Jump to content

Dallas: Discussion Thread


John

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 1.6k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted Images

  • Members

Sue Ellen’s movie was about embarrassing JR. But JR was beyond embarrassment, so it really didn’t make sense.

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying that hate isn’t the opposite of love; indifference is. Sue Ellen’s farewell shouldn’t have been about hating JR or getting revenge on him. It should have been about her finding happiness without the Ewings and walking away from JR, simply not caring about him anymore. That would have been a satisfying exit for her.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Exactly - as much as Haleyville gets shamed for being later-years-Dallas goofy, I'd say Sue Ellen's movie is even goofier. She's spent millions on making a movie that'll never be released to hold over JR's head... yet, in like five years (or less) it'll be terribly outdated and won't be any good to hold over his head. Even if Sue Ellen went ahead and released the movie, as a minor independent with no real structure to deal with releases the best she could probably hope for is to license it away to another studio, who would then have to clear anything too salacious so they won't get sued and probably cut some of obviously slanderous parts. On her own she might be able to get a limited theatre release that wouldn't really bother JR that much.

 

Plus, when Val released Capricorn Crude JR seemed more bemused than anything, mostly because I don't think he gave that much of a damn about his public reputation. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I agree.  All J.R. cared about was money and power.  Having his ex-sister-in-law air out all his family's dirtiest laundry didn't matter one bit to him as long as it didn't affect his control of Ewing Oil.

Now, if J.R. had found out he had been switched at birth and that he wasn't Jock and Ellie's child after all....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I think it was mostly to mess with her head. J.R. ended up profiting from the whole thing by buying Val's publisher.

Please register in order to view this content

If Knots wasn't in "I don't know her" mode about Dallas in 1989, then having Sue Ellen produce an adaptation of Capricon Crude would have made slightly more sense.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I'd forgotten all about that. It still annoys me that the various J.R. moves related to Knots (the methanol business Gary and Abby sell him on in Season 3, the publisher) never come to anything.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I think David Jacobs committed only half-heartedly to the idea of DALLAS and KL characters crossing over occasionally, because he saw the two as being entirely different in terms of scale.  However, DALLAS was the hit show, and CBS and Lorimar thought the crossovers would help KL build an audience.  But David Jacobs always wanted KL - the show he created first, loved more and was more involved with - to have an identity separate from DALLAS'; and as soon as he could sever ties between the shows with Bobby's return, he did.

Edited by Khan
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Just as I don't think David Jacobs cared much about any future crossovers with DALLAS, I also don't think Leonard Katzman cared much about any future crossovers with KL.  DALLAS' producers always looked at KL as being more of a "women's show" in the pejorative sense of the term.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

@Khan Dallas was always the more male-focused show, that's why it drew a larger male audience compared to the other primetime soaps.

As I've pointed out before, Knots Landing was a spinoff done right because it carved its own identity apart from its parent show Dallas. When watching Knots Landing, you don't feel like you're watching a second hour of Dallas in a different setting.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



  • Recent Posts

    • Shouldn't it be the other way? I don't think Taylor Hayes is playing Rebecca Budig.   

      Please register in order to view this content

    • And the most detailed discussion I've seen from an industry figure about some of JFP's worst choices as a producer (steamrolling over writers) was from another woman, Megan McTavish.
    • IMDb is definitely incorrect, because the final week of episodes in 1974 is uploaded to Youtube in audio form, and Mark and Laurie are there until the very end. The last episode shows Mark going back to the priesthood. I looked at the newspaper and the earliest reference to their house being haunted by Georgina is in December of 1973. This is dated Dec 14, but this same synopsis ran in the papers until the end of December in other publications. So it must have been within those last 3-4 months. I think Stephanie Braxton joined around 1969-1970 so that's probably right. I saw it stated in other newspapers that David Gale joined around September 1972.

      Please register in order to view this content

    • Opal having siblings could add to the story. However, it raises questions about Tad's adoption. Why were the Martins allowed to adopt him if Tad had aunts or uncles who could have cared for him?  Logic limited the number of possible Gardner's (and whatever Opal's maiden name was).  Even though Linda Thorson would have been a hysterical choice given her British accent.  Especially because SOD often published questions by readers who wondered why Tad and Jenny didn't speak like their mother.   All of which is still not an excuse for Tad's evil doppelgänger Ted. 
    • And if I remember correctly, at one point, they were considering having Linda Thorson play Opal's sister.
    • Interesting. Makes me wonder how the day to day looked for Secret Storm at this point in the run. This seems very to deal with the psychological aspect, I guess the "inner storm", and the music is almost sinister. If this is from 1974 there's not much room for dates it could've been from as it ended on February 8th.  It's hard to tell from an edit featuring just one storyline, but if this was the day to day it might've been heavy for the casual viewers.   ETA: Stephanie Braxton is credited to have appeared as Laurie from 1970-1973. David Gale is credited only in 1973 and Alexander Scourby from 1972-1973. I know IMDB isn't always right, but I'd say this is likely 1973 - I'm guessing all these characters exited before 1974 and this might be a part of their final storyline. 
    • Well, they were both involved with Ray Gardner.  Then, the actress left in 1980, only to return as a somewhat broader interpretation of the character after Dottie was SORASed.  By that time, Opal had left in 1983.  So, while they serve the same story function,(verbally abusive/neglectful mothers who make you feel sorry for their daughters), one could argue that Edna was the carbon copy.
    • Okay, now it's my turn to ask about the Thorntons, namely Edna. Did she and Opal have any scenes together? I ask because I was familiar with Opal first, so when I found out about Edna, my biased mind saw her as the first try for that type of character.
    • There is no dispute that Jill Farren Phelps had a successful career in daytime based on longevity, but that does not preclude discussion and dislike of her decisions at various shows. Sure there may have been some misogyny involved BITD(we don't know as I don't recall JFP ever mentioning that) but the head of CBS Daytime at that point was a woman and there were other women involved BTS. I think that so long as an EP could deliver, or at least talk a good game they would be respected.  
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy