Dallas Styles (TNT) – Dallas Decoder

TNT’s Dallas Styles: J.R.’s Sweaters

June 21, 2012 by Chris Baker 2 Comments

Mr. Ewing’s Neighborhood

In “The Price You Pay,”J.R. comes home to Southfork, presumably for the first time in many years. The house has changed a bit and so has J.R. – or at least that’s what he wants Bobby to think.

The older brother tricks the younger into welcoming him back to the ranch by pretending to be down and out. What Bobby doesn’t know: J.R. is secretly scheming with John Ross to seize control of Southfork and its vast oil reserves.

J.R.’s wardrobe appears to be part of his charade. At the ranch, he wears cardigan sweaters in muted colors, including when Ann finds him in the storage barn looking at an old family photo album and when he shuffles around the Southfork kitchen making breakfast for the family.

The Mister Rogers-style cardigans make Larry Hagman look soft, even a little cuddly. They also evoke memories of the sweater J.R. wore in “Conundrum,” the old show’s final episode, when the character was drunk, depressed and suicidal.

J.R.’s cardigans are a far cry from the days when he telegraphed his predatory nature by donning safari shirts. But don’t worry. The Mister Nice Guy act doesn’t last long; it remains to be seen if the sweaters do.

Filed Under: Dallas Styles, Dallas Styles (TNT), Features Tagged With: Conundrum, Larry Hagman, Price You Pay, TNT

TNT’s Dallas Styles: Marta’s Hair

June 15, 2012 by Chris Baker 5 Comments

‘Hedging Your Bets’

On TNT’s “Dallas,” there is no greater chameleon than Marta del Sol, the sexy siren who specializes in deceiving Ewing men. Bobby believes he’s selling Southfork to Marta and J.R. believes he’s buying it from her, but neither brother knows the truth: Marta is really plotting with John Ross to seize the ranch and the ocean of oil flowing beneath it.

‘Changing of the Guard’

“Dallas” uses two hairstyles to showcase Marta’s two faces. When Leonor Varela appears in scenes with Larry Hagman and Patrick Duffy, her hair is usually worn up. In scenes with Josh Henderson – with whom Varela has smoking chemistry, by the way – those gorgeous tresses almost always fall onto her shoulders.

It makes sense: John Ross is the only character who knows the truth about Marta – namely, that she isn’t really Marta del Sol, which is the big secret revealed at the end of “Hedging Your Bets.” Figuratively and literally, John Ross is the only person with whom Marta can let her hair down.

I’m amazed at how different Varela looks with each style. The first time I saw Marta with her hair down, at the end of “Changing of the Guard,” it took me a minute to realize I was looking at Marta. I thought some new femme fatale was being introduced.

Regardless of how she wears her hair, one thing is certain: Beware of Marta del Sol!

(Or whoever she is.)

Filed Under: Dallas Styles, Dallas Styles (TNT), Features Tagged With: Changing of the Guard (2012), Hedging Your Bets, Josh Henderson, Larry Hagman, Leonor Varela, Patrick Duffy, TNT

TNT’s Dallas Styles: J.R.’s Wristwatch

June 14, 2012 by Chris Baker 21 Comments

Watch out

The most poignant moment in “Changing of the Guard” finds Bobby visiting J.R. in the nursing home, where the older brother sits motionless and speechless, a captive of his own depression. Director Michael M. Robin ends the scene with a tight shot of Larry Hagman’s hands, and that’s when we see his character is wearing an elaborate gold wristwatch. Emblazoned on the band: the initials “J.R.”

The first time I glimpsed the watch, I didn’t like it. This didn’t seem like something J.R. would wear. After a tip from a reader (see below), I realized J.R. did in fact wear this watch – or at least one similar to it – during the original “Dallas’s” later years. For much of the show’s run, though, he was among its least flashiest dressers, favoring boring business suits and nondescript neckties.

Regardless, this isn’t who J.R. is anymore. When TNT’s “Dallas” begins, his career is over. He’s lost his fortune, his family and any semblance of his youth. J.R. is old now.

The watch symbolizes this. Yes, wearing a timepiece with your own name stamped on it is pretty gauche, but maybe it’s the only way J.R. has to hold onto his identity. It reminds him of who he used to be.

The wristwatch may offer a reality check, too. Watches are clocks after all, and maybe seeing “J.R.” on his wristband helps him understand the sad truth: Even J.R. Ewing can’t control the passage of time.

Filed Under: Dallas Styles, Dallas Styles (TNT), Features Tagged With: Changing of the Guard (2012), Larry Hagman, Michael M. Robin, TNT