J.R. will always be “Dallas’s” greatest character, but who’s the runner-up? Vote for your choice or share other options in the comments section.
Share your comments below and vote in Dallas Decoder’s other polls.
Poll: Who is ‘Dallas’s’ Second Greatest Character?
Filed Under: Opinion, Polls Tagged With: Barbara Bel Geddes, Jim Davis, Josh Henderson, Ken Kercheval, Linda Gray, Patrick Duffy, TNT, Victoria Principal
Dallas Decoder 
Cliff is the foil that JR needed in order to be JR.
Nicely stated, Dan. Thank you.
I honestly can’t fault Sue Ellen as the runaway winner (though I thought Bobby would have made it closer). I didn’t see my choice finishing dead last though. But the fans have spoken.
Sorry Dan. Look at it this way: Cliff finished last only among the choices offered. Imagine if I had thrown Jenna Wade into the mix!
I would argue Jock & Miss Ellie were at least = to their eldest son, if not greater. If it weren’t 4 them pro creating J.R. & giving him their DNA C.B. he wouldn’t have been so great!
Good reasoning, R.J. Thanks.
This is a tough call. I am going to have to say Sue Ellen. I would also say Bobby except you are only asking for one. This opinion of mine is something that could change over the years.
Welcome to Team Sue Ellen, Michael!
Chris, do you have news about Patrick Duffy’s to share with us?
No, I’m afraid I have no news, Elizabete. I wish I did!
All the characters brought something to the table to make Dallas a success but it was JR and Sue Ellen that made it a HUGE hit. I remember back in the day everyone talking about what Jr and Sue Ellen did or said when talking about Dallas.
No arguments here, Frank. Thanks.
There is no doubt that Bobby was the second biggest character on “Dallas.” Remember the “dream season.” I didn’t think so! We’d all like to forget it. He was J.R.’s moral compass, although the older brother chose to eschew his younger brother’s virtues. And it was Bobby who led the execution of J.R.’s masterpiece and who used tricks right out of J.R.’s playbook in the as-of-now final season to get Ann back from the cartel. While good cases can be made for Sue Ellen and Cliff, ultimately it comes down to Bobby. After all, it was Bobby and Pam that were supposed to be the focal point of the series, but J.R. became the dominant break-out character and changed all of that.
Thanks for your comment, David. I love Bobby too … but I also love the dream season. (Or at least at lot of it.) I agree, though, that “Dallas” is much stronger with Bobby than without. I can’t imagine the new series without him.
Sue Ellen had the greatest character development in the whole series, she went from a nobody, to a jealous wife to a lover, an alcoholic to powerful business woman – she beat JR more times than anyone else & she went out on top too (in the original series). So Sue Ellen gets my vote.
She really did change more than just about anyone. Thanks Pete!
I have voted for Sue Ellen as well. Not because I found her character that outstanding. She was great, but so many other good ones deserve praise too. Besides J.R. the show was a real ensemble show, at least for the first ten years. After that it became the “JR and Bobby” show which I don’t think made the show better. I also thought that the dream season worked surprisingly well, because other characters like Pamela and Donna could really shine in that one. Sue Ellen gets my nod because she was,the better foil to J.R. She was a better foil than Cliff Barnes or Bobby, in my opinion, because, yes, she was more versatile during her run than Cliff. But again, tough call, so many others were great too.
Good points, Q-Less. Thanks!
I don’t think it was anybody’s first choice to for the show to morph into the JR and Bobby show in later years. That was unfortunate but necessary economics.
There is no doubt Sue Ellen was also a great foil. Of course that occasionally gets messed up by her being an ally. Cliff was always and consistently a foil. Still I can see when I’m beat. I bow to the landslide and acknowledge Sue Ellen the winner here.
Miss Ellie was the moral core and the only woman on the show who was always written as intelligent and admirable. I vastly prefer her to Sue Ellen.
My only complaint about Miss Ellie is she too often looked the other way where J.R. was concerned.
I agree with you Garnet, Miss Ellie was written intelligently and admirably, compared to Sue Ellen, Pam and Lucy. The writers made the latter women an up and down see saw of weak, strong and not very bright which made them intolerable to watch sometimes. I think the creators and some of male writers were chauvinistic when it came to the Dallas women. They made the Dallas men stronger and even if the women had some power or show some strength it would only go so far before they are put in a position of vulnerability or in need of a man. I voted for Bobby, although I thought Sue Ellen would be second. The dream season without Bobby was horrible, and the show was better with him than without. I am sorry but putting JB (Mark) as a way to fill the void of Patrick/Bobby when it came to Pam was a huge mistake that is one of the reasons why it SUCKED!!!!! .