Between the Lines and Behind the Scenes of "Dallas"
“The Family Ewing,” the first episode of “Dallas’s” ninth season, chronicles the immediate aftermath of Bobby’s death. Miss Ellie, sad but sturdy, tries to plan the funeral while holding her family together — a task complicated by J.R.’s anger, Sue Ellen’s drinking and lingering questions about why Bobby and Pam were together when he was […]
“Dallas” recast several roles over the years. Which ones worked? Which ones failed? Among the choices: Miss Ellie (played by Barbara Bel Geddes and Donna Reed), Gary (David Ackroyd, Ted Shackelford), Pam (Victoria Principal, Margaret Michaels), Digger (David Wayne, Keenan Wynn) and Kristin (Colleen Camp, Mary Crosby). There were also three Jennas: Morgan Fairchild, Priscilla […]
Jock Ewing is “Dallas’s” original grand daddy. He instilled ambition and an unrelenting drive in his eldest son J.R., openly favored youngest son Bobby and struggled to connect with middle son Gary. Toward the end of his life, Jock discovered he was also the biological father of longtime Southfork ranch foreman Ray Krebbs, whom he […]
It’s never too late to start watching “Dallas.” If you missed the original show and the first two seasons of TNT’s sequel series, fear not: This post will tell you everything you need to know before Season 3 begins on Monday, February 24. (*OK, this isn’t really everything that’s happened on “Dallas.” For that, you’ll have to […]
Booze has always flowed as freely as oil on “Dallas.” The Southfork cocktail hour was a family tradition on the original show, and J.R. and Bobby each kept lots of liquor on hand to entertain the parade of cartel members and other business associates who marched in and out of their offices each day. The […]
Sorry to deliver bad tidings during the holidays, but it looks like Larry Hagman won’t be inducted into the Television Academy’s Hall of Fame next year. The academy announced its 2014 honorees before Christmas and Hagman wasn’t on the list. The inductees will be Jay Leno, Julia Louis-Drefus, producer David E. Kelley, media mogul Rupert […]
“New Beginnings” is chockablock with trivia. Larry Hagman and Patrick Duffy both guest star in this “Knots Landing” episode, the only time two marquee players from “Dallas” appear in the same hour of the spinoff series. (Eric Farlow, who was little Christopher Ewing on “Dallas,” pops up too, along with Philip Levien, who had two […]
At the end of “Jock’s Will,” the Ewings gather in the Southfork living room to hear Harv Smithfield read the family patriarch’s last will and testament. Everyone is present — even Gary, who has flown in from “Knots Landing” for the occasion. The scene is tense, dramatic and historic. Besides being one of the few […]
The second season of TNT’s “Dallas” was even better than the first. Here are my laurels, along with a few darts. Performances She spent Season 1 on the sidelines, but Linda Gray became “Dallas’s” star player this year. After losing the election, Sue Ellen maneuvered her way into Ewing Energies, then fought tooth and manicured nail […]
Here are the questions we’re pondering as we await tonight’s telecast of “Guilt and Innocence,” TNT’s latest “Dallas” episode. • Who survives the blast? At the end of “Ewings Unite!,” last week’s episode, most of the Ewings gathered on the methane extraction rig, along with Pamela and Elena (Julie Gonzalo, Jordana Brewster), for a demonstration. Little […]
Dallas Decoder 