Dallas Scene of the Day: ‘I’m Not Going to Bury His Memory’

June 15, 2015 by 3 Comments
Dallas, Homecoming, J.R. Ewing, Larry Hagman

No touching!

In “Homecoming,” an eighth-season “Dallas” episode, J.R. (Larry Hagman) enters the Southfork kitchen, where Bobby (Patrick Duffy) sits at the table, drinking a beer.

J.R.: Hi, Bob. When did you get in?

BOBBY: [Sighs] About an hour ago.

J.R.: [Opens the refrigerator, peers inside] How was the play?

BOBBY: It was good.

J.R.: For a man who took his fiancée to the theater, and the play was good, you don’t seem to be too happy.

BOBBY: I notice you’re padding around the house in your jammies. What’s bothering you?

J.R.: [Opens a beer, approaches the table] I just can’t believe that as of tomorrow night, Clayton Farlow is actually going to start living in this house.

BOBBY: Now just where would you expect Mama’s husband to live?

J.R.: [Sighs] I don’t know. I just hate the idea, that’s all.

BOBBY: J.R., if you’re planning on doing something funny, I’m warning you.

J.R.: No, no, Bobby. That’s all over. I’m not going to cause Mama any more grief. It’s just that I haven’t been able to change my feelings towards Clayton, that’s all. [Takes a sip]

BOBBY: Well, Clayton’s a good man. That was a wise decision on Mama’s part to marry him. And even if it weren’t, she loves him and that’s all that matters.

J.R.: Well, if everything’s so wonderful, how come you’re sitting up at 3 o’clock in the morning?

BOBBY: Because I was thinking. Things are going to be a lot different here at Southfork now. You and I have been running things ever since Daddy died. And now that’s all going to change. I like Clayton, but now we’re going to have to make some adjustments, some compromises. You and I are going to have to learn to deal with a new man here.

J.R.: Well, personally, I can’t understand how he could bring himself to live in another man’s house. You can just feel Daddy’s presence all over this place.

BOBBY: Well, maybe we should do something about that. Right now. [Gets up, sets down his beer, walks into the living room, slowly approaches Jock’s portrait and begins to take it down]

J.R.: [Standing in the living room entrance] What the hell are you doing?

BOBBY: [Pauses] J.R., it’s time for this picture to come down.

J.R.: Not on your life. It stays exactly where it is.

BOBBY: It’s going to be hard enough for Clayton to feel comfortable around here without this portrait to remind him that it was Daddy’s house and Daddy’s family.

J.R.: [Enters the room] You have no right to take down that picture just because Clayton Farlow might be a little sensitive. He knew what he was doing when he married Mama.

BOBBY: Come on, J.R. Lighten up. I want to do everything I can to make Clayton feel welcome around here, for Mama’s sake.

J.R.: Mama’s sake? Well, how do you think she’s going to react when she finds this painting gone?

BOBBY: I think she’s thoughtful enough to want Clayton to feel comfortable.

J.R.: Let her take it down or move it or do anything she wants to it. I’m not ready to start pretending that Daddy never existed. We can’t get rid of everything in this place that he was connected to, Bob. Hell, he built this house. And he built Ewing Oil. He’s the reason the two of us are here. Now I found it hard to admit that he was dead. But I’m not going to bury his memory.

BOBBY: We’ll let Mama decide.

Watch this scene in “Homecoming,” available on DVD and at Amazon and iTunes, and share your comments below.

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Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 168 — ‘Homecoming’

June 15, 2015 by 27 Comments
Dallas, Donna Reed, Homecoming, Miss Ellie Ewing Farlow

New mom rising

Even after all these years, it’s still strange to see Donna Reed play Miss Ellie. Reed’s first episode is “Homecoming,” and as soon as she enters the frame in the famous scene where Ellie and Clayton arrive at their airport upon returning from their honeymoon, you can see how different the newcomer is from the actress she succeeds, Barbara Bel Geddes. Reed wears a stylish dress and jewelry, her hair is coiffed and when the camera moves in for her first close-up, she breaks into a bright, toothy smile. When Bel Geddes was Mama, did we ever see her teeth?

None of this is to say Reed is miscast as Miss Ellie. Consider the options facing the “Dallas” producers when the ailing Bel Geddes decided to retire in the spring of 1984. Since killing off Mama would have been heresy — and since no one would have bought her leaving Southfork to live happily ever after off-screen with new husband Clayton — the most viable alternative was to recast the role. There’s no disputing the regal Reed was an unusual choice to replace the downhome Bel Geddes, but if the producers had hired an actress who looked and acted more like the original, would it have made us miss Bel Geddes any less? At least Reed offered a new interpretation instead of an imitation.

Of course, this doesn’t make it any less jarring to see Larry Hagman and Patrick Duffy calling Reed “Mama” in the airport scene, or to watch her and Howard Keel retire at the end of the episode to the set that served as Jim Davis and Bel Geddes’ on-screen bedroom for so many years. (As soon as I saw Reed and Keel there, I couldn’t help but flash back to Jock entering the room and finding Ellie in tears after her mastectomy.) To the producers’ credit, they seem to anticipate this will be the audience’s response and build this episode around Clayton moving into Southfork and realizing he’ll be sharing his new home with Jock’s ghost. I’m sure the show would have told this story if Bel Geddes were still playing Ellie, but I get the feeling the producers use it here to send a kind of subliminal message to the audience: Just as you want the Ewings to accept Clayton, we want you to give Reed a chance.

