Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 187 — ‘Terms of Estrangement’

Dack Rambo, Dallas, Jack Ewing, Jenilee Harrison, Terms of Estrangement

Hello, stranger

Jack Ewing is a bad boy who makes a good impression. “Terms of Estrangement” introduces the character, a long-lost cousin who comes to town offering to sell J.R. information that could undermine Cliff’s efforts to snag a piece of Ewing Oil. Is Jack telling the truth? Who knows, and who cares? The newcomer, played with roguish charm by Dack Rambo, injects an element of unpredictability into “Dallas’s” ho-hum eighth season. By the time this episode debuted in 1985, the show had added several new faces to its cast, each with mixed results. Finally, here’s one that works from the get-go.

Make no mistake: Rambo’s debut deserves to rank alongside Susan Howard’s and Howard Keel’s as one of “Dallas’s” best. Many fans never warmed to Rambo three decades ago, mostly because he was hired to replace the soon-to-depart Patrick Duffy as the show’s romantic male lead. It’s easier to judge Rambo on his own merits today. The actor has a natural charisma that makes Jack instantly appealing, even when we don’t know much about him. In “Terms of Estrangement,” he arrives as a stranger who summons J.R. to the Oil Baron’s Club and offers to help him squash Cliff’s lawsuit — in exchange for 10 percent of the company. Rambo holds his own against Larry Hagman throughout the scene, making it a fun exchange between two scoundrels. It reminds me of the first time J.R. tussled with Clayton Farlow during the fifth season. I didn’t mind seeing Clayton one-up J.R. then, and I don’t mind seeing Jack do it now. That’s as good measure of a new character’s potential as I can think of.

Rambo also is effective in this episode’s final scene, when his character unexpectedly shows up on Jamie’s doorstep. She’s packing her belongings to move and seems less than pleased to see him, and for the first few moments, it seems as if Rambo’s character is an ex-lover who’s come to upset Jamie’s relationship with Cliff. We soon discover the mystery man is Jack, Jamie’s estranged brother, a good twist that shifts the dynamics of the scene. Once we know the characters are siblings, his attempts to needle her come off as playful, not threatening. The scene ends with Jack letting her know he plans to stick around (“I kind of like it here in Dallas”), raising hopes his presence will help the series continue to recover from the Jenna Wade murder trial that dragged down the preceding episodes.

Indeed, “Terms of Estrangement” offers other signs “Dallas” is getting its act together. J.R. is crueler than ever: He ridicules Sue Ellen’s decision to join group therapy — which are held at the delightfully dippy “Institute for Advanced Awareness” — and shoves a glass of bourbon in her face, saying, “The only institute that works for you is this.” The show is always better when these characters are at war, although it’s also good to see Sue Ellen pour out the drink without taking a sip. (Her decision to dump it in a potted plant in the Southfork living room is another matter altogether.) Later, Sue Ellen and Donna — two characters who don’t interact much — commiserate about their troubled marriages over a post-midnight plate of cookies. Sue Ellen refers to their fates as “the curse of the Ewings,” prompting Donna’s poignant response (“It wasn’t supposed to happen to me”), which Susan Howard delivers with breathy perfection.

Meanwhile, Jenilee Harrison’s character continues to come into her own. In addition to her reunion with Jack, Jamie receives a surprisingly charming marriage proposal from Cliff and has a good scene with Sue Ellen. The latter begins when Jamie arrives at Southfork to mend fences with her friend, only to be told by Teresa that Sue Ellen doesn’t want to see her. Jamie refuses to take no for an answer and barges into Sue Ellen’s room, where she gives her a much-needed talking to. In a similar spirit, I love the small scene in which Sue Ellen calls John Ross out of the kitchen and tells him it’s time to go to school. With a lunchbox in one hand, Omri Katz marches around the breakfast table and receives a hug from Donna Reed, a high-five from Patrick Duffy and a pat on the bottom from Howard Keel. It’s an early glimpse of the swagger John Ross would one day exhibit on TNT’s sequel series.

“Terms of Estrangement” has its share of novelties too. Priscilla Beaulieu Presley appears only in one scene, but she now sports a stylish bob. Perhaps the hairdresser who famously gave Sue Ellen a makeover in the hospital has now worked his magic on Jenna in jail? This episode also features two actors from John Hughes movies: Lyman Ward, the dad from “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” plays the airline executive who gives Bobby the tape that shows Veronica Robinson being murdered on the plane, while Paul Gleason, the principal from “The Breakfast Club,” plays the police detective who investigates the crime. (Andre Schumann, the hit man seen on the tape, is played by Rod Arrants of “Search for Tomorrow.”)

Speaking of that tape: Ward’s character tells Bobby that the airlines are beginning to install hidden cameras on planes to deter hijackings. It’s prescient — in real life, TWA Flight 847 was hijacked in Athens two months after this episode aired — and also a little silly. The tape offers a fixed, wide angle view of the plane’s interior cabin, making it look like the kind of surveillance video that one would have expected to see in the mid-1980s. However, once Schumann takes his seat next to Veronica and poisons her drink, the camera suddenly zooms in for a close-up of Schumann’s hands. It’s one of those only-on-television moments, although I wouldn’t be surprised if the cameras trained on the public today are zooming in and zooming out on us all the time.

Grade: B

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Dallas, Terms of Estrangement

Close at hand

‘TERMS OF ESTRANGEMENT’

Season 8, Episode 26

Airdate: April 12, 1985

Audience: 18.7 million homes, ranking 6th in the weekly ratings

Writer: Peter Dunne

Director: Alexander Singer

Synopsis: Jamie accepts Cliff’s marriage proposal and receives a visit from her brother Jack, who approaches J.R. and offers to sell him information that could prove Cliff and Jamie have no legal claim on Ewing Oil. Bobby uncovers videotape that shows assassin Andre Schumann murdering Veronica on the plane, but Jenna refuses to believe she’ll get out of prison. Sue Ellen begins group therapy. Lucy receives a letter from Mitch.

