Critiques (Classic) – Dallas Decoder

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 82 – ‘The Sweet Smell of Revenge’

October 24, 2012 by Chris Baker 17 Comments

Saved, for now

I’ve always considered Pam’s mental breakdown in “The Sweet Smell of Revenge” to be out of character for her. The woman who tries to jump off a high-rise rooftop in this episode isn’t the strong, spirited heroine I fell for when “Dallas” began. On the other hand, the show deserves credit for taking a creative risk with this storyline – and Victoria Principal deserves praise for delivering a gutsy performance.

Mental illness wasn’t depicted a lot on television during this era – and when the subject was addressed, it was often played for laughs (see the patients on “The Bob Newhart Show”). “Dallas” breaks a little ground with Pam’s storyline, even if some of the language in Linda Elstad’s “Sweet Smell of Revenge” script – psychiatrist Dr. Conrad suggests depressed people are consumed with “self-hatred” – doesn’t quite jive with how we think of the disorder today.

For the most part, though, this episode feels progressive, especially when it comes to the reaction of Pam’s family members to her diagnosis. None of them judge or mock her (not even J.R.!), nor do they pity her; they just want her to get better. Above all, I appreciate how “The Sweet Smell of Revenge” stops trying to link Pam’s depression to her fertility problems, even if the show later reverses course and once again presents motherhood as the cure-all for Pam’s crisis.

Regardless, the best thing about “The Sweet Smell of Revenge” is Principal, who does some of her finest work on “Dallas” in this episode – particularly in the scene where Dr. Conrad meets Pam after her suicide attempt. Principal goes through an emotional gamut here – from numbness to anger to despair – yet she never goes overboard. It’s a really good performance.

Watching this scene, I thought about how Pam was one of television’s most popular heroines when this episode aired in 1981. I don’t know if Principal had qualms about the writers sending her character into such dark territory; maybe she welcomed the challenge. Whatever the case, the actress gives it her all. It’s hard not to admire that, no matter how I feel about the storyline itself.

Grade: B

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Mothers

‘THE SWEET SMELL OF REVENGE’

Season 5, Episode 5

Airdate: November 6, 1981

Audience: 22.3 million homes, ranking 1st in the weekly ratings

Writer: Linda Elstad

Director: Irving J. Moore

Synopsis: Bobby has Pam committed to a sanitarium after she tries to jump off a building. Later, he receives a call from a man who wants $2,000 for information about Kristin and her infant son, Christopher. J.R. schemes to cut off the oil supply to the Farlow refineries. Ray and Punk consider a new real estate deal. Dr. Waring offers Mitch an internship.

Cast: Barbara Babcock (Liz Craig), Tyler Banks (John Ross Ewing), Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Deborah Benson (secretary), Morgan Brittany (Katherine Wentworth), J.R. Clark (Earl Holiday), Patrick Duffy (Senator Bobby Ewing), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Laurence Haddon (Franklin Horner), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Art Hindle (caller), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Sherril Lynn Katzman (Jackie), Howard Keel (Clayton Farlow), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Audrey Landers (Afton Cooper), Jared Martin (Dusty Farlow), Leigh McCloskey (Mitch Cooper), Priscilla Pointer (Rebecca Wentworth), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Debbie Rennard (Sly), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Cooper), Deborah Tranelli (Phyllis), David Tress (Walter Sher), Morgan Woodward (Punk Anderson), Gretchen Wyler (Dr. Dagmara Conrad)

“The Sweet Smell of Revenge” is available on DVD and at Amazon.com and iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.

Filed Under: Critiques, Critiques (Classic), Opinion Tagged With: Linda Elstad, Sweet Smell of Revenge, Victoria Principal

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 81 – ‘Little Boy Lost’

October 19, 2012 by Chris Baker 19 Comments

The victor

The Ewings are obsessed with parenthood in “Little Boy Lost.” J.R. and Sue Ellen spend the hour girding for their custody fight over John Ross, while Bobby and Pam remain preoccupied with their adoption struggles. By the time the closing credits roll, I’m convinced none of these people should be raising children.

J.R. and Sue Ellen each love John Ross, but as their courtroom showdown looms, the couple’s priorities seem pretty mixed up. J.R. wants to win custody of John Ross because he knows Jock will be furious if the child leaves Southfork for good. Sue Ellen fears John Ross will grow up to be like his father if J.R. is allowed to raise him, but it’s also clear she wants custody because she knows how much it will hurt J.R. to lose the boy. From this perspective, Sue Ellen is treating her son the way J.R. has always treated her: like another Ewing possession. Witness the self-satisfied smirk she offers J.R. in the final scene, when the judge rules in her favor.

The custody battle might not bring out the best in J.R. and Sue Ellen, but it produces “Little Boy Lost’s” strongest moments, including Miss Ellie’s dramatic confrontation with her eldest son at the beginning of the episode. I’m also a fan of Barry Nelson, who does a nice turn as Sue Ellen’s compassionate lawyer, Arthur Elrod. (Trivia: Nelson was Barbara Bel Geddes’ leading man in the 1950s Broadway production of “The Moon is Blue.”)

