Nicole Sauguet: Here's to the future.
Richard Channing: Oh, I found the past to be infinitely more educational.
'Falcon Crest' ended its finest season in 1986-1987 with a vintage episode leaving viewers breathless when Chase disappeared under San Francisco Bay and Angela learnt Richard Channing was her son. Viewers were shown a clip of the movie 'The Blue Veil' (1951) for flashback.
In the 7th season of 'Falcon Crest', Lance told Angela, "Oh, that's us Gioberti - seem to have nine lives, don't we?"
Paul Roberts elaborated in 2008, "Because the ancient Egyptians worshipped cats and 9 is a mystical number. At Heliopolis, their gods were known as the Ennead, or Nine. Atum-Ra, the sun god, embodied all 9. He took the form of a single cat when he visited the underworld." Hence the phrase, "cat has 9 lives."
The 1987-1988 season of 'Falcon Crest' opened with Emma Channing giving Richard the Gioberti heirloom - a silver spoon made by Paul Revere. Viewers also learnt Chase died.
At the reading of his will, Chase left his son Cole $5 million, daughter Victoria $5 million but she would only get $500 a week with the money to remain in a trust fund for 5 years and also $5 million for grandson Joseph which would be held in trust until he turned 21. The remainder of Chase's wealth including his land, home and Gioberti Enterprises, Chase left to Maggie. It was highlighted the will didn't have the money for Maggie.
The 1987-1988 season of 'Falcon Crest' was, as 'The Chicago Tribune' observed, "is subject to the rule of ever-expanding character lists."
Leslie Caron played Nicole Sauguet of Sauguet Pharmaceuticals who knew Chase during the Vietnam War. She was living in Indo-China at the time. Nicole Sauguet came to Tuscany Valley in 1987 to collect $30 million she loaned to Chase 6 years earlier when Chase came to see Nicole in Paris about starting a new business in California.
In 7 days, if the loan was not repaid, Nicole would demolish Chase's vineyard to build the Chase Gioberti Children's Hospital in remembrance of the man she once loved. "Well philanthropy is one thing, stupidity is another," Angela fumed. Angela told Nicole, "Revenge leaves a very bitter taste in one's mouth. Something like sour grapes. Why don't you leave it to the pro? I don’t want your money. I want you to take mine." Angela's bought Chase's debt. To keep Chase's share of Falcon Crest, Richard Channing decided to mortgage his newspaper, The New Globe, to come up with $30 million to repay Angela for Chase's debt.
Angela: Why do I keep fighting the same battles and there’s no one to win them for?
Father: What about your family? Falcon Crest is an important legacy.
Angela: Which will be torn apart forever if I don't bring this family back together again.
Father: What about Richard?
Angela: No he's a past. I'm thinking about the future. And the future is his son, Michael.
Father: Then love him. If you truly love him, he will come to you. Love is a magnet. You have the power of that love in your hand. Don't be afraid to use it.
1987 marked the rise of Slobodan Milosevic in the Serbian Communist Party. On 'Falcon Crest', the subject of white slavery (prostitution) was explored. A Bulgarian named Dimitrov (played by Theodore Bikel) kidnapped Victoria Gioberti and leased her to the highest bidder after Victoria's husband Eric Stavros unable to repay his gambling debt.
In Dubrovnik, the former Yugoslavia (present day Croatia), Ursula Andress played the head of a local communist party, Madame Malec who had "a passion for hard currency." Richard Channing paid Madame Malec $100,000 to help rescue Victoria. When she returned claiming Victoria could not be found, Richard Channing threatened to go to the Belgrade headquarters and informed the party bosses of her "lush lifestyle". Richard told the Madame, "You're such an easy woman to blackmail, you wouldn't last a week in the west. Now cheer up, we've got a lot of strategies to discuss."