Even if that wasn’t the producers’ intent, that’s what I plan to do. Reed appeared in 23 additional episodes after “Homecoming,” and I want to approach each one with an open mind. No, Donna Reed isn’t Barbara Bel Geddes, but who is? What’s the point of bemoaning the fact that the two actresses have different styles? I give Reed a lot of credit for having the courage to replace one of the most beloved performers on one of the most popular television shows of the 1980s. It didn’t help matters that “Dallas” entered syndication a few weeks before Reed began her run as Ellie, which meant viewers could watch reruns from the show’s glory years with Bel Geddes every weekday afternoon and then tune in to new episodes on Friday nights to see her replacement.

In this instance, those viewers saw an episode that stands up pretty well to anything from the Bel Geddes era. The novelty of Reed’s debut aside, this is the eighth season’s strongest episode yet. I admire how the show devotes so much time to telling the story of Clayton’s introduction to life at Southfork. I especially appreciate how Arthur Bernard Lewis’s script gives us so many different points of view: In addition to the poignant final scene where Clayton addresses Jock’s portrait (“You still live here Jock. It’s still your house”), there’s a scene earlier in the episode where the Ewing brothers wrestle with the fact that a new man will be sleeping in the room Daddy once shared with Mama. It sounds like another example of adult Ewings being concerned with matters they’re too old to be worried about, except I know a lot of grownups in real life who struggle to accept stepparents.

Indeed, this episode is full of little reminders of how unique “Dallas” was among the era’s prime-time soap operas. Yes, this is a show where Sue Ellen Ewing considers buying a $1,095 dress at The Store, but it’s also a show where Ray Krebbs ruins his and Donna’s dinner by forgetting to turn on the microwave. There’s also charm in seeing the Ewings going to the airport to pick up Clayton and Ellie, as well as the scene where the family sits around and reminisces about the old days. These are small moments, but they help make the characters feel like real, knowable people.

Some final thoughts: “Homecoming” marks the beginning of Michael Alldredge’s four-episode run as Steve Jackson, the salvage man Pam hires to recover Mark’s plane wreckage. Alldredge previously appeared during the fourth season as Don Horton, one of the detectives who investigated J.R.’s shooting, and he returns yet again during the show’s final year as Carter McKay’s attorney, Ray King. Additionally, there are some memorable lines in this episode, beginning with J.R.’s crack about Pam’s inheritance from Mark (“I tell you, that woman has a knack for piling up unearned dollars”). Later, when J.R. says John Ross doesn’t know “half the nicknames” people call him, Sue Ellen responds, “That’s because he’s too young to know words like that.”

In an episode about life’s transitions, isn’t it nice to know some things at Southfork never change?

Grade: A

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Clayton Farlow, Dallas, Homecoming, Howard Keel

Daddy’s home

‘HOMECOMING’

Season 8, Episode 7

Airdate: November 9, 1984

Audience: 22.2 million homes, ranking 1st in the weekly ratings

Writer: Arthur Bernard Lewis

Director: Gwen Arner

Synopsis: Miss Ellie and Clayton return to Southfork, where he feels overshadowed by Jock’s memory. Pam hires a salvage company to search for Mark’s missing plane. Mandy tells Cliff she overheard Sue Ellen confide in Jamie that J.R. is worried about Cliff’s success. Eddie realizes there’s more to Lucy than meets the eye.

Cast: Michael Alldredge (Steve Jackson), Norman Bennett (Al), Roseanna Christiansen (Teresa), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Tony Garcia (Raoul), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Jenilee Harrison (Jamie Ewing), Susan Howard (Donna Krebbs), Barry Jenner (Dr. Jerry Kenderson), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Omri Katz (John Ross Ewing), Howard Keel (Clayton Farlow), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Fredric Lehne (Eddie Cronin), Priscilla Beaulieu Presley (Jenna Wade), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Donna Reed (Miss Ellie Farlow), Sherril Lynn Rettino (Jackie Dugan), Marina Rice (Angela), Deborah Shelton (Mandy Winger), Christopher Stone (Dave Stratton), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing), Kathleen York (Betty)

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

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Dallas Scene of the Day: ‘Are We Going to Cap Her Teeth?’

June 10, 2015 by 6 Comments
Dallas, J.R. Ewing, Larry Hagman, Shadow of a Doubt

Cruel and unusual

In “Shadow of a Doubt,” an eighth-season “Dallas” episode, J.R. (Larry Hagman) comes home and begins fixing a drink in the living room as Sue Ellen (Linda Gray) comes down the stairs.

SUE ELLEN: Good evening. I’ve been waiting for you to come home.

J.R.: Well, I guess so. It’s like a morgue in here.

SUE ELLEN: Well, it is a little quiet with Miss Ellie and Clayton gone, and Pam and Lucy doing whatever she’s doing lately. She hardly comes out of her room at night.

J.R.: Well, it’ll never be like it was in the old days when everybody at the table was a Ewing. We got Farlows and Krebbs and well, even Lucy’s a Cooper still I guess, isn’t she? [Sue Ellen nods.] Yeah, it’s just you and me and Bobby left, that’s all. [Sips his drink]

SUE ELLEN: There is one more Ewing.

J.R.: What, John Ross? Well, I don’t count him as a Ewing yet.

SUE ELLEN: Well, I was thinking about Jamie.

J.R.: You don’t think I consider her a Ewing, do you?

SUE ELLEN: What I was about to say is that she and I went shopping today and we have a little surprise for you.

J.R.: She’s going back to Alaska?

SUE ELLEN: Stop that.

