Dallas - General Discussion

[Joimiaroxeu]

Well I don't think the governor is aware of this aspect of Judith's life, or he thinks she can keep it secret.

Judith mentioned that she was able to connect the governor to one/some of her girls. He likely knows because blackmail is probably how she got the job.

 

I'm glad at least that John Ross has his swagger back but now he's claiming he'll be worse than JR? In his dreams.

 

Putting bets down now that John Ross and Mama Ryland are going to hit the sheets at least once next season. She might break a hip in the process but Mama Ryland will rock John Ross' world.

 

Was anyone surprised to see Pam going to town on top of Nasar? He's kinda hot and I hope he sticks around, although I guess he'd have to find a reason to move from Las Vegas to Dallas.

[Sir RaiderDuck OMS]

Yeah, killing Christopher is a "bold" choice.  But it loses something because there was a nice parallel between the Bobby/JR balance of the original show and the John Ross/Christopher rivalry here.  So I think it might be a mistake.  And I think he's gone for good. 

 

Ms. Cidre is pretty confident in that EW interview there will be a Season 4.  But count no chickens...

 

I love Judith Light, but man, she ramped up the scenery chewing these last few episodes.  Never mind the fire--if she hangs around Southfork there'll be nothing left.

The official Dallas Facebook page (run by TNT) has a Christopher Ewing: 1981-2014 graphic, so I think The Petulant One has shuffled off the Southfork coil as well.

Per one of Cidre's interviews, TNT has already ordered enough scripts for a full Season 4; while the show's renewal is not guaranteed, it's more likely than not.

[MulletorHater]

I'm not seeing how Elena skated by on anything. Her life is a shambles. She found out that she was played for a fool and made enemies of people she considered like family, her brother was killed by a man she brought back into their lives, and said man screwed with her diaphragm and has stuck her with a kid she didn't want or ask for. And judging from Cidre's interview, she's not only going to be shunned but also struggle with PPD. Not to mention she pretty much witnessed the death of her first love right in front of her. That hardly sounds like the triumphant heroine.

 

Sorry, but it's not enough.  I cannot begin to express how bitterly disappointed I am that her ass wasn't taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals for obstruction of justice.  I kept yelling at my screen, "Shoot her!  SHOOT HERRRRR!"  

 

It is beyond infuriating that a legacy character dies and this bag of bones lives another day.  It was her actions--"justice for Papi"--that brought the cartel into the Ewings' lives through Nicoquin.  She is the one who sought him out after Christopher rightfully dumped her ass like a sack of soggy potatoes.  She is the one who facilitated Cliff's and Nicoquin's plans.  Had she simply allowed her brother to man up and turn himself in as he claimed he wanted to, he might still be alive.  If she's getting a little bit of "justice," then it's no more than she deserves.  

[Lone Wolf]

Couple things:

 

That painting of JR that Bobby and Sue Ellen were reminiscing over looked exactly like the one of Jock from the original series after Jim Davis died.

 

How much did MillerCoors pay for the 5-second Miller Lite commercial that was ever-so-subtly crowbarred in? Tight shot on all the bottles in the fridge (labels facing toward camera POV, of course), and Christopher asking Bobby, "Miller Lite?".  Because no one would ever just say, "Beer?".

 

That's about it.

[Chas411]

How much did MillerCoors pay for the 5-second Miller Lite commercial that was ever-so-subtly crowbarred in? Tight shot on all the bottles in the fridge (labels facing toward camera POV, of course), and Christopher asking Bobby, "Miller Lite?". Because no one would ever just say, "Beer?".

However much they paid it was too much. There's barely an audience. Product placement is wasted.

[Sir RaiderDuck OMS]

How much did MillerCoors pay for the 5-second Miller Lite commercial that was ever-so-subtly crowbarred in? Tight shot on all the bottles in the fridge (labels facing toward camera POV, of course), and Christopher asking Bobby, "Miller Lite?".  Because no one would ever just say, "Beer?".

The show also takes advertising money from Microsoft (witness the long, loving Windows Phone and/or Surface tablet closeups at least once per episode) and the city of Dallas itself (which is why the Southfork ranch is now referred to as being in Dallas proper rather than the fictional suburb of Braddock).

[Maverick]

Jesus H, the woman didn't even know her neighbor of 10 years was on the damn show she's producing a continuation of?  Why doesn't she just fucking admit you can't stand the original show.  She's like some married guy in the closet professing how straight he is while sleeping with men every week.