Cast: Rod Arrants (Andre Schumann), Roseanna Christiansen (Teresa), Pat Colbert (Dora Mae), Ben Cooper (Parris), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Paul Gleason (Lieutenant Lee Spaulding), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Jenilee Harrison (Jamie Ewing), Susan Howard (Donna Krebbs), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Omri Katz (John Ross Ewing), Stacy Keach Sr. (Waldron), Howard Keel (Clayton Farlow), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Anne C. Lucas (Cassie), Laura Malone (Janice Hopper), Priscilla Beaulieu Presley (Jenna Wade), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Dack Rambo (Jack Ewing), Donna Reed (Miss Ellie Farlow), Debbie Rennard (Sly), Sherril Lynn Rettino (Jackie Dugan), Barry Sattels (Greg Rupp), Deborah Shelton (Mandy Winger), Gail Strickland (Veronica Robinson), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing), Lyman Ward (Norman)

“Terms of Estrangement” is available on DVD and at Amazon and iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 186 — ‘Sentences’

Dallas, Jenna Wade, Priscilla Beaulieu Presley, Sentences

It’s a crime

Do you hate to see the judge send Jenna Wade to prison in “Sentences”? I do. Not because I think it’s unfair to punish Priscilla Beaulieu Presley’s character for a crime she didn’t commit. No, I’m sorry to see Jenna go to jail because I know she’ll be free by the end of the season. Think about it: If “Dallas” took place in real time, Jenna’s seven-year sentence means she’d be released in the spring of 1992, about a year after the series had gone off the air. How nice would it have been to never have to look at her again after this episode?

I know that sounds harsh, so let me make something clear: I have nothing against Presley, who is a capable and appealing actress. My gripe is with her hollow character. Jenna’s personality changes depending on whatever the story calls for. When the show needed someone to threaten Bobby and Pam’s marriage, Jenna (played by Morgan Fairchild and later, Francine Tacker) was a conniving vixen. Once Bobby and Pam were divorced and Patrick Duffy needed a new leading lady, Jenna was recast with Presley and turned into someone the audience could root for: a down-on-her-luck single mom who was willing to wait tables to make ends meet. Now that “Dallas” is laying the groundwork for Bobby and Pam’s reconciliation, Jenna has been reduced to a plot device. She exists solely to illustrate Bobby’s nobility: He’s such a good guy, he’ll fight to keep her out of jail, even though his heart belongs to another woman.

More than anything, this is why Jenna’s eighth-season storyline is one of “Dallas’s” worst narrative miscues. The show is asking the audience to invest in a character who is maddeningly inconsistent. To get an idea of what I mean, imagine if Sue Ellen was tried for murder instead of Jenna. Sure, we’d probably complain the court scenes were draggy, but the writers also would have had a deeper, richer character to build a storyline around. Sue Ellen might have collapsed under the pressure of a trial or she might have risen to the occasion and fought to prove her innocence, but you can bet the character would have been recognizable in either instance. Jenna, on the other hand, becomes a different person every time her circumstances change.

As much as Presley’s character weighs down “Sentences,” the episode isn’t a total loss. The show continues to slowly restore Larry Hagman’s character, giving J.R. a good scene in which he shows Nathan Billings the tape he made of him sleeping with Rhonda Cummings. When Billings sees himself on the TV, director Michael Preece appears to zoom in on actor Nicolas Pryor while pulling back the camera, a neat trick that recalls a similar shot of Roy Scheider in “Jaws.” (Spielberg himself borrowed the technique from Hitchcock.) In another clever touch, Preece uses the mirrors in J.R. and Sue Ellen’s bedroom to show us both characters’ expressions when she confronts him about his affair with Mandy. I also like how J.R. initially denies the affair, but as he stands at the dresser and slowly empties his pockets, he eventually unburdens himself and acknowledges the truth: Not only is he sleeping with Mandy, he’s fallen for her.

“Sentences” also offers an encounter between J.R. and Pam, although it isn’t quite as entertaining as their confrontation a few episodes ago in “Legacy of Hate.” J.R. visits his ex-sister-in-law and says that now that Jenna has gone to jail, he hopes Bobby and Pam will reconcile. Her response (“Did you suddenly find religion, or did your doctor tell you that you only have a week to live?”) isn’t as amusing today as it was in 1985, but more importantly, I wish we knew what J.R. is up to. Are we supposed to assume he wants Pam back on Southfork so she’ll stop supporting Cliff’s lawsuit to seize two-thirds of Ewing Oil? Ambiguities aside, I love how this scene begins: Pam is giving Christopher an afternoon snack when J.R. arrives and bends down to receive a kiss from the boy, only to end up with a cheek full of graham cracker crumbs. Eric Farlow’s reaction upon spotting Hagman (“Uncle J.R.!”) is also charming.

Other small but memorable moments in “Sentences” include Jackie interrupting Cliff and Pam to relay a radio news bulletin that Jenna has been found guilty. Sherril Lynn Katzman is quite good here; her expression lets us know that Jackie realizes her announcement will annoy Cliff, but she’s going to deliver the news anyway because Pam deserves to know. I also get a kick out of a later scene in which Cliff bursts into Pam’s office to tell her that Bobby has confessed to being Charlie’s father to gain custody of her. Who doesn’t get a kick out of Cliff’s description of the girl: “What’s that kid’s name? Charlie?” (At least Cliff is better informed than Ray, who mistakenly refers to Mickey as his nephew in this episode.)

“Sentences” also includes a memorable scene at the Oil Baron’s Club, where Marilee runs into Sue Ellen and eagerly tells her that J.R. was recently spotted around town with Mandy. This is delicious and fun, and not just because Linda Gray and Fern Fitzgerald are dressed to the nines. It’s also interesting to see the actresses share a scene and be reminded that their characters were once ladies who lunched and volunteered together on the charity circuit. The death of Marilee’s husband and her rise to power in his company moved her out of Sue Ellen’s orbit and into J.R.’s, but when you go back and watch Fitzgerald’s early appearances, you can see hints of the snide, cutting character she’d eventually become. Marilee’s steady, consistent development over the years makes her another contrast with whichever-the-way-the-wind blows Jenna.

