What small scene do you remember vividly from Dallas?

[Kenny Coyote]

This one? Sue Ellen refers to Winger being in more trashy movies. But yes it's in line with her movie and she's talking to Bruce Harvey. The pink is amazing.

I remember how Sue Ellen would get when the subject of Mandy Winger came up. Sue Ellen felt completely intimidated by Mandy who told Sue Ellen right to her face: "I'm years younger than you, prettier..." and Sue Ellen was badly shaken by it. Mandy's words weren't just opinion; they were fact as well.

I remember this: Sue Ellen hired Nicholas Pearce to tell her what to do to build Valentine Lingerie and one of the very first things he said to her after reading Valentine Lingerie's financial reports was "By reading those I can see that you were very lucky to have met Mandy Winger." Then Bruce Harvey told her that men who were in the business Valentine was in long enough were jaded by seeing so many beautiful women half dressed. Being jaded to the point that seeing beautiful women in lingerie got no reaction from them anymore except in the case of Mandy Winger. After all those years in that business, Mr. Valentine still had what Harvey described as "a buzz-on" for Mandy Winger." Harvey continued: "That's a very rare commodity."

No matter where she went, no matter who she talked to, nobody had anything but good things to say about Mandy Winger and it drove Sue Ellen crazy!

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

Harve Smithfield: It was Bobby's wish that until Christopher reaches the age of consent his shares in Ewing oil are to be administered by his Mother, Pamela Barnes Ewing!

The look on JR's face said it all.

 

[southfork88]

That was a great scene! Your post reminds me of another somewhat similar situation in Dallas. It was the first time Digger Barnes (the original version of Digger) was being invited to Southfork. He'd been sober for a little while but ended up drinking at the barbecue. The thing I remember which I don't know how memorable others would consider it is when Jock was questioned (maybe by Pam) if he had to treat Digger the way he did. Jock had a response to that which I loved: "He asks for the same thing every time - to be stripped down raw. I generally try to accommodate my guests"! I think people will remember it but maybe not remember those lines word for word.

A memorable scene. Oscar !

 

[Sarah]

I remember how Sue Ellen would get when the subject of Mandy Winger came up. Sue Ellen felt completely intimidated by Mandy who told Sue Ellen right to her face: "I'm years younger than you, prettier..." and Sue Ellen was badly shaken by it. Mandy's words weren't just opinion; they were fact as well.

@Kenny Coyote Not fact at all. Beauty is the eye of the beholder and I'm afraid Mandy's ugly, self involved vacant personality could never outshine Sue Ellen's beauty. The fact is, and it IS actually a fact, that JR chose Sue Ellen and Sue Ellen far triumphed while Mandy became a distant memory, only appearing in later years looking like Elvira.

The other fact is had Sue Ellen not been such a lady and told everyone who had 'such good things' to say about Mandy, that the woman was actually - in Deborah Shelton's own words (fact!) 'a manipulative homewrecker', who was sleeping with and trying to steal a married man, I'm pretty sure opinions of her would be very different. At the end of the day Mandy dug her own grave, Sue Ellen got her life and her husband back, and she sure wasn't 'intimidated' by her when she fired her ass. But it's ok, Winger got to make some trashy movies so take heart.

Back to the question - I remember Jackie painting Cliff's fingernail on one day when the office was quiet Lovely little scene.

 

[Kenny Coyote]

@Kenny Coyote Not fact at all. Beauty is the eye of the beholder and I'm afraid Mandy's ugly, self involved vacant personality could never outshine Sue Ellen's beauty. The fact is, and it IS actually a fact, that JR chose Sue Ellen and Sue Ellen far triumphed while Mandy became a distant memory, only appearing in later years looking like Elvira.

The other fact is had Sue Ellen not been such a lady and told everyone who had 'such good things' to say about Mandy, that the woman was actually - in Deborah Shelton's own words (fact!) 'a manipulative homewrecker', who was sleeping with and trying to steal a married man, I'm pretty sure opinions of her would be very different. At the end of the day Mandy dug her own grave, Sue Ellen got her life and her husband back, and she sure wasn't 'intimidated' by her when she fired her ass. But it's ok, Winger got to make some trashy movies so take heart.

