Dynasty (2017)

While the pilot breezily sets up her [Fallon Carrington played by Elizabeth Gillies] family's decadent problems, there's something fuddy-duddy in the execution--high-camp trash reduced to bland high style. [13 Oct 2017, p.55]

The worst thing you can say about this show is that it knows exactly what it is; the best thing you can say about it is that it goes above and beyond that realization. It has hints of wanting to build on one of TV’s biggest soapy fortunes, rather than leech off it like a trust-fund brat.

The camp elements have given away to a gloriously lurid trashiness.

Dynasty works a little too hard at living up (or down) to its splashy billboards in the early going, with Gillies overplaying the femme fatale shtick.

Updated, sharply written, socially conscious, this new version wants to improve on the original and often does. But what’s missing is a compelling reason for a reboot in the first place.

If you’re in the market for a nighttime soap with beautiful people behaving badly, Dynasty--an update of the 1980s camp classic--will serve your needs. But as cleverly reimagined as the original has been by producers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage (both vets of The O.C. and Gossip Girl), I couldn’t escape the feeling that the Kardashians and the Real Housewives franchise has made a Dynasty reboot irrelevant.

These flashes of fun and intrigue are too few and far between, which just leaves us with some half-hearted commentary on the rich and famous. The pilot is competent, but the Dynasty reboot is more junior executive than CEO material right now.

The new “Dynasty” is well-written and features a competent cast, but it’s not engaging enough to compete in today’s world, where immersing viewers in the lives of a dysfunctional rich family is no longer an escape--it’s an unavoidable reality.

Some fun possibly can be had here amid all the back-stabbing, sneering, secrecy and infidelity.

The new show wastes little time in setting up a similar relationship of mutual contempt between Cristal and Fallon. Yes, there is a physical brawl between them. Keep an eye out for one especially funny and over-the-top moment involving Fallon and a wedding cake.

This Dynasty’s seriousness of intent is not balanced by enough wit and canny character development, nor is it offset by consistent injections of flair or fabulousness. The whole enterprise reeks of mere adequacy--and darling, the Carringtons deserve more.

I wasn’t impressed by the premiere, which, despite its more sexually explicit tone, is fairly bland. The script strains to make it all relevant, referencing other current dynasties including the Kardashians and the Trumps, but the whole enterprise nonetheless feels dated.

For nostalgic fans of the original, this might seem like an unnecessary homage. For the CW’s target fan base, born largely after the original went off the air, it’s a retread of themes from more exciting soaps. For everyone, it’s so far forgettable.

Its downfall is a consistent failure to go far enough with drama and camp. The cast isn’t taking the story too seriously, that much is obvious. But it’s also plain to see that they want us to know that they’re deadly serious about doing justice to the original. They shouldn’t be.

It remains firmly lost amid the clutter. While the pilot, which premieres on Wednesday (October 11), has updated some key plot points from the original series, what it can't seem to effectively update is the risqué rush that helped Dynasty and shows of its ilk thrive.