Dallas: Discussion Thread

[Khan]

If Valene's novel, "Capricorn Crude," didn't threaten the Ewings' personal fortunes, then Sue Ellen's movie wouldn't have either.

[Chris 2]

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.

[te.]

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 yet, in like five years (or less) it'll be terribly outdated and won't be any good to hold over his head.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. 

[Khan]

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....

[j swift]

Also, wasn't Capricorn Crude a roman à clef?

[Vee]

IIRC J.R. did try to lean on Val briefly over Capricorn Crude, but he didn't get very far or seem very committed.

[Franko]

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

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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.

[Khan]

Having J.R. buy Val's publisher was such a DYNASTY move, lol.

[Vee]

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.

[Khan]

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 May 13, 2023 by Khan

[kalbir]

When the Dallas writers came up with it was all a dream, it didn't occur to them that it would also be the end of any future crossovers with Knots Landing.

[Khan]

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.

[kalbir]

@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.

[Khan]

I agree!

[Paul Raven]

As opposed to The Colbys.