Both “Dallas” series had characters who appeared regularly, although not in every episode. Vote for your favorite, or share other options in the comments section below.
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Dallas Scene of the Day: ‘Back Off, Barnes!’
July 3, 2013 by 4 Comments
The barrier
In “Barbecue Three,” a sixth-season “Dallas” episode, Cliff and Jordan (Ken Kercheval, Don Starr) lead a mob of angry oilmen in confronting J.R. (Larry Hagman) at the Ewing Barbecue, where he stands on the patio with Sue Ellen (Linda Gray).
CLIFF: J.R., we want to talk to you.
J.R.: Well, Barnes, I’ve got a business. You know where my office is.
JORDAN: You don’t even answer your phone calls, J.R.
J.R.: Been real busy.
JORDAN: Too busy to talk to your friends?
J.R.: If y’all got something to say, say it.
Ray and Miss Ellie (Steve Kanaly, Barbara Bel Geddes) watch from the crowd.
RAY: Maybe you ought to go inside, Miss Ellie.
ELLIE: No.
Cliff and J.R. continue their faceoff.
CLIFF: We want to talk to you about the gas war.
J.R.: I don’t think there’s anything to talk about. If I want to cut prices, that’s my business, isn’t it?
JORDAN: No, J.R. It’s the business of every oilman in Texas.
CLIFF: J.R., the politicians are afraid of you. We aren’t. We want you to stop over-pumping those fields and put prices back where they belong.
Bobby (Patrick Duffy) steps in front of J.R.
BOBBY: Cliff, that sounds like a threat. You boys are starting to look like a lynch mob.
JORDAN: Bobby, what are you doing sticking up for J.R.? He’s ruining you too!
BOBBY: Jordan, I don’t like it any more than you do. But right now you’re talking not business, but family. That’s no way to solve problems.
Ray joins Bobby in shielding J.R. as one of the oilmen (Ken Farmer) in the crowd begins to speak.
OILMAN: My stations are losing a fortune, Bobby. One more week and I’m out of business. You best step aside.
BOBBY: If you want to get to J.R., you’re going to have to come through us.
CLIFF: Then that’s what it’ll be, because you’re not stopping us.
BOBBY: Back off, Barnes! All of you!
OILMAN: Not before we settle with J.R.
RAY: Just hold it right there! If there’s going to be any blood spilled here today, I guarantee you it won’t just be Ewing blood.
ELLIE: [Stepping forward] Good Lord, are you all crazy? Most of you are Jock’s friends!
JORDAN: Now, Miss Ellie, we don’t have any quarrel with you.
ELLIE: You’re a guest in my home. Until you come to your senses, I don’t want to see any of you. Now go home. Go home, all of you!
JORDAN: [Turning toward the cartel members] Come on, let’s go.
Pam and Donna (Victoria Principal, Susan Howard) step forward.
ELLIE: I’m calling Harv Smithfield. I’ve had enough of this insane competition between you two. I’m going to court to break Jock’s will. And then I intend to sell Ewing Oil.
The Dal-List: Classic ‘Dallas’s’ 5 Most Shocking Shootings
February 8, 2013 by 18 Comments
The one heard round the world
TNT’s “Dallas” delivered a shocker at the end of “Sins of the Father,” this week’s episode: Ann (Brenda Strong) shot her ex-husband Harris (Mitch Pileggi) and left him bleeding on his den floor. It was the latest example of “Dallas’s” long tradition of using gunplay to throw viewers for a loop. Here’s my list of the five most shocking shootings seen during the original series.
She bangs
5. J.R. Ewing (1988). “Dallas’s” 12th season ended with Sue Ellen and boyfriend Nick Pearce (Linda Gray, Jack Scalia) bursting into a high-rise hotel room to confront J.R. (Larry Hagman) over his latest misdeeds. J.R. pulled a gun, Nick lunged at him and before you knew it, studly Mr. Pearce went tumbling over the balcony. That’s when Sue Ellen picked up J.R.’s gun, fired three shots at him and dialed the police to report “a double murder.” Even though this was the fourth (!) time J.R. was shot on the show – and even though there was no doubt he’d survive – you have to admit: Seeing Sue Ellen plug him was pretty surprising.
For whom the booth tolls
4. Jordan Lee. This longtime Ewing frenemy had a penchant for hooking up with shady women – we’re looking at you, Kristin – but when Jordan (Don Starr) got involved with mysterious Sheila Foley (Susan Lucci), he paid the ultimate price. Jordan helped Sheila with her convoluted scheme to masquerade as Bobby’s wife because he believed Sheila merely wanted to make a big speech criticizing OPEC at a Parisian oil conference. When he realized she had deadlier aims, he ducked into a phone booth to call J.R. for help – but before Jordan started dialing, one of Sheila’s goons shot him, ending his 12-year run on the show.
