Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 177 — ‘Winds of War’

July 15, 2015 by 16 Comments
Dallas, J.R. Ewing, Larry Hagman, Linda Gray, Sue Ellen Ewing, Winds of War

Scene from a marriage

In “Winds of War,” J.R. insists he’s been faithful when Sue Ellen accuses him of cheating. He’s lying, of course, but why? Is he trying to spare his wife’s feelings, or is he trying to spare himself the embarrassment of another marital implosion? Does he want Sue Ellen to stay at Southfork because he fears she’ll take John Ross with her if she leaves, or does he want her there because he loves her? And what about Sue Ellen? Why does her husband’s fidelity matter to her? Is she in love with him, or is she merely dependent upon him? Does she want him, or does she need him?

None of the answers are clear, not that I’m complaining. Part of “Dallas’s” appeal lies in trying to figure out the mysteries of J.R. and Sue Ellen’s marriage, which will always be the show’s most fascinating relationship. But even when the motivations aren’t readily apparent, we can still see how these two characters are changing. Consider the “Winds of War” scene that ends with Sue Ellen tearfully ordering a double vodka at the Oil Baron’s Club. (“Just bring it, Cassie!”) We expect her to be drunk the next time we see her, since this is how she’s always coped with J.R.’s cheating. Yet in a surprising twist, Sue Ellen comes home sober, explaining to her husband that she stared at the drink for an hour before deciding he wasn’t worth a relapse.

We see changes in J.R. too. When Linda Gray delivers the line about not taking the drink, Larry Hagman’s eyes widen and he smiles slightly — as if J.R. is surprised, and perhaps more than a little proud, that his wife kept her demons in check. As the scene continues, Sue Ellen declares that she isn’t going to leave Southfork. “I have earned the right to be here,” she says. This feels like a moment of triumph for the character and an early glimpse of the grit she’ll display in later seasons. But it’s also an example of how J.R. still has power over her. Despite everything, she still can’t bring herself to leave him. Even when she can say no to booze, she can’t say no to him.

“Winds of War” is written and directed by Leonard Katzman, who sprinkles J.R. and Sue Ellen’s scenes with nods to other memorable moments in their marriage. In their confrontation at the end of the episode, Hagman is dressed in the same blue robe and pajamas that he wore at the beginning of the season, when J.R. won Sue Ellen back after being on the outs with her for more than a year. Also in the “Winds of War” scene, she tells him, “Don’t you ever explain anything to me again.” This recalls one of her memorable lines from their great clash two years earlier, when she chided him as “a terrific explainer.” You can even find allusions to J.R. and Sue Ellen in scenes that don’t feature them. When Bobby goes to Los Angeles and meets Veronica, the girlfriend of villainous Naldo Marchetta, he asks why she stayed with him despite his abusive tendencies. “I loved him,” she says. If a similar question was put to Sue Ellen, would her answer be any different?

Other “Winds of War” highlights include the final scene, when Cliff persuades Jamie to fight the Ewings for control of their company. Ken Kercheval delivers an urgent, heartfelt speech about how Cliff and Jamie owe it to their daddies to take back what Jock stole from them — and then when she agrees (“Let’s do it!”), he flashes a magnificently malevolent grin. Cliff has learned a thing or two from his nemesis, hasn’t he? Speaking of J.R.: I like his lie to Sue Ellen that the woman he was spotted kissing, Serena, is merely the daughter of “Congressman Hooker” (no stretch there, huh?), as well as Lucy and Eddie’s visit to Harv Smithfield’s office to formalize their real estate partnership. There’s unexpected warmth in George O. Petrie and Charlene Tilton’s exchanges. You get the impression Harv cares about Lucy and doesn’t want to see her get hurt. It’s the kind of small detail “Dallas” does so well.

Donna Reed supplies “Winds of War” with its other nice surprise. At the beginning of the episode, Miss Ellie becomes angry when she learns J.R. has kicked Jamie off Southfork. “Why, J.R.? What brought this on?” Ellie shouts. It’s the first time Reed has raised her voice since arriving on “Dallas” — and the first time she’s displayed Mama’s old fire. I like another scene between Reed and Howard Keel even more. Ellie and Clayton are dining at the Oil Baron’s Club, where she is fretting over Jamie’s future. Clayton encourages her not to make her niece’s problems her own. Ellie sits back in her chair, chuckles softly and realizes he’s right. It ends up being a rare example of two “Dallas” characters coping with their problems through laughter. The exchange also demonstrates Reed’s rapport with Keel, which feels genuinely affectionate.

At the end of this scene, Clayton asks Ellie if she’s ever considered running away from home. Reed smiles again and says, “A lot. But I think I’ll stay around and see how it all turns out.” For the first time, I wish she had been given that chance.

