At one point during “Dallas’s” second-season premiere, J.R. offers Sue Ellen a sly grin and declares, “I never learn my lesson.” Maybe not, but the people who make “Dallas” seem to have learned theirs. This has been a good show from the beginning, but diehards like me couldn’t help but feel bothered by some of […]
“There’s not a show on right now, at this moment, that isn’t soap,” Joan Van Ark declares during PBS’s “Pioneers of Television” tribute to the nighttime soap operas of the 1980s. She’s referring to the emergence of serialization as the dominant form of storytelling in prime time, and so she has a point. Carrie and […]
By the end of “The Investigation,” Cliff’s world is collapsing around him. He’s lost Sue Ellen and his fortune. He’s also on the verge of losing his job, now that his mother knows he’s embezzled millions of dollars from the family business. This is when J.R. arrives at Cliff’s office to revel in his misery […]
Cliff and Sue Ellen’s renewed romance dominates “Vengeance,” but we see their affair mostly through the eyes of the other “Dallas” characters. Miss Ellie cautions Sue Ellen about the relationship and later frets about the affair during a lunch date with J.R., while Cliff gets an earful from Rebecca. No one seems to believe these two are […]
Oh, these Ewing women. How they confound me. Every time it seems like they’re about to find happiness on their own terms, they fall back into frustrating old patterns. This usually means falling back into the arms of men who are no good for them. In “The Maelstrom,” after Sue Ellen puts the kibosh on […]
Last month, Dallas Decoder critiqued “The Search,” the episode where “Dallas” bids farewell to the great Jim Davis. Here’s a look at 15 memorable moments featuring the actor and his mighty character, Jock Ewing. 15. Naming John Ross. The Ewings are in a waiting room at Dallas Memorial Hospital, where Sue Ellen has gone into […]
Bev and Lucy (Tami Barber, Charlene Tilton) attend a garden party in this 1981 publicity shot from “The Big Shut Down,” a fifth-season “Dallas” episode.
Dallas Decoder kicks off its newest periodic feature, “The Dal-List,” with a look back at the 13 most memorable moments featuring “Dallas” vixen Kristin Shepard, played by the magnificent Mary Crosby. 13. Leaving Rudy. Feeling neglected by J.R. (Larry Hagman), Kristin turned to old flame Rudy Millington (Terry Lester) – and for a moment, it […]
In “Dallas’s” fourth-season episode “The Gathering Storm,” Lucy and Mitch (Charlene Tilton, Leigh McCloskey) argue in their living room. MITCH: Lucy, do you realize what’s happening to us? LUCY: No, but apparently you do. MITCH: We’re like roommates. We pass each other either coming or going. We don’t have a marriage. We have a quick-change […]
I’ve always considered Charlene Tilton one of “Dallas’s” charismatic actresses, although I haven’t always been a fan of her character. In “The Gathering Storm,” Lucy stands up for herself in the face of husband Mitch’s sexism, which makes me want to stand up and cheer her on. This episode makes me love Lucy. The character’s […]
