to the delight of Michael and his elder brother Eric who were instantly dazzled by her beauty:
Michael: (to Mack) “This is Paige”
Mack: “Oh hello Paige”
Paige: “I’m….your daughter”
And with those immortal words started an amazing eleven year ride that was anything but plain sailing as she embarked upon a romance with Greg that would dominate proceedings for near enough the next decade. Problem being though that Greg was not the only ‘bachelor’ interested in Paige who, during one of the pairs’ many breaks, met someone else – embarking on a hot affair with Tom Ryan.
And so as Tom got down on bended knee, Paige asked:
“What are you doing?”
To which Tom asked back:
“Paige….will you marry me?”
To which GREG then retaliated with a proposal of a different sort by presenting Paige with a big, expensive, and SHARP diamond ring:
Greg: “I propose that you and I move in together”
Paige: “You mean get married?”
Greg: “Who said anything about marriage? You got marriage on the brain”
And with that, Paige bent over towards Greg answering him:
“What do you think I am? Flavour of the month?”
Before digging the diamond into the palm of Greg’s hand – causing him to screech with the pain:
“Ow”
But on the wedding day itself, things didn’t go according to plan:
Minister: “We’re ready to begin”
Mack: “Good”
Minister: “But we cannot find the groom”
Anne: “Tom is missing?”
Tom returned a few years later and asked Paige the burning question:
“Does Sumner ever tell you he loves you? Does he sound as though he means it? I mean it. I want you to marry me”
Till Anne advised Paige:
“I married Greg knowing he was in love with someone else. Greg is never going to make this easy on you. But what he feels about you is the real thing. You’d be making the worst mistake of your life if you married Tom Ryan”
And then Greg emerged with another modest proposal:
“I bet I could learn a lot from you. Of course we’d have to spend an in-ordinate amount of time together. Nights….long nights, breakfasts, lunch and dinners. Weekends…do you think you can handle all that?”
To which Paige replied:
“Anything for the company”
But that life together turned sour when, on Paige’s 30th birthday, she realised that what both she and Greg wanted were two different things. And so, following news of her pregnancy, the final straw forced Paige to flee town:
Greg: “I DO NOT want to have anymore kids”
Paige: “I know you don’t. That’s why I’m leaving you”
Greg: “I already have two kids” (try four) “One is dead and the other doesn’t even know I exist. I have a very bad track record in the parenting department”
Paige: “You don’t have a very good track record in ANY department”
Greg: “You know that I love you”
Paige: “I do”
And so, with a farewell kiss, Paige drove off into the sunset…..
Now, almost a year later, Mack’s return and the talk of all the folks back home is making Paige pine for the past again. But will she give in to her instincts or stay put? On this note, we recall Karen giving Paige some wise advice:
Karen: “If two people are destined to be together, then somehow, they’ll work it out. And if not? Then its better they break up”
Paige: “That sounds like sixties Hippy Philosophy”
Karen: “Or seventies psychobabble, I know. Broadway Shows? It’s Kismet. Or for that matter, an old poem:
‘Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, Kings, and desperate men’ “
Before concluding:
“I believe all that”
Back in the present, Paige goes over that last line in her head several times:
“Thou art slave to Fate and Chance. Thou art slave to Fate and Chance….”
Mack then emerges back into the lounge with the reheated meal for the pair and spots Paige talking to herself:
“Huh?” he replies with a confused look on his face
Paige then laughs replying:
“It’s okay. I’ve not gone mad or anything. I’m just listening to some voices in my head”
“And what are they telling you?” asks Mack inquisitively
“That I am a slave to fate. That whatever will be will be and that no matter how hard I try to do otherwise, whatever will be will still….be”
“Hmm. Very interesting. So can I ask…what….is going to…be?” (laughing)
“I don’t know the answer yet. Only fate and chance know the answers”
“Huh?”
“Don’t worry. Whenever I do know the answers, you’ll be the first person I’ll call” (laughing)
Mack then sits down beside Paige on the sofa placing his tray on the coffee table as the pair tuck into their meal together…..
A short while later the pair are stuffed thanks to the meal which they have just eaten.
Mack then places his empty plate down on the table (too full to take it into the kitchen) before wrapping himself under the blanket with Paige and placing his arms around his daughter as the pair settle down to watch TV. The satisfying smile on Mack’s face speaks volumes for how precious this time with Paige really is to him – though his macho side tells him not to look at her but to keep his eyes firmly on the screen because if he DOES look at her, then he’ll start crying like a big baby, and he can’t have that…..
