With Dusty (Jared Martin) watching, Sue Ellen (Linda Gray) attends a preliminary custody hearing for John Ross in this 1981 publicity shot from “Little Boy Lost,” a fifth-season “Dallas” episode.
Dallas Scene of the Day: ‘I Guess It’s Going to Have to Be Me’
October 19, 2012 by 10 Comments
Focus, Mama!
In “Dallas’s” fifth-season episode “Little Boy Lost,” after the Southfork helicopter lands on the ranch’s lawn, Miss Ellie (Barbara Bel Geddes) exits and walks swiftly toward the house, followed by J.R. (Larry Hagman).
J.R.: Mama? Say, Mama? Mama, what you all upset about? [She stops and faces him.] You haven’t said a word since we left the Southern Cross ranch.
ELLIE: You used me, J.R. And my love for John Ross. You intended to fly down with me and try to get him away all along, didn’t you?
J.R.: You can’t blame me for that, Mama. Not for trying to get my boy back.
ELLIE: I blame you for using other people to achieve your aims.
J.R.: [Tips back his hat] Mama, I’d do anything to get him away from Sue Ellen. She’s not exactly the most perfect wife and mother, you know. I don’t know what he’s being exposed to down there. She’s living in sin with a cowboy. Hell, he can hardly even walk.
ELLIE: Then why would she prefer him to you?
J.R.: Because she’s crazy! That’s why I want to get the boy back.
ELLIE: You want him back without Sue Ellen?
J.R.: Yes, I’d prefer that.
ELLIE: And what would you bring him back to? Being raised by nursemaids and tutors? Seeing you five minutes a day, if he’s awake when you finally get home?
J.R.: Well, I figured that you and Daddy could –
ELLIE: Could do what? Raise him for you? No, I’m too old to raise another grandchild.
J.R.: You sound like you don’t want him back here.
ELLIE: [Slight smile] That’s not fair, J.R. You know I want him here. But only if his mother’s with him. He needs his mother more than he needs you or me or his grandfather.
J.R.: I love him just as much as Sue Ellen does.
ELLIE: I know you do, J.R. But he belongs with her. There’s nothing in this world that would make me happier than if you brought John Ross back to Southfork – but only if Sue Ellen is with him. [Begins walking away, then turns to face him] I saw a part of you I didn’t like very much today, J.R. In the past, I’ve put up with your games and tricks. I’ve even closed my eyes to some of them. But no more. As long as your daddy isn’t here, I guess it’s going to have to be me that has to keep an eye on you. [Turns and walks away]
Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 81 – ‘Little Boy Lost’
October 19, 2012 by 19 Comments
The victor
The Ewings are obsessed with parenthood in “Little Boy Lost.” J.R. and Sue Ellen spend the hour girding for their custody fight over John Ross, while Bobby and Pam remain preoccupied with their adoption struggles. By the time the closing credits roll, I’m convinced none of these people should be raising children.
J.R. and Sue Ellen each love John Ross, but as their courtroom showdown looms, the couple’s priorities seem pretty mixed up. J.R. wants to win custody of John Ross because he knows Jock will be furious if the child leaves Southfork for good. Sue Ellen fears John Ross will grow up to be like his father if J.R. is allowed to raise him, but it’s also clear she wants custody because she knows how much it will hurt J.R. to lose the boy. From this perspective, Sue Ellen is treating her son the way J.R. has always treated her: like another Ewing possession. Witness the self-satisfied smirk she offers J.R. in the final scene, when the judge rules in her favor.
The custody battle might not bring out the best in J.R. and Sue Ellen, but it produces “Little Boy Lost’s” strongest moments, including Miss Ellie’s dramatic confrontation with her eldest son at the beginning of the episode. I’m also a fan of Barry Nelson, who does a nice turn as Sue Ellen’s compassionate lawyer, Arthur Elrod. (Trivia: Nelson was Barbara Bel Geddes’ leading man in the 1950s Broadway production of “The Moon is Blue.”)
Bobby and Pam’s scenes in “Little Boy Lost” are much less satisfying. Pam, who began life on “Dallas” as a confident, pioneering heroine, is suddenly obsessed again with having children, a storyline that played out two seasons earlier. In the meantime, the only reason Bobby seems to want to adopt a baby is because he believes it will help his wife snap out of her odd mood. Even as Pam’s behavior grows alarming – in this episode, she spaces out at work and slips into a bizarre trance at home – Bobby clings to the belief that a child will be the cure-all to Pam’s problems.
Toward the end of “Little Boy Lost,” before Pam goes missing, Dr. Danvers finally diagnoses her as being depressed. After seeing what the “Dallas” writers have done to her character, I feel the same.
Grade: B
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Earth to Pam
‘LITTLE BOY LOST’
Season 5, Episode 4
Airdate: October 30, 1981
Audience: 20.3 million homes, ranking 5th in the weekly ratings
Writer and Director: Leonard Katzman
Synopsis: Sue Ellen is awarded preliminary custody of John Ross. Mitch impresses a wealthy doctor when he saves the man’s wife from choking. Rebecca’s daughter Katherine visits. Pam goes missing.
Cast: Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Morgan Brittany (Katherine Wentworth), Patrick Duffy (Senator Bobby Ewing), Niki Flack (Beverly Waring), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Jerry Haynes (Pat Powers), Susan Howard (Donna Krebbs), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Sherril Lynn Katzman (Jackie), Howard Keel (Clayton Farlow), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Audrey Landers (Afton Cooper), Arthur Malet (Forest), Jared Martin (Dusty Farlow), Leigh McCloskey (Mitch Cooper), Pamela Murphy (Marie), Barry Nelson (Arthur Elrod), Priscilla Pointer (Rebecca Wentworth), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Debbie Rennard (Sly), Herbert Rudley (Howard Barker), Donegan Smith (Jackson), Liam Sullivan (Judge William Packer), Edward Winter (Dr. Frank Waring), Morgan Woodward (Punk Anderson), John Zaremba (Dr. Harlan Danvers)
“Little Boy Lost” is available on DVD and at Amazon.com and iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.
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