Jock and Miss Ellie (Jim Davis, Barbara Bel Geddes) are seen in this 1978 publicity shot from “Barbecue,” “Dallas’s” first-season finale.
Dallas Scene of the Day: ‘She’s On the Nest — Digger’s Girl’
April 6, 2012 by 9 Comments
Tell her some news
In “Barbecue,” “Dallas’s” first-season finale, Tilly (Irma P. Hall) is filling drinks at the bar when Sam (Haskel Craver) approaches with a tray and motions toward Jock (Jim Davis), who is smoking and drinking out of the view of his guests.
SAM: He’s sneaking his cigarettes early today.
TILLY: He ’s snuck three of ’em sitting there. Ain’t like him to stay away from his guests so long. [Places champagne glasses on Sam’s tray]
SAM: Digger Barnes is here!
TILLY: Say what?
SAM: You heard me. The girl Bobby married is Digger’s daughter. So it figures Jock and Digger are bound to meet again.
TILLY: Yeah, but from the looks of him, it happened a long time before he was ready. [Motions toward the crowd] How are things out there?
SAM: Crazy.
TILLY: Oh, that ain’t no news. Tell me some news.
SAM: She’s on the nest – Digger’s girl.
TILLY: Now that’s news. How’s the missus and Big Brother taking it?
SAM: I don’t think they know about it yet.
TILLY: They ain’t going to like that. Who’s going to be the first to have a fight?
SAM: Too soon to tell.
TILLY: First to get drunk?
SAM: [Motions toward Jock] He’s got the head start.
Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 5 – ‘Barbecue’
April 6, 2012 by 25 Comments
Best of enemies
“Barbecue,” the final entry in “Dallas’s” too-brief first season, is probably best remembered as the episode where J.R. accidentally causes a pregnant Pam to fall from the hayloft and lose her baby, but I think it’s notable for other reasons.
This is one of the few “Dallas” installments set during a single day. (“Winds of Vengeance,” the previous episode, is another.) “Barbecue” is also the first time Jock and Digger come face-to-face on the show, and seeing the characters together reminds us how smartly the producers cast the roles.
More than anyone else in the “Dallas” ensemble, Jim Davis and David Wayne look like their characters. Davis is as big as Texas. Wayne is small and pitiful. They are Jock and Digger.
I also love the actors’ use of body language in “Barbecue.” Watch closely when Jock and Digger walk to the bar to toast Pam’s pregnancy. Davis strides with effortless confidence; Wayne’s gait is slowly deliberate – exactly how we expect a broken man like Digger to make his way through the world.
But as much as I enjoy Jock and Digger’s scenes together, my favorite “Barbecue” moment is the gossipy exchange between the Ewings’ caterers, Tilly and Sam.
“How are things out there?” Tilly asks.
“Crazy,” Sam responds.
“Oh that ain’t no news. Tell me some news.”
“She’s on the nest – Digger’s girl.”
“Now that’s news.”
I’ve always believed Southfork’s servants represented untapped storytelling potential. Throughout “Dallas,” we see Teresa the maid and Raoul the butler hovering in background, but they’re more like props than people.
Turning the servants into real characters could have grounded “Dallas” a bit more, allowing them to become the audience’s eyes and ears in the world of the Ewings.
Tilly and Sam fill this role in “Barbecue,” but the characters are never seen again after this episode. Too bad. Aside from being a hoot, Tilly and Sam are also among the few African American faces to appear on “Dallas.”
The good news: TNT’s forthcoming “Dallas” revival is expected to offer more of a “Downton Abbey”-ish view of life at Southfork. One of the new characters will be Carmen Ramos, the Ewings’ cook, played by Marlene Forte.
Who knows? Maybe Teresa and Raoul or even Tilly and Sam will show up to give Carmen pointers on working for those darned Ewings.
Grade: B
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Please don’t go, girl
‘BARBECUE’
Season 1, Episode 5
Airdate: April 30, 1978
Audience: 15.9 million homes, ranking 11th in the weekly ratings
Writer: David Jacobs
Director: Robert Day
Synopsis: At the Ewing barbecue, Bobby and Pam announce her pregnancy, while Jock and Digger reignite their feud. J.R. insults Pam and when he tries to apologize, she falls and suffers a miscarriage. Bobby wants to leave Southfork, but Jock persuades him and Pam to stay.
Cast: Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), James Canning (Jimmy Monahan), Haskel Craver (Sam), Jim Davis (Jock Ewing), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Irma P. Hall (Tilly), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Jo McDonnell (Maureen), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing), David Wayne (Digger Barnes)
“Barbecue” is available on DVD and at Amazon.com, iTunes and TNT.tv. Watch the episode and share your comments below.
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