Features – Dallas Decoder

Dallas Scene of the Day: ‘Now That I Just Won’t Take!’

September 24, 2012 by Chris Baker 4 Comments

Hear her roar

In “Dallas’s” fourth-season episode “The Gathering Storm,” Lucy and Mitch (Charlene Tilton, Leigh McCloskey) argue in their living room.

MITCH: Lucy, do you realize what’s happening to us?

LUCY: No, but apparently you do.

MITCH: We’re like roommates. We pass each other either coming or going. We don’t have a marriage. We have a quick-change routine.

LUCY: And naturally, it’s my fault.

MITCH: Well, it certainly isn’t mine. I don’t have limousines calling for me at dawn every day and I don’t come dragging in at 10:30 at night.

LUCY: Oh, no. Oh, no. Now that I just won’t take! You said it, mister. You said it loud and clear. We’ll live on “our income.” [Does air quotes] Remember that?

MITCH: I didn’t say, “our income.” I said we’d live on mine.

LUCY: Oh, great. So you’re going to park cars and work at the lab for nickels and dimes. And we’re going to live happily ever after. Is that it?

MITCH: Yes, if we have to!

LUCY: I don’t believe this. What rulebook did you drag that out of? Something that was written in the Dark Ages?

MITCH: [Sighs] I don’t need a rulebook to tell me how I feel.

LUCY: Feel about what?

MITCH: Well, that damn gold chain for one thing. Don’t you know I wanna be able to give you things like that, but I can’t?

LUCY: Oh Mitch, stop it.

MITCH: Yeah, what, at nickels and dimes you’d have to wait 10 years.

LUCY: OK, I’m sorry I said that. But it’s not my money. And it’s not your money. It’s ours. What difference does it make who earns it?

MITCH: It makes all the difference in the world. Now, if you don’t see that, and if you can’t understand what’s wrong, then we’re in real trouble.

LUCY: You said it. Not me. Just remember that. [She turns and begins walking away.]

MITCH: Lucy, look.

LUCY: [Facing him, screaming] No, you look. I have had it up to here with this stupid macho act of yours. I work my butt off to bring money home so we can live decently and I’ll be damned if I’m gonna apologize for that!

MITCH: You really don’t see anything wrong then, do you?

LUCY: Not a thing!

MITCH: Well, then I guess there’s nothing left to be said. [Grabs his coat, leaves]

Filed Under: Dallas Scenes of the Day, Dallas Scenes of the Day (Classic), Features Tagged With: Charlene Tilton, Gathering Storm, Leigh McCloskey

Dallas Parallels: Counterfeit Correspondence

September 21, 2012 by Chris Baker 14 Comments

In the most intense scene in “Changing of the Guard,” TNT’s first “Dallas” episode, Christopher angrily accuses Elena of exposing flaws in his methane hydrate project. She fires back by calling him out for dumping her – via e-mail! – on the day they were supposed to be married.

“I never sent you an e-mail!” Christopher exclaims. “I waited for you. For six hours! I thought you were dead, Elena. I was calling hospitals. I called Southfork. And when I finally got together with my father, he said you were in Mexico. And the next time I saw you, you had hooked up with John Ross!”

So begins one of the biggest mysteries of the new “Dallas’s” first season: Who sent the e-mail that broke up Christopher and Elena? The storyline produces more than a few twists, and as the Dallas Redone blog noted in June, it also evokes memories of another pair of star-crossed Southfork lovers who were kept apart by counterfeit correspondence.

During the classic “Dallas’s” seventh season, baby Christopher’s newly separated parents, Bobby and Pam, were on the verge of reconciling when they encountered interference from another relative: Pam’s conniving half-sister Katherine, who forged a letter in which Pam told her lawyer she no longer wanted to be married to Bobby but would return to Southfork to avoid hurting him.

Katherine, hoping to snare her sister’s husband for herself, showed Bobby the letter, knowing it would prompt him to give Pam the divorce he believe she wanted. The ploy worked and Bobby and Pam were kept apart.

In “Hush, Hush, Sweet Jessie,” the penultimate episode of “Dallas’s” seventh season, the truth finally came out. In a quiet, moving performance from Victoria Principal, Pam pours out her heart and tells her ex-husband she never wanted to end their marriage. The revelation confuses Bobby, who reminds Pam what she had written in the letter to her lawyer.