J.R.: [Chuckles] I’m just teasing, honey.

SUE ELLEN: Come on.

J.R.: All right, what is this surprise?

She takes him by the hand and leads him to the foyer. Jamie (Jenilee Harrison) comes down the stairs, dressed to the nines.

SUE ELLEN: Isn’t she beautiful?

J.R.: Well, it’s amazing what a few thousand dollars can do, isn’t it?

SUE ELLEN: Oh, J.R., what a terrible thing to say.

J.R.: Really? Well, what’s next? Are we going to cap her teeth?

JAMIE: There’s nothing wrong with my teeth.

J.R.: Well, I guess not. You’re sure taking a big enough bite out of the Ewing apple.

JAMIE: You know, I didn’t ask for any of this.

J.R.: Well, I know how hard it must have been for Sue Ellen to convince you to take it.

SUE ELLEN: As a matter of fact, it was.

J.R.: Well, congratulations, young lady, on finding yourself a real nice home.

JAMIE: You know, you’re really something. No wonder my daddy didn’t want to have anything to do with you.

J.R.: Well, it’s a shame you’re not more like him. [Jamie runs upstairs.] Now don’t go away mad.

SUE ELLEN: How can you be so cruel?

J.R.: Not cruel. Suspicious.

SUE ELLEN: I thought you had changed. But I still see a lot of the old J.R. — the one I hated.

He enters the dining room and takes a seat as Teresa (Roseanna Christiansen) enters.

TERESA: Will you be eating alone?

J.R.: Yeah, it seems like it, doesn’t it?

Watch this scene in “Shadow of a Doubt,” available on DVD and at Amazon and iTunes, and share your comments below.

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Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 167 — ‘Shadow of a Doubt’

June 10, 2015 by 12 Comments
Dallas, Pam Ewing, Shadow of a Doubt, Victoria Principal

Chasing ghosts

Pam shifts into girl-detective mode in “Shadow of a Doubt,” searching for the truth about Mark Graison’s death. She leaves no stone unturned, seemingly questioning everyone who shared a connection with her onetime fiancé — his maid, his lawyer, even his florist — and ultimately concludes Mark might still be alive. Victoria Principal brings the right balance of determination and puzzlement to each of these scenes; it’s been years since she’s dominated an episode so thoroughly. Nevertheless, I find it hard to get excited about this storyline. Was anyone clamoring for Mark’s return in 1984? Wouldn’t you rather see Pam pouring herself into fighting for Bobby?

On the other hand: Bobby isn’t quite the catch he once was, is he? Consider: He now knows that Katherine forged the letter that broke up his marriage to Pam. He’s also admitted to J.R. that he still loves his ex-wife. And as far as Bobby knows, Mark is out of the picture for good and Pam is finally free. So why hasn’t Bobby returned to her? I suppose “Dallas” wants us to believe Bobby is genuinely torn between two women, given how hard the show is selling the Bobby/Jenna pairing. “Shadow of a Doubt” even sends Patrick Duffy and Priscilla Beaulieu Presley to a waterpark, where Bobby proposes to Jenna as they go down a slide together. (She accepts, of course, although the dubbing in this scene isn’t the greatest: Notice how Presley’s lips don’t move while they’re on the slide, even though Bobby and Jenna banter the whole way down.) It’s a cute scene, but given what we know about Bobby’s sense of duty and honor, I can’t help but wonder why he’s proposing to one woman when his heart belongs to another.

J.R. is a little easier to love in “Shadow of a Doubt,” which showcases Larry Hagman’s comedic talents more than most episodes. In the scene where Sly tells J.R. that Cliff is convinced he’s behind Westar’s offer to merge with Barnes-Wentworth, Hagman looks tickled to deliver J.R.’s response: “You know the wonderful thing about being me, Sly? With my reputation, I don’t have to do a damn thing. Everybody thinks that I’m behind half the deals in Dallas anyway.” There’s also some fun interplay between Linda Gray and Hagman at the waterpark, where Sue Ellen catches J.R. checking out two shapely women in sexy swimwear. She cuts him a dirty look, although he’s so distracted, it takes him awhile to realize he’s been caught. Guess our hero isn’t as smooth as he thinks.

Another scene shows J.R. at his best — and worst. When Sue Ellen reveals the makeover she’s given Jamie — complete with a fancy new dress — J.R. says, “It’s amazing what a few thousand dollars can do, isn’t it?” This seems unusually cruel, even for him. J.R.’s next zinger is more keeping with his style: “What’s next? Are we going to cap her teeth?” I also like how director Nick Havinga uses the Southfork set here. The sequence begins with J.R. coming home and fixing himself a drink in the living room. Sue Ellen enters, tells him she has a surprise and leads him into the foyer, where Jamie comes down the stairs and shows off her new look. After J.R. insults her, Jamie runs away followed by Sue Ellen, and then J.R. glides into the dining room, where Teresa asks if he’ll be dining alone. “Yeah, it seems like it, doesn’t it?” J.R. says. Three scenes in three rooms, each one flowing seamlessly into the next.

Two other scenes in “Shadow of a Doubt” remind me how this era of “Dallas” has more in common with the period depicted on “Mad Men” than the one we live in now. In the first, Lucy and Betty get into an argument over Eddie and splash water in each other’s faces. It’s silly and slightly demeaning to the characters, although I appreciate how this clash between two waitresses contrasts with the silly catfights we were getting between the bejeweled, bedazzled women of “Dynasty” at the time. Later, when Cliff tells Mandy her job is to make coffee and clean the house, she doesn’t tell him to get lost — she waits until he leaves for work and then calls information (remember doing that?) and asks for the number to a daily maid service. Sigh.