[Sir RaiderDuck OMS]

Jesus H, the woman didn't even know her neighbor of 10 years was on the damn show she's producing a continuation of?  Why doesn't she just fucking admit you can't stand the original show.  She's like some married guy in the closet professing how straight he is while sleeping with men every week.

To be fair, Cathy Podewell has been out of acting for awhile and sans makeup, she may not look a whole lot like Cally.

[MaryMitch]

Done. With. This. Show.

[Bort]

Jesus H, the woman didn't even know her neighbor of 10 years was on the damn show she's producing a continuation of? Why doesn't she just fucking admit you can't stand the original show. She's like some married guy in the closet professing how straight he is while sleeping with men every week.

I'd be surprised if she did know. Who knows their neighbors anymore? I have neighbors who I've never even SEEN.

[Maverick]

I'd be surprised if she did know. Who knows their neighbors anymore? I have neighbors who I've never even SEEN.

She knows, according to the article.   "it’s a very small world it turns out that she’s my neighbor who I’ve known for ten years."

 

She also knew her well enough to tell her when she started working on the show AND Podewell told her she was on the show.  She didn't think then to find out who should was (she's know if she had watched the damn show...it wasn't exactly a bit part) out of at least simple curiosity.

[bagert]

Judith mentioned that she was able to connect the governor to one/some of her girls. He likely knows because blackmail is probably how she got the job.

 

I missed that, thanks for the info!

 

[catrox14]

If this really was Christopher's death how anticlimactic. He was totally fridged for Elena. Ugh. Hate it. Man what does Brewster have on Cidre?

[bagert]

That's why if we MUST have Nicolas on Season 4 that Lucia comes and puts her elegant foot straight up Elena's ass.

Cidre said a while back that they were interested in bringing back Angélica Celaya for Season 4 but had (correctly) heard that she had gotten a role that would likely keep her too busy...it turns out that it's on NBC's "Constantine": http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/constantine-angelica-celaya-cast-as-zed-on-nbc-drama-1201261906/

(Random note: did Elena's hair grow four inches between the time she was puking and when she walked out to the parking lot in time for the explosion??)

 

Must've taken a while to get that $100K from TNT for the explosion scene.

[bagert]

Katherine Wentworth is not dead, and Cidre has both apologized to Morgan Brittany for the error and hints that she (Katherine) may be returning next season.

 

 

I assumed that they had killed off Katherine between series for plot purposes; it now seems that someone involved in production saw Katherine getting killed off in the same 1985 episode as Bobby and did not realize that it was part of Pam's infamous dream.

[bagert]

Dreading the Elena/Emma centric season four already.

 

 

If it turns out to be that bad, I know a way to both wipe it out and bring Christopher back...it involves a shower ;-) j/k!!!

[drtslim]

Yeah, killing Christopher is a "bold" choice.  But it loses something because there was a nice parallel between the Bobby/JR balance of the original show and the John Ross/Christopher rivalry here.  So I think it might be a mistake.  And I think he's gone for good.

 

I would agree, but from the beginning of this incarnation of the show, Bobby has done most of the heavy lifting when trying to thwart the attempts to seize control of the company. The rivalry between Christopher and John Ross left much to be desired.  Christopher never seemed to be a legitimate threat to John Ross (at least from a business standpoint), nor did we really see much evidence of affection/respect that Bobby and JR had for each other in John Ross and Christopher's relationship.

Edited September 24, 2014 by drtslim

[Chas411]

There biggest rivalry was over Elena and all that did was highlight what morons they both were.

[Chas411]

http://tvline.com/2014/09/24/dallas-christopher-death-elena-baby-daddy-season-4-spoilers/

Dear god just make her shut up

[GHScorpiosRule]

Good God, I only got as far as the headline, before closing out, because I just don't give a fuck.

 

The only way to shut her piehole is to have TNT cancel the show.

[Joimiaroxeu]

 

If they were truly killing off Christopher, they would have given him a grand death scene filled with tears, declarations of love, and swelling music. Or he would have been the center of a whodunit.

ICAM. This reeks of turning out to be a huge fake out. But is it really going to be that big of a deal if Christopher makes a miraculous return from the dead sometime in the latter part of next season (probably in the season finale)? The only way I could see it mattering is if he turns out to be the father of Elena's baby. Cue the big South Fork wedding with Elena carrying the newest Ewing heir down the aisle instead of a bridal bouquet.

