Dallas Scene of the Day: ‘Could You Learn to Live with Sam?’

May 7, 2012 by 1 Comment
Charlene Tilton, Dallas, Kit Mainwaring, Mark Wheeler, Royal Marriage

Facing the truth

In “Royal Marriage,” a second-season “Dallas” episode, Lucy (Charlene Tilton) and Kit (Mark Wheeler) are in his apartment, seated on the sofa and talking about their future.

KIT: Lucy, I can’t marry you.

LUCY: [Flabbergasted] What are you talking about?

KIT: I can’t go through with it.

LUCY: I don’t understand. You said you loved me.

KIT: I –

LUCY: Didn’t you mean it? Did you lie to me?

KIT: No, I didn’t lie.

LUCY: But if you love me –

KIT: OK, listen. Remember when we met Sam the other night when we were dancing?

LUCY: Yeah.

KIT: He wasn’t just my roommate. We were lovers.

LUCY: [Stunned] What?

KIT: I’m a homosexual.

LUCY: You can’t be. I don’t believe it.

KIT: I am.

LUCY: Then why –

KIT: Because I didn’t want to be. I wanted to be socially normal. I wanted to be accepted. [Stands up, turns away] I wanted to make my parents happy, to make them proud of me. There are a whole lot of reasons. When I first started to care for you, I was like a drowning man who just found himself a life raft or something.

LUCY: Then that’s OK, Kit. [Stretches across the sofa, reaches and pulls him back down] Then everything will be all right. If a life raft is what you need, that’s what I’ll be.

KIT: Lucy, it’s not that simple.

LUCY: I love you, Kit. I don’t like what you’re telling me, but I can learn to live with it. I know I can.

KIT: Could you learn to live with Sam, too?

LUCY: Sam?

KIT: Or if not Sam, someone else? I’m telling you Lucy, I’m not going to change. I know it. I’m tired to trying. I’ve got to learn to like myself the way I am. Now could you marry me under those conditions?

LUCY: I don’t – No.

KIT: [Moves closer to face her] Lucy, somehow by loving you, I’ve managed to find out a whole lot about myself and I’m very grateful to you for that. I can’t tell you how badly I feel that I’ve hurt you. If I’d known it was gonna end up like this, I never would have let it get started.

LUCY: [Sobs] Oh, Kit.

KIT: Now it’s gonna be messy, too. Because Bobby understands but J.R. is furious and he’s not gonna keep his mouth shut.

LUCY: Bobby and J.R. know?

KIT: I told Bobby this morning. J.R. has known it all the time. Now, I’ll tell my folks. I don’t know how, but I will. But that’s not gonna satisfy J.R. He’s gonna want some kind of a scandal, I know it.

LUCY: I know how to deal with J.R. There won’t be any scandal. [Kisses him, stands over him] Kit, can we still see each other sometimes?

KIT: I would love to see you again. But I think we bought ought to wait until it stops hurting first.

LUCY: Well, that’s not going to be for a very long time.

She leaves.

Filed Under: Dallas Scenes of the Day, Dallas Scenes of the Day (Classic), Features Tagged With: , ,

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 26 – ‘Royal Marriage’

May 7, 2012 by 18 Comments
Charlene Tilton, Dallas, Kit Mainwaring, Mark Wheeler, Royal Marriage

Beard and groom

“Royal Marriage” is historically significant television. When this episode debuted in 1979, it offered one of prime time’s first positive depictions of a gay character: Kit Mainwaring, the closeted oil-and-cattle heir who becomes Lucy’s fiancée.

“Dallas” goes out of its way not to scorn Kit. This was a mark of progress in the ’70s, when gay characters were rarely seen on television, and when they did show up, they were usually depicted as clowns, freaks or sociopaths.

A year-and-a-half before “Dallas” introduced Kit, Billy Crystal’s gay character sashayed around in dresses on “Soap.” Earlier in the decade, a gay patient on “Marcus Welby, M.D.” was advised to “fight” his impulses so he could lead a “normal” life, while Angie Dickinson tangled with a trio of lesbian killers on “Police Woman.”

On “Dallas,” Kit is never depicted as comical, strange or dangerous. He becomes engaged to Lucy after a whirlwind romance, but realizes it would be wrong to marry her and comes out to Bobby, who is mostly sympathetic toward him. “Your personal life is your own business, Kit,” Bobby says. “But, damn it, why did you have to bring Lucy into it?”