“Shadow of a Doubt” also includes quite a few nods to the past, including a possible inside joke: Bobby tells Donna her oil company used to be owned by “Bill Duke,” which also happens to be the name of a director who helmed two sixth-season “Dallas” episodes. (Duke also played sharecropper Seth Foster in “Dallas: The Early Years.”) Meanwhile, two faces familiar to longtime “Dallas” fans appear: Mark’s maid Rosa is played by Irma P. Hall, who was so wonderful as Tilly the caterer in “Barbecue,” while the Graison florist is played by Randy Moore, who was stuffy Reverend Thornwood in “Double Wedding.”

Speaking of familiar faces: There’s another one I’d like to see, and it belongs to Miss Ellie, who has now been missing from the show for more than six episodes. Her absence was felt most acutely after Bobby’s shooting, although I also wonder how her presence might have affected my response to Jamie’s debut in the previous episode. If Jamie had received the Mama seal of approval during the newcomer’s first appearance, might I have warmed up to her? (Eh, probably not.) The bottom line is Miss Ellie is missed, and it will be good to have her back in the next episode — even if she’s not quite herself when she arrives.

Grade: B

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Bobby Ewing, Dallas, Jenna Wade, Priscilla Beaulieu Presley, Shadow of a Doubt

Down they go

‘SHADOW OF A DOUBT’

Season 8, Episode 6

Airdate: November 2, 1984

Audience: 23 million homes, ranking 1st in the weekly ratings

Writer: Leonard Katzman

Director: Nick Havinga

Synopsis: Pam discovers evidence that suggests Mark might still be alive. Bobby proposes to Jenna. Sue Ellen defends Jamie from J.R.’s insults. Lucy and Betty fight over Eddie.

Cast: Norman Bennett (Al), Roseanna Christiansen (Teresa), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Eric Farlow (Christopher Ewing), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Irma P. Hall (Rosa), Jenilee Harrison (Jamie Ewing), Susan Howard (Donna Krebbs), Cherilyn James (Waitress), Rick Jason (Avery Carson), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Omri Katz (John Ross Ewing), Howard Keel (Clayton Farlow), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Fredric Lehne (Eddie Cronin), Robert Magruder (White), Stephan Mazurek (Deliveryman), Shalane McCall (Charlie Wade), Randy Moore (Florist), Jim Ponds (Lewis), Priscilla Beaulieu Presley (Jenna Wade), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Debbie Rennard (Sly), Sherril Lynn Rettino (Jackie Dugan), Marina Rice (Angela), Deborah Shelton (Mandy Winger), Danone Simpson (Kendall), William Smithers (Jeremy Wendell), Christopher Stone (Dave Stratton), David Stump (Tommy Hart), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing), Kathleen York (Betty)

“Shadow of a Doubt” is available on DVD and at Amazon and iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.

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Linda Gray Tackles New Roles — and a New Book

June 8, 2015 by 19 Comments
Dallas, Hallmark Channel, Linda Gray, Perfect Match

Linda Gray

Linda Gray has spent the past six months playing four roles on two continents.

The iconic “Dallas” star appeared in a London stage production of “Cinderella” during the holidays, then came home to California to film a cable movie, an independent feature film and a new online soap opera.

She also wrote a book.

Hey, you weren’t expecting to Sue Ellen Ewing’s alter ego to slow down, were you?

“It’s been fabulous,” Gray told Dallas Decoder last week. “I feel very fortunate because I got to have all these different experiences, one right after another.”

Gray’s fans will begin to see the results of her busy schedule on June 20, when her Hallmark Channel movie, “Perfect Match,” debuts. She plays Gabby, the mother of the groom in a story about dueling wedding planners who fall in love.

Gray describes the movie as “very Hallmark-y,” right down to the happy ending.

In other words: Don’t tune in expecting to see a Southfork-style wedding.

“No, not at all,” she said with a laugh. “Nobody gets dunked in the pool.”

Gray donned heavy makeup for her role as an eccentric, elderly matron in the feature “Wally’s Will,” which will be shown at film festivals this year.

She also plays Joanna, the matriarch of a wealthy candy-making family, in the online soap opera “Winterthorne,” debuting August 27.

“She’s weird and wonderful. She wears all these feathers,” Gray said. “It’s one appearance, but I would say she’s an important character.”

The Write Stuff

Hallmark Channel, Linda Gray, Perfect Match

“A Perfect Match”

Gray’s most intriguing project might be her memoir, “The Road to Happiness is Always Under Construction,” which will be published September 8.

She began writing the book while working in London last year. In between performances, she Skyped with her editor in New York City and wrote a chapter at a time, dashing off drafts via email.

The book will cover her experiences as a mother and grandmother, as well as her career. She writes about playing Sue Ellen on both incarnations of “Dallas,” as well as her longtime friendships with co-stars Larry Hagman and Patrick Duffy.

Gray promises lots of candor. She doesn’t want to give too much away, but the book will include her experiences working with the original show’s executive producer, Leonard Katzman, who she said wasn’t always nice to her.

She also writes about a scene she felt Sue Ellen should never have been part of, along with other behind-the-scenes revelations that are bound to fascinate “Dallas” diehards.

“I wanted to write about the good and the not-so-good,” Gray said. “I don’t write anything mean or dismissive — I just share what I’ve learned. Everyone may not like it, but I can’t worry about that. As I get older, I find that the things that used to worry me don’t worry me anymore.”

