Dallas: Discussion Thread

[Soapsuds]

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[Broderick]

Yes, Maggie Barnes Moynihan (sp?) was Digger's widowed sister.  Aunt Maggie had a son named Jimmy Moynihan.   Jimmy was older than Lucy Ewing, but wasn't as old as Pamela Barnes.   

My understanding is that Maggie, having lost her own husband, basically moved into Digger's house and RAISED Cliff & Pam from the time they were children, as their mother was "dead" and their father was a hopeless drunk.

At first, all indications were that Jimmy and Aunt Maggie would be semi-regulars on the show. 

Jimmy disappeared pretty quickly.  Aunt Maggie was at Digger's bedside when he croaked, but she seemed to evaporate afterwards.

When Pam became so fixated on finding Rebecca, I wondered why Maggie didn't play a more pivotal role.  She probably KNEW Rebecca hadn't died all those years ago. 

Jimmy -- who was sort of a "foster brother" to Cliff and Pam -- as well as their first cousin -- could've become an important character somewhere down the road.  That entire storyline was pretty much dropped with no explanation.  

In the 1978 novel Dallas by Lee Raintree, which was based on David Jacobs' outlines of the initial five scripts, Jimmy was more-or-less a kid brother to Pam & Cliff, and Aunt Maggie served as a mother to all three kids (Cliff, Pam, and Jimmy).  The novel was written from the script outlines, before the filming was done and even before the scripts were finalized.  It was timed to be released in conjunction with the miniseries.   

As you noted above, a LOT of storyline was burned in the self-contained episodes.

 

Ha!  I dunno if I'd have married Liz Craig off to Jeremy Wendell, but I *do* know that I'd have found a way to make Barbara Babcock (who played Liz Craig) a more integral part of the show.  The actress was a good fit on Dallas, had a good chemistry with Pamela, and her acting was good enough to get her a primetime Emmy in 1981 for Hill Street Blues.   

[Paul Raven]

Thanks Broderick. 

Some interesting storylines were used in the early episodes, but had to be rushed to fit the format. Had the show been serialized. some of them could have continued for many weeks.

Jimmy and Aunt Maggie were wasted.

[Franko]

Raintree took some interesting liberties in that book. For example, Lucy being the product of a rape between J.R. and "Maureen." And Sue Ellen being at least a decade younger (she's Miss Texas '75, not '67). It also goes into more detail about why J.R. and Julie's relationship exists; he comes to her for the kind of sex he wouldn't dare expect/ask from Sue Ellen.

[Broderick]

A thread in the Dallas novel that I wish had been picked-up by the TV series (and reworked to make it more appropriate for television) is the episode with "Bond".  

Bond was Jock's "right-hand man" at the time Bobby was born.  Bond was Albino, and the Mexicans on Southfork were spooked by him, because they believed his lack of pigmentation was an "omen of evil".  Miss Ellie didn't like him, either, because she considered him fairly immoral.  He ended up assisting Miss Ellie in a certain endeavor that really was immoral.  One thing Dallas the TV series perpetually lacked was a storyline involving people of color, and this storyline -- though it was somewhat distasteful -- was a perfect way that the show could have added some color to the canvas in an interesting, unorthodox, and believable manner.  

I assume the rights to the Bond character belonged to David Jacobs, as the novel was written at the request of David Jacobs and was entirely based upon his characters.  

[Vee]

Wasn't there a prequel book to go with the prequel TV movie or miniseries that got pretty wild?

[Broderick]

It's probably the same book we're speaking of here.  This particular novel was VERY adult-themed and dealt with the entire history of the Ewing and the Barnes families, beginning with the death of old man Southworth during the Great Depression and moving through the subsequent decades-- in graphic detail -- all the way up through the end of Episode 5, in which Pamela suffers a miscarriage falling from the hayloft at the Ewing barbeque.  

[Vee]

Fascinating. I seem to recall something I heard about one of the books indicating one of the Ewing children was not Jock's. Or am I way off?

I find the source material in Dallas, and the early sketches, much richer than the show it became. Knots did not have this problem for me.

Edited May 18, 2023 by Vee

[Broderick]

No, you're not way off.  You're close.  lol. 