“What letter?” Pam asks.

The conversation is interrupted by a ringing telephone – symbolic, perhaps, of the bells going off in Pam’s mind. At the end of the episode, she confronts Katherine (played to wicked perfection by Morgan Brittany), who brazenly confesses to her forgery – prompting Pam to smack her so hard, Katherine falls onto a nearby bed.

Flash forward three decades: In “Truth and Consequences,” TNT’s fifth “Dallas” episode, after Christopher pulls Rebecca aside at the Ewing barbecue, she tells him Tommy sent the e-mail that broke up him and Elena – which leads to Christopher striking Tommy in front of the other guests.

Like Pam’s smackdown, Christopher’s punch offered a satisfying flash of catharsis for viewers who knew Tommy was secretly plotting against the Ewings. It also reminded us: The Ewing men may have a lot in common with their daddies, but sometimes they take after their mamas.

‘What Letter?’

What letter?

In “Hush, Hush, Sweet Jessie,” a seventh-season “Dallas” episode, Pam (Victoria Principal) stands at a window in her living room while Bobby (Patrick Duffy) rests on the arm of a sofa.

PAM: I laid awake most of the night, just thinking. Thinking about how sad everything is. There have been so many tragedies in the past couple of years. Mama’s dying. Now Mark’s dying. Our marriage breaking up. Sometimes I just can’t believe that we’re divorced. I don’t know, Bobby. We should have found some way to have made it work.

BOBBY: I don’t disagree with that.

PAM: I thought a lot about our splitting up. It wasn’t just your fault or the Ewings’ fault. A lot of it was my fault too. You don’t know this, but I came to Thanksgiving Square that day to tell you that I was ready to try again.

BOBBY: Try? Try what, getting back together?

PAM: Yes.

BOBBY: Well, that’s very strange. I was sure you didn’t want to.

PAM: Oh, Bobby, I wanted to. I always wanted to. I just didn’t know if I could. [Walks toward him, they sit together on the sofa] Anyway, before I could say anything, you told me that you were letting me go.

BOBBY: But that’s because of your letter.

PAM: What letter?

BOBBY: The letter that you wrote to your lawyer. Maybe it was a first draft or something. Maybe you didn’t even send it. But Katherine found it and read it to me. It wasn’t the easiest thing I ever listened to.

PAM: Do you remember what was in it?

BOBBY: You said you wanted out of the marriage. You didn’t want to divorce me. You were afraid it would hurt me. You were hoping that I’d let you go.

In the background, a telephone rings.

PAM: Katherine read you this letter?

BOBBY: Yes. And despite how I felt at the time, it made me realize you wanted a different life.

‘I Never Sent You an E-mail!’

What e-mail?

In “Changing of the Guard,” the first episode of TNT’s “Dallas,” Christopher (Jesse Metcalfe) angrily leads Elena (Jordana Brewster) into a room at Southfork and slams the door behind them.

CHRISTOPHER: You couldn’t wait to tell him.

ELENA: What?

CHRISTOPHER: About the methane. The earthquake. Everything I told you in confidence, you told John Ross!

ELENA: I don’t know what you’re talking about.

CHRISTOPHER: [Grips her arms] Don’t lie to me!

ELENA: [Pushes him away] Let go.

CHRISTOPHER: Don’t lie to me!

ELENA: I have no idea what you’re talking about.

CHRISTOPHER: John Ross tried to blackmail me. He said he was going to tell my father everything.

ELENA: I didn’t tell him anything.

CHRISTOPHER: And what you did? What you did was for nothing. Because he doesn’t love you. He uses people. And you want to know what’s really sick? I trusted you again.

ELENA: [Slaps him] John Ross doesn’t love anyone but himself? You look in the mirror, Christopher. You listen to your own words. I will always love you. [Crying] But we are two different people, from two different circumstances. I hope you understand. Was I really so wrong for you?

CHRISTOPHER: I have no idea what you’re talking about.

ELENA: The e-mail you sent me. The day we were supposed to get married.