Grade: A

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Cliff Barnes, Dallas, Ken Kercheval, Winds of War

Grinning season

‘WINDS OF WAR’

Season 8, Episode 16

Airdate: January 11, 1985

Audience: 23.6 million homes, ranking 1st in the weekly ratings

Writer and Director: Leonard Katzman

Synopsis: After Sue Ellen’s friendship with Jamie collapses, she moves out of J.R.’s bedroom. Jamie leaves Southfork and agrees to join forces with Cliff to fight for control of Ewing Oil. Bobby finds Charlie in California. Lucy and Eddie form a business partnership.

Cast: Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Stephen Elliott (Scotty Demarest), 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), Donna Reed (Miss Ellie Farlow), Sherril Lynn Rettino (Jackie Dugan), Deborah Shelton (Mandy Winger), Danone Simpson (Kendall), Gail Strickland (Veronica Robinson), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing)

“Winds of War” 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: ‘You Bastard’

July 13, 2015 by 7 Comments
Dallas, Linda Gray, Lockup in Laredo, Sue Ellen Ewing

What goes up …

In “Lockup in Laredo,” an eighth-season “Dallas” episode, J.R. (Larry Hagman) comes home from work and enters the Southfork foyer, where Jamie (Jenilee Harrison) is ending a phone call with Bobby.

J.R.: Did I just hear you say you talked to Judge Samuelson?

JAMIE: Yes. Bobby needed to get in touch with him.

J.R.: Well, the judge is a very important man. I should have done that.

JAMIE: I know, and Bobby wanted you to. But you weren’t there so I called him myself.

J.R.: Well, listen young lady, you don’t just pick up a phone and call people like that. You should have waited for me. [Puts down his hat, enters the living room]

JAMIE: Waited for you? I did more than that. I went out to try and find you.

J.R.: [Stops in his tracks] Find me?

JAMIE: I called the restaurant where you were at, but you left specific orders that you did not want to be disturbed. So I went there myself because it was so important. And there you were, hugging some tall, gorgeous blond who seemed to know you pretty well.

Sue Ellen (Linda Gray) comes down the stairs in the background.

J.R.: That woman happens to be a business associate.

JAMIE: Ah, another business associate. Like the one you were hugging at the barbecue? Only this time, you weren’t just hugging her. You were groping her and kissing her, and you probably spent the rest of the afternoon in bed with her.

J.R.: That’s a hell of an assumption on your part.

JAMIE: You didn’t come back to the office all afternoon. J.R., how could you do that to Sue Ellen?

SUE ELLEN: I’d like to know the answer to that question myself.

JAMIE: Sue Ellen.

SUE ELLEN: You bastard. I knew things between us were too good to last.

J.R.: It’s not what it looks like. This girl saw it wrong.

SUE ELLEN: Groping and kissing? That’s hard to see wrong.

J.R.: She’s lying.

JAMIE: I’m so sorry, Sue Ellen. I didn’t mean for you to hear this.

J.R.: Well, it seems like there’s a lot of things you don’t mean but you go ahead and do them anyhow, and people get hurt.

JAMIE: I’m not the one hurting people. You are.

J.R.: You’ve got a lot of gall, young lady.

SUE ELLEN: Don’t you dare twist it around. It’s not Jamie’s fault.

J.R.: Well, then whose fault is it? She sees something she doesn’t understand and then broadcasts lies all over the place.

JAMIE: I’m not lying.

J.R.: The hell you’re not. You’ve been lying ever since you first got here — and I’m sick and tired of it. I want you out of this house and off this property right now.

SUE ELLEN: She’s not going anywhere.

J.R.: She’s a troublemaker, Sue Ellen. I want her out of this house tonight.

SUE ELLEN: No!

JAMIE: That’s okay, Sue Ellen. I don’t want to stay here anymore anyway. I’ve had all that I can take. And you know, J.R., I told you I wasn’t going to use that document. I never wanted to hurt the family. But maybe now I will. Maybe now I’ll show you how real a Ewing I am. [Runs upstairs]

J.R.: You heard what she said. I told you we couldn’t trust her.

SUE ELLEN: It’s happening all over again, isn’t it? The sneaking around, the cheating.

J.R.: I’m not cheating on you.

SUE ELLEN: Shut up! I don’t want to hear any more of your lies.

J.R.: She’s the one who’s lying.

SUE ELLEN: I doubt that very much. Jamie and I have built up a wonderful friendship over the past several months, and she cares about it as much as I do. You’re the one who ruined it. I told you to leave her alone, stay away from her, but no. You had to destroy that friendship — just like you’ve destroyed everything else in my life.

J.R.: [Steps forward] Sue Ellen, would you listen to me.

SUE ELLEN: No, I will not listen to you! [Smiles] Congratulations. You had a wonderful day for yourself, didn’t you? You got rid of Jamie, and you got rid of me. [Begins climbing the stairs] I hope she fights you for Ewing Oil, and I hope she wins. Because then you’ll know exactly how I feel tonight.