Bobby and Pam’s scenes in “Little Boy Lost” are much less satisfying. Pam, who began life on “Dallas” as a confident, pioneering heroine, is suddenly obsessed again with having children, a storyline that played out two seasons earlier. In the meantime, the only reason Bobby seems to want to adopt a baby is because he believes it will help his wife snap out of her odd mood. Even as Pam’s behavior grows alarming – in this episode, she spaces out at work and slips into a bizarre trance at home – Bobby clings to the belief that a child will be the cure-all to Pam’s problems.

Toward the end of “Little Boy Lost,” before Pam goes missing, Dr. Danvers finally diagnoses her as being depressed. After seeing what the “Dallas” writers have done to her character, I feel the same.

Grade: B

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Earth to Pam

‘LITTLE BOY LOST’

Season 5, Episode 4

Airdate: October 30, 1981

Audience: 20.3 million homes, ranking 5th in the weekly ratings

Writer and Director: Leonard Katzman

Synopsis: Sue Ellen is awarded preliminary custody of John Ross. Mitch impresses a wealthy doctor when he saves the man’s wife from choking. Rebecca’s daughter Katherine visits. Pam goes missing.

Cast: Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Morgan Brittany (Katherine Wentworth), Patrick Duffy (Senator Bobby Ewing), Niki Flack (Beverly Waring), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Jerry Haynes (Pat Powers), Susan Howard (Donna Krebbs), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Sherril Lynn Katzman (Jackie), Howard Keel (Clayton Farlow), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Audrey Landers (Afton Cooper), Arthur Malet (Forest), Jared Martin (Dusty Farlow), Leigh McCloskey (Mitch Cooper), Pamela Murphy (Marie), Barry Nelson (Arthur Elrod), Priscilla Pointer (Rebecca Wentworth), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Debbie Rennard (Sly), Herbert Rudley (Howard Barker), Donegan Smith (Jackson), Liam Sullivan (Judge William Packer), Edward Winter (Dr. Frank Waring), Morgan Woodward (Punk Anderson), John Zaremba (Dr. Harlan Danvers)

“Little Boy Lost” is available on DVD and at Amazon.com and iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.

Filed Under: Critiques, Critiques (Classic), Opinion Tagged With: Barry Nelson, Little Boy Lost

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 80 – ‘Showdown at San Angelo’

October 17, 2012 by Chris Baker 16 Comments

Still searching

At the beginning of “Dallas’s” fifth season, Sue Ellen flees Southfork with John Ross and seeks sanctuary at the Southern Cross, the ranch where her onetime lover Dusty Farlow lives with his father Clayton. In “Showdown at San Angelo,” we get a glimpse of what our heroine’s new life is like – and how different it is from the one she left behind.

Make no mistake: The Farlows are like a Bizarro World version of the Ewings. Both families are rich and powerful – and both have big ranches and cool choppers – but the similarities pretty much end there.

Consider the “Showdown at San Angelo” scene where Bobby and Ray each threaten to pulverize J.R. after he makes a series of mean-spirited wisecracks during breakfast on the Southfork patio. It’s a far cry from the staid dinner scene at the Southern Cross, where the table talk is about refineries and livestock.

Yet just because Sue Ellen’s new home is different doesn’t mean it’s better. Dusty, crippled after a plane crash, is unable to make love to her. When one of their warm embraces turns passionate, Sue Ellen apologizes, recalling those early “Dallas” scenes where she was embarrassed to let J.R. know she felt unfulfilled sexually. No wonder she sneaks into John Ross’s nursery for a good cry in this episode.

The show seems to be letting the audience know Sue Ellen still hasn’t found her place in the world. She was unhappy at Southfork; things aren’t much better at the Southern Cross. The new ranch might be a haven, but it isn’t Sue Ellen’s home.

We see this during “Showdown at San Angelo’s” memorable final scene, when J.R. and Miss Ellie visit the Southern Cross to see John Ross. (This also marks the first time Ellie meets Clayton, who will eventually become her second husband.) It turns out J.R. is only using Ellie as a Trojan horse to nab John Ross, and when she discovers this, she refuses to go along with his ploy.

As J.R. and Ellie board the Southfork helicopter and fly away, Sue Ellen holds John Ross tightly and the Farlows close ranks around her. It’s almost as if they are holding her tightly. Might they also be holding her back?

Grade: A

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Meet the Farlows

‘SHOWDOWN AT SAN ANGELO’

Season 5, Episode 3

Airdate: October 23, 1981

Audience: 21.3 million homes, ranking 5th in the weekly ratings

Writer: Leonard Katzman

Director: Irving J. Moore

Synopsis: Miss Ellie returns to Dallas without Jock, whom the State Department has recruited for a mission to South America. Bobby and Pam consider adopting a child but are frustrated by the lengthy waiting list. Rebecca persuades Cliff to run Wentworth Tool and Die, one of her late husband’s companies. Mitch graduates medical school. J.R. tries to use Ellie to nab John Ross from the Southern Cross but she refuses to comply.

