History Characters / Knotslanding

* SeventiesHair: In the first few seasons.
* TheAlcoholic (usually recovering)
* BlackSheep

* CainAndAbel: JR and him.
* ChickMagnet
* CrossOver
* HighSchoolSweethearts: He and Val.
* {{Jerkass}}: When drunk.
* MiddleChildSyndrome

* MrViceGuy

* TroubledButCute

* WeakWilled

* CountryMouse
* CrossOver
* DarkAndTroubledPast

* GirlNextDoor

* LoveHurts
* NaiveNewcomer
* NiceGirl

* BrattyTeenageDaughter
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome
* CrossOver: Just the once, in series 1.
* DumbBlonde: At times.

* UpperClassTwit: Female example.

* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents

* CoolOldLady
* CountryMusic: Her specialty.
* CountryMouse
* DeepSouth: A mild example, but she still qualifies.
* GossipyHens

* NeverMessWithGranny
* NosyNeighbor

* AxeCrazy

* EgocentricallyReligious
* FaceOfAnAngelMindOfADemon

* TheFundamentalist

* HolierThanThou: Following his sanity slippage.
* MommyIssues
* ObstructiveZealot
* ParentalAbandonment: Oh Lilimae -- ''both'' your kids?

* SanitySlippage
* SexIsEvilAndIAmHorny

-->'''Lilimae''': “Don’t call me momma, I’m NOT your momma! You’re NOT my son! How could I have given birth to anyone as cold and cruel as you!!”

* IntrepidReporter

* NiceGuy

* EightiesHair: Less so, however than Abby, Val, and Kathy.

* BrainyBrunette

* GoodIsNotSoft

* HotBlooded
* TheIdealist
* LargeHam: Early on in the series

* PlatonicLifePartners: With best friend Val.

* StatuesqueStunner

* TeamMom

* WideEyedIdealist

* WomenAreWiser

* AnyoneCanDie

* HonorBeforeReason

* NiceGuy

* ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules

* BrattyTeenageDaughter
* DaddysGirl

* TheRunaway
** StockholmSyndrome: Diana met and fell in love with Chip Roberts who moved in next door with Valene and Lilimae. At Chip's suggestion, she ran off with him when Ciji discovered that he was really Tony Fenice, a con-man wanted by the police, although Diana didn't know this at the time. On the road, Chip's behavior became increasingly possessive and Diana, frightened, tried to make contact with Karen. The police tracked them down when they discovered Diana had used her credit card to pay for fuel and Chip was arrested. However, by that time Diana had succumbed to Chip's charms and revealed (proudly) that she was now "Mrs. Tony Fenice".

* WhatDoesSheSeeInHim

* CuteShotaroBoy: Michael, again in the early seasons, complete with obligatory "gee whizz, mister!" dialogue.

* NiceGuy: Eric

* AngerBornOfWorry
* AuthorityEqualsAssKicking
* BrooklynRage: When pushed.

** GenderBlenderName

* HelloAttorney
* HotBlooded

* NoIndoorVoice
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight

!!Paige Matheson [-(Creator/NicolletteSheridan)-]

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* EightiesHair: Holy ''shit''.
* AesopAmnesia
* AmbitionIsEvil

** EvilIsSexy

* BecauseImGoodAtIt

* BlondeRepublicanSexKitten

** GemEncrusted
** GiantPoofySleeves
** PimpedOutDress
** PrettyInMink
* FemmeFatale

* ManipulativeBitch
* MsFanservice

** IHaveBoobsYouMustObey
* RichBitch
* SpoiledBrat
* SugarAndIcePersonality

* TheVamp

* BrattyTeenageDaughter: Hoo boy...

* ParentalIssues
* TeensAreShort

* TheDanza: ''Brian'' Austin Green.

* AnyoneCanDie

** DomesticAbuse
** TheMasochismTango

* DeadpanSnarker

* HomeMaker: When first introduced.

