Between the Lines and Behind the Scenes of "Dallas"
This summer, the “Dallas” fans at Dallas Decoder and Cook In/Dine Out are offering “Dallas Drinks,” a series of cocktails inspired by the characters from TNT’s new series. This week: The Bobby, a drink that’s as all-American as Patrick Duffy’s classic character.
See you at the souvenir shop
Call it the TNT Effect: Since the cable channel’s new “Dallas” series debuted June 13, tourists have flocked to the Southfork Ranch in Parker, Texas.
The number of weekday visitors to the property has doubled to about 300, the Austin-American Statesman reported last week. Southfork’s attractions include daily tours of the ranch house, as well as a museum where props and other memorabilia from the old show – including the gun used to shoot J.R. and Lucy’s wedding dress – are displayed.
“I’ve seen people cry when they get here and say, ‘Oh my Lord, I’ve tried to come here my whole life,” Sally Peavy, Southfork’s sales manager, told the Abilene Reporter-News.
The ranch also evokes a lot of nostalgia for the “Dallas” cast, who filmed several outdoor scenes there for the TNT episodes, just like they did throughout much of the original show’s 1978-1991 run.
“It’s very interesting to drive down that driveway at Southfork because it brought back so many memories,” Linda Gray told me and other bloggers during a recent press call. “And it’s still small. People are always surprised at how small it is. But then on film, they made it look so big and expansive.”
Just Go
Speaking of that press call, it yielded a cute moment that’s too good to not share.
TNT set up the call so folks like yours truly could interview Gray and Josh Henderson, and while Gray was telling us about the camaraderie among the TNT show’s older cast members, two unexpected visitors popped into the room where she was seated.
The transcript:
Larry Hagman: Hello lovely lady, this is Larry Hagman here.
Patrick Duffy: And this Patrick Duffy.
Gray: See what I mean? … Get out. I love you. Get out of here. Go into the other room. Go.
Hagman: I’ve been thrown out of better places than this.
Ratings, Please
Since “Truth and Consequences,” this week’s TNT episode, debuted on Independence Day, the show’s weekly Nielsen ratings have been delayed. Hopefully they’ll be announced sometime today.
A word of caution: Television viewership always plummets on the Fourth of July, so the numbers for “Truth and Consequences” are bound to be lower than usual. “Dallas” averaged 5.2 million viewers during its first three Wednesday telecasts, although the numbers go up when people who record the show and watch it later are counted.
The good news, of course, is TNT announced last week it has renewed “Dallas” for a second season. For the show’s second go-round, the cable channel will produce 15 episodes, five more than we’re getting this summer.
Filming is expected to begin in the fall; no word on when the season will be telecast.
Line of the Week
“I know all the things Daddy used to say.”
Bobby’s line to J.R. in “Truth and Consequences” made me laugh aloud. As much as I love it when J.R. quotes Jock (even though Jim Davis’s character probably never said half the things his eldest son attributes to him), it’s about time someone told J.R. to quit using those down-home euphemisms to justify his schemes.
Drink and Be Wary
A reminder: This week’s “Dallas Drinks” offering is The Rebecca, a refreshing summertime cocktail inspired by Julie Gonzalo’s character.
The recipe comes from Andrew, the devilishly handsome and clever blogger at Cook In/Dine Out. The essential ingredient: Bénédictine liqueur, an herbal beverage from France whose recipe is so secret supposedly only three people know it.
How many people know Rebecca’s secret? We can hardly wait to find out.
“Drill Bits,” a roundup of news about TNT’s “Dallas,” is published regularly. Share your comments below.
Don’t cut Bobby!
TNT’s “Dallas” has given audiences lots of great scenes this season, but some of the best moments – like J.R. and Sue Ellen’s dance at the Ewing barbecue in “The Last Hurrah” – have been left on the cutting room floor.
As Patrick Duffy sees it, that’s showbiz.
“Several of my favorite scenes didn’t make it to the show,” the actor told me during a conference call with bloggers and critics last month. “These scripts are so compact and so intense and every scene is so brilliantly done. You finish filming and you think I can’t wait to see that – and then it’s edited out. … You just can’t put everything in each episode.”