CHRISTOPHER: I never sent you an e-mail! I waited for you. For six hours! I thought you were dead, Elena. [Crying] I was calling hospitals. I called Southfork. And when I finally got together with my father, he said you were in Mexico. And the next time I saw you, you had hooked up with John Ross! So what was I supposed to think?

ELENA: You sent me an e-mail saying that we were a mistake.

CHRISTOPHER: What?

ELENA: I only went to Mexico because I couldn’t stand to be here. John

Ross found me. I thought I wasn’t good enough.

CHRISTOPHER: No. [Touches her face] No. Don’t ever say that.

What do you think of Pam and Christopher’s moments of truth? Share your comments below and read more “Dallas Parallels.”

Filed Under: Dallas Parallels, Features Tagged With: Changing of the Guard (2012), Dallas Redone, Hush Hush Sweet Jessie, Jesse Metcalfe, Jordana Brewster, Morgan Brittany, Patrick Duffy, TNT, Victoria Principal

Knots Landing Scene of the Day: ‘You Won’t Cheat Old J.R.’

September 20, 2012 by Chris Baker 1 Comment

Fine lady, fine print

In “Knots Landing’s” second-season episode “Designs,” Abby (Donna Mills) meets with J.R. (Larry Hagman) in his hotel room.

J.R.: Now, you see? You didn’t need Gary after all, did you?

ABBY: No, but I wanted him.

J.R.: Disappointed?

ABBY: I’ll live. [Rises from her seat, shows J.R. a legal document]

J.R.: What’s this?

ABBY: A contract. A girl has to protect herself.

J.R.: In Texas, a man’s word is worth a whole lot more than a little piece of paper.

ABBY: We’re in California.

J.R.: [Chuckles, sits, signs it] OK.

ABBY: Aren’t you going to read it?

J.R.: No. You’re not going to cheat old J.R. [Hands her the paper] There you are. Now that’s finished, partner.

ABBY: For the time being.

J.R.: You know, now that we’ve consummated that, I’m getting a little restless.

ABBY: Well, maybe that you ought to learn how to relax.

J.R.: Oh, Abby, I know how to relax. [Pulls her onto the sofa, kisses her]

Filed Under: Dallas Scenes of the Day, Dallas Scenes of the Day (Classic), Features Tagged With: Designs, Donna Mills, Knots Landing, Larry Hagman

Dallas Scene of the Day: ‘That Has Nothing to Do With Me’

September 19, 2012 by Chris Baker 1 Comment

Conflicted

In “Dallas’s” fourth-season episode “The Mark of Cain,” Bobby (Patrick Duffy) is participating in a senate committee meeting on the Takapa Lake legislation – along with Chairman Harbin (David Healy) and fellow senators Dickson (Joseph Warren), Carson (John Hart) and Varela (John Arvilla) – when Dickson asks to speak.

HARBIN: The chair recognizes Senator Dickson.

DICKSON: May we speak informally for a few minutes, please?

HARBIN: If you’d like to, senator. [Toward stenographer] Please don’t record this.

DICKSON: I’d like to address what I have to say to our new senator, Mr. Bobby Ewing. [Smiling] Senator, do you think you can address this problem in a disinterested fashion?

BOBBY: [Puzzled] Senator?

DICKSON: I think there’s a conflict of interest here.

BOBBY: I wish to address this committee on the record.

VARELA: [Leaning forward] There is certainly a conflict of interest, senator. That great organization, the Daughters of the Alamo, they are behind the present injunction of the court and Mrs. Ellie Ewing is chairing the Save Takapa Committee.

HARBIN: Gentleman –

DICKSON: On the other hand, one of the directors of Unified Development is Mr. Jock Ewing.

BOBBY: That has nothing to do with me.

CARSON: Mr. Ewing, with all due respect, this is the way I see it. Your daddy’s people have the perfect right to try and build a resort at Takapa, if that’s their choosing. But how’s it gonna look if there’s a Ewing on this panel?

BOBBY: Mr. Chairman, I have no interest in Unified.

DICKSON: [Smiling] But you have an interest in Ewing Oil.

CARSON: Now, don’t get us wrong, Mr. Ewing. We’re not concerned that the newly elected senator’s in the oil business. After all, there’s a whole lot of people in Texas in the oil business, including some of our most distinguished members. [Harbin and Carson smile.]

