Between the Lines and Behind the Scenes of "Dallas"
This summer, the “Dallas” fans at Dallas Decoder and Cook In/Dine Out are offering “Dallas Drinks,” a series of cocktails inspired by the characters from TNT’s new series. This week: The Sue Ellen, a “mocktail” as elegant as Linda Gray’s beloved alter ego.
Abby and J.R. (Donna Mills, Larry Hagman) are seen in this 1981 publicity shot from “A Family Matter,” a second-season “Knots Landing” episode.
Battle royale
In “Knots Landing’s” second-season episode “A Family Matter,” Valene (Joan Van Ark) visits J.R. (Larry Hagman) in his hotel room.
J.R.: Well, it’s quite an honor.
VAL: I need to talk to you, J.R.
J.R.: All right. Shall I order up some drinks or some yogurt or something like that?
VAL: I wanna talk to you about Gary.
J.R.: What’s the matter with Gary?
VAL: He promised me last night that he wouldn’t make any deals with you.
J.R.: Oh, I see. And you came up here to see that he keeps his promise.
VAL: I wanna know what you’re getting my husband into.
J.R.: I’m not getting your husband into anything. The closest I’ve gotten to a Ewing since I left Dallas is right here with you.
VAL: Don’t do anything to him now, J.R. Now that things are finally going so right for him.
J.R.: You are a lovely lady, Valene. But you’re a royal pain. Gary’s never amounted to much in his life, and I think that’s because of you.
VAL: What?
J.R.: You think small, Valene. Real small. Gary’s got a noose around his neck, and you’re hanging onto the other end, dragging him down.
VAL: You are a vile, evil man.
J.R.: All right, all right, all right. The conversation’s over. I don’t wanna talk anymore. I’m kind of busy now. [Walks to the door, opens it]
VAL: [Begins leaving, stops and turns to him] I don’t blame whoever it was that shot you. I just wish I’d done it myself.
He shuts the door and sighs.
J.R.: I don’t need this.
Afton (Audrey Landers) tempts J.R. (Larry Hagman) in this 1981 publicity shot from “End of the Road, Part 1,” a fourth-season “Dallas” episode.
Fit for a queen
In “Dallas’s” fourth-season episode “End of the Road, Part 1,” the Ewing women – Miss Ellie (Barbara Bel Geddes), Sue Ellen (Linda Gray) and Pam (Victoria Principal) – chat with Lucy (Charlene Tilton) in her bedroom, where a tailor pins her wedding gown.
ELLIE: That dress has been waiting a long time for you. My daddy had a woman come all the way from Paris with the material for it – and money was hard for him to come by in those days. But he was very determined to show all those oilmen that a Southworth wouldn’t be put to shame.
LUCY: What about Granddaddy?
ELLIE: He was something. All decked out in formal clothes. He would’ve felt better in boots and jeans. He kept tugging at his collar, trying to breathe. [Chuckles] He was the handsomest man I’d ever seen. Still is.
SUE ELLEN: I believe my wedding day was the most wonderful day of my life. All those bridesmaids, all those ushers – and hundreds and hundreds of people. I can close my eyes and still think that I’m reliving it, all over again.
PAM: Well, ours was a different setting. A justice of the peace in New Orleans city hall. We were both scared to death. Bobby Ewing marrying Digger Barnes’ daughter.
ELLIE: Well, when I was first married, my daddy didn’t like Jock any better than Digger did. There comes a time when you have to let your family know who really has the last word in suitable husbands.
LUCY: Is that really true, Grandma?
ELLIE: Well, we’d all like to think so, anyway.
LUCY: I don’t know. Mitch is so darn stubborn. All he ever thinks about is going to medical school and studying.
SUE ELLEN: Well, Lucy, you should consider yourself very lucky. Ambition is a fine quality to have in a man. Isn’t it, Pamela?
PAM: I suppose so, if the ambition doesn’t become an obsession.