You can also see Marilee as a template for Sue Ellen, who’ll eventually join her frenemy in the business world. At this point during “Dallas’s” run, though, Sue Ellen and Marilee are leading very different lives, although it’s not like they have nothing in common. I mean, do these bitches know how to rock a hat or what?

Grade: B

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Dallas, Linda Gray, Sentences, Sue Ellen Ewing

Top hat

‘SENTENCES’

Season 8, Episode 25

Airdate: March 29, 1985

Audience: 19.5 million homes, ranking 6th in the weekly ratings

Writer: Arthur Bernard Lewis

Director: Michael Preece

Synopsis: J.R. blackmails Billings into shutting down Cliff’s offshore oil operation and urges Pam to reconcile with Bobby. When Jenna is sentenced to a seven-year prison term, Bobby is awarded custody of Charlie and resumes his investigation into Veronica’s death. Marilee tells Sue Ellen about J.R.’s affair with Mandy. Ray urges Lucy to contact Mitch.

Cast: Mary Armstrong (Louise), Pat Colbert (Dora Mae), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Marj Dusay (Bernice Billings), Stephen Elliott (Scotty Demarest), Eric Farlow (Christopher Ewing), Fern Fitzgerald (Marilee Stone), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Heidi Hagman (Jury Forewoman), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Jenilee Harrison (Jamie Ewing), Susan Howard (Donna Krebbs), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Howard Keel (Clayton Farlow), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Virginia Kiser (Judge Roberta Fenerty), Frederic Lehne (Eddie Cronin), Laura Malone (Janice Hopper), Shalane McCall (Charlie Wade), Allan Miller (Assistant District Attorney Frederick Hoskins), Priscilla Beaulieu Presley (Jenna Wade), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Nicholas Pryor (Nathan Billings), Donna Reed (Miss Ellie Farlow), Debbie Rennard (Sly), Sherril Lynn Rettino (Jackie Dugan), Dean Santoro (Raymond Furguson), Deborah Shelton (Mandy Winger), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing), Deborah Tranelli (Phyllis)

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

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 185 — ‘The Verdict’

Bobby Ewing, Dallas, Jenna Wade, Patrick Duffy, Priscilla Beaulieu Presley, Verdict

Stand by your woman, man

Bobby Ewing fights to save Jenna in “The Verdict,” but the real man of the hour is Patrick Duffy. After an unusually long stretch of disappointing episodes, Duffy takes his 12th turn in the “Dallas” director’s chair and helps get the series back on track. His understanding of what the audience wants to see — combined with his ability to draw solid performances from his fellow actors and his knack for visual storytelling — make “The Verdict” the show’s strongest entry since “The Brothers Ewing.” I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Duffy helmed that episode too.

Interestingly, while “The Brothers Ewing” works because it allows several characters to play against type, “The Verdict” succeeds because it shows our favorites returning to form. This is true for Bobby, particularly in the scene where he goes to Los Angeles and delivers an impassioned speech to Ann McFadden, hoping to persuade her to come home with him to testify on Jenna’s behalf. Most importantly, though, “The Verdict” finds J.R. getting his groove back after spending most of the eighth season moping over his various business and romantic frustrations. During the course of this hour, J.R. springs a trap on hapless bureaucrat Nathan Billings, shares a passionate embrace with Mandy Winger and clashes with Sue Ellen, punctuating their argument with an especially menacing expression. Isn’t it nice to see Larry Hagman having fun again?

My favorite performance in “The Verdict,” though, belongs to Stephen Elliott as Jenna’s attorney Scotty Demarest, who is sly and drawl-y enough to out-Matlock Andy Griffith. How can you not love the scene where Scotty approaches Jenna on the witness stand, hands her the gun used to kill Naldo and asks her to unlock it? She has no idea where the safety lever is, making Scotty’s stunt “Dallas’s” version of O.J. Simpson trying on the bloody glove. David Paulsen’s script gives Elliott some hoot-worthy dialogue here, particularly when Scotty turns to the jury and says, “The prosecution wants you to believe that under the effects of chloroform, this little lady here can grab [a gun] away from a man bigger, stronger than she, find the safety, release it, shoot, before he could stop her?” The only thing missing is a Johnnie Cochrane-style refrain: If she can’t find the lever, you must free her!

I applaud Duffy, in his role as director, for giving Elliott so much latitude, but I admire Duffy’s sense of imagination even more. He’s always demonstrated a flair for interesting camera angles, going back to the shot of Bobby and Pam on the Southfork staircase in 1981’s “The New Mrs. Ewing,” the first “Dallas” episode he helmed. In one scene in “The Verdict,” Duffy puts the camera in the jury box, allowing us to see the action unfold in the courtroom the way the anonymous characters sitting in judgment of Jenna are seeing it. It’s a small but clever touch.

Duffy has also mastered the art of efficient storytelling. When the judge begins reading the jury their instructions, Miss Ellie rushes out of the courtroom, followed by Clayton, who comforts her in the corridor. This kills two birds with one stone: It gives Donna Reed and Howard Keel their only meaningful scene in the episode, but it also signals to the audience that the trial is winding down — without forcing us to sit through the judge’s speech. In an earlier scene, we hear Scotty urging Jenna to allow her daughter Charlie to testify, but instead of showing Elliott and Priscilla Beaulieu Presley, Duffy fixes his camera on Ellie and Clayton as they take their seats in the courtroom, and then he pans to Scotty and Jenna. It’s another small touch, but it’s a way of keeping Reed and Keel’s characters in the action.