DICKSON: The problem, senator, is that the Ewing family has a present financial interest in Takapa.

VARELA: The way I see it, senator, it would be best for everyone, and for this senate body in particular, if you were to ask the lieutenant governor to remove you from this panel.

Bobby looks surprised.

Filed Under: Dallas Scenes of the Day, Dallas Scenes of the Day (Classic), Features Tagged With: David Healy, John Arvilla, John Hart, Joseph Warren, Mark of Cain, Patrick Duffy

The Art of Dallas: ‘The New Mrs. Ewing’

September 18, 2012 by Chris Baker 1 Comment

J.R. and Leslie (Larry Hagman, Susan Flannery) watch Bobby’s televised victory speech in this 1981 publicity shot from “The New Mrs. Ewing,” a fourth-season “Dallas” episode.

Filed Under: Art of Dallas, Art of Dallas (Classic), Features Tagged With: Larry Hagman, New Mrs. Ewing, Susan Flannery

Dallas Scene of the Day: ‘You Both Sicken Me!’

September 18, 2012 by Chris Baker 6 Comments

Ouch

In “Dallas’s” fourth-season episode “The New Mrs. Ewing,” Jock (Jim Davis) slams closed the doors to the Southfork living room, where he stands alone with J.R. (Larry Hagman).

JOCK: I couldn’t believe it. My own son, letting some little no-account alley cat swing you by your big toe. Letting her screw up the deal with the cartel. I thought I brought you up better than that. A woman’s place is in the bedroom, sure as hell not in the boardroom.

Miss Ellie (Barbara Bel Geddes) enters.

ELLIE: Very nice, Jock.

JOCK: Oh, didn’t hear you come in, Ellie.

ELLIE: Obviously.

JOCK: Now, look Miss Ellie, you know I didn’t mean to –

ELLIE: I know what you meant. You believe that the woman’s place is two steps behind the man – except when walking through a minefield.

JOCK: You don’t understand, Ellie. J.R. let that uppity Leslie Stewart spoil his deal with the cartel.

ELLIE: Well, you and J.R. should know all about spoilers, Jock.

JOCK: Now, what’s that supposed to mean, Miss Ellie?

ELLIE: Everything you touch you spoil. Relationships, people’s lives.

J.R.: Well, Mama, I think you’re exaggerating a little bit.

ELLIE: Am I? J.R., you and your daddy use people up and then throw them away. Even members of your own family. [She begins to leave, then turns to face them.] You both sicken me!

She leaves, slamming the door behind her.

Filed Under: Dallas Scenes of the Day, Dallas Scenes of the Day (Classic), Features Tagged With: Barbara Bel Geddes, Jim Davis, Larry Hagman, New Mrs. Ewing

The Art of Dallas: ‘Lover, Come Back’

September 17, 2012 by Chris Baker 2 Comments

Sue Ellen (Linda Gray) finds Dusty (Jared Martin) again in this 1981 publicity shot from “Lover, Come Back,” a fourth-season “Dallas” episode.

Filed Under: Art of Dallas, Art of Dallas (Classic), Features Tagged With: Jared Martin, Linda Gray, Lover Come Back

Dallas Scene of the Day: ‘Goodbye, My Darling’

September 17, 2012 by Chris Baker 3 Comments

Farewell, my lovely

In “Dallas’s” fourth-season episode “Lover, Come Back,” Sue Ellen (Linda Gray) is preparing to leave Dusty (Jared Martin) for the evening.

SUE ELLEN: I have to get to Southfork, darling, but I’ll be back first thing in the morning. [She kisses him and begins walking away.]

DUSTY: No, Sue Ellen. Don’t come back. Ever.

SUE ELLEN: [She turns back toward him.] I have to. I couldn’t stand to lose you again.

DUSTY: You have lost me, Sue Ellen. You’re pretending we are as we used to be. We’re not.

SUE ELLEN: [She stands behind him, leans down and puts her arms around him.] But we love each other. That hasn’t changed.

DUSTY: The only thing we have left is a memory of how we were. And that was perfect. But I’d rather remember it like that than to be together now and have it die.

SUE ELLEN: [Moves around to face him, kneels down] But I won’t let it die.