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

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Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 176 — ‘Lockup in Laredo’

July 13, 2015 by 7 Comments
Dallas, Jenna Wade, Lockup in Laredo, Priscilla Beaulieu Presley

Caged beauty

Jenna Wade goes to jail in “Lockup in Laredo,” which is cause for celebration as far as I’m concerned. This is when Stephen Elliott arrives as Scotty Demarest, the high-dollar super lawyer who defended Jock Ewing against murder charges during “Dallas’s” third season and returns here to do the same for Priscilla Beaulieu Presley’s character. With his flamboyant style and thick drawl, Elliott makes Scotty a Texas version of Johnnie Cochrane. He’s a joy to watch and one of the best things about the Jenna-in-jeopardy storyline that dominates this era of the show.

Elliott shines every time he appears in “Lockup in Laredo,” although his best moment comes when Scotty questions Jenna in the jailhouse conference room. The scene begins with Jenna tired of rehashing the events that preceded her arrest and confident she didn’t fire the shots that killed her ex-husband, Naldo. But Scotty’s relentless questioning makes her re-consider everything she thinks she knows about the creep’s demise. Elliott, who honed his talent on the New York stage, forces Presley to keep up with him, bringing out the best in her performance. The contrast between his bulldog theatrics and her quiet, exhausted frustration makes their almost five-minute exchange a scene to remember. (Or “re-mem-buh,” as Scotty would say.)

“Lockup in Laredo” is the 10th “Dallas” episode helmed by Patrick Duffy, who once again demonstrates his knack for visual storytelling. In one scene, Bobby and Scotty examine the evidence found in Naldo’s car. This conversation could have been staged in a conference room too, but Duffy instead brings the characters to the impound lot, filming himself and Elliott inside the vehicle as they poke around the backseat and glove box. It helps the audience feel part of the action, and it’s always nice to see the actors in a new environment. In that spirit, I like the scene that shows Jackie relaxing at home when Cliff calls her, marking one of the few times we see a “Dallas” secretary in her own living space.

Duffy also does a nice job staging “Lockup in Laredo’s” pivotal final scene, which pulls together multiple narrative threads. We’ve been waiting several episodes for Sue Ellen to realize J.R. is getting bored in their marriage. We’ve also been waiting to see what Jamie will do with the legal document that could divide control of Ewing Oil among Jock, Jason and Digger’s heirs. Both storylines come to a head when J.R. arrives home and is confronted by Jamie, who spotted him cheating with Serena earlier in the day. When Sue Ellen overhears the conversation and questions her husband, he accuses Jamie of lying, prompting her to threaten to use her document against him. Sure, this is convoluted plotting, but you have to admire “Dallas’s” ability to advance two subplots in one swoop.

The other reason I like this scene is because it backs J.R. into a corner, which is where he’s always at his best (or worst, as the case may be). Let’s face it: As much as we all love Larry Hagman’s character, he’s gotten a little dull this season. David Paulsen’s script acknowledges as much when Miss Ellie and Clayton stand on the Southfork patio and discuss how troubled everyone at the ranch is these days — with the exception of J.R., who is being downright princely. “Isn’t it funny when everything else is going so badly, he’s the one bright spot in the family?” Ellie says. The moment these words pass her lips, you know she’s going to regret them.

I also enjoy seeing Ray and Donna take another turn as this show’s version of “McMillan and Wife,” this time combing through Sam Culver’s old legal papers to find evidence to refute Jamie’s claims about Ewing Oil’s ownership. This feels a little more organic than their investigation last year into Edgar Randolph’s past, although I’m always bewildered by this show’s inability to give Steve Kanaly and Susan Howard a storyline of their own. (By the way, what’s going on with the oil company Donna bought a few episodes ago?) Likewise, I have mixed feelings about Lucy’s storyline. I wish she had stuck with waitressing a little longer, although I’m intrigued by her foray into the real estate business in “Lockup in Laredo.” It’s not what I would have expected from her, but hey, at least she isn’t being kidnapped again.

Grade: B

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Bobby Ewing, Dallas, Lockup in Laredo, Patrick Duffy, Scotty Demarest, Stephen Elliott

Backseat driver

‘LOCKUP IN LAREDO’

Season 8, Episode 15

Airdate: January 4, 1985

Audience: 22.3 million homes, ranking 3rd in the weekly ratings

Writer: David Paulsen

Director: Patrick Duffy

Synopsis: After Jenna is arrested for Naldo’s murder, Bobby hires Scotty Demarest to defend her. Jamie catches J.R. cheating with Serena and confronts him, unaware that Sue Ellen is eavesdropping. Mandy grows tired of Cliff. Ray and Donna find evidence that Jamie’s document is real. Pam finds no trace of Mark in Jamaica. Lucy suggests she and Eddie go into the real estate business.