In some cases, scenes are merely shortened, not completely cut. “I had a scene with Jesse [Metcalfe] in a barn, which they only kept the lead-in scene for that,” Duffy said. “And they eliminated it. It was one of my favorite ones [from] that episode.”
TNT’s “Dallas” is the fourth weekly series for Duffy, who takes a Zen-like approach to the cuts. “I’ve learned to let those feelings go and just enjoy what I see,” he said.
Besides, the footage isn’t really lost. “It still exists somewhere,” Duffy said, adding the deleted scenes could wind up on TNT’s “Dallas” DVD releases.
Red, White and Ewing
TNT’s next “Dallas” episode, “Truth and Consequences,” will debut Wednesday, July 4, at 9 p.m. The cable channel had planned to pre-empt the show on Independence Day, when prime-time viewership levels tend to plummet, but reversed course and announced the schedule change yesterday. No reason was given for the about-face.
Speaking of ratings: “The Last Hurrah,” “Dallas’s” June 27 telecast, was seen by 4.1 million viewers, a small dip from the previous episode’s numbers. This week’s audience included 1.4 million adults between the ages of 18 and 49, the viewers advertisers covet.
Hopefully “Dallas’s” numbers will hold steady on July 4. Before “Truth and Consequences” premieres that evening, TNT plans to show back-to-back reruns of “Dallas’s” first four hours, beginning at 5 p.m.
And in case you’re wondering: No, this won’t be “Dallas’s” first holiday premiere.
The old show aired fresh episodes on at least seven official or “almost official” holidays: “Barbecue Two” (New Year’s Day 1982), “Mama Dearest” (New Year’s Eve 1983), “Ray’s Trial” (Veteran’s Day 1983), “Dire Straits” (Valentine’s Day 1986), “Territorial Imperative” (Halloween 1986), “The Call of the Wild” (Veteran’s Day 1988) and “The Sting” (Inauguration Day 1989).
Line of the Week
“Rebecca, you strike me as an extremely resourceful woman. I’m sure you’ll figure that out.”
I loved John Ross’s comment to Rebecca in “The Last Hurrah” – not just because Josh Henderson’s delivery was so Hagman-esque, but also because the line kind of paid tribute to the enigmatic Rebecca, who is becoming one of my “Dallas” favorites. (By the way: If you thought Julie Gonzalo was terrific in this week’s episode, wait until you see next week’s installment.)
I also couldn’t help but notice John Ross’s line echoed the “compliment” J.R. gave his favorite sister-in-law (“You’re a very clever woman, Pam. You’ll think of something.”) in “Fallen Idol,” an episode from the original show’s second season.
Take a Shot of J.R.
A reminder: This week’s “Dallas Drinks” offering is The J.R., a shot of bourbon, peppermint schnapps and black-as-oil coffee liqueur. It’s mighty delicious – the recipe comes from Cook In/Dine Out – but it has a lot of kick. You’ve been warned.
While I’m shamelessly plugging my own stuff, a reminder that I’m in the midst of critiquing the original show’s “Who Shot J.R.?” episodes. My “A House Divided” critique was posted this week; I’ll get to the “No More Mr. Nice Guy” two-part episode next week, followed by “Nightmare” (Monday, July 9) and “Who Done It?” (Tuesday, July 10).
“Drill Bits,” a roundup of news about TNT’s “Dallas,” is published regularly. Share your comments below.
Full leather jacket
Bobby wears a brown leather coat in “The Last Hurrah,” but it’s not the same jacket he sported throughout the original “Dallas’s” 14-season run.
On the old show, Bobby rocked a snap-collared motorcross jacket that symbolized the character’s inherent coolness. The first time we see Bobby, in the first scene of “Dallas’s” first episode, “Digger’s Daughter,”he’s wearing the jacket while zooming down the highway in a red convertible with a beautiful redhead at his side. Back then, Bobby was kind of a badass; the jacket was part of that persona.
