Leonard Katzman – Dallas Decoder

The Dallas Decoder Interview: Howard Lakin

November 2, 2012 by Chris Baker 8 Comments

Howard Lakin

Howard Lakin penned several “Dallas” episodes as a freelancer in the early 1980s, then returned to the series as a writer and producer for its final three seasons. To my delight, he agreed to share his memories of working on the show, as well as his thoughts on the TNT revival.

You wrote some of my favorite “Dallas” episodes, beginning with “The Fourth Son,” the one where Ray discovers Jock is his father. What do you remember about making it?

Not too much, honestly. But my own dad was adopted so I’m sure I was able to find plenty of emotional traction in the Jock-Ray relationship. And I think that also might have been a factor later on when I got to plot the J.R.-Vanessa Beaumont-James Beaumont illegitimate son story.

That’s interesting. Did that happen a lot – your drawing on your own family experiences when writing for the Ewings?

In some of the subtle details, maybe. But not in any real core way.

How did it feel when you’d see “Written by Howard Lakin” appear on screen?

Funny to think back on it. But I was in my 20s during my first three-year stint as a freelance writer for “Dallas” and most of my close friends were not TV watchers. Even my wife wasn’t much of a TV watcher so it was kind of hard to muster up a feeling of self-importance when I saw my name onscreen! Although secretly … yeah, it was cool.

J.R. (Larry Hagman) in “Sunrise, Sunset”

Did you have favorite characters to write for?

Don’t know why this came to mind, but I remember this one scene I wrote for J.R. where he had to walk into a swimming pool fully clothed in order to cut a deal. [“Sunrise, Sunset” during Season 13 – Ed.] But when I saw the dailies, Larry Hagman had ad-libbed a kind of Texas strip tease before getting wet. Off came his hat slowly, off came his watch slowly, out came his wallet, almost seductively. Larry Hagman gave J.R. such character nuance that writing J.R. was fun; whatever I brought to the table, Larry made it better. That said, I also especially enjoyed writing Sue Ellen. Her long character trajectory was one of the most engaging to work on.

Any favorite “Dallas” episodes?

“Wedding Bell Blues” always pops into my head. It was the first “Dallas” episode I both wrote and produced and it marked a change for the show. “Dallas’s” ratings were being impacted by fresh new competition in the late 1980s. These new shows had a much faster pace and a lot more flash. [Producers] Len Katzman and Art Lewis both wanted to keep the show moving forward so it was agreed we’d try to change with the times. “Wedding Bell Blues” was the first step in the process. I guess the feeling at the time was that if we were going to grow old, it wasn’t going to be a rocking chair thing. We were going to take some chances and go down fighting.

J.R. and Cally (Hagman, Cathy Podewell) in “Wedding Bell Blues”

I love “Wedding Bell Blues”! That’s the episode where a storm strands everyone at Southfork on the night of J.R. and Cally’s wedding. It’s probably one of the most light-hearted “Dallas” episodes.

Larry Hagman directed the episode and really had fun with it.

Were there times you’d see one of your scenes after it was filmed and think, “Wow, that’s not how I envisioned it when I wrote it?”

Not really, not that I can remember. More credit to Len Katzman. He was that rare exec producer who came up the hard way, sweeping out sound stages as a teenager – I think I have that right – followed by decades of hands-on experience. He had a great grasp not just of his own job but he really understood the intricacies and elements of everyone else’s job. And in an industry that is known for “creative conflict,” he had a calming influence, it seemed, on everyone. This translated into a “no surprises” kind of show when it came time to look at the rough cut.

What was it like to work on “Dallas” toward the end of its run? It seems like a lot of fans are critical of the final years. What’s your response?

Instead of focusing on negatives, because in a weird way that just tarnishes the show’s overall reputation, I’d love to hear about some upbeat takeaways from the show’s later episodes now that 20-plus years have passed. What was fun, what made folks feel, what do they still remember with fondness, you know? After 20 years, it might be time to look back and re-visit the good stuff. Personally, having experienced both the glory years and the do-not-go-gentle-into-that-good-night years, I prefer the latter. CBS, Lorimar and Elvis had left the building. Len had won the right to bring the ship home all on his own and in terms of working conditions, it had the most relaxed vibe of any show I ever worked on.

Don and Sue Ellen (Ian McShane, Linda Gray) in “The Serpent’s Tooth”

Do you have a favorite storyline from those final years of the show? Something you think worked really well?

Off the top of my head, I think …well, I don’t know if these were the story lines that worked best but I really enjoyed crafting the three romances which featured Bobby-April, J.R.-Vanessa, and especially Sue Ellen and Don Lockwood because I was determined that Sue Ellen should have a powerful, positive walk-off ending. I really enjoyed Ian McShane. He was fun to work with and a cool dude – aside from being an awesome actor. Gayle Hunnicutt was a class act and a nice person to boot. And Sheree Wilson did a good job with the long romantic build-up and payoff in Paris with Patrick Duffy.

If the show had been renewed for a 15th season, do you have any idea what storylines you might have pursued? Any idea how the cliffhanger with J.R.’s “suicide” attempt would have been resolved?

I don’t remember any discussion of “what if” so I can’t help you there. If we had known there was going to be a 15th season, I doubt very much that the suicide storyline would have been used at all.

You’ve talked in past interviews about how every “Dallas” character reflected some facet of Leonard Katzman’s personality. Can you talk a little more about that?