Cast: Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), James L. Brown (Harry McSween), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Bruce French (Jerry Macon), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Susan Howard (Donna Krebbs), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Howard Keel (Clayton Farlow), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Audrey Landers (Afton Cooper), Jared Martin (Dusty Farlow), Leigh McCloskey (Mitch Cooper), Priscilla Pointer (Rebecca Wentworth), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Debbie Rennard (Sly), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Cooper), Deborah Tranelli (Phyllis), Lynn Wood (Ms. Bruce), Morgan Woodward (Punk Anderson)

“Showdown at San Angelo” is available on DVD and at Amazon.com and iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.

Filed Under: Critiques, Critiques (Classic), Opinion Tagged With: Showdown at San Angelo

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 79 – ‘Gone But Not Forgotten’

October 12, 2012 by Chris Baker 10 Comments

Foiled again!

At the end of “Gone But Not Forgotten,” Sue Ellen and John Ross are gliding cheerfully through a Love Field airport terminal when they’re suddenly approached by two of J.R.’s goons. While one man distracts Sue Ellen, the other snatches the child. Is this the end of our heroine’s bid for happiness?

No, because seconds later, Dusty Farlow and a trio of white-hatted cowboys swarm the thug clutching John Ross. “Give us the boy,” Dusty says, and even though he’s using crutches to stand, there’s no doubt he means business. As Sue Ellen and John Ross are reunited, J.R., who’s been watching the whole thing from a mezzanine, fumes.

Larry Hagman, Linda Gray and Jared Martin are terrific here, but the real star is Bruce Broughton, whose score lets us know exactly what we should be feeling as we watch Dusty come to Sue Ellen’s rescue. I especially love how the music swells when director Leonard Katzman zooms in on J.R. the moment his scheme is foiled.

But as much as I like this sequence, the highlight of “Gone But Not Forgotten” comes at the end of the first act, when Katzman pans his camera across John Ross’s darkened Southfork nursery and stops at the doorway. The character we expect to see standing there is Pam, who has been using the boy’s absence as the means to express her dashed dreams of having children, but instead we find J.R. looking around the room in silence.

It’s impossible to watch this scene and not be reminded of the third-season episode “Paternity Suit,” when J.R. walks into the nursery and picks up John Ross for the first time. As joyous as that moment was, this one is very sad. Once again, Broughton’s music is instructive: His piano score shifts to a few bars of the “Dallas” theme when the camera reaches J.R.

For the audience, the “Gone But Not Forgotten” nursery scene is also useful. Hagman’s sad eyes let us know John Ross isn’t just a pawn in J.R.’s war with Sue Ellen. J.R. genuinely loves the boy, and it’s hard to not feel bad for a dad who misses his son – even when that father is J.R. Ewing.

Grade: A

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Her hero

‘GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN’

Season 5, Episode 2

Airdate: October 16, 1981

Audience: 23.1 million homes, ranking 1st in the weekly ratings

Writer: Arthur Bernard Lewis

Director: Leonard Katzman

Synopsis: J.R. is cleared in Kristin’s death and hires a new secretary: Sly. Dusty foils J.R.’s scheme to snatch John Ross from Sue Ellen. Pam’s preoccupation with having children worries Bobby. Afton breaks up with Cliff.

Cast: Tyler Banks (John Ross Ewing), Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Raleigh Bond (pathologist), James L. Brown (Harry McSween), Barry Corbin (Sherriff Fenton Washburn), Patrick Duffy (Senator Bobby Ewing), Fern Fitzgerald (Marilee Stone), Bruce French (Jerry Macon), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Susan Howard (Donna Krebbs), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Howard Keel (Clayton Farlow), Sherril Lynn Katzman (Jackie), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Audrey Landers (Afton Cooper), Heather Lowe (Heather), Jared Martin (Dusty Farlow), Bill Morey (judge), Priscilla Pointer (Rebecca Wentworth), Debbie Rennard (Sly), Herbert Rudley (Howard Barker), Lane Smith (prosecutor), William Smithers (Jeremy Wendell), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Cooper), Deborah Tranelli (Phyllis), Morgan Woodward (Punk Anderson)

“Gone But Not Forgotten” is available on DVD and at Amazon.com and iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.

Filed Under: Critiques, Critiques (Classic), Opinion Tagged With: Bruce Broughton, Gone But Not Forgotten, Jared Martin, Larry Hagman, Leonard Katzman, Linda Gray, Paternity Suit

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 78 – ‘Missing Heir’

October 10, 2012 by Chris Baker 22 Comments

Drowned and out

In “Missing Heir,” “Dallas’s” fifth-season opener, we learn the dead woman floating in the Southfork swimming pool is Kristin, who notoriously shot J.R. one year earlier. This gives Mary Crosby the distinction of being the central figure in the two most-watched cliffhangers in “Dallas” history.

