Dallas Burning Questions: Season 3, Week 8

April 14, 2014 by 10 Comments
Ann Ewing, Brenda Strong, Dallas, Linda Gray, Sue Ellen Ewing, Where There's Smoke, TNT

Hold on, darlins

Here are the questions we’re pondering as we await tonight’s telecast of “Where There’s Smoke,” TNT’s latest “Dallas” episode:

• How will the Southfork fire start? It’s no secret there’ll be another Ewing inferno in “Where There’s Smoke” — TNT’s promos for the episode show Southfork engulfed in flames. The question is: How does the blaze begin? There are lots of people living on the ranch these days, including Bobby and Ann (Patrick Duffy, Brenda Strong) and John Ross and Pamela (Josh Henderson, Julie Gonzalo), along with Sue Ellen (Linda Gray), Christopher (Jesse Metcalfe), Emma (Emma Bell), Elena (Jordana Brewster) and Carmen (Marlene Forte). Does one of these characters start the fire through some act of household carelessness? Or could the fire be an act of revenge by one of the many enemies who have the Ewings in their crosshairs?

• What will Pamela do? “Like a Bad Penny,” the previous episode, ended with Nicolas (Juan Pablo Di Pace) sending Pamela the video of John Ross having sex with Emma. We didn’t see Pamela receive Nicolas’s message, but TNT’s promo shows her walking in on John Ross and Emma together in bed, so the truth is going to come out, one way or another. The question is: How will Pamela respond? She has a mixed record of dealing with bad news: When Christopher dumped her at the end of Season 1, she vowed revenge and turned into a bitch-on-wheels, but when she lost her twins during Season 2, she went into an emotional tailspin. Which Pamela will we see tonight?

• Will Sue Ellen stop drinking? After Bobby and Ann sprang Sue Ellen from the sanitarium, they brought her home to Southfork, where she rankled John Ross by supporting Bobby’s decision to hire his old college buddy, banker Cal Hanna (Jonathan Adams), to shepherd Ewing Global through its initial public offering. Of course, business is probably the last thing on Sue Ellen’s mind. Her doctor warned Bobby and Ann that Sue Ellen will be “a danger to herself” if she doesn’t get her drinking under control. In that light, it’s probably worth pointing out that in the “Where There’s Smoke” publicity photo above, Sue Ellen is standing next to a liquor decanter. What, if anything, should we make of that?

• What’s up with the Rylands? Everyone and their mother are out to get the Ewings these days. In the case of the Rylands, that’s literally true: Although Harris (Mitch Pileggi) has been growing closer to Ann, he’s also been trying to frame John Ross for a sex crime with help from his bordello-running mama, Judith (Judith Light), and one of her prostitutes, Candace (Jude Demorest). But Harris’s plan suffered a setback: When he fired Candace, she blabbed about the scheme to Emma, who somehow nabbed the dress Candace was planning to use to incriminate John Ross. What’s Emma going to do with the dress? And what will Ann, Harris and Judith have to say about it?

• What’s up with the cartel? When Drew (Kuno Becker) returned to Dallas, he discovered J.R. swindled the Ramoses out of their land, vowed to make the whole Ewing family pay for J.R.’s greed and then disappeared into the night. Nicolas promised Elena he would use “every resource” at his disposal to find Drew and, true to his word, he sought help from his secret business partner: the Mexican gangster Luis (Antonio Jaramillo), who is in cahoots with Nicolas and Hunter McKay (Fran Kranz) in a secret plot to seize control of Ewing Global and use the company to launder the Mendez-Ochoa cartel’s drug money. If Luis finds Drew, what will he do with him? Also, does Nicolas’s connection to Luis mean the cartel is the Treviño benefactor that Lucia (Angélica Celaya) referred to a few episodes ago?

