Falcon Crest (1981) s01e08 Episode Script

How long is Angela in Rome?
Less than a week. I'd like this
wrapped up before she gets back.
How would you like
to make $100,000?
Douglas. What in heaven's name
are you doing here?
I heard you were coming to Rome.
I couldn't resist.
You can't come prancing around
like you're lord of the manor.
It's what Grandmother
would have done.
Are you saying that Lance is
putting this premium label
on ordinary wine?
What are you trying to do,
lose your inheritance?
-Go to jail?
-Lance, what's going on?
On Friday, I want you
to pour the Pinot Noir.
It's not doing very well lately.
It needs all the exposure
it can get.
Everyone's gonna be disappointed
you won't be at the party.
I think my presence at the
competition is more important.
-Oh, yes.
-Your bags.
Thank you, Lance.
I want you to stay here
and handle something.
Sure. What is it?
Jack Sloan is distributing
our '78 Reserve Cabernet.
Sloan? Why would you let a guy
like that handle our wine?
He's got a lousy reputation.
Because he's offering
to pay $50 a bottle.
Can't this business
with Jack Sloan wait
until you're back from Rome?
It probably could. But I'm
curious about something.
What's that?
Do you think you're ready
to accept some responsibility
for a change?
I told Jack Sloan I was leaving
for Rome this morning
and that you were
going to handle it.
I want you to be very careful
and be sure
and get payment in full
before you make that delivery.
Yes, ma'am.
The car is outside,
Mrs. Channing.
Thank you, Chao-Li.
Goodbye, Mother.
-Your umbrella.
-Thank you.
I'll see you
in about a week.
Oh, and have a safe trip.
Rivederci.
How much does it cost?
What is your name?
This is Italian, nerd face,
not Spanish.
-It's the hands.
-Alright.
I think you better let Angela
do your translating for you.
There she is.
A chauffeured limousine
to take you to the airport?
I hate to see you roughing
it like this.
-I'll help.
-I can get them.
I know. I'll help you anyway.
I wish you were more excited
about me going.
I'm going with Angela.
I'll be okay.
I know you will. I just wish
you were going with me.
Just have a good time.
If you keep Angie waiting, I'm
gonna talk her into taking me.
That's what you think,
nerd face.
-Kids.
-Hi, Angela.
Lance, hello.
Mr. Sloan, you're right on time.
Well, time is money,
and I don't like wasting either.
Then let's wrap this up.
You know, I never thought
I'd see the day
when I'd be shelling out $600
a case for some red wine.
Some red wine? This is
Falcon Crest's premium wine.
Well, I may not have
What do you people call it?
the palate to appreciate
a really fine wine
but I know a good deal
when I see one.
The last good business deal you
involved my grandmother
in almost put you in jail.
That's why we want full payment
on delivery.
Of course.
If you'll just review
and sign this contract.
-Pen?
-Thank you.
How long is Angela
going to be in Rome?
Less than a week.
And I'd like to have this
wrapped up before she gets back.
Your grandmother's
a very shrewd business woman.
Just what are you driving at?
Lance, how would you like
to make $100,000 on your own?
I'm listening.
What if you put those
funny-looking labels
on 500 cases
of ordinary wine?
You're talking about fraud.
Call it whatever you want,
we could both make a bundle.
Well, I don't wanna do business
with you, Mr. Sloan.
Chao-Li?
Chao-Li will show you out.
Your grandmother's not gonna
like you blowing this deal.
She'll like your
new terms even less.
I'll bet you even
this place has a past.
That's why I always stay here
when I'm in Rome.
It gives me a sense of history.
I wanna see everything.
the Colosseum, the Catacombs
-the Vatican, the Via Veneto.
-The girls.
Well, all in good time.
Now, here's the key.
Your room is right
across the hall.
And remember, ties for dinner.
I'll get it.
Angelina.
Douglas.
What in heaven's name
are you doing here?