The coat Patrick Duffy wears in “The Last Hurrah” is more of a traditional western style. It drapes the actor’s broad frame, falling just past his waist. Unlike the tighter motorcross jacket from the old show, this coat is looser, reflecting Bobby’s maturity.
The new coat reminds me of the one Jim Davis wore during the original “Dallas’s” early seasons. This might not be a coincidence. Now that Bobby has succeeded Jock at the head of the Southfork dinner table, it seems possible the new coat is as much a tribute to Davis as it is to the more youthful version Duffy wore during “Dallas’s” first go round.
Fence and sensibility
I like “The Last Hurrah,” but I can’t help but feel a little disappointed by it. This episode brings together more characters from the original “Dallas” than any TNT entry so far – in addition to J.R., Bobby and Sue Ellen, we get to see Lucy, Ray and Cliff – yet none of these old favorites have much interaction with each other.
This feels like a missed opportunity when you consider the episode climaxes at the “final” Ewing barbecue, which would seem like an ideal setting to bring together the old gang. Indeed, Bobby organizes the party so friends and family can bid Southfork farewell before he completes the sale of the ranch to the del Sol conservancy. “If you are here, it’s because you have a connection to this ranch and the people who’ve lived on it,” Bobby declares in his speech to the partygoers, but as director Marc Roskin pans the crowd, we see more anonymous extras than familiar faces.
How fun would it have been to watch J.R. trade barbs again with Lucy, or to see Bobby and Ray reminisce about the ranch that has meant so much to them? According to William Keck’s recent TV Guide cover story, Roskin filmed a scene where J.R. and Sue Ellen share a sentimental dance at the party, but it was left on the cutting-room floor. What a shame.
While this might not have been a rollicking Ewing barbecue like days of yore, J.R.’s big scheme in “The Last Hurrah” is as convoluted as some of the eye-rollers he came up with during the old show’s more exasperating moments. To get Bobby’s crooked lawyer Mitch Lobell to call off his extortion scheme and draw up new legal papers making J.R. the sole owner of Southfork, J.R. hatches a plot to photograph Lobell’s son Ricky, a recovering addict with prior convictions, doing drugs. J.R. then threatens to expose Ricky’s lapse unless Lobell cooperates.
J.R. also arranges to have Marta discover John Ross and Elena are getting chummy again because he needs Marta to get angry so she’ll work with him to secretly cut John Ross out of the Southfork deal – but doesn’t this plan seem kinda reckless? J.R. knows Marta is bipolar and has a history of violence; at one point, he calls her “crazier than an outhouse rat.” Is this really the kind of person you want to become mad at your son?
Look, I love seeing TNT’s “Dallas” pay tribute to the original series, but I want it to honor the old show’s best storytelling traditions, not its outlandish impulses.
Of course, there are several solid moments in “The Last Hurrah,” beginning with Bobby and Christopher’s father/son chats, which showcase the nice chemistry developing between Patrick Duffy and Jesse Metcalfe. I also like the scene where John Ross blackmails Rebecca – Josh Henderson delivers the line about her being “an extremely resourceful woman” with a Hagman-esque twinkle – as well as Julie Gonzolo’s performance as the increasingly desperate Rebecca.
I even appreciate scriptwriter Taylor Hamra’s subplot about the birth of the calf, which offers a nice contrast to the sense of finality that hangs over Southfork in the days before the barbecue. It’s probably coincidental, but the calf’s arrival also recalls the birth of a foal in “Bypass,” a classic episode from the original series.
The producers also deserve applause for upholding another longstanding “Dallas” practice: casting great character actors in supporting roles. Leonor Varela seems destined to join the long line of mentally unhinged villainesses in the “Dallas” hall of fame, while veteran Texas actor Richard Dillard is perfectly sleazy as Lobell. Dillard reminds me of Dennis Patrick, who was wonderfully smarmy as Vaughn Leland on the old show.
My favorite part of “The Last Hurrah”: the final moments in the scene where Sue Ellen expresses her concern about John Ross’s reconciliation with his father. After John Ross abruptly ends the conversation, Sue Ellen picks up the box containing Miss Ellie’s pearls, opens it and slowly caresses the beads.