‘The Trampoline Effect’

Linda Gray, Wally's Will

“Wally’s Will”

One passage in the memoir will detail what Gray calls “the Trampoline Effect,” a period last year marked by high points, like her return to the London stage in “Cinderella,” and low moments, including the death of her beloved cat and “Dallas’s” cancellation.

She also writes about the fan-driven #SaveDallas campaign to rescue the series, which she found inspiring.

“I still believe we should have been given another season — even if it was something like eight episodes,” Gray said. “They could have billed it as the end of ‘Dallas.’ The fans invested so much in the series. They don’t deserve to be kept hanging.”

The cancellation was “like breaking up a family,” Gray said. She stays in touch with friends from the show, including Jordana Brewster, Julie Gonzalo and costume designer Rachel Sage Kunin, who all got together with Gray for lunch recently.

“Everyone is moving on, but we all miss working together,” she said.

Above all, Gray misses Sue Ellen.

“I always say she was the most interesting woman on television in the ’80s. I had to wait 20 years to play her again, and then I got her back and they took her away from me,” Gray said.

Although the “Dallas” writers penned several fourth-season scripts before TNT pulled the plug, Gray doesn’t know what was planned for Sue Ellen. She suspects the newly sober heroine was going to throw herself into her career and clash with her estranged son, John Ross (Josh Henderson), and his new ally Judith Ryland (Judith Light).

“I think we would have seen Sue Ellen and Judith go at it, which would have been such fun,” she said.

Gray believes “Dallas” remains a viable brand with worldwide appeal, although she doesn’t expect the series to return anytime soon.

“I never say never,” she said. “If it happens, it happens and that would be wonderful. I just don’t want to have to wait another 20 years to play Sue Ellen.”

Are you looking forward to Linda Gray’s new projects? Share your comments below and read more news from Dallas Decoder.

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Dallas Scene of the Day: ‘To the Winner’

June 8, 2015 by 2 Comments
Dallas, Family, J.R. Ewing, Larry Hagman, Linda Gray, Sue Ellen Ewing

Game show

In “Family,” an eighth-season “Dallas” episode, Jamie (Jenilee Harrison) joins J.R. (Larry Hagman), Sue Ellen (Linda Gray), Bobby (Patrick Duffy) and Jenna (Priscilla Beaulieu Presley) for dinner at Southfork.

SUE ELLEN: Well, I think it’s time that we welcomed Jamie officially. So I’d like to propose a toast to the newest member of the Ewing family. Welcome. [Everyone raises a glass and drinks.]

JAMIE: Thank you.

JENNA: I thought that was going to be me.

JAMIE: When are you and Bobby getting married?

JAMIE: [Looks at Bobby, smiles] Uh, one of these days.

J.R.: Well, Jamie, now that you’re a member of the family, we have certain traditions we like to adhere to.

JAMIE: Oh?

J.R.: One of them is dressing for dinner. [Sue Ellen looks crossly at him.]

JAMIE: Well, I’d sure like to but this is as good as it gets.

J.R.: Oh, I take it you don’t own a dress?

JAMIE: Just the one I got to church in, and that’s not near fancy enough for this.

JENNA: [Winks at Sue Ellen] I think we can fix that. I happen to own a boutique. [Bobby clears his throat.] Well, sort of. [Laughs]

SUE ELLEN: That’s right, so we’ll go shopping tomorrow.

JAMIE: I can’t. I don’t have enough money, at least not for clothes.

SUE ELLEN: We’d appreciate the chance to buy them for you. [J.R. does a double take.]

JAMIE: I’m sorry, but you’ve done enough for me just by letting me stay here for a while.

SUE ELLEN: Jamie, it would really give me pleasure.

JENNA: And me.

BOBBY: Look, Jamie, I think I know how you feel, but you should pick up a few things. You might need them.

JAMIE: Lookit, I really appreciate the offer, but I’ve been fixing to get a job. Pay my own way.

BOBBY: What would you do?

JAMIE: I’m not sure. But this is Texas, and one thing I do know about is the oil business. [Smiles]

J.R.: Is that a fact?

JAMIE: [Seriously] Yeah.

J.R.: I suppose that’s from hanging around Jason.

JAMIE: From working with him.

J.R.: Oh, yeah? Where?

JAMIE: All over. Mostly Alaska, though, lately.

J.R.: Hmm. Where in Alaska?

JAMIE: Kenai Peninsula, Point Barrow, the Umiat anticline, Prudhoe Bay.

J.R.: Umiat, huh? Well, I guess you met the man who ran that operation up there?

JAMIE: Slim Whitaker? Nah, I never met him. Heard an awful lot about him, though.

J.R.: Yeah, old Slim. He was the first one to use the drag bit up there.

JAMIE: Not at the Umiat. Drag bit’s for soft formations. [Sue Ellen smiles, dabs a corner of her mouth with a napkin.]

J.R.: What would he have used?

JAMIE: Probably a diamond drill core bit. Maybe a rotary.

BOBBY: I heard he had some pretty hard formations up there.

J.R.: Bobby did a lot of drilling up in Canada. Real hard, frozen.

JAMIE: [Smiles] Oh, really? Did you use the Stratapax? It worked real good at Point Barrow.

BOBBY: No, I didn’t have any luck at all with them.

JAMIE: Oh, so what’d you use?

J.R.: Don’t you know?

JAMIE: No, I wasn’t there. Of course, there was an awful lot of talk about them using a Tundra something or other.