Back to the question - I remember Jackie painting Cliff's fingernail on one day when the office was quiet Lovely little scene.

"Years younger" actually is fact.

Beauty is in the eye if the beholder and I'm telling you from a man's point of view, Deborah Shelton was a better looking woman. I wouldn't claim to know who was better looking between Bobby and Mark Graison. Sue Ellen was Miss Texas in storyline only. Deborah Shelton was a Miss America and took 2nd place in Miss Universe.

Nobody can "steal" somebody from someone else. It's consensual. Sue Ellen was sleeping with other men while married to JR like Dusty and Nicholas anyway so what's the difference? There was no home to be wrecked because their marriage was already wrecked. It was a brutally dysfunctional marriage that ultimately ended in divorce years later than it should have ended.

 

[Dallas Cowgirl]

In Season 13 I remember this very insignificant exchange between Carter McKay and a workman in April's new offices for her company April Oil. At this moment it struck me how much Dallas had really changed with this subtle attempt at humor. Carter asks the workman where April was and the workman replies something like, "Ms Oil isn't in yet." The look on Carter's face says it all, no words needed for his contempt at the stupidity of the lowly worker!

 

[Kenny Coyote]

I think it was one of the mini series episodes where Lucy was cutting class, even accused a teacher of making a pass at her (or sleeping with her, etc).. and Pam instantly knew Lucy was lying.. and there was a fun little cat and mouse game between Lucy/Pam. I wished the Pam of the mini series and first full season remained instead of being morphed into a goody goody.

Don't you think Pam was a good woman in the first 2 seasons? We've talked many times about how Dallas is an ensemble of characters who are all somewhere in between being all good and all bad - they've varying shades of gray, with some being closer to the bad end of the spectrum and some being closer to the good end of the spectrum. I think Pam was, at least until she abandoned Bobby, the character closest to being purely good (which I'm guessing you mean by "goody goody"). Even Pam's vice - being so trusting of that tapeworm of a brother she has - comes from being good. Pam is so good that possibly her only vice is wanting to believe that the people she loves also have all those same virtuous qualities she has, even though she's clearly seen evidence to the contrary. Cliff repeatedly screws Pam over and she keeps trusting him anyway, desperately hoping that those virtues she imagines him to possess will one day somehow magically appear.

Look at how good she is in this scene from Barbecue especially the part starting at 3:08 onwards. At that point in the scene we see Pam is a better, gutsier person than Bobby, who wants to pull a Gary and just run. Pam is so good here. She doesn't want to break up the family. She wants to do the righteous thing and stay.

Did you notice how different Dallas looks in that episode compared to what it later became? This is in keeping with what @Lastkidpicked asks in the title of the thread - What small scene do you remember vividly from Dallas? - It's not that the scene is small because it's a major scene but there's a detail about it that I don't know has been discussed here before. If it was, I don't remember it. Here's the something small that I remember vividly - how different Dallas looked at this time, but especially in "Barbecue." These 4 four minutes of "Barbecue" are enough to show that the Dallas we're watching here looks almost more like a play than a TV show!

Somehow Dallas seems deeper here than it would for most of its 357 episode run.

This was before Dallas got that more flashy, typical Hollywood style and started looking more glam. This just looks so real. It's stripped down to the core of what Dallas is about without anything flashy distracting from exactly what matters here. What a performance from Victoria Principal! She doesn't even have to say much - her face shows everything. I also like the tenderness that Jock shows Pam, and how he comes to the realization that "we've had things our way for so long that maybe, maybe it got in the way of our being just people."

 

[Laurie Marr]

The breakfasts on the patio. Whenever I think of Dallas that’s the image that comes up. And they really exploited that scenario on many occasions for bickering, sly putdowns, philosophising and homespun wisdom. When I see the Ewings gathered together in this way it’s a nostalgia buzz too, of course.

 

[Lastkidpicked]

Here's the something small that I remember vividly - how different Dallas looked at this time, but especially in "Barbecue." These 4 four minutes of "Barbecue" are enough to show that the Dallas we're watching here looks almost more like a play than a TV show!

Good point, Kenny! And very well said. It was like a Shakespearean play during the miniseries.