ELLIE: Well, I’m not sure I would have loved Jock as much if he’d been different. All our men are ambitious.
LUCY: Except for my daddy, and he’s doing just fine.
ELLIE: That’s true, Lucy. But Gary has other qualities that make him special. Very special.
Rebecca (Julie Gonzalo) has her back against the wall in “No Good Deed,” the eighth episode of TNT’s “Dallas.” Photo credit: Zade Rosenthal/TNT.
The good son
In “No Good Deed,” a first-season “Dallas” episode, Bobby (Patrick Duffy) visits Miss Ellie’s Southfork gravesite.
BOBBY: 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. 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.
It’s a family thing
Pam is the focus of “Executive Wife,” and in all her scenes, she wears purple. It starts off subtly – in Victoria Principal’s first appearance in this episode, Pam sports a purple belt with a blue pantsuit – but the color becomes more prominent as the story progresses.
Perhaps the purple suggests Pam is emotionally bruised after being rejected by Rebecca in the previous episode, “The Prodigal Mother.” Or maybe it signifies Pam’s romantic state: If purple is produced by blending red with blue, then isn’t it the ideal pigmentation to represent Pam’s heart-versus-head struggle to resist Alex Ward’s temptation in this episode?
The color is frequently seen on other characters during “Dallas’s” fourth season, but “Executive Wife” might be the show’s purplest episode of all. In addition to seeing it on Pam, Sue Ellen wears a purple floral print dress when J.R. takes her ring shopping; Donna wears a purple dress when she and Cliff run into J.R. and Sue Ellen during their shopping spree; and Bobby’s secretary Connie sports a pinkish-purple blouse in “Executive Wife’s” first act.
As if that wasn’t enough, when Mitch and Lucy announce their engagement to the Ewings, she wears a purple dress, while he sports a purple necktie. In Mitch’s case, the color is particularly appropriate. After all, if he survives his entry into the family Ewing, he may well qualify for a purple heart.
J.R. and Sue Ellen (Larry Hagman, Linda Gray) are seen in this 1981 publicity shot from “Executive Wife,” a fourth-season “Dallas” episode.
Power tip
In “Dallas’s” fourth-season episode “Executive Wife,” Bobby (Patrick Duffy) enters the Cattlemen’s Club and begins questioning J.R. (Larry Hagman) about Jock’s business deal, while Jock (Jim Davis) looks on.
JOCK: Now, you just hold on Bobby. J.R. don’t discuss my business with you or anybody else unless I tell him. You understand?
BOBBY: Okay, Daddy, then why didn’t you tell me? Didn’t you think I should know?
JOCK: I was going to tell you tonight.
BOBBY: Tonight? I want those kind of things discussed with me before you act, not after! Your dealing behind my back is making me look like a fool.
JOCK: Now just what the hell are you talking about?
BOBBY: I called Les at the bank and asked him to transfer $12 million from the account.
JOCK: So what? We’ve got a hundred times that much.
BOBBY: I’m talking liquid assets. Cash, Daddy, cash — and we don’t have that amount! And you know why? Because you took $10 million.
JOCK: [Rises from his seat, faces Bobby] You damn right I took it. It’s mine!
BOBBY: That money belongs to Ewing Oil.
JOCK: And who in the hell do you think Ewing Oil is? It’s me! Ewing Oil belongs to me and don’t you forget it, boy.
BOBBY: And you gave me Ewing Oil to run, in writing! And that makes you obliged to consult me before you do anything that concerns that company.
JOCK: Obliged? You’re telling me that I’m obliged to ask you how to spend my own money any damn way I see fit?
BOBBY: That’s right. You gave me the power to run that company, and damn it, I intend to run it!
JOCK: So I gave you power, huh? Well, let me tell you something, boy. If I did give you power, you got nothing! Nobody gives you power. Real power is something you take!
BOBBY: Well, I’m going to remember that.
JOCK: You do that.
Bobby walks away.
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