Besides being entertaining, these visual flourishes distract us from “The Verdict’s” bonkers view of the criminal justice system. During his testimony, Bobby pulls out a letter from Veronica Robinson, a star witness who was murdered before she could clear Jenna in Naldo’s death, and proceeds to read it to the jury. On what planet would this be admissible evidence? Shouldn’t the prosecution want to authenticate the handwriting? Does no one want to hear from someone who witnessed Veronica write the note? Why does Bobby get to read it aloud? And while we’re on that subject, don’t jurors usually have assigned seating in courtrooms? The extras in “The Verdict” never seem to sit in the same seat twice. (By the way: Heidi Hagman, Larry’s daughter, plays the forewoman.)

“The Verdict” also knows when to give the audience more information than the characters, including a brief scene in which Bobby and Pam share a tender moment in Christopher’s Southfork bedroom, unaware that Jenna is lurking in the doorway. Just as importantly, this episode knows when to keep viewers in the dark. We go through the hour suspecting that J.R. is setting up Billings, but we don’t receive confirmation until the next-to-last scene, when we discover the delightfully named Rhonda Cummings — future “War of the Ewings” star Michelle Johnson — is using a hidden camera to film her tryst with Billings, undoubtedly so J.R. can use it against him later.

The twist isn’t unexpected, but the reveal is fun nonetheless. It’s also nice to know “Dallas” still has the ability to pull itself out of the doldrums, although as we reach the end of the eighth season, I’m only sorry these recoveries are so frequently necessary to begin with.

Grade: A

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Dallas, Scotty Demarest, Stephen Elliott, Verdict

We, the jury

‘THE VERDICT’

Season 8, Episode 24

Airdate: March 15, 1985

Audience: 19.3 million homes, ranking 5th in the weekly ratings

Writer: David Paulsen

Director: Patrick Duffy

Synopsis: Bobby obtains valuable evidence from Ann, but Jenna’s trial ends with a guilty verdict. After the Texas Energy Commission shuts down a Ewing Oil field, J.R. sets up the chairman, Nathan Billings, with a prostitute. Donna refuses to return to Ray, while Jamie resists Cliff’s romantic overtures. J.R. tells Mandy that he may not be with Sue Ellen much longer.

Cast: Victor Campos (Mendoza), Roseanna Christiansen (Teresa), Pat Colbert (Dora Mae), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Stephen Elliott (Scotty Demarest), Eric Farlow (Christopher Ewing), Rosemary Forsyth (Ann McFadden), Conroy Gedeon (Dr. Finch), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Heidi Hagman (Jury Forewoman), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Nanci Hammond (Secretary), Jenilee Harrison (Jamie Ewing), Susan Howard (Donna Krebbs), Michelle Johnson (Rhonda Cummings), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Omri Katz (John Ross Ewing), Howard Keel (Clayton Farlow), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Virginia Kiser (Judge Roberta Fenerty), Allan Miller (Assistant District Attorney Frederick Hoskins), Bill Morey (Leo Wakefield), William Edward Phipps (Ewing Oil Foreman), Priscilla Beaulieu Presley (Jenna Wade), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Nicholas Pryor (Nathan Billings), Donna Reed (Miss Ellie Farlow), Debbie Rennard (Sly), Sherril Lynn Rettino (Jackie Dugan), Barbara Rhoades (Lila Cummings), Deborah Shelton (Mandy Winger), Wesley Thompson (Bailiff), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing)

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

Dallas Scene of the Day: ‘I Miss Her Too’

Bobby Ewing, Christopher Ewing, Dallas, Patrick Duffy, Trial and Error

Dad of night

In “Trial and Error,” an eighth-season “Dallas” episode, Bobby (Patrick Duffy) enters Christopher’s darkened bedroom at Southfork, where the child (Eric Farlow) sits on the bed.

CHRISTOPHER: Mommy?

BOBBY: Hi. [Sits on the bed, turns on a lamp] Come here, come here. [Picks him up, embraces him] Oh, there we go. Mama’s not here right now.

CHRISTOPHER: I want Mommy.

BOBBY: I know. She’s gone away for a little while, but I’m here.

CHRISTOPHER: Daddy?

BOBBY: Yeah, did you have a bad dream?

CHRISTOPHER: I want Mommy.

BOBBY: I know. I miss her too. Boy, life sure has gotten twisted around, hasn’t it? Sometimes you live with her, sometimes you live with me. It must be hard on you, buddy. It’s sure not the way we had things planned for you. Or for ourselves.

CHRISTOPHER: Mommy.

BOBBY: [Kisses him] Go to sleep.

Watch this scene in “Trial and Error,” available on DVD and at Amazon and iTunes, and share your comments below.

Slide Into #DallasChat on Thursday, July 30, at 8 p.m.

Bobby Ewing, Dallas, Jenna Wade, Patrick Duffy, Priscilla Beaulieu Presley

Taking the plunge

Dallas Decoder’s next #DallasChat on Twitter will be Thursday, July 30, from 8 to 9 p.m. Eastern time.

Our theme: “Super Summer Spectacular.” Expect lots of questions about swimming pools, bathing suits and sweaty Ewings.

Are you new to #DallasChat? Here’s how it works: During the hour-long discussion, I tweet questions from my Twitter handle, @DallasDecoder. Fans respond to the questions and comment on each other’s answers, making each chat a fun, freewheeling group conversation.

Here’s a sample exchange:

Q1. If you could go down the water slide with any Ewing, who would you choose? #DallasChat

A1. It would definitely be Bobby. He’s the man from Atlantis, after all! #DallasChat

Here are three tips:

• Each #DallasChat question is numbered (Q1, Q2, etc.), so your responses should include the corresponding number (A1, A2, etc.).

• Include the hashtag #DallasChat in your tweets.

• During the discussion, enter #DallasChat in Twitter’s search field. This will help you watch the search results so you can follow the conversation. Click “All” to see all the related tweets.