Perhaps this gesture shows how Sue Ellen now understands the pain adult children are capable of causing their aging mamas, or maybe it’s just an expression of how much Sue Ellen misses Ellie and wishes she were still around to dispense motherly advice. Whatever the reason, it’s a lovely reminder that Miss Ellie remains part of “Dallas,” if only in spirit.
Grade: B
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Less hair, lots of harebrained schemes
‘THE LAST HURRAH’
Season 1, Episode 4
Telecast: June 27, 2012
Writer: Taylor Hamra
Director: Marc Roskin
Audience: 5.7 million viewers (including 4.1 million viewers on June 27, ranking 15th in the weekly cable ratings)
Synopsis: J.R. blackmails Lobell into calling off his extortion plot and cutting John Ross out of the Southfork sale, making J.R. the ranch’s sole owner. John Ross tries to blackmail Rebecca into helping him with a scheme, but she refuses and resolves to tell Christopher the truth about the e-mail that broke up him and Elena. John Ross and Elena grow closer. Cliff offers to fund Sue Ellen’s gubernatorial campaign, arousing J.R.’s jealousies. Bobby hosts Southfork’s final barbecue, where Rebecca begins her confession to Christopher.
Cast: Margaret Bowman (Miss Henderson), Jordana Brewster (Elena Ramos), Richard Dillard (Mitch Lobell), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Marlene Forte (Carmen Ramos), Julie Gonzalo (Rebecca Ewing), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Callard Harris (Tommy Sutter), Josh Henderson (John Ross Ewing), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Jason London (Ricky Lobell), Jesse Metcalfe (Christopher Ewing), Kevin Page (Bum), Brenda Strong (Ann Ewing), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing), Leonor Varela (Marta del Sol)
“The Last Hurrah” is available at DallasTNT.com, Amazon.com and iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.
The divider
One school night in 1988, when I should’ve been asleep, I stumbled across a late-night cable showing of “A House Divided,” the third-season “Dallas” finale that famously ends with J.R. getting shot. This was probably the first time I’d seen the episode since 1980, so I was overjoyed. I recorded the rerun on the living room VCR and watched the cassette so many times in the years that followed, the tape eventually warped.
Today, I know “A House Divided” the way other people know “Star Wars.” I have memorized virtually every line from every scene, and I’ve been known to go around the house reciting them for my own amusement, if no one else’s.
It was crooked!
I’d have done the same thing, Bobby. The same thing.
You’re a drunk and an unfit mother, and I honestly think you’ve lost your reason.
My memories of “A House Divided,” together with the weight of its pop culture significance, have always made me think this is one of “Dallas’s” greatest entries. I’m pretty sure it really is among the show’s finest hours, although I’m also the first to admit it’s hard to sweep aside my nostalgia and judge it simply as a “Dallas” episode.
Whether or not it’s one of the best, “A House Divided” is certainly unique. The producers famously constructed the story in reverse: First, they came up with the idea of having J.R. get shot and then they worked backwards, establishing the suspects and their motives along the way.
The result is an episode with a furious rhythm. The action begins with the frenzied press conference in J.R.’s office at the top of the hour and never lets up, propelled not just by scriptwriter Rena Down’s narrative, but also by Bruce Broughton’s driving score.
Hagman’s Zenith
Oh, the humanity!
The actors keep things zipping along, too. Among the regular cast, no one delivers more than Larry Hagman, whose portrayal of J.R. reaches its gleefully villainous zenith in “A House Divided.”
Given all the despicable things J.R. does in this episode, I used to feel guilty cheering him on – until I realized I’m not rooting for the character as much as I am the actor who plays him. Hagman is full of zest in “A House Divided” – and he’s never looked trimmer and sexier – yet the actor never allows his performance to devolve into camp or self-awareness.
Consider the scene where J.R. enters the Southfork dining room and finds Miss Ellie in tears because Bobby, fed up with his older brother’s schemes, has finally fled the ranch. “Mama, I don’t want Bobby to leave. You know that,” he says. The sincerity in Hagman’s voice lets us know J.R. means it.
