16 minutes ago, Liberty City said:

And Larry Hagman absolutely had it out for her; he wanted his own mother to take on the role.

Now THAT - hiring Mary Martin to replace Barbara Bel Geddes as Miss Ellie - would have been a DISASTER. You can't replace "Maggie the Cat" with Nellie Forbush, lol.

9 minutes ago, Khan said:

Now THAT - hiring Mary Martin to replace Barbara Bel Geddes as Miss Ellie - would have been a DISASTER. You can't replace "Maggie the Cat" with Nellie Forbush, lol.

Which is likely why he was upset with Donna Reed. I mean, someone behind-the-scenes was ensuring she did not have her light, etc. She was set up to fail, which is sad, because she was a good Miss Ellie. Both were warm in their own ways.

They could have reunited Doris Day with Howard Keel.

THI JOURNAL-NEWS, TUESDAY, JANUARY 6, 1981

Dastardly doings due on 'Dallas' By RICK MALASPINA

Gannett News Service

HOLLYWOOD Until now I figured the shooting of J R Ewing might be a tough act for the Dallas folks to follow. I figured wrong. Just goes to show that the critters behind the scenes are no less slithery than the ones who play the scenes What they're doing now that J R is patched up is coming up with a new character -a female one as sharp and conniving as JR who will team up with him to end this season with another cliff hanger.

Leslie Stewart is her name She’s played by former daytime soap star Susan Flannery, and she'll make her Dallas' debut Jan 30 “Most of the women in the show are Southern, Flannery says. They're totally male oriented in terms of marriage and the home. My character is different. The Stewart woman is a New York public relations pro who sets up shop in Dallas and lands Ewing Oil as a client.

More in a minute... First take a deep breath and get a load of these other Dallas' developments for the coming year.

Brother Bobby tries to steer Ewing Oil into the alternative energy game but gets stomped by J R.

Lucy marries Mitch and winds up with more than she bargained for - his widowed mother and ambitious sister.

An old flame flickers back into Sue Ellen's life.

Other Ewing wives Miss Ellie included feel neglected.

Kristin may return.

Ewing nemesis Cliff Barnes gets a political boost among other things from Donna Culver.

The Stewart character though, seems to be the centerpiece of the action, judging from what Flannery and “Dallas" producer Leonard Katzman are willing to say "We don t think of her as a female J It but there are any things about her that J R admires and she's the first lady J R has had respect for, Katzman says.

'There'll be an ongoing relationship between them- as to the depth of that relationship and whereit will lead, we'd like the audience to tune in and find out. That cliffhanger comes up around the first week in May, when “Dallas has its final episode of the season, and Stewart will fit in prominentlv even though no one is banking on this to become another who Shot J R ?” dazzler.

“Obviously there's no way we can top what happened last year. Katzman says But we do know how the series will end this season, and we do hope it will be a very exciting ending.

BUFFALO COURIER EXPRESS. Friday. January 23,1981

Dallas’ Keeps Step Ahead of the Copycats

LEONARD KATZMAN, predictably, doesn't think much of television’s copycat syndrome, which has invaded prime-time soap lately. Who’s Leonard Katzman, you ask? He’s the chap who produces CBS’ runaway hit, "Dallas," for Lorimar Productions and who can blame him for feeling ripped off?

Flick on NBC (Ch. 2) Tuesday nights at 10 and there’s "Flamingo Road" with Howard Duff providing the peacock network's answer to CBS’ great anti-hero, J.R. Ewing, played by Larry Hagman. Tune in ABC (Ch. 7) Monday nights at 9 and there’s John Forsythe running an empire of oil based wealth much as J.R.'s daddy does in “Dallas,” only this is "Dynasty,” don’t you know’.

OF COURSE, Lorimar and CBS ripped ... er, spun off "Dallas” well before "Flamingo Road” or “Dynasty” surfaced — just by moving a couple of characters to "Knots Landing” and unfolding another web of sex-tinged plots among the beautiful people. Whenever that Thursday night show needs a boost, it gets one from “Dallas” — like Mary Crseby showing up pregnant with J.R.’s baby. But Katzman would like to tell you the king of suds still airs Friday nights (Ch. 4, 10 p.m.) with J.R. about to finally meet his female match. Susan Flannery, in next Friday’s episode. Katzman figures it should take his show’s copycats a while to catch up with that move.

"None of the copies have touched our format,” Katzman argued when interviewed by Channel One in Los Angeles two weeks ago. "And even our first 10 to 12 shows (back when "Dallas” was in danger ot being canceled) didn’t touch on what we have now. "Between Larry and the writers, we’ve created the greatest anti-hero in all ot television,” Katzman went on in listing his reasons for the show’s near-weekly No. 1 status. “People secretly would love to do the things that he gets away with.