Cast: Beau Billingslea (Dr. Miller), Stephanie Blackmore (Serena Wald), Roseanna Christiansen (Teresa), James Cromwell (Gerald Kane), Val De Vargas (Patrick Wolfe), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Stephen Elliott (Scotty Demarest), 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), Priscilla Beaulieu Presley (Jenna Wade), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Donna Reed (Miss Ellie Farlow), Sherril Lynn Rettino (Jackie Dugan), Deborah Shelton (Mandy Winger), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing)

“Lockup in Laredo” 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: ‘You Never Fail to Surprise Me’

July 8, 2015 by 4 Comments
Bobby Ewing, Dallas, J.R. Ewing, Larry Hagman, Odd Man Out, Patrick Duffy

Bond of brothers

In “Odd Man Out,” an eighth-season “Dallas” episode, Bobby (Patrick Duffy) is seated at his desk at Ewing Oil when J.R. (Larry Hagman) knocks and enters, holding his hat.

J.R.: Hey, Bob. Say, it’s time to go home. You’ve increased the family fortunes enough for one day.

BOBBY: J.R., I’m not nearly done with the work I have. I’m going to be here for hours yet.

J.R.: Oh? Well, Sue Ellen and I were planning on going out tonight to eat. We’d like you to join us. [Sets down his hat, turns his back, begins fixing a drink] And just to show you how bighearted I am, I asked Jamie to come along. Can you believe that? [Chuckles]

BOBBY: Look, I think I understand what you’re trying to do, but not tonight, all right?

J.R.: Life goes on, Bob.

BOBBY: Look, I don’t need your platitudes either.

J.R.: Hear me out a minute, will you? [Faces Bobby] Do you remember what happened to me when Daddy died? All meaning went out of my life. Everything I’d done, every move I’d made, was to please him. There was no reason to go on.

BOBBY: I remember.

J.R.: And slowly, it dawned on me that there was a reason. That it was important that I go on. I had a little boy that needed me. I had John Ross. Now you have your Christopher at home, at Southfork. The boy needs his daddy. And whatever you believe Jenna did, he is there and he needs you 100 percent, Bobby. Unless, of course, you don’t think he’s worth it.

BOBBY: [Gets up, approaches J.R.] You know, you never fail to surprise me. [Grabs J.R.’s hat, puts it in his brother’s hands, slaps his arm] Let’s go. [J.R. smiles and they exit together.]

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

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Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 175 — ‘Odd Man Out’

July 8, 2015 by 14 Comments
Bobby Ewing, Dallas, J.R. Ewing, Larry Hagman, Odd Man Out, Patrick Duffy

Raising the bar

“Odd Man Out” is the 12th “Dallas” episode directed by Larry Hagman, who demonstrates once more that he’s as talented behind the camera as he is in front of it. The main storyline finds Bobby depressed because he believes Jenna dumped him to reunite with her ex-husband Naldo; little does Bob know Naldo is actually holding Jenna captive. This isn’t the richest material in the show’s history, but Hagman makes it compelling nonetheless. He also rewards the audience with several scenes that draw upon the history of the characters and their relationships. With the exception of Leonard Katzman and a few others, did anyone know “Dallas” better than its biggest star?

“Odd Man Out’s” most suspenseful moment comes at the end of the second act, when Naldo leaves Jenna alone to pay their hotel bill. She sneaks into a phone booth, drops a coin in the slot and punches the buttons. An operator comes on the line and tells her the call will cost a dollar. “Damn. Come on,” Jenna says as she dumps change out of her purse, sorts it quickly and inserts more coins. Cut to Southfork, where Bobby sits on the patio, reading a newspaper as the phone next to him begins ringing. He doesn’t answer it right away (is he waiting for Raoul or Teresa?), and when he finally picks up and says hello, Hagman cuts back to the phone booth — where Naldo takes the receiver from Jenna’s hand and hangs up. “Don’t ever try anything like that again,” he says.

The episode takes another dramatic turn at the end. J.R., Sue Ellen and Jamie have taken Bobby out to dinner, hoping to cheer him up. Bobby proposes a toast: “To Jenna Wade and the life she’s chosen for herself, wherever she is and whomever she’s with.” Hagman then cuts to a shot of Jenna, lying unconscious on a hotel floor. A lamp is knocked over, the sleeve of her blouse is torn and there’s a gun in her hand. As she slowly awakens, two police officers burst into the room. “Freeze, lady,” one says. “Drop the gun. Drop it!” Jenna looks bewildered and glances over her shoulder — where she sees Naldo’s dead body. Freeze the frame, roll the credits.

Other standout scenes in “Odd Man Out” showcase the “Dallas” characters. In one sequence, J.R. is having lunch with Mandy when he receives a call from Dora Mae, who tells him Bobby is drinking heavily at the Oil Baron’s Club. J.R. doesn’t hesitate to leave Mandy’s side so he can help his brother. (Something similar will happen in the eighth-season finale, “Swan Song,” except the circumstances will be dire.) Later, J.R. bucks up Bobby by reminding him that Christopher needs him; besides recalling a conversation years earlier where Bobby pulls J.R. out a depressive slump, this moment reminds us how good Hagman and Patrick Duffy are together. In another fun sequence, J.R. plays cupid in reverse: He runs into Pam and makes sure she knows how upset Bobby is over his breakup with Jenna, and then J.R. tells Bobby that Pam is too busy with her search for Mark to care about his problems.

