Critiques (Classic) – Dallas Decoder

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 19 – ‘Home Again’

April 26, 2012 by Chris Baker 14 Comments

Dallas, Garrison Southworth, Gene Evans, Home Again

Missing heir

I can’t watch “Home Again” these days without thinking about “Downton Abbey,” PBS’s hit British soap opera. Both shows feature land-and-lineage stories that entertain but also baffle.

In “Downton Abbey,” a World War I-era nobleman is legally prohibited from leaving his estate to his daughters because, well, they’re daughters. It’s an odd concept for American audiences to grasp, but “Dallas’s” take on patriarchalism is even harder to understand.

In “Home Again,” when Miss Ellie’s long-believed dead brother Garrison Southworth turns up alive, she offers to give him Southfork because she feels he’s the rightful owner.

It seems Ellie inherited the ranch only after Garrison, the intended heir, was lost at sea. “My daddy made Garrison the sole heir,” Ellie tells Jock and her sons. “But that’s the way things were done in those days, father to son. Daughters, daughters always came second. It was my daddy’s wish that Garrison have the ranch. My conscience won’t let me do differently.”

Sorry, “Dallas.” I’m not buying it.

Ellie may feel bad about Garrison missing out on his inheritance, but this is her home, not a family heirloom. It’s a bit much to ask the audience to believe the character would give away Southfork so easily.

My guess is the “Dallas” writers came up with the “Home Again” storyline to show how Ellie is more principled than the rest of her cutthroat family, but the plot just doesn’t work. How can we respect Ellie’s desire to do right by her brother when it means giving the rest of her family the shaft?

I might be more willing to forgive the unconvincing plotting if “Dallas” used “Home Again” as a jumping off point to explore sexism, but the show never really goes there. We never find out, for example, how progressive Pam feels about Ellie’s decision.

Of course, “Home Again” has its strengths, beginning with Gene Evans’ fiery turn as Garrison. The actor proves to be an effective foil for Jim Davis and Larry Hagman.

It’s too bad Garrison didn’t stick around longer. He might have made an interesting addition to Southfork – just not as its owner.

Grade: B

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Big brother’s house

‘HOME AGAIN’

Season 2, Episode 14

Airdate: January 7, 1979

Audience: 19.1 million homes, ranking 11th in the weekly ratings

Writer: Arthur Bernard Lewis

Director: Don McDougall

Synopsis: Miss Ellie’s brother Garrison Southworth, whom she believed died 40 years ago, visits Southfork. Ellie considers Garrison the rightful heir to Southfork and offers him ownership of the ranch, but he reveals he’s come home to die.

Cast: Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Jim Davis (Jock Ewing), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Gene Evans (Aaron Southworth), Melinda Fee (Cathy Baker), Meg Gallagher (Louella), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Michael McManus (Matt), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing), Charles Wilder Young (Charlie Watters)

“Home Again” 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: Gene Evans, Home Again, Jim Davis, Larry Hagman

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 18 – ‘Kidnapped’

April 25, 2012 by Chris Baker 4 Comments

Bobby Ewing, Dallas, Kidnapped, Patrick Duffy

Bobby, trapped!

New rule: If you’re watching “Dallas” and a Ewing becomes a crime victim before the second act, chances are it’s going to be a lackluster episode.

So far, crooks and lowlifes have been front and center in three installments: The first-season episode “Winds of Vengeance” (two working Joes hold the Ewings at gunpoint and threaten to rape the women), the second-season entry “Runaway” (a robber makes Lucy his reluctant accomplice) and now “Kidnapped” (three abductors hold Bobby hostage).

The first of these segments is actually pretty good. The other two? Not so much.

The problem is “Dallas’s” depiction of criminals. They’re almost always straight-from-central-casting villains who specialize in evil cackling and corny one-liners.

In “Kidnapped,” the bad guys think they’re nabbing J.R. when they tail his Mercedes and force it to come to a stop on a dusty Texas back road. They’re surprised to learn Bobby is behind the wheel, having borrowed his older brother’s car after his own vehicle got a flat tire.