“FURTHER, THIS family lives together every Friday night headed by a strong father figure. And there’s that element ot voyeurism —the viewers are surrounded by this group of tremendously attractive people. That’s so important. People stay with our show in reruns because they want to stay with the characters. ” Katzman is most perturbed by the ripoff nature of “Dynasty,” the only prime-time soap not cranked out by Lorimar. "I think they’ve taken a great deal of what we have in our show,” Katzman said. “There’s a great deal of wealth through oil. But the question is: Will audiences accept their cast, care about them and root for them? No, I’m not concerned about it. My feeling is we have the audience. They have to come and get it.” They’re coming, Leonard, they’re coming. That three-hour premiere just missed hitting Nielsen’s top 10.

So don’t be surprised if Katzman concocts another wild season-ending show, although he’ll have to go some to top the "Who shot J.R ?” mystery Katzman revealed that classic 1980 finish came about only because CBS made a late request for two additional shows.

“WE WERE originally going to do 23 episodes and the season was to end with Digger Barnes dying,” the producer said "But the network wanted two more shows and we figured shooting J.R. was the way to go. Texas is still a gun-oriented society. That’s the way they are down there and we thought it was a perfect way to end the season.” What followed was a matchless buildup to this season’s beginning and, despite much of the drama being short-circuited by the actors’ strike, the opener was viewed by a record 150 million. Katzman mentioned that figure, thought for a moment, flashed a smile and said, "I’m amused by all the people who say they never watch the show and then proceed to tell you all about it.”

Katzman feels the population move from northern cities into Dallas helps the show’s following. “Dallas is the major financial center of the South and Southwest now," he said. “But interest in the characters is the chief reason tor the show’s success. I certainly think there’s another year or two of material without repeating anything. After that, who knows how long we’ll go? 'Gunsmoke’ lasted 20 years.”

YES, KATZMAN also was responsible for Matt Dillon and friends, not to mention Steve McGarrett and his "Hawaii Five-O” hounds. But now’s he going to keep J.R. fresh by bringing on Leslie Stewart (Miss Flannery), a sharp New York public relations type, to mastermind his new role in the business world as he resumes control of Ewing Oil and brother Bobby shocks the family by jumping into an alternative energy venture. "She’s the first woman J.R. respects,” Miss Flannery told this column “She’s just as unscrupulous, she refuses to tall under his charm and she’s nice, not just an SOB. She rivals his Southern style and she’s a match for him in every way.”

I can see the suds bubbling now

Speaking of the dream season, I'm up to late February, when Sue Ellen's a blonde for whatever reason.

Well, I finished the Dream Season. I can't decide what my favorite weird moment is. I'm leaning towards either Sue Ellen and Patricia's reconciliation, which is presented at a distance from the viewers -- first the actresses are seated at a table, then their hug is filmed from above -- or the chem testing between Ray and Donna's to-be-adopted son Tony and Jenna's daughter Charlie. Also, knowing that it's all Pam's dream makes Jenna's plight for most of the season quite funny -- of course Pam's going to figure that Jenna would turn into a total basket case over losing Bobby to Pam.

Edited Saturday at 03:18 AM4 days by Franko

Edited 12 hours ago12 hr by Soapsuds

Greenfield Recorder, Monday, August 12, 1985

Revived 'Dallas' ready to return for ninth season By JOE RHODES Dallas Times Herald

DALLAS — It has been going on for eight summers now, long enough so that it is hardly even noticed anymore, long enough that it is expected to happen. As August begins, they are out there somewhere with their lights and their cameras, with their scripts and their makeup, making the city of Dallas famous with their lying and cheating and sneaking around.

Talk to the cast members of 'Dallas', the producers and the crew, and they will tell you there has been a subtle change in the relationship between the city and the television show in these eight years, a shift from skepticism to tolerance, from tolerance to fascination, from fascination to an almost nonchalant acceptance. It is not that people do not still get excited when they see "Dallas" stars' here, it is just that they do not think of them as outsiders anymore.

"I've always felt welcome here, from the very beginning," Victoria Principal was saying in her dressing room, waiting for the next scene involving her character, Pam Ewing. "So that wasn't a problem. "But there was a time, particularly after the 'Who Shot JR.' phenomenon when the enthusiasm generated a kind of hysteria that was frightening, where you couldn't go out in public without people really pressing in on you. "Once traffic actually stopped on a freeway because of it, when people found out I was in the car. They were banging on the windows saying, 'Hey, Pam, come out.' "But that doesn't happen anymore. People no longer become hysterical to the point of it being frightening! I think they have learned that we need to be treated with a certain amount of dignity, just like anyone else."

