Dallas: Top Ten Moments

[SFK]

Larry Hagman was SO GOOD as J.R., he did a wonderfully subtle, nuanced job at this larger than life character. I think he's underrated, and that time has forgotten just how good he was. Dallas (and Knots for that matter) was much more grounded in reality, it wasn't the fantasy that Dynasty was, so J.R. didn't have the added visual element of Alexis. But I appreciated that, that more subtle, "attainable" wealth on the David Jacobs shows. Maybe I couldn't have Alexis' Rolls but I could probably get J.R.'s Allante, things like Sue-Ellen driving a Mercedes Benz station wagon were the little details my family just gets off on.

[SFK]

I think a character like Zach Powers could have truly been a male Alexis had be been given the space and time, he was that mix of powerful, rich, cosmopolitan, and glamorous.

[DaytimeFan]

That's an excellent point. Dynasty was a total fantasy. The characters weren't just wealthy, they were RICH. Obscene really in their decadence.

Dallas and Knots Landing showed a far more attainable lifestyle. A lot of people I have met live the Dallas/Knots version of wealth, I'm sure there are a few of us on SON who do as well. Very few people, even the truly rich, live the life of Dynasty.

[quartermainefan]

I loved Jock Ewing and Miss Ellie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hX1XTGf833E&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzSr6iIO5g4&playnext_from=TL&videos=ZG_SkKThxBQ

The family dynamic was far stronger on Dallas than Dynasty. The parents were the parents, and the children did as told no matter how old they got. Dynasty's family is more like a coincidence in sharing last names. Nobody treats their family any better than they treat anyone else.

[DRW50]

I was watching some of the very early episodes and Pam seems stronger and less of the somewhat victimish role I remember her having later on. She seems more like JR's equal, or even his better, as she outsmarts him several times.

The original plan was to kill Bobby at the end of the first season and pair Pam and JR, wasn't it? The episode where Tina Louise (who was very good in her role -- she should have had more of a career as a dramatic actress) was exposed by Pam as a double agent, because Pam had to clear her own name, it ends with Lucy making JR kiss Pam on the cheek as an apology. Then the camera freezes on that moment. I wonder if that was a hint of what was going to come.

[SFK]

Yeah, David Jacobs has said that the original intention was for Bobby to be more of a [!@#$%^&*] up like Brick in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. J.R. of course in the Gooper role, the older, more responsible, love-hungry brother who always plays second fiddle to his charming, charismatic little brother who can do no wrong in their parents' eyes. It just worked out differently with what Patrick brought to the role. I still wonder though how much mileage the show could have gotten out of Pam being left alone with the Ewings and seduced by J.R. had they killed off Bobby. I'm not so sure that that would have been a good idea. To me, it would have just been about Pam staking her claim/why is she still here?/how do we get rid of her?, which all sounds like stuff more fit for a miniseries than several seasons worth of shows.

[BoldBeauty]

I´ve seen both Dallas and Dynasty, practically all episodes of both. In MY mind, Dallas is more homey, more a feeling of warmth than Dynasty. I absolutely love Dallas but I like Dynasty too. It´s just that I find Dallas much more entertaining and the more classic of the two. I am nuts about Dallas.

Dallas and Dynasty are quite close. Both is about 2 rival families (Ewing vs Barnes, Carrington vs Colby) in a ruthless game of business. The main attraction is of course the bad guys: JR Ewing and Alexis Carrington Colby.

But I will forever feel that Dynasty is more snobbish and Dallas more "cozy". Maybe the one factor that shows that mostly is the main family's house. Blake Carrington´s huge mansion vs Ellie Ewing's more grounded ranch.

[BoldBeauty]

I love them both, but JR wins!

[DRW50]

From the 5/17/88 SOD.

CRITICS CORNER

Dallas: Trouble in Texas

By Christopher Schemering

As DALLAS celebrates its tenth anniversary on the air, it's safe to point out that the old gray mare ain't what she used to be. Get ready for the cattle prod, partner, because it's time that our old favorite got goosed back into action before it's too late.

