Investigation – Dallas Decoder

He’s right, you know

In “Dallas’s” fifth-season episode “The Investigation,” Sue Ellen (Linda Gray) opens her door and finds J.R. (Larry Hagman), who breezes into her living room.

J.R.: Sue Ellen, I’ve been trying to get in touch with you.

SUE ELLEN: I know.

J.R.: Well, what’s the matter honey? What’s wrong?

SUE ELLEN: I just didn’t feel like talking to anybody. [Closes the door, walks past him, stops]

J.R.: Well, a lot of people have let you down lately. You leaned heavily on Clayton and he took off. And then there’s Cliff Barnes. [Chuckles] What can anybody say about Cliff Barnes?

SUE ELLEN: [Turns to face him] You know about Cliff?

J.R.: Yes.

SUE ELLEN: How?

J.R.: Well, it was an oil deal, honey. That’s my business. [Steps closer] Sue Ellen, listen to me. You belong with people who really care about you. And you’re going to be in trouble as long as you put your trust in outsiders.

SUE ELLEN: I don’t know, J.R. [Turns away]

J.R.: [Steps closer] You’re a Ewing. Remember that. I’ve hurt you so much in the past, and I’m sorry. I love you. You know that. We’re the same kind. We have our shortcomings, our faults. But we look at the world the same way. There are no two people that are meant for each other more than you and I.

SUE ELLEN: J.R., you’re confusing me.

J.R.: [Puts his hand on her shoulder, turns her toward him] Don’t be confused. It’s time for you to come home. To Southfork. To your husband.

Reveling

By the end of “The Investigation,” Cliff’s world is collapsing around him. He’s lost Sue Ellen and his fortune. He’s also on the verge of losing his job, now that his mother knows he’s embezzled millions of dollars from the family business. This is when J.R. arrives at Cliff’s office to revel in his misery – and to reveal he engineered Cliff’s fall.

“How does it feel, Cliff?” J.R. asks. “A couple of days ago, you owned my oilfield. You were going to marry my wife. You were expecting a big gusher. Oh yeah, millionaire time – that’s what it was. And now you’re over your head in debt and the only property you own is a dry hole north of Lubbock.” Larry Hagman pauses here before delivering J.R.’s final verbal kick in the teeth. “You have succeeded in becoming the perfect failure,” he says with a chuckle. “I don’t believe it. I just don’t believe it.”

This is the most brutal takedown on “Dallas” yet. Heaven help me, I cheer the whole time I watch it.

Maybe I love the scene because Hagman and Ken Kercheval are so good in it. The glint in Hagman’s eye has never been brighter, while Kercheval shows nice restraint as poor, defeated Cliff. Or maybe I love the scene because – despite the sympathy I feel for Cliff – he kind of has it coming. Earlier in the fifth season, when the roles were reversed and J.R. was the one who had been backed into a corner, Cliff gloated over J.R.’s misfortune. He should have known better.

But ultimately, I think the main reason I enjoy seeing J.R. destroy Cliff is because the prize isn’t the usual cocktail of wealth, power and pride. It’s love. Since Jock’s death during the middle of the season, J.R. has been fighting to win back Sue Ellen and their son. Yes, his efforts created plenty of collateral damage: J.R. drove both Dusty and Clayton out of Sue Ellen’s life, he blackmailed Bobby, and now he’s ruined Cliff. But even though his methods are harsh, J.R. is fighting for a high purpose: reuniting his family. How can you begrudge him that?

This is why I also adore the wonderful scene that closes “The Investigation,” when J.R. visits Sue Ellen and tells her it’s time to come home. Hagman shows us J.R.’s sincere side for a change, and Linda Gray does a nice job conveying Sue Ellen’s confusion, but what I like best about this scene is scriptwriter Bruce Shelly’s dialogue. “You’re a Ewing. Remember that,” J.R. tells Sue Ellen. “I’ve hurt you so much in the past, and I’m sorry. I love you. You know that. We’re the same kind. We have our shortcomings, our faults. But we look at the world the same way. There are no two people that are meant for each other more than you and I.” Have truer words been spoken on this show?

I also have to hand it to director Irving J. Moore, who generates genuine suspense during Bobby and Pam’s rescue of Lucy. The sequence where Lucy, bound and gagged in the back room of Roger’s studio, struggles to knock over the lamp and signal for help is one of those moments where I find myself talking to my TV. (“Hurry Lucy!”)

Later, Charlene Tilton is given a nice showcase when Lucy and Mitch finally acknowledge it’s time to divorce. The characters admit they were always wrong for each other and agree the marriage’s failure is no one’s fault. Shelly’s dialogue is a little hokey (Lucy: “Sometimes love isn’t enough”), but Tilton delivers it with so much heart, I don’t mind. It’s a lovely performance.

The scene takes place in Lucy’s hospital room, so Tilton doesn’t wear a lot of makeup and her hair is straight. It brings to mind the teenaged Lucy we met when “Dallas” began. The contrast is striking: Even though Tilton looks more girlish than she’s appeared in years, her character has never seemed more grownup.

Grade: A

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Revealing

‘THE INVESTIGATION’

Season 5, Episode 24

Airdate: March 26, 1982

Audience: 28 million homes, ranking 1st in the weekly ratings

Writer: Bruce Shelly

Director: Irving J. Moore

Synopsis: Cliff is rebuffed by Sue Ellen and defeated by J.R., who reclaims the original Barnes-Ewing oilfield that Cliff took from him. Bobby learns Farraday was a drug dealer who was killed by his suppliers. Bobby and Pam rescue Lucy, who says goodbye to Mitch.

Cast: Fern Fitzgerald (Marilee Stone), Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Morgan Brittany (Katherine Wentworth), Jack Collins (Russell Slater), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Phyllis Flax (Mrs. Chambers), Jonathan Goldsmith (Joe Smith), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Susan Howard (Donna Krebbs), Bob Hoy (Detective Howard), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Arthur Malet (Forest), Leigh McCloskey (Dr. Mitch Cooper), Priscilla Pointer (Rebecca Wentworth), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Dennis Redfield (Roger Larson), Tom Stern (Detective White), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing), Deborah Tranelli (Phyllis)

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