Twist of fake
3. Bobby Ewing. The last episode of “Dallas’s” eighth season felt awfully familiar: The whole world was mad at J.R., and one by one, his enemies were vowing revenge. (Peter Richards: “I swear I’ll kill you!”) As the hour drew to a close, we were given a first-person perspective as someone entered the darkened Ewing Oil suite, walked into J.R.’s office and fired three shots into the back of his chair. A body slumped to the floor, but it wasn’t J.R. – it was Bobby (Patrick Duffy)! Was this a shameless rip-off of the “Who Shot J.R.?” cliffhanger from four years earlier? Absolutely. Was it also one of the show’s best-ever fake-outs? You bet it was.
Big shot
2. J.R. Ewing (1980). Hold your fire, fellow fans. I know what you’re thinking: How can this one not be ranked first on a list of shocking “Dallas” shootings? Because CBS spoiled the surprise. Before the network broadcast “A House Divided,” the serial’s most famous cliffhanger, it aired promos that showed J.R. getting shot. As if that wasn’t bad enough, CBS also ran a half-page ad in TV Guide with a screaming headline (“It Had to Happen – J.R. is Shot!”). So yes, even though J.R.’s shooting was a stroke of storytelling genius – and even though it cemented “Dallas’s” spot in the TV Hall of Fame – it wasn’t much of a shock.
French twist
1. April Ewing. Did you see this one coming? I sure didn’t. Like Jordan’s death, this shooting was part of the storyline about Sheila masquerading as Bobby’s kidnapped wife April (Sheree J. Wilson) during their Parisian honeymoon. April was supposed to be released to Bobby’s custody at the OPEC conference – but when gunfire broke out, she got caught in the crossfire. The scene ended with Bobby weeping as he cradled his dead bride’s body. Wilson had become “Dallas’s” leading lady at this point, making this the first time the show had killed off one of its main characters (not counting Jock, of course). Her death remains one of the show’s boldest – and most heartbreaking – plot twists.
Which “Dallas” shootings shocked you most? Share your choices below and read more “Dal-Lists.”
Dallas Scene of the Day: ‘We’re Ewings. We Stick Together.’
November 14, 2012 by 6 Comments
She’s got this
In “Dallas’s” fifth-season episode “Waterloo at Southfork,” J.R. (Larry Hagman) stands behind Miss Ellie (Barbara Bel Geddes), who has summoned Vaughn (Dennis Patrick), Jordan (Don Starr), Wade (Robert Ackerman), Andy (Paul Sorensen) and Cliff (Ken Kercheval) to J.R.’s office.
ELLIE: I’d like to thank you all for coming.
JORDAN: Well, it’s good to see you again Miss Ellie, but –
ELLIE: But you wonder why you were called here – at this time of night and by me. Is that right?
WADE: You do have us guessing, ma’am.
ELLIE: Well, you can stop guessing. I called you here to tell you that Ewing Oil is now prepared to pay back your loan … with interest.
VAUGHN: [Forced smile] Well … how nice.
ANDY: I knew Ewing Oil would be coming through.
ELLIE: Did you, Mr. Bradley? I suppose I should thank all of you gentlemen for the aid you gave my son.
JORDAN: Now Miss Ellie, you know it’s just business.
ELLIE: What I do know is that you are supposed to be Jock’s friend, Jordan. And yet the minute his back was turned, you took advantage of J.R.’s situation to charge an outrageous 25 percent interest to extend your loan.
VAUGHN: Now Miss Ellie, you don’t understand.
ELLIE: I understand perfectly. And what about you, Cliff? How long are you going to perpetuate this stupid Barnes-Ewing feud? Until we’re all dead and gone? Is it worth it to you?
CLIFF: Don’t expect me to apologize because J.R. got in over his head.
ELLIE: I don’t expect anything from you, Cliff. And I don’t apologize for what my son did. It’s a family matter. We may be wrong and we may be right, but we’re Ewings. We stick together – and that’s what makes us unbeatable.
The Dal-List: Kristin Shepard’s 13 Greatest Moments
October 11, 2012 by 11 Comments
Thanks for the memories, darlin’
Dallas Decoder kicks off its newest periodic feature, “The Dal-List,” with a look back at the 13 most memorable moments featuring “Dallas” vixen Kristin Shepard, played by the magnificent Mary Crosby.