For never was a story of more woe
Than of this Juliet and her Romeo.

Pam is a better, gutsier person than Bobby, who wants to pull a Gary and just run.

I like that phrase. It paints a picture.

 

[Lastkidpicked]

The breakfasts on the patio. Whenever I think of Dallas that’s the image that comes up.

Yes! That made the show seem so "real". No matter how much wealth they had, no matter how many buildings and offices they owned, the Ewings had breakfast out on the Southfork patio.

It is especially realistic when they filmed on location, and the actors are fighting the wind. Almost like a home movie.

 

[Toni]

Yes! That made the show seem so "real". No matter how much wealth they had, no matter how many buildings and offices they owned, the Ewings had breakfast out on the Southfork patio.

It is especially realistic when they filmed on location, and the actors are fighting the wind. Almost like a home movie.

I may be mistaken, but it´s funny that we didn´t see any of these breakfast scenes during the miniseries, but the first full season started with the family gathered having breakfast by the pool as if the new ranch was expanding the value of the story and giving it its unique "flavor"...

​

Here is the first ever image of the "real" Southfork patio with everyone strategically placed
(especially Pam in the pool, ahem...)​

...And here is, one second later, the first ever Dallas breakfast scene (or was it the "happy hour"
for iced tea only?) with a cameo by one of the first Raouls (of many...).
​

What a statement they did with only two shots: "hey people at home, pool and breakfast scenes at Southfork will be served in this show for the next 13 years..."

 

[Kenny Coyote]

Good point, Kenny! And very well said. It was like a Shakespearean play during the miniseries.

For never was a story of more woe
Than of this Juliet and her Romeo.

I like that phrase. It paints a picture.

Thanks @Lastkidpicked. I'm trademarking "pull a Gary." Ha ha!

The part about Pam being the most noble character is the part I like best, but I can see why it's hard for the Bobby fans to admit that Pam had way more guts than him in that scene. Ha!

Bobby threatening to run; it was another bluff he used when he got mad, which was quite often. Keeping his composure wasn't his strong suit.

BTW, don't think I don't like Bobby, I do, but I like him when he's not acting like a spoiled brat like when pulls a Gary, which he did again when JR and Jock agree to shut Ewing 23 down, because Bobby opened up Ewing 23 all by himself "like a big boy" and he couldn't handle seeing it get shut down! Awwww!

It didn't seem to matter to Bobby that he was forcing his father to become partners with the man who tried to put Jock in prison for a crime he didn't commit, just because hated the Ewings. Really, Bobby think's that's reasonable??? How could anyone be partners with someone who did that to him? How could Bobby actually complain about "not being fair to Cliff" after what Cliff had done to Jock and Ewing Oil and say it with a straight face?

Bobby is a better man than JR, sure, but he acts like he's so much better. Bobby acts like such a sanctimonious, self-righteous little prick some of the time, and then when he gets angry and pulling a Gary won't work for that situation, he always relies on that physical bluff: "I'll take you apart."

Bob only does it to people he knows he can whip though. He never fights Mark - the guy was taking his woman from him and he wouldn't fight over it??? If a guy who is trying to take your wife from you isn't worth throwing down for, what the hell is?

Then Bobby says "If I ever see Naldo again I'll kill him" but when he actually does see him, outside the justice of the peace, he doesn't lay a finger on him. Bob just lets Naldo go with Jenna.

I think that's chickens**t. If someone's gonna be a tough guy he ought to be a tough guy 24/7 and not just pick and choose to threaten guys who he knows can't fight.

 

[Taylor Bennett Jr.]

View attachment 21044

...And here is, one second later, the first ever Dallas breakfast scene (or was it the "happy hour"
for iced tea only?) with a cameo by one of the first Raouls (of many...).
​

I always thought those were mint juleps (or maybe mojitos, but the Ewings were bourbon people of course)... Ellie scoldingly tells Jock it won't help his backgammon game when he grabs a fresh drink from Raoul, which I interpret to mean the alcohol will make his game playing even worse.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

I remember being bowled over by the scene between Bobby and JR in the charred living room which closed the first quarter of the first episode of the Season 7 (per DVD count), "The Road Back". It seemed so majestic and haunted and profound -- helped not in small part to Bradford May's new breathtaking camerawork (which, of course, Katzman hated). Right in the midst of DALLAS' most creatively mature year, 1983.