BOBBY: That’s right, the Tundra Torque. That’s it.

JAMIE: [Smiles] Yeah, I knew it was something like that.

J.R.: Uh, just one more thing. In Prudhoe, how deep did they have to drill their test well?

JAMIE: I don’t know. Why you asking me all these questions?

J.R.: Because anybody in the oil business ought to know the answers to them.

JAMIE: Oh, really? Well, how many producing wells are at the Kenai right now?

J.R.: [Pauses] Twenty-four.

JAMIE: A hundred and three. [Bobby stifles a laugh, clears his throat]

SUE ELLEN: Well, if your little game is over, J.R., I’d like to finish dinner.

BOBBY: Yeah, so would I. That’s if you’re through, J.R.

J.R.: I’m through. [Sticks a forkful of food into his mouth] For now. [Smiles]

BOBBY: [Looks at Jamie, raises a glass] To the winner.

SUE ELLEN: [Raises a glass] To the winner.

Watch this scene in “Family,” available on DVD and at Amazon and iTunes, and share your comments below.

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Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 166 — ‘Family’

June 8, 2015 by 5 Comments
Bobby Ewing, Dallas, Family, Jenna Wade, J.R. Ewing, Larry Hagman, Patrick Duffy, Priscilla Beaulieu Presley, Ray Krebbs, Steve Kanaly

Welcome to the family

I want to like Jamie Ewing. Really, I do. She arrives at Southfork at the end of the eighth-season episode “Jamie,” but we don’t get to know her until the following installment, “Family.” The character has a lot of potential: She’s a fresh face when the show badly needs one, and the fact that she’s a long-lost Ewing cousin from the wrong side of the tracks makes her a natural adversary for J.R., something this show can never have enough of. Nevertheless, Jamie’s debut falls flat. It’s another example of how middling “Dallas’s” middle years can be.

With Jamie, the producers seem to be trying to recapture the J.R.-vs.-Pam dynamic from the show’s earliest seasons. “Family” even includes a scene where J.R. offers Jamie a bribe to leave Southfork, just like he did with Pam in “Digger’s Daughter.” But unlike Pam, who felt like a real threat to J.R., Jamie comes off more like a nuisance. Much of this has to do with Jenilee Harrison, who is a fine actress but who lacks Victoria Principal’s spark. Consider the “Family” dinner scene where J.R. tests Jamie’s self-proclaimed knowledge of the oil industry. Sure, she aces his quiz, but there’s no joy in Harrison’s performance. Imagine how much fun this scene would have been if it had been about Pam outsmarting J.R.

I’m also no fan of how “Dallas” brings Jamie into the fold by making her the daughter of Jock’s dead brother Jason. So Jock Ewing has an estranged sibling, huh? You’d think this fact might have come up when Jock was alive and trying to get his sons to get along. On the other hand, I like how Sue Ellen immediately embraces Jamie — not to annoy J.R., but because the newcomer fills a void in Sue Ellen’s life. The instant friendship between the two women demonstrates how much Linda Gray’s character has grown since “Dallas’s” early days, when Sue Ellen went out of her way to make Pam feel unwelcomed. By the end of “Family,” Sue Ellen has even taken Jamie out and bought her a new wardrobe. I only wish the shopping spree occurred on camera.

This episode is a mixed bag for the other “Dallas” characters too. I continue to be charmed by Mandy Winger, who seems much savvier when paired with Cliff than she does later with J.R. In this episode’s best twist, Jeremy Wendell — making a welcome return to “Dallas” after three-season absence — runs into Mandy, who gets him to open up about what he really thinks of Cliff. Uh-oh, is Mandy pumping Jeremy for information so she can betray Cliff? Nah. After Jeremy leaves, Cliff steps out of the shadows to congratulate Mandy on playing Jeremy like a fiddle. It’s another example of how much smarter Cliff has become, although if you prefer the self-absorbed, self-destructive Cliff, don’t worry, he’s still around. Witness the “Family” scene where he meets Sly outside the Ewing Oil building and asks her to spy on J.R. again. Cliff never really learns his lesson, does he? (By the way: I love how director Leonard Katzman shoots Debbie Rennard on a dramatic angle as she exits the building for this scene.)

Elsewhere, Lucy waits on a rowdy table at the diner — and of course handsome construction worker Eddie Cronin comes to her rescue. Wouldn’t it have been nice to see her resolve this problem on her own? Likewise, I’m tempted to deride Jeremy’s sexism when he orders for Pam at lunch, except the point of the scene is to show how Jeremy must control every situation in which he finds himself. If he were dining with Cliff instead of Pam, he probably would have ordered for him too. This scene also allows Principal to show off her on-camera eating skills. Notice how effortlessly she slides that forkful of Crab Louie into her mouth, in contrast to William Smithers, who seems to struggle with his bite before the camera cuts away.

The other reason I’m relieved to see Jeremy show up is because it means he’ll soon be at war with J.R., who hasn’t had enough to do in recent episodes. Think about it: Here we are in the eighth season’s fifth hour, and the biggest deal we’ve seen is Donna’s purchase of a small oil company. I have to wonder: Where’s the wheeling? Where’s the dealing? This is “Dallas,” right?