When I heard you were
coming to Rome,
I couldn't resist
surprising you.
Well, 8000 miles is a long way
to travel for a surprise.
It's the jet age, Angela.
This is my ex-husband,
Douglas Channing.
I believe he's your great uncle.
-This is Chase's son.
-Cole Gioberti.
Well, that makes you my nephew.
Sorry we haven't met sooner.
I see you've already
got an escort.
Young and handsome, at that.
Now I have two.
-Mother.
-I was under the impression
that this was supposed to be
informal and very low-key.
This has got to have
cost a fortune.
We're pushing the new
Pinot Noir, remember?
It's just part of the cost
of doing business.
Excuse me.
Hi. Can I get you a refill?
No, thanks.
-You're looking for someone?
-Yes, but I can't find him.
Well, why don't you
let him find you?
I'm Sheri Hyatt.
Lance Cumson.
Bourbon.
Sure.
-Hey, I like the Pinot Noir.
-Well, thank you.
A little bourbon.
Thanks.
Are you in heady
company tonight?
Sylvia Hartman,
the Cunninghams
-Cliff Oates.
-Cliff Oates is here?
Angela doesn't know
what she's missing.
Oh, I think she does.
Give it another half-hour
and come down with a headache.
-Chase.
-Nothing serious.
-If you don't, I will.
-I see. Well
Well, what do you
think off the party?
Maggie and l haven't been able
to talk about anything else.
I'll just bet.
Thank you, Chao-Li.
You know Lance planned
this all week.
And I think he did
a very nice job.
Sheri tends to get
a little claustrophobic.
I think she went
out for a breather.
-Oh, is that right?
-Yeah.
You know, after yesterday
I was pleasantly surprised
to get your invitation.
Well, I thought it might give us
a little chance to talk.
Let's talk.
-Who's that with Lance?
-Down, girl.
That's Jack Sloan.
He's a wine distributor.
Oh, I heard he had a run-in
with Angela last year.
Yes, he's had trouble with
most of the better wineries.
I'm surprised Angela
would invite him then.
For some reason I've not been
able to figure out
she's decided to do business
with him again.
Sheri Hyatt's a lovely girl,
isn't she?
She seems interesting enough.
I could arrange to leave
without her tonight.
Why would you do that?
Consider it a peace offering.
Like I said
she's interesting enough.
-Good morning.
-Hi.
Apollo.
What's he doing here?
You tried to teach me falconry
last night, remember?
Quite a night all around.
-Who is it?
-It's your mother.
Come in, Mother.
Did you want something?
-No.
-Oh, Mother?
I'd like you to meet
Sheri Hyatt.
Sheri Hyatt, my mother.
Nice to meet you, Mrs. Cumson.
Yes.
She seems upset.
Just jealous.
Good morning.
Your breakfast is cold.
Coffee's all I want.
What makes you think you
can do that sort of thing
in this house?
What did you expect me to do,
take her to the springhouse?
Anywhere but under this roof.
It's never stopped you.
Don't you ever speak
to me like that again.
And don't you forget
who's in charge around here.
In charge? You must be kidding.
Don't push me.
I'll get it, Chao-Li.
Good morning, Paul. Come on in.
Have a seat.
You were working for Jack Sloan
before you became
winery foreman.
Yeah, the guy's a real prince.
Half of his paychecks were late
and the other half bounced.
He wants to buy some
of our Reserve Cabernet
along with another 500 cases
of ordinary red dummied up
to look like
the real Reserve.
I'd tell him to go to hell.
I wanna do more than that, Paul.
I wanna see to it that Mr. Sloan
is put out of business
for the rest of his days.
-Sloan's an slippery guy, Lance.
-Don't worry.
Not the kind you can
back into a corner.
We'll do everything he asked,
with one exception.
-What?
-We'll dummy everything.
He won't get a drop
of the real Reserve.