I can’t think of a better way to spend a hot summer night, can you? See you Thursday!

Got suggestions for #DallasChat questions? Leave them in the comments below.

Dallas Scene of the Day: ‘This is No Gentleman’s Game’

Brothers Ewing, Dallas, J.R. Ewing, Larry Hagman

There will be mud

In “The Brothers Ewing,” an eighth-season “Dallas” episode, J.R. (Larry Hagman), Bobby (Patrick Duffy) and Ray (Steve Kanaly) stand in the Southfork living room.

J.R.: Well, gentlemen, I don’t know what you two are thinking, but I figure we got a good chance of losing this lawsuit that’s coming up.

RAY: It sure seems like things are going from bad to worse.

BOBBY: Well, I’ve been working with Harv, helping him prepare the case. We still have all those investigators on the payroll, digging into people’s backgrounds. Hopefully they’ll come up with something.

J.R.: I know all about that, Bobby. But what if none of that works? What if all this searching and legal maneuvering comes to nothing? Can you see turning two-thirds of Daddy’s company over to Cliff Barnes and our beloved cousin?

RAY: I just can’t believe it would come to that.

J.R.: Well, I hope not. But if it does, I’m going to be prepared.

BOBBY: What do you mean?

J.R.: I’m going to protect our interests, but I have to know if you two are going to help.

RAY: What do you have in mind?

J.R.: Well, there’s a number of things I can do, but before I tell you about them, I want to know where you stand. Because with you or without you, I’m going to do what has to be done. Of course, it’d be a lot easier if we’re all fighting this thing together.

BOBBY: We are fighting this together. What are you talking about?

J.R.: I’m talking about getting down in the mud and slugging it out. This is no gentlemen’s game. Barnes is not going to pull any punches, and we can’t either. Now I don’t need your answers tonight, but I want you to think about it. And while you’re at it, think about this: You see that painting hanging up there? Daddy’s picture used to hang in that spot before it got shoved off to Ewing Oil. How long do you think his picture’s going to hang at Ewing Oil if Cliff Barnes and Jamie Ewing take over?

Watch this scene in “The Brothers Ewing,” available on DVD and at Amazon and iTunes, and share your comments below.

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 181 — ‘The Brothers Ewing’

Bobby Ewing, Brothers Ewing, Dallas, J.R. Ewing, Larry Hagman, Patrick Duffy

The dark side

In “The Brothers Ewing,” J.R., Bobby and Ray join forces to protect the family business from the increasingly dangerous Cliff Barnes. You’d think by now we’d all be used to seeing the Ewings unite against their enemies, and yet it never seems to lose its punch, does it? Consider how the events of this episode allow the brothers to play against type. While Bobby is scheming with J.R. to illegally shield Ewing Oil assets from Cliff, Ray is defending J.R. to Clayton, Donna and whoever else will listen. How can you not love a “Dallas” episode that offers surprises like these?

Of course, even though the characters act unexpectedly in “The Brothers Ewing,” they’re not necessarily acting out of character. Take Bobby, for example. His devotion to his family is one of his primary motivations, and he’s usually able to take the high road to achieve his aims. But when virtue isn’t an option, Bobby is more than willing to break the rules. We saw this when he illegally adopted Christopher to save his marriage to Pam, and we saw it again when he fought J.R. during the contest for Ewing Oil. Likewise, Ray’s actions in this episode aren’t all that unusual. This character has always been plagued by feelings of inadequacy, and so when he’s presented with an opportunity to fight alongside his half-brothers, he takes it without hesitation. For Ray, this is like getting to sit with the cool kids at lunch.

Seeing the Ewing brothers working together also is entertaining because, well, it makes these Texas billionaires seem a little more relatable, doesn’t it? Growing up, my older brother never missed an opportunity to make fun of me — but if I got picked on by another kid in the neighborhood, Rick would be the first one to come to my defense. This is common in a lot of families, which is why it’s nice to be reminded that the Ewing boys always have each other’s backs, whether it’s J.R. threatening one of Bobby’s enemies in “Fallen Idol” or Ray sticking up for J.R. in “The Brothers Ewing.” For me — and, I suspect, a lot of “Dallas” fans — scenes like these feel comfortably familiar.

Speaking of Clayton: As much as I enjoy seeing the Ewing brothers go all-for-one-and-one-for-all in this episode, I’m glad David Paulsen’s script keeps their new stepfather on the outside looking in. Howard Keel makes an effective foil in the last scene, when Clayton refuses to aid their scheme to hide Ewing Oil assets because he feels it’s morally wrong. I also like him in the first scene, when the brothers return from their visit to Cliff and admit they blew their opportunity to squash his lawsuit. Clayton tears into the boys, saying, “If you’re all going to get involved in a fight as serious as this one, then you’d better start doing your homework!” J.R. gets defensive (“Well, wonderful. That’s all we need. A lecture from Clayton Farlow”), but ask yourself: Would Jock Ewing have treated his sons any differently at this moment?

Overall, I must admit these episodes about Cliff and Jamie Ewing’s lawsuit are better than I remembered. The storyline feels like a calculated attempt to recapture the glory of J.R. and Bobby’s sixth-season contest by offering an inverse: Instead of the Ewings fighting each other, they’re fighting outsiders. The family versus Cliff and Jamie isn’t as compelling as J.R. and Bobby versus each other, but I can’t blame the show for trying. I especially like how this narrative manages to involve almost all the characters, just like the contest did. In “The Brothers Ewing,” for example, Ray’s decision to team with J.R. and Bobby creates a rift in his marriage to Donna, which feels like a more organic storyline for Steve Kanaly and Susan Howard than the amateur detective subplot they were saddled with the previous season.