[GHScorpiosRule]

If they were truly killing off Christopher, they would have given him a grand death scene filled with tears, declarations of love, and swelling music. Or he would have been the center of a whodunit.

They filmed his "death" in a way that Jesse Metcalfe can come back or they can easily recast with a new face. Those showrunner interviews are always full of BS, trust me. Even if Jesse Metcalfe is truly gone for good, Christopher will be back from the dead.

 

That's what I said in my initial post--that even if Metcalfe is gone, doesn't meant that Christopher is!

 

 

 

ICAM. This reeks of turning out to be a huge fake out. But is it really going to be that big of a deal if Christopher makes a miraculous return from the dead sometime in the latter part of next season (probably in the season finale)? The only way I could see it mattering is if he turns out to be the father of Elena's baby. Cue the big South Fork wedding with Elena carrying the newest Ewing heir down the aisle instead of a bridal bouquet.

 

See, I just roll my eyes at this because Christopher ain't no Bobby, where when Bobby died*, I was in tears, shaking my head, saying , no...no...only to jump up and down for joy and scream, yelling, whoopee, YES! When he turned around in the shower and said "Good Morning." Bobby was a great character, nuanced, layered, not one note.

 

*And here I have to expand on my earlier post how JR only cried when Jock died. Nope, he had tears in his eyes when Bobby "died."

[Lone Wolf]

The show also takes advertising money from Microsoft (witness the long, loving Windows Phone and/or Surface tablet closeups at least once per episode) and the city of Dallas itself (which is why the Southfork ranch is now referred to as being in Dallas proper rather than the fictional suburb of Braddock).

 

Prevalent Product Placement.  Lady Wolf and I take great pleasure in yelling, "Plug!" every time we see it.  

[grisgris]

What brand of bottled water was Bobby swigging, adding to the trash heap in the backseat of the Benz?

 

Best scene: Anne asking Sue Ellen to pour her a big glass of bourbon.

 

This was so dull and disappointing that I'm debating whether or not to watch the second part.

[Gloworm]

I took this show off series record. The Mexican cartel killed "Weeds" and it looks like they're doing the same with "Dallas".

Ewing Global must be like a Jenga tower with all of the constant company shenanigans. It's exhausting.

I don't care what happens to Emma or Elena but TPTB will make me for another season, so I'm checking out.

Losing Christopher wasn't a big loss because all he did was whine, scowl, and judge John Ross or urgently call Princess Elena over the crisis of the day.

[catalogrrr]

When John Ross called Pambecca a whore, all I could think was "takes one to know one"

I like Bobby and Sue Ellen's loyalty to each other. I liked when John Ross took over the pouring of the drink from Sue Ellen (and Ann was a real insensitive ass for asking a newly recovering alcoholic (sigh, again) for a bourbon, even if she did just go through a terrible ordeal).

John Ross crying in the elevator: he is his mother's son trying to live up to his father's legacy.

The look Judith gave over her shoulder as she walked away on John Ross' arm was Everything to me.

Edited September 29, 2014 by catalogrrr

[sugarbaker design]

Ugh it's killing me now that Elena will get second billing in the credits with Jesse gone. Since Cidre has no issues showing how biased she is I wonder if she'll alternate star billing between Jordana and Josh.

 

 

Hopefully with Metcalfe gone, it'll revert to Original Recipe Dallas's egalitarian alphabetical cast credits.  Larry Hagman was the biggest TV star in the world and he didn't get top billing.  Hopefully the divine Judith Light will be bumped up to cast regular.

[moviewhore]

At this point I don't myself.  Too much of the Ramos bullshit and not enough of the Barnes/Ewing dynamic.  The show lost it's way for me,

[Cobb Salad]

Same here. Although they are legacy characters, Cidre had the opportunity to create the adult John Ross, Christopher and Pamela to reignite the Barnes/Ewing feud but she instead creates these stupid storylines with characters who have nothing to do with the oil industry. I won't miss it if it's not renewed and if it does I probably won't go out of my way to watch unless I'm bored.

[missbonnie]

Yes, yes and hell yes! I absolutely love this show. Myself and a group of about 25 gals get together and watch it every Monday night. I think maybe it's because our age group ranges from 49-54, that may be the reason we all love it. Most of us watched the original as well, but we honestly don't get hung up on continuity and the like. We just want to be entertained and we are. However, we are all in agreement that if Patrick Duffy or Linda Grey leave the show, so will we for the most part. The thing that gripes us the most is the ridiculous age demo that they insist on targeting. I have 3 kids in the demographic range and not a single one of them would watch this show.