* RagsToRiches

* YouGoGirl

* AmoralAttorney
* CasanovaWannabe
* DomesticAbuse: To poor Laura.

* IrrationalHatred
* {{Jerkass}}
* NapoleonComplex

* SanitySlippage
* SmallNameBigEgo

* BreakoutCharacter
* TheCastShowOff: But to be fair, Lisa Hartman has a great voice.
* ContrivedCoincidence
* CostumeCopycat

* FakeBand
* InnocentBlueEyes

* LesbianSubtext: Between Ciji and Laura Avery.
* LustObject: Ciji (and Cathy) for Gary.
* MsFanservice
* PowerBallad / HairMetal: With the emphasis on the ''hair''....

* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: Poor Ciji.

* SeventiesHair: In the first season especially.
* TheCharmer
* TheHedonist
* HandsomeLech

* PrettyBoy
* ReallyGetsAround
* RecordProducer

* TotallyRadical

* SeventiesHair: In the 1st and 2nd seasons.
* BabiesMakeEverythingBetter

* HotTeacher

* NaiveEverygirl
* YouGoGirl

* TheCharmer
* CheshireCatGrin
* CorruptPolitician
** SleazyPolitician

* ManipulativeBastard

!!Jill Bennett [-(Teri Austin)-]

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!!Anne Winston Matheson [-(Michelle Phillips)-]

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!!Frank Williams [-(Larry Riley)-]

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!!Claudia Sumner Whittaker [-(Kathleen Noone)-]

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!!Kate Whittaker [-(Stacy Galina)-]

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* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: It's ironic, considering he is part of the "hip, young couple", that Kenny's disco duds and bean-bag filled home date the show way more than some of the mid-life couples.

* DangerouslyShortSkirt

* FanNickname: "Poor Val".

* YourCheatingHeart: His marriage to Val was wrecked by his affair with Abby.

* YourCheatingHeart: Began an affair with Cathy Geary in response to Gary's increasing interest in being part of the twins' lives.

* YourCheatingHeart: A real womanizer, he began an affair with Abby the moment she arrived at the cul de sac.

* YourCheatingHeart: A serial womanizer, he only mended his ways following the birth of his daughter, Erin.

* YourCheatingHeart: Had numerous affairs, and cheated on his wife a lot, starting with Abby and then Laura, whom he fell in love with.

!!Brian Cunningham [-(Bobby Jacoby / Brian Austin Green)-]

* RequiredSpinoffCrossover: He became far more famous for this series, than Dallas.

* BlondeBrunetteRedhead: Of the cul de sac's three original wives, Karen's the brunette, Val the blonde and Laura the redhead.

* ParentalIssues: The above causes a tense atmosphere for many years, and it took along time for Val to make peace with her mother.

-->'''Val''':''"How could anybody love you? How could anyone want you, look at you. You look like a man, you're as flat as a board! No, you look like an old lady, your arms are so skinny and scrawny. That long, sad face and those eyes. You're always trying to be so sweet. Sweet Valene, sweetpea....you're always trying to make everybody love you.....well you got what you deserve! So stupid....stupid little...sweet Valene."''
* SerialSpouse: She racked up 5 marriages in her tenure on the show, in the following order: Ewing, Ewing (remarriage), Gibson, Waleska and finally, Ewing (for a 3rd time!).

Gary and Val's daughter, Lucy grew up hating JR after he separated her from her parents when she was a baby, driving them out of Texas and threatening to kill Valene if she ever returned for her child. She appeared as a guest star in series 1, and is then only infrequently mentioned after that.

* CountryMusic: Her speciality.

* GreenEyedMonster: He pressures Cathy to sing on his show, but when she starts becoming more popular than him, cracks in his sanity appear....

** KilledOffForReal: He dies after slipping backwards off the roof, following an ''astronomic'' TheReasonYouSuckSpeech from Lilimae.

* YourCheatingHeart: Began an affair with Cathy Geary in response to Gary's increasing interest in being part of the twins lives.