But “Who’s in the Pool?” proves much less satisfying than “Who Shot J.R.?” To begin with, there’s hardly any suspense here: It took “Dallas” four episodes to reveal Kristin as J.R.’s assailant, but she’s identified as the floating corpse just 65 seconds into “Missing Heir.” And while J.R.’s shooter could have plausibly turned out to be any number of suspects, was there ever any question who would turn out to be the brunette doing the dead woman’s float? (You didn’t really think it would be Sue Ellen or Pam, did you?)

The main reason I dislike this cliffhanger’s resolution is because killing off Kristin feels so shortsighted. The character appeared on “Dallas” for three seasons, and during that time she shifted effortlessly from ugly duckling kid sister to husband-stealing hussy to homicidal ex-mistress to con artist. Her death means the show has lost its most malleable character. What a shame.

Of course, “Missing Heir” isn’t a total washout. Having Cliff acknowledge the parallels between Kristin’s death and Julie Grey’s demise is a nice touch, and by dispensing so quickly with the cliffhanger’s resolution, the show is able to get down to the business of unspooling its fifth-season plot threads (even though one of them – Pam’s renewed obsession with having a baby – is a third-season retread).

“Missing Heir” also offers several nice examples of character development, including scenes where Afton comforts a heartbroken Mitch and Lucy and Donna each turn to Bobby for advice – presaging the wise head-of-the-family role Patrick Duffy does such a fine job filling on TNT’s “Dallas.” There’s also a moving moment where J.R., in a show of genuine compassion, breaks the news of Kristin’s death to Sue Ellen.

I also appreciate “Missing Heir’s” climax, when Sherriff Washburn suggests J.R. might be arrested for Kristin’s murder. I’m sure the “Dallas” producers don’t expect us to believe J.R. really killed his sister-in-law/ex-mistress, but isn’t it comforting to know Kristin is still capable of causing him trouble, even after she’s dead and gone?

Grade: B

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Presumed guilty

‘MISSING HEIR’

Season 5, Episode 1

Airdate: October 9, 1981

Audience: 26 million homes, ranking 1st in the weekly ratings

Writer: Arthur Bernard Lewis

Director: Irving J. Moore

Synopsis: The police question J.R. after Kristin’s dead body is discovered in the Southfork swimming pool. Sue Ellen, who now lives with John Ross at the Farlows’ Southern Cross ranch, rejects J.R.’s plea to come home. Pam’s mood swings worry Bobby. Donna frets over Ray’s burgeoning business career. Lucy tells Mitch their marriage is over.

Cast: Barbara Babcock (Liz Craig), James L. Brown (Harry McSween), Barry Corbin (Sherriff Fenton Washburn), Mary Crosby (Kristin Shepard), Patrick Duffy (Senator Bobby Ewing), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Susan Howard (Donna Krebbs), Harlan Jordan (Sheriff Bull Hawkins), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Sherril Lynn Katzman (Jackie), Howard Keel (Clayton Farlow), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Audrey Landers (Afton Cooper), Bill Lucking (Deputy Matland), Jared Martin (Dusty Farlow), Leigh McCloskey (Mitch Cooper), Priscilla Pointer (Rebecca Wentworth), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Herbert Rudley (Howard Barker), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Cooper), Deborah Tranelli (Phyllis)

“Missing Heir” is available on DVD and at Amazon.com and iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.

Filed Under: Critiques, Critiques (Classic), Opinion Tagged With: Mary Crosby, Missing Heir, Patrick Duffy, TNT, Who Shot J.R.?

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 77 – ‘Ewing-Gate’

October 1, 2012 by Chris Baker 28 Comments

He done it?

In “Ewing-Gate,” J.R. finally beds hard-to-get Leslie Stewart, but the experience turns out to be less than he expected. “It wasn’t worth the wait,” J.R. tells her in a flash of post coitus candor. After watching this episode, I know how he feels.

Although “Dallas’s” fourth season is much better than I remembered overall, the “Ewing-Gate” finale is a letdown – and the resolution to Leslie’s storyline is one reason why. Susan Flannery’s midseason debut was smashing, but somewhere along the line, the show’s writers seemed to lose interest in her character. This is a real shame: Leslie’s combination of business smarts and unapologetic sexuality made her a television breakthrough; she deserved a better sendoff.

“Ewing-Gate” has other flaws, including the scene where J.R. is hauled before the state senate committee investigating his Asian coup. It’s not just the ridiculous notion that the Texas legislature has jurisdiction over what happens in a foreign country. Or that Bobby wouldn’t be asked to recuse himself from a hearing into his brother’s activities. Or that Cliff, Bobby’s aide, would be allowed to sit on the panel and question the witnesses.

No, it’s also the length of this scene: It clocks in at a little more than 13 minutes – consuming almost the whole third act. Perhaps audiences found this more interesting in the years after Watergate, when televised government hearings were still a novelty, but the scene plays today like “Bad C-SPAN Theatre.” (Along these lines, “Ewing-Gate’s” title probably seemed clever three decades ago, before the press wore out the practice of attaching “gate” to every scandal.)

