Dallas: Discussion Thread

[KateW]

Today (September 12) is Linda Gray's 80th birthday.

[SoapDope]

Rare original Dallas Bumpers from September 23, 1978. Bad Quality

 

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[DRW50]

Great find @SoapDope

 

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[DRW50]

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[j swift]

I've always been intrigued by the virtual inaccuracies of TV set design, but Southfork is a special case all unto itself.  In the pilot and mini-series episodes, JR, Bobby and Jock each lived in attached casitas that made up the main house.  However, by the time the show went to series they all wound up in one two-story house.  There seemed to be an endless supply of en-suites because each couple had their own bedroom with attached bath (which I guess were the redecorated spaces from when the boys were teens on the ranch).  As well as an en-suite for Lucy, and rooms for the eventual third generation of Ewings.  We know that Ray lived in a separate tack-house close to the barn, but there is no mention of other servants quarters.  In real life, the house would look like an ice cream cone, with the entry, formal living and dining room, and a kitchen on the ground floor and infinite bedrooms and baths upstairs.  

 

Additionally I was always intrigued by the cars.  JR always drove cars with the license plate Ewing 3.  I coveted Bobby's convertible Ewing 4 (although I question the historical accuracy of Texas oil men driving foreign cars).  But, for some reason, Sue Ellen drove Ewing 2 until the final season when Miss Ellie drove her car with the license Ewing 2 to Carter McKay's ranch.  Lucy was Ewing 5, and Pam was Ewing 6 (perhaps the divorce and change of plates was the precursor for her fatal run-in with a truck).  However, they lived on a ranch that clearly only had a two car garage which meant that someone was always parking in the motor court next to the patio (maybe when your family is in oil, you don't worry about a little carbon monoxide getting in your breakfast?).

 

After their marriages ended, Miss Ellie, Bobby, and JR all remarried, but stayed in the same house with their respective spouces that never complained about living with their in-laws.  It may be that Southfork has a special place in my heart because it was my late father's misbegotten dream that someday my whole family would live together, an idea regularly opposed by my sister and myself, but he loved big family dinners (as long as it was catered).

Edited December 29, 2020 by j swift

[Soapsuds]

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[DRW50]

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[SoapDope]

That is a rare promo from the mini series. Thanks for finding that.

[Chris 2]

Ellie inherited Jock’s Ewing 1 license plate at some point. I remember her driving her little Cabriolet with the Jock’s old tag on it and thinking how funny it was (Jock drove a big Lincoln IIRC).

[SoapDope]

1980: The Mike Douglas Show. Linda Gray co-hosts and invites her special guest: Niece Lindsay Wagner. 

 

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[SFK]

I was two minutes ago years old when I found out they were related.

[Soapysoap]

I am Finnish soap fan and I have interesting fact to share. Larry Hagman saw his first cell phone ever in the hand of Finnish actor, Eppu Salminen in TV Gala somewhere in Europe. He asked what a heck is that?:D The cell phones back then were huge....

[KateW]

 

 

Lindsay Wagner's mother Marilyn Ball and Linda Gray's ex-husband/childrens' father Ed Thrasher were siblings. Linda and Ed divorced in 1983 and Ed passed away in 2006. Lindsay is first cousin to Linda's children. 

Edited March 25, 2021 by KateW

[SoapDope]

Thanks .

[Broderick]

 

And the parking in front of the garage is tight & awkward, especially for large cars like Jock Ewing's Mark V and Sue Ellen's Mercury wagon.    On TV, it looks like a pretty spacious parking area, but actually there's a very sharp turn to get to the garage.   That's why we often see them drive up catty-whompus on the show, although at the opening of each episode, the cars are neatly arranged facing the little garage.