Bobby is “Dallas’s” moral compass, so by making him respectful toward Kit, the show seems to instruct its audience to treat the character the same way. When Kit finally reveals the truth to Lucy, she is devastated but ultimately supportive, even telling him she’d like to remain friends.

This might seem a little pat, but Lucy probably understands Kit’s turmoil better than most. His feelings of alienation aren’t unlike Lucy’s own struggles to fit in at Southfork, where she is a young woman in a houseful of deceitful adults.

Predictably, J.R. is the only Ewing who isn’t supportive of Kit, mostly because the young man’s broken engagement to Lucy means the Ewings and Mainwarings won’t be joining forces in business. J.R. does exhibit a hint of homophobia, though, wondering if Kit is “man enough” to stand up to him. This prompts Bobby’s notable retort: “Kit Mainwaring is more a man, J.R., than you will ever be.”

Of course, the most striking part of Kit’s coming out isn’t how J.R. rejects him or Bobby and Lucy accept him – it’s how Kit accepts himself. He tells Lucy, “I’m not gonna change. I’m tired of trying. I’ve got to learn to like myself the way I am.”

Camille Marchetta’s sensitive script makes “Royal Marriage” one of “Dallas’s” classiest episodes. It’s also surprisingly durable, with one exception: Kit’s constant use of the word “homosexual” – no character in this episode ever says “gay” – makes it sound like he has a clinical condition.

“Royal Marriage” is also elevated by strong performances from Mark Wheeler and especially Charlene Tilton, who is quite touching during Kit’s coming-out scene. In interviews, Tilton has called “Royal Marriage” one of her favorite episodes, and I see why. The actress is really good here, demonstrating how interesting Lucy can be when she is given meaningful storylines.

“Royal Marriage” is a sentimental favorite of mine, too. I watched this episode for the first time in 1991, when I was a teenager struggling to accept my own homosexuality. Back then, seeing my favorite show offer a positive view of gay people meant a lot to me.

It still does.

Grade: A

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Dallas, Kit Mainwaring, Mark Wheeler, Royal Marriage

Prince of a gay

‘ROYAL MARRIAGE’

Season 2, Episode 21

Airdate: March 9, 1979

Audience: 15.8 million homes, ranking 20th in the weekly ratings

Writer: Camille Marchetta

Director: Gunnar Hellström

Synopsis: Lucy gets engaged to Kit Mainwaring, who is secretly gay. When Kit tells Lucy the truth and calls off the wedding, she is hurt but prevents J.R. from creating a scandal.

Cast: Robert Ackerman (Wade Luce), Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Linden Chiles (Chris Mainwaring), Dante D’Andre (Jesus), Jim Davis (Jock Ewing), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Fern Fitzgerald (Marilee Stone), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Joan Lancaster (Linda Bradley), Jay W. MacIntosh (Mrs. Mainwaring), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Paul Sorensen (Andy Bradley), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing), Mark Wheeler (Kit Mainwaring), Chuck Winters (Sam Gates), Buck Young (Seth Stone)

“Royal Marriage” is available on DVD and at Amazon.com and iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.

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Dallas Scene of the Day: ‘I Married a Fighter’

May 4, 2012 by 1 Comment
Bobby Ewing, Call Girl, Dallas, Pam Ewing, Patrick Duffy, Victoria Principal

Winners reconciled

In “Call Girl,” a second-season “Dallas” episode, Pam (Victoria Principal) is leaving her apartment, suitcase in hand, when Bobby (Patrick Duffy) arrives.

PAM: Bobby, what are you doing here?

BOBBY: It’s time to come home, Pam.

PAM: Didn’t you see the paper?

BOBBY: Yes, I saw it. So what?

PAM: I’m leaving Dallas. [Turns to walk away; he grabs her arm]

BOBBY: First Southfork, then me. Now Dallas, Pam?

PAM: I can’t live with the scandal.

BOBBY: Come on, Pam. It was a setup – and everybody knows it.

PAM: How can I go back to Southfork with this hanging over my head?

BOBBY: It’s the only thing you can do. Are you still looking for excuses to stay away from me?

PAM: I don’t want to stay away from you. I never did.

BOBBY: Then give some credit to the people that love you – to Mama, Daddy and me. Now, we know you wouldn’t be involved in something like that.

PAM: Well, how can I face them? What do I say to everybody at The Store?

BOBBY: You take it one step at a time, Pam – and the first step is to come back to the people that love you. For a while, nothing else matters.