More gripes: “Ewing-Gate” marks the first time Kristin faces J.R. since she confessed to shooting him at the beginning of the season – yet their eagerly awaited reunion is flat. Also, even though the confrontation occurs in J.R.’s office, no one bothers to note this is Kristin’s return to the scene of the crime. Not giving Mary Crosby and Linda Gray a scene together represents another missed opportunity.

My biggest “Ewing-Gate” complaint has to do with the episode’s final sequence, when Cliff discovers the dead woman’s body in the Southfork swimming pool. Although the scene is nicely produced – thanks in large measure to Richard Lewis Warren’s driving score – the cliffhanger feels like something the producers tacked on at the last minute. The contrast couldn’t be sharper with the previous season finale, “A House Divided,” which rhythmically built toward J.R.’s climactic shooting.

And is there any doubt whose body Cliff discovers? The woman’s dark hair suggests it could be one of three characters – Sue Ellen, Pam or Kristin – yet even when I saw “Ewing-Gate” as a child, I was smart enough to know two of those suspects could be ruled out. While watching the episode more recently, I also noticed the unfamiliar car in the Southfork driveway when Cliff arrives – another clue the victim floating in the pool a few feet away is a visitor to the ranch.

So even though I appreciate the nifty symmetry this episode offers – one year after “Dallas” leaves us asking who shot J.R., we’re left to ponder who J.R. might’ve killed – there’s no denying the fact “Ewing-Gate” isn’t a cliffhanger as much as it is an exercise in poetic justice.

Grade: B

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Together again

‘EWING-GATE’

Season 4, Episode 23

Airdate: May 1, 1981

Audience: 25.6 million homes, ranking 1st in the weekly ratings

Writer and Director: Leonard Katzman

Synopsis: Afton helps J.R. sneak a peek at Cliff’s evidence against him, allowing J.R. to persuade the state senate to clear him of wrongdoing in the Asian coup. J.R. also sleeps with Leslie, refuses to give into Kristin’s extortion scheme, kicks Sue Ellen off Southfork and vows revenge when Pam takes John Ross to his mother. Cliff arrives at the ranch and finds a dead woman floating in the swimming pool.

Cast: Tyler Banks (John Ross Ewing), Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Len Birman (Claude Brown), William Boyett (Gibson), James L. Brown (Harry McSween), Mary Crosby (Kristin Shepard), Patrick Duffy (Senator Bobby Ewing), Fern Fitzgerald (Marilee Stone), Susan Flannery (Leslie Stewart), Tom Fuccello (Senator Dave Culver), Meg Gallagher (Louella), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), John Hart (Senator Carson), David Healy (Senator Harbin), James Hong (Ambassador Lanh Thon), Susan Howard (Donna Krebbs), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Sherril Lynn Katzman (Jackie), Howard Keel (Clayton Farlow), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Audrey Landers (Afton Cooper), Jared Martin (Dusty Farlow), Leigh McCloskey (Mitch Cooper), Byron Morrow (Emmett Walsh), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), William Smithers (Jeremy Wendell), Don Starr (Jordan Lee), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Cooper), Deborah Tranelli (Phyllis), Jay Varela (Senator Arvilla), Joseph Warren (Senator Dickson), Morgan Woodward (Punk Anderson)

“Ewing-Gate” is available on DVD and at Amazon.com and iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.

Filed Under: Critiques, Critiques (Classic), Opinion Tagged With: Ewing-Gate, House Divided, Linda Gray, Mary Crosby, Richard Lewis Warren, Susan Flannery

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 76 – ‘Full Circle’

September 27, 2012 by Chris Baker 15 Comments

Look Mom, no grudges

The famous scene from “Full Circle” – when Cliff tearfully offers his estranged mother a bowl of licorice, her favorite candy – is one of my earliest “Dallas” memories. I was 7 when this episode debuted, and I remember watching it and feeling sorry for Cliff. All these years later, the moment still moves me.

Ken Kercheval has called Cliff and Rebecca’s reconciliation his favorite “Dallas” scene, and it’s easy to see why he likes it. Kercheval is always fascinating to watch, but during the course of this four-and-a-half-minute sequence, he’s called upon to convey a whole spectrum of emotion: from nervousness to rage to mercy. The actor hits every note with precision.

The most impressive part of Kercheval’s performance might be how he seems to avoid looking at Priscilla Pointer. When I interviewed Kercheval in the summer, he talked about another of his favorite scenes – this one with Barbara Bel Geddes – and mentioned how helpful it is for actors to maintain eye contact so they can take “cues” from each other. Kercheval doesn’t appear to do that with Pointer during the “licorice scene.” This probably made the performance more challenging, but it lends the scene power. Seeing how difficult it is for Cliff to look Rebecca in the eye helps us realize how hard it is for him to face the truth about her shortcomings.

Michael Preece’s direction here is terrific – I especially like how he has Kercheval jump to his feet when Cliff calls out Rebecca’s sins – as well as Bruce Broughton’s lush score, which swells when mother and son finally embrace.