A native New-Yorker, Karen got on with everybody in the neighbourhood, except for her sister in law, Abby. She always saw through her conniving, manipulating ways, even when Sid didn’t! However, it was Valene, her next door neighbour, who was to be her closest and dearest friend. Karen was arguably the main character of the series.

* EightiesHair: Less so, however than Abby, Val and Kathy.

* SoapboxSadie: She presents a positive, likeable example.

* StrawmanPolitical: A little -- of the liberal pursuasion.

Karen's first husband, and the owner of Knots Landing Motors. Hard working, fair and at times stubborn, Sid was the emotional rock of the show during the first two seasons. Sid was killed when his car was sabotaged by shady mafioso thugs.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Implied -- it was always suggested Sid was something of a badass in his younger years, and a prize-fighter.

** StockholmSyndrome: Diana met and fell in love with Chip Roberts who moved in next door with Valene and Lilimae. At Chip's suggestion, she ran off with him when Ciji discovered that he was really Tony Fenice, a con-man wanted by the police, although Diana didn't know this at the time. On the road, Chip's behavior became increasingly possessive and Diana, frightened, tried to make contact with Karen. The police tracked them down when they discovered Diana had used her credit card to pay for fuel and Chip was arrested. However, by that time Diana had succumbed to Chip's charms and revealed (proudly) that she was now "Mrs Tony Fenice".
* RelationshipSalvagingDisaster: When Karen ended up in hospital due to a gunshot wound, Diana made up with her and Mack and left Knots Landing to become a fashion designer in New York.

* [[DatingWhatDaddyHates Dating What Mommy Hates]]: Eric meets Linda at collage, who he very quickly married, much to the dismay of his mother.

* LookingForLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: Poor Michael did not have much chance with the women. There was Paige Matheson, Mack's daughter. Michael really liked her but she dumped him for Peter Hollister. Then, Michael met Jodi Campbell by saving her from drowning. But the relationship did not work out. Then, his study partner, Ellen, preferred Johnny Rourke over him. Lastly, there was his Linda Fairgate, his own brother Eric's wife.

* IcyBlueEyes: Donna Mills' ''amazing'' blue eyes are perfect for flashing a wicked grin or dirty look — whichever is required.

* ReallyGetsAround: Started an affair with Richard Avery within hours of arriving on the cul de sac, broke up Gary and Val's marriage, slept with Greg Sumner (and eventually married him) and was never afraid to use her sex-appeal to get what she wanted.

* BrattyTeenageDaughter: Hoo boy....
* [[CallingTheOldManOut Caling The Old Lady Out]]: A lot -- mostly for breaking up with Gary, whom she viewed as a father.

* GoodGirlGoneBad: Reacting to all the upheaval in her life, she began to smoke pot and later delved into drugs even more, using cocaine. She wiped out her and Brian's bank account, stole money from Abby's purse and returned clothes for money.
** MyGodWhatHaveIDone: When Brian was beat up as a result of Olivia's drug usage, she finally agreed to get help, and stopped taking drugs.

* TheDutifulSon: Compared to his rancorous sister....

->''"Richard I am so tired of your blaming me and using me! I'm so tired of taking it and taking it -- I CAN'T STAND IT ANYMORE!"''

* BlondeBrunetteRedhead: Of the cul de sac's three original wives, Karen's the brunette, Val the blonde and Laura the redhead.

** EpiphanyTherapy: Her friends eventually convince her to empower herself and become independant from Richard, so she begins her own career, carving out a career as a realtor.

* HostageSituation: Richard goes completely ''mental'' when she says she is divorcing him, and holds she and son Jason hostage at the Avery house.

* LesbianSubtext: Between she and Ciji -- its never really made clear if it's all in Richard's head, or a genuine dalliance.

->''"Laura, you hung my jacket up with the wrong trousers. Look at this. I mean there's not point in spending a lot of money on clothes if you're going to treat 'em like rags."''