PAM: I truly wish I could believe that. [Turns away from him]

BOBBY: Do you know I love you?

PAM: I know you love me, Bobby.

BOBBY: But you don’t know why that picture was taken, do you?

PAM: [Turns and faces him] To embarrass Maxwell.

BOBBY: Honey, if it were only to embarrass Maxwell, why were you involved in it at all?

PAM: J.R.? J.R. did that to both of us?

BOBBY: I don’t know who else – except I couldn’t prove anything.

PAM: Well that finishes it. Don’t you understand? It’s over. [Turns to walk away; he grabs her and makes her face him]

BOBBY: It’s only over if you want it to be! It’s only over if you stop fighting! Pamela, J.R. has been trying to do this to you ever since I brought you to Southfork. And if you leave now – if you run – then he wins, finally and completely. I married a fighter. Are you ready to let J.R. win? Or do we stand together and fight him? Together, we can win. And I want you with me.

PAM: I love you, Bobby.

BOBBY: Then let’s go home.

They kiss.

Filed Under: Dallas Scenes of the Day, Dallas Scenes of the Day (Classic), Features Tagged With: , ,

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 25 – ‘Call Girl’

May 4, 2012 by 13 Comments
Call Girl, Dallas, J.R. Ewing, Larry Hagman, Leanne Rees

Hooker by crook

To me, “Dallas” isn’t campy. It has silly moments, but even when the show goes over the top, it still has interesting things to say.

“Call Girl” is an exception. This episode is pure cheese, which can be fun but mostly makes me wince.

Everything about J.R.’s scheme here is absurd: the way Leanne sneaks into Pam’s bedroom and opens the drapes to give J.R.’s photographer a clear shot, Leanne’s clumsy attempt to lure the drunken Ben Maxwell into the room, Pam’s wild-eyed expression when she awakens to find him falling into her bed.

The whole thing plays like something from “Three’s Company” – only funnier.

The most ludicrous thing about Maxwell’s “threesome” is how it winds up on the Dallas Press’s front page under a Pearl Harbor-sized headline (“FINANCIER IN LOVE NEST”).

You have to wonder: Why is this newsworthy? Aren’t the Dallas Press’s editors afraid Maxwell, Pam or Leanne might sue them for libel? How did the paper manage to get the late-night “tryst” on the front page by the next morning? Was the article written by the same lightning-fast reporter behind the sensational coverage of Julie Grey’s death a few episodes ago?

Indeed, when “Call Girl” debuted, it became the latest “Dallas” episode to portray reporters as sleazy, which must have made the show seem out of step with the times.

Five years after the press brought down Nixon, journalists were being lionized in pop culture. On television, “60 Minutes” was a hit and the newspaper drama “Lou Grant” was a critical darling, while the box-office champs included “The China Syndrome,” which opened three weeks after “Call Girl’s” broadcast.

I realize “Dallas” isn’t concerned with depicting journalism fairly – on the show, the press serves as a plot device to expose the Ewings’ secrets – but as a onetime reporter, it’s disheartening to see my favorite show take a dim view of a profession I loved.

In fact, the only thing more bothersome is when “Dallas” takes a dim view of itself, which is what happens with “Call Girl.”

Grade: C

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Ben Maxwell, Call Girl, Dallas, Fred Beir, Leanne Rees, Pam Ewing, Veronica Hamel, Victoria Principal

Staged bedfellows

‘CALL GIRL’

Season 2, Episode 20

Airdate: February 23, 1979

Audience: 12.7 million homes, ranking 37th in the weekly ratings

Writer: Rena Down

Director: Les Martinson

Synopsis: J.R. makes it look like Cliff’s political patron had a ménage a trios with Pam and her new roommate Leanne Rees. The man resigns but the scandal prompts Bobby and the Ewings to rally around Pam, who returns to Southfork.

Cast: Robert Ackerman (Wade Luce), Barbara Babcock (Liz Craig), Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Fred Beir (Ben Maxwell), Jim Davis (Jock Ewing), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Veronica Hamel (Leanne Rees), Claude Earl Jones (Matt Henderson), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Paul Sorensen (Andy Bradley), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing), Mark Wheeler (Kit Mainwaring), Buck Young (Seth Stone)

“Call Girl” is available on DVD and at Amazon.com and iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.

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Dallas Scene of the Day: ‘This is a Mistake?’