DALLAS, which premiered April 2, 1978, is a television phenomenon: the first major primetime soap opera effort since PEYTON PLACE; consistently the highest-rated serial TV has ever known; the source of TV's most famous villain, and the model for a host of popular imitators, including DYNASTY, FALCON CREST, and its own spin-off, KNOTS LANDING. Viewers were quickly captivated by the Barnes/Ewing feud, the star-crossed love of Bobby (Patrick Duffy) and Pam (Victoria Principal), and the nastily ambivalent of Sue Ellen (Linda Gray) and J.R. (Larry Hagman) - all set against a backdrop of oil, wrath, sex and power.

As J.R.'s pranks and mistresses accumulated and Sue Ellen began her descent into alcoholism, the audience multiplied. Viewer interest peaked with the "Who Shot J.R.?" episode which aired on November 21, 1980. That program was seen by almost ninety million viewers in the United States, and another three hundred million in fifty-six other countries. DALLAS continued to be a critical and commercial success until 1986, when the wheeling and dealing got further away from Southfork. DALLAS had lost its focus.

The season following Bobby's "death" got off to a bang when Sue Ellen hit the skids, and, once and for all, confronted her alcoholism. (Linda Gray's knock-the-socks-off performance was the most harrowing portrait of a female alcoholic on television since Marie Masters exploded as Susan Stewart on AS THE WORLD TURNS in the mid-seventies). But DALLAS soon went haywire as Pam hobnobbed her way through the South American jungle, emerald hunting with Matt Cantrell (Marc Singer) while J.R. dilly-dallied with the likes of Angelica Nero (Barbara Carrera) and her sidekick Grace (Merete Van Kamp) in some kind of international intrigue.

The entire 1985-86 season was junked, of course, with the now-famous Bobby shower scene as Pam snapped out of a deep snooze. ("Good morning," said our buck-naked hero to his wife.) The explanation that the previous season was merely Pam's dream was, of course, ludicrous. But, after some adjusting by incredulous viewers, at least the show began to resemble the old DALLAS. The focus was back on the Ewing family, Southfork, and Ewing Oil. Bobby was caught between a rock and a hard place via a triangle with Pam and a pregnant Jenna. Meanwhile, Sue Ellen harnessed her pent-up marital rage and took J.R down a few pegs by creating her own corporate empire in Valentine Lingerie and running Mandy Winger (Deborah Shelton) out of town on a rail.

Better yet was J.R.'s involvement with mercenary B.D. Calhoun (Hunter von Leer), thus setting up a series of events out of his control: The kidnapping of John Ross (Omri Katz) and the eventual loss of Ewing Oil. The squabbling Ewing brothers pulled together to rescue John Ross in an exciting shoot-out, and the devastating loss of the family company provided an effective hook for the next season.

Since then, DALLAS has been wildly uneven and occasionally downright distasteful. Yes, it is true that J.R would do just about anything to get back Ewing Oil. But hiring Lisa Alden (Amy Stock) to try to take away Bobby's son, Christopher (Joshua Harris), so J.R. could take over Weststar was a violation of J.R.'s character. Blood ties are all-important to J.R.; that's what makes his villainy interesting. Without a code of honor, he is ultimately banal, a bore. This makes J.R.'s betrayal of Bobby (who came to his brother's aid during John Ross's abduction) so senseless. And then there was Miss Ellie's (Barbara Bel Geddes) reaction. "Oh, J.R.," she said, disappointment registering in her voice. Miss Ellie is made of pioneer stock; she's a tough old bird who should have kicked J.R.'s butt right off the ranch.

If J.R. is being painted totally black, Bobby seems to be bucking for sainthood. When Jenna (Priscilla Beaulieu Presley) poured out her innermost thoughts and love to Bobby just a few feet away from their son, Lucas, Ewing became a self-righteous prig. Yes, Bobby still had Pam's departure to contend with, and Jenna had just married Bobby's brother Ray (Steve Kanaly), but the cruel indignation poured on Jenna was a bit much. Doesn't he feel anything - including compassion - for Jenna? Doesn't he feel any need to bond with his child?

