Falcon Crest

At first light, Melissa and Cole wait at the rescue base as the helicopters arrive with the survivors of the crashed plane. Angela disembarks, relaying the news that Philip Erikson is dead. The co-pilot and Michael Ranson were also killed in the crash. Richard insists that the cartel was responsible for the crash, while Chase maintains it was sabotage. Angela blames Chase and swears she will make him pay. At the hospital, Angela comforts Emma, and Cole watches over Linda, who is in critical condition. They talk of Joseph and their future together. As Linda professes her love to Cole, she dies in his arms. Terry, although distraught, realizes that she has received a sizable inheritance upon Michael Ranson's death. As members of the cartel meet in Buenos Aires, Johann, disappointed that the crash was not a total success, reveals that their ultimate goal is to reclaim a valuable Third Reich treasure, which lies buried in Falcon Crest property. « read less

Angela and Lance team up against Chase in the FAA's investigation of the crash. Angela bribes Buzz Whitehead, the airplane mechanic, to lie and claim that Chase had been drinking prior to the flight and had ignored the fuel leak warning. Chase is determined to discover who sabotaged the plane and swears that if the cartel was involved, Richard will pay. Gustav arrives in Tuscany Valley to obtain the Falcon Crest secret. Angela, Lance and Greg plot to take The Globe from Richard. Maggie's father, Paul Hartford, arrives for a visit. The Giobertis throw a party to introduce their new champagne, but the celebration turns into a nightmare for Maggie when Angela reveals that Maggie is adopted and her father is unable to deny the painful truth. « read less

Pamela is surprised to discover that Richard's attacker is Padgett who pulls back the covers to find only pillows where Richard's body should have been. Padgett tries to flee the town, and Gustav is furious that Richard Channing has not been eliminated properly. At The Globe, Lance becomes publisher to the dismay of many of his new employees. The Board of Supervisors removes Chase as head of the airport authority. Joel McCarthy, out of money and desperate to support his drug habit, mugs Maggie at Tuscany Downs. She never sees her attacker, and later, Cole unwittingly hires Joel as the new transportation foreman for the vineyards. Emma hears Julia call out to her in the vineyards, but when Angela arrives, Julia disappears again. « read less

Sheriff Robbins notifies Chase, Maggie and Cole that Sam Giannini has been murdered, apparently during a robbery. Lance uses his new power to exploit Sam's death in The Globe. Maggie starts work writing copy at Richard's new radio station. Stephanie, Richard's ex-wife, comes to town and enlightens her daughter about Richard's past behavior, warning her that he may try to use her too. Gustav offers Mary Giannini his condolences and threatens to kill her if she does not sell her property to him. Chase has obtained a copy of the F.A.A. report and is enraged that someone is lying to frame him. In Italy, after Francesca Gioberti faces disaster at her vineyards, she travels to Falcon Crest, surprising Angela and seeking assistance from her cousins. « read less

Chase uses Emma's findings and confronts Senator Silverlake in Washington, D.C. with the evidence that he was bribed into faking the F.A.A. reports. Senator Silverlake confesses, absolving Chase of all blame in the crash. Lorraine demands that Lance print a retraction to an article that ties Richard Channing to the criminal underworld. Lance is more interested in seduction than retractions, but Lorraine strives to ignore his advances. Both Richard and Gustav court Francesca in order to get closer to her share of Falcon Crest. However, Angela and Greg persuade her to sign a contract for her share of the vineyards. Private Investigator Mike Harris informs Maggie that her real father was killed in World War II. Melissa tells Greg she cannot see him anymore as it will jeopardize her relationship with Cole, but Greg is persistent in pursuing her. « read less

Julia has been taken to Reibmann's estate, where she is confined in what resembles a hospital room. When she comes to, the nurse informs her that Lucas has been arrested for harboring a criminal, and then turns on the TV to a newscast, which covers the arrest of Julia Cumson! How did they find out she was alive? Julia wants to know. Angela found out about her phone calls to Emma, the doctor explains, as Julia becomes hysterical. ""How could you do this to me?"" Julia cries. Things are working perfectly, Reibmann comments, watching from behind a two-way mirror. He's staged the whole scenario! Meanwhile, Angela has enough troubles of her own-both Francesca and the agreement have disappeared. As if that weren't enough, Chase turns over his notes to the U.S. Attorney's office to bring a case against her for libel, perjury, and whatever else she may have done to frame him with the FAA. Chase, too, is preoccupied with Francesca and her agreement with Angela. Melissa takes advantage to score a « read less

Angela reinstates Lance as her sole heir, cutting Melissa out of the will. Posing as her psychiatrist, Gustav manipulates Julia into trusting him. Ben and Chase check Falcon Crest for surveillance devices and when Gustav hears them discuss Henri DeNault with Angela, he orders Spheeris to investigate Ben immediately. Greg's advances towards Melissa are putting a strain on Cole's trust in Melissa. Joel returns the necklace he stole from Terry and presents her with an engagement ring. She hesitantly agrees to marry him in two weeks. At the Turf Club, Angela tries to make Charlotte succumb to her weakness for gambling. Chase keeps Maggie in the dark about his plans with Ben to search for Johann Riebmann in Europe. « read less