May 3, 2012 by 1 Comment
Colleen Camp, Dallas, Kristin Shepard, Linda Gray, Sue Ellen Ewing, Sue Ellen's Sister

Hell, or high water?

In “Sue Ellen’s Sister,” a second-season “Dallas” episode, Kristin (Colleen Camp) is in the Southfork swimming pool, lounging on a float, while Sue Ellen (Linda Gray) sits on the edge, dipping her toes into the water.

KRISTIN: You know, I could spend the rest of my life here, Sue Ellen, instead of a few days visiting you.

SUE ELLEN: No matter what Mama says, Kristin, money is not the most important thing in the world.

KRISTIN: That isn’t what you used to think.

SUE ELLEN: Well, I thought I could save you from repeating my mistakes.

KRISTIN: [Glancing around Southfork] This is a mistake?

SUE ELLEN: I might have made other choices – choices that would’ve made me happier.

KRISTIN: You don’t have to worry about me, Sue Ellen. I’ll be very happy. [Adjusts herself on her float] Happy and rich.

SUE ELLEN: You don’t like me very much, do you? Why? What have I ever done to you?

KRISTIN: You didn’t have to do anything. You were there. “Look how pretty your sister is, Kristin. Look how well-behaved she is. Why can’t you be well-behaved like that? No, you can’t have a new dress, Kristin. We’ll just make over one of Sue Ellen’s. It’ll be just fine.” No one paid any attention to me until after you married J.R.

SUE ELLEN: That’s not true, Kristin.

KRISTIN: Yes it is. I remember it very well, Sue Ellen, and I’m not playing second fiddle to you anymore. I’m not gonna be second best. I’m gonna get everything you’ve got and more – much more.

Filed Under: Dallas Scenes of the Day, Dallas Scenes of the Day (Classic), Features Tagged With: , ,

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 24 – ‘Sue Ellen’s Sister’

May 3, 2012 by 11 Comments
Colleen Camp, Dallas, Kristin Shepard, Sue Ellen's Sister

Little sister dontcha

If Sue Ellen could go back in time and give her younger self a good talking-to, the conversation would probably sound a lot like the lecture she delivers to Kristin at the beginning of “Sue Ellen’s Sister.”

In the scene, Kristin is resting on a float in the Southfork swimming pool and chatting with Sue Ellen, who is lounging nearby. The topic turns to the Ewings’ wealth, and Sue Ellen warns Kristin that “money is not the most important thing in the world.”

“That isn’t what you used to think,” Kristin says.

“I thought I could save you from repeating my mistakes,” Sue Ellen responds.

“This is a mistake?” Kristin asks, surveying their surroundings.

The exchange is part of “Dallas’s” effort to make Sue Ellen a more sympathetic character than she was at the beginning of second season, when the show depicted her as Southfork’s scheming lady-in-waiting.

While “Dallas” uses Kristin to plum the depths of Sue Ellen’s regret and reveal her caring, sisterly side, Kristin isn’t just a plot device. She turns out to be a pretty interesting character in her own right.

Frankly, some of this stems from the actress’s physical appearance: Colleen Camp is beautiful but in an unconventional way, lending credence to Kristin’s complaints in this episode about growing up as Sue Ellen’s “ugly duckling” kid sister.

Kristin is also a bit ironic: She dreams of marrying a rich man, but she could probably become wealthy on her own. She is planning to go to college to study architecture – she tells Bobby she’s “a great fan” of Louis Khan and I.M. Pei – and she is also clever, declaring her ace backgammon and tennis skills stem from the “geisha training” her mother puts her through.

“Sue Ellen’s Sister” marks Kristin’s final appearance until the third season, when Mary Crosby takes over the role and the character abandons her architectural ambitions for, um, lesser pursuits.

This lends “Sue Ellen’s Sister” unexpected poignancy, particularly in the scene where Bobby and Kristin frolic in the Southfork pool and he tells her she looks like a “drowned rat.”

On this show, have more prophetic words ever been spoken?

Grade: B

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Colleen Camp, Dallas, Kristin Shepard, Sue Ellen's Sister

Shark!

‘SUE ELLEN’S SISTER’

Season 2, Episode 19

Airdate: February 16, 1979

Audience: 15.7 million homes, ranking 23rd in the weekly ratings

Writer: Camille Marchetta

Director: Irving J. Moore

Synopsis: J.R. pushes Sue Ellen’s visiting sister Kristin Shepard into the arms of Bobby, who gently rebuffs her. Cliff makes Pam an unwitting accomplice in his attempt to sabotage a Ewing Oil deal. Bobby salvages the deal but Pam still refuses to come home.