“Our luck!” exclaims Fay, one of the kidnappers, while laughing uproariously. “We may have the wrong goose – but he can still lay the golden egg!”

“Kidnapped” isn’t as awful as “Runaway.” Patrick Duffy does a nice job making Bobby more vulnerable than usual, and I appreciate how the show uses Cliff as the intermediary between the Ewings and the kidnappers. It’s a clever way to involve Cliff in the story and add drama to the scenes of the family awaiting word on Bobby’s fate.

This plot device also lends “Kidnapped” some historical significance: This is the first episode where Larry Hagman and Ken Kercheval share scenes.

Today, we remember J.R. and Cliff’s bitter feud as one of “Dallas’s” defining conflicts, so it’s surprising to remember it took 18 episodes to bring them face-to-face.

Cliff also figures into “Kidnapped’s” best moment: when Jock and Miss Ellie wish him luck before he departs to deliver the ransom.

“You bring my son home safe, I’ll be grateful to you forever,” Ellie tells Cliff.

For a woman whose husband is holding a bag with more than $1 million in cash, those words prove mighty cheap.

Grade: C

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Cliff Barnes, Dallas, J.R. Ewing, Ken Kercheval, Larry Hagman

Face to face, at last

‘KIDNAPPED’

Season 2, Episode 13

Airdate: December 17, 1978

Audience: 16.5 million homes, ranking 18th in the weekly ratings

Writer: Camille Marchetta

Director: Lawrence Dobkin

Cast: Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Nancy Bleier (Connie), Byron Clark (Tom), Stephen Davies (Will Hart), Jim Davis (Jock Ewing), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Meg Gallagher (Louella), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Bob Hoy (Mahoney), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Paul Koslo (Al Parker), Kelly Jean Peters (Fay Parker), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing)

Synopsis: A trio of kidnappers hold Bobby hostage for $1.5 million. Cliff delivers the money and secures Bobby’s release, but they’re almost shot when J.R., Ray and several ranch hands ambush the kidnappers.

“Kidnapped” 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: Ken Kercheval, Kidnapped, Larry Hagman, Patrick Duffy, Runaway, Winds of Vengeance

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 17 – ‘Fallen Idol’

April 24, 2012 by Chris Baker 9 Comments

Bobby Ewing, Dallas, Fallen Idol, Guzzler Bennett, Richard Kelton

Guzzler rising

“Fallen Idol” arrives halfway during “Dallas’s” second season, and while we know the characters pretty well at this point, this episode demonstrates how they still manage to surprise us.

One of the best moments comes during the third act, when J.R.’s underhanded cronies Jeb Ames and Willie Joe Garr show up at his office to complain about Bobby’s plan to build a shopping center on Southfork. Their gripe: Bobby’s project will be constructed on Section 40, the oil-soaked tract where J.R., Jeb and Willie Joe secretly plan to drill when Jock dies.

“If you don’t stop Bobby, I’ll stop him,” Jeb snarls to J.R.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” J.R. asks.

“You know damn well what it means.”

And then: Pow!

J.R pops Jeb in the mouth, sending the creep staggering backwards.

“Don’t you ever threaten my brother,” J.R. says. “Or any other Ewing.”

Seeing J.R. knock the sneer off Jeb’s face reveals a side to him we haven’t seen before. It’s nice to know he cares about someone other than himself.

In another unexpected twist, J.R. invites Pam to lunch to enlist her help in stopping Bobby from doing business with Guzzler Bennett, a shady pal from Bobby’s college football days.

It’s fun to see J.R. turn to Pam, one of his greatest adversaries, for help. My favorite part: When a skeptical Pam asks J.R. how she is supposed to persuade Bobby to drop his construction project, J.R. responds, “You’re a very clever woman, Pam. You’ll think of something.” Delicious.

Scriptwriter Arthur Bernard Lewis saves “Fallen Idol’s” best moment for the end, when we learn Bobby has known all along about Guzzler’s troubled past but is willing to go along with the construction project anyway.

