Dallas: Discussion Thread

[Broderick]

That's why I wish Dallas (on TV) had moved forward with the suggestion that Gary had a short-circuited marriage to Vera Rodriguez.  Gary's son by Vera would eventually appear as an adult, and he'd be FAR more like Uncle JR than like Gary.  

@AbcNbc247, I can't think of Dallas in any format without thinking of Bond Whitson.  He wasn't a "good guy", and he wasn't a "bad guy".  He was a "wounded" guy, as a direct result of the way society had carelessly treated him on account of his shockingly pale appearance.  

The reason he engaged in rough sex is the only women who would sleep with him were hookers.  And whenever he bedded one, he always checked to see if she recoiled when she saw his non-pigmented body naked.  He would then PUNISH her for recoiling, and not only that, he would punish her as a substitute for EVERYONE who'd ever recoiled from him or thoughtlessly made the sign of the cross when he passed them on the street.    

It's a bizarre and complex situation, with underlying motivation that maybe can't be explored in a visual medium like television or film, but is completely understandable when you read it.  

Miss Ellie explains it best in the novel when she and Jock are grieving after his death.  Miss Ellie says, "Jock, we knew of Bond's weakness [the violent sex] and in our own ways, we both used him and took advantage of that weakness, when were *supposed* to be the people who loved him."   

[AbcNbc247]

That does sound more like the Miss Ellie that we all know and love

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[SoapDope]

I wonder if someone showed the Dallas novel to David Jacobs today if he would recall any of his original ideas for Dallas or say it was all fabricated by Raintree.

[Broderick]

I wonder that, too.  It was a multi-layered process, I believe.  Once CBS had fully committed to the 5 episodes, a contract was made with Dell Publishing Company -- either through CBS, Lorimar, or David Jacobs -- to have a novel produced that captured the action of the 5 episodes and also expanded upon the backstory of the characters who were introduced in the 5 episodes.  Dell Publishing Company then contracted with author Lee Raintree, who was an accomplished, versatile writer that was known to be able to produce a novel in a matter of a few weeks.  Raintree could guarantee delivery of the manuscript to Dell Publishing by the time the miniseries hit the CBS airwaves.  

[Paul Raven]

I know novelizations of TV series were once a thing (maybe still are?) but was it usual to have a book out on a spring short flight series that may not be picked up?

Seems like a lot of trouble and expense that may not be recouped.

Did Knots get the same treatment or were the novelizations produced once the show was established?

[j swift]

I'm not the only one that sees the resemblance, right?

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[Franko]

I actually have to keep reminding myself that William Smithers is *not* William Duell from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

 

[Khan]

For sure, I would adhere to David Jacobs' original conception of Bobby as a playboy who didn't want to get involved in the family business, with Pamela urging him to work at Ewing Oil (or, Ewing Energy, as it would be renamed) in the name of protecting his (and potentially their children's) legacy.  I also would stick to the original plan of killing off Bobby early in the story.  As a matter of fact, I might begin the reboot AFTER Bobby's death, with flashbacks to his and Pamela's courtship and brief marriage sprinkled throughout the first season or so.

Beyond that, my concept for the reboot would diverge significantly (perhaps TOO significantly) from the original series.

One, Jock and Ellie would have only two sons: J.R. and Bobby.  Gary (and Lucy and Valene) would be excised from the Ewing family history.  Ray Krebbs would still work at Southfork Ranch; however, he wouldn't turn out to be Jock's illegitimate son, and he would be a more comic character as the randy but illiterate ranch rand.  (And no, there would be no Donna.)

Two, the Barneses - Digger, Cliff and Pamela - would be dirt poor, a stark contrast to the wealthy (but not SUPER wealthy) Ewings.  Digger would be an Alzheimer's patient at a memory care clinic outside Dallas.  Cliff, as Tarrant County ADA, who is running for a seat in the U.S. Senate, is paying his father's mounting medical bills, as Digger doesn't have any insurance.

Three, Sue Ellen still would be an alcoholic former beauty queen, very much like all the "real housewives" you see on Bravo.  However, she and J.R. would already have a child...and it would be a daughter, not a son.  Told that Sue Ellen would be unable to bear any more children, J.R. would be bitterly disappointed not to have a male heir, so he would resolve to raise his daughter (Ellie, after his mama?) like the son he never had.

Four, although J.R. would remain very much the womanizer, there would be a new, original character - perhaps, someone who also works in the energy industry, or even an attorney, like Cliff - who would be J.R.'s longtime mistress.  (Look at it like Charles and Camilla, with J.R. as Chuck, the new character as Camilla, and Sue Ellen as long-suffering Di.) She might be the only thing that J.R. loves as much as running Ewing Energy, but she is wise enough to know that J.R. would never leave his wife for her (nor would she really want him to).

