Between the Lines and Behind the Scenes of "Dallas"
“Dallas’s” midseason cliffhanger brought the show its second biggest Monday audience this year. The episode, “Where There’s Smoke,” debuted to 2.1 million viewers on April 14, including 714,000 viewers in the advertiser-prized demographic of adults between ages 18 and 49. This is “Dallas’s” most-watched Monday telecast since the third-season premiere, “The Return,” drew 2.7 million […]
There’s lots to love and little to loathe about “Dallas’s” sixth season. Performances Every cast member shines during Season 6, but Linda Gray’s performance during Sue Ellen’s alcoholic spiral makes her first among equals. Sue Ellen doesn’t just lose her self-respect; she comes close to losing her life when she drives drunk and crashes J.R.’s car. What […]
In “Ewing Inferno,” “Dallas’s” sixth-season finale, J.R. (Larry Hagman) comes home and finds Sue Ellen (Linda Gray) seated on the living room sofa, drinking. J.R.: Sue Ellen, what are you doing down here? You need your rest, honey. SUE ELLEN: How solicitous. J.R.: You feeling better? SUE ELLEN: You mean am I still drunk? [Smirks] […]
“Ewing Inferno” famously ends with J.R., Sue Ellen, Ray and John Ross trapped inside Southfork as fire sweeps through the house. I wonder: When this episode debuted in 1983, did anyone doubt all four characters would escape the blaze? After all, three of them appear in the opening credits and the fourth is a child; […]
The confrontation between J.R. and Pamela (Larry Hagman, Julie Gonzalo) in “Venomous Creatures,” one of this week’s new “Dallas” episodes on TNT, was an instant classic. The scene demonstrated how Gonzalo can hold her own against the legendary Hagman, but it also evoked memories of J.R.’s showdowns with the original Pam (Victoria Principal). Here’s a look at […]
Dallas Decoder 