"In a way I think people here are grateful to us," said Linda Gray, who plays Sue Ellen Ewing. "Because as the show's popularity has grown around the world, it's made them feel important. In a way, the show has made celebrities out of everyone who lives here." With practically the entire cast, from Larry Hagman on down, signing shiny new contracts, the show is guaranteed to run for at least two more years. Think about it: a decade's worth of Ewings and Barneses, of cliffhanger episodes and behindthe-scenes gossip. Ten years qualifies as s immortality in television land. Just as Southfork has become a landmark in Texas, "Dallas" has become one on the screen, the "Gunsmoke" of its time. "I don't think of it as 'Gunsmoke' as much as I think of it as 'I Love Lucy' or 'All In The Family,' shows that were the first of their kind," Principal said. "We were the first show of this kind. More than just being known for our longevity, I think 'Dallas' is a show that has changed the face of television.

They filmed the 200th episode last week and it seemed as good a time as any to wander onto the "Dallas" set, to find out whether success breeds complacency, whether the show's going through any major changes, whether any extras have died from heat stroke lately. "Dallas" has survived the comings and goings of a lot of key actors — the death of Jim Davis, who played the patriarch Jock Ewing; the absence and return of Barbara Bel Geddes, preceded and then Donna Reed as Miss Ellie, departure of Patrick Duffy. But Larry Hagman as J.R. Ewing, almost everyone agrees, is indispensable. "The show can go as long as Larry doesn't get bored," Howard Keel, who plays Clayton Farlow, said, putting it bluntly. "He is the man."

A lot of things have changed since April 2, 1978, when that first episode aired. For one thing, the producers have gotten a lot smarter about Texas and the weather. Not only have they learned not to bring their stars out into the sun (Victoria Principal remembers being moments from fainting several times in the first few years) until it is absolutely necessary, but they have stopped putting things in the script such as the hurricane that swept through downtown Dallas in the original miniseries. "I think this is one of the most exciting years we've had," Principal said. "There's more rawness. I was beginning to think we were maybe getting too polished, but the show is getting grittier again.

Philip Capice, the show's executive producer, says one of the benefits of success is the freedom to be left alone. Before "Dallas" was a hit, he said, the network was always sticking it's finger in. "In the beginning the network didn't want us to make it a continuing drama," Capice said. "They didn't think an audience would watch it every week and said we couldn't risk them being disoriented or lost if they missed a shot. So they said that every show's plot had to be self-contained. And they were. almost ludicrously so.

What you had in that first season, Capice said, was a problem of the week, a crisis that would come out of nowhere and be solved before the hour ended. But it did not take king for the producers to realize that audience response was not coming so much to the contrived story lines as to the relationships between the characters, particularly J.R. and Sue Ellen. "So," Capice said, "we began to play more to that." Capice, and practically everyone else on the set, thinks it is the audience fascination with the characters that is responsible for the series' long-running success. He is quick to point out that it is the actors who are responsible for the characters coming to life, the actors who give them their personality. "Linda and Larry's roles were among the least well-defined when we started," Capice said, pointing out that Sue Ellen's character had no name and only four lines in the original mini-series. "Originally J.R. was pretty much the traditional villain and Pam and Bobby the hero and heroine. In fact, Pam was in many ways the central character, a sweet poor girl from the other side of the tracks who meets and marries this wealthy playboy and becomes the innocent in the den of vipers. Bobby was supposed to be kind of a ne'er-do-well in the beginning. "But the character can go as far as the actor wants to take it." That, clearly, was a reference to all the things Patrick Duffy has been saying about why he left the show. Duffy had been complaining for years that his character, Bobby Ewing, had terminal goody-goodness. Finally, Duffy said he had to quit because there was nothing he could do with the limits of Bobby's personality. So, for everyone's sake, they ran over Bobby with a car at the end of last season. No more Bobby. No more Patrick Duffy.

Duffy does not get much sympathy from the returning cast members. The consensus here seems to be that if Bobby Ewing was boring, it was because Patrick Duffy made him that way. "There was a time when I felt my character had become too passive, passive to the point where I lost respect for her," Principal said. "So I went to the producers, and we They've always been willing to listen."

Ken Kercheval says it would be just as easy to say that his character, J.R's primary adversary, Cliff Barnes, had nowhere to go, either. After all, everybody knows that Barnes will never win, that no matter how hard he tries, J.R. will always best him in the end. "Cliff Barnes has been defeated so many rimes for him to fry again this season to rise to the mission of toppling JR., you'd think they had him taken out and lobotomized," Kercheval said.

Patrick Duffy's concerns about Bobby becoming too goody-goody were legitimate. But what I want to know is why Bobby was allowed to become goody-goody in the first place, when David Jacobs had envisioned Bobby at the outset to be more like Brick from "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." Not killing him off was one thing, but turning him into a near-total saint just because J.R. was so rotten was another thing entirely, lol.