Of all the twists in “Fallen Idol,” this is the niftiest. We realize Bobby is smarter than he seemed, but we’re also relieved to know he wasn’t going to turn his back on a friend in need. It’s an unexpected discovery, yet it’s also perfectly in keeping with what we know about our hero.

“Fallen Idol’s” other high point: Miss Ellie’s soliloquy near the end of the episode, when Bobby tries to justify his construction project by telling her the shopping center will be built on “land we never use.”

“Does everything have to be used?” Ellie responds. “Can’t some things just be? Stay the way they’ve always been? Do we have to change everything we touch? Does it really make things better that way?”

Unlike “Fallen Idol’s” many surprises, solemn, stare-off-into-space speeches like this are exactly what we’ve come to expect from Miss Ellie.

Would we want it any other way?

Grade: B

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Mall in the family

‘FALLEN IDOL’

Season 2, Episode 12

Airdate: December 3, 1978

Audience: 16.3 million homes, ranking 23rd in the weekly ratings

Writer: Arthur Bernard Lewis

Director: Vincent McEveety

Synopsis: Bobby brings a partner into his construction business: Guzzler Bennett, his old college chum. Miss Ellie reluctantly gives them permission to build a shopping center on Southfork but Guzzler turns out to be a fraud and leaves Dallas.

Cast: John Ashton (Willie Joe Garr), Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Nancy Bleier (Connie), Jim Davis (Jock Ewing), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Meg Gallagher (Louella), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Richard Kelton (Guzzler Bennett), John Petlock (Dan Marsh), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing), Sandy Ward (Jeb Ames)

“Fallen Idol” 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, Fallen Idol

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 16 – ‘Triangle’

April 23, 2012 by Chris Baker 11 Comments

Dallas, Garnet McGee, Kate Mulgrew, Triangle

Honky-tonk angel

“Triangle” is an episode about a country-western singer, and it plays out like an old-fashioned country-western song. Hearts are broken, dreams are dashed and before all is said and done, Ray nearly tells the Ewings to take their job and shove it.

Kate Mulgrew is mesmerizing as Garnet McGee, the rising star who gets caught between Ray and J.R. Mulgrew looks like a glammed-up Patsy Cline and sounds a bit like her, too. This is Garnet’s only appearance on “Dallas,” but Mulgrew makes such a strong impression, the character is referred to periodically throughout the show’s run, including during the series finale.

“Dallas” probably wants the audience to dislike Garnet after she cheats on Ray, but I’m willing to cut her some slack. After all, Garnet is trying to make it in showbiz – “a life of hard work and terrible disappointment,” as Miss Ellie describes it – and it’s not like she isn’t upfront with Ray about her priorities.

Consider the scene where Ray asks her to elope and she turns him down, citing her weekend singing engagements. Garnet is direct (“I can’t afford a reputation for running out on club dates”), but Ray is both dismissive (“It’s only a weekend”) and manipulative (“You don’t want to marry me. That’s it, isn’t it?”).

J.R. and Garnet’s revealing pillow talk also makes me sympathetic toward her.

After she sleeps with him to get a record deal, she notes their similarities. “You’re just the way I am,” she says. “Maybe a little worse. And not the least bit ashamed of it.” The implication: Ray isn’t the first man who has made Garnet feel bad about her own ambition.

A similar theme is explored during an earlier second-season episode, “Black Market Baby,” when Bobby objects to Pam’s desire to delay motherhood so she can pursue a career. In “Triangle,” Pam doesn’t seem to begrudge Garnet’s aspirations, but she clearly doesn’t approve of her methods.

During the Southfork party scene, Pam accuses Garnet of using Ray “until something better comes along.” Garnet, alluding to Pam’s romance with Ray before she married Bobby, responds, “Didn’t you?”

Meow! So much for sisterhood.

Of course, even if Garnet and Pam are bitchy to each other, at least they know there’s more to life than standing by your man.

