Between the Lines and Behind the Scenes of "Dallas"
Poor Lucy Ewing never found Mr. Right — but not for lack of trying. To mark Valentine’s Day, Dallas Decoder spoke to Charlene Tilton about her character’s many romances. Read her memories below, along with an update on her latest projects. Ray Krebbs (Steve Kanaly) Back in the day, that relationship was very controversial. […]
“Close Encounters,” the 200th hour of “Dallas,” is the kind of episode only this show could produce. Most of the action takes place at a Southfork charity rodeo, where the characters wheel, deal and confront each other over their various romantic entanglements — taking occasional breaks to climb into a saddle and test their calf-roping […]
In “Quandary,” expectant parents Ray and Donna Krebbs deal with the news their child will be born with Down syndrome. Donna wants to have the baby, believing it would be wrong to terminate the pregnancy just because the child will be abnormal. Ray has strong feelings too: He candidly admits he isn’t ready to raise […]
In “Those Eyes,” the Ewings finally take off their blinders where Sue Ellen’s drinking is concerned. She lands in a detox ward at the beginning of the episode, and one by one, Miss Ellie, J.R. and the people who love her most come to realize how destructive her alcoholism has become. Sue Ellen realizes this […]
Ask “Dallas” fans to name their favorite episode and many will say “Swan Song,” the 1985 segment in which Bobby dies heroically after saving Pam’s life. Although the death was later written off as a dream, the episode remains moving and memorable. To mark its 30th anniversary, I spoke to eight “Dallas” insiders who had […]
In “Swan Song,” “Dallas’s” eighth-season finale, Bobby (Patrick Duffy) lies in a hospital bed, surrounded by Pam (Victoria Principal), Jenna (Priscilla Beaulieu Presley), J.R. (Larry Hagman), Miss Ellie (Donna Reed), Clayton (Howard Keel), Donna (Susan Howard) and Ray (Steve Kanaly). RAY: Bob. BOBBY: Hey, Ray. [Sees Ellie] Oh, Mama. I’m sorry. ELLIE: No. No, Bobby. BOBBY: All […]
“Swan Song” is a masterpiece. This is the best “Dallas” episode ever made because it dares to set aside so many of the show’s conventions — wheeling, dealing, double-crossing — to focus on what matters most: the characters and their relationships. Mostly, “Swan Song” tells the story of Bobby and Pam’s long-awaited reunion, which is […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