Cast: Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Colleen Camp (Kristin Shepard), Jim Davis (Jock Ewing), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Meg Gallagher (Louella), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), John McLiam (Wally Kessel), Jeanna Michaels (Connie), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing)

“Sue Ellen’s Sister” is available on DVD and at Amazon.com and iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.

Filed Under: Critiques, Critiques (Classic), Opinion Tagged With: , ,

Dallas Scene of the Day: ‘God, J.R., How Low Can You Get?’

May 2, 2012 by 1 Comment
Bobby Ewing, Dallas, Patrick Duffy, Red File Part 2

Why, he never!

In “The Red File, Part 2,” a second-season “Dallas” episode, J.R. (Larry Hagman) is seated on the edge of his office desk, talking on the phone, when Bobby (Patrick Duffy) enters carrying Julie’s attaché case.

J.R.: Yeah, no fooling Dave. I think we got Cliff Barnes out of our hair permanently. Yeah, that’s right. [Chuckles]

Bobby snatches the phone out of J.R.’s hand and slams it onto the receiver.

J.R.: [Angry, to Bobby] Now what the hell was that all about?

BOBBY: You’ll have plenty of time for that when I’m through – if you’re still president of Ewing Oil.

J.R.: You know, I think one of the biggest mistakes I ever made in my life was letting Daddy talk me into taking you off the road and putting you into an office next to mine.

BOBBY: No, J.R., that was your second biggest mistake! [Tosses materials off J.R.’s desk, slams down the attaché case] That’s your first!

J.R.: What is that?

BOBBY: [Opens it] Julie was gonna set you up. She Xeroxed all your confidential files and she was gonna turn them over to Cliff Barnes.

J.R.: Where’d you get ahold of this? [Starts rifling through the case]

BOBBY: Oh, it’s all there, J.R. Everything. [J.R. studies a document and sits in his chair] Records of payoffs to senators, congressmen, photographs of judges. It’s all there.

J.R.: Why, that cheating little tramp.

BOBBY: That’s your red file, isn’t it J.R.? I mean, that’s everything that you didn’t think I was ready to see.

J.R.: Well, you are my baby brother. Some of this stuff’s pretty gamey. I suppose you’re ready to face the realities of life.

BOBBY: Yeah. [Reaches into his suit jacket, unfolds a document and shows it to J.R.] Well, I wasn’t ready for that.

J.R.: It’s a copy of Daddy’s will. Now what is she doing with that? You know, sometimes I can never figure out what makes a woman’s mind work. I –

BOBBY: [Disgusted] Yeah, J.R., it puzzled me, too. I mean, it wouldn’t have meant a whole lot to Cliff Barnes, would it? Just part of the package. I think the one that would’ve found this most interesting is Daddy.

J.R.: Now, what are you talking about?

BOBBY: I’ll refresh your memory. [Begins reading] “This codicil amends paragraph 37. In the event of my death, I hereby grant to my son, John Ewing Jr., full drilling rights to all oil found in Section 40 of Southfork Ranch, as described in said paragraph.”

J.R.: Bobby, I can explain that!

BOBBY: To who? To Daddy? To Mama?

J.R.: Well let’s not bring them into this!

BOBBY: J.R., this is a forgery!

J.R.: It was a business maneuver!

BOBBY: A bu – it brought an oil crew to Southfork. Ray was damn near killed on account of it! And to make matters worse, you were trying to con your own mother and father. God, J.R., how low can you get? [Turns away from J.R.]

J.R.: [Rises from his seat] I was trying to make Ewing Oil into the most powerful independent in Texas! I needed the muscle!

BOBBY: [Faces J.R., looks stricken] Do you mean that somebody else in the cartel knew about this? J.R., you’re the one who knew that Julie was going to give these, these papers to Cliff Barnes!

J.R.: I didn’t know about that!

BOBBY: [Slams the attaché case shut] Don’t lie to me!

J.R.: Bobby, I never killed anybody in my life. I’m not a murderer. I didn’t kill anybody, not even during the war. Now, if you don’t believe me, you talk to Dan Marsh. He had a tap on Barnes’ phone. He brought me those tapes the next morning, after Julie was dead.

BOBBY: The next morning?

J.R.: That’s right.