It’s just my opinion. But here’s an example: Art Lewis and I would sit with Len for endless hours in his dark office, windows shut, stuffy as hell, hashing out stories. I would have mock arguments with Art, each of us taking the story choices in different directions. Len would just listen. More argument, Len would just listen. Ideas, ideas, how a character should react, what would Bobby do, whatever, then at some point Len would literally swivel in his chair so we couldn’t see his face – this could last for five seconds or two minutes. Then he’d swivel back and give us a satisfied smile and let us know which of our many ideas were correct according to the grid through which he saw the whole arc of the show. It was like he could slip into the skin of each character.

Any thoughts on what Mr. Katzman might make of the new TNT series? And what do you think of the show?

I definitely like the new show. It’s really remarkable how it remains true to the spirit and mythology of the original and yet adds all this new good stuff. Can’t speak for Len Katzman but I know he’d be very pleased with its success.

John Ross (Tyler Banks) in “Head of the Family”

It’s funny: One of the first episodes you wrote, “Head of the Family,” ends with little John Ross sitting in Jock’s chair at the head of the Southfork dinner table. It kind of predicts the whole TNT series!

Damn, I totally forgot about that.

You’re now a rare book dealer. How did that come about?

Showbiz, especially episodic work, is so adrenaline-driven that I really needed ways to chill. Before I got my MFA degree at UCLA film school, I got a degree in lit from Antioch College. Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Thomas Hardy – read everything they wrote. Decided to collect their first editions. Built such a good collection that eventually it morphed into Lakin & Marley Rare Books here in San Francisco.

You just published a novel. What can you tell us about it?

It’s brand new, called “California Noir.” You can buy it on Amazon or ask for it at your local bookshop. It’s an emotional thriller, equal parts suspense and romance. Don’t want to do any spoilers so, in classic TV shorthand, think of it as “Dallas” meets “Casablanca,” a film noir novel that’s just as much a love story as it is a mystery to be solved.

Getting back to “Dallas:” The series has now spanned several decades. What do you think is the secret of its enduring appeal?

Live long enough and you can end up literally watching hundreds and hundreds of television series, many absolutely brilliant, most the usual re-mix or formula. “Dallas” is much more saga than series. Its narrative is expansive, and larger than life and convoluted in a good way. From my point of view, what makes it endure is also what makes it iconic. I mean, despite its oversized Texas storytelling, anti-heroic bluster and Dickensian cast of characters, there is still so much to care about on a human level and a whole lot of universality in how it deals with complex family love, family business and family conflict. That’s my take on it anyway.

Share your comments below and read more interviews from Dallas Decoder.

Filed Under: Interviews, News Tagged With: Arthur Bernard Lewis, Cathy Podwell, Fourth Son, Gayle Hunnicutt, Head of the Family, Howard Lakin, Ian McShane, Larry Hagman, Leonard Katzman, Linda Gray, Patrick Duffy, Serpent’s Tooth, Sheree J. Wilson, Sunrise Sunset, TNT, Tyler Banks, Wedding Bell Blues

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 85 – ‘The Split’

November 2, 2012 by Chris Baker 20 Comments

Mind games

Sending J.R. and Dusty to the Cotton Bowl for their big showdown at the end of “The Split” doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but who cares? The sequence is a logistical feat, and Larry Hagman and Jared Martin deliver terrific performances. This is one of those moments from the classic “Dallas” series that fans still talk about.

Leonard Katzman, who wrote and directed “The Split,” opens the scene with J.R. arriving at the stadium in his Mercedes. He drives through the gate, down the ramp and parks at the edge of the AstroTurf. This is the sort of thing Ewings can get away with. As J.R. gets out of his car and walks onto the field, we hear whirring, and then Katzman switches to a wide shot as Dusty’s helicopter floats in from the Dallas skyline and touches down on the 50-yard line.

The arrival is another example of how the Farlows are constantly one-upping the Ewings. Southfork is grand, but the Southern Cross is grander. Jock’s relationship with his sons is full of angst, while Clayton and Dusty get along just fine. One family spends years obsessing over the birth of their first grandson, and after he finally arrives, the other family ends up raising him.

Interestingly, J.R. doesn’t summon Dusty to the stadium because he wants him to turn over John Ross. No, this is about Sue Ellen. J.R. wants his wife back, and he knows to get her, he must first drive a wedge between her and Dusty. Why else does J.R. go to the trouble of insulting Dusty’s manhood and insinuating Sue Ellen and Clayton are sleeping together? This whole sequence is confirmation that J.R. still loves Sue Ellen.

As for the setting of the scene, the only reason to have it take place at the Cotton Bowl is for metaphorical value. J.R. and Dusty are a couple of gladiators, after all. And while I’m generally not a fan of excess – please note this site isn’t called “Dynasty Decoder” – there are times when big moments are called for. J.R.’s confrontation with the man who stole his woman is one such instance.

You also have to admire “Dallas” for going to all this trouble, as Martin recalls in Barbara A. Curran’s “Dallas: The Complete Story of the World’s Favorite Prime-Time Soap:”

“[T]he chopper had to arrive on time and touch down at the right spot, the light had to be constant, with no wind, Larry and I would be standing on the right spot, with the cameras rolling and in focus and if either actor came up dry all the elaborate step-by-step mechanics would need to be repeated – at great cost.”

TNT’s “Dallas” memorably paid tribute to Hagman and Martin’s scene at the end of its first episode, “Changing of the Guard,” when John Ross went to Cowboys Stadium to meet with Marta del Sol. Having those characters meet in that setting made no more sense than having J.R. meet Dusty at the Cotton Bowl.