• What unexpected twists will occur? It’s also unclear where Christopher’s relationship with Heather (AnnaLynne McCord) is headed, especially now that we know her hard-drinking ex-husband, Bo (Donny Boaz), wants to reconcile with her. But this isn’t the only “x” factor to watch out for tonight. Entertainment Weekly’s latest issue teases “Where There’s Smoke” will include “adultery, a diaphragm sabotaged by a pin and a super-graphic threesome that would make Caligula blush.” Also, according to EW, the hour will end with “at least” four characters’ lives in danger. Who will they be? More importantly: What will we all do with ourselves until “Dallas’s” third season resumes in August?

What “Dallas Burning Questions” are on your mind? Share your comments below and watch TNT’s “Dallas” tonight.

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TNT’s Dallas Styles: ‘Like a Bad Penny’

April 11, 2014 by 2 Comments

Christopher Ewing, Dallas, Emma Bell, Emma Ryland, Jesse Metcalfe, John Ross Ewing, Josh Henderson, Julie Gonzalo, Like a Bad Penny, Linda Gray, Pamela Rebecca Barnes Ewing, Sue Ellen Ewing, TNT

I knew I’d found my look of the week the moment Pamela turned up in that black-and-white dress in “Like a Bad Penny,” “Dallas’s” latest episode. The dress was a brilliant choice for Julie Gonzalo’s character for many reasons, beginning with its symbolic value: Pamela increasingly reminds fans of her mother-in-law Sue Ellen, who long ago made black-and-white outfits one of her signature looks.

Pamela’s dress, a Stella McCartney design, is a work of art: It features a rounded neck, long sleeves and contrasting panels that create a sexy, hourglass illusion. I also love how Gonzalo moved in it: The first time we saw her wearing it, when Pamela and John Ross turned the corner and came down the hall in the Las Vegas hotel, notice how Gonzalo sashayed. She looked so striking, I’m surprised the show didn’t give her a bigger entrance; if ever a scene called for a dramatic, slow-motion walk, this was it.

The dress was costume designer Rachel Sage Kunin’s pièce de résistance in “Like a Bad Penny,” but let’s also hear it for hair stylist Charles Yusko, who once again showed off Pamela’s emerald earrings without putting her hair up. Instead, Gonzalo’s hair was swept back; it reminded me of one of Victoria Principal’s styles on the original “Dallas.” The dress may have been Sue Ellen, but the hair was Aunt Pam.

Not to be “out-blinged,” Josh Henderson sported a nifty tie tack and cuff links during the Las Vegas scenes, along with the much-loved J.R. wristwatch, which boomeranged back to him after he gambled it away. I also loved Emma Bell’s red, multi-zippered coat; it wasn’t a traditional trench coat, but it still made an ideal accessory for Emma, who went Nancy Drew on us and started snooping into her father’s scheme against John Ross. I also want to give one more nod to Jesse Metcalfe’s beard, which is slated to go away during next week’s midseason finale. Sigh.

Finally, a few thoughts on the sanitarium stylings of Sue Ellen Ewing. She spent much of this episode in a gray T-shirt and seemed to wear very little makeup, which allowed us to focus on Linda Gray’s moving, heartfelt performance. And yet Sue Ellen remained beautiful nonetheless. If there’s a lesson here, it’s this: Even when she’s wearing nothing more than a simple tee, Linda Gray still looks amazing.

What were your favorite looks in “Like a Bad Penny”? Share your thoughts in the comments section below and read more “Dallas Styles.”

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Dallas Drinks: The Nicolas

April 11, 2014 by 1 Comment

To honor Juan Pablo Di Pace’s performance on TNT’s “Dallas,” Dallas Decoder and Cook In/Dine Out offer a Nicolas Treviño-inspired “Dallas Drinks” cocktail.

Dallas, Juan Pablo Di Pace, Nicolas Trevino, TNT

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Say What?! This Week’s Best Dallas Sound Bites

April 10, 2014 by 3 Comments

“Dallas” delivers the most delicious dialogue on television. Here are the best sound bites from “Like a Bad Penny,” this week’s episode.

Dallas, Fran Kranz, Hunter McKay, John Ross Ewing, Josh Henderson, Juan Pablo Di Pace, Like a Bad Penny, Mitch Pileggi, Nicolas Trevino, TNT

What are your favorite lines from “Like a Bad Penny”? Share them below and read more “Say What?!”