Speaking of Pam: Victoria Principal is wonderful in the scene where Benton, the owner of the San Serrano medical clinic, tells Pam that Mark is alive. The actress cries and laughs at once, which gives the audience the odd sensation of being happy for Pam even though we suspect J.R. is behind her wild goose chase. Hagman also allows “Dallas’s” other leading lady, Linda Gray, a chance to shine. The script doesn’t give Sue Ellen much to do, but that doesn’t mean you should overlook her. In two scenes, Sue Ellen asks other characters where J.R. is. In each instance, Gray delivers her lines with just the right amount of doubt and suspicion, letting us know that Sue Ellen realizes her husband is up to his old tricks again.

“Odd Man Out” also illustrates Hagman’s eye for detail. The episode’s opening shot is a close-up of caviar being dished onto a plate — a signal, perhaps, that the competitive Hagman wanted his show to cede no ground in “Dallas’s” rivalry with glitzy “Dynasty.” Hagman also understood the need for balance, though, which is why he shows Ray, Donna and Dave Culver enjoying a down-home meal around the Krebbs’ dining room table. Ray and Donna are bringing Dave up to speed on Jamie’s claims about Ewing Oil’s ownership, and at one point Ray pauses to ask Dave if he’d care for some corn. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn Hagman suggested this gesture to make the scene feel more realistic. Think about it: When you watch “Dallas” dinner scenes helmed by other directors, do you ever hear someone ask to pass the salt?

Other highlights include a nice subplot about Clayton challenging Miss Ellie’s devotion to her sons by pointing out they are grown men who can take care of themselves. No matter how you feel about Donna Reed’s casting as Ellie, you have to appreciate how the show continues to give meaningful material to its oldest actors. The producers’ efforts to keep Lucy in the spotlight aren’t as successful. In this episode, she shuts off Eddie’s alarm so he’ll sleep in and skip work to spend the day with her. He’s angry when he wakes up and discovers this, and who can blame him? Did Lucy learn nothing from her too-brief foray into the working world?

On the other hand, when Lucy offers to support Eddie financially and he balks, she points out that if the roles were reversed, he probably wouldn’t think twice about supporting her. This is a good point. Lucy may not know much about the real world, but at least she recognizes sexism when she sees it.

Grade: A

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Dallas, Jenna Wade, Odd Man Out, Priscilla Beaulieu Presley

Odd woman out

‘ODD MAN OUT’

Season 8, Episode 14

Airdate: December 28, 1984

Audience: 20.8 million homes, ranking 1st in the weekly ratings

Writer: Arthur Bernard Lewis

Director: Larry Hagman

Synopsis: J.R. urges Bobby to get over losing Jenna. Miss Ellie and Clayton disagree over her involvement in her sons’ lives. Pam visits a Caribbean clinic that Mark supposedly visited two months earlier. Eddie quits his job. Jenna awakens next to Naldo’s dead body as police officers enter the room.

Cast: Don Banning (Roy Crowley), Burke Byrnes (Pete Adams), Pat Colbert (Dora Mae), Timothy J. Cutt (Leonard Boyle), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Eric Farlow (Christopher Ewing), Tom Fuccello (Senator Dave Culver), 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 Lehna (Eddie Cronin), Michael McRae (Benton), Daniel Pilon (Renaldo Marchetta), Priscilla Beaulieu Presley (Jenna Wade), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Donna Reed (Miss Ellie Farlow), Deborah Shelton (Mandy Winger), Danone Simpson (Kendall), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing), Deborah Tranelli (Phyllis)

“Odd Man Out” 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: ‘Maybe We Ought to Work Together’

July 6, 2015 by 8 Comments
Cliff Barnes, Dallas, Deja Vu, J.R. Ewing, Ken Kercheval, Larry Hagman

Strange brew

In “Déjà Vu,” an eighth-season “Dallas” episode, J.R. (Larry Hagman) enters a seedy bar and sits at a table where Cliff (Ken Kercheval) awaits him.

J.R.: Your making money hasn’t improved your spending habits. Where’d you find this dive?

CLIFF: I didn’t want to pick anywhere we’d be noticed.

J.R.: Well, you got the right place.

WAITRESS: Help you?

J.R.: Yeah, a long neck, please. All right, what’s this meeting all about?

CLIFF: Your brother, my sister. I was really disappointed when Bobby’s wedding didn’t take place.

J.R.: Not as disappointed as I was.

CLIFF: Well, I figured that. You know, I don’t think either one of us wants to mix up our families again.

J.R.: I’m surprised to hear you’re worried about that. I saw the ad for Mark Graison that Pam put in the paper.

CLIFF: [Chuckles] Yeah, she’s looking for him all right. She’s checking a list of quack clinics all around the world thinking that he might still be alive trying to take some last-chance cure in one of those places. Well, what worries me is with her emotional state right now, and the way Bobby must be feeling, that they’re just liable to fall into each other’s arms again.