But I loved it all the same.

Grade: A

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He’ll take his wife, please

‘THE SPLIT’

Season 5, Episode 8

Airdate: November 27, 1981

Audience: 23.5 million homes, ranking 2nd in the weekly ratings

Writer and Director: Leonard Katzman

Synopsis: Jock divides control of Ewing Oil among the family. Bobby decides against running for re-election. Donna’s book about Sam Culver is published, while Ray’s development deal hits a snag. Afton stops moonlighting for J.R. and spills his secrets to Cliff. J.R. tells Dusty he’ll never make Sue Ellen happy.

Cast: Bernard Behrens (Haskell), Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Art Hindle (Jeff Farraday), Susan Howard (Donna Krebbs), Andy Jarrel (Neal Hart), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Howard Keel (Clayton Farlow), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Audrey Landers (Afton Cooper), Leigh McCloskey (Mitch Cooper), Dennis Patrick (Vaughn Leland), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Debbie Rennard (Sly), Ted Shackelford (Gary Ewing), Barbara Stock (Heather Wilson), Robert Symonds (Martin Porter), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Cooper), Deborah Tranelli (Phyllis), David Tress (Walter Sher), Joan Van Ark (Valene Ewing), H.M. Wynant (Edward Chapman), Gretchen Wyler (Dr. Dagmara Conrad)

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

Filed Under: Critiques, Critiques (Classic), Opinion Tagged With: Barbara A. Curran, Changing of the Guard (2012), Dallas: The Complete Story of the World’s Favorite Prime-Time Soap, Jared Martin, Larry Hagman, Leonard Katzman, Split, TNT

Dallas Parallels: ‘Power’ Tips

October 15, 2012 by Chris Baker 8 Comments

Few moments during TNT’s first “Dallas” season made me smile as much as the scene where J.R. tells John Ross, “Real power is something you take.” This was more than a great line – it was also a tribute to one of the old show’s classic sequences.

In the fourth-season episode “Executive Wife,” Bobby storms into the Cattleman’s Club and interrupts Jock’s lunch with J.R. and a couple of their buddies. The youngest Ewing son is furious because he just discovered Jock yanked millions of dollars out of the Ewing Oil coffers without telling him, even though Bobby is supposed to be running the business while J.R. recuperates from his shooting.

“You gave me the power to run that company, and damn it, I intend to run it,” Bobby fumes.

“So I gave you power, huh?” Jock huffs. “Well, let me tell you something, boy. If I did give you power, you got nothing. Nobody gives you power. Real power is something you take!”

Flash forward three decades: In the TNT episode “The Price You Pay,” J.R. delivers the “real power” line during a clandestine meeting with John Ross at Southfork, where father and son are secretly plotting to steal the ranch from Bobby. J.R. calls it the “truest thing” his daddy ever told him. (Technically Jock told Bobby, but let’s not quibble.)

In addition to evoking Jock’s philosophy, the new scene is staged a lot like the old one. Director Michael M. Robin looks over Josh Henderson’s shoulder when he films Larry Hagman, just as Leonard Katzman shot Jim Davis while looking over Patrick Duffy’s shoulder.

But ultimately, the differences between the scenes are more revealing than the similarities. Jock delivers his “real power” line with characteristic bluntness while standing in a public space, reflecting his unapologetic, tell-it-like-it-is style. Jock was barracuda in business – and he didn’t care who knew it.

J.R. is much more cunning. He plots against his enemies behind their backs, so he shares his “real power” tip with John Ross while they are alone, shrouded in the darkness of J.R.’s bedroom. Even J.R.’s wardrobe reflects his deceptive style: He wears a cardigan sweater because he wants to give everyone the impression he’s become warm and fuzzy in old age. (Ha!)

Of course, regardless of whether the words are yelled or whispered, they still mean the same thing. Jock and J.R. are both demanding fathers who only want the best for their sons. By telling them to go out into the world and seize power for themselves, the fathers are letting the sons know they care.

It’s a tough message and it’s tough love, but it’s love nonetheless. Would the Ewings have it any other way?

‘Nobody Gives You Power …’

Like daddy …

In “Executive Wife,” a fourth-season “Dallas” episode, Bobby (Patrick Duffy) enters the Cattlemen’s Club and begins questioning J.R. (Larry Hagman) about Jock’s business deal, while Jock (Jim Davis) looks on.

JOCK: Now, you just hold on Bobby. J.R. don’t discuss my business with you or anybody else unless I tell him. You understand?

BOBBY: OK Daddy, then why didn’t you tell me? Didn’t you think I should know?

JOCK: I was gonna tell you tonight.

BOBBY: Tonight? I want those kind of things discussed with me before you act, not after. Your dealing behind my back is making me look like a fool.

JOCK: Now just what the hell are you talking about?

BOBBY: I called Les at the bank and asked him to transfer $12 million from the account.

JOCK: So what? We’ve got 100 times that much.

BOBBY: I’m talking liquid assets. Cash, Daddy, cash – and we don’t have that amount. And you know why? Because you took $10 million.

JOCK: [Rises from his seat, faces Bobby] You damn right I took it. It’s mine.

BOBBY: That money belongs to Ewing Oil.

JOCK: And who in the hell do you think Ewing Oil is? It’s me! Ewing Oil belongs to me and don’t you forget it, boy.

BOBBY: And you gave me Ewing Oil to run, in writing. And that makes you obliged to consult me before you do anything that concerns that company.

JOCK: Obliged? You’re telling me that I’m obliged to ask you how to spend my own money any damn way I see fit?