The minute somebody
tastes the wine
Relax.
-It'll never be uncorked.
-How are you gonna stop him?
I have a friend,
a private investigator.
He's been there before
when I needed him
and he'll be there
now for us.
Does Mrs. Channing
know anything about this?
No. And neither does my mother.
And I wanna keep it that way
until we're finished with Sloan.
-What do you mean, "we"?
-You and me, Paul.
Why do you have
to drag me into this?
Because I can't run the bottling
machine by myself.
Besides, dedicated employees
are hard to find these days.
And we'd like to hang onto
you a little while longer.
Lance?
Lance!
Hide those labels.
-Lance.
-What is it?
I got your sulfuring compound.
Thanks. I've got
your sulfuring compound.
Thank you.
-What's going on?
-We're just doing some bottling.
I thought you'd finished
with bottling for the season.
We got a special order
for some 1981 zinfandel, Lot 3.
That's my crush.
That wine's not nearly
ready for bottling.
Well, like I said, it was
a special order, 500 cases.
Wait a minute. All the grapes
in Lot 3 are from my vineyard.
Right, but we bought
those grapes from you.
They're not yours anymore.
Julia had great hopes
for this wine.
You're destroying it
by bottling it now.
I disagree.
I want you to check the doors
to this bottling area.
I want them all locked.
Julia.
Chase.
When I sold you my harvest,
Angela gave me her word
those would be treated
no differently than grapes
from her vines.
-What are you talking about?
-Been in the bottling room?
No, why?
Lance has got the bottling
machine going full blast.
He's bottling 1981 zinfandel
and it looks like he's
prepared to ship it out.
-Zinfandel?
-That's right.
-Lot 3?
-That's it.
-But that wine's too young.
-You tell him that.
-He says it's a special order.
-What special order?
-See for yourself.
-I will.
This is interesting.
It says, "Dear Aunt Angela
I think I told you
that I promised Dad
I'd try to get to Tuscany.
There was a train at noon
and I'm on my way.
I'll try to get back in time
for the wine tasting."
-That's from Cole.
-I hope I didn't drive him away.
Oh, he's just interested
in his heritage.
You Giobertis
and your tradition.
Well, that's what
winemaking's all about.
It doesn't bother you anymore,
does it?
As a matter of fact,
I'm grateful.
You're grateful
he's still in Tuscany.
I'm grateful
he's not here and hungry
because I have a reservation
at Jimmy's for only two.
Jimmy's?
That's one of the
finest restaurants
between here and Paris.
For you, Angelina,
the finest isn't good enough.
Toilet in room.
You got a deal.
Lance? Lance, are you in there?
Keep this going.
I'll be right back.
What is it, Mother?
Well, aren't you
gonna let me come in?
Paul and I have
a lot of work to do.
Yes.
Perhaps you'd like
me to help you?
I think you'd just
be in the way, Mother.
In the way?
I'd like to stop
this process altogether.
That zinfandel is much too young
to go into bottles.
I appreciate your advice, but I
do have commitments to keep.
Sloan is expecting a shipment at
7:00 tomorrow morning, sharp.
Just what do you
think you're doing?
You can't come in here,
prancing around
like you're lord of the manor.
It's just what Grandmother
would have done herself.
Remember, she left me in charge,
Mother.
-Lance, how are you?
-Fine.
The actual Reserve Cabernet
is in the cases sealed
with the brown masking tape.
I used white on everything else.
Good. Alright,
the Reserve is in the brown
and the white
is the ordinary
and I have a check made out
to Falcon Crest vineyard.
How about my money?
One hundred thousand, in cash.
-You wanna count it?
-Wouldn't you?
Use the office.
Okay, okay.
Okay.
Hey, Miller, how you been?
Your secretary told me
I could find you here.
Keep the volume down.
I need your help, old buddy.
What you got on your mind, huh?
A little wiretap?
Angry husband on you?
What do you know about
a fella named Jack Sloan?