The daughter of Jayne Mansfield and Mickey Hargitay, Mariska (pronounced Marish-ka) Hargitay played the half sister of Angela's protege. Mariska was studying acting when her agent reportedly called her to audition for the role of Shannon. "I read for it and they called me back 2 days later," Mariska told Associated Press. "They said I did good, but Tahnee Welch, the daughter of Raquel, got the role. They called me back the next week and said they loved me so much they were writing me a part. I love that. Carly's a person who'll do or say anything. I'm not disrespectful; I just don't know better. I'm like a little Angela Channing."
Angela: Chao-Li, will you show this lady out - by the back door.
Carly: Oh, come on granny, the reason that I came by here is to tell you that I'm sorry.
Angela: Melissa? What about her?
Carly: Got all day?
Angela: Well, for once there isn't a generation gap.
Deborra Lee Furness played Kathleen, Cole's Australian wife of 9 months when the episode first went on air. 'Crocodile Dundee' was the No. 2 ranked motion picture at the box office in 1986. Buck Henry played Foster Glenn who used special effects to make Melissa thought she had gone insane. In one scene, Melissa told Lance, "It's all so strange to me. It was like I was at a distance watching myself - seen someone who wan't even me. She wasn't me!" In another scene, Foster told Angela, "You've made your own bed Mrs Channing. Sleep in it!"
Lauren Hutton played a friend of Richard who had inherited her father's baseball team club. Mark Kuramitsu reported in April 1987, "Japanese professional baseball opens its 1987 season this week with 25 foreign players registered as 'helpers' on 12 teams in the rival Central and Pacific leagues." On 'Falcon Crest', Liz McDowell hallucinated she was been stalked by a ninja who wanted her to sell the club to Takahama.
Eddie Albert played Carlton Brock, who was engaged to Angela in 1937 before he walked out on her. Eve Arden played a Justice's wife and the woman who turned him into Carlton Travis. "Good chemistry never goes away," Carlton Travis told Angela. Angela countered, "If you mix the wrong chemical you can get an explosion." Eddie Albert told 'The Washington Post' in 1988, "In a funny way, one of the most (dangerous) things that can happen to a series is success. They cut the budget. I don't think there's any show that really escapes it. It's very rare that a creative producer stays with the show. As soon as the producer leaves, they cut the budget."
By episode 13 of the 7th season, The Thirteen group was introduced on 'Falcon Crest', offering members wealth, influence and power. 'Soap Opera Digest' recounted, "The Thirteen, whose head was an amusingly evil man named Rosemont (played by Roscoe Lee Browne). The Thirteen pressed Richard for membership. Rosemont pressed him to join The Thirteen. They promised him anything he wanted.
"The Thirteen began to buy Richard presents. Newspapers. A movie studio. Vickie and Eric were caught trying to rob Richard's Swiss bank account and imprisoned. Richard wouldn't tell Maggie where Vickie was, but he had postcards forged from European cities to convince her that Vickie was on holiday. In jail, Eric and Vickie smuggled a letter to Emma, telling of their plight, and Emma delivered it to Maggie. Maggie left Richard and moved into Falcon Crest. Richard decided to spill his guts about The Thirteen to the FBI.
"The group was plotting to destroy the stock market and forced him to publish a story saying that 3 foreign-owned banks were shutting down, creating a panic among investors, who withdrew their money and sent stock prices plummeting. The Thirteen bought devalued stocks under the banner of one of the companies they bought for Richard, making it seem like the stock market plot was Richard's machination.
"The FBI knew of The Thirteen's existence, but they wanted Richard to prove it. But there was no record of them. Richard's files were gone, his videotapes erased, his secretary replaced. The Thirteen's headquarters were occupied by salespeople selling wind-up toys. Rosemont wasted no time in getting revenge on Richard. After Richard testified against the Thirteen at a Senate hearing in Washington, Rosemont wanted Channing dead.
"The Thirteen tried to wipe out his family and Richard offered his life so that theirs would be spared. Rosemont agreed to the deal. The Thirteen pumped Eric Stavros with enough chemicals to turn him into a killing machine. He almost killed Angela, but Richard saved her, bringing about a long-overdue reconciliation. He awoke before dawn one day and went out to meet his killer, Eric, who shot him on the lawn."