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TNT’s Dallas Scene of the Day: ‘Nice Hand, Your Highness’

April 9, 2014 by 6 Comments
Dallas, John Ross Ewing, Josh Henderson, Like a Bad Penny, TNT

Poker face

In “Like a Bad Penny,” a third-season “Dallas” episode, John Ross (Josh Henderson) sits at a card table with Sheik Ali and his son, Nasir (Pej Vahdat).

NASIR: You don’t have enough to cover the raise.

JOHN ROSS: [Pushes his chips to the center of the table, begins to unfasten his watch, lays it down] My father’s watch. One of two things he left me when he died. He wanted me to carry out his legacy, be the man he taught me to be. If my father was king, this watch would be his crown — the symbol of everything he was. I call. [The sheik and other players fold. Nasir reveals his hand: a full house. John Ross peeks at his hand, which trumps Nasir’s, but John Ross leaves his cards face down.] Nice hand, your highness. [Turns to the sheik.] I thought by leaving you out of the Arctic-lease play, I was showing everybody that I could close a deal that not even my father could close on his own. I lost sight of the fact that, well, he made you a promise, and that promise meant more than any deal on the table. A person’s word defines who they are, and I disgraced myself, my father and you by not following through with his promise. And I can only hope to be worthy one day of the legacy that he left me. Thanks for the game. [The sheik nods, John Ross rises and walks away with Pamela in tow.]

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TNT’s Dallas Recap: ‘Like a Bad Penny’

April 8, 2014 by 14 Comments
Dallas, Like a Bad Penny, Linda Gray, Sue Ellen Ewing, TNT

Welcome home, darlin’

Here’s what happened in “Like a Bad Penny,” TNT’s latest “Dallas” episode:

• Sue Ellen came home. Bobby and Ann (Patrick Duffy, Brenda Strong) found Sue Ellen (Linda Gray) in the sanitarium and tried to talk the physician in charge, Dr. Monkia Englert (Gail Cronauer), into releasing her into their custody. Englert reluctantly agreed to let Sue Ellen leave, but warned Bobby and Ann that “she needs to get her alcoholism under control. Otherwise, she will be a danger to herself.” When John Ross (Josh Henderson) ran into his mother at the ranch, he told her he acted in her best interest by having her committed, but she didn’t want to hear it, telling him, “You only did it to help yourself.”

• John Ross gambled … and lost. The final piece in John Ross’s plan to take Ewing Global public fell into place: He went to Las Vegas to meet Sheik Sharif Ali, with whom J.R. was planning to do business before he died. John Ross hoped to ask the sheik for money to finance his initial public offering in exchange for a piece of the Arctic lease deal; unfortunately, the sheik felt insulted because John Ross didn’t come to him sooner. To smooth things over, John Ross talked his way into the sheik’s high-stakes poker game and intentionally lost it, even though he bet his wristwatch and Pamela (Julie Gonzalo) put up her emerald earrings as collateral. After the game, Pamela asked her husband why he threw it. “Sometimes the only way to win is to show the other person you’re not afraid to lose,” John Ross said.

• Or did he? Not long after Mr. and Mrs. Ewing returned to Southfork, the sheik’s son, Nasir (Pej Vahdat), arrived and told John Ross his father was impressed by the way he handled his loss in Las Vegas. Nasir returned the wristwatch and agreed to supply John Ross with the money he needed for his IPO, explaining, “When you gambled the watch, my father saw J.R. in you. You were humble enough to know you were wrong and brave enough to risk something you care deeply about to prove it.” Meanwhile, Bobby tapped banker Cal Hanna, an old college buddy, to underwrite the IPO; John Ross, not wanting to delay the Arctic deal, reluctantly agreed to go along with Bobby’s choice. Later, Cal asked Bobby, “You really think John Ross is going to come after me?” Bobby’s response: “Oh, I’m sure of it. And when he does, make him think he got you.”