Indeed, one of the other highlights in “The Brothers Ewing” is the scene where Donna tells Miss Ellie how horrified she is to see her husband align himself with J.R. Ellie responds that if the Ewings lose the lawsuit, she’ll be glad that Ray and Bobby are with her oldest son because “we’ll have to rely on them to keep him straight.” It’s a poignant line, but it also shows how Donna Reed’s Ellie can be every bit as wise as Barbara Bel Geddes’ version. The scene has the added benefit of reminding us how Patrick Duffy always elicits strong performances from his co-stars when he takes a turn in the “Dallas” director’s chair. Duffy’s clever touch can also be felt in J.R. and Bobby’s scene on the shadowy patio, where the brothers hatch their plot against Cliff. Duffy stages the exchange by putting one of the Southfork columns between him and Larry Hagman — a symbol of the narrowing divide between the brothers.

Like all “Dallas” episodes from this era, “The Brothers Ewing” also contains its share of tributes to the past, including Sue Ellen’s run-in with Cliff, where the ex-lovers make awkward small talk. When she turns down his invitation to lunch, he declares he’s not trying to seduce her. “That thought never even entered my mind,” she says, which is funny, because it’s the first thought that entered mine. Other scenes are amusingly outdated, including one where J.R. calls the modeling agency, hoping to learn Mandy’s whereabouts by pretending to be her brother “Marvin Winger” (caller ID would give him away today), as well as Bobby and Jenna’s lunch with Scott Demarest, who shows them splashy headlines about her trial in the Laredo newspapers. This shocks the couple, although in a pre-Facebook era, how would they have known how the out-of-town press was covering her case?

I also get a kick out of seeing John Ross playing with his toy space shuttle — would today’s kids even know what that is? — although nothing charms me quite like the scene where Pam points to a globe and shows Christopher where Mommy will be traveling soon. When Victoria Principal says, “That’s Hong Kong,” Eric Farlow repeats the line back to her. It feels utterly spontaneous, prompting Principal to laugh uproariously and pull Farlow close. Like a similar scene between Pam and Christopher in the seventh-season cliffhanger “End Game,” this one demonstrates again that little Eric Farlow is more absorbed in his role than some of the grown-ups on this show. Can someone remind me again why they replaced this kid?

Grade: A

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Brothers Ewing, Christopher Ewing, Dallas, Eric Farlow, Pam Ewing, Victoria Principal

Boy meets world

‘THE BROTHERS EWING’

Season 8, Episode 20

Airdate: February 15, 1985

Audience: 21.2 million homes, ranking 2nd in the weekly ratings

Writer: David Paulsen

Director: Patrick Duffy

Synopsis: Clayton turns down his stepsons when they ask him to help them shield Ewing Oil assets from Cliff. Donna balks at Ray’s involvement with the fight for the company. Jamie has second thoughts about the lawsuit. Sue Ellen agrees to accompany Pam to Hong Kong to search for Mark. J.R. asks Mandy to give him another chance.

Cast: Mary Armstrong (Louise), John Carter (Carl Hardesty), Pat Colbért (Dora Mae), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Stephen Elliott (Scotty Demarest), Eric Farlow (Christopher Ewing), Eddie Firestone (Alf Brindle), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Jenilee Harrison (Jamie Ewing), Susan Howard (Donna Krebbs), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Omri Katz (John Ross Ewing), Howard Keel (Clayton Farlow), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Fredric Lehne (Eddie Cronin), Priscilla Beaulieu Presley (Jenna Wade), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Donna Reed (Miss Ellie Farlow), Sherril Lynn Rettino (Jackie Dugan), Deborah Shelton (Mandy Winger), Danone Simpson (Kendall), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing), Kathleen York (Betty)

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

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 176 — ‘Lockup in Laredo’

Dallas, Jenna Wade, Lockup in Laredo, Priscilla Beaulieu Presley

Caged beauty

Jenna Wade goes to jail in “Lockup in Laredo,” which is cause for celebration as far as I’m concerned. This is when Stephen Elliott arrives as Scotty Demarest, the high-dollar super lawyer who defended Jock Ewing against murder charges during “Dallas’s” third season and returns here to do the same for Priscilla Beaulieu Presley’s character. With his flamboyant style and thick drawl, Elliott makes Scotty a Texas version of Johnnie Cochrane. He’s a joy to watch and one of the best things about the Jenna-in-jeopardy storyline that dominates this era of the show.

Elliott shines every time he appears in “Lockup in Laredo,” although his best moment comes when Scotty questions Jenna in the jailhouse conference room. The scene begins with Jenna tired of rehashing the events that preceded her arrest and confident she didn’t fire the shots that killed her ex-husband, Naldo. But Scotty’s relentless questioning makes her re-consider everything she thinks she knows about the creep’s demise. Elliott, who honed his talent on the New York stage, forces Presley to keep up with him, bringing out the best in her performance. The contrast between his bulldog theatrics and her quiet, exhausted frustration makes their almost five-minute exchange a scene to remember. (Or “re-mem-buh,” as Scotty would say.)

“Lockup in Laredo” is the 10th “Dallas” episode helmed by Patrick Duffy, who once again demonstrates his knack for visual storytelling. In one scene, Bobby and Scotty examine the evidence found in Naldo’s car. This conversation could have been staged in a conference room too, but Duffy instead brings the characters to the impound lot, filming himself and Elliott inside the vehicle as they poke around the backseat and glove box. It helps the audience feel part of the action, and it’s always nice to see the actors in a new environment. In that spirit, I like the scene that shows Jackie relaxing at home when Cliff calls her, marking one of the few times we see a “Dallas” secretary in her own living space.

Duffy also does a nice job staging “Lockup in Laredo’s” pivotal final scene, which pulls together multiple narrative threads. We’ve been waiting several episodes for Sue Ellen to realize J.R. is getting bored in their marriage. We’ve also been waiting to see what Jamie will do with the legal document that could divide control of Ewing Oil among Jock, Jason and Digger’s heirs. Both storylines come to a head when J.R. arrives home and is confronted by Jamie, who spotted him cheating with Serena earlier in the day. When Sue Ellen overhears the conversation and questions her husband, he accuses Jamie of lying, prompting her to threaten to use her document against him. Sure, this is convoluted plotting, but you have to admire “Dallas’s” ability to advance two subplots in one swoop.

