Dallas Scene of the Day: ‘We Have Four Sons, You Know’

Saving the day, again

Saving the day, again

In “Dallas’s” fifth-season episode “Starting Over,” Miss Ellie (Barbara Bel Geddes) summons Ray (Steve Kanaly) to the Southfork living room, where they sit across from each other.

ELLIE: I know that in the past, you and Jock used to have these conversations, but in his absence, I, I guess I’ll have to be the one to do it.

RAY: I’m not sure I understand, Miss Ellie.

ELLIE: Well, Donna feels that you’re in some kind of difficulty. And you won’t talk to her about it.

RAY: Well, no disrespect to you, Miss Ellie, but I don’t think it’s anything we ought to talk about either.

ELLIE: But you would talk to Jock.

RAY: [Looking down] I guess.

ELLIE: Do you feel it’s a sign of weakness to talk to a woman about your problems?

RAY: [Smiles sheepishly] No, it’s not that, exactly.

ELLIE: Ray, you know how much I care about you. If you’re in some kind of trouble, why, why won’t you let us help you?

RAY: It’s kind of complicated. I know you and Jock think of me as a Ewing now. But I still think of myself as Ray Krebbs. And I’ve never really done anything to prove that I was as good as the rest of the Ewings.

ELLIE: There’s nothing to prove, Ray. We care about you because of what you are. And above all of us, Donna loves you for yourself.

RAY: But don’t you see? I have to prove it to Donna more than anyone. Look who she was married to: Sam Culver. He was a great man in this state.

ELLIE: You know that Sam’s and Donna’s marriage was for different reasons than yours.

RAY: I know that. But, I mean, look at Donna. She can sit down and in her spare time, she can write what looks like a bestseller. Now how could she be happy married to a cowboy?

ELLIE: You’ve talked about all the reasons for not talking to anyone, but you still haven’t said anything about your problem.

RAY: Well, I guess I just plain got in over my head. You know, the San Antonio deal that Punk and I set up? Well, when he went to South America, I went ahead on my own. I found out I didn’t know half of what I thought I did. Now I’m in danger of losing the whole thing.

ELLIE: And what do you need?

RAY: [Sighs] Another $3 million. Most of what I have invested at this point is Donna’s money. Now how could I go to her and say, “We’re going to lose the whole thing unless you give me another $3 million?”

ELLIE: Your not thinking enough of Donna to tell her hurts a lot more than losing the money would.

RAY: It’s not like I didn’t want to tell her. I just couldn’t. I still can’t.

ELLIE: Will you accept help from me? It’s the same thing I’d do for Bobby or Gary or J.R. if they needed it. [Smiles] We have four sons, you know. And you’re one of them.

RAY: Yes, ma’am. I’d be very grateful. I don’t know how I could ever thank you.

ELLIE: You don’t have to thank me. And if you like, no one else needs to know about this. I think Donna should, but that’s up to you.

RAY: Well, I’d rather try to get out of this mess myself before I tell her anything. I really would like Donna to be proud of me.

ELLIE: All right. Tomorrow morning, you and I will go to see Franklin Horner. I’m sure Ewing Oil can lend you the $3 million. [Ray smiles]

The Art of Dallas: ‘Five Dollars a Barrel’

Sue Ellen and Clayton (Linda Gray, Howard Keel) are seen in this 1981 publicity shot from “Five Dollars a Barrel,” a fifth-season “Dallas” episode.

Dallas Scene of the Day: ‘I Finally Whipped J.R. Ewing’

Laugh while you can

Laugh while you can

In “Dallas’s” fifth-season episode “Five Dollars a Barrel,” Cliff (Ken Kercheval) is seated on the edge of his office desk when J.R. (Larry Hagman) enters.

CLIFF: Come right in. Did you come to pay your note early? It’s not due until tomorrow.

J.R.: [Steps forward] You know why I’m here.

CLIFF: I just want to hear you say it.

J.R.: [Another step forward] I need that extension.