Director Irving J. Moore probably deserves credit for humanizing J.R., too. When the character is waiting for Harry McSween to bring Alan Beam to his office, we see him alone at his desk, shrouded in darkness and holding the framed picture of Sue Ellen he keeps nearby. This fleeting moment invites the audience to wonder what J.R. is thinking. Does he regret the way he’s treated her?
J.R. looks at the picture again in the final scene, right before the unseen assailant enters the office and shoots him. I don’t know if Hagman picked up the frame on his own or if Moore instructed him to do it, but it’s a clever touch. In those seconds before the gun is fired, having him look at the photograph of Sue Ellen reminds us that J.R. is a husband, a father, a man. Yes, he’s also a bastard, but he doesn’t deserve what’s about to happen to him.
Great Performances
Those eyes
Patrick Duffy is also impressive in “A House Divided,” particularly in the scene where a frustrated Bobby bids farewell to Ellie. In the episode’s DVD commentary, Duffy credits Barbara Bel Geddes with making his performance better in this sequence, and while she is indeed wonderful, he needn’t be so modest. Duffy has always brought a lot of heart to his role, and in this scene, he gives as good as he gets. As his eyes redden, her sobs intensify. Both actors play off each other really well.
“A House Divided’s” other standout is Linda Gray, who is mesmerizing during Sue Ellen’s big confrontation with J.R. in the dining room, where she calls him out for his misdeeds in front of Jock and Ellie. Notice how Sue Ellen’s expression changes during the course of the sequence, shifting from disgust at J.R.’s behavior to fear when he threatens to put her back in the sanitarium. Over the years, more than one “Dallas” observer has suggested Gray acts with her eyes. In this scene, that’s really true.
Gray has another moment I absolutely love. In the scene where Sue Ellen and J.R. fight in their bedroom, she gets swept up in her own fury and asks him “which slut” he plans to spend the night with. The instant she says this, Gray’s lips part and her angry expression melts, as if the harsh words have jolted the onetime Miss Texas into reality. How did her perfect marriage come to this?
The guest stars in “A House Divided” are terrific, too. I especially like Dennis Patrick, whose indignation is palpable in the scene where Vaughn Leland demands restitution from J.R., and Ann Nelson, who plays the little old lady Pam encounters during her visit to Corpus Christi. Down, the scriptwriter, gives Nelson some charmingly homespun dialogue (“She was pregnant. Big with it she was!”), and the actress delivers every line beautifully.
Great Scenes
Purple rage
I’ve given J.R. and Sue Ellen’s dining room encounter today’s “Scene of the Day” honors, but truthfully, almost any sequence from this episode qualifies. “A House Divided” is one great moment after another.
Every scene has a memorable line, too. Bobby declares he’s leaving Southfork by telling Pam, “I’ve put up with all the wheeling and dealing and backstabbing that I’m going to.” After Kristin vows to kill J.R., Alan tells her to “take a number. There are a few of us ahead of you.” When Sue Ellen asks J.R. which slut he plans to spend the night with, he responds, “What difference does it make? Whoever it is has got to be more interesting than the slut I’m looking at right now.”
“A House Divided” isn’t perfect, of course. The press conference that opens the episode isn’t very credible, especially since the reporter’s last question (“Did Ewing Oil invest all of its capital in those leases and does nationalization mean the end of the Ewing empire?”) really should have been the first.
Also, as good as J.R. and Sue Ellen’s dining room confrontation is, I can’t help but notice Hagman delivers J.R.’s menacing threat (“The sooner we have you put away in that sanitarium, the better off you’re going to be.”) while holding a slice of bacon.
Surprise, Surprise
Down, but not out
For me, part of the fun of watching “A House Divided” today is wondering what it must have been like to see this episode when CBS aired it for the first time in 1980. I was 6 at the time and already a “Dallas” fan, so I probably was among the millions of people who watched that broadcast, although I have no memory of it.
Modern audiences likely assume J.R.’s shooting was a surprise, but CBS actually gave away the episode’s pivotal final scene in promos leading up to the broadcast. What a shame. Imagine how shocking the cliffhanger would have been if CBS hadn’t spoiled it.