The other reason I like this scene is because it backs J.R. into a corner, which is where he’s always at his best (or worst, as the case may be). Let’s face it: As much as we all love Larry Hagman’s character, he’s gotten a little dull this season. David Paulsen’s script acknowledges as much when Miss Ellie and Clayton stand on the Southfork patio and discuss how troubled everyone at the ranch is these days — with the exception of J.R., who is being downright princely. “Isn’t it funny when everything else is going so badly, he’s the one bright spot in the family?” Ellie says. The moment these words pass her lips, you know she’s going to regret them.

I also enjoy seeing Ray and Donna take another turn as this show’s version of “McMillan and Wife,” this time combing through Sam Culver’s old legal papers to find evidence to refute Jamie’s claims about Ewing Oil’s ownership. This feels a little more organic than their investigation last year into Edgar Randolph’s past, although I’m always bewildered by this show’s inability to give Steve Kanaly and Susan Howard a storyline of their own. (By the way, what’s going on with the oil company Donna bought a few episodes ago?) Likewise, I have mixed feelings about Lucy’s storyline. I wish she had stuck with waitressing a little longer, although I’m intrigued by her foray into the real estate business in “Lockup in Laredo.” It’s not what I would have expected from her, but hey, at least she isn’t being kidnapped again.

Grade: B

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Bobby Ewing, Dallas, Lockup in Laredo, Patrick Duffy, Scotty Demarest, Stephen Elliott

Backseat driver

‘LOCKUP IN LAREDO’

Season 8, Episode 15

Airdate: January 4, 1985

Audience: 22.3 million homes, ranking 3rd in the weekly ratings

Writer: David Paulsen

Director: Patrick Duffy

Synopsis: After Jenna is arrested for Naldo’s murder, Bobby hires Scotty Demarest to defend her. Jamie catches J.R. cheating with Serena and confronts him, unaware that Sue Ellen is eavesdropping. Mandy grows tired of Cliff. Ray and Donna find evidence that Jamie’s document is real. Pam finds no trace of Mark in Jamaica. Lucy suggests she and Eddie go into the real estate business.

Cast: Beau Billingslea (Dr. Miller), Stephanie Blackmore (Serena Wald), Roseanna Christiansen (Teresa), James Cromwell (Gerald Kane), Val De Vargas (Patrick Wolfe), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Stephen Elliott (Scotty Demarest), Eric Farlow (Christopher Ewing), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Jenilee Harrison (Jamie Ewing), Susan Howard (Donna Krebbs), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Omri Katz (John Ross Ewing), Howard Keel (Clayton Farlow), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Fredric Lehne (Eddie Cronin), Priscilla Beaulieu Presley (Jenna Wade), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Donna Reed (Miss Ellie Farlow), Sherril Lynn Rettino (Jackie Dugan), Deborah Shelton (Mandy Winger), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing)

“Lockup in Laredo” is available on DVD and at Amazon and iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.

Dallas Scene of the Day: ‘You Never Fail to Surprise Me’

Bobby Ewing, Dallas, J.R. Ewing, Larry Hagman, Odd Man Out, Patrick Duffy

Bond of brothers

In “Odd Man Out,” an eighth-season “Dallas” episode, Bobby (Patrick Duffy) is seated at his desk at Ewing Oil when J.R. (Larry Hagman) knocks and enters, holding his hat.

J.R.: Hey, Bob. Say, it’s time to go home. You’ve increased the family fortunes enough for one day.

BOBBY: J.R., I’m not nearly done with the work I have. I’m going to be here for hours yet.

J.R.: Oh? Well, Sue Ellen and I were planning on going out tonight to eat. We’d like you to join us. [Sets down his hat, turns his back, begins fixing a drink] And just to show you how bighearted I am, I asked Jamie to come along. Can you believe that? [Chuckles]

BOBBY: Look, I think I understand what you’re trying to do, but not tonight, all right?

J.R.: Life goes on, Bob.

BOBBY: Look, I don’t need your platitudes either.

J.R.: Hear me out a minute, will you? [Faces Bobby] Do you remember what happened to me when Daddy died? All meaning went out of my life. Everything I’d done, every move I’d made, was to please him. There was no reason to go on.

BOBBY: I remember.

J.R.: And slowly, it dawned on me that there was a reason. That it was important that I go on. I had a little boy that needed me. I had John Ross. Now you have your Christopher at home, at Southfork. The boy needs his daddy. And whatever you believe Jenna did, he is there and he needs you 100 percent, Bobby. Unless, of course, you don’t think he’s worth it.

BOBBY: [Gets up, approaches J.R.] You know, you never fail to surprise me. [Grabs J.R.’s hat, puts it in his brother’s hands, slaps his arm] Let’s go. [J.R. smiles and they exit together.]

Watch this scene in “Odd Man Out,” available on DVD and at Amazon and iTunes, and share your comments below.

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 175 — ‘Odd Man Out’

Bobby Ewing, Dallas, J.R. Ewing, Larry Hagman, Odd Man Out, Patrick Duffy

Raising the bar

“Odd Man Out” is the 12th “Dallas” episode directed by Larry Hagman, who demonstrates once more that he’s as talented behind the camera as he is in front of it. The main storyline finds Bobby depressed because he believes Jenna dumped him to reunite with her ex-husband Naldo; little does Bob know Naldo is actually holding Jenna captive. This isn’t the richest material in the show’s history, but Hagman makes it compelling nonetheless. He also rewards the audience with several scenes that draw upon the history of the characters and their relationships. With the exception of Leonard Katzman and a few others, did anyone know “Dallas” better than its biggest star?