Following the end of the programme, Paige turns off the TV set as she snuggles into her father. Silence then prevails in the room (with Rachel still sleeping) until Mack speaks upon noticing something peculiar:
“Hey….it’s stopped raining outside”
“Oh damn”
“Damn? You mean to say you like the rain?”
“Yeah. On days like this, it gives me a chance to think things over. See things more clearly”
“Speak for yourself. I’m going to call Karen again”
As Mack then rises from the sofa, he walks over to the phone to call Karen. Paige then comments to him:
“I must give Val a ring”
“Val?” answers a bemused Mack as he dials Karen’s number
“Yeah Val. I liked Val a lot. She always gave good advice”
“Val did?” (puzzled)
“Sure. I guess she’d lived a bit though”
“Yeah well…she certainly has been through the mill has Val” (waiting on an answer)
“Are she and Gary still happy?”
“Is the Pope a Catholic?” answers Mack before becoming even more concerned;
“You know this isn’t like Karen.”
CUE THE RINGING PHONE BACK AT THE MACKENZIE HOUSEHOLD
“When Karen says she will be in a place she will be in a place. The fact she said she’d be home all afternoon and wasn’t worries me. I mean what about Meg? She’ll be home from school by now and yet there’s still no one home”
“Relax will you? Remember the time difference”
“Even WITH the time difference, Meg should still be home from school. I think I’ll call Megan”
As Mack then dials Megan’s number so Paige looks in at baby Rachel and contemplates waking her up since she should be fed by now”
“Hey Megan” answers Mack
“How are you doing Marion? How’s Paige?” answers Megan
CUE GREG in the background listening intently:
“She’s very well thanks…look, have you seen Karen? I’ve been trying to get a hold of her all day”
“No I’ve not seen her on the cul-de-sac” (then looking out the drapes) “And her car isn’t home”
“It isn’t home?” worries Mack
“Don’t worry brother. Maybe she’s with Val. The pair of them made up you know”
“Yeah….maybe I’ll check with Val” decides Mack
“She’ll be fine I’m sure”
When Megan comes off the phone, Greg then asks:
“Didn’t you tell ‘Marion’ your news?”
“No” replies Megan. “I never got the chance, and he is so worried about Karen’s whereabouts as she hasn’t been at home all afternoon”
“Maybe she is with OUR SON who has also gone AWOL” answers Greg sarcastically.
“Oh don’t be so silly” answers Megan – suggesting that Patrick ran out the restaurant after hearing the news that Greg was his father…..
And then, getting round to the burning topic, Greg asks:
“You didn’t tell me Mack was visiting Paige. Is she okay?”
“Sure she’s okay. He just felt like a vacation”
“In the middle of all that’s going on back here, you’re telling me that Mack Mackenzie upped sticks and left huh? You don’t expect me to swallow that do ya?”
“Quit with the third degree. How am I expected to know why he wanted a vacation. I’ve been busy playing happy families with you and Patrick”
“Happy – now that IS a joke” summarises Greg….
“MACK” answers VAL as she picks up the phone asking the obvious question; “How are Paige and the baby?”
“Yeah they’re good – listen Val, have you or Gary seen Karen all day?”
“Karen? No we haven’t. But then we just got in from a late lunch an hour or so ago. Isn’t she at home?”
“Nope”
“Well maybe she is over at Michael’s. Have you tried there?”
“Nope” answers Mack before realising; “And I don’t have his new number either”
“Oh sweetie neither do I”
“That’s it. First thing I do when I get back home is buy us all cell phones”
“I’ll hold you to that” laughs Val
Once Mack comes off the phone from Val, Paige assures Mack that Karen will be fine:
“If something was up, Meg would’ve gone to Val’s or Megan’s. But she didn’t so Karen must have collected her. Maybe they eat out tonight”
“Damn. Meg won’t be home tonight. She goes to Art class on Thursdays. That explains why SHE isn’t home”
“Well maybe Karen went to collect her”
“For three hours?”
“Well maybe she went shopping first then went to collect Meg. Mack, will you relax? There could be a thousand explanations”
“You don’t understand Paige. Something is up. I know it. The way Karen has been recently? Anything could’ve happened”
“What do you mean?” asks Paige as she lifts baby Rachel out to feed her; “How exactly has Karen ‘been’ recently?”