Grade: A

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Cheatin’ hearts

‘TRIANGLE’

Season 2, Episode 11

Airdate: November 26, 1978

Audience: 13.2 million homes, ranking 39th in the weekly ratings

Writer: Camille Marchetta

Director: Vincent McEveety

Synopsis: Ray falls for country singer Garnet McGee, who rejects his marriage proposal to focus on her career. She sleeps with J.R. to get a record deal, and when a heartbroken Ray discovers her infidelity, he ends their relationship.

Cast: Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Nancy Bleier (Connie), Edward Call (Sam Gurney), Jim Davis (Jock Ewing), Michael Dudikoff (Joe Newcomb), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Meg Gallagher (Louella), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Harry Middlebrooks (Mervin), Kate Mulgrew (Garnet McGee), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing)

“Triangle” 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: Kate Mulgrew, Triangle

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 15 – ‘Act of Love’

April 20, 2012 by Chris Baker 6 Comments

Act of Love, Cliff Barnes, Dallas, Ken Kercheval, Linda Gray, Sue Ellen Ewing

Bad romance

“Act of Love” is the first “Dallas” script penned by Leonard Katzman, who becomes the show’s auteur, writing and directing more episodes than anyone else. It proves to be an inauspicious debut.

My main gripe: When the episode begins, Sue Ellen and Cliff have been sleeping with each other for six weeks, so we never see the first time they consummate their relationship – a big letdown given how much time “Dallas” spends laying the groundwork for their affair.

To make matters worse, Katzman’s plotting is a bit sitcommy.

It seems Bobby is wooing a client for his construction business and needs Pam to help him charm the man, whom Bobby’s business associate describes as an old-money conservative who “places just as much importance on a man’s personal life as he does on his professional.”

But Pam has a dilemma: Her boss Liz Craig has invited her on a business trip to Paris, which would prevent Pam from helping hubby entertain his client. What’s a wife to do?

There’s even a “Three’s Company”-style misunderstanding. Pam asks Sue Ellen to lunch but is vague about the reason for the invitation, saying only “it’s important that we talk.” Sue Ellen, suspecting Pam has found out about her affair with Cliff, accepts the invitation and is perturbed to discover Pam only wants advice on entertaining Bobby’s client. “You don’t mean to tell me that you have brought me in to lunch with you to talk about having a party?” Sue Ellen fumes.

(An aside: What’s with Victoria Principal’s Texas accent in this scene? It hasn’t been this thick since the first season!)

Of course, “Act of Love” isn’t altogether bad. The final scene, when J.R. questions Sue Ellen about her pregnancy, is nicely written and performed, although I cringe when J.R. slaps her. In 1978, this may have been an acceptable way to demonstrate J.R.’s anger. Not today.

I also like director Corey Allen’s handheld camerawork in the opening breakfast scene, when the younger Ewings rush off to work and school, leaving Jock and Miss Ellie alone, as well as the fisheye lens Allen uses when Pam and Liz ride the elevator at The Store.

Allen’s willingness to experiment isn’t enough to save Katzman’s script, but it makes me wish the show had used the director’s talents more frequently.

Grade: C

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Fisheye!

‘ACT OF LOVE’

Season 2, Episode 10

Airdate: November 12, 1978

Audience: 12.1 million homes, ranking 41st in the weekly ratings

Writer: Leonard Katzman

Director: Corey Allen

Synopsis: The Ewings are overjoyed when they learn Sue Ellen is pregnant. Privately, Sue Ellen isn’t sure if the father is J.R. or Cliff, with whom she is having an affair. When J.R. questions her, she tells him he probably is the father.