Bad news.
He got plenty of enemies.
He's probably on the chamber
of commerce hit list.
Well, I sold that guy 1000 cases
of wine this morning.
I want you to get in there
and destroy it
before he has a chance
to distribute it.
Look, Lance,
I'm a semi-respectable guy now.
I got this real hard-to-get
license that I wanna protect.
I could make it
worth your while.
Some of the wine I sold him
isn't what he expected.
I mislabeled the bottles.
Oh, man, I thought
you were one of the smart ones.
You want me to blow up a winery?
-I don't see how it can miss.
-You need glasses.
Anything happens to that wine,
first thing he's gonna do
is go to the cops.
Second thing
that's gonna happen,
is he's gonna fill out
an insurance claim.
Third thing is they're
gonna get an investigator
one that's not so chummy
with Falcon Crest
and, partner,
I'm telling you,
you're in for
some real problems.
Oh, get a load of this.
And that's not her husband,
either.
Switch places with me. Go.
Sit down.
Look, can't you
burglarize the place?
Sure, I can do that.
I can also get 10 to 15 years
in San Quentin
just for having
this conversation.
Come on, Miller.
I'm counting on you.
I managed to get you out of
scrapes like this before, right?
You're gonna have
to take some advice
from somebody who's
been around a bit.
You ready?
You're gonna have to get
on your hands and knees
and crawl back to Jack Sloan.
And you gotta beg him
to get out of the deal.
I went over to the winery
and I found this
in the bottling machine.
"Falcon Crest 1978 Cabernet
Sauvignon, Reserve Selection."
Isn't this the wine Angela
took to the tasting?
-Yeah.
-And that wine was bottled
over a year ago.
But Lance told me they were
bottling my '81 zinfandel crush.
He was supposed to make delivery
of the Reserve to Jack Sloan.
But that wine is still in the
winery, all 500 cases of it.
Wait a minute, Julia.
Are you saying that Lance
is putting this premium label
on ordinary wine?
I think we'd better go
over to Sloan's warehouse
and take a look around.
Do you know which one
of the wines is yours?
I haven't the faintest idea.
They've got them covered up.
You nervous?
Ours is the only California wine
that's been invited to compete.
You can relax now.
It's taken hundreds of years
to get to this point.
I'll relax later.
You'll do fine.
I'll drink to that.
-To Jasper.
-To Jasper.
And to you, Anna Gioberti,
my newfound cousin.
Congratulations, Angelina,
you've conquered the world.
I don't know what to say.
You better think of something.
I think they want you up there.
Oh, Douglas,
I'm so glad you're here.
I've waited a lifetime for
a vintage like this '78 Reserve.
Oh, Douglas.
I don't understand it.
How could Lance do this?
Hey, what are
you two doing here?
-You're looking for somebody?
-A fellow What's his name?
Jack Sloan told us
to meet him here.
Yes.
He said we could get
some wine at a discount.
Oh, he did. Well, Mr. Sloan's
not here right now.
There's no telling
when he'll be back.
He told us he might be late.
We should wait for him.
Suit yourselves.
You can wait out front
in the office if you want.
What is going on?
I'm not exactly sure, but there
are more than 500 cases here.
Let's go.
Boy, you sounded
very upset on the phone.
-What's the problem?
-I wanna cancel the deal.
It's a little late
to get cold feet, isn't it?
-What are you worried about?
-It's never gonna work.
Will you let me
worry about that?
Now, you've kept your
part of the bargain.
Now it's my turn. Trust me.
Look, it's only a matter of time
before somebody finds out.
I know what I'm doing, Lance.
I'll market the good stuff right
here in California,
the rest I'll ship overseas.
They won't know the difference.
You don't have any
of the real Reserve.
What do you mean?
It's still in our winery. All
you've got is common table wine.
Then, if I were you, Lance,
what I would do
is get the 500 cases
of premium wine
that I originally contracted
over here as soon as you can.
