Alexis Colby
Alexis Carrington Colby is a fictional character on the American TV series Dynasty. She is the ex-wife of Blake Carrington and her schemes cause one problem after another for him and their children.
The role was originated by Joan Collins in the first episode of the show's second season in 1981, though the character appeared briefly in the first-season finale, non-speaking and face unseen. Collins remained on the show until the finale in 1989, and then returned as Alexis for the 1991 miniseries Dynasty: The Reunion. The character appeared later in the first season of the 2017 Dynasty reboot series, portrayed by Nicollette Sheridan from the sixteenth episode of the first season to the fifteenth episode of the second season. Actress Amy Sutherland played a bandaged, non-speaking Alexis in the sixteenth and seventeenth episodes of the second season. Elizabeth Gillies, who stars as Alexis's daughter Fallon, played the role of Alexis after Sheridan's departure for three episodes near the end of the second season. The role was recast with Elaine Hendrix for season three.
Alexis' schemes to destroy ex-husband Blake, undermine his marriage to Krystle, and control her children drive much of the action over the series' run. Passionate, shrewd, and vengeful, Alexis loves her children fiercely and will do anything to protect them, but she often ignores their own needs and desires in place of what she thinks is best. Alexis marries three additional times, to Cecil Colby, Dex Dexter, and Sean Rowan. She is widowed twice, first by Cecil and then by fourth husband Sean, prompting Alexis' cousin Sable to remark that with Alexis "death is always a simpler solution than divorce." Her third marriage ends in divorce after Alexis catches him in bed with her adult daughter Amanda. The name Alexis uses the most consistently over the course of the series is Alexis Colby, though her marriage to Cecil Colby is her shortest. Alexis is romantically linked to a number of men over the years, including oilman Rashid Ahmed ; tennis pro Mark Jennings ; King Galen of Moldavia ; shipping tycoon Zach Powers ; Congressman Neal McVane ; Blake's brother Ben Carrington ; Dirk Maurier and his nephew Gavin Maurier ; Cecil's brother Jason Colby ; and even a near-reconciliation with an amnesiac Blake.
TV Guide named Alexis No. 7 in its 2013 list of "The 60 Nastiest Villains of All Time", and in 2016 Rolling Stone ranked her No. 27 of its "40 Greatest TV Villains of All Time". In 2015, executive producer Lee Daniels noted that Taraji P. Henson's character Cookie Lyon in his TV series Empire was partially based on Alexis.
Original series
Development and casting
In the first-season finale episode, "The Testimony", Blake Carrington is on trial for murder, and a female mystery witness in a large hat and veil appears. Writers Eileen and Robert Mason Pollock, brought in for season two, were told by series creators Richard and Esther Shapiro that the character would be Blake's ex-wife Madeline, who would be played by Sophia Loren for four to six episodes. The Pollocks renamed her Alexis, told executive producer Aaron Spelling that Loren was not right for the part, and warned him that "If you get rid of this character in four episodes, you are throwing away hundreds of millions of dollars." Joan Collins said in 2018 that in addition to Loren, producers pursued Elizabeth Taylor and Jessica Walter. According to Collins, "They were waiting for Jessica until the very last minute, so they didn't cast me until two weeks before we started shooting."Esther Shapiro later said that the character of Alexis was based on the Roman empress Livia as characterized in the 1934 novel I, Claudius. Of creating the character, Collins said in 2018, "I was basing her on all the businessmen I knew who were heartless, really. The other part of her brain, the glamorous part with the over-the-top clothes, I based on one of my best friends called Cappy Badrutt. She was extremely glamorous, and unfortunately very miserable. But I don't think Alexis was miserable. I think she enjoyed her life and lived it to the fullest." She had previously singled out Donald Trump to be one inspiration for the character in a 2013 PBS interview.
Shapiro said in 1985 that she and costume designer Nolan Miller "had the same vision" for Alexis: Joan Crawford. She added, "Nolan had designed for Crawford, and he told me that she had a photo index of every outfit she owned. Everything was coordinated: Each dress had its own particular hat, purse, gloves, shoes, and it never varied. Joan Crawford didn't mix and match. We decided to take it one step further: Alexis would never wear the same thing twice. In fact, no one on Dynasty would."