Then again, when you think about it, the shooting itself really isn’t all that important. What matters is all the great drama that comes before those bullets are fired. In the end, the most surprising thing about “A House Divided” isn’t that J.R. gets gunned down, it’s how entertaining this episode remains, even when you have the whole thing memorized.
Grade: A+
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Mr. Big Shot
‘A HOUSE DIVIDED’
Season 3, Episode 25
Airdate: March 21, 1980
Audience: 24.9 million homes, ranking 1st in the weekly ratings
Writer: Rena Down
Director: Irving J. Moore
Synopsis: The Asian oil fiasco bankrupts Vaughn Leland. Pam finds no evidence her mother is dead. J.R. shuts down Ewing 23 after learning Cliff is entitled to a share of the proceeds. Bobby and Pam, disgusted with J.R.’s tactics, leave Southfork. Sue Ellen, Cliff, Kristin, Alan and Vaughn vow to stop J.R., who is shot twice by an unseen assailant.
Cast: Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Kale Brown (reporter), Christopher Coffey (Professor Greg Forrester), Jeff Cooper (Dr. Simon Elby), Mary Crosby (Kristin Shepard), Jim Davis (Jock Ewing), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Meg Gallagher (Louella), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), John Hart (Dr. David Rogers), Ron Hayes (Hank Johnson), Susan Keller (reporter), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Jeanna Michaels (Connie), Ann Nelson (woman), Dennis Patrick (Vaughn Leland), Randolph Powell (Alan Beam), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Don Starr (Jordan Lee), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing)
“A House Divided” is available on DVD and at Amazon.com and iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.
Lost in time
In “The Wheeler Dealer,” a third-season “Dallas” episode, Jock (Jim Davis), accompanied by Miss Ellie (Barbara Bel Geddes) and Bobby and Pam (Patrick Duffy, Victoria Principal), visits a Colorado mental hospital to see his first wife Amanda (Lesley Woods), who doesn’t recognize him. When Amanda spots Bobby, she runs toward him with outstretched arms.
AMANDA: There you are! You said you’d come and I didn’t believe you. [She embraces him.] How long was it this time, six months? Do you like my dress? [She twirls.] I bought it special, just for you.
BOBBY: It’s lovely.
AMANDA: I know it’s your favorite color. I wanted to look so nice for you.
BOBBY: You do. You look real pretty.
AMANDA: Are you going away again?
BOBBY: Yes, I have to go away.
AMANDA: [Points to Jock] You’re going with him, aren’t you? He’s a wildcatter. Please don’t go. I wish you wouldn’t. I worry so much about you. Please.
BOBBY: I’ll be all right. You just take care of yourself, OK?
AMANDA: I’m nothing but a burden to you, Jock. And I don’t mean to be. I love you so much. [A nurse approaches and comforts her.] I never meant to be a burden. Never. Really, I didn’t. Never.
As the nurse leads her away, Jock touches her shoulder.
Demon barber
“The Price You Pay” opens with TNT’s best “Dallas” scene yet: J.R. and John Ross’s encounter in the wood-paneled gentleman’s club, where father holds a straight razor to son’s neck and confronts him about his double-dealing in the plot to seize Southfork.
John Ross admits he was planning to betray J.R., and then J.R. offers a confession of his own. “I don’t blame you for trying to screw me,” he says. “I was never much of a father during your formative years. And I’d like to make up for that.” J.R. offers to teach John Ross about the oil business and extends a weathered hand toward the younger man, who hesitates before taking it. Father then pulls smiling son into a warm embrace.
This tense-then-tender moment, masterfully directed by Michael M. Robin, reveals the complexities that make “Dallas” great. Consider what’s happening here: J.R. and John Ross are essentially agreeing to work together to undermine Bobby, “Dallas’s” hero – yet Robin manages to turn it into a touching moment of father-son bonding. This is as good as any of the best scenes from the original “Dallas.”
The “shaving scene” establishes the theme of “The Price You Pay,” which shows how several Ewings are coming to grips with their pasts. Scriptwriter Bruce Rasmussen does a nice job reminding us of the internal forces that motivate J.R. and Bobby, while also fleshing out some of the younger characters.