Grade: B

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dallas, Debbie Rennard, Deborah Rennard, Family, Sly Lovegren

Street smarts

‘FAMILY’

Season 8, Episode 5

Airdate: October 26, 1984

Audience: 20.9 million homes, ranking 2nd in the weekly ratings

Writer and Director: Leonard Katzman

Synopsis: Sue Ellen insists Jamie stay at Southfork and buys her a new wardrobe, but J.R. refuses to make her feel welcomed. Cliff is suspicious when Jeremy offers to buy Barnes-Wentworth and offers him a seat on Westar’s board of directors. Cliff asks Sly if J.R. and Wendell are working together. Lucy’s co-worker Betty warns her to stay away from her boyfriend, construction worker Eddie Cronin. Pam is rattled when she spots someone driving Mark’s car.

Cast: Roseanna Christiansen (Teresa), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Shanette Eckols (Lydia), Eric Farlow (Christopher Ewing), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Jenilee Harrison (Jamie Ewing), Susan Howard (Donna Krebbs), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Omri Katz (John Ross Ewing), Howard Keel (Clayton Farlow), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Fredric Lehne (Eddie Cronin), Shalane McCall (Charlie Wade), George O. Petrie (Harv Smithfield), Priscilla Beaulieu Presley (Jenna Wade), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Debbie Rennard (Sly), Sherril Lynn Rettino (Jackie Dugan), Deborah Shelton (Mandy Winger), William Smithers (Jeremy Wendell), Christopher Stone (Dave Stratton), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing), Kathleen York (Betty)

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

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Dallas Scene of the Day: ‘If I Can’t Have Him, Nobody Can’

June 3, 2015 by 2 Comments
Dallas, Jamie, Katherine Wentworth, Morgan Brittany,

Hot sister

In “Jamie,” an eighth-season “Dallas” episode, J.R. (Larry Hagman) confronts Katherine (Morgan Brittany) in a hospital corridor, where two security guards restrain her after her latest attempt on Bobby’s life.

J.R.: Katherine, what the hell were you doing in Bobby’s room? And what was in that needle? [She’s silent.] Come on, what was going on in there? All right, call the Dallas police. Tell them to get up here right away.

SECURITY GUARD: They’ve already been called, Mr. Ewing.

J.R.: Good, because I think she just tried to kill my brother. And I also think she’s the one that took those shots at me.

KATHERINE: You? Don’t make me laugh! I never tried to shoot you.

J.R.: The hell you didn’t! And I’ve got three bullet holes in my chair to prove it.

KATHERINE: They weren’t meant for you. It was Bobby I wanted dead.

J.R.: You shot him in my office. I was sure you got him by mistake.

KATHERINE: Mistake? There was no mistake! I love him! Don’t you understand that? I love him! But he doesn’t want me. Oh, no, he wants Jenna Wade. And before that he wanted Pam. Sweet, darling Pam, who everybody just adores! Well they’re not going to have him — neither one of them! Don’t you see? They poisoned his mind against me to keep me away. But they’re going to have him. I’ll see to it, because if I can’t have him, nobody can.

J.R.: You’re not going to see to anything — not after the law gets finished with you. But how did you get into my office? And how did you know that Bobby was up alone up there that night?

KATHERINE: I didn’t care if he was alone or not. I just wanted to get to him. My life was over. Why shouldn’t his be? [In a flashback, Katherine explains how she saw J.R. leave the Ewing Oil building, then went to the executive offices, heard Bobby in J.R.’s office and fired three shots into the back of the chair.] I caught a plane to Houston that night. And I didn’t know until the next day that he was still alive.

J.R.: Hold this woman until the police get here. I’m going to see my brother.

Watch this scene in “Jamie,” available on DVD and at Amazon and iTunes, and share your comments below.

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Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 165 — ‘Jamie’

June 3, 2015 by 21 Comments
Dallas, Jamie, Jenilee Harrison

Distant cousin

Jamie Ewing arrives and Katherine Wentworth departs in “Jamie.” Is this a fair trade? I’ll reserve judgment on Jamie’s end of the exchange until I’ve revisited more episodes that feature her character, but there’s no doubt in my mind Katherine is leaving at the right moment. A little camp goes a long way on “Dallas,” and too often Morgan Brittany’s character veered toward the cartoonish. On the other hand, I appreciate how Katherine achieved mythic status after this episode, especially among the loyalists who continued to clamor for Brittany’s return until the final days of TNT’s sequel series. Also, the hats. I’ll miss the hats.

The stage is set for Katherine’s exit during the previous episode, which ends with her getting ready to inject Bobby with poison while he sleeps in a hospital bed. As “Jamie” opens, Bobby awakens and screams for help. J.R. and his security guards happen to be nearby and rush into the room, where they pull Katherine away before she can hurt poor, blind Bob. Moments later, while squirming to break free from the guards, Katherine confirms she fired the gunshots that landed Bobby in the hospital in the first place, and then she reveals he was her target all along — a clever twist since “Dallas” previously led the audience to believe J.R. was the intended victim. Brittany is as over the top as ever during Katherine’s confession, although she outdoes herself during her final scene in “Jamie,” when Katherine runs into Cliff on the courthouse steps. After admitting she tried to frame him, Katherine barks, “Get out of my way!” and shoves him aside — except Ken Kercheval is already standing about two feet away, so Brittany has to step toward him in order to push him out of the way. It’s silly, but also kind of wonderful.