“Odd Man Out’s” most suspenseful moment comes at the end of the second act, when Naldo leaves Jenna alone to pay their hotel bill. She sneaks into a phone booth, drops a coin in the slot and punches the buttons. An operator comes on the line and tells her the call will cost a dollar. “Damn. Come on,” Jenna says as she dumps change out of her purse, sorts it quickly and inserts more coins. Cut to Southfork, where Bobby sits on the patio, reading a newspaper as the phone next to him begins ringing. He doesn’t answer it right away (is he waiting for Raoul or Teresa?), and when he finally picks up and says hello, Hagman cuts back to the phone booth — where Naldo takes the receiver from Jenna’s hand and hangs up. “Don’t ever try anything like that again,” he says.

The episode takes another dramatic turn at the end. J.R., Sue Ellen and Jamie have taken Bobby out to dinner, hoping to cheer him up. Bobby proposes a toast: “To Jenna Wade and the life she’s chosen for herself, wherever she is and whomever she’s with.” Hagman then cuts to a shot of Jenna, lying unconscious on a hotel floor. A lamp is knocked over, the sleeve of her blouse is torn and there’s a gun in her hand. As she slowly awakens, two police officers burst into the room. “Freeze, lady,” one says. “Drop the gun. Drop it!” Jenna looks bewildered and glances over her shoulder — where she sees Naldo’s dead body. Freeze the frame, roll the credits.

Other standout scenes in “Odd Man Out” showcase the “Dallas” characters. In one sequence, J.R. is having lunch with Mandy when he receives a call from Dora Mae, who tells him Bobby is drinking heavily at the Oil Baron’s Club. J.R. doesn’t hesitate to leave Mandy’s side so he can help his brother. (Something similar will happen in the eighth-season finale, “Swan Song,” except the circumstances will be dire.) Later, J.R. bucks up Bobby by reminding him that Christopher needs him; besides recalling a conversation years earlier where Bobby pulls J.R. out a depressive slump, this moment reminds us how good Hagman and Patrick Duffy are together. In another fun sequence, J.R. plays cupid in reverse: He runs into Pam and makes sure she knows how upset Bobby is over his breakup with Jenna, and then J.R. tells Bobby that Pam is too busy with her search for Mark to care about his problems.

Speaking of Pam: Victoria Principal is wonderful in the scene where Benton, the owner of the San Serrano medical clinic, tells Pam that Mark is alive. The actress cries and laughs at once, which gives the audience the odd sensation of being happy for Pam even though we suspect J.R. is behind her wild goose chase. Hagman also allows “Dallas’s” other leading lady, Linda Gray, a chance to shine. The script doesn’t give Sue Ellen much to do, but that doesn’t mean you should overlook her. In two scenes, Sue Ellen asks other characters where J.R. is. In each instance, Gray delivers her lines with just the right amount of doubt and suspicion, letting us know that Sue Ellen realizes her husband is up to his old tricks again.

“Odd Man Out” also illustrates Hagman’s eye for detail. The episode’s opening shot is a close-up of caviar being dished onto a plate — a signal, perhaps, that the competitive Hagman wanted his show to cede no ground in “Dallas’s” rivalry with glitzy “Dynasty.” Hagman also understood the need for balance, though, which is why he shows Ray, Donna and Dave Culver enjoying a down-home meal around the Krebbs’ dining room table. Ray and Donna are bringing Dave up to speed on Jamie’s claims about Ewing Oil’s ownership, and at one point Ray pauses to ask Dave if he’d care for some corn. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn Hagman suggested this gesture to make the scene feel more realistic. Think about it: When you watch “Dallas” dinner scenes helmed by other directors, do you ever hear someone ask to pass the salt?

Other highlights include a nice subplot about Clayton challenging Miss Ellie’s devotion to her sons by pointing out they are grown men who can take care of themselves. No matter how you feel about Donna Reed’s casting as Ellie, you have to appreciate how the show continues to give meaningful material to its oldest actors. The producers’ efforts to keep Lucy in the spotlight aren’t as successful. In this episode, she shuts off Eddie’s alarm so he’ll sleep in and skip work to spend the day with her. He’s angry when he wakes up and discovers this, and who can blame him? Did Lucy learn nothing from her too-brief foray into the working world?

On the other hand, when Lucy offers to support Eddie financially and he balks, she points out that if the roles were reversed, he probably wouldn’t think twice about supporting her. This is a good point. Lucy may not know much about the real world, but at least she recognizes sexism when she sees it.

Grade: A

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Dallas, Jenna Wade, Odd Man Out, Priscilla Beaulieu Presley

Odd woman out

‘ODD MAN OUT’

Season 8, Episode 14

Airdate: December 28, 1984

Audience: 20.8 million homes, ranking 1st in the weekly ratings

Writer: Arthur Bernard Lewis

Director: Larry Hagman

Synopsis: J.R. urges Bobby to get over losing Jenna. Miss Ellie and Clayton disagree over her involvement in her sons’ lives. Pam visits a Caribbean clinic that Mark supposedly visited two months earlier. Eddie quits his job. Jenna awakens next to Naldo’s dead body as police officers enter the room.

Cast: Don Banning (Roy Crowley), Burke Byrnes (Pete Adams), Pat Colbert (Dora Mae), Timothy J. Cutt (Leonard Boyle), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Eric Farlow (Christopher Ewing), Tom Fuccello (Senator Dave Culver), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Jenilee Harrison (Jamie Ewing), Susan Howard (Donna Krebbs), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Omri Katz (John Ross Ewing), Howard Keel (Clayton Farlow), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Fredric Lehna (Eddie Cronin), Michael McRae (Benton), Daniel Pilon (Renaldo Marchetta), Priscilla Beaulieu Presley (Jenna Wade), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Donna Reed (Miss Ellie Farlow), Deborah Shelton (Mandy Winger), Danone Simpson (Kendall), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing), Deborah Tranelli (Phyllis)

“Odd Man Out” is available on DVD and at Amazon and iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.