The thematic approach helps conceal “The Price You Pay’s” flaws, which begin with Linda Gray’s absence. I don’t like the fact that Sue Ellen is missing from this episode, but I’m not altogether surprised, either. The show seems to be struggling to find a meaningful place for Sue Ellen in the narrative. This needs to change.
“The Price You Pay’s” other weak spot: The scene where John Ross threatens to expose Miss Ellie’s stay in a mental institution after Jock’s death. This never happened on the original “Dallas.” Yes, Ellie struggled to accept the loss of her husband, but she never sought professional help, which became an important part of her storyline. I suppose the producers of this new “Dallas” could argue Ellie was somehow institutionalized off-screen, but this really doesn’t fit with the beloved character’s history.
I’m not going to dwell on this point because the rest of “The Price You Pay” is quite good. The confronting-your-past theme works well, particularly in the scene where Ann finds J.R. in the storage barn, flipping through an old family photo album. I realize J.R. is only there to root for evidence in his scheme to seize Southfork, but I also believe old age has made him genuinely introspective.
Consider “The Price You Pay” scene where J.R. tells John Ross, “I spent most of your childhood chasing after women I didn’t love and making deals that didn’t really matter. I will get Southfork back, because you shouldn’t have to pay for my sins.” It’s a revealing line, demonstrating how after all these years, J.R. is still driven by his desire to protect his son’s legacy.
The moment J.R. comes face to face with old enemy Cliff Barnes is also poignant. Larry Hagman and Ken Kercheval still have great chemistry together, even if their sniping feels less like the epic confrontations of yore and more like something from “Grumpy Old Men.” Only on “Dallas” could J.R.’s threat to dance on Cliff’s grave come off as sweetly sentimental.
“The Price You Pay’s” most heartfelt moment of all comes at the end of the episode, when Ann climbs into bed with Bobby and shares her suspicion J.R. staged the fight with John Ross over Ellie’s journal. “Honey,” Bobby says wearily, “the fact that J.R. did it, and that he thinks he can make me believe he didn’t do it, that’s just who he is. And who he will always be.”
It’s another good line, reminding us how Bobby, ultimately, is a tragic character. Even though his hair is now silver and he brings reading glasses to bed, he’s still his brother’s keeper. It’s the role Bobby is doomed to play.
Interestingly, “The Price You Pay’s” thematic approach isn’t limited to the older characters: Christopher is reminded of the old Barnes-Ewing feud when Cliff offers to invest in his alternative energy project.
Even though I’m having a hard time squaring the notion Cliff, a notorious cheapskate on the old show, is now a high-stakes gambler, I like what Kercheval does with his redefined role in this scene. It’s a nicely subdued performance, and as a “Dallas” diehard, I appreciate how Cliff references his sister when he warns Christopher about the Ewings (“Don’t let them destroy you like they did Pam.”).
Christopher’s own ghosts surface when he finds out about Bobby’s cancer and, in a moment of weakness, kisses Elena. Ever his father’s son, Christopher goes home to Rebecca, confesses his indiscretion and vows to put his past behind him. “That’s over now,” he tells her.
Don’t believe it, Rebecca. This is “Dallas,” where history tends to repeat – and sometimes rewrite – itself.
Grade: B
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Still brother’s keeper
‘THE PRICE YOU PAY’
Season 1, Episode 3
Telecast: June 20, 2012
Writer: Bruce Rasmussen
Director: Michael M. Robin
Audience: 6.7 million viewers (including 4.8 million viewers on June 20, ranking 8th in the weekly cable ratings)
Synopsis: After J.R. confronts John Ross about his betrayal, they join forces and manipulate Bobby into finalizing Southfork’s sale. Christopher rejects his uncle Cliff Barnes’ offer to invest in his patent. Bobby tells Christopher about his cancer, briefly sending Christopher into Elena’s arms. Rebecca resists Tommy’s pressure to spy on Christopher. John Ross learns Rebecca sent the e-mail that broke up Christopher and Elena.