DUSTY: I know you wouldn’t, Sue Ellen. You wouldn’t want to. You look at me now, you see me the way I used to be, and nothing else matters.

SUE ELLEN: And it never will.

DUSTY: Sue Ellen, someday it will. Not now, not a month from now, not a year, maybe even more than that, but someday you’re gonna walk in that door and you’ll see me – not as you want to see me, but as I really am. And then you’re going to realize that you’re married to a man who can’t walk again, who’s never going to make love again.

SUE ELLEN: [Crying] No, no.

DUSTY: And I’ll see it in your eyes. And you’ll cover it up, pretend that nothing has changed, but I’ll know. And that’s going to destroy me.

SUE ELLEN: No, I’d never hurt you. Dusty, I love you.

DUSTY: I love you. That’s the only thing I have left. If I didn’t know that, I might as well not have survived that plane crash. But if you really love me, don’t make me see myself in your eyes every day. Let me have my memories of you, and my dreams of you. Love me enough to do that.

SUE ELLEN: [Sobbing] You’ll never know how much I love you. Never. [They kiss.] Goodbye, my darling. [She rises, exits the room] Goodbye.

Filed Under: Dallas Scenes of the Day, Dallas Scenes of the Day (Classic), Features Tagged With: Jared Martin, Linda Gray, Lover Come Back

Dallas Parallels: Welcome to the Family

September 14, 2012 by Chris Baker 11 Comments

Introducing “Dallas Parallels,” a periodic feature that showcases connections between TNT’s “Dallas” and the original series.

Quite appropriately, TNT’s “Dallas” pilot, “Changing of the Guard,” is chock full of allusions to “Digger’s Daughter,” the classic show’s first hour.

Both episodes open with a leading lady exclaiming a male Ewing’s name (Pam: “Bobby James Ewing, I don’t believe you!” Elena: “John Ross, wake up!”), both feature helicopter tours of Southfork (Pam and Ray in the original, Bobby and Marta in the new series) and both depict characters boasting in barrooms about their wildcatting exploits (Digger, John Ross).

Now that we know Rebecca is Cliff’s daughter, it’s also worth revisiting “Changing of the Guard” to see how closely her introduction to the Ewings mirrors her Aunt Pam’s.

In “Digger’s Daughter,” Pam’s first Southfork cocktail hour is typically tense. Jock is as gruff as ever (“Young lady, when’s that brother of yours going to give up that crusade against us Ewings?”), and then Lucy cheekily insists Ray, Pam’s ex-boyfriend, give the new bride a kiss in front of the family.

Flash forward three decades: In “Changing of the Guard,” Rebecca accompanies Christopher to Bobby’s birthday dinner at Southfork, where she meets John Ross and Elena for the first time. The reception isn’t hostile like the one Pam received, but it’s equally awkward.

Just as Pam’s kin became a topic of conversation three decades earlier, Christopher mentions that Rebecca has “a brother” (ha!) but “not much by the way of family” (double ha!). Moments later, John Ross mischievously suggests Elena – John Ross’s girlfriend, who also happens to be Christopher’s unrequited true love – could serve as Rebecca’s bridesmaid.

Rebecca cheerfully agrees (“I mean, you’re like Chris’s sister.”) and invites Elena to join the wedding party. As Bobby, Ann and Sue Ellen exchange wide-eyed glances around the table, John Ross offers Christopher a self-satisfied smirk.

Cousin Lucy would be proud.

‘You’re Going to Kiss the Bride, Aren’t You?’

Slinky

In “Digger’s Daughter,” “Dallas’s” first episode, the Ewings have cocktails in the Southfork living room. Jock (Jim Davis) stands, while Bobby and Pam (Patrick Duffy, Victoria Principal) sit on the sofa, surrounded by Miss Ellie (Barbara Bel Geddes), Sue Ellen (Linda Gray) and Lucy (Charlene Tilton).

BOBBY: Well, I’m not sure I can even tell you how the whole thing happened, except that I said, “I love you.” And she said, “I love you.” And I said, “Are you sure?” She said, “Of course I’m sure.” So I said, “Well, then let’s get married right here in this old city of New Orleans.” [Chuckles] She said, “Bobby Ewing, that’s about the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard.” But 20 minutes later, there we were, standing in front of that old Baptist preacher saying, “I will, I will.” And that was that.