You see, I have paid receipts
for that premium wine.
You overpaid for it.
You know that, don't you?
You haven't heard, have you?
Falcon Crest's Premium Reserve
Cabernet Sauvignon
won a gold medal
in Rome over an hour ago.
You really should pay closer
attention to these things.
That makes the contracts
and the paid receipts
I have worth that much more.
So is the wine.
Maybe I should talk to your
grandmother about this.
Okay. Okay.
I'll bring you the 500 cases
we sold you.
But I want the rest of it back.
No, no, Lance.
That's not the way it works.
With a gold-medal winner,
the price of that
wine just increased.
You can't do that.
Sure I can. And I will.
And you be a good boy and you
get the rest of that wine
back here today.
Angela, I have
an absolutely fantastic idea.
Dare I ask?
We take the first flight to
Paris, have dinner at Maxim's
and you walk in
with your own wine.
Well, I have a better idea.
Why don't we just stay here
and call room service
and have a nice,
romantic evening together.
I like that even better.
I'll call Julia and see
if everything's alright.
Pronto.
Let me have the overseas
operator, please.
-Hello?
-Hello, Lance?
Oh, hello, Grandmother.
How's Rome?
It's wonderful.
-Is Julia there?
-No, I haven't seen her.
Well, I have some great news.
We won the gold medal
at the competition.
-I heard.
-You mean you know already?
Sure. I'd like to stay on top
of things. You know that.
Well, you don't sound
very enthusiastic.
Oh, I am.
I am. I think it's terrific.
Well, Cole and I are leaving
for the States tomorrow.
-Is everything alright there?
-Fine.
Everything's fine.
Alright. Don't forget to tell
everybody the good news.
I will.
Chow.
No, you couldn't have lost
with this one.
Took three generations
to develop it.
It was a team effort.
-We make a good team, Angela.
-Oh, Douglas.
When we were married, all we
ever did was fight and argue.
Of course we did.
It was healthy.
Well, your newspaper
was your whole life.
Was.
Someone warned me once
not to work too hard
for what I wanted because
I might get it.
And you did.
Now the empire is mine.
And all I really want is you.
I know that now.
I love you, Angie.
-Oh, Douglas, I
-I want you to come back.
I haven't got my empire yet.
Is that really important to you?
To me, now
nothing is more important.
Maybe I better take a rain check
on that dinner.
I'll see you stateside.
-Lance?
-I'm in here, Mother.
We've been to Sloan's warehouse.
We know all about the wine.
-You don't know anything.
-I know enough.
What are you trying to do, lose
you inheritance? Go to jail?
Aren't you being a little
dramatic, Mother?
Damn it, Lance, what's going on?
I don't think it's any
of your business.
The hell it isn't.
Perhaps you'd like me
to call your grandmother
and get her involved in this?
Sure, go ahead and call her.
I think it's a great idea.
Do you have any idea
what she would do to you?
I don't care.
I don't care about her,
about you, about Falcon Crest.
I don't care about
anything anymore.
So why don't the two of you
just get out of here, right now.
Out!
I'll be with you in a minute.
Listen.
Angela left you with
a lot of responsibility.
She wouldn't have if she didn't
think you were capable it.
You don't know my grandmother,
do you?
-Better than you think.
-It wouldn't surprise me
if she set this whole thing
up with Sloan just to test me.
You're trying
to blame everybody.
How long do you think
you can keep that up?
It was Sloan's idea to mislabel
the bottles, not mine.
You fell for it.
I thought I could put him
out of business.
Grandmother would have done the
same thing if he went to her.
When are you gonna stop trying
to fill Angela's shoes?
You don't know what
it's like in this house.
Grandmother on my back.
Mother's out of her mind
hiding from her in the
laboratory. It's a mad house.
Come on. Let's go talk to Sloan.
Chase?
Why are you doing this?