J.R.: I considered that myself. You got some sort of plan in mind?

CLIFF: Nope. Nope, not exactly. I just know I’m going to do everything I can to keep them apart — and I was hoping that you would do the same.

J.R.: [Pours his beer into a glass] Well, maybe this is the one time a Ewing and a Barnes ought to work together. [Cliff raises his glass.]

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

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Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 174 — ‘Déjà Vu’

July 6, 2015 by 5 Comments
Dallas, Deja Vu, J.R. Ewing, Larry Hagman

Game of phones

What could be unholier than an alliance between J.R. Ewing and Cliff Barnes? In “Déjà Vu,” the sworn enemies agree to work together to keep Bobby and Pam apart. The scene where J.R. and Cliff meet in a dive bar and toast their partnership is one of the episode’s highlights, and not just because it’s one of the few times in “Dallas” history that Larry Hagman and Ken Kercheval are civil to each other on screen. The scene also demonstrates how their characters are beginning to change, if not grow. In an era when many of the show’s creative risks don’t pay off, here’s one that works.

“Déjà Vu” begins with the Ewings reeling after Jenna leaves Bobby at the altar on their wedding day. After the guests are sent home, J.R. and Bobby head to Ewing Oil and pull out all the stops to determine why she ran away — even ordering their secretaries to report to the office on a Saturday to help track down the runaway bride. (Why weren’t the secretaries invited to the wedding?) Later, J.R. receives a mysterious phone call from someone who wants to get together to discuss the situation. We don’t learn the caller’s identity until J.R. shows up in the bar and takes a seat across from Cliff, who tells him now that Bobby is free, he’s afraid he’ll reunite with Pam. J.R. agrees he and Cliff should do everything they can to stop such a reconciliation from taking place. “Maybe this is the one time a Ewing and a Barnes ought to work together,” J.R. says.

It’s fun to watch Hagman and Kercheval clink beer glasses, although this scene has more going for it than the novelty factor. For starters, the exchange shows how much Cliff has changed. Think about it: He’s the character in control here. Cliff calls the meeting, sets the time and location, and suggests the alliance with J.R. Since the eighth season began, we’ve seen Cliff become smarter and more successful, and now we know he can scheme with the best of them. J.R. has changed too: There was a time he wouldn’t have given his archenemy the time of day, but here he treats Cliff as an equal. (J.R. has always been more willing to join forces with Pam, who he probably considers a worthier adversary.) Some fans want Cliff always to lose and J.R. always to win, but I admire “Dallas’s” willingness to allow the characters to evolve. Besides, it’s not like they won’t slide back into their familiar roles eventually.

The title “Déjà Vu” points to Bobby’s backstory — Jenna also left him at the altar when the characters were younger — although I’m more interested in another blast from the past: the return of the terrific Sarah Cunningham as Maggie, the woman who raised Cliff and Pam. In the storyline, Cliff and Mandy visit Maggie to see what she knows about Jamie Ewing’s claim that Jock, Jason and Digger were equal partners in Ewing Oil. After Cliff arrives on her doorstep and pulls out some photos of Christopher, she invites him and Mandy into the backyard to discuss what’s really on his mind. “If I know my brother’s son, he didn’t drive three hours to Marshall on a Saturday just to show me baby pictures,” she says. That line alone makes me wish “Dallas” had used Cunningham more frequently. The actress is so natural and believable; the show would have benefitted from her homespun charm.

“Déjà Vu” also features James Cromwell’s first appearance as Gerald Kane, the pilot who approaches Pam with the bombshell news that he flew Mark Graison to a clinic in the Caribbean to seek a cure for his disease. Cromwell, who later received an Oscar nomination for his role as the farmer in “Babe,” is quite good in his scene with Victoria Principal. At the end of the episode, we learn Kane is secretly working for J.R. — a neat twist that probably would have been even more surprising if it had come later, once Cromwell’s character was more established. I wonder why the show exposed his connection to J.R. so soon?

Other “Déjà Vu” highlights include the scene where Ray assures Bobby that Jenna loves him — in a few years, Ray will be doubting Jenna’s love for him once they begin a relationship — as well as a nice moment when Maggie’s lawyer visits Cliff and suggests Digger must have been a gentleman. Cliff beams, reminding us that he sees his father differently than most of the other characters on this show. I also like the scene where Sue Ellen receives the call from J.R. informing her that Jenna has skipped town. After Sue Ellen hangs up, Miss Ellie and Donna eagerly ask her what J.R. said. As the music swells, Linda Gray keeps her back to Donna Reed and Susan Howard, looks into the distance and solemnly intones, “He said to send the guests home. The wedding is off.” It’s the kind of dramatic delivery that only occurs on soap operas, which is what makes it so wonderful.