John Remick: You know you should be in the army specialising in corps operation.
Angela Channing: I'm very good at secret intelligence too.
John Remick: How do you know that?
Angela Channing: Anything Maggie Gioberti knows, I know first. All the people you know and the thing you know about them. Why don't you come and work for me?
'Soap Opera Digest' continued, "Maggie was angry at the funeral, but Angela stood quietly looking at the grave. Richard's right-hand man, Garth, followed Mr. Rosemont to Bangkok and abducted him. In a dimly lit church, Angela lit thirteen candles and turned to a bearded man sitting in a pew. 'Haven't you waited long enough?' she asked him. 'When are you going to tell Maggie you're alive?'"
The Thirteen member: Our recruitment of Richard Channing has proven costly.
Rosemont: Indeed.
The Thirteen member: I'm afraid we'll have to give up on him.
Rosemont: Nonsense. It's always hard to fill the 13th chair. It isn't easy to find a man with the money, the ambition and the desire for power we all share.
The Thirteen member: You're actually looking forward to the challenge Rosemont?
Rosemont: Channing is my kind of soul - good at the center with just a taint of evil around the edges. He'll become one us. You'll see.
"The Thirteen began to buy Richard presents. Newspapers. A movie studio. Vickie and Eric were caught trying to rob Richard's Swiss bank account and imprisoned. Richard wouldn't tell Maggie where Vickie was, but he had postcards forged from European cities to convince her that Vickie was on holiday. In jail, Eric and Vickie smuggled a letter to Emma, telling of their plight, and Emma delivered it to Maggie. Maggie left Richard and moved into Falcon Crest. Richard decided to spill his guts about The Thirteen to the FBI.
"The group was plotting to destroy the stock market and forced him to publish a story saying that 3 foreign-owned banks were shutting down, creating a panic among investors, who withdrew their money and sent stock prices plummeting. The Thirteen bought devalued stocks under the banner of one of the companies they bought for Richard, making it seem like the stock market plot was Richard's machination.
"The FBI knew of The Thirteen's existence, but they wanted Richard to prove it. But there was no record of them. Richard's files were gone, his videotapes erased, his secretary replaced. The Thirteen's headquarters were occupied by salespeople selling wind-up toys. Rosemont wasted no time in getting revenge on Richard. After Richard testified against the Thirteen at a Senate hearing in Washington, Rosemont wanted Channing dead.
"The Thirteen tried to wipe out his family and Richard offered his life so that theirs would be spared. Rosemont agreed to the deal. The Thirteen pumped Eric Stavros with enough chemicals to turn him into a killing machine. He almost killed Angela, but Richard saved her, bringing about a long-overdue reconciliation. He awoke before dawn one day and went out to meet his killer, Eric, who shot him on the lawn."
John Remick: You know you should be in the army specialising in corps operation.
Angela Channing: I'm very good at secret intelligence too.
John Remick: How do you know that?
Angela Channing: Anything Maggie Gioberti knows, I know first. All the people you know and the thing you know about them. Why don't you come and work for me?
'Soap Opera Digest' continued, "Maggie was angry at the funeral, but Angela stood quietly looking at the grave. Richard's right-hand man, Garth, followed Mr. Rosemont to Bangkok and abducted him. In a dimly lit church, Angela lit thirteen candles and turned to a bearded man sitting in a pew. 'Haven't you waited long enough?' she asked him. 'When are you going to tell Maggie you're alive?'"
The Thirteen member: Our recruitment of Richard Channing has proven costly.
Rosemont: Indeed.
The Thirteen member: I'm afraid we'll have to give up on him.
Rosemont: Nonsense. It's always hard to fill the 13th chair. It isn't easy to find a man with the money, the ambition and the desire for power we all share.
The Thirteen member: You're actually looking forward to the challenge Rosemont?
Rosemont: Channing is my kind of soul - good at the center with just a taint of evil around the edges. He'll become one us. You'll see.
