Dallas: Discussion Thread

[Soapsuds]

Victoria Principal interview with People magazine.

https://people.com/victoria-principal-recalls-dallas-memories-with-patrick-duffy-larry-hagman-exclusive-7973278

[dragonflies]

 

 

[SoapDope]

I enjoyed the Victoria Principal interview and was glad to read she looks back at the show with love. When Dallas debuted in 1978, she was stunning. She really stood out among all the blondes that dominated the press in the late 70's ( Farrah Fawcett, Loni Anderson, Suzanne Somers etc...).

 

[Liberty City]

I hope this begins the process of people refraining from stating she hated the series and wants nothing to do with it. And she's explained time and time again when she she does not engage in the on-going reunions. Another great interview is this one:

[GLATWT88]

It was a nice read and it was good to hear Victoria look back with some appreciation and care for the show. I know these interviews usually skim the surface, but gosh would I have so many questions to ask. 

[Soapsuds]

Yesterday in Dallas....

 

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[DRW50]

Lovely photo @Soapsuds .

A brief interview with Sheree J. Wilson from 1996, talking a bit about Dallas and Walker. 

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[Soapsuds]

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[Paul Raven]

Who is the blonde b/w Linda and Sheree?

Linda always looks great.

[Soapsuds]

I believe it is a fan of the show.

[Soapsuds]

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[Paul Raven]

The idea behind Sue Ellen and a toy boy was good but the execution was off.

Unless you are into twinks, Peter had zero appeal. Compare it to DH and Jesse Metcalfe.

Chris Atkins had moved full speed into his twank era.

[Franko]

I'd love to know if anyone else was considered for Peter. Something that I think may have slightly hurt reaction to the storyline was that it aired around the same time that Atkins' older woman-younger man movie, A Night in Heaven, came out. It's like, why am I seeing the same story twice?

 

[Chris 2]

They should have gone with an actor/character in his mid to late 20s. Someone who was a little more butch. And more importantly, someone who had chemistry with Linda Gray.

And has there ever been a more generic name than “Peter Richards”? Even his name was dull!

[j swift]

According to the National Enquirer, the part and plot were written specifically with Atkins in mind (can't link, it's from press clippings in an eBay auction).  And for me, I need nothing more that those speedo and crop top scenes to stay tuned into the entire season (along with the campy hilarity of Peter and Lucy's disco jeans modeling commercial).

I think if we judge the story from Sue Ellen's perspective and not Peter's, it makes more sense.  She had been humiliated by JR prancing around with women half her age, and part of her healing process was to throw that right back in his face.  After all, she never received any effective counseling in order to assist her recovery.  There's also the interesting detail that JR's resolution was that he wanted Sue Ellen back in his bed now that she was desirable to other men.  She hurt his ego by sleeping with him while thinking of Peter, which was probably her most effective form of revenge.

It is remarkable given the number of episodes per season that we don't get more character development from Sue Ellen in order to understand her further romantic motivations.  For example, I have no clue what attracted her to Nicholas Pearce (aka Jack Scalia, an equally untalented actor), or Don Lockwood.  To me, it always felt like she was drawn more to Clayton than Dusty (how juicy would an Ellie/Clayton/Sue Ellen triangle have been?).  It was one of the issues with Dallas, that even with the amount of filler episodes we got every season, they still have trouble balancing stories for characters that didn't live on Southfork.

Also, wouldn't it have been interesting if they kept the anxious personality trait for John Ross brought on the trauma of the fire?  Having JR deal with a son who was coping with mental illness could have been such a dramatic source of conflict. 

So, I guess my rather long-winded point is that Peter didn't need to be a charismatic actor because it was much more about the idea of desire, rather than personality. 

 

Edited October 8, 2023 by j swift