I have a stake in this thing.
I'm as much a part
of Falcon Crest as you.
Bonjour.
-Well, how was your trip north?
-Oh, fine, fine.
We won the tasting, you know.
Great. That's great.
I'm sorry I missed it.
-Well, what's that?
-Letters.
Some of them are even over
a hundred years old.
You'll never believe
where I got them.
Well?
Up in Tuscany, from a cousin
I never even knew existed.
These are all the old letters
Joseph and Jasper wrote
after they got to America.
Oh, well
-No nay who?
-That means this is not for you.
I'm supposed
to give it to my dad.
But I brought you
something also.
It's a picture of you and Jason
when you were both kids.
I guess Jasper sent it.
Dad told me you and Grandpa
never got along very well.
But you'd never know it
from this picture.
Hello, Sloan.
You've got more Reserve Cabernet
than you know what to do with.
Lance, what's going on?
I was expecting a very large
shipment this afternoon.
You won't be getting
any delivery today.
Yeah. Lance gave me
a complete rundown.
He told me all about
the mislabeled bottles.
About the cash you gave him.
The whole scam.
Well, I told Lance I'd be
willing to forgive and forget
as long as he got the Reserve
here this afternoon.
Everybody knows
Falcon Crest only produced
500 cases of that Reserve
Cabernet.
You've got 1000.
Sounds like conspiracy to me.
-Can you prove that?
-Sloan
the proposition
you made to Lance
is all the proof in the world.
-Try telling that to a judge.
-I'd love to.
I'll tell you exactly
what would happen.
Angela Channing's grandson
would be doing time
and I would be doing
business, as usual.
Fine with me.
Of course you know it's against
the law to sell mislabeled wine.
As a matter of fact, I'll head
over to the district attorney
and get an injunction.
And you'll be out
a $100,000 in cash.
You're bluffing.
Am I?
Well, you know
I would be willing to up the
ante. I mean, include you in.
We're talking hundreds
of thousands.
You haven't been
listening carefully.
Your reputation's bad enough.
Whether they convict or not
the last thing you need
is your name splashed across
the San Francisco Globe.
You'll never do business in
the State of California again.
-Well?
-What about my money?
Under acceptable circumstances,
less costs
you'll get it back.
I'll see to it.
-What do we do with the wine?
-Bury it, quickly.
About the DA, you wouldn't have,
would you?
Good question.
You must be one hell
of a poker player.
I'm home.
Mother?
Well, how was Rome?
Oh, it was beautiful.
Just beautiful.
Good.
And, particularly, the tasting.
And I saw your father.
You did? Well, how is he?
Did you spend
some time together?
Some. He's fine. He's fine.
-Grandmother. Welcome home.
-How are you?
Fine. How did
everything go here?
Fine, fine. Wonderful.
Well, how'd you make out
with Mr. Sloan?
I canceled the deal.
You did?
But why did you do that?
The minute I heard you
won the gold medal,
I canceled the contract.
That wine's worth
a $100 a bottle now.
You wouldn't want me to sell it
to Jack Sloan for 50, would you?
That's good thinking, Lance.
You're learning.
Oh, I love this.
Did you see this one?
-There's a family resemblance.
-Yes, I think so.
I didn't realize you had
so many relatives in Tuscany.
It would be lovely
if we could go together.
Dad isn't working
for the airlines.
-We could all go for free.
-Dream on, dream on.
Wait a second. This one's
postmarked 195O.
I didn't think they were
still writing each other.
-Italian.
-It's in Italian?
This is from my grandfather
Jasper to Maria in Lucca.
-I was there. Yeah.
-Can you translate?
-I'm pretty rusty but I'll try.
-Oh, well, you'll try.
-Dear Maria.
-Dear Maria.
Very good. Impressive.
Something about,
"I am an old man now.
I am deeply troubled.
My children, Jason and Angela
are bitter enemies.
I fear for the future