
Focus, Julie!
In “Spy in the House,” a first-season “Dallas” episode, Pam (Victoria Principal) sees Julie (Tina Louise) leaving Cliff’s apartment building and begins walking alongside her.
PAM: I want to talk to you.
JULIE: I’m on my way to the office, Pam.
PAM: How long have you been seeing my brother?
JULIE: Who said I’ve been seeing your brother?
Pam grabs Julie’s arm. They stop.
PAM: Hey look, I know you gave Cliff the file – and it seems to be my business now.
JULIE: Pam, if you can’t hold your own with the Ewings – [Begins walking away; Pam quickly catches up to her]
PAM: Is that what’s been eating you up?
JULIE: [Flustered] There’s nothing eating me up, Pam!
PAM: I see, both of us working girls. You settled for what you could have with J.R. and I married Bobby. I did what you were afraid to even try!
JULIE: Listen, will you leave me alone?
Pam again grabs her arm. Again, they stop walking.
PAM: Maybe way back when, if you’d stood your ground, you could have been Mrs. Ewing. What have you got now, Julie? Nothing. Not even your self-respect.
Julie storms off.
Julie’s a tragic character. Pam doesn’t have to rub it in.
I love the idea of Pam and Julie as working girls who dreamed of better lives. Kinda like a “Dallas” version of “Laverne & Shirley.”