CLIFF: [Smiles] Do you? [Walks behind his desk, sits] Well, I’m a man of my word. I have the papers right here. Sit down. [J.R. walks to Cliff’s desk, sets his hat on it] It’s all right here. Ten-day extension, at $200 million, 25 percent. But first, my lawyer drew that up. [Hands J.R. a document] It gives me total and permanent ownership of Ewing 6. [Hands a pen to J.R., who retrieves one of his own from his jacket’s inner pocket] You know you’re only buying a temporary delay because the price of oil is still dropping. And when this 10-day extension is up, there’s no more time. You can’t pay, you’re out. [J.R. signs the paper, tosses it onto Cliff’s desk, grabs his hat and begins walking away.] I can’t believe it. After all these years, I finally whipped J.R. Ewing.

J.R. turns, glares and smiles slightly as Cliff laughs uproariously.

Dallas Parallels: Grave Decisions

The Ewings are always in crisis, but life at Southfork was downright agonizing at the beginning of “Dallas’s” ninth season: Bobby was dead, Sue Ellen was in a police station drunk tank and J.R. was scheming to keep Pam out of Ewing Oil. So when Jeremy Wendell took Miss Ellie to lunch and offered to take the company off her hands, the Ewing matriarch was understandably tempted.

In “Resurrection,” the season’s fourth episode, Ellie visits Bobby’s Southfork grave, near the tree house Jock built for Bobby when he was a boy. (A wooden Ewing Oil sign on the house proclaims “B.J. Ewing” president.) Sitting on a bench near Bobby’s headstone, Ellie tells him she’s leaning toward selling the company to Wendell, in part so “your little Christopher and little John Ross” won’t have to grow up to inherit unhappiness. “I hope you’ll understand,” Ellie says.

This terrific scene – along with everything else that happened during “Dallas’s” ninth season – was notoriously wiped away when Bobby’s death was written off as Pam’s dream, but that doesn’t mean fans should forget it. Nor does it mean the people who make TNT’s sequel series can’t draw inspiration from it.

In “No Good Deed,” one of the strongest hours during the new show’s first season, Bobby visits Ellie’s grave on Southfork, where life is once again in turmoil: J.R. has disappeared and John Ross, now an adult, has had the stuffing beaten out of him in jail. To make matters worse, J.R. and John Ross’s shady business partner Vicente Cano is inching closer to tapping the ocean of oil flowing beneath the ranch.

Bobby, who promised Ellie he’d never let anyone drill on Southfork, stands over her headstone and tells her it might be time to relent. “I keep trying to think what you’d do if you were here,” Bobby says. “But I know: You’d do whatever it takes to protect the family. And that’s just what I’m gonna do, Mama. And I know you’ll understand.”

Aside from echoing one of “Dallas’s” most resilient themes – the idea that sometimes you have to sacrifice your principles for the greater good (see also: “Ellie Saves the Day”) – this scene reminds me how much I love Patrick Duffy.

The actor has always been one of the “Dallas” franchise’s unsung heroes, but his gravitas is more readily apparent on the TNT series. Duffy has inherited the quiet strength and dignified spirit Barbara Bel Geddes brought to the original series. Like her, he never strikes a false note. And just as I can’t imagine the old show without Bel Geddes, it’s difficult to conceive the new “Dallas” without Duffy. Thankfully, we don’t have to.

 

‘I Hope You’ll Understand’

Troubled

In “Resurrection,” a ninth-season “Dallas” episode, Miss Ellie (Barbara Bel Geddes) visits Bobby’s Southfork grave.

ELLIE: Bobby. Oh, Bobby. [Sighs, sits on a nearby bench] This seems to be the only place where I can find peace. It’s the only place where I can get away from everyone’s questions. Here I’m just left alone with my own questions. You may not agree with me, but I hope you’ll understand. If this was the best of all worlds, I wouldn’t think of selling Ewing Oil. But it’s not the best of all worlds – or the best of all times. With you gone and Sue Ellen where she is, the family’s in trouble. I want to do what’s right, Bobby, for your little Christopher and for little John Ross. I don’t want them to inherit unhappiness. I couldn’t bear that. Your daddy always said that the only thing that really means anything is family. You knew that. Those were the last words that you, you tried to say to us. And now I have to do my part to, to keep us together.