BOBBY: That’s right. You gave me the power to run that company, and damn it, I intend to run it.

JOCK: So I gave you power, huh? Well, let me tell you something, boy. If I did give you power, you got nothing. Nobody gives you power. Real power is something you take.

BOBBY: Well, I’m gonna remember that.

JOCK: You do that.

Bobby walks away.

‘… Real Power is Something You Take’

… like son

In “The Price You Pay,” TNT’s third “Dallas” episode, J.R. (Larry Hagman) shows John Ross (Josh Henderson) the leather-bound diary he uncovered in the Southfork storage barn.

J.R.: Time to get your hands dirty, son. [He hands him the diary.]

JOHN ROSS: What’s this?

J.R.: All my mama’s secrets. And you’re about to use them to get the Southfork deal moving. Your Uncle Bobby’s going to find out that you are my son, tip to tail.

JOHN ROSS: What do I have to do?

J.R.: You up for it?

JOHN ROSS: Yeah, yeah. I’m fine.

J.R.: Well, I’m going to tell you the truest thing my daddy ever told me: Nobody gives you power. Real power is something you take.

What do you think of Jock and J.R.’s philosophy on “real power?” Share your comments below and read more “Dallas Parallels.”

Filed Under: Dallas Parallels, Features Tagged With: Executive Wife, Jim Davis, Josh Henderson, Larry Hagman, Leonard Katzman, Michael M. Robin, Patrick Duffy, Price You Pay, TNT

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 79 – ‘Gone But Not Forgotten’

October 12, 2012 by Chris Baker 10 Comments

Foiled again!

At the end of “Gone But Not Forgotten,” Sue Ellen and John Ross are gliding cheerfully through a Love Field airport terminal when they’re suddenly approached by two of J.R.’s goons. While one man distracts Sue Ellen, the other snatches the child. Is this the end of our heroine’s bid for happiness?

No, because seconds later, Dusty Farlow and a trio of white-hatted cowboys swarm the thug clutching John Ross. “Give us the boy,” Dusty says, and even though he’s using crutches to stand, there’s no doubt he means business. As Sue Ellen and John Ross are reunited, J.R., who’s been watching the whole thing from a mezzanine, fumes.

Larry Hagman, Linda Gray and Jared Martin are terrific here, but the real star is Bruce Broughton, whose score lets us know exactly what we should be feeling as we watch Dusty come to Sue Ellen’s rescue. I especially love how the music swells when director Leonard Katzman zooms in on J.R. the moment his scheme is foiled.

But as much as I like this sequence, the highlight of “Gone But Not Forgotten” comes at the end of the first act, when Katzman pans his camera across John Ross’s darkened Southfork nursery and stops at the doorway. The character we expect to see standing there is Pam, who has been using the boy’s absence as the means to express her dashed dreams of having children, but instead we find J.R. looking around the room in silence.

It’s impossible to watch this scene and not be reminded of the third-season episode “Paternity Suit,” when J.R. walks into the nursery and picks up John Ross for the first time. As joyous as that moment was, this one is very sad. Once again, Broughton’s music is instructive: His piano score shifts to a few bars of the “Dallas” theme when the camera reaches J.R.

For the audience, the “Gone But Not Forgotten” nursery scene is also useful. Hagman’s sad eyes let us know John Ross isn’t just a pawn in J.R.’s war with Sue Ellen. J.R. genuinely loves the boy, and it’s hard to not feel bad for a dad who misses his son – even when that father is J.R. Ewing.

Grade: A

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Her hero

‘GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN’

Season 5, Episode 2

Airdate: October 16, 1981

Audience: 23.1 million homes, ranking 1st in the weekly ratings

Writer: Arthur Bernard Lewis

Director: Leonard Katzman

Synopsis: J.R. is cleared in Kristin’s death and hires a new secretary: Sly. Dusty foils J.R.’s scheme to snatch John Ross from Sue Ellen. Pam’s preoccupation with having children worries Bobby. Afton breaks up with Cliff.

Cast: Tyler Banks (John Ross Ewing), Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Raleigh Bond (pathologist), James L. Brown (Harry McSween), Barry Corbin (Sherriff Fenton Washburn), Patrick Duffy (Senator Bobby Ewing), Fern Fitzgerald (Marilee Stone), Bruce French (Jerry Macon), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Susan Howard (Donna Krebbs), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Howard Keel (Clayton Farlow), Sherril Lynn Katzman (Jackie), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Audrey Landers (Afton Cooper), Heather Lowe (Heather), Jared Martin (Dusty Farlow), Bill Morey (judge), Priscilla Pointer (Rebecca Wentworth), Debbie Rennard (Sly), Herbert Rudley (Howard Barker), Lane Smith (prosecutor), William Smithers (Jeremy Wendell), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Cooper), Deborah Tranelli (Phyllis), Morgan Woodward (Punk Anderson)

“Gone But Not Forgotten” is available on DVD and at Amazon.com and iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.

Filed Under: Critiques, Critiques (Classic), Opinion Tagged With: Bruce Broughton, Gone But Not Forgotten, Jared Martin, Larry Hagman, Leonard Katzman, Linda Gray, Paternity Suit

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 70 – ‘Lover, Come Back’

September 17, 2012 by Chris Baker 17 Comments

Tracks of her tears

“Lover, Come Back” is an episode about reunions. Sue Ellen discovers Dusty is alive and rushes to his side, Ray and Donna get back together and J.R. returns to the cartel. All three stories require a healthier-than-usual suspension of disbelief.