BOBBY: Well, then I guess I’d better talk to Dan Marsh.

J.R.: You’re not gonna say anything to Daddy about this, are you?

Bobby walks to the door, pauses and then slams it behind him.

Filed Under: Dallas Scenes of the Day, Dallas Scenes of the Day (Classic), Features Tagged With: , ,

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 23 – ‘The Red File, Part 2’

May 2, 2012 by 13 Comments
Bobby Ewing, Dallas, Pam Ewing, Patrick Duffy, Red File Part 2, Victoria Principal

Split decision

“The Red File, Part 2” plays a lot like a ’70s crime drama, with Bobby in the role of the dashing detective. He spends much of the episode tooling around town in his red convertible, chasing clues in his investigation into Julie’s death.

This installment also features some terrific “Perry Mason”-style legal theatrics, with the wonderful Walter Brooke commanding every courtroom scene as Cliff’s perpetually incredulous attorney, Cole Young. (Trivia: In “The Graduate,” Brooke portrayed Mr. McGuire, who famously advised Dustin Hoffman’s character to go into plastics.)

But “The Red File, Part 2” is mostly notable because the events of this episode change Bobby’s character, hardening his edges and forever altering his dynamic with J.R. The script demands a lot from Patrick Duffy, and he more than delivers. This is one of his best “Dallas” performances.

Bobby throws himself into his investigation not so much because he wants to clear Cliff’s name but because he needs to find out for himself how far J.R. is willing to sink. In the scene where Bobby confronts J.R. with the phony codicil to Jock’s will, Duffy makes Bobby’s indignation palpable. The character’s disappointment is downright heartbreaking.

The episode’s other pivotal scene comes at the end, when Bobby tells J.R., “For the first time in my life, I know exactly what you’re all about.”

This is the moment Bobby appoints himself J.R.’s guardian, the role he’ll occupy through the rest of “Dallas’s” run. It isn’t a job he wants, but after finally seeing J.R.’s red file, Bobby knows he’s the only member of the Ewing family with the moral compass – and the muscle – needed to keep his older brother in check.

It all culminates during “The Red File, Part 2’s” poignant finale, when Bobby tells Pam he isn’t willing to leave Southfork to save their marriage. The man who talked about wanting to “resign” from his family at the beginning of this episode knows that’s no longer an option, now that he’s charged himself with protecting the world from J.R.

Grade: A

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Cliff Barnes, Cole Young, Dallas, Ken Kercheval, Red File Part 2, Walter Brooke

Error and trial

‘THE RED FILE, PART 2’

Season 2, Episode 18

Airdate: February 9, 1979

Audience: 16.2 million homes, ranking 18th in the weekly ratings

Writer: Arthur Bernard Lewis

Director: Leonard Katzman

Synopsis: Cliff’s past is scrutinized at a hearing before his trial for Julie’s murder. Bobby uncovers J.R.’s red file and uses it to clear Cliff and squelch J.R.’s scheme to forge Jock’s will. Pam tells Bobby she isn’t ready to return to Southfork.

Cast: John Ashton (Willie Joe Garr), Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Walter Brooke (Cole Young), Jordan Charney (Lieutenant Sutton), Jim Davis (Jock Ewing), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Meg Gallagher (Louella), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), John Harkins (Judge Potter), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Jeanna Michaels (Connie), John Petlock (Dan Marsh), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Charles Siebert (Assistant District Attorney Sloan), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing), Sandy Ward (Jeb Ames)

“The Red File, Part 2” is available on DVD and at Amazon.com and iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.

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Dallas Scene of the Day: ‘… Or the Secrets We Share’

May 1, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Dallas, J.R. Ewing, Julie Grey, Larry Hagman, Red File Part 1, Tina Louise

Twice upon a mistress

In “The Red File, Part 1,” a second-season “Dallas” episode, J.R. and Julie (Larry Hagman, Tina Louise) stroll along a pier while drinking champagne.

J.R.: Three days down here, and what do we get? We get rain, sleet, sun. I tell you, this Gulf weather’s enough to drive you crazy.

JULIE: [Laughs] Well, darling, one thing you don’t have is power over the weather.

J.R.: I use my powers in other ways.

JULIE: Yes, I’ve noticed. I’m constantly amazed. [Giggles]

J.R.: Never underestimate your charms, my sweet. [Kisses her]

JULIE: Thank you, darling. I never know if it’s me or the secrets we share that makes me so appealing to you. [He pours more champagne in her glass.] Thank you. Honey, does it ever bother you that I betrayed you once with Cliff Barnes?

