Meddlin’ mama
TNT’s “Dallas” has “turned up the volume” for its third season, Linda Gray told Dallas Decoder and other bloggers and reporters today.
Viewers who skip the show will “miss out,” Gray said. “They’re going to miss out on a wonderful, wonderful show — this year especially. They’ve turned up the volume. It’s hot. It’s sexy. It’s bawdy. … It’s beautiful television.”
The actress also praised the “Dallas” writers for the way they’ve handled Sue Ellen’s alcoholic relapse, which began after J.R.’s death last year and will continue in the new season.
“When J.R. Ewing passed, that was a perfect time for a relapse to occur. It wasn’t a tacky way of having her start drinking again. This was real, and a lot of people I’ve spoken to who are in the program have said, ‘Yes, that’s very realistic.’” … I really applaud the writers for doing it so beautifully,” Gray said.
More “Dallas” dish from Gray:
• On Sue Ellen’s reaction to John Ross’ ambition: “I think that she’d like to take that kid by the scruff of his neck and give him a good shake. I think that’s what he needs. I adore their relationship. He’s always disappointing her, which I love. I think it’s just fabulous.”
• On fans who feel Sue Ellen meddles in John Ross’s life: “Just wait. She’s going to keep meddling, meddling, meddling. And he’s going to keep doing bad things. That’s the way it works. … The scenes that they’ve written for the two of us are extraordinarily wonderful.”
• On her real-life mothering style — and how it mirrors Sue Ellen’s: “Once you’re a mother, you’re always a mother. … You can’t help yourself. My girlfriends and I used to say, ‘It’s part of our charm.’ And so there are times, I have to say, [when] Linda Gray says to herself about Sue Ellen: ‘Sweetheart, it’s part of your charm.’”
• On continuing Dallas without Larry Hagman: “Larry, because I knew him so well, would say to me, ‘Oh, for God’s sakes. Get on with it.’ Honestly, that’s what he would say. He would not want people to say, ‘Oh, the series won’t work without him.’”
• On how the writers might keep J.R. in the storyline: “You know, he will have done something — in my estimation — 40 years ago, some … oil deal that will reverberate and will cause chaos now. They’ll find some letter, they’ll find some document and it will make a mess of things. So I think that they’ll always include him.”
“Dallas’s” third season begins on Monday, February 24. Share your comments below and read more news from Dallas Decoder.
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