Dusty’s return is the most fantastical, of course. At the end of “Dallas’s” third season, Sue Ellen learned Dusty died in a plane crash. In “Lover, Come Back,” after some Nancy Drew-style sleuthing, Sue Ellen finds out Dusty survived the accident but is now confined to a wheelchair; the body found in the wreckage belonged to one of his ranch hands.

Today’s audiences might find the character’s return from the dead clichéd, but Linda Gray brings so much conviction to Sue Ellen’s weepy reunion with Dusty – and charismatic Jared Martin is such a welcome presence on “Dallas” – I’m willing to overlook it.

Both actors are especially wonderful in the episode’s touching final scene, when Dusty sends Sue Ellen away because he believes he can’t make her happy as long as he’s paralyzed. Everything here works, particularly scriptwriter Leonard Katzman’s beautiful dialogue (“Don’t make me see myself every day in your eyes.”) and Martin’s stoic delivery. This is good old-fashioned soap opera, right down to the tight close-up of Gray’s tear-streaked face.

Surprisingly, the reunion of Ray and Donna, who are usually “Dallas’s” most down-to-earth couple, feels less credible. In “Lover, Come Back,” he asks her to persuade Miss Ellie to drop her fight against the Takapa development. Donna gets righteous, Ray gets angry, their argument turns passionate and the next thing you know, she is waking up to his marriage proposal, which she accepts on the spot. How efficient!

But the real eye roller comes when J.R. summons the cartel members to his office, just as Hank phones to announce the Asian coup succeeded and the nationalized oil wells will be returned to their rightful owners. The cartel members are gleeful – J.R. even gets a kiss from Marilee, who sued the Ewings at the beginning of the season because she blamed J.R. for her husband’s suicide – and Leslie later compliments him on a job well done.

“I do have my moments, don’t I?” he responds.

Yes, J.R., you do. But this isn’t one of them.

Grade: B

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Together again

‘LOVER, COME BACK’

Season 4, Episode 16

Airdate: February 20, 1981

Audience: 27.1 million homes, ranking 1st in the weekly ratings

Writer: Leonard Katzman

Director: Irving J. Moore

Synopsis: Sue Ellen learns Dusty is alive but he doesn’t want her back because he’s paralyzed. Ray and Donna get engaged. J.R. is welcomed back into the cartel when the Asian coup succeeds and the oil wells are “denationalized.”

Cast: Robert Ackerman (Wade Luce), Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Len Birman (Claude Brown), Claudia Bryar (cleaning lady), Jeff Cooper (Dr. Simon Elby), Jim Davis (Jock Ewing), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Joel Fabiani (Alex Ward), Fern Fitzgerald (Marilee Stone), Susan Flannery (Leslie Stewart), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Ron Hayes (Hank Johnson), Susan Howard (Donna Culver), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Sherrill Lynn Katzman (Jackie), Howard Keel (Clayton Farlow), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Audrey Landers (Afton Cooper), Jared Martin (Dusty Farlow), Leigh McCloskey (Mitch Cooper), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Paul Sorensen (Andy Bradley), Don Starr (Jordan Lee), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Cooper), Martin West (Phil McKenna), Morgan Woodward (Punk Anderson)

“Lover, Come Back” is available on DVD and at Amazon.com and iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.

Filed Under: Critiques, Critiques (Classic), Opinion Tagged With: Jared Martin, Leonard Katzman, Linda Gray, Lover Come Back

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 58 – ‘Who Done It?’

July 10, 2012 by Chris Baker 25 Comments

Dallas, Linda Gray, Sue Ellen Ewing, Who Done It, Who Shot J.R.?

Just shoot her

“Who Done It?” brought the world to a standstill. Eighty-three million Americans, or roughly one-third of the nation’s population, watched this episode on the night it aired in 1980, a record at the time. The global audience is estimated in the hundreds of millions.

I’m sure many viewers still remember where they were and who they were with when they saw “Who Done It?” It’s less likely anyone remembers much about the episode itself. Aside from the final scene, when Kristin is finally revealed as J.R.’s shooter, this is pretty much a run-of-the-mill hour of “Dallas.”

From today’s vantage point, I find this astonishing. When “Who Done It?” was filmed, the producers must have known the broadcast would attract a huge audience, including people who’d never seen “Dallas” but wanted to witness the climactic moment in the “Who Shot J.R.?” phenomenon that had been raging for months.

You might expect the producers to craft an episode to welcome these newcomers. Instead, “Dallas” plows forward with storylines already in motion. Bobby tries to buy a refinery. Cliff hitches a ride on the Culver political bandwagon. Lucy continues wooing Mitch.

Not that I’m complaining, mind you. It’s nice to see “Dallas” conclude the “Who Shot J.R.?” mystery with an episode that’s designed to reward loyal fans.

It’s also nice to see the producers showcase Linda Gray, who does some of her finest work on “Dallas” in this episode. The actress makes Sue Ellen believably desperate at the beginning of “Who Done It?” when the character, clad in that iconic black-and-white dress, is forced to spend the night behind bars because the Ewings refuse to bail her out.

It’s always worth paying attention to the details of Gray’s performances, and “Who Done It?” is no exception. Watch closely when Sue Ellen is sitting alone in the jailhouse visitation room and Cliff arrives unexpectedly. The moment she recognizes him, Gray’s posture stiffens and she begins fixing her mussed hair. It’s a small gesture, but it lets us know Sue Ellen is determined to preserve whatever dignity she has left.