Clothes call
13. Leaving Rudy. Feeling neglected by J.R. (Larry Hagman), Kristin turned to old flame Rudy Millington (Terry Lester) – and for a moment, it looked like she was going to allow him to make an honest woman of her. Then J.R. showed up, interrupting their post coital bliss. Before this embarrassing scene was over, Kristin had chosen J.R., leaving poor Rudy with a broken heart, no job – and possibly no pants. (“Return Engagements”)
Of vice and men
12. Scamming Judge Smith. A decade after Kristin’s death, an “angel” showed J.R. what life would have been like if he had never been born, including the revelation that Kristin became a cop. J.R. watched her bust grandfatherly Judge Smith (James T. Callahan) for solicitation – but it turned out the badge was fake: Kristin was really a con artist who preyed on powerful men. Guess she was destined to be bad. (“Conundrum”)
Daddy day scare
11. Bilking Jordan. After giving birth in California, Kristin sashays back to Dallas and makes a phone call. “The baby … looks just like you,” she coos. The audience is led to believe the person on the other end of the line is J.R. – so imagine our surprise when it turns out to be rival oilman Jordan Lee (Don Starr). It seems Kristin lied to Jordan, telling him he was her child’s father – just so she could bilk him for hush money. (“Full Circle”)
Buckle up, Bob
10. Charming Bobby. Kristin (Colleen Camp) paid her first visit to Southfork just as Bobby and Pam (Patrick Duffy, Victoria Principal) were hitting a rough patch – so J.R. naturally encouraged his wife’s little sister to seduce his baby brother. Kristin obliged, charming Bobby with her clever wit and tight sweaters. Then Bobby and Pam made up, leaving Kristin free to pursue the brother she wanted all along. (“Sue Ellen’s Sister”)
See what develops
9. Exposing Lucy. The only person Kristin despised more than Lucy (Charlene Tilton) was J.R.’s protégé Alan Beam (Randolph Powell), so when Kristin saw Lucy and Alan canoodling at a roller disco, she did what came naturally: She reached for the nearest Polaroid and started snapping pictures. Kristin hoped exposing Lucy and Alan’s secret affair would get them in trouble. It didn’t work out that way, but it still caused lots of drama. (“Power Play”)
Lap it up, Val
8. Befriending Val. After wearing out her welcome in Dallas, Kristin headed to Knots Landing, where she got busy wrecking the marriage of those nice young suburbanites, Kenny and Ginger Ward (James Houghton, Kim Lankford). Soon, Valene (Joan Van Ark) was confronting Kristin, who confessed she was pregnant and afraid for her future. It was a rare and moving glimpse into Kristin’s soul. Who knew she even had one? (“Kristin”)
Sister, sister
7. Taunting Sue Ellen. Sue Ellen (Linda Gray) was suffering major post-partum depression when Kristin started flirting with J.R. So you couldn’t blame big sis for being suspicious when Kristin popped into her bedroom one evening to see if she’d be joining the rest of the family for dinner. “Were you thinking of occupying my chair?” Sue Ellen seethed. “Somebody will if you don’t pull yourself together,” Kristin sneered. (“The Silent Killer”)
Spill life
6. Drenching Sue Ellen. Oh, look: Sue Ellen and Kristin are in a posh restaurant, toasting their renewed friendship. Nice to see them getting along, isn’t it? Whoops, klutzy Kristin just spilled her cocktail in Sue Ellen’s lap. If she’s not careful, the Ewings are going to smell the booze and begin to suspect Sue Ellen has fallen off the wagon. Wait, what’s that you say? That was Kristin’s plan all along? What a hussy! (“Divorce, Ewing Style”)
If smirks could kill
5. Seducing J.R. Once J.R. hired Kristin as his new secretary, it didn’t take her long to figure out his scheme to secretly mortgage Southfork. She threatened to spill the beans to Jock and Bobby – unless J.R. slept with her. Turns out she didn’t need to ask twice. “Kristin,” J.R. said as he took her in his arms, “with your mind and your body, it just might take me a lifetime to figure you out.” Cost him his life is more like it. (“The Kristin Affair”)
Move over, Florence Nightingale
4. Mocking J.R. While recovering in the hospital from his shooting, J.R. was surprised to receive a visit from Kristin, who was still in town after his goons failed to run her off. “Don’t you worry, Kristin. When I get out of here, you’ll get yours,” J.R. warned. “I know I will,” she smirked as she looked his paralyzed body up and down. “But not from you. That’s for sure.” J.R.’s under-his-breath response after she left the room: “Bitch.” (“Nightmare”)
Is it really that black and white?
3. Scandalizing J.R. After giving birth to the son she claimed was J.R.’s, Kristin showed up at Southfork demanding more “child support.” Next thing you know, Cliff was fishing her dead body out of the swimming pool and claiming J.R. had murdered her. Before all was said and done, J.R. was being hauled into court to prove his innocence. Even in death, Kristin was still causing him trouble. That’s our girl! (“Gone But Not Forgotten”)
She bangs
2. Shooting J.R. No one knew whodunit when J.R. was gunned down in his office. Then the weapon was discovered in his bedroom closet. The cops arrested Sue Ellen, who figured out Kristin was framing her and made little sister confess. Of course, Kristin had a get-out-of-jail card: She was pregnant with J.R.’s love child. Fed up with her drama, J.R. finally exiled Kristin to California. Too bad she didn’t stay there. (“Who Done It?”)
Wait ’til you see him grown up!
1. Birthing Christopher. OK, we never actually saw this on screen, but so what? After miscarrying J.R.’s baby, Kristin got pregnant by sleazy Jeff Farraday (Art Hindle), who sold their child, Christopher, to Bobby after Miss Shepard took her deadly dive into the Southfork swimming pool. So when you think about it, Kristin is responsible for giving us Jesse Metcalfe on TNT’s “Dallas.” If that’s not a crowning achievement, I don’t know what is.
What do you consider Kristin Shepard’s greatest moments? Share your choices below and read more “Dal-Lists.”
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