 

‘I Know You’ll Understand’

Fractured

In “No Good Deed,” TNT’s eighth “Dallas” episode, Bobby (Patrick Duffy) visits Miss Ellie’s Southfork grave.

BOBBY: Hey Mama. I spent the last 20 years trying to protect this land. Protect your legacy. I remember you once told me that family is like baking a cake – from scratch. Real messy. Well, I wish I could tell you things are different, Mama, but they’re not. Our family is as fractured and dysfunctional as always. And I keep trying to think what you’d do if you were here. But I know: You’d do whatever it takes to protect the family. And that’s just what I’m gonna do, Mama. And I know you’ll understand.

What do you think of Miss Ellie and Bobby’s grave decisions? Share your comments below and read more “Dallas Parallels.”

The Art of Dallas: ‘The Split’

Miss Ellie (Barbara Bel Geddes) bikes home after retrieving the mail in this 1981 publicity shot from “The Split,” a fifth-season “Dallas” episode.

Dallas Scene of the Day: ‘You Do Like to Get Down in the Dirt’

American gladiators

American gladiators

In “Dallas’s” fifth-season episode “The Split,” a helicopter lands on the football field at the Cotton Bowl. Dusty (Jared Martin) exits and walks toward J.R. (Larry Hagman).

DUSTY: Ewing.

J.R.: Well, that was a very impressive entrance. You looking to see if I had any troops stationed outside?

DUSTY: I didn’t come here to play games, Ewing. What is it you wanted?

J.R.: Well, we got almost 72,000 empty seats there. [Motioning toward Dusty’s cane] You sure you wouldn’t like to sit down?

DUSTY: Look, why don’t we just get on with it, huh?

J.R.: All right. I suppose you think I came here to ask you to give me my boy back.

DUSTY: Yeah, that had occurred to me. So don’t even bother.

J.R.: Well, actually, I came here to do you a service.

DUSTY: Really?

J.R.: Ever since I found out about your … your problem – at the trial – well, I’ve been thinking about you.

DUSTY: I don’t know why you should think about me at all. Except for the fact that your wife is living with me.

J.R.: Well, in a sense, I suppose that’s true – technically. But how long she’s going to be living with you under the circumstances, I wouldn’t make a hazard to guess.

DUSTY: [Smiles] You do like to get down in the dirt, don’t you?

J.R.: I find it advantageous at times, yes.

DUSTY: All right, let’s get this over with.

J.R.: All right. My wife – and she is still my wife – is a lady of very tempestuous moods. Mostly sexual. Now I can give you a rundown of the names of her lovers if you’re really interested but –

DUSTY: No, not at all.

J.R.: There is a point here. I don’t want to be so crude as to call her a nymphomaniac, but all while she and I were enjoying a very healthy relationship, she was out looking for more elsewhere.

DUSTY: [Walks toward J.R., stands close to him] You are a disgusting man, Ewing. You think I don’t realize what kind of cheap trick you’re pulling here?

J.R.: Maybe a trick. But it’s certainly the truth. Hasn’t it occurred to you? Now surely you remember how she was before your accident. My bet is that you could hardly keep her out of bed. [Dusty backhands him] How long do you think she’s going to stay with a sexual washout? Hell, she can’t go without it forever. [Dusty turns and begins walking way; as J.R. continues speaking, he steadily raises his voice.] Maybe she won’t have to. I’ve seen your daddy. Maybe she’s staying with you because she’s not going without it. There’s only one person who’s man enough to keep that lady happy and on the Southern Cross. [Shouting] And that sure as hell ain’t you. [Chuckles as Dusty stops and looks down.]

The Art of Dallas: ‘Blocked’

J.R. (Larry Hagman) gets shoved into the Southfork swimming pool in this 1981 publicity shot from “Blocked,” a fifth-season “Dallas” episode.

Dallas Scene of the Day: ‘No Deal, J.R.’