Lance calls Falcon Crest to get bailed out, but Angela grabs the phone and tells him that he can rot in jail. Ralph Delaney arrives and says that The New Globe will pay Lance's bail. Richard wants Maggie to do a story on Lance and exploit his situation. When Lorraine hears this, she is furious and accuses Richard of slanting the news. Chase tightens security at home and purchases a gun. He learns from Herb Boutilier in Washington, D.C. that Ben never worked for the government and receives a phone call warning him to stop looking for Ben. Charlotte and her old gambling partner meet and begin to lose money at the track. Richard sends Joel to a drug rehabilitation center in order to get him away from Terry. Although Lance insists he was framed, Angela refuses to believe him, and he is again disinherited. Lance moves in with Lorraine at the Tuscany Inn. « read less

After years of hard work, Chase and Cole dump hundreds of gallons of tainted champagne as Richard and Angela look on. Chase is convinced one of them is responsible for the poisoning. Richard's obsession with trying to destroy Lance prompts Maggie to quit her job at the radio station. Shaken over her mother's sudden disappearance, Maggie travels to Los Angeles to find her. Upon meeting with his stepfather, Alexander Nicolau, Chase uncovers his mother's dangerous connections with the cartel and is determined to uncover why Riebmann so fervently wants Tuscany Valley. Back in Tuscany Valley, reporters and spectators jam the courthouse for Lance's preliminary hearing. Richard is immensely pleased with Judge Holder's ruling that Lance must still stand trial for attempted murder. « read less

Angela's kidnapping brings her face to face with Julia at Riebmann's house, while Chase, Richard and Greg plan a mission to save her. They play into Riebmann's hands, gain control of the guards at his house and escape. Richard follows Riebmann into the old mineshaft where the treasure has been buried. As the mine begins to collapse, Chase, Pamela and Chao-Li stand by in horror. Richard manages to escape, but Gustav and Renee are buried with the treasure. Lorraine reveals to Lance that she is planning an abortion procedure to avoid further complicating his life, but Lance adamantly opposes the idea. Father Bob provides disappointing news for Melissa and Cole when he mentions that the annulment of her marriage to Lance could take up to two years. They decide to plan for a civil ceremony the following week. « read less

Melissa confronts Angela when she realizes that Angela had provoked Cole into walking out on their wedding. Although Melissa tries to seek comfort with Greg, she cannot put Cole out of her mind. After arguing with Melissa, Cole swallows his pride, reunites with her and marries her in a meadow in a small private ceremony. Lance proposes to Lorraine and surprisingly receives Angela's support. Unfortunately, Judge Holder has denied a change of venue for Lance's trial. Before Lorraine has a chance to discuss her pregnancy and engagement with Richard, Angela deviously provides him with the information. In turn, Richard confronts Lorraine, who begs him to be happy for her. Instead, Richard throws her out of the house, telling her that, as far as he's concerned, she is dead. « read less

Lance stands trial for the attempted murder of Angela, but his real court battle is against Richard Channing, who has secretly bribed the judge. Richard discovers that Greg and the prosecutor, Caroline Earle, have agreed to a deal that would considerably lighten his Lance's sentence. He passes this information to Judge Holder, who, on instruction, rejects such an arrangement. Cole and Melissa consider hiring a surrogate mother to bear them a child. Chase decides to hire Connie to help Cole with their champagne production. Cassandra and Damon come closer to an opportunity for revenge on Angela. Cassandra must keep their identity and plan hidden from Richard, who finds Cassandra intriguing. Melissa's cousin, Robin, arrives at the Gioberti household for an extended visit and hungrily sets her sights on Cole and the mansion. « read less

Angela takes advantage of Lance's conviction to assume his job as publisher of The New Globe. Richard provokes Lance into a fight at a restaurant, forcing Lance into hiding to avoid being returned to custody. Angela realizes that if Falcon Crest expands to accommodate a contract with Helios Foods, Richard and Chase will fall heavily into debt, and she will once again be the sole owner of the wine empire. She pushes them to agree to bid on the contract. Maggie prefers that Chase sell out and get away from Angela, but he refuses. Cassandra and Damon push the Helios deal to advance their own plans for a takeover. Late that night, Robin tries to seduce Cole with the idea that they could give Melissa the child she wants. « read less

At the winery, Chase joins Connie and hugs her, announcing that he has received the loan necessary to bid with Angela. However, Connie's former suitor, Larry Michaelson, could threaten the bank deal. Cole realizes that Connie may be a threat of another kind. Greg hunts for Joel McCarthy and finds that he died at Camp Mary Jane of a drug overdose. He confronts Richard with his suspicions about Lance's framing, hoping he can force him to reveal his involvement. In Chinatown, Lance insists that Lorraine be included in Angela's plans to send him to Italy, and she makes the arrangements for them to meet at the boat. Pamela warns Angela that Richard and the police are on their way to Lance's hideout and Lance manages to escape. When Lorraine arrives and discovers that Lance is already gone, she rushes to the fire escape before her stepfather can detain her, and in a hurry, slips and plummets two stories to the street. « read less

In the hospital, Lorraine, depressed, misses Lance and laments her lost baby. In his jail cell, Lance reveals to Angela his fears about Lorraine's survival. Angela reassures him and promises that Greg is working on freeing him. At The New Globe, Pamela hands Maggie a cassette, explaining that Richard had taped all his conversations, and she had decided to validate his mistrust in her. When Maggie and Greg play the tape, they hear Richard and Judge Holder plot against Lance. Melissa breaks the news to Cole that she hired Joel McCarthy to frame Lance. Cole strikes back by informing her that her surrogate mother idea worked because Robin is pregnant. Due to the overwhelming evidence against him, Judge Holder is forced to release Lance. Ecstatic, Lance rushes to the hospital, where a judge marries him and Lorraine. « read less