Throughout the series, there would be one running mystery: was J.R. responsible for Bobby's death?  Bobby dies in a helicopter crash near the Texas/Oklahoma border while on his way back from an OU/Texas Tech game.  But there would be a very strong implication that J.R. engineered the crash, because he does not want to share running Ewing Energy with anyone, not even with his own brother (or his sister-in-law, whose father just happens to be Jock Ewing's lifelong rival).  Pamela would always wonder whether J.R. was responsible, and may come close to the truth once or twice before getting to the truth once and for all.

During the first season, Pamela would learn she's carrying her late husband's child.  J.R. and Sue Ellen hire a private investigator from Fort Worth to prove that the baby's real, biological father is her first husband, with whom Pamela has maintained a close friendship (even though he wishes it were more).  Instead, the private eye uncovers proof that Bobby was the one who cheated...with another man.  Namely, with a former pro football player turned sportscaster, whose relationship with Bobby stretches all the way back to when they pledged at the same fraternity at their alma mater, UT Austin.  J.R. would ultimately decide not to go public with the information for fear of what it could do to Jock and Miss Ellie.  However, Sue Ellen, thinking more about her and Ellie's legacy, would go behind her husband's back, causing J.R. to throw her out of the house and off Southfork for a period of time; and Sue Ellen, in turn, would choose to get even by hiring an alcoholic, down-on-his-luck novelist to collaborate with her on "Capricorn Crude," a roman a clef about her in-laws.

Early on, there would be an allusion to the "dream season," with Pamela waking up and finding a very-much-alive Bobby in the shower, before waking up for real and realizing she was only dreaming.

Finally, down the road, there could be a "Who Shot J.R.?" story, with one, key exception: this time, the culprit would be Digger.  Everyone would automatically assume that Digger confused J.R. with Jock and shot him in a Alzheimer's fog...until Cliff and Pamela realize their father knew exactly what he was doing when he went that night to J.R.'s office.

I hope KL did receive the same treatment.  Who knows?  Maybe we'd learn that Annie Fairgate and Kenny Ward hooked up one night; or that before he opened Knots Landing Motors, Sid once worked in an illegal "chop shop."

[Broderick]

@Khan, that's excellent.

In my opinion, you should consider deleting it, as it's far too good to risk having it stolen.  Seriously.

[Vee]

That is excellent.

And yes, I would purge my account and posts myself if ever I moved into soaps lol.

[kalbir]

@j swift Now I'm reminded of when The Simpsons spoofed Who Shot JR with Who Shot Mr. Burns and there was even a reference to Dallas season 9 finale.

Edited May 21, 2023 by kalbir

[Broderick]

I'm not sure why CBS, Lorimar, and Dell Publishing opted for that (rather expensive) treatment of a miniseries that might or might not sell.  

PRESUMABLY, it was because of the "miniseries based on the best-selling novel" craze of the late 1970s and early 1980s.  We'd seen Irwin Shaw's Rich Man, Poor Man hit CBS in 1976.  Jesus of Nazareth and, of course, Roots had also gotten the treatment.  In 1978, Judith Krantz wrote Scruples (the first big "sex & shopping" blockbuster, based on Giorgio's of Beverly Hills), and CBS was frantically purchasing the novel's television rights for an elaborate 1980 miniseries.  There seemed to be a belief that Dallas possessed a certain "epic blockbuster" element that would lend itself to a novel, even though the novel hadn't existed prior to the television project.  My understanding is that by the time the miniseries was rerun in late 1978 to introduce the first full season, sales of the novel had hit 300,000 copies and had generated more royalties for the author than any other novel he'd ever written.  

[Paul Raven]

As we saw from the ratings,those first 5 eps did quite well.

Maybe CBS saw potential early. Perhaps part of the reasoning behind scheduling Dallas was that mini series had been picking up steam and CBS was looking at bringing some of that flavor to a regular series. So having a book tie in worked in with that.

[Broderick]

It's hard to remember, but I believe there were a couple of weeks when it appeared CBS had miscalculated.  

My recollection -- might be wrong -- is that the 1st installment did well in the ratings, the 2nd and 3rd installments were disappointing, the 4th was well-received, and the 5th showed clear series potential.  Which is why CBS reran it a few months later, to guarantee viewers had the opportunity to catch the two installments that hadn't fared as well.  

[Paul Raven]

3 Top 20 finishes out of 5 was a good result. The move to Saturday was amistake but luckily they hung on and the rest was history.