In the novel -- written by Lee Raintree and approved by David Jacobs -- there's a storyline thread in which Jock has some business dealings in the District of Columbia.  Jock begins sleeping with a woman named Roberta.  Meanwhile, Ellie is back at Southfork pregnant with her third son.  Jock insists that he wants the boy to be named "Bobby" or "Robert".  Miss Ellie catches on that Jock is naming the baby for his mistress in DC.  Miss Ellie has Bond take her to Roberta's apartment.  Like the Mexicans at Southfork, Roberta is terrified of Bond, due to his strange eyes and lack of pigmentation.  Bond rapes Roberta violently, with Miss Ellie's approval, and it brings Jock's indiscretion to a definite and immediate end.  lol.     

[Vee]

Yeow!

[Broderick]

I don't want to hijack the Dallas thread with tales from a 1978 novel that's only loosely based upon the scripts.  But I will say that if anyone is especially interested in how Dallas was developed and in the early episodes of Dallas, Lee Raintree's archives are housed at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Ms.  (Lee Raintree a/k/a Con Sellers is a native of Mississippi and was a prolific writer in many different genres, using many different pseudonyms.  He worked as a pornography writer, a historical fiction writer, a romance writer, a western writer, a detective writer --- almost everything you can think of.  He's the author of more than 230 books.  Included in his archives at Southern Miss are all of his manuscripts and revisions of the Dallas novel, the script outlines provided to him by David Jacobs, and letters back & forth between Raintree and Jacobs about how the characters should be presented.)  

[Paul Raven]

Wow! That Dallas novel stuff is fascinating. I don't think CBS was ready for Bond in 78 but some sort of shady right hand man for Jock may have been interesting.

On the show Ellie's brother turned up and was revealed to be dying. That was over in one episode right? From what I can gather, at the end of the ep , he and Ellie were bravely facing what was to come but by the next ep he was dead and no mention was made?

Having a child turn up (Miss Ellie's niece/nephew) would have been a good twist and worked in better than Jack/Jamie. As Garrison's they might have had a claim to Southfork.

[Vee]

I don't think that's hijacking, it's great lore. Feel free to share what you like.

Was Vanessa Beaumont Gayle Hunnicut's character? I have a soft spot for her from a lot of classic British horror films like The Legend of Hell House, I didn't know her storyline was any good.

Edited May 18, 2023 by Vee

[Broderick]

Oh no, Bond's "antics" were unsuitable for network television in 1978.  But the beauty of the character was that he was not a Caucasian, and Jock treated him almost like a son -- hauled him around all over the country on corrupt oil deals, let him drive the Cadillacs around, rewarded him with "special favors" involving women and sex.  To me, Bond is a fascinating character for a Southern-themed TV show or novel.  And with him being Albino, which spooked the more superstitious Mexicans at Southfork, an entire new layer of racial tension and suspense was added into what unfortunately became a more 'white bread' TV series by the time it hit the air.  Bond was the precursor at Southfork of Ray Krebbs, but Bond's relationship with Jock Ewing was much tighter and more interesting than Jock's televised relationship in Season 1 with Ray Krebbs. 

I believe the Garrison Southworth story seemed short-circuited on television at the time, but in hindsight, he really just came home to die.  Again, it was somewhat of a "burned" storyline due to the self-contained episodes.  

 Another aspect of the novel was that Gary, as a teenager, married a local girl -- a Mexican -- from Braddock.  Her name was Vera Rodriguez if I remember correctly.  It wouldn't do for Gary to be married to a Mexican girl -- and a CATHOLIC at that, lol! -- so Jock ran her off, which pissed off her entire (huge) Mexican family.  Gary then promptly married Maureen (subsequently revised to Valene for the TV series).  Maureen wasn't happy with Gary at all, because he would go off on alcoholic benders, which enraged Jock Ewing but which Miss Ellie tolerated (because Gary was her "sweet baby" who could do no wrong.   Maureen ended up having sex on several occasions with JR Ewing while Gary was away, because Maureen loved JR's "big stud horse pecker", as she typically described his member.  The implication was that Lucy was as likely to be JR's child as Gary's, and the ironic theme throughout the book was that Lucy hated JR's guts but had no idea he might be her daddy, lol.  That was a thread deliberately left open-ended.   

[Paul Raven]

i wonder if any of that even got proposed to CBS.

Somewhere back in this thread (or maybe Primetime soaps thread) is a David Jacob's interview talking about censorship and how the Lucy character was handled. He wanted her to be sluttier and learn the hard way the consequences  but CBS balked and insisted she be more of a tease, which in his opinion sent a more damaging message, I'll try and dig it out.