“Don’t even ask” responds Mack as he makes his way back across the room shaking his head; “We’ve been to hell and back”
“You didn’t tell me any of this” answers Paige
“You were 9 months pregnant; I didn’t want to tell you all my problems. You had enough of your own”
“Mack for the dozenth time, I wasn’t ill. Now what has been going on with Karen? I demand you tell me”
“You demand?” (imitating Paige before continuing); “She has it in her head that Lori is some kind of…..I don’t know….psycho I guess”
“What?” answers Paige in shock
“I know. BELIEVE me I know” replies Mack. “She’s convinced that Lori has been behind all sorts of trouble. Sending threatening letters, saying she’d aborted her baby when she hadn’t and that the baby was Brian’s and not Michael’s, saying Lori tried to kill Kate, and other stuff. The list is endless….”
“WOW” answers Paige. “They’re some accusations”
“I know they are…and that’s just half of it. She lashed out at Meg, lashed out at Lori even. Lori claimed Karen pushed her down the stairs and Val was there when she saw Karen slap Lori. AND…” (sighing)
“And?” replies Paige - prompting Mack to continue
“And…I’ve seen barbiturates in the bathroom cabinet again”
“Oh Mack” sighs Paige shaking her head
“Of course, Karen denies they belong to her and blames Lori for planting them there”
Following a brief moment to assess Mack’s claims, Paige looks on at him as she feeds her daughter concluding:
“Maybe Karen is right. Maybe Lori HAS pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes. Karen’s gut instincts were always fairly accurate you know”
“I know” agrees Mack. “But what can I do huh? I couldn’t start harassing a pregnant woman accusing her of all sorts now could I?”
“You give Karen the benefit of the doubt” advises Paige. “You help her prove her case until the conclusion is clear. What about Val? Does Val believe her?”
“Val wasn’t even speaking with her for a while”
“Dear God” answers Paige realising this MUST be bad
“Megan believes her though” claims Mack
“She does? Well that’s something”
“It’s not that I don’t believe her” admits Mack; “It’s just that I can’t believe Lori would do all that”
“MACK….how long have you known Karen huh? Sixteen? Seventeen years?”
“Something like that”
“You’ve known Lori five minutes. I’ll tell you something. I never really ever took to the girl and do remember that she DID sleep with Brian”
“I know”
“I can’t believe you’d even contemplate taking her word over Karen’s. There and then, that’s easy for me to say I wasn’t there and I know you’re not easily taken in by anyone. Anyone except mother that is”
Mack laughs as Paige concludes:
“But even mother was never THAT devious….well” (thinking better about it) “SOME of the time. So when you go back to Knots Landing, you give her the help and support she needs despite your concerns – for KAREN’S sake. God knows she did it for all of us often enough”
“Yeah….you’re right” responds Mack with a smile as he asks; “Since when did my daughter become so smart huh?”
“Excuse me? I’ve always been smart”
“Smart enough to stay away from Sumner?”
Then, thinking about it, Paige answers:
“For the time being anyhow”
“You know you mustn’t take that as a suggestion to stay away from California altogether. You come back and visit us whenever you want do you hear?”
“Loud and clear” smiles Paige.
Mack looks on with pride as Paige continues to feed baby Rachel using the smallest bottle imaginable. Staring on at the pair of them, all seems rosy and well…..
UNTIL
The telephone rings out with Paige asking Mack to answer it:
“That’ll be Karen” wonders Mack as he walks over to the ringing telephone before answering;
“Mack?” asks the uncertain and frightened voice on the other end
“Hey Karen” smiles Mack with relief. “I’ve been trying to get hold of you all day. Where have you been? I’ve been worried sick”
“Oh Mack” responds Karen with her voice breaking down on the line.
“Karen. What is it?” asks Mack sounding concerned.
And as our ‘cyber camera’ soon reveals, Karen is standing using the telephone in MICHAEL’S house which has become a hive of activity thanks to unfolding events within the past few hours with police officers, forensic experts and a coroner all moving around in the background and poor Michael sat on the sofa with his head buried in his hands:
Karen then attempts to start and explain everything to her husband:
“Oh Mack, there has been a terrible accident”
“Karen? What has happened?” (becoming agitated)
CUE an alarmed Paige in the background as Karen then reveals:
“It’s Lori…..she is DEAD”
AT THAT POINT, WE THEN FADE OUT WITH A CLOSEUP OF KAREN’S PANIC STRICKEN FACE…….
End of Episode | | |