I also appreciate how the “Dallas” writers allow Sue Ellen to find a little inner strength after the Ewings reject her in the aftermath of her arrest. When she’s released from jail, she doesn’t hit the bottle, as you might expect. Instead, she turns to Dr. Elby and tries to get to the bottom of what happened the night her husband was shot.

You can’t help but feel Sue Ellen’s triumph when she arrives at Southfork in the final scene, armed with the truth that Kristin is trying to frame her. In contrast, I also appreciate how we get to see a different side of J.R. at this moment. When he spots Sue Ellen, he looks genuinely frightened; director Leonard Katzman even allows the camera to linger on Larry Hagman as he fumbles to get out of his wheelchair. Brilliant.

Of course, as good as Hagman and Gray are in this scene, don’t overlook Mary Crosby. I don’t think I’ve ever found Kristin as distasteful as I do when she coos about giving birth to Jock Ewing’s “jail baby” grandchild. But watch how Crosby’s bravado melts the moment J.R. announces he’ll “handle” her his own way.

In that instant, you can almost hear the wheels turning inside J.R.’s head. Or maybe it’s just the sound the world makes as it starts spinning again.

Grade: A

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He’ll handle it

‘WHO DONE IT?’

Season 4, Episode 4

Airdate: November 21, 1980

Audience: 41.5 million homes, ranking 1st in the weekly ratings

Writer: Loraine Despres

Director: Leonard Katzman

Synopsis: Sue Ellen is arrested and jailed. Someone posts bail, but she doesn’t know who did it. Cliff offers to help Donna’s stepson Dave Culver run for governor. Bobby wants to buy a refinery but can’t arrange the financing. After Dr. Elby hypnotizes her, Sue Ellen realizes Kristin shot J.R. and confronts her sister, who reveals she’s pregnant with J.R.’s child.

Cast: Tyler Banks (John Ross Ewing), Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Jeff Cooper (Dr. Simon Elby), Mary Crosby (Kristin Shepard), Jim Davis (Jock Ewing), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Kenneth Farmer (Gil), Tom Fuccello (Dave Culver), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Laurence Haddon (Franklin Horner), Nik Hagler (Detective Frost), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Susan Howard (Donna Culver), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), John Lehne (Kyle Bennett), Leigh McCloskey (Mitch Cooper), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing), Gregory Walcott (Jim Redfield)

“Who Done It?” is available on DVD and at Amazon.com and iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.

Filed Under: Critiques, Critiques (Classic), Opinion Tagged With: Larry Hagman, Leonard Katzman, Linda Gray, Mary Crosby, Who Done It?, Who Shot J.R.?

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 50 – ‘Divorce, Ewing Style’

June 18, 2012 by Chris Baker 20 Comments

Bobby Ewing, Dallas, Divorce Ewing Style, J.R. Ewing, Larry Hagman, Linda Gray, Pam Ewing, Patrick Duffy, Sue Ellen Ewing

Domestic disturbance

“Divorce, Ewing Style” focuses on the collapse of J.R. and Sue Ellen’s marriage. It’s a heavy subject, but the preposterous plotting makes it hard to take things very seriously.

The episode gets off to a silly start when J.R. comes home from work and walks into the darkened Southfork foyer, only to have the lights suddenly turn on, revealing the rest of the Ewings and a handful of extras exclaiming, “Happy anniversary!” Surprise parties, a sitcom staple, feel out of place on a show like “Dallas.” Besides, who throws a surprise party to celebrate a wedding anniversary?

Sue Ellen and Kristin’s restaurant scene is another eye-roller. Leonard Katzman’s dialogue is nice – I love Sue Ellen’s line about “living mama’s dreams” – but the ending is downright absurd. Kristin’s plan is to “accidentally” spill a cocktail onto Sue Ellen’s dress so the Ewings will smell alcohol on her and suspect she’s resumed drinking – and the execution proves as absurd as the idea itself. When Kristin and Sue Ellen toast their renewed friendship, Mary Crosby extends her arm across the length of the table and pretty much pours her drink into Linda Gray’s lap. Is Sue Ellen really supposed to believe this is an accident?

Speaking of Kristin: Why is she so awful? The character is a villainess, so the audience isn’t required to like her, but it would be nice if her motivations were a little clearer. Unlike J.R., whose actions are rooted in his desperate need for Jock’s approval, it seems Kristin is bad simply because that’s what “Dallas” needs her to be. The plot dictates her character development, when it really should be the other way around.

“Divorce, Ewing Style” concludes with Sue Ellen showing Jock and Miss Ellie the reports her private detective compiled on J.R.’s affairs, but she doesn’t realize J.R. has switched the documents with “clean” versions. Sue Ellen is humiliated, and Jock, Ellie, Bobby and Pam are embarrassed for her. After watching this episode, I know how they feel.

Grade: C

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Marriage 101

‘DIVORCE, EWING STYLE’

Season 3, Episode 21

Airdate: February 15, 1980

Audience: 19.4 million homes, ranking 6th in the weekly ratings

Writer and Director: Leonard Katzman

Synopsis: J.R. discovers Sue Ellen has hired a private detective to follow him and pays the man to scrub his reports to her. With Kristin’s help, J.R. also convinces the family Sue Ellen has started drinking again, part of his plot to return her to the sanitarium. After J.R. has Alan fired, Alan invites Kristin to join forces with him against J.R. Miss Ellie finds herself charmed by Matt Devlin, a developer whose housing project she opposes.

