Dallas: Discussion Thread

[SFK]

David Jacobs wanted to kill Bobby off early on and have scrappy Pam with her new stake in the family business go up against her in-laws. This is essentially what Bare Essence did with Genie Francis’ character, Tyger.

[Chris 2]

It was also why the producers were willing to kill off Bobby in 1985, aside from Patrick Duffy’s wishes. The liked the idea of fulfilling Jacobs’ original Pam vs the family premise. Too bad they did such a lousy job of it, but that’s something for another post.

Edited January 13, 2022 by Chris 2

[Khan]

Leonard Katzman never knew how to write for women.  The only reason why Sue Ellen was so strong when she left was because Linda Gray was tired of playing her as the weak-willed alcoholic and wanted her to become less dependent on the bottle and J.R.

[Soapsuds]

Bobby died and Pam & JR starting fighting over Ewing Oil. Too bad it lasted all of a few episodes. Instead we saw Pam chasing ghosts and mining emeralds in the jungle. Then without a fight she gave everything to JR.  Ridiculous!!

[Broderick]

Pam receiving controlling interest over Christopher's shares of Ewing Oil under Bobby's will was probably one of the best potential storylines Dallas ever had.  And they completely blew it.   

[Soapsuds]

Even Linda Gray got a really bad ending. A film made for blackmail? And leaves Dallas with some ugly dude??

Edited January 13, 2022 by Soapsuds

[Vee]

I know he's not under 28 and depilated, but major TV star Ian McShane wasn't exactly ugly in the '70s and '80s.

[Khan]

I didn't think he was (or is) ugly either.

[Chris 2]

Bobby loved emeralds.

And yeah - that ending with Pam selling out to JR was a head scratcher. Where did they expect to go from there? That would have only made sense if Victoria was leaving the show.

[DemetriKane]

She was my clear favorite in that miniseries. I truly loved her m, crazy how fast that changed and she started to get on my nerves. I still have a soft spot for her though. 

[Paul Raven]

In the 1984-86 seasons, William Travilla brought glamor to the set of 'Dallas' after Lorimar Productions raised the show's wardrobe budget from $3,000 to $15,000 per episode. Until then "all the women on 'Dallas' looked middle class." Hence in order "to make these women look like rich Texan ladies they were meant to look like," viewers would see them wear "Valentino, Genny and Ungaro, and Armani" brand of fashion. "Clothes for the screen are not clothes for regular life," Bill stressed. "You have to do things to the top because the majority of the shots are from here (chest) up." 

 

During those 2 seasons, Bill supplied Lorimar Productions with 54 costumes every 7 days to dress the stars of 'Dallas' and 'Knots Landing'. Bill Travilla's efforts won him an Emmy Award in 1985. It was noted, "'Dallas' has carried the Western world through years of recession with a curious cushion – knowledge that the rich have it rough too, that there is agony with the ecstasy." Bill read all the scripts then discussed with the show's stars how they intended to play the scenes. "In designing for 'Dallas', I change the colors of the clothes to fit the mood of the star." For example, "If a woman is going to walk into the scene feeling very angry, red is the color," or "if one of the ladies from 'Dallas' tells me she is going to feel desperation, even though the script doesn't say that, I'm not going to put her in a pink or blue print. That's not desperation." 

[Soapsuds]

Here's a pic of him. I always noticed his name on the credits because he went by only Travilla.

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[Chris 2]

And then Bobby came back and they couldn’t afford all those fancy clothes anymore.

[Khan]

I remember some of Travilla's wardrobe choices for the KL ladies.  Oof.

[Soapsuds]

Both Donna and Jenna were unfortunately stuck with cheap Ray Kreebs. They were dressed in KMart clothing. Once Donna left Ray she became really regal. Even Ray mentioned to her how high and mighty she thought she was with her expensive clothing.

Jenna was dressed so dreadfully when she got stuck with Ray.

Edited January 27, 2022 by Soapsuds