Then there’s Arthur Bernard Lewis’s clever dialogue. At the end of the scene, Lewis could have given Kercheval a straightforward line to signal Cliff’s last-minute change of heart – something like, “Wait, Mom, don’t go” – but instead, Lewis has Cliff offer her the licorice. Why? I think the line achieves two things: Having Cliff refer to candy – something so closely associated with childhood – reminds us how long it’s been since he last saw Rebecca. More importantly, the licorice symbolizes how Cliff in many ways is still the wounded little boy whose mother abandoned him.

If any other character was given a line like this (imagine J.R. or Bobby saying it), it might seem childish, but with Cliff, it’s flat-out moving. Cliff is the most revenge-prone character in “Dallas” history, yet for once in his life, he’s willing to set aside his animus. This is a moment of genuine growth for Cliff.

I also love the “Full Circle” sequence where Preece’s camera follows Mary Crosby’s legs as Kristin marches across a hotel lobby to Bruce Broughton’s jaunty score. This is a fun scene, but it’s also a little prophetic: The confidence in Crosby’s stride makes her look buoyant – and as we now know, this won’t be the last time we see Kristin float.

Grade: A

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Walk to remember

‘FULL CIRCLE’

Season 4, Episode 22

Airdate: April 17, 1981

Audience: 24.4 million homes, ranking 1st in the weekly ratings

Writer: Arthur Bernard Lewis

Director: Michael Preece

Synopsis: Cliff forgives Rebecca and presents Bobby’s committee with evidence linking J.R. to the counter-revolution in Asia. Kristin returns and extorts money from Jordan Lee, who believes he is the father of her newborn son. Sue Ellen runs into Dusty, who is learning to walk again. Pam is devastated to learn she cannot bear children. Lucy leaves Mitch.

Cast: Tyler Banks (John Ross Ewing), Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Ellen Bry (Jean), Gerald Castillo (Luis Hernandez), Mary Crosby (Kristin Shepard), Patrick Duffy (Senator Bobby Ewing), Susan Flannery (Leslie Stewart), Meg Gallagher (Louella), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), John Hart (Senator Carson), David Healy (Senator Harbin), Susan Howard (Donna Krebbs), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Sherril Lynn Katzman (Jackie), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Jared Martin (Dusty Farlow), Leigh McCloskey (Mitch Cooper), Priscilla Pointer (Rebecca Wentworth), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), John Randolph (Lincoln Hargrove), William Smithers (Jeremy Wendell), Don Starr (Jordan Lee), Christopher Stone (Dave Stratton), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Cooper), Jay Varela (Senator Arvilla), Joseph Warren (Senator Dickson), Morgan Woodward (Punk Anderson)

“Full Circle” is available on DVD and at Amazon.com and iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.

Filed Under: Critiques, Critiques (Classic), Opinion Tagged With: Arthur Bernard Lewis, Bruce Broughton, Full Circle, Ken Kercheval, Mary Crosby, Michael Preece, Priscilla Pointer

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 75 – ‘New Beginnings’

September 26, 2012 by Chris Baker 18 Comments

War and remembrance

Sometimes “Dallas” is more than entertaining – it’s damn near magical. This happens when everything that goes into making the show – the writing, the acting, the music and so on – comes together in ways that are so pitch-perfect, you can’t help but feel you’re witnessing something special. The final scene in “New Beginnings” is one of these moments.

It begins when J.R. comes home late and finds Sue Ellen asleep in John Ross’s darkened nursery, having dozed off while rocking him. She awakens and helps J.R. put the boy in his crib, and then the couple moves into their bedroom, where they reminisce about their courtship.

The exchange that follows is extraordinary. J.R. and Sue Ellen spend much of their lives at war with each other, but in this scene we finally see them take off their armor, which director Irving J. Moore symbolizes by putting Linda Gray in a bathrobe and having Larry Hagman remove his suit jacket and necktie as they deliver their dialogue.

The conversation itself, written by Arthur Bernard Lewis, paints a lovely picture of what J.R. and Sue Ellen were like when their love was new. With Richard Lewis Warren’s soft piano music playing in the background, we listen to J.R. describe seeing Sue Ellen for the first time, during the Miss Texas beauty pageant, and we envision how poised she must have looked on that stage. We then hear Sue Ellen recall how “frightened” she was when J.R. brought her to Southfork to meet Jock and Miss Ellie, and we imagine a sweeter, shyer Sue Ellen walking into that big house on the arm of a younger, beaming J.R.

Lewis’s dialogue is also poetic in the way it captures the unique qualities Hagman and Gray bring to their roles. Here’s how Sue Ellen remembers J.R.’s eyes: “They always seemed to be hiding secrets. Things you knew about the world that no one else knew.” And here’s how he recalls her beauty pageant performance: “All those pretty young girls were prancing around and trying to look sexy. And then, there you were, Sue Ellen. Not trying to do anything. Just looking more sexy than any of them. And you had something else. You looked like a lady.” Have better descriptions of these characters ever been written?

