Dallas Losing Credibility

[Bobby Southworth]

I see a lot of fans draw the line at making season 9 a dream. That was supposedly the point of no return for several, but.. let's think about some of the earlier ways Dallas suspended disbelief. Let's see.. both Sue Ellen's sister, and Pam's half sister turned out to be psycho, although Katharine on a much larger scale. Dusty was brought back to life. At least he didn't have to have extensive plastic surgery, new skin, new voice like Jock would have(had that actually been true), and then you have Mark possibly not being dead during season 8, and actually coming back to life during season 9, which was not known to be a dream at the time, and after, yes, another plane crash. I guess they never thought Rebecca was worth bringing back from the dead, LOL. My point is simply that Dallas had been