A lawyer, and later a restaurant owner. Unhappily married to Laura, he struggled to assert himself after she launched a successful career in real-estate. In 1982, he suffered a nervous breakdown (where he held Laura hostage at gunpoint) and left town in 1983 without his family, as he and Laura divorced.

* FreakOut: In 1983, he loses his job and Laura walks out. Out of work and wholly depressed, he took son Jason and Laura as a [[HostageSituation hostage in their own home]]. After turning himself in, he was sent in a psychiatric hospital.

** TheBusCameBack: He reappears briefly in 1987, when Laura (who was dying) leaves their sons in his care.

** EveryoneIsASuspect: Ciji's growing popularity among the close-knit neighbors and friends prompted many bouts of jealousy. Richard blamed his marital problems and financial distresses on Ciji, even insisting that Ciji and Laura were having an affair. Chip didn't want anyone to know about their affair as he was having another affair with young Diana Fairgate. He led people to believe that Ciji and Gary were having an affair thus prompting even more animosity, this time from Gary's lover and business partner Abby Cunningham and Gary's ex wife Valene; who thought Ciji led to Gary's new bouts with alcohol. Kenny's wife Ginger became increasingly jealous as Kenny spent so much time with Ciji while ignoring her own dreams of singing success; Ginger had her final straw when Kenny gave Ciji a song to sing that Ginger had written. Kenny began resenting his protégé as well when Gary and Abby signed on famous producer Jeff Munson to take over her album. Turns out, it was Chip AKA Tony Fenice.

* MrFanservice: Undoubtedly one the series' hottest guys -- loved showing off his great ass in disco gear.

* EarnYourHappyEnding: She eventually realized her dream of becoming a singer when she and Kenny moved to Nashvile to further her career.
* ExtremeDoormat: Initially, she was always blind-sided by Kenny's charm.

* ReallyGetsAround: Rivals even Gary for the number of the cast he bedded -- including Abby, Laura and Paige.

!!Greg Sumner [-(William Devane)-]

!!Paige Matheson [-(Nicollette Sheridan)-]

!!Joshua Rush [-(Alec Baldwin)-]

** DomesticAbuser:....and poor Cathy is on the receiving end.

* DomesticAbuser: To poor Laura.

!!Garrison Arthur "Gary" Ewing [-(Ted Shackleford)-]

* BeautyIsBad

* CoolAunt: Eric and Diana (especially) she her as such.

* TheFashionista

-->'''Karen''':''"I am not a Pollyanna. Not now. Not after what was done to me. And thats why I feel so angry. I want to be a Pollyanna. I dont want to look at the world through rose-colored glasses, I want the world to BE rose-colored! I want people to be nice. People should be nice. Nice should be the norm. I hate it that I cant trust anyone. I hate it that I cant put my daughter on the front lawn by herself. I hate it that I have to lock my car and that I have to worry about an alarm system in my house and that I cant send cash in the mail. Thats NOT the way its supposed to be, Gary. I liked being a Pollyanna. I WANT to be a Pollyanna."''

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Implied -- it was always suggested Sid was something of a {{Badass}} in his younger years, and a prize-fighter.

* {{Badass}}

* BlondesAreEvil

* HeyItsThatGuy: Alec Baldwin's first major role.

[[/folder]]

* AmericanAccents: Dixie, which gradually became softer throughout her tenure on the show.

* SlapSlapKiss: As they worked on the case of Sid's death, Mack and Karen fell in love. Their relationship was volatile, punctuated by quarrels and reconciliations, but after they finally put the criminals behind bars, they decided to marry.

* YourCheatingHeart: Had numerous affairs, and cheated on his wife a lot, starting with Abby and then Laura, whom he fell in love with.

* HotDad

* HotMom

* HotMom: With those killer cheekbones.

* HotMom

* RavenHairIvorySkin

->''"Richard I am so of your blaming me and using me! I'm so tired of taking it and taking it -- I CAN'T STAND IT ANYMORE!"''

* TheEighties: Personified. The poster girl for the "greed is good", glamorous decade.