This scene also leads to my biggest gripe with “Déjà Vu.” Once word reaches the Ewings that the wedding has been canceled, Ray volunteers to send the guests home, and Ellie agrees. It’s another example of how Ellie is being written differently since the show recast the role with Reed. Having Ellie defer to Ray makes her seem uncharacteristically delicate. This is a woman who once stared down an angry mob at a Ewing Barbecue, after all. Giving Reed the line where the guests are sent home might seem like a small thing, but it would have given her an opportunity to show some of the mettle we’ve come to expect from our beloved Mama.

Grade: B

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Cliff Barnes, Dallas, Deja Vu, Ken Kercheval

Look who’s scheming

‘DÉJÀ VU’

Season 8, Episode 13

Airdate: December 21, 1984

Audience: 19.5 million homes, ranking 4th in the weekly ratings

Writer: David Paulsen

Director: Leonard Katzman

Synopsis: Naldo blackmails Jenna into remarrying him by threatening to keep her from Charlie, whom he sends to Italy. Pam is approached by a pilot who claims he flew Mark to the Caribbean, but she doesn’t realize the man works for J.R. Cliff searches Digger’s old legal papers, hoping to find a copy of Jamie’s document.

Cast: Burke Byrnes (Pete Adams), James Cromwell (Gerald Kane), Sarah Cunningham (Maggie Monahan), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), 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), Fredric Lehne (Eddie Cronin), Shalane McCall (Charlie Wade), Daniel Pilon (Renaldo Marchetta), Priscilla Beaulieu Presley (Jenna Wade), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Donna Reed (Miss Ellie Farlow), Sherril Lynn Rettino (Jackie Dugan), Deborah Shelton (Mandy Winger), Danone Simpson (Kendall), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing), Deborah Tranelli (Phyllis)

“Déjà Vu” 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: ‘Be Nice to the Little Orphan’

July 1, 2015 by 3 Comments
Dallas, Do You Take This Woman?, J.R. Ewing, Larry Hagman

Hard knock life

In “Do You Take This Woman?,” an eighth-season “Dallas” episode, J.R. (Larry Hagman) is ranting in the Southfork living room, where Miss Ellie (Donna Reed), Clayton (Howard Keel), Bobby (Patrick Duffy), Sue Ellen (Linda Gray), Ray (Steve Kanaly) and Donna (Susan Howard) are gathered.

J.R.: I knew it. I knew that girl was trouble the moment she walked through the gate. But no, no, everybody said, “You’ve got to be nice to the little orphan because she’s family.” Well, I tell you, if that’s family, she’s not going to be in this house.

SUE ELLEN: J.R., calm down.

J.R.: Calm down? After what’s she done to us? Trotting out that phony piece of paper and having Clayton read it in front of everybody? I tell you, as far as I’m concerned, she is out of this house now. Tonight!

BOBBY: Now wait a minute.

ELLIE: This is my house, J.R. I will decide if she leaves, and when.

SUE ELLEN: Don’t you think we should at least talk to her about it first?

J.R.: Well, how? She’s got herself barricaded in her bedroom upstairs?

SUE ELLEN: She’ll talk to me. [Rises, exits]

J.R.: Well, good. Maybe you’ll find out what she’s trying to pull.

CLAYTON: How do you know she’s trying to pull anything?

RAY: How do you know that paper is phony?

J.R.: Well, how come we haven’t seen or heard about it before? Bobby, you went through Daddy’s papers with me. Did you see anything vaguely resembling that?

BOBBY: I didn’t see anything that mentioned Jason’s name. Mama, did Daddy ever talk to you about divvying up the company like that?

ELLIE: No, I admit he never did. And I never saw a document like that either.

J.R.: Clayton, you said that Sam Culver drew up that document. Donna, when you were going through Sam’s diaries and records and everything when you were writing those books, did you see anything?

DONNA: No, not that I remember. But then I wasn’t looking for anything like that, J.R. I mean, it could have been there. I just didn’t see it.

BOBBY: You still have the papers?

DONNA: I know where they are. It’ll take me some time to go through them.

J.R.: Well, we better do something — and damn quick. Can you imagine sharing Daddy’s company with Cliff Barnes?

Watch this scene in “Do You Take This Woman?,” available on DVD and at Amazon and iTunes, and share your comments below.

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Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 173 — ‘Do You Take This Woman?’

July 1, 2015 by 17 Comments
Dallas, Daniel Pilon, Do You Take This Woman?, Jenna Wade, Naldo Marchetta, Priscilla Beaulieu Presley

Take your wife. Please.

“Do You Take This Woman?” marks the moment “Dallas” turns into a Lifetime movie. The hour begins with Jenna Wade happily planning to marry Bobby, but by the time the closing credits roll, her daughter has been kidnapped and Jenna has been forced to leave her fiancé stranded at the altar. In the episodes that follow, Jenna is held against her will, almost raped, accused of murder, found guilty, imprisoned and finally freed, only to watch Bobby “die” in the eighth-season finale. The only calamities missing are a nervous breakdown and an unwanted pregnancy, but fear not. Jenna will get to those eventually.