[Artsda]

Not unless it's about Ewings/Ewing Oil and not about Elena/Mobs.

[missbonnie]

Um...all of our talk about season four may be moot. I just saw last night's ratings and they were pretty poor - 1.7 million total viewers. That is less than last week's numbers. TNT canceled Men of a Certain Age when their season 2 finale came in at 1.8 million total viewers.

Well that was a given, as I posted earlier, Dallas didn't stand a chance in the ratings with Sleepy Hollow and The Blacklist season openers in the same time slot. That was just stupidity on the part of whoever was in charge of scheduling.

Elena's become Southfork's Lana Lang.

YES! And I loathe her every bit as much as I did "the pink"

With all of these other things, the message from JR that John Ross had saved has gone overlooked. Apparently using previously-used audio from Larry Hagman, it said something like "Bobby signed the papers. Welcome to Ewing Oil. I'm proud of you." I'm not sure of where to fit that message in the Dallas timeline though...

I get this, mainly because before my mom passed away last year she'd left a voice mail on my phone, something about the next time I came over would I bring her this book she wanted to read. I emailed it to myself so I have it on both my computers and I played it on speakerphone and recorded it on my phone so that I can still hear her voice especially on days that I am really missing her. Edited September 30, 2014 by missbonnie

[MarshallB6]

I'm out. This show keeps trying to make Elena a heroine, and I just can't stomach it anymore. The Ewings have become supporting characters. This is not Dallas. I made it through the last several episodes of this season by coming here first to read what had happened and then fast-forwarding my way through the recording. I was no big fan of Christopher (what a dolt he turned out to be) but killing Bobby's only son (I don't count Lucas as I believe Bobby gave up his parental rights) was so wrong.

[tribeca]

Finally this is up on Demand.  Took them long enough!

   I agree that they way Christopher died he can be brought back anytime if they want.   Can even make me a darker character.

     Hate what they have done with Jon Ross and Pambecca.  I loved them and wanted to see them be a power couple.  At least for longer than the honeymoon.

     Hoping Elena's baby is Nicholas' and not JohnRoss'. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

How sad is it, or rather, proof of how much this show sucks monkey balls, that I have YET to watch the last two episodes.

[Sir RaiderDuck OMS]

How sad is it, or rather, proof of how much this show sucks monkey balls, that I have YET to watch the last two episodes.

Honestly, I'm not sure if that's proof of anything other than your distate for the show, which is an opinion obviously shared by others on this board.

[bmasters9]

A place for those of us that loved the Original Recipe! Where we could see the layers of original Magnificent Bastard, known as J.R. Ewing, the various plots, schemes, love stories and triangles!

 

And for all the disgust, snark and contempt that the "Dream" Season gets, there sure were a lot of other shows, sticoms that used the same recipe!

 

Let's start with the unofficial first season: the four part mini-series. Where J.R. and Sue Ellen had their own little, teeny tiny house across the yard from the family home, hee. This home disappeared when the show was picked up and EVERYONE lived in the main house on Southfork.

It was actually a 5-part miniseries. I also recall that there were only 6 major players in the opening: Bel Geddes, Davis, Duffy, Hagman, Principal and Tilton. Each one took several seconds for the name to post, and the opening was shorter than it would be in later seasons. 

 

Here is that short miniseries opening:

[trippyhop]

Well, our nightmare is over. TNT has cancelled the show.

[Charlie Baker]

Moot.  It's been canceled by TNT.

 

http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/10/03/dallas-canceled-by-tnt/

[drivethroo]

The character of Elena Ramos killed Christopher and the show.

There was too much emphasis on Elena and her problems and it killed the show.

After she dumped John Ross and then Christopher dumped her, that should've been the end of Elena unless she were to turn up pregnant with Christopher's baby. The writers created the following characters to justify keeping the Elena character around:

Drew

Nicolas

Lucia

Drug Kingpin Guy

Drug Henchman Guy who raped Emma

Various drug henchman extras

They misused/destroyed the following characters to justify Elena staying around:

Cliff Barnes

Hunter McKay

Heather

Christopher

Ewing Oil

JR

Pamela

Southfork

Other characters that had potential had to be in this Ramos/Mexico storyline or get no airtime:

The entire Ryland family. Harris in particular was wasted with CIA and drug trucks.