J.R.: Now, I’m hungry. What do you want for lunch?

JULIE: Now, J.R., we never talk about it. You know, I could’ve given him the whole red file instead of just those tidbits on the payoffs to Senator Orloff.

J.R.: Well, that’s water under the bridge, or over the dam, or however the saying goes. I don’t know.

JULIE: I gotta know how you feel about me.

J.R.: [Playfully] Well, I like that. I cancel every appointment I got in Dallas. [Motions toward the water] We’re supposed to be out inspecting the Ewing Oil platforms. Now I ask you, what have we been inspecting here? [She laughs and kisses him.]

JULIE: I’m sorry. I don’t mean to make demands. I’m having a wonderful time.

J.R.: But?

JULIE: But sometimes I wanna know what you’re feeling. I wanna know what you’re thinking.

J.R.: All right. That affair with Cliff Barnes. Now, how does he rate on a scale of 1 to 10? [Julie playfully tosses the champagne in her glass at him. He ducks and laughs, and then they kiss passionately.]

Filed Under: Dallas Scenes of the Day, Dallas Scenes of the Day (Classic), Features Tagged With: , ,

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 22 – ‘The Red File, Part 1’

May 1, 2012 by 13 Comments
Dallas, Julie Grey, Red File Part 1, Tina Louise

Dead woman’s dive

MURDER OR SUICIDE?

I love the Dallas Press’s screaming headline in “The Red File, Part 1.” When Jock sits down at the Southfork breakfast table and cracks open that newspaper, I crack up.

Why does the demise of Julie, an unemployed secretary, merit a front-page, all-caps banner? What’s with the glamour shot that accompanies the story? And what crackerjack reporter got the story of Julie’s late-night death in the paper – and on page 1, no less – in time for the next day’s morning edition?

As for the question the headline poses, we may think we know the answer – Julie’s death was neither murder nor suicide; she slipped and fell – but I’m not sure it’s that cut-and-dried.

Director Leonard Katzman shoots her death scene at night, shrouding the actors in darkness, so it’s hard to see what happens in the seconds after Julie breaks out of Willie Joe’s grip and the moment she goes airborne.

What if she jumps?

Consider this: Julie is pretty distraught when she goes to the rooftop – and she knows Jeb and Willie Joe are going to kill her anyway – so what if she makes a split-second decision to do herself in?

Also, consider how Jock matter-of-factly announces her death at the Southfork breakfast table. Didn’t he almost have an affair with Julie in the previous episode?

J.R.’s reaction is also oddly muted. Yes, when he learns about Julie’s death, he retreats to the Southfork den, pours himself a stiff one (it’s breakfast time!) and looks glum, but he recovers soon enough. Within hours, J.R. is hatching a plot to frame Cliff for Julie’s death.

If he really cared about this woman, wouldn’t he want to find her real killers?

Maybe Jock and J.R.’s reactions tell us what Julie already knew: In the end, after all those years of service to the Ewings, she simply didn’t matter that much to them.

Grade: B

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Bobby Ewing, Dallas, J.R. Ewing, Larry Hagman, Patrick Duffy, Red File Part 1

Which is it?

‘THE RED FILE, PART 1’

Season 2, Episode 17

Airdate: February 2, 1979

Audience: 13.9 million homes, ranking 30th in the weekly ratings

Writer: Arthur Bernard Lewis

Director: Leonard Katzman

Synopsis: Cliff becomes the state’s land-use chief. Julie dies during a rooftop confrontation with Jeb and Willie Joe, who don’t want her to expose their secrets. When Cliff is arrested for Julie’s murder, Pam believes J.R. framed him and leaves Southfork.

Cast: John Ashton (Willie Joe Garr), Fred Beir (Ben Maxwell), Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), James Brown (Detective Harry McSween), Jordan Charney (Lieutenant Sutton), Jim Davis (Jock Ewing), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Fern Fitzgerald (Marilee Stone), Meg Gallagher (Louella), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Tina Louise (Julie Grey), Jeanna Michaels (Connie), John Petlock (Dan Marsh), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing), Sandy Ward (Jeb Ames), Charles Wilder Young (Charlie Waters)

“The Red File, Part 1” is available on DVD and at Amazon.com and iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.

Filed Under: Critiques, Critiques (Classic), Opinion Tagged With: ,
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