This season picks up on the landing of the Carrington mansion, where a furious Blake is fiddling (i.e. strangling Alexis), while La Mirage burns. Pah! As with the Moldavia Massacre before it, the entire permanent cast (except the mad-bad-sad Claudia, who started the blaze) survive the inferno and stagger in to what is the last great season of the show, despite the fact that it limped on for another two season's after this.
Season 7 see's the departure of Catherine Oxenberg (who was fired for asking for more money) although the character of Amanda lived on (in the form of another actress - who was never heard from again!?) and the return of Michael, who was the Carrington's driver in season 1 (who Fallon dallied with....repeatedly!) but is now a powerful businessman.
However, despite plots involving Blake's near death in an explosion, 'ickle' Kristina's heart-swap and the arrival of Ben's daughter Leslie (actress Teri Gaber, on loan from the mini-series 'North & South'), the show continues its decline and waves bye-bye to the characters of Dominique, Clay, Caress, Ben, Amanda and Michael before season end.
This season's cliff-hanger also appears to be a defiant gesture by the writers, as in a semi-repeat of the infamous massacre (where only special guest star Ali MacGraw 'died') they produce yet more revolutionaries, who storm the mansion after Adam's wedding to (plain Jane) Dana. This time though, it's nutty Claudia's presumed-dead nuttier husband Matthew Blaisdale, with machine guns and pals. Sigh!
Regardless of this nonsense, Alexis (Dame Joan Collins) is on form throughout, spitting classic one-liners at, well, everyone, and even enjoys her annual-series catfight with Dominique! The storyline of Blake's memory loss (after an oil rig blew up) is especially engaging (?) as Alexis kidnaps the poor old fella, before trying to convince him that they're still married (a delusion she supports by wearing awful fifties frocks and even more make up) and attempts numerous seductions before being outed. Classic!
Despite the lack of any 'big name' guest stars and a general feeling of 'tiredness' about the whole thing, this is still great 80's viewing. Enjoy, if for nothing else, just the terrific campness of it all (something which is sadly missed from gritty TV shows today).