Cast: Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Stephanie Blackmore (Serena), James L. Brown (Detective Harry McSween), Jeff Cooper (Dr. Simon Ellby), Barry Corbin (Sheriff Fenton Washburn), Mary Crosby (Kristin Shepard), Jim Davis (Jock Ewing), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), John Christy Ewing (Tom Fuller), Meg Gallagher (Louella), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Jeanna Michaels (Connie), Don Porter (Matt Devlin), Randolph Powell (Alan Beam), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing)

“Divorce, Ewing Style” is available on DVD and at Amazon.com and at iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.

Filed Under: Critiques, Critiques (Classic), Opinion Tagged With: Divorce Ewing Style, Leonard Katzman, Linda Gray, Mary Crosby

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 37 – ‘Rodeo’

May 22, 2012 by Chris Baker 19 Comments

Dallas, Dusty Farlow, Jared Martin, Rodeo

Those eyes

Rodeos pit man against beast and on “Dallas,” no one is more beastly than J.R. In “Rodeo,” Sue Ellen, having failed to tame her savage husband, considers climbing in the saddle with a man who seems far less brutish: Dusty Farlow.

Sue Ellen meets the dashing cowboy when she enters a Braddock café with an armful of packages and accidentally bumps into him. Dusty’s first words – “Let me help you, ma’am” – are prophetic, letting us know he’s a different creature than J.R. The attraction between Sue Ellen and Dusty is instant.

Their brief conversation at the café continues the next day at the Ewings’ annual rodeo, where Dusty is the star competitor. Sue Ellen tells him about her loneliness; he tells her about his nomadic life on the rodeo circuit. They realize they have more in common than either might have guessed.

Linda Gray and Jared Martin have an undeniable chemistry, although let’s be honest: It would be hard for any actress to not have chemistry with him. With his lean frame, passionate delivery and come-hither eyes, Martin exudes sensuality.

Together, Gray and Martin make “Rodeo” a third-season highlight and one of my favorite “Dallas” episodes. I also like Leonard Katzman’s direction, which captures the rhythms of a real-life rodeo. Katzman constantly ducks and dives, cutting between the action in the arena and the drama unfolding in the crowd.

Toward the end of the episode, Dusty tells Sue Ellen he doesn’t need the prize money he’s poised to take home but wants it anyway. “The competition,” he says, “that’s not the important thing – it’s winning.”

The line evokes memories of the second-season episode “For Love or Money,” when Cliff compares his affair with Sue Ellen to a game. We remember how Sue Ellen was hurt the last time she sought love with another man.

In “Rodeo’s” closing moments, J.R., fed up with Sue Ellen’s public flirtation with Dusty, yanks her into their bedroom. She slaps him and he throws her onto the bed – and we’re reminded of another second-season scene: the disturbing climax in “Black Market Baby,” when J.R. forces himself on his unhappy wife.

In that episode, Sue Ellen submits to J.R. This time, she bucks him off.

“I’ve wasted more than enough time on you,” J.R. sneers before leaving.

In “Rodeo’s” final shot, Katzman freezes the frame on Sue Ellen, lying on her bed, while Jock’s voice is heard over the loudspeaker outside, announcing Dusty has won the award for best all-around cowboy.

But is he the best man for Sue Ellen?

Grade: A

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Eight-second ride

‘RODEO’

Season 3, Episode 8

Airdate: November 9, 1979

Audience: 17 million homes, ranking 15th in the weekly ratings

Writer: Camille Marchetta

Director: Leonard Katzman

Synopsis: The Ewings host their annual rodeo at Southfork, where Sue Ellen arouses J.R. jealousies by flirting with cowboy Dusty Farlow. Meanwhile, J.R. stages a fight with Alan, who impresses Lucy; Digger drops by to see Jock and Miss Ellie’s grandson; and Ray learns Donna’s husband is dying.

Cast: Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Jim Davis (Jock Ewing), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Sherril Lynn Katzman (Jackie), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Jared Martin (Dusty Farlow), Randolph Powell (Alan Beam), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing), Keenan Wynn (Digger Barnes)

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

Filed Under: Critiques, Critiques (Classic), Opinion Tagged With: Black Market Baby, For Love or Money, Jared Martin, Leonard Katzman, Linda Gray, Rodeo

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 35 – ‘The Dove Hunt’

May 18, 2012 by Chris Baker 20 Comments

Dallas, Dove Hunt, Jim Davis, Jock Ewing

Facing his past

“The Dove Hunt” is a western, plain and true. It drops the Ewing men into the Louisiana wilderness, but it might as well transport them to the 18th-century frontier. The themes scriptwriters D.C. and Richard Fontana explore here – honor, justice, redemption – are timeless.

Throughout “The Dove Hunt,” we don’t know why craggy-faced Tom Owens is stalking the Ewings’ hunting party. In the next-to-last scene, Owens finally comes face to face with Jock and reveals he wants to avenge events from 32 years earlier, when Jock forced Owens to sell him his farmland, ruining him.

The tense confrontation climaxes when Owens points his rifle at Jock, who doesn’t flinch. “Come on,” Jock huffs. “If you’re gonna do it, do it.”

While composer John Parker builds a drumbeat in the background, director Leonard Katzman zooms in for tight close-ups of Jim Davis and Robert J. Wilke, the veteran villain-of-the-week (“Bonanza,” “Gunsmoke”) who plays Owens.

Finally, Owens lowers his gun. “I can’t. I’m not a killer,” he says.

What a great scene. We watch it knowing Owens isn’t really going to kill Jock – after all, this is 1970s episodic television, where the hero never dies – but the confrontation is still dramatic.