The story of the Ewings of Southfork had reached a noble apex.

Looking back on it later, it's not so distinctive a scene comparatively. But it shows how impactful cinematography (assisted by good story structure) can be to establishing mood and an almost Biblical flavor, where even the silences -- especially the silences -- seem somehow loud.

This one is not such a small scene, but it's one of my favorites in that it has most of the key characters fussing together in the living room over the terms of Jock's will -- and it's one of the first scenes I think of when people ask (I couldn't find the most recent thread in that capacity) which DALLAS scenes are most emblematic, or should be used in a promotion, for the show (and folks always chirp in "Who Shot JR?" with little sense of the tired over-obviousness of that choice).

 

[Grangehill1]

After one of the Oil Barons Balls - season 7 (dvd) I think. Mark, Cliff, Afton, Pam and Katherine have been out all night and park up on the side of the road. I adore that scene

 

[Chris2]

I love the breakfast scene by the pool where JR says in passing to Donna as she’s leaving: “You know, old Sam Culver would be spinnin’ in his grave if he ever knew some cowboy sweet talked you out of his hard-earned graft.” He manages to insult Donna, Ray, and Sam Culver in that one line. It’s brilliant. Donna pushes him into the pool and JR laughs and calls out, “Well Donna, don’t go away mad!” Charming bastard.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

There are a couple of small scenes I've never forgotten and it changed the dynamic between almost all the Ewing's but mostly Jock and Ray and more importantly Ray and JR. Enjoy.

 

[LMLDallas78]

When we first get to see Sue Ellen's mum is a scene I remember vividly.

I was a little surprised af first because in my head I had pictured someone completely different.
But as we got to see more of Patricia (played wonderfully by Martha Scott) I realised how well she had been cast.

It soon became clear why Sue Ellen was like she was and why she ended up marrying JR and how their marriage was as turbulent as it often was.

Linda Gray claims it was her idea to introduce Sue Ellen's mother.
I wish we'd seen more of her.

 

[DallasFanForever]

Some small scenes I enjoy are...............

Bobby giving Lucy her first car. The poor kid had to have her heart broken just to land a set of wheels.

Mark surprising Cliff in the kitchen and revealing he was in fact alive during the dream season.

The reaction on Jock’s face when Digger crashes into the post in the episode Reunion Part Two. I know this actually becomes a much bigger and more serious scene as it unfolds but the beginning part is very humorous. Jock’s reaction alone is priceless.

 

[LMLDallas78]

Some small scenes I enjoy are...............

Bobby giving Lucy her first car. The poor kid had to have her heart broken just to land a set of wheels.

Mark surprising Cliff in the kitchen and revealing he was in fact alive during the dream season.

The reaction on Jock’s face when Digger crashes into the post in the episode Reunion Part Two. I know this actually becomes a much bigger and more serious scene as it unfolds but the beginning part is very humorous. Jock’s reaction alone is priceless.

Oh that last one is hilarious, how Jock casually takes his paper outside to read and sits down before Digger blasts into the drive. Doesn't matter how often I watch that, I still laugh out loud, literally.

I was watching it only the other day and I always have to rewind it a couple of times. How he jumps and looks round and his expression. Brilliant.
Jim Davis was so funny, I absolutely loved him!

Talking of funny scenes there's a devilishly cheeky one in Paternity Suit between Lucy and Sue Ellen.

Lucy takes a call for SueEllen from a man and when handing her the phone waits there while Sue Ellen arranges an overnight date with Dusty.

The knowing looks these two share are fabulous.

Lucy knows it was a man and knows the story she feeds Miss Ellie about a college friend is a big lie, but the fact Sue Ellen is cheating on JR gives Lucy some pleasure.
Sue Ellen knows Lucy knows which gives them both a feeling of satisfaction.

A season earlier Lucy would've told JR like she did in black market baby of Sue Ellen renting a flat for Rita Briggs.

The scene ends when Lucy asks, "is JR going with you?"
Sue Ellen replies, "No I don't think he'd enjoy himself".