• Emma uncovered Harris’s scheme. After John Ross fired Candace (Jude Demorest), he told Bum (Kevin Page) to investigate her. Perhaps John Ross should’ve hired Emma (Emma Bell) for the job instead. When Harris (Mitch Pileggi) told Candace her services were no longer required, Emma began snooping into Candace’s life and discovered Harris was trying to get Candace to frame John Ross for a sex crime. Emma got her hands on Candace’s blue dress instead and posed with it in front of her mirror, not long after Harris chastised his daughter for getting involved with John Ross. “Are you deluded enough into thinking that he’s going to leave his wife for you, or are you just content in being his little piece on the side?” Harris asked.

• Drew returned to Southfork. Drew (Kuno Becker), wracked with guilt over the Ewing rig explosion, returned to Dallas and tried to apologize to Christopher (Jesse Metcalfe), who instead took out his rage on Drew and beat him up in a parking garage. After the fight, Christopher turned to Heather (AnnaLynne McCord), which infuriated Bo (Donny Boaz), while Drew retreated to Elena’s cottage on Southfork. While there, he stumbled across their father’s old land deed and angrily confronted Elena (Jordana Brewster), asking how long she had known J.R. switched the records. Elena told Drew she and Nicolas have a plan to take down the Ewings, but Drew was too upset by the discovery that J.R. had swindled their papi. “He wasted his life on a dream that was already taken from him — and I wasted mine, hating myself for not being able to save him. Everything that’s happened is because of J.R.’s betrayal. Their greed took everything from our family,” Drew said before running into the night.

• Nicolas got down to business, part 1. Nicolas (Juan Pablo Di Pace) assured Elena he would find Drew and protect him; little did she know her lover had his own business to take care of. Nicolas had a midnight meeting with two secret partners: Hunter McKay (Fran Kranz), Carter’s grandson, who wants to take down the Ewings; and Luis (Antonio Jaramillo), the Mexican drug dealer who cut a deal with Judith at the beginning of the season. Their scheme: Hunter is setting up a series of shell corporations to buy up the Ewing Global stock when it hits the market; Luis will then use the shares to gain a controlling interest in the company. As Nicolas told Luis, “By the time the Ewings and Cliff Barnes realize what happened, you’ll be in control of the company, free to launder billions of drug profits for years to come.”

• Nicolas got down to business, part 2. Luis threatened Nicolas’s children if their arrangement doesn’t pan out, but Nicolas didn’t seem fazed and even asked the drug lord for help with his next task: finding Drew. So much for keeping his promise to Elena to protect her brother, huh? But this wasn’t the first time Nicolas betrayed Elena in this episode. After she told him she couldn’t bring herself to show Pamela the video of John Ross and Emma, Nicolas got his hands on a copy of the video and forwarded it to Pamela’s phone, which was on her nightstand as she and John Ross made love.

What did you think of “Like a Bad Penny”? Share your comments below and look for Dallas Decoder’s critique later this week.

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Dallas Burning Questions: Season 3, Week 7

April 7, 2014 by 9 Comments
Bryan Pitts, Dallas, Kenneisha Thompson, Like a Bad Penny, Linda Gray, Sue Ellen Ewing, TNT

Gone, darlin’, gone?

Here are the questions we’re pondering as we await tonight’s telecast of “Like a Bad Penny,” TNT’s latest “Dallas” episode:

• Where’s Sue Ellen? In “Like Father, Like Son,” last week’s episode, John Ross (Josh Henderson) blackmailed a judge into ordering Sue Ellen (Linda Gray) to have a mandatory psychiatric evaluation. The last time we saw our heroine, paramedics were placing her in the back of an ambulance while John Ross watched. Later, he told Bobby (Patrick Duffy), Ann (Brenda Strong) and Christopher (Jesse Metcalfe) that he was forced to call the police after having a huge fight with his mother. “What have you done, John Ross?” Bobby asked. Good question, Uncle Bobby, but a better one is this: Where is Sue Ellen, and will she get the help she needs?

