The second longest running prime time drama—after Gunsmoke —in television history, Knots Landing's (1979-1993) 14-season tenure is even more prestigious because it survived both the competition of glitzier prime time soaps (such as Dynasty) and the advent of cable television. Prophetically, series co-creator David Jacobs told his cast at the outset, "We're not going to get any attention. We won't win any awards. But we're going to go on forever."

Ironically, this spin-off of the phenomenally popular Dallas was created prior to its predecessor. Creators David Jacobs and Michael Filerman envisioned a television series modeled after Ingmar Bergman's 1973 Swedish mini-series (later edited into an Oscar-nominated film) Scenes From a Marriage. The concept involved a study of neighboring married couples—in various states of contentment—living in a cul-de-sac in Southern California. Though CBS liked the pilot, they wanted something more glamorous and on a...