I understand the writers wanted diversity. Nicolas could've been written in as an ambitious young exec at Ewing Oil, Ryland could've been a formidable business rival. Hunter McKay could've been brought in as a friend of Christopher.

Heather could've been brought in as a sassy secretary who caught Christopher's eye. But she and Bo had to go so Christopher could go running after Elena again.

Christopher Ewing died for nothing. He died to prop up a suck of a character who ended up killing the entire show. At least we don't have to watch DALLAS starring Elena Ramos, Carmen Ramos and Nicoquin, guest starring various Mexican Cartel members, with special appearances by the Ewings anymore.

Edited October 4, 2014 by drivethroo

[Sir RaiderDuck OMS]

Well, our nightmare is over. TNT has cancelled the show.

"Nightmare?" Really? If you didn't the show, then just don't watch it.

 

 

The character of Elena Ramos killed Christopher and the show.

There was too much emphasis on Elena and her problems and it killed the show.

Agreed. Cidre introducted a whole buttload of new characters who had jack shit to do with the Ewings. People just stopped caring, and with Hagman's death, there wasn't enough residual interest to keep TVs tuned in.

[tinaw]

Well thats that

TNT Cancels ‘Dallas’ After Third Season

http://imdb.com/rg/an_share/news/news/ni57827601mbd.com

Edited October 4, 2014 by tinaw

[catrox14]

Unsurprising. If you're gonna call it Dallas, you should probably make the Ewings/Barnes fued the thing that works. 

[WhitneyWhit]

Can't say I'm surprised by this, or upset, Cidre was a mad woman and I'm glad someone stopped her. The show struck gold with Pamela and John Ross and she did everything she could to destroy it, and I'm still puzzled as to who in the hell told her that John Ross and Emma were anything close to compelling.

 

The show should have been about the Ewings and the Barnes, like it always was, but Cidre had them playing backburner to the Ramos family and whatever they were trying to do. I really wasn't up for another season of Saint Elena of Dallas.

[drivethroo]

I think what pissed me off most about the Elena's revenge story was

A) Cliff Barnes wouldn't have given a rat's ass about Elena. If JR really did switch the deeds, why didn't he bring this information up earlier

B) the Ewings would've made all their money from drilling oil long before the Ramos' came on the scene

C) the nastiness Elena and her mother displayed to Bobby and the rest of the Ewings when both of them know Bobby, Christopher, Sue Ellen etc had nothing to do what JR did (or did not do)

D) the continual propping of Elena as a good moral girl when all she's done is spread her legs for whoever is playing Cap'n Save A Ho for her at the time.

I think the show could've been saved/salvaged had the Elena character been sent packing at the end of Season 2 when Christopher dumped her.

[TimWil]

The Ramos family really did mess up this show. Carmen wasn't even a character in the show's initial run.

I think it should have ended after JR's death was wrapped up, anyway. I think The Office should have ended the moment Michael Scott got on that plane. It shouldn't be hard to admit that in a few cases the show isn't actually the star if it relied so much on one particular character.

[Sir RaiderDuck OMS]

The Ramos family really did mess up this show. Carmen wasn't even a character in the show's initial run.

I think it should have ended after JR's death was wrapped up, anyway. I think The Office should have ended the moment Michael Scott got on that plane. It shouldn't be hard to admit that in a few cases the show isn't actually the star if it relied so much on one particular character.

Continuing a series without a character as identified with the show as JR was with Dallas was always a long shot at best. The closest example I can think of might have been George Clooney leaving ER, and in that case the show had literally years to build up replacement characters (such as Luka Kovac and Abby Lockhart) that would hold the audience's interest. Dallas got one season and a little bit of a second from Hagman before his passing, and it wasn't enough time. Or maybe it wouldn't have worked anyway. JR was truly one of a kind.

[grisgris]

Put us all out of our misery.

[AgentRXS]

I kind of figured it was coming after Hagman's passing in the 2nd season. I figured TNT would give it one more season to deal with the fall out of JR's masterpiece and cancel it. 

 

I am saddened that Josh Henderson, Patrick Duffy, and Linda Gray are out of a job. I wish miss them together. I am saddened about not getting to see more of the John Ross and Pamela story play out, as I found that material the most interesting.

 

I wish Netflix would pick it up, but without Cidre at the helm. Fuck her and Elena obsession.

[Artsda]

Not surprised, it became all about Elena&drug cartels. Nothing resembling Dallas.

 

Jesse Metcalf was smartest one.

Edited October 4, 2014 by Artsda