User Reviews

Veteran actor John Saxon guest stars as Tony Cumson, Julia's ex-husband and Lance's father who left years before because of Angela's interference. He wants her back and works feverishly to convince her that he's changed. He's actually a very noble man who didn't deserve Angela's disapproval, so it's obvious that her politeness is a facade for something else. Meanwhile, Maggie gets a job working on Douglas Channing's newspaper which creates a bit of a conflict with Chase.

This episode reminds me why Julia was my favorite character on the show before twists and turns wrote her into a corner. She's very complex in the first two seasons, and her vulnerability and weaknesses are quite complex. Abby Dalton was quite underrated, and that shows in episodes where they really utilized her properly. She has a nice chemistry with Saxon that should have been really explored. As I've said in other episode reviews, she had a Faye Dunaway type look which wasn't as melodramatic. Combining business and family drama together makes this one of the best episodes of the entire series.

Maggie (Susan Sullivan) is intrigued by the possibility of becoming a reporter at the San Francisco Globe after Angela (Jane Wyman) arranges an interview for her with her ex-husband Douglas Channing (Stephen Elliott). Angela secretly hopes to drive Chase and Maggie apart so that they'll leave Tuscany and their vineyard so that Angela can own the family legacy all to herself.

The return of Tony Cumson (John Saxon) to Tuscany and Falcon Crest after 12 years gone upsets everyone including the wife Julia (Abby Dalton) and son Lance (Lorenzo Lamas) he left behind. But when Tony gets to spend time alone with Julia after sneaking into the winery she softens her resistance to the love of her life. Lance is less enthused.

Tony and Julia struggle with plans to leave Falcon Crest to build a life, and their own winery, outside the turmoil and Angela's scheming. Angela and Lance's manipulations confuse Julia and She sends Tony away. Julia is left the same tormented character up until certain bizarre aspects of the narrative come in to play later in the series.

We in the audience are meant to wonder if Tony and Julia couldn't make it as a couple or as independent vintners with Angela's scheming disrupting their lives then what chance do Chase and Maggie have, right? This guest appearance/departure was not a permanent exit from the show. Tony would be brought back as needed especially if a major character left and the gap needed to be filled by another character connected to the backstory.

Eventually the deficit of continuity on this show became so glaring that moves to remedy that made for questionable casting decisions which included the hiring of actors who appeared on the show in the roles of different characters.

Robert Loggia played the role of Tony in a forgettable one-off guest spot in Season Two before John Saxon reprised the role in the third episode of Season Six. The fanbase of the show was evidently intended to accept Tony as somewhat of a surrogate for Chase (Robert Foxworth) who would depart the show at the end of the sixth season.