It’s also worth considering the context in which J.R. and Sue Ellen’s conversation takes place. Earlier in “New Beginnings,” J.R. visits Leslie’s apartment, where he vows to end his marriage so he can make Leslie his new wife. “I’m filing against Sue Ellen,” he says. Do hearing the words aloud prompt the nostalgic wave that engulfs J.R. at the end of the episode?

And what is Sue Ellen’s frame of mind at the end of “New Beginnings”? In the episode’s first act, Clint’s wife Alisha tells Sue Ellen she is willing to share her husband if that’s what it takes to hold onto him. The conversation leads a guilty Sue Ellen to break up with Clint, but does Alisha’s devotion also inspire Sue Ellen to give her own marriage another chance?

This is what makes the final moments of “New Beginnings” so heartbreaking. Just when it seems like J.R. and Sue Ellen are about to reignite their old spark, the phone rings. She answers and after hearing the voice on the other end, we see her face fall and her posture stiffen. “It’s Kristin, calling from California,” Sue Ellen announces somberly. “She just gave birth to a baby boy. You have another son.”

What a punch to the gut! The words remind us that the past doesn’t just hold memories for J.R. and Sue Ellen to cherish – it also holds mistakes that will haunt them forever.

Grade: A

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Wake-up call

‘NEW BEGINNINGS’

Season 4, Episode 21

Airdate: April 10, 1981

Audience: 23.3 million homes, ranking 1st in the weekly ratings

Writer: Arthur Bernard Lewis

Director: Irving J. Moore

Synopsis: Jock and Miss Ellie depart for a second honeymoon. Sue Ellen ends her affair with Clint after his wife confronts her. Jeremy vows revenge when J.R. backs out of his promise to sell him Ewing Oil. Cliff sleeps with Afton and pumps her for information about J.R. Kristin calls Sue Ellen and tells her she’s given birth to J.R.’s son.

Cast: Tyler Banks (John Ross Ewing), Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Stephanie Braxton (Alisha Ogden), Jim Davis (Jock Ewing), Richard Derr (Howard), Patrick Duffy (Senator Bobby Ewing), Susan Flannery (Leslie Stewart), Meg Gallagher (Louella), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Susan Howard (Donna Culver Krebbs), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Sherril Lynn Katzman (Jackie), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Audrey Landers (Afton Cooper), Monte Markham (Clint Ogden), Leigh McCloskey (Mitch Cooper), Priscilla Pointer (Rebecca Wentworth), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), William Smithers (Jeremy Wendell), Craig Stevens (Greg Stewart), Christopher Stone (Dave Stratton), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Cooper), Morgan Woodward (Punk Anderson)

“New Beginnings” is available on DVD and at Amazon.com and iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.

Filed Under: Critiques, Critiques (Classic), Opinion Tagged With: Arthur Bernard Lewis, Irving J. Moore, Larry Hagman, Linda Gray, New Beginnings (Dallas)

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 74 – ‘Ewing vs. Ewing’

September 25, 2012 by Chris Baker 19 Comments

Davis rules

Jim Davis makes his last appearance as Jock in “Dallas’s” 75th hour, “New Beginnings,” but it’s more of a cameo than anything else. His final, “real” performance comes at the end of “Ewing vs. Ewing,” and no matter how many times I watch it, it never fails to move me.

Davis was diagnosed with inoperable cancer during the show’s fourth season, and when you watch these episodes, you can see him physically deteriorate, bit by bit. By the time “Ewing vs. Ewing” was filmed, the actor’s face had puffed up and his voice had been reduced to a rasp. It’s painful to witness.

Yet it’s also damned inspiring. Davis famously soldiered on despite his illness, and producer Leonard Katzman allowed him to continue to play Jock because he knew it was important to keep the actor’s spirits up. Barbara A. Curran’s book “Dallas: The Complete Story of the World’s Favorite Prime-Time Soap” includes an anecdote about how Katzman even gave Davis a peek at the scripts being prepared for the fifth season, just so the actor could see Jock would still be part of the show.

Of course, Jock never appeared during Season 5. Davis died 23 days after the broadcast of “Ewing vs. Ewing,” an uneven episode (Bobby’s use of “personal funds” to settle his senate committee’s debate over the Takapa project is an eye-roller) that nonetheless remains a sentimental favorite on the basis of that touching final scene, when Jock and Miss Ellie finally reconcile after spending half the season at war.

My favorite moment comes when Ellie admits she’s treated Jock unfairly and asks if he can forgive her. Davis delivers Jock’s response (“Nothing to forgive.”) with the same tender conviction he memorably exhibited during the third-season “Mastectomy” episodes.

Barbara Bel Geddes, who is absolutely perfect throughout “Ewing vs. Ewing” and especially in this final scene, gets the episode’s last line – “I love you, Jock” – and as I watch her deliver it, I have no doubt the tears in her eyes are real. I also know Bel Geddes isn’t just speaking for her character. She’s speaking for all of us.

Grade: B

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Hug it out, Mama

‘EWING VS. EWING’

Season 4, Episode 20

Airdate: April 3, 1981

Audience: 23.3 million homes, ranking 2nd in the weekly ratings

Writer: Leah Markus

Director: Irving J. Moore

Synopsis: Bobby forges a compromise in the Takapa fight. Jock and Miss Ellie reconcile. J.R. continues his plann to sell Ewing Oil to Wendell. Cliff meets Afton and Pam tells him their mother is alive.

