Night visitor
In “Sins of the Father,” a second-season “Dallas” episode, Frank (Faran Tahir) enters his darkened home and finds J.R. (Larry Hagman) seated there.
J.R.: You lost a step, Frank. It’s a sad day when an old man can sneak up on a super ninja.
FRANK: What are you doing here?
J.R.: Well, I heard they found some – what do you call it? – high velocity blood splatter at Pamela Barnes’s old condo. Word is it might belong to Tommy Sutter.
FRANK: I’m no detective, but whatever they found in Pamela’s condo is Pamela’s problem.
J.R.: Well, I’m no detective either, but it doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to know you clean up whatever mess Cliff asks you to. And this certainly is a mess.
FRANK: It may be hard for an old, retired fellow like you to understand this, but I’m a busy man. I don’t have time to chat.
J.R.: Well, I’m retired, but not by choice. Getting pushed out of my place at the table stung like hell. But you know how that feels, don’t you Frank? After all the jams you’ve gotten Cliff out of, to be treated like a lapdog by that spoiled princess? You’re not a Barnes, Frank. No matter how much Cliff appreciates what you’ve done, when push comes to shove, he’s going to protect his daughter. Now we both know that rich folks don’t go to jail. However, the people that clean up after them do.
FRANK: What are you suggesting?
J.R.: Tell me where the body and the gun are. I’ll make sure they pop up. You can get your place back at the Barnes Global table, and I make sure that Barnes girl doesn’t get a piece of Ewing Energies. [Smiles]
FRANK: If there were a body, the moment it appeared, Cliff would know I sold him out.
J.R.: [Chuckles] Frank, I’m J.R. Ewing. I can make a body appear in the middle of a church social without anybody knowing how it got there.
FRANK: Why should I trust you?
J.R.: Because we both want to destroy Pamela. And it’s a rare and beautiful thing when enemies share the same enemy. [Rises] I’ll be expecting your call. [Walks past him] Make it soon.
Dallas Decoder 
First, Chris…you should try to get an interview with Faran. I would love to read an interview of him done by you!
Anyhow, love love this scene. I really was looking forward to some JR and Frank screen time. I liked the brief scene they had last year.
Frank is a very intense guy…geez, love the looks he gives in all of his scenes. I remember years ago reading a article where Linda Gray talked about using her eyes to get attention. Faran does it all the time! I found myself staring at him in a couple of his scenes with Pamela cuz he was doing the Linda. I used to love how she would do it in pre dinner and dinner scenes when JR, Pam, Bobby, etc would talk…and, like Frank, I would be watching her instead of who was talking!
Anyway, this was a fab scene…a home run on many levels. The two of them are great together….. Lighting was perfect…love the direction of the scene. And the writing was excellent. It was very subtle of them to not have JR directly attacking Cliff with Frank. JR had noted to Bum last season that Frank had to be feeling neglected by Cliff after being his guy for so long and not getting the prize. But they choose to have JR use Pamela as the pry bar to get Frank to sell out Cliff. He actually gave an almost compliment to Cliff…’I know how much Cliff appreciates’ . If JR had made it solely about Cliff, frank would have disregarded JR’s words out of loyalty to Cliff.
The writers have a total grasp on the character of JR and this scene showcases it.
I would have loved to see more of them together. They make a deadly combination.
I’d love that! I’m not sure if you’re a “Star Trek” fan, but Faran played a starship captain at the beginning of the most recent film. He was fantastic. He’s just as adept playing a hero as he is a villain.
And yes, this scene was a technical achievement as much as anything. Loved the lighting and the staging as well as the writing and how it demonstrated a strong grasp of the J.R. character. Brilliant all around!
Thanks Hel!
CB
Yes I am a Star Trek fan….and yes, THAT is where I have seen him before! Kept thinking he looked familiar…or I just liked looking at him.. should have checked him out on IMDB
He’s a great actor. Hope he sticks around “Dallas”!
Frank starts out giving as good as he gets in the verbal jousting with JR. But in the end the master eeks out the win though he had to work for it.
Agreed these two work well together.
Chris> I am a Star Trek fan. Which is precisely why I refuse to watch that reboot unless it is with the benefit of Rifftrax. But that is another story entirely for another website.
Ha ha. Maybe we can have that discussion when I get Star Trek Decoder up and running. (Kidding!)
Thanks so much Dan.
Chris
Self preservation is stronger than loyalty.
Spoken like a Ewing!
Guys why then was Frank Ashkani taken out of the show but it such a disgusting and stupid way. As a person of South Asian origin It was an insult to the character of Frank Ashkani AND an insult to Faran Tahir personally. Not to mention it was unnecessary for ratings growth and if anything rating fell after that episode they didn’t go up.
Rajesh, I was sorry to see Frank Ashkani written off the show. Taran Fahir is a fantastic actor. He made a great addition to the “Dallas” cast.
Thanks for your feedback!
Chris B.