Characterization
The character of Alexis is a foil for "good girl" Krystle, with an opposing moral stature and attitude. Described as "scheming, conniving, and ruthless", Alexis was often called a "superbitch" and the "quintessential character you love to hate" by critics. Vernon Scott of the Sun-Sentinel called the character "the scourge of Dynasty".In 2018, Collins said that she invented Alexis's backstory as a socialite exiled by Blake after he caught her having an affair. She said "Alexis had the affair because Blake was at his oil rigs all the time. She'd been young and lonely, and now she wanted to beat him at his own game. And she succeeded in many ways. I think that's what made the show so interesting and popular." Collins said in 2017:
Appearances
Though Maggie Wickman appeared briefly at the end of the first-season finale as the veiled surprise witness, the role of Alexis was originated by Joan Collins in the first episode of the show's second season in 1981. Collins was an English actress with a prolific film and television career, best known at that point for appearing in the Bette Davis film The Virgin Queen, and for B movies like Land of the Pharaohs, The Stud, and The Bitch.The addition of Alexis, as well as the Pollocks' change in the writing, were credited with lifting Dynasty in the ratings, and the character "quickly set off a host of female imitators in other prime-time soaps." Producer E. Duke Vincent said of Collins in 2005, "Joan Collins is the queen of the archetype … How do you get that? You get it in the storytelling, obviously, but the actress herself, her personality, brought something to that role which I don't think anybody else could have done." Spelling added, "We didn't write Joan Collins. She played Joan Collins … We wrote a character, but the character could have been played by 50 people and 49 of them would have failed. She made it work." Collins said in 2012 that Larry Hagman's performance as J.R. Ewing on Dallas had inspired her to play Alexis.
Alexis' annual catfights with Linda Evans' Krystle became eagerly anticipated, and Alexis would later have similar brawls with Dominique Deveraux and Sable Colby. As the sixth season began, Collins was in a tense contract renegotiation with the show, seeking an increased salary. The first episode of the new season, which followed the "Moldavian Massacre" cliffhanger, was rewritten without Alexis. Collins reportedly signed a $60,000 per episode contract, and returned for the season's second episode.
Dynasty declined in ratings in later seasons. Brought on for season nine, executive producer David Paulsen found that there was no money left in the budget for any shoots outside of the studio, which he felt were important for the show. He hoped to reduce costs for the season by, among other things, cutting Collins from 22 episodes to 11. At that time, she reportedly earned at least $100,000 per episode. Paulsen also brought in Beacham as her The Colbys character Sable to play opposite Collins. The ninth-season finale ended with several characters in peril, including Alexis and Dex plunging from a balcony, which Paulsen said "meant that the following year we could get rid of anybody we wished." Paulsen said "I think Joan Collins was angry because she kind of saw what I was doing." Collins was subsequently quoted at the Cannes Film Festival saying that she would not return the next season. However, in May 1989, new ABC entertainment president Robert A. Iger cancelled Dynasty, leaving the cliffhanger last episode of season nine as the series finale. The majority of the cast, including Collins, reunited for the two-part, four-hour miniseries Dynasty: The Reunion in 1991.
Storylines
Season 1
In Dynasty first-season finale episode, "The Testimony", Blake Carrington is on trial for killing his son Steven's male lover, Ted Dinard. A veiled surprise witness for the prosecution appears, and Blake angrily asks his lawyer: "What's she doing here?" Blake's daughter Fallon gasps in recognition, "Oh my God, that's my mother."Season 2
As the second season opens with the episode "Enter Alexis", the character has not only a face but a name: Alexis Morell Carrington. She had been exiled from Denver by Blake after an affair with Carrington estate manager Roger Grimes; her testimony, that Blake has a violent temper, proves damaging to his case. At odds with his father, Steven is drawn to the mother he hardly remembers; Fallon, however, is devoted to Blake and has long held a grudge against Alexis, a grudge further fueled by her testimony. Fallon says to her mother:Alexis soon sparks the ire of Blake's wife Krystle, and brazenly moves into a cottage on the Carrington estate: her former art studio which she still owns, thanks to a technicality. The household staff remembers the first Mrs. Carrington all too well—especially longtime Carrington majordomo Joseph Anders. Staunchly loyal to Blake, Joseph has a particular dislike for Alexis and has followed her scandalous adventures for years through the tabloids. Fallon, although not openly hostile, keeps an icy distance from Alexis and the two trade subtle barbs; Steven is seduced by his mother's apparent devotion to him, but soon gets a taste of her poison. According to Alexis, Fallon is not Blake's daughter at all: her father is really Blake's longtime friend and business rival, Cecil Colby. The secret eats at Steven, and Fallon eventually finds out. Ultimately, it is proven untrue. Alexis' consistent meddling and intrusions help improve Krystle's relationship with Fallon, Joseph, and the rest of the household staff, and they soon accept her unconditionally as Blake's wife. Alexis makes an enemy in Krystle when she purposefully fires a shotgun to make Krystle's horse throw her; the pregnant Krystle miscarries and is told she will probably be unable to have more. Alexis becomes romantically involved with Cecil, now Blake's adversary, but Cecil has a heart attack while in bed with her.