Big bang
Today marks the 40th anniversary of “Dallas’s” famous “Who Shot J.R.?” cliffhanger, and Dallas Decoder is honoring the occasion with an all-new Lego tribute.
My husband, Andrew, has created a playset that shows everyone’s favorite dastardly oil baron, J.R. Ewing, getting what’s coming to him.
The set combines the final moments of “A House Divided,” the episode that kicked off the “Who Shot J.R.?” mystery on March 21, 1980, with the opening of “No More Mr. Nice Guy,” the following season’s opener, and the flashback that reveals J.R.’s assailant at the end of “Who Done It?”, one of the most-watched broadcasts in TV history.
The scene, set in J.R.’s office, features three minifigs: the stunned J.R.; the gal about to pull the trigger, Kristin, his jilted mistress; and Ewing Oil’s rattled cleaning lady, who discovered our hero after Kristin’s dirty deed was done.
Andrew took great care to find minifigs that resembled the actors and their costumes: Larry Hagman’s J.R., complete with his vest; Mary Crosby’s devil-in-the-blue-dress Kristin; and even Virginia Peters, who played the bandana-wearing, duster-wielding cleaning lady whose scream upon discovering J.R. has been a source of amusement in our house for years.
Andrew designed the office with many of the props depicted in the room during the original “Dallas’s” 14-season run, including the oversized Texas wall map, the oil rig model and the bar. He also included a picture of Southfork (itself rendered in Lego) and a desk portrait of J.R.’s long-suffering wife, Sue Ellen — which you might recognize as a miniature version of his Lego tribute to Linda Gray from 2018.
I hope you enjoy Andrew’s creation, and in true “Dallas” style, I’m ending this post with a cliffhanger of my own: a promise to show you his Lego Southfork someday soon.
Stay tuned.
1. Getting together with the fam on Friday nights to watch the show.
2. Feeling excited when you saw this because it meant “Dallas” was up next.
3. Getting chills when the “Dallas” theme music began. It didn’t matter how many times we’d heard it before, we always got chills.
4. Loving when these two fought.
5. Loving when these two made up.
6. Loving these two. Period.
7. The highlight of each season premiere? Seeing how everyone’s split-screen would be updated.
8. Wondering whose face would get covered by Leonard Katzman’s name at the end of each episode.
9. Wondering who would get shot, blown up or soaked at the end of each season.
10. Obsessing over this.
11. Hating summer.
12. Covering your school folders with these.
13. Trying to trade your Cliff for a J.R. or Bobby. How come no one ever took us up on the offer?
14. Dressing “Dallas.”
15. Drinking “Dallas.”
16. Playing “Dallas.”
17. Flipping out.
18. Dreaming of visiting Southfork.
19. Wanting to smell like Southfork.
20. Reading the National Enquirer to learn the latest spoilers.
21. Rolling your eyes whenever someone said “Dynasty” was better than “Dallas.” 
22. Devouring this book. 
23. Skipping NBC’s Thanksgiving Day parade coverage because CBS’s coverage was always hosted by the “Dallas” stars.
24. Wondering why “Dallas” never did holiday episodes. At least we got to see the Ewings celebrate on magazine covers.
25. Wondering why Barbara Bel Geddes won only one Emmy for playing Miss Ellie.
26. Wondering why Larry Hagman never won any Emmys for playing J.R.
27. Worshipping Linda Gray.
28. Crushing on Patrick Duffy. 
29. Crushing on Victoria Principal. 
30. Wanting to have Victoria’s body, beauty and diet.
31. Washing your hair with Jhirmack because Victoria did. 
32. Wearing Justin boots because Jim Davis did.
33. Wearing BVDs because Larry did. 
34. Hating J.R.? Nope. Never.
35. Just loving him.
36. Always.
Dallas Decoder 