Watching the series now, even more than revisiting The Waltons shows, makes you wonder about what it was that seemed so compelling in the '80s.

As the series opens, tycoon Blake Carrington (John Forsythe) is about to marry Krystle Jennings (Linda Evans), a younger woman whom he met when she took a job as a secretary at his company, Denver-Carrington. Krystle is young, beautiful and vulnerable,  She finds a hostile reception in the Carrington household — the staff patronise her, Blake's daughter Fallon (Pamela Sue Martin) resents her, and her husband is too preoccupied with his work. Krystle's only ally in the Carrington house is her stepson, the bisexual Steven (Al Corley).

The young adults of the Carrington dynasty have their own problems. Steven is uneasy about becoming Blake's successor in the business and is constantly in conflict with his father, who refuses to accept his son's homosexuality. The ruthless Fallon is Blake's natural heir but unable to enter the Denver-Carrington boardroom because she is a woman; she channels her energies into toying with various male suitors, such as the Carrington chauffeur Michael Culhane (Wayne Northrop), and being unfaithful to her husband Jeff Colby (John James), whom she has only married as part of a business deal with Jeff's uncle, Cecil (Lloyd Bochner).

Also heavily featured in this first season are Matthew Blaisdel (Bo Hopkins), Krystle's first love, who works for Blake Carrington as a geologist. He is unhappily married to the emotionally fragile Claudia (Pamela Bellwood), who has recently spent time in a psychiatric hospital. 

Watching the first season of Dynasty it's hard to see how it ever took off and became such a super soap. However, it reminds me very much of ABC’s Brothers and Sisters of today  - recently seen of Channel 4 in the UK.

This series is stuck in an 80s time warp and to be honest hasn’t stood the test of time. The fashions start to improve in series two when Joan Collins as Alexis takes hold, and the pure camp takes over ( I don’t mean tents and sleeping bags). One scene that wouldn’t be shown on US or UK TV today is when Blake tackles Steven about bring gay - the language that Blake uses just wouldn’t pass the censor, yet 25 years ago we just didn’t bat an eyelid. Maybe that says more about the era than it does about Dynasty.

As this first series progresses you can see the glitz and glamour start shining through. Towards the close of the series, we see Blake on trial for the murder of Steven's lover, Ted Dinard, although Dinard was killed in an accident.

And there is a surprise witness - Blake’s ex wife Alexis, with her big hat covering her face. A great ploy as Aaron Spelling hadn’t cast the part at the end of the season.

Dynasty: seasons one and two are available in the USA and via E Bay.