SUE ELLEN: I never knew you were so impulsive Bobby.

BOBBY: Well, I never knew I was either.

ELLIE: Pamela, you settled into your room all right?

PAM: Oh yes, ma’am. Of course, I only have the one suitcase but I’ll go into Dallas tomorrow and get my things.

JOCK: [Steps forward] Young lady, when’s that brother of yours going to give up that crusade against us Ewings?

BOBBY: [Rises from the sofa, approaches Jock] Daddy, I don’t think this is the proper time or place to discuss that.

JOCK: I don’t know why not.

ELLIE: We don’t talk business at this hour, Jock.

JOCK: [Finishes his drink] Anybody want a refill?

J.R.: Yeah, I believe I will, father. [They move to the liquor cart.]

Ray (Steve Kanaly) enters, knocks on the wall.

RAY: Excuse me, Mr. Ewing?

JOCK: Come in, Ray. Have a drink.

RAY: No thanks, sir.

J.R.: Ray.

RAY: J.R.

J.R.: I believe you know Pamela here.

RAY: Sure. Pam. [Nods]

PAM: Hi Ray.

LUCY: Ray Krebbs, have you heard that our Bobby has up and married Pamela Barnes?

RAY: Yeah, I heard. Congratulations to you both.

LUCY: Where are you manners, Ray? You’re going to kiss the bride, aren’t you?

Bobby motions to Pam.

RAY: Sure. Where are my manners? [Steps forward, gives Pam a peck on the cheek] Congratulations.

‘I Have an Idea: Elena Could Be Your Bridesmaid’

Smirky

In “Changing of the Guard,” the first episode of TNT’s “Dallas,” the Ewings celebrate Bobby’s birthday in the Southfork dining room. Bobby (Patrick Duffy) sits at the head of the table with Sue Ellen and Ann (Linda Gray and Brenda Strong) nearby, while John Ross and Elena (Josh Henderson and Jordana Brewster) and Christopher and Rebecca (Jesse Metcalfe, Julie Gonzalo) face each other.

REBECCA: I was just telling Sue Ellen that my one and only bridesmaid had a family emergency and won’t be able to make the wedding.

CHRISTOPHER: Rebecca’s parents, they died in a plane crash. She’s got a brother but not much by the way of family. Shouldn’t Tommy be here by now?

REBECCA: Yeah. I’m a little worried about him.

JOHN ROSS: I have an idea. Elena could be your bridesmaid.

Ann, Sue Ellen and Bobby exchange puzzled looks.

ELENA: [To John Ross, incredulously] Sorry?

JOHN ROSS: I think it’s a great idea.

ELENA: [To Rebecca] Really, I, I would not be a good bridesmaid.

Christopher and Rebecca look at each other.

REBECCA: [Smiling] I’d, I’d love it Elena. I mean, you’re like Chris’s sister.

ELENA: Oh, I’m so flattered, really. But it must be too late to get a dress made.

REBECCA: I’m sure the dressmaker can just alter the dress we’re not using. It’d be an honor to have you as my bridesmaid. Sorry I didn’t think of it first.

John Ross smirks at Christopher.

ELENA: [Softly] OK.

REBECCA: Well, it’s settled then.

What do you think of Pam and Rebecca’s introductions to the Ewing family? Share your comments below and read more “Dallas Parallels.”

Filed Under: Dallas Parallels, Features Tagged With: Barbara Bel Geddes, Brenda Strong, Changing of the Guard (2012), Charlene Tilton, Digger’s Daughter, Jesse Metcalfe, Jim Davis, Jordana Brewster, Josh Henderson, Julie Gonzalo, Larry Hagman, Linda Gray, Patrick Duffy, Steve Kanaly, TNT, Victoria Principal

The Art of Knots Landing: ‘The Loudest Word’

September 13, 2012 by Chris Baker Leave a Comment

Valene (Joan Van Ark) discuss her cancer surgery with Bobby (Patrick Duffy) in this 1981 publicity shot from “The Loudest Word,” a second-season “Knots Landing” episode.

Filed Under: Art of Dallas, Art of Dallas (Classic), Features Tagged With: Joan Van Ark, Knots Landing, Loudest Word, Patrick Duffy