Don't box him in

Don’t box him in

In “Dallas’s” fifth-season episode “Blocked,” Clayton (Howard Keel) arrives in a hotel suite for a meeting with J.R. (Larry Hagman).

J.R.: Well, I was beginning to think that you had changed your mind.

CLAYTON: I heard a lot of stories about you, J.R. I heard you were a snake – but I never realized just how low you’d sink.

J.R.: [Smiles] Did you come here to give me an evaluation of my character?

CLAYTON: No, J.R., I didn’t. I just want to know why you bought up all my crude – what your terms are so I can get back into business.

J.R.: Why don’t you have a little eye-opener. We can discuss this in a civilized manner.

CLAYTON: No, thank you. [Walks closer] And this is not a civilized situation. How much do you want for the oil?

J.R.: Oh, I think you’ll find my terms acceptable.

CLAYTON: You paid over market price. Otherwise you wouldn’t have got it. Now why would I find that acceptable?

J.R.: You have no choice. [Sits, smiles] See, I happen to know that you’re shutting down your refineries.

CLAYTON: You’ve invested a fortune trying to box me in. Why? Is it vengeance because I protected Sue Ellen?

J.R.: It’s business. Before I sell you a drop of my oil, I want Sue Ellen and John Ross off the Southern Cross ranch – away from you and your son.

CLAYTON: You’re holding my oil hostage in return for Sue Ellen?

J.R.: I don’t give a damn for Sue Ellen. I want my son back. And I’m willing to sell you that oil at the going market price – if you send those two packing.

CLAYTON: Then what? You think Sue Ellen’s going to return to Southfork? [Chuckles] She hates you so much she’d never do that.

J.R.: Well, Mr. Farlow, I know that woman a lot better than you do. She can’t make it on her own. Every time she runs away, it’s to another man. And what do you care anyway? [Rises, walks toward Clayton] With this deal you can keep your refineries open, your employees employed and not suffer any loss.

CLAYTON: No deal, J.R.

J.R.: Just how long do you think you’re going to be able to keep open?

CLAYTON: The terms you just offered me? Forever.

J.R.: She means nothing to you.

CLAYTON: You’re wrong. I respect her. And she means everything to my son. And the child belongs with her. [Turns and heads for the door]

J.R.: I’ll break you.

CLAYTON: Better men than you have tried it. No, J.R., you’re the one who’s going broke. I was late getting here because I stopped to find out the latest report on oil prices. Down almost a dollar a barrel and still falling. And you’re sitting on five million barrels. Now, your bankers are not going to be patient forever. [Reaches the door, stops, turns] By the time your daddy gets back from South America, there just might not be a Ewing Oil.

He exits, leaving J.R. looking worried.

Dallas Parallels: Fatal Falls

A beautiful woman feels mistreated by her Ewing lover. She is distressed, distraught, desperate. There’s a confrontation. Harsh words are exchanged. Before you know it, the woman has plunged to her death, leaving the police to sort out if this was a suicide or murder.

Sound familiar? This scenario has played out on “Dallas” more than once. More than twice, actually.

In the original show’s second-season episode “The Red File, Part 1,” J.R.’s ex-secretary and on-again/off-again mistress Julie Grey realizes he doesn’t love her, so she decides to give Cliff Barnes a copy of J.R.’s “red file,” which details his shady dealings with Jeb Ames and Willie Joe Garr. Dumb move, darlin’: When Jeb and Willie Joe find out what Julie’s up to, they show up at her apartment and chase her to the roof – and then they chase her off it.

Flash forward two seasons: In “Ewing-Gate,” Kristin Shepard, another of J.R.’s ex-mistresses/ex-secretaries, threatens to spill the beans about their secret love child if he doesn’t pay her more hush money. When J.R. refuses to give in to Kristin’s scheme, she shows up at Southfork and, after a confrontation with J.R., falls from the balcony and drowns in the swimming pool.

Now, flash forward three decades: In “Collateral Damage,” an episode of TNT’s “Dallas,” John Ross races to the high-rise hotel room of his ex-lover Marta del Sol, who has tricked him into believing she has kidnapped his girlfriend Elena. Once John Ross realizes this is a ruse, he leaves, passing two shadowy men on his way to the elevator. Marta ends up reaching the driveway before John Ross.