It's understandable that Clayton (Howard Keel) might be attracted to someone as lovely as Laurel Ellis (Annabel Schofield). But after Laurel opened her haughty mouth, why didn't Clayton head for the hills? Why limp noodles such as J.R., Bobby and Clayton are attracted to vacuous mannequins like Kimberly (Leigh Taylor-Young), Kay (Karen Kopkins), and Laurel when they have women of character and substance waiting around the corner is a mystery. (It's realistic on some male-menopausal level), but it doesn't exactly make for scintillating drama.) Once the sleazy David Shulton (Charles Grant, ex-Preacher, EDGE OF NIGHT) and Brett Lomax (Mark Lindsay Chapman) made their first appearances, it was oh-so-obvious that the Clayton/Laurel story was merely a plot continuance for a highly melodramatic and violent denouement.

And, what about Miss Ellie? When she sees Clayton out with a beautiful young woman, what does she do? She gets plastered. Then, she flies the coop. Totally unbelievable. Miss Ellie never ran away from anything in her life, so why start now? If the show had dipped into its heritage, Ellie could have articulated to best friend Mavis (Alice Hirson) how she felt less desirable because of her age and the mastectomy she had a few years back, which could have provided motivation for her bizarre behavior. Failing that, the show could have brought Ellie and Clayton into immediate conflict. Instead, they stretched out the Laurel nonsense for so long that when Clayton and ELlie tangled, the emotional impact was minimal.

This season, DALLAS has been plagued with obviousness, assaults on character integrity, and an emphasis on situations rather than relationships. Also, there has been a steady, deadly state of lethargy creeping into the production. Scene after scene drags unmercifully with pregnant pauses, static staging, and a pace that is next to comatose. One wants to wish Larry Hagman, Patrick Duffy, and Linda Gray well with their budding careers as directors, but some of their directional stints on DALLAS have resulted in episodes that are dead-on-arrival.

Fortunately, some of the acting performances make up for lapses in writing and directing. Hagman and Gray still sizzle as J.R. and Sue Ellen after all these years. When she greets J.R. with malevolent sweetness and a line such as, "And how is the center of my universe?" you'd think she learned sarcasm from the devil himself. And Hagman giggles like the little boy who stole all the neighbor's toys - he's tickled pink and proud of it. But as much as we love J.R.'s grit-eating grin, catching it in a freeze frame at the close of every other episode is wearing thin fast.

Sheree J. Wilson as the fabulously mischievous and gorgeous April Stevens and Jack Scalia as mysterious Nicholas Pearce are welcome additions to the regulars. Their scenes, together and apart, crackle with rapturous charm and erotic intrigue. Ken Kercheval as Cliff is amusing and as incorrigible as ever, but he is wasted in dull story lines such as the rehabilitation of old codger Dandy Dandridge (Bert Remsen). DALLAS should give Cliff a new direction, a new girlfriend, and most importantly, a new Chinese restaurant.

DALLAS is in trouble, but it isn't fatal. Pick up the pace, de-wimp your men folk, cure your perennial fondness for sweet young things that have questionable acting ability, and remember your heritage. It's a dandy, so let's not blow it.

[quartermainefan]

Yeah Dallas took a sharp decline. That dream season wasn't great but it was better than what was to come. I really think if you watch the early episodes when it was doing what it did so well, it just makes the later years with the attempts at glitz and glamor seem very lame. I love stuff like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDM6aC2KLaw

Just straightforward drama with David Wayne taking names in the acting dept, and the show being a drama with the whole Texas thing working.

[quartermainefan]

and I liked this early episode which was a very early Sue Ellen app.

[DRW50]

Is that bottom one the one where they made Sue Ellen do her old Miss Texas routine? That was so hard to watch. It was a real showcase for Linda Gray, her first.

I know some feel the show was never even the same after they started filming at a new place and they weren't in the little apartments anymore.

[quartermainefan]

well, that's ridiculous! They were only in those little houses for 5 or 6 episodes.

Jock dying was the changing of the show, then I think Pam leaving sealed the deal the show was done. By the time Sue Ellen left it was time to stop watching altogether.

[DRW50]

That's true. I just remember David Jacobs and Larry or Charlene talking in the first episode commentary about how they kind of liked that better, the little apartments/houses. I know some also said that a few years later when they stopped driving beat up station wagons and trucks, that was a mistake.

[Sedrick]

The best for me was the 1982-83 season, the battle between JR and Bobby for Ewing Oil. The sheer brilliance of the writing and the intricate plotting from start to finish was off the charts, with each and every character involved in vital manners, and how everything was so well thought out still stands up today as nothing short of spectacular soap opera.