Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 90 – ‘The Search’

Gone, but not forgotten

With “The Search,” “Dallas” says goodbye to Jim Davis but not to Jock Ewing. This memorable episode sends J.R., Bobby and Ray into the jungle to find their missing father, but the only thing they recover is his medallion, which Bobby retrieves from the lake where the old man’s helicopter crashed. By the end of the hour, there’s no doubt Jock is dead, even if there’s no body to prove it.

I used to be bothered by the lack of closure for the Ewing patriarch, but I’ve come to appreciate how it heightens the drama in the episodes after “The Search,” when Miss Ellie struggles to accept the truth that her husband is never coming home. I also wonder: Would Jock be the mythic figure he is today if he had died in a hospital bed or been killed in a car crash? Having him disappear after his helicopter falls from the sky feels oddly appropriate for a character who was always a little larger than life.

One thing is certain: The producers waited too long to deal with Davis’s death. The actor succumbed to cancer eight months before “The Search” aired, but “Dallas” kept Jock alive in the interim by sending the character to “South America” (foreign locales on this show are almost always vague) and having the Ewings regularly receive calls and letters from him. It reminds me of those “Three’s Company” episodes where an out-of-town Chrissie wouldn’t appear until the final scene, when she’d phone her roommates to get an update on their latest hijinks.

This criticism aside, I like how “The Search” summons “Dallas’s” western spirit by having the Ewing brothers embark on a dangerous mission to rescue their daddy. The men carry rifles and wear their Stetsons; the only thing missing is seeing them on horseback. While the brothers are away, the Ewing women keep vigil at Southfork, and all the characters experience flashbacks to some of Jock’s most memorable moments.

These old clips are nice because they demonstrate how valuable Davis was to “Dallas.” With the exception of Barbara Bel Geddes and Larry Hagman, no other actor on the show could match Davis in terms of sheer presence. It didn’t matter if Jock was being tough or tender; Davis commanded every scene he appeared in. In an audio commentary on one of the second-season “Dallas” DVDs, Hagman recalls how Davis lacked confidence in his performances. What a shame. Jim Davis was a great actor. He deserved to know it.

One final observation about “The Search’s” flashbacks: Yes, they are a little hokey by today’s standards – each one is accompanied by those wavy special effects – but remember: This episode was produced years before “Dallas” went into syndicated reruns. This was the first time in years a lot of fans had seen those classic scenes.

No matter how you feel about the rest of “The Search,” it’s impossible to watch the ending and not be moved. The sequence begins when Ellie, who has been waiting patiently for word from her sons, awakens in the night and walks downstairs, where she quietly takes her seat at the dining room table. This scene has no musical score – you can even hear Ellie’s footsteps – which is what makes it so effective. In this big house full of people, Mama has never seemed more alone.

While the Ewing matriarch sits in the dark, her sons arrive home and walk into the dining room. Each man is stubble-faced, and each one holds his hat. “I’m sorry Mama,” Bobby says. Her eyes well up, but she holds it together. “Tell me what happened,” she says. Bobby and Ray sit with her at the table and Bobby holds his mother’s hand, but the moment proves too much for J.R., who walks away.

J.R. steps onto the patio, looking a little dazed. He leans against one of the big white columns, reaches into his pocket, pulls out Jock’s medallion and studies it. By now, Bruce Broughton’s score has resumed and started to swell. J.R. smiles and briefly casts his eyes skyward, and when he looks down, we notice how red and wet they are.

The frame freezes and the screen briefly fades to black, and then we get our first glimpse of the Jock Ewing portrait, which will go on to become “Dallas’s” most famous prop. The words “Jim Davis 1909 – 1981” appear. That’s when we know: Davis may be gone, but Jock Ewing is going to live forever.

Grade: A

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Those eyes

‘THE SEARCH’

Season 5, Episode 13

Airdate: January 8, 1982

Audience: 26 million homes, ranking 4th in the weekly ratings

Writer: Arthur Bernard Lewis

Director: Irving J. Moore

Synopsis: J.R., Bobby and Ray go to South America, where they determine Jock likely died in the helicopter crash. The brothers return to Southfork and break the news to Miss Ellie.

Cast: Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), George Cooper (Lee Evans), Mary Crosby (Kristin Shepard), Jim Davis (Jock Ewing), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Susan Howard (Donna Krebbs), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Cooper), Morgan Woodward (Punk Anderson)

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