Cast: Tyler Banks (John Ross Ewing), Cherie Beasley (Tootie Smith), Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Jim Davis (Jock Ewing), Patrick Duffy (Senator Bobby Ewing), Susan Flannery (Leslie Stewart), Meg Gallagher (Louella), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), John Hart (Senator Carson), Morgan Hart (Jenny Smith), David Healy (Senator Harbin), Susan Howard (Donna Krebbs), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Sherril Lynn Katzman (Jackie), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Audrey Landers (Afton Cooper), Monte Markham (Clint Ogden), Leigh McCloskey (Mitch Cooper), George O. Petrie (Harv Smithfield), Priscilla Pointer (Rebecca Wentworth), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), John Randolph (Lincoln Hargrove), William Smithers (Jeremy Wendell), Craig Stevens (Greg Stewart), Christopher Stone (Dave Stratton), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Cooper), Jay Varela (Senator Arvilla), Joseph Warren (Senator Dickson), Morgan Woodward (Punk Anderson)

“Ewing vs. Ewing” is available on DVD and at Amazon.com and iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.

Filed Under: Critiques, Critiques (Classic), Opinion Tagged With: Barbara A. Curran, Barbara Bel Geddes, Dallas: The Complete Story of the World’s Favorite Prime-Time Soap, Jim Davis, New Beginnings (Dallas)

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 73 – ‘The Gathering Storm’

September 24, 2012 by Chris Baker 20 Comments

Scene from a marriage

I’ve always considered Charlene Tilton one of “Dallas’s” charismatic actresses, although I haven’t always been a fan of her character. In “The Gathering Storm,” Lucy stands up for herself in the face of husband Mitch’s sexism, which makes me want to stand up and cheer her on. This episode makes me love Lucy.

The character’s big moment comes in the second act, when Lucy comes home late after a lengthy photo shoot. Mitch is angry, not so much because his wife missed dinner, but because she now brings home a bigger paycheck than him.

“It’s not my money, and it’s not your money. It’s ours,” Lucy says. “What difference does it make who earns it?”

“It makes all the difference in the world,” Mitch snaps.

This is “The Gathering Storm’s” best scene, thanks to Tilton and Leigh McCloskey’s convincing performances and scriptwriter Robert J. Shaw’s realistic dialogue. Lucy and Mitch’s argument sounds like the kind of fight a real-life couple might have had in the early 1980s, when more women were moving into the work force and men like Mitch were learning to adjust.

I’m pretty sure “Dallas” wants us to “side” with Lucy during the argument, although the show goes out of its way to not vilify Mitch’s sexist attitude. In one scene, he says the reason he and Lucy are fighting is because they have “totally different values.” That’s true, but casting the character’s chauvinism as a “value” makes it seem nobler than it deserves.

Still, the dissolution of Mitch and Lucy’s marriage feels credible, based on what we know about these characters. This is true for Jock and Miss Ellie too. It’s difficult to watch them argue in “The Gathering Storm,” but I believe Ellie when she says she’s tired of Jock’s lack of sensitivity, just like I believe him when he expresses his frustration with her stubborn idealism.

Of course, the sadness I feel seeing Jock and Ellie separate is nothing compared to the pain that comes from watching Jim Davis’s performance in “The Gathering Storm.” The cancer-stricken actor’s health was deteriorating when this episode was filmed – and it shows. Like this episode’s title suggests, dark clouds are moving over “Dallas,” and not just in front of the camera.

Grade: B

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Runaway husband

‘THE GATHERING STORM’

Season 4, Episode 19

Airdate: March 27, 1981

Audience: 25 million homes, ranking 1st in the weekly ratings

Writer: Robert J. Shaw

Director: Michael Preece

Synopsis: The Takapa fight continues: Jock moves out of Southfork and J.R. offers to sell the company to rival oil baron Jeremy Wendell to prevent it from being dragged into his parents’ looming divorce. Cliff begins snooping into the counter-revolution in Asia and receives a visit from Rebecca, who doesn’t reveal she’s his mother.

Cast: Tyler Banks (John Ross Ewing), Cherie Beasley (Tootie Smith), Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Ellen Bry (Jean Hallinan), Jim Davis (Jock Ewing), Patrick Duffy (Senator Bobby Ewing), Susan Flannery (Leslie Stewart), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Morgan Hart (Jenny Smith), Susan Howard (Donna Krebbs), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Audrey Landers (Afton Cooper), Monte Markham (Clint Ogden), Leigh McCloskey (Mitch Cooper), Hortense Petra (Maggie) Priscilla Pointer (Rebecca Wentworth), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), William Smithers (Jeremy Wendell), Christopher Stone (Dave Stratton), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Cooper), Deborah Tranelli (Phyllis)

“The Gathering Storm” is available on DVD and at Amazon.com and iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.