I know, I know. I’m getting ahead of myself. It’s also not fair to criticize the entire show based on Jenna’s storyline. But the fact is, this is the point during “Dallas’s” run that I’ve been dreading. Priscilla Beaulieu Presley is a fine actress, but I’m no fan of the weepy, woeful turn her character takes in this episode. Like Pam’s drawn-out search for Mark Graison, the “Perils of Jenna” story arc feels like “Dallas” is merely killing time until Bobby and Pam’s long-awaited reunion at the end of the season. It’s one reason I’ve been publishing twice-weekly critiques from this era of “Dallas.” I want to get the damn thing over with as quickly as possible.

Although there isn’t a lot in “Do You Take This Woman?” to get excited about overall, the fourth act isn’t without merit. Presley does a nice job in the scene where Jenna talks on the phone to one of Charlie’s friends and realizes her ex-husband, the villainous Naldo Marchetta, has kidnapped their daughter. Frantic Jenna drops everything and flees the house, only to run into Naldo. “Our daughter is quite safe. You have nothing to worry about,” he says. I also like when Bobby receives a mysterious phone call and dashes out of Southfork with J.R. close behind. The overhead shot of the brothers tearing away in Bobby’s convertible is cool, although I’m more impressed with the deeper meaning of this moment, which reminds us how the Ewing boys always have each other’s backs.

In a similar vein, “Do You Take This Woman?” contains another good scene that underscores Cliff and Pam’s sibling bond. He stomps into her house as only he can, ranting about Pam’s full-page newspaper advertisement offering a reward for information about Mark’s disappearance. Cliff doesn’t want to have to put extra people on the Barnes-Wentworth switchboard to field calls from the “crackpots” who are bound to respond to the ad, but he’s also frustrated with Pam’s obsessive search for her deceased fiancé. “Mark is dead. You have to face that,” he says. Pam walks away in tears, and then Mandy points out that Pam is already on edge because it’s Bobby and Jenna’s wedding day. Ken Kercheval’s response is masterful: In a matter of seconds, Cliff’s face registers anger, surprise and finally regret. Under all that bluster, this character really does love and care about his sister.

Speaking of bombast: “Do You Take This Woman?” opens with J.R. calmly assuring Jeremy Wendell that Jamie’s claims about Ewing Oil’s ownership are merely a prank, and then J.R. reveals his true feelings during a family meeting in the Southfork living room. Larry Hagman manages to make J.R.’s ravings amusing without sacrificing the character’s dignity. By the way: I don’t blame J.R. for being suspicious of Jamie. She possesses a document that might give her a piece of a multibillion-dollar corporation, yet she has no intention of claiming her share? This stretches credibility, even by eighth-season “Dallas” standards. And while we’re on the subject of Jamie: It’s nice that Sue Ellen has befriended her, but is serving as a supporting player in Jamie’s drama the best use of Linda Gray’s talents? Why doesn’t she have a meaningful storyline of her own?

“Do You Take This Woman?” also is notable because it includes both a barbecue and a wedding. It’s somewhat odd to think the Ewings would hold back-to-back bashes, but I suspect the producers saved money by staging the events over successive episodes. The extras who appear at the barbecue probably hung around to film the wedding scenes. (The show does something similar during the sixth season, when the Ewing Barbecue arrives on the heels of J.R. and Sue Ellen’s second wedding.) And even though the bride doesn’t show up for this ceremony, it’s by no means a waste: This episode’s establishing shot of a white limousine dropping off wedding guests in the Southfork driveway is used again — six years later — during Bobby and April’s nuptials in the 13th-season installment “The Southfork Wedding Jinx.”

Such prudent recycling! Who says the Ewings aren’t environmentally conscious?

Grade: C

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Bobby Ewing, Dallas, Do You Take This Woman?, J.R. Ewing, Larry Hagman, Patrick Duffy

Call guy

‘DO YOU TAKE THIS WOMAN?’

Season 8, Episode 12

Airdate: December 14, 1984

Audience: 21.4 million homes, ranking 2nd in the weekly ratings

Writer: Leonard Katzman

Director: Gwen Arner

Synopsis: While J.R. and Cliff scramble to determine if Jamie’s claims about Ewing Oil’s ownership are true, she places her document in a safe-deposit box and promises not to use it against the Ewings. Pam hires a detective to find Mark. After Naldo takes Charlie, Jenna stands up Bobby on their wedding day.

Cast: Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), 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), Howard Keel (Clayton Farlow), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Fredric Lehne (Eddie Cronin), Madison Mason (Jack Phipps), Shalane McCall (Charlie Wade), George O. Petrie (Harv Smithfield), Daniel Pilon (Renaldo Marchetta), 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), Danone Simpson (Kendall), William Smithers (Jeremy Wendell), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing), Deborah Tranelli (Phyllis)

“Do You Take This Woman?” is available on DVD and at Amazon and iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.

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