Cast: Carlos Bernard (Vicente Cano), Jordana Brewster (Elena Ramos), Brett Brock (Clyde Marshall), Sonny Carl Davis (Hirsch), Richard Dillard (Mitch Lobell), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Julie Gonzalo (Rebecca Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Josh Henderson (John Ross Ewing), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), John McIntosh (Dr. Bennett), Jesse Metcalfe (Christopher Ewing), Brenda Strong (Ann Ewing), Faran Tahir (Frank), Leonor Varela (Marta del Sol)
“The Price You Pay” is available at DallasTNT.com, Amazon.com and iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.
She had to be taken care of
In “Jock’s Trial, Part 2,” a third-season “Dallas” episode, Miss Ellie and Bobby (Barbara Bel Geddes, Patrick Duffy) join Pam (Victoria Principal), Cliff (Ken Kercheval) and Maggie (Sarah Cunningham) at the hospital bedside of Digger (Keenan Wynn), who is dying.
DIGGER: Ellie.
ELLIE: Hello, Digger.
DIGGER: I wanna talk to you. Cliff?
CLIFF: I’m right here, Daddy.
DIGGER: Cliff, I wanna know if everything I say now is legal.
CLIFF: [Perplexed] I don’t know what you’re trying to say.
DIGGER: Ellie, I wasn’t gonna say anything. I was gonna let Cliff get his final revenge against Jock for me. He’ll probably ask, do I still love you? [Smile and nods his head, weakly] I do. [She smiles.] Even though I do, and you were Jock’s girl all along.
ELLIE: Digger.
DIGGER: I can’t let Cliff do this to you.
ELLIE: What do you mean?
Digger recalls how he discovered his wife Becky had been impregnated by her lover Hutch McKinney, who pulled a gun on him. After a struggle, Digger shot and killed Hutch and buried him on Southfork. The Barneses moved to Corpus Christi, where Becky died.
ELLIE: Digger.
DIGGER: I couldn’t let Jock for what happened to Hutch. Ellie [struggles to breath] … you had to be taken care of.
PAM: Daddy, what about the baby?
DIGGER: Baby?
BOBBY: The baby McKinney fathered.
DIGGER: I always loved you, Pam.
PAM: [Crying] Me?
DIGGER: Just like you were my own.
He takes his last breath and the hospital monitor flatlines. Cliff closes his eyes, Ellie turns away, Maggie ushers in a nurse and Bobby holds Pam.
He should know
In “Jock’s Trial, Part 1,” a third-season “Dallas” episode, Bobby and Sue Ellen (Patrick Duffy, Linda Gray) chat on the Southfork patio while little John plays in his crib.
BOBBY: Sue Ellen, you’ve been spending an awful lot of time by yourself lately. Is there anything I can do?
SUE ELLEN: Oh, I don’t think so. [She looks at little John, then at Bobby.] Bobby, you don’t really believe that I’ve started drinking again, do you?
BOBBY: I don’t wanna believe it.
SUE ELLEN: I need someone on my side.
BOBBY: [Leans toward her] I am on your side. Sue Ellen, I’ve always been on your side.
SUE ELLEN: J.R. has done everything he can to put me back in that sanitarium.
BOBBY: Why? Everything’s been going so well between you two.
SUE ELLEN: No, it hasn’t. I just made it seem that way. I wanted to be the perfect wife so everyone would forget my past.
BOBBY: I don’t understand. Why all this game playing then?
SUE ELLEN: To try to get custody of little John. [She looks at the baby.]
BOBBY: What?
SUE ELLEN: Bobby, I can’t live with J.R. anymore. I want a divorce.
BOBBY: You’re telling me you’re not drinking and J.R.’s trying to make you look like a drunk?
SUE ELLEN: [Nodding, tearing up] Yes.
BOBBY: Sue Ellen, if you feel you have to leave J.R., then do it. But do it in the open. Don’t try and play his game. Honey, he’s too good at it. And don’t rush into anything.
SUE ELLEN: But what about little John?
BOBBY: Well, that’s a … that’s a choice you may have to make. You’re gonna have to take your chances.
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