Echoes from both older episodes reverberate in the newer one. All three women feel used by the Ewing men in their lives, but they’re also victims of their own deceit: Julie secretly copied J.R.’s red file and Kristin fooled both J.R. and Jordan Lee into believing they fathered her child, while Marta cheated business partner Vicente Cano during their Southfork swindle.

There are other similarities: Marta dies at the hands of two men, just like Julie. The shot of Kristin’s dead body (in “Missing Heir,” the episode that follows “Ewing-Gate”) is creepily reminiscent of the haunting image of Marta’s bloodied corpse. The police briefly suspect J.R. killed Kristin, while John Ross is arrested for Marta’s murder.

Eventually, John Ross is cleared of wrongdoing, just like J.R. was in Kristin’s death. But did John Ross learn a lesson? Or like his daddy, will he continue to get involved with dangerous women? Most importantly: Will those women be smart enough to steer clear of heights?

 

‘What Do You Want?’

Baby daddy?

In “Ewing-Gate,” a fourth-season “Dallas” episode, J.R. (Larry Hagman) walks into his office, followed by the visiting Kristin (Mary Crosby).

J.R.: What ill wind blew you into Dallas? I thought we had a deal. [Sits his briefcase on his desk]

KRISTIN: The baby’s just fine, J.R. Thank you for asking. He looks just like his daddy.

J.R.: [Turns to face her] What do you want?

KRISTIN: More.

J.R.: Do you now?

KRISTIN: I’m tired of your little monthly checks, J.R. I picked up some very expensive habits in California – and I want you to pay for them.

J.R.: This is not the time to try to negotiate with me, Kristin.

KRISTIN: Well, now I think it’s the perfect time. Judging from what I read in the papers, you’re making the headlines everywhere. Poor Jock and Miss Ellie. They must be shattered. Think of how they’d feel if they read about a paternity suit on top of everything else.

J.R.: All right, but you gotta give me time. I can’t pull too much out of the bank right now.

KRISTIN: Don’t take too long, J.R. I’m not very patient.

J.R.: You’ll be hearing from me real soon. Where can I call you?

KRISTIN: [Rises] I’ll call you, J.R. Somehow, I’d feel safer that way. Don’t take too long now. [Walks toward the door, stops, turns to face him] Oh, and give my love to Sue Ellen.

 

‘What the Hell Do You Want?’

Oh daddy, what a babe!

In “Collateral Damage,” TNT’s seventh “Dallas” episode, John Ross and Marta (Josh Henderson, Leonor Varela) argue in her hotel room.

MARTA: Vicente froze my bank accounts. I have no money. And I really need to get out of the country.

JOHN ROSS: How much?

MARTA: What?

JOHN ROSS: Money. How much money?

MARTA: I don’t want money.

JOHN ROSS: Then what the hell do you want?

MARTA: I want you to take responsibility. You got me into this. You need to help me!

JOHN ROSS: Marta, I’m here to find Elena. Where the hell is she? [She stares at him silently.] You don’t have her.

MARTA: It was the only way to get you here.

JOHN ROSS: You stole that phone.

MARTA: [Goes to him] You need to help me. Please, John Ross. Please. [He notices a camera in the corner.]

JOHN ROSS: [Pushing her away] You’re filming this? What did you think was going to happen here? What is wrong with you?

MARTA: I have earned what I have. I’ve earned my way out of the slums of Caracas.

JOHN ROSS: Congratulations.

MARTA: I need to watch out for myself. I thought we had that in common. But you’re just a spoiled boy. You’re not entitled to anything. Not me. Not your girlfriend’s love. Nothing.

What do you think of J.R. and John Ross’s entanglements with Julie, Kristin and Marta? Share your comments below and read more “Dallas Parallels.”

The Art of Dallas: ‘The Big Shut Down’

Bev and Lucy (Tami Barber, Charlene Tilton) attend a garden party in this 1981 publicity shot from “The Big Shut Down,” a fifth-season “Dallas” episode.