Much of the credit goes to Davis and Wilke. Both actors did a ton of westerns before “Dallas,” and they know exactly what a scene like this calls for. Wilke makes Owens menacing, while Davis’s steely courage has us rooting for Jock, even though we never doubt for a minute the Ewing patriarch wronged Owens when they were younger.

I also love the Fontanas’ beautiful dialogue at the end of the scene, when Owens asks Jock why he isn’t pressing charges against him.

“I owe you, that’s all,” Jock says. “Back in those days, I ran roughshod over a lot of people. I don’t remember you, Owens, but I should have – because you got a lot of pride. When you get right down to it, that’s all a man can take to his grave.”

Ultimately, this is what makes “The Dove Hunt” so good. There are no white hats and black hats here. Owens isn’t seeking revenge as much as he’s seeking justice, the only way he knows how; Jock’s redemptive impulses allow us to forgive him for strong-arming Owens all those years ago.

This is a western, but a morally ambiguous one. With “Dallas,” would we expect anything less?

Grade: A

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Dallas, Dove Hunt, Robert J. Wilke, Tom Owens

Not a killer

‘THE DOVE HUNT’

Season 3, Episode 6

Airdate: October 26, 1979

Audience: 20.1 million homes, ranking 6th in the weekly ratings

Writers: D.C. Fontana and Richard Fontana

Director: Leonard Katzman

Synopsis: On a hunting trip, Jock and J.R. are ambushed by a farmer Jock once strong-armed in business. While awaiting rescue, Jock confesses to J.R. he was married briefly before Miss Ellie and later vows to make amends with people he treated unfairly while building Ewing Oil. Ellie has a lump in her breast examined.

Cast: Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Thomas Callaway (Dan Owens), Mary Crosby (Kristin Shepard), Jim Davis (Jock Ewing), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Stefan Gierasch (Ben Masters), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing), Robert J. Wilke (Tom Owens), John Zaremba (Dr. Harlan Danvers)

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

Filed Under: Critiques, Critiques (Classic), Opinion Tagged With: D.C. and Richard Fontana, Dove Hunt, Jim Davis, John Parker, Leonard Katzman, Robert J. Wilke

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 27 – ‘The Outsiders’

May 8, 2012 by Chris Baker 20 Comments

Dallas, Donna Culver, Outsiders, Ray Krebbs, Steve Kanaly, Susan Howard

Lady and the saddle tramp

“The Outsiders” is an interesting meditation on politics and marriage. It was made more than three decades ago, but it feels refreshing in ways other “Dallas” episodes do not.

For years, we’ve watched one real-life political wife after another humiliated by their philandering husbands. “The Outsiders” offers a role reversal: Donna Culver, the young bride of political elder Sam Culver, is the cheating spouse.

Donna may not be a good wife, but she isn’t a bad person, either. She turns to Ray because she feels sexually unfulfilled. Donna is 28, while her husband is probably supposed to be in his 60s of 70s. (In real life, when “The Outsiders” debuted, Susan Howard and John McIntire, the actors who play Donna and Sam, were 35 and 71, respectively.)

I like how “Dallas” doesn’t try to justify Donna’s indiscretion by making Sam a bad guy. In fact, the show goes out of its way to depict the marriage as loving, even if it isn’t physical. Sam and Donna are also partners in a way that feels wonderfully progressive: Sam, a onetime governor who still wields a lot of influence in state politics, boasts about how he makes no decision without first consulting Donna.

(You might even say the Culvers’ marriage presages the real-life union of Bill and Hillary Clinton. Sam’s bragging about his wife’s intelligence and political savvy recalls Bill Clinton’s famous pledge in 1992 that voters who elected him would get “two for the price of one.”)

Sam and Donna’s sense of partnership isn’t lost on Sue Ellen. When J.R. suggests Donna is probably physically neglected, Sue Ellen retorts, “If they never made love, J.R., she has much more than I have. He cares about her. He takes her advice and he listens to her.”

“The Outsiders” concludes with Ray and Donna’s heart-wrenching farewell, but but my favorite moment in this episode comes in an earlier scene, when they sit in a bar and she asks him why “happy endings” seem so elusive.

This conversation is nicely written by Leonard Katzman and beautifully performed by Steve Kanaly and Susan Howard, who is rivaled only by Patrick Duffy when it comes to delivering breathy, soul-searching dialogue.

With this episode, Howard becomes a welcome addition to the “Dallas” constellation. Her performance leaves us wanting more, and fortunately, we won’t have to wait long for Donna’s return.

Grade: A

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Dallas, Donna Culver, John McIntire, Outsiders, Sam Culver

Old man out

‘THE OUTSIDERS’

Season 2, Episode 22

Airdate: March 16, 1979

Audience: 14.2 million homes, ranking 28th in the weekly ratings

Writer: Leonard Katzman

Director: Dennis Donnelly

Synopsis: When J.R. learns Ray is sleeping with Donna Culver, the young wife of political elder Sam Culver, he tries to blackmail her into persuading Sam to oust Cliff from his government perch. Instead, Donna ends the affair and comes clean to Sam, who forgives her and backs Cliff.

Cast: Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Jim Davis (Jock Ewing), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Fern Fitzgerald (Marilee Stone), Meg Gallagher (Louella), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Susan Howard (Donna Culver), Dawn Jeffory (Annie Driscoll), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Joan Lancaster (Linda Bradley), John McIntire (Governor Sam Culver), Jeanna Michaels (Connie), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Clint Ritchie (Bud Morgan), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing)

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