Between the Lines and Behind the Scenes of "Dallas"
In “The Wind of Change,” a ninth-season “Dallas” episode, Miss Ellie (Barbara Bel Geddes) calls Pam (Victoria Principal) to the stage at the Oil Baron’s Ball to accept Bobby’s posthumous Oilman of the Year Award. PAM: There’s a lot of wisdom in what Miss Ellie has had to say here tonight. I guess that’s where […]
In “Saving Grace,” a ninth-season “Dallas” episode, Cliff (Ken Kercheval) is in the kitchen cooking when Jamie (Jenilee Harrison) answers the front door and greets Pam and Mark (Victoria Principal, John Beck). JAMIE: Hi, come on in. How are you? [They kiss.] PAM: Good, thanks. JAMIE: Good. PAM: Jamie, this is a very dear friend […]
No one will ever accuse Mark Graison of being an interesting character, but you can’t deny the man knows how to make a comeback. In “Saving Grace,” Mark re-enters Pam’s life and reveals he faked his death a year earlier to focus on finding a cure for his fatal disease. Yes, the explanation is absurd, […]
“Dallas’s” seventh season clocks in at 30 hours, making it the show’s longest season yet. Does quantity equal quality? Performances If Cliff Barnes were played by anyone other than Ken Kercheval, we’d probably hate him. Cliff is foolish, petty, self-centered — yet throughout the seventh season, Kercheval brings a startling amount of vulnerability to the […]
I don’t remember how I felt about Mark Graison’s death when I saw “Love Stories” as a kid, but I’ll be damned if it doesn’t move me now. John Beck’s character was never one of my favorites; his shameless pursuit of Pam while she was still married to Bobby was a turnoff during Mark’s earliest […]
As much as we all love “Dallas’s” opening credits, they aren’t without their quirks. Linda Gray and Steve Kanaly weren’t added to the title sequence until the second season, while poor Ken Kercheval had to wait until Season 3 to get star billing. By the time the show was winding down, the credits had become a […]
At the end of “Eye of the Beholder,” Miss Ellie tearfully tells Clayton that she had breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy years earlier. It’s another moving performance from Barbara Bel Geddes, although when I try to explain why she excels in scenes like this one, I always come up short. Is it her ability […]
The first scene in “Some Do … Some Don’t:” Donna and Lucy are making muffins in the Southfork kitchen and listening to Miss Ellie and Clayton tease each other about their recent misadventures in Jamaica. Clayton recalls taking Ellie to a French restaurant, where she mistakenly ordered a head of veal instead of a veal […]
Katherine and Mark (Morgan Brittany, John Beck) are seen in this 1983 publicity shot from “Hell Hath No Fury,” a sixth-season “Dallas” episode.
In “Hell Hath No Fury,” a sixth-season “Dallas” episode, Pam (Victoria Principal) awakens in her hotel bed and finds Bobby (Patrick Duffy) getting dressed. BOBBY: [Sits on the bed] Good morning. PAM: Good morning. [They kiss.] BOBBY: Did you, uh, sleep well? PAM: [Giggles] I sure did. BOBBY: I love you. PAM: You know, I’ve […]