Cast: Barbara Babcock (Liz Craig), Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Nancy Bleier (Connie), Nicolas Coster (Joe Morris), Jim Davis (Jock Ewing), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Meg Gallagher (Louella), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing), John Zaremba (Dr. Harlan Danvers)

“Act of Love” 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: Act of Love, Corey Allen, Leonard Katzman, Victoria Principal

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 14 – ‘Survival’

April 19, 2012 by Chris Baker 12 Comments

Bobby Ewing, Dallas, J.R. Ewing, Larry Hagman, Patrick Duffy, Survival

Crash of the titans

Larry Hagman and Patrick Duffy appear three times in “Survival:” twice in the first act, when J.R. and Bobby board the Ewings’ private plane and when the aircraft begins its descent into Louisiana swampland, and again in the final scene, when the brothers return to Southfork, battered and bruised.

It’s a testament to the strength of “Dallas’s” ensemble that the show’s biggest stars aren’t missed that much. “Survival” seems designed to showcase “Dallas’s” other cast members, and they make the most of it – particularly Barbara Bel Geddes and Jim Davis, who do some of their finest work in this episode.

In one of my all-time favorite “Dallas” scenes, a tense Miss Ellie is talking with Ray in the Southfork foyer when someone knocks on the door. She opens it to find a snoopy newspaper reporter seeking a quote about the crash.

“Ray, get me the shotgun out of the hall closet,” Ellie says. Holding the gun, she tells the reporter, “Anybody on my land, without invitation, is a trespasser. So unless I see your tail heading out of here right now – and fast – I’m going to blow it off.”

I love the sight of Ellie, wearing pearls, wielding a shotgun and forcing a stranger off her property. The words and images are quintessential “Dallas:” modern people defending old values like land and family.

(TNT’s “Dallas” revival appears to pay homage to this scene in promos for its first episode, when elegant Brenda Strong, playing Southfork’s new lady of the manor, is shown cocking a shotgun.)

In another great “Survival” scene, Jock stands on the darkened Southfork patio and orders Ray to join the search party for J.R. and Bobby. “No matter how it turns out, dead or alive, bring my boys home,” Jock says.

Davis delivers the line with characteristic solemnity, but he pauses briefly before and after the “dead or alive” part, as if Jock has to muster the courage to utter the words. It’s a nice, gravity-adding touch.

Davis also does a nice job at the end of the episode, when Jock receives Ray’s call and learns J.R. and Bobby are alive. With quivering lips and wet eyes, he tells the ranch foreman to “bring them home.”

If you’re able to watch Davis here and not get choked up yourself, you’re a tougher “Dallas” fan than me.

Grade: A

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Call waiting

‘SURVIVAL’

Season 2, Episode 9

Airdate: November 12, 1978

Audience: 15.6 million homes, ranking 18th in the weekly ratings

Writers: D.C. Fontana and Richard Fontana

Director: Irving J. Moore

Synopsis: The Ewings’ plane crashes with J.R. and Bobby aboard. The family spends a tense night at Southfork awaiting word of their fate. Ray brings the brothers home, bruised but otherwise OK.

Cast: Barbra Babcock (Liz Craig), Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Jim Davis (Jock Ewing), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Andy Jarrell (Ken Jackson), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing), John Zaremba (Dr. Harlan Danvers)

“Survival” 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 Bel Geddes, Jim Davis, Larry Hagman, Patrick Duffy, Survival

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 13 – ‘Election’

April 18, 2012 by Chris Baker 16 Comments

Cliff Barnes, Dallas, Election, Ken Kercheval

Smear campaign

If ever anyone questioned the politics of “Dallas’s” first families, “Election” should clear things up.

Cliff runs for state senate on a pro-environment, anti-corruption platform. Martin Cole, the candidate the Ewings recruit to run against him, is described as a churchgoer who opposes gun control, abortion rights and higher taxes.

Could it be clearer?

When “Election” begins, the liberal Cliff is cast in a better light than the conservative Ewings. In the first scene, he rejects a big campaign contribution from a sleazy oil industry emissary – even though his shoestring campaign desperately needs cash.

Contrast this with J.R. and Jock. When Cole’s campaign flounders, they resort to dirty tricks, exposing the fact that when Cliff was younger, his pregnant girlfriend died after a botched abortion.