The revelation that Katherine meant to shoot Bobby is a final homage to “Who Shot J.R.?” Just as J.R.’s assailant turned out to be his sister-in-law, so too does Bobby’s. I’m glad the comparisons end there, however. I’ve always believed it was a mistake to kill off Kristin, and so I’m glad “Dallas” doesn’t repeat the error with Katherine. After her encounter with Cliff, she skips bail and flees town, allowing the producers to bring Brittany back whenever the show needed an angel of death. Katherine finally succeeds in “killing” Bobby when Patrick Duffy leaves the series in 1985, and then she returns again to pave the way for Pam’s disappearance after Victoria Principal’s exit two years later. It’s the major difference between Kristin and Katherine’s fates: One becomes the answer to a trivia question, while the other becomes a legend.

The rest of “Jamie” is the usual mixed bag from this era of “Dallas.” I get a kick out of the final scene, when Jamie arrives at Southfork and interrupts the Ewings lounging around their swimming pool. J.R.’s greeting (“Miss, I’m sorry, this is private property”) sounds like something a Texan would say to a stranger who shows up on the doorstep unannounced. I also like the earlier scene where Donna cooks a big meal for Ray to butter him up before breaking news she knows he won’t like. If this were another TV show, we might expect Donna to tell Ray that she accidentally dented the car, or that she splurged on new living room furniture. But this is “Dallas,” where Donna’s news is that she spent $10 million to buy her own oil company. To his credit, Ray doesn’t flip out — a sign, perhaps, that the humble cowboy has finally outgrown his inferiority complex from earlier seasons.

“Jamie” also includes references to characters from days gone by (Valene, Muriel, Afton), as well as Pam’s return to Herbert and Rebecca Wentworth’s Houston mansion for the first time since the fourth-season classic “The Prodigal Mother.” There’s also a fun scene where J.R. and Sue Ellen sit on the Southfork patio and discuss Katherine’s confession, which recalls Jock and Miss Ellie’s breakfast conversation after Kristin’s confession in 1980. The “Jamie” exchange also is notable because it includes J.R.’s memorable observation that his family has a penchant for attracting “weirdoes” like Katherine, Jessica Farlow and the “crackpot” who kidnapped Lucy. (In this instance, he’s referring to obsessive photographer Roger Larson, although he could just have easily been talking about Willie Gust or even himself.)

Speaking of Lucy: Perhaps the best moment in “Jamie” belongs to Charlene Tilton, who delivers a surprisingly moving monologue when Ray discovers her character is working as a waitress at the Hot Biscuit roadside diner. When I watched these episodes as a kid, I remember everyone in my family thought this storyline was ridiculous. It doesn’t seem any more realistic now, but I nonetheless find myself admiring Lucy’s efforts to forge an identity outside her famous last name. So far, this is Tilton’s best storyline in years. And even if it isn’t your cup of tea, you have to admit: Lucy seems to be better at waitressing than modeling, don’t you think?

Grade: C

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Jamie, Katherine Wentworth, Morgan Brittany

Heeere’s Katherine!

‘JAMIE’

Season 8, Episode 4

Airdate: October 19, 1984

Audience: 21 million homes, ranking 2nd in the weekly ratings

Writer: David Paulsen

Director: Nick Havinga

Synopsis: After J.R. stops Katherine from poisoning Bobby, she confesses to the shooting and is arrested, only to skip bail later. Bobby regains his eyesight. Cliff’s success continues to rattle J.R. Lucy begins waitressing. Donna buys a small oil company. A young woman arrives at Southfork and announces she is Jamie Ewing, daughter of Jock’s late brother, Jason.

Cast: Norman Bennett (Al), Morgan Brittany (Katherine Wentworth), Roseanna Christiansen (Teresa), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Eric Farlow (Christopher Ewing), Jenny Gago (Nurse), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Jenilee Harrison (Jamie Ewing), Susan Howard (Donna Krebbs), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Howard Keel (Clayton Farlow), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Randolph Mantooth (Joe Don Ford), Shalane McCall (Charlie Wade), Priscilla Beaulieu Presley (Jenna Wade), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Marina Rice (Angela), Deborah Shelton (Mandy Winger), Danone Simpson (Kendall), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing), Deborah Tranelli (Phyllis), Kathleen York (Betty)

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

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Dallas Scene of the Day: ‘… Until Our Scores Are Settled!’

June 1, 2015 by 12 Comments
Dallas, If at First You Don't Succeed, Pam Ewing, Victoria Principal

That’s Miss Barnes to you!

In “If at First You Don’t Succeed,” an eighth-season “Dallas” episode, J.R. (Larry Hagman) arrives at the Ewing Oil building, where Pam (Victoria Principal) is waiting for him.

J.R.: Well, you got a lot of nerve coming around here after what your brother did to mine.

PAM: What were you doing there yesterday when my brother was arrested?

J.R.: You consider that your business, do you?

PAM: Yes, I do, because I think you had something to do with it.

J.R.: Well, what on earth could I have to do with it?

PAM: How did you know he’d be arrested at that precise moment?

J.R.: Well, I have friends at the department. I went down there to see the expression on that worm’s face when the police arrested him for shooting my brother.

PAM: Let me tell you something, J.R. If he did shoot Bobby, it was because he thought it was you — and he had every reason to shoot you.

J.R.: You know, I’m getting kind of tired of that old song. Mean, nasty J.R. beating up on poor, innocent Cliff Barnes. You’re sounding more and more like him, you know that?

PAM: Well, that’s fine with me because I’m beginning to sound more and more like a Barnes, thanks to you. I’ve never believed in the Barnes-Ewing feud, J.R., but now I’m going to join it. I’m going to do everything I can to help Cliff. And I’m not going to rest until all our family scores are settled!

Watch this scene in “If at First You Don’t Succeed,” available on DVD and at Amazon and iTunes, and share your comments below.

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