• Will John Ross take Ewing Global public? John Ross and Sue Ellen’s fight began after she voted against his proposal to take Ewing Global public, an idea given to him by his childhood friend Hunter McKay (Fran Kranz). John Ross pitched the idea to the Ewing Global co-owners as a way to raise money for their Arctic drilling venture; Pamela and Nicolas (Julie Gonzalo, Juan Pablo Di Pace) supported John Ross, but Bobby and Christopher accused him of wanting to put everyone’s shares in play so he can buy up the controlling interest for himself. With Sue Ellen incapacitated, John Ross has control of her piece of the company, which means his plans for an “initial public offering” are probably back on. Will he succeed?

• Will Elena bust John Ross? To get Nicolas’s support for an IPO, John Ross offered him a 3 percent royalty on all oil produced by the Arctic leases. Nicolas agreed, but he had another plan in mind: He told Elena (Jordana Brewster) he was going to take control of the company before John Ross could. She told Nicolas he was playing “a dangerous game” and set off on her own scheme, hiring private eye Jasper (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) to follow John Ross and determine if he’s cheating. Elena’s plan worked all too well: With Jasper’s help, she watched surveillance video that showed John Ross having sex with Emma (Emma Bell). Will Elena tell Pamela what she saw?

• Will Bobby make Nicolas’s life miserable? After Bobby gave Christopher control of his Ewing Global shares, he settled into his new job as one of the state’s powerful railroad commissioners. First order of business: abusing his office. Bobby had a run-in with Nicolas and suggested he was going to use his newly obtained political muscle to put the squeeze on Treviño Industries’ Texas holdings. Nicolas wasn’t fazed, telling Bobby, “Take your best shot, Mr. Ewing.” Will Nicolas feel so cocky once he’s messed with badass Bobby?

• Will Christopher keep smiling? Ever since Heather (AnnaLynne McCord) entered his life, Christopher has been uncharacteristically chipper. In “Like Father, Like Son,” he even seemed to enjoy babysitting Heather’s son Michael (Dallas Clark) when Bo (Donny Boaz) left her in a childcare lurch. The good vibrations seem destined to end, especially since Drew (Kuno Becker) will appear in tonight’s episode. What will happen when Christopher sees him again?

• What’s next for Harris? Although Harris (Mitch Pileggi) didn’t appear in “Like Father, Like Son” (boo!), we saw Candace (Jude Demorest) receive a text from him, demanding to know why she hadn’t succeeded in seducing John Ross. The message prompted Candace to slip into the blue dress Harris gave her and try to seduce John Ross, but he rejected her, saying, “Look, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but you’ve got to start taking ‘no’ for an answer. I’m a married man. I’m sorry, but it ain’t ever going to happen.” Will Harris give up? If so, will Judith (Judith Light) let him?

What “Dallas Burning Questions” are on your mind? Share your comments below and watch TNT’s “Dallas” tonight.

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Say What?! This Week’s Best Dallas Sound Bites

April 4, 2014 by 4 Comments

“Dallas” delivers the most delicious dialogue on television. Here are the best sound bites from “Like Father, Like Son,” this week’s episode. 

Dallas, Elena Ramos, Emma Bell, Emma Ryland, John Ross Ewing, Jordana Brewster, Josh Henderson, Like Father Like Son, TNT

What are your favorite lines from “Like Father, Like Son”? Share them below and read more “Say What?!”

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TNT’s Dallas Styles: ‘Like Father, Like Son’

April 4, 2014 by 8 Comments

Ann Ewing, Bobby Ewing, Brenda Strong, Elena Ramos, Emma Bell, Emma Ryland, Jordana Brewster, John Ross Ewing, Josh Henderson, Julie Gonzalo, Like Father Like Son, Linda Gray, Pamela Rebecca Barnes Ewing, Patrick Duffy, Sue Ellen Ewing, TNT

The people who make “Dallas” gave us lots of drama to “fanalyze” in “Like Father, Like Son,” this week’s episode, but don’t overlook all the great looks from superstar costume designer Rachel Sage Kunin.

Top honors go to Emma Bell, Jordana Brewster and Julie Gonzalo, who all looked runway ready when Emma, Elena and Pamela hit the town for their girls’ night out. We never got a good glimpse of their outfits on screen, so this week’s collage includes a publicity shot of Brewster and Gonzalo in their fun, flirty print dresses. (For a good picture of the slinky green number that Bell wore in this scene, check out the latest edition of my “Drill Bits” news column.)

I’m also mad for the plaid necktie Josh Henderson sported during John Ross’s boardroom showdown and his confrontation with Sue Ellen. The tie reminded me of the one John Ross wore to J.R.’s funeral, which is appropriate since his ghost loomed so large in Henderson’s big scene with Linda Gray. Speaking of the magnificent Ms. Gray: I love the big, bold necklace she wore when Sue Ellen and John Ross clashed in her office at the top of the hour. The necklace looks like a wreath of crystals and so I imagine it’s pretty hefty, although it’s probably nothing compared to the heavy emotional burden poor Sue Ellen is carrying these days.

This episode’s other great look: the sexy sweater with the shoulder cutouts that Brenda Strong wore when Ann and Bobby (Patrick Duffy) sat on their den sofa and drank wine. What’s that, you say? You don’t remember that scene? Apparently it was cut from the episode, but TNT helpfully distributed a publicity shot from Bobby and Ann’s conversation, so I’m including it here. Here’s hoping the scene is included on the third-season DVD; not only do I want to know what Mr. and Mrs. Ewing are talking about, I want to see more of that sweater!

What were your favorite looks in “Like Father, Like Son”? Share your thoughts in the comments section below and read more “Dallas Styles.”

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TNT’s Dallas Scene of the Day: ‘I Am Not My Father!’

April 3, 2014 by 12 Comments
Dallas, John Ross Ewing, Josh Henderson, LIke Father Like Son, TNT

Or is he?

In “Like Father, Like Son,” a third-season “Dallas” episode, John Ross (Josh Henderson) storms into his mother’s house and enters the kitchen, where Sue Ellen (Linda Gray) stands at the counter, drinking.

JOHN ROSS: It wasn’t enough for you to stab me in the back once? You had to go and do it twice? What the hell is wrong with you?

SUE ELLEN: [Sips, puts the glass on the counter] What’s wrong with me? What is wrong with you? You lied to my face, John Ross.

JOHN ROSS: I didn’t lie to you! I told you the truth. It is over with Emma.

SUE ELLEN: How clever you are with your words. Just like J.R.

JOHN ROSS: What in God’s name are you talking about?

SUE ELLEN: I saw her, coming out of your office. I saw her, John Ross!

JOHN ROSS: Candace?

SUE ELLEN: Once a cheater, always a cheater. I should have learned that lesson the first time around.

JOHN ROSS: You don’t know what you’re talking about, Mama. Yeah, yeah, Candace was in my office and the crazy bitch was all over me. And I turned her down!

SUE ELLEN: Bullshit! I know what I saw!

JOHN ROSS: You don’t know, because you’re drunk! I am telling you the truth!

SUE ELLEN: Even drunk, I know the sound of a lie, and you are an expert at it, just like your father.

JOHN ROSS: I am not my father! Are you so hell-bent on punishing J.R. for his sins that you’re willing to destroy the relationship with your only son? Damn it, I need you Mom, and you sided with them. I’m your son. You remember that? Or are you too damn addled to remember who I am? [Reaches for the bottle, holds it up] Why are you doing this to yourself again, huh?

SUE ELLEN: [Sobbing] Don’t you get it? You did this to me. You and your father.

JOHN ROSS: No, Mama. You did this to yourself. You’re so busy seeing the ghost of J.R. in me that you cannot stop to take a hard look in the damn mirror. You want me to take responsibility for my actions? Then you take responsibility for yours. [Walks away, leaves the house, slams the door behind him]

Filed Under: Dallas Scenes of the Day, Dallas Scenes of the Day (TNT), Features Tagged With: , , ,
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