But ultimately, “Election” takes a cynical view of all politics. In the final scene, after Cliff has lost his race, he calls top aide Peter Larson and tells him he’ll run again – but in his next campaign, he’ll take the oil industry’s money. “Peter,” Cliff says, “I just became a realist.”

This is a turning point for Cliff – the moment he decides the ends (beating the Ewings) are more important than the means (honoring your principles). These are the values that will define his character through the rest of “Dallas’s” run.

Of course, “Election’s” harsh judgment of politics shouldn’t come as a surprise. Other early episodes make it clear “Dallas” doesn’t hold politicians in high regard.

“Digger’s Daughter” introduces Bobby as Ewing Oil’s “road man,” who supplies state legislators with broads and booze to get them to vote the company’s way. “Spy in the House” features a state senator who takes bribes. In “Old Acquaintance,” another senator’s mistress jeopardizes his appointment to a federal job.

Crooked politicians like these seem as realistic today as they did in the Watergate era, when “Dallas” debuted.

Just as timeless is “Election’s” references to the importance of television advertising in politics, although Jock goes a little overboard when he urges Cole to buy more airtime. “I want to see your face every time I turn that damn thing on,” the old man barks.

It’s the only thing in this episode that doesn’t really ring true. I mean, has anyone ever wished for more political ads on TV?

Grade: A

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Welcome to the real world

‘ELECTION’

Season 2, Episode 8

Airdate: November 5, 1978

Audience: 11.5 million homes, ranking 48th in the weekly ratings

Writer: Rena Down

Director: Barry Crane

Synopsis: Cliff’s run for state senate divides Pam and Bobby. After J.R. exposes skeletons in Cliff’s closet and he loses, Cliff vows to play dirty during his next campaign.

Cast: Robert Ackerman (Wade Luce), Norman Bartold (Evans), Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Joshua Bryant (Peter Carson), Allen Cae (Martin Cole), Jim Davis (Jock Ewing), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Meg Gallagher (Louella), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Don Starr (Jordan Lee), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing), Buck Young (Seth Stone)

“Election” 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: Digger’s Daughter, Election, Old Acquaintance, Spy in the House

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 12 – ‘Runaway’

April 17, 2012 by Chris Baker 14 Comments

Charlene Tilton, Dallas, Lucy Ewing, Runaway

Diary of a teenage brat

“Runaway” is one of “Dallas’s” weakest episodes. Almost everything about it – the writing, the directing, the acting, the music – is bad.

The episode treats Lucy, who was so daring during “Dallas’s” first season, like just another bratty TV teenager. She spends the beginning of “Runaway” whining about how the Ewings are ignoring her. At one point, Jock sends her to her room.

Is this the same Lucy who was blackmailing her teacher and seducing Ray a few episodes ago?

“Dallas” clearly wants us to feel sorry for the poor little rich girl. John Parker, who scored the music for “Runaway,” punctuates each of Lucy’s outbursts with a cloying violin solo that becomes the character’s theme music in later episodes.

By the end of “Runaway’s” first act, Lucy has run away from Southfork and fled to the outskirts of Dallas, where she hooks up with armed robber Willie Gust.

Greg Evigan, who plays Willie, must have prepared for the role by watching Cooper Huckabee’s performance in “Winds of Vengeance.” Both actors seem to believe maniacal laughing is the best way to signal their characters’ villainy.

When Willie isn’t in hysterics, he’s waging a one-man war on Texas’s cash registers, leaving Lucy to cower in the passenger seat of his far-out custom van. But if she’s so afraid of him, why doesn’t she just hop out and run away?

Another mind boggler: How does frightened Lucy manage to deliver such a confident performance during the talent show Willie makes her enter?

“Dallas” creator David Jacobs has said the show’s producers were crunched for time when CBS renewed the series for a second season. According to him, the writers scrambled to produce scripts for the season’s first seven episodes, which were filmed in Texas during the summer of 1978.

“Runaway” is the last of these seven episodes, and you can tell. This feels like something cobbled together by people who were eager to get out from under the hot Texas sun.

Making matters worse: “Runaway” doesn’t end – it stops.

In the final scene, Miss Ellie announces Bobby is bringing Lucy home.

“There’s just one thing,” Jock says. “I was hoping to have a dance with my granddaughter.”

“Well,” Ellie responds, patting his arm. “What about tomorrow?”

Parker’s cloying violin music swells, the frame freezes, the credits flash – and we’re finally done with “Dallas’s” most prophetically titled episode.

Run away, indeed.

Grade: D

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Bonnie and Clod

‘RUNAWAY’

Season 2, Episode 7

Airdate: October 28, 1978

Audience: 12.8 million homes, ranking 35th in the weekly ratings

Writer: Worley Thorne

Director: Barry Crane

Synopsis: Lucy, feeling ignored, runs away and hitches a ride with an armed robber. Bobby tracks Lucy to Austin, where he rescues her and the robber is arrested.

Cast: Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Jim Davis (Jock Ewing), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Greg Evigan (Willie Gust), Jim Gough (Congressman Oates), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing)

“Runaway” 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: Cooper Huckabee, David Jacobs, Greg Evigan, John Parker, Runaway, Winds of Vengeance

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 11 – ‘Double Wedding’

April 16, 2012 by Chris Baker 11 Comments

Dallas, Double Wedding, Ed Haynes, Pam Ewing, Robin Clarke, Victoria Principal

Forgotten but not gone

“Double Wedding” focuses on the return of Pam’s long-lost first husband, but I’m much more interested in the subplot about Bobby’s bid to build a “wayward boys’” school for his family’s church.

Yes, the Ewings are churchgoers. Who knew?

Initially, Bobby seems poised to win the congregation’s business: Ewing Oil has donated the land for the school and Sue Ellen, a member of the church’s building committee, has recommended him for the job.

But the stuffy church elders are openly skeptical of Bobby’s plans. One clutch-the-pearls snob turns up her nose at Bobby’s architectural drawings, wondering why there are no bars on the school’s windows. Meanwhile, sanctimonious Reverend Thornwood points out Bobby and Pam have been missing from the pews lately.

Later, when Pam’s bigamy scandal explodes, Sue Ellen lectures Bobby. “You know, it’s not so much that it’s immoral,” Sue Ellen says. “The reverend feels that if a man is incapable of handling his family, he’s also incapable of handling his business.”

By populating the Ewings’ congregation with holier-than-thou types, you might think “Dallas” is thumbing its nose at organized religion. And maybe it is. Or maybe it’s just reflecting the prevailing mood of the 1970s, when by many accounts, narcissism ran rampant and Americans grew disenchanted with churchgoing and other social traditions.

“Dallas” appears to underscore this sentiment in the scene where Bobby jokingly tells Pam she’ll have to stop throwing her “weekly wild parties” while he competes for the church’s business. The implication: Young people like Bobby and Pam who don’t attend church regularly aren’t necessarily immoral.

It would’ve been interesting to see “Dallas” continue to explore the Ewings’ relationship with their church. Aside from the ministers we see preside over weddings and funerals in later seasons, references to religion on the show pretty much vanish after this episode.

In addition to the church subplot, I like “Double Wedding” because it offers another strong performance from Victoria Principal, who is heartbreaking in the scene where J.R. reveals Pam’s potential bigamy in front of the family.

David Wayne is also touching in the scene where Digger tries to help his daughter by confronting Ed Haynes, her first husband. Digger is so small and feeble; you can’t help but feel moved by the sight of him standing up to smarmy Haynes.

Until this point on “Dallas,” Digger has been mostly depicted as a self-centered, embittered drunk, so this scene also marks a moment of real growth for the character.

Think about it: Digger Barnes is trying to save his daughter’s marriage to a Ewing. “Dallas” may not be a religious show, but sometimes miracles happen!

Grade: A

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Field trip

‘DOUBLE WEDDING’

Season 2, Episode 6

Airdate: October 21, 1978

Audience: 11.2 million homes, ranking 48th in the weekly ratings

Writers: Jim Inman and Arthur Bernard Lewis

Director: Paul Stanley

Synopsis: Pam’s first husband surfaces, claiming they’re still married. Pam realizes he’s a con artist after Ewing money and tricks him into abandoning his scheme.

Cast: Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Robin Clarke (Ed Haynes), Sarah Cunningham (Maggie Monahan), Jim Davis (Jock Ewing), Desmond Dhooge (Harvey), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Charles Hallahan (Harry Ritlin), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Lisa Lemole (Susan), Randy Moore (Reverend Thornwood), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing), David Wayne (Digger Barnes)

“Double Wedding” 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: David Wayne, Double Wedding, Victoria Principal

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 10 – ‘Black Market Baby’

April 13, 2012 by Chris Baker 14 Comments

Black Market Baby, Dallas, Linda Gray, Pam Ewing, Sue Ellen Ewing, Victoria Principal

Scene from a mall

“Black Market Baby” isn’t about adoption as much as it’s about matrimony. The episode looks at the marriages of J.R. and Sue Ellen and Bobby and Pam and determines only one couple has a real partnership. Can you guess which?

The contrast between the two marriages is on display in the first scene, when the Ewings gather at Southfork to celebrate Jock and Miss Ellie’s anniversary. Unlike Bobby and Pam, who worked together to create a thoughtful gift to his parents – an engraved album filled with old family photos – Sue Ellen clearly got no help from J.R. when it came to choosing their present – an ugly African sculpture.

This isn’t the only area of her marriage where Sue Ellen is on her own.

J.R. neglects Sue Ellen sexually, so she has a desperate one-night stand with Ray. She also begins planning to adopt a baby on her own, not just because she craves love, but also because she feels insecure and believes a child will cement her place within the family.

Sue Ellen’s unlikely friendship with rough-around-the-edges Rita Briggs, the woman whose unborn baby she plans to adopt, underscores how starved for attention Sue Ellen is. What are the chances these two would become friends if a child wasn’t involved?

To further highlight Sue Ellen’s plight, “Dallas” shows Pam embarking on her own quest for fulfillment by resuming her career at The Store, “Dallas’s” version of Neiman Marcus.

Initially, this doesn’t sit well with Bobby, who can’t understand his wife’s desire to delay motherhood and argues with her about it. But unlike Sue Ellen, whose fights with J.R. always end with her in tears, Pam isn’t fazed by her marital spat. She tells her new boss Liz Craig she and Bobby fight “because we’re individuals” – one of several lines in this episode that echo the era’s I’m-OK-you’re-OK pop-psychobabble.

By the end of “Black Market Baby,” Bobby comes around and supports Pam’s career aspirations, while J.R. and Sue Ellen remain in turmoil.

After squelching her adoption scheme and sending Rita away, J.R. comes home to find Sue Ellen packing her suitcase to leave him. They argue, she slaps him and he throws her on the bed and kisses her, despite her repeated declarations she doesn’t “want” him. At one point, he flings his leg over hers to keep her from squirming. It’s one of the most disturbing images during the series.

Afterward, while Pam takes Bobby for a spin in her new Corvette – Bobby’s gift to his wife to celebrate her new job – J.R. leaves for work, telling Sue Ellen he’ll be home late.

Once again, Sue Ellen is on her own.

Grade: A

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Buy buy baby

‘BLACK MARKET BABY’

Season 2, Episode 5

Airdate: October 15, 1978

Audience: 11.8 million homes, ranking 42nd in the weekly ratings

Writer: Darlene Craviotto

Director: Lawrence Dobkin

Synopsis: J.R. undermines Sue Ellen’s plan to adopt a young woman’s unborn baby. Pam resumes her retail career.

Cast: Barbara Babcock (Liz Craig), Talia Balsam (Rita Briggs), Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Jim Davis (Jock Ewing), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing), James Whitmore Jr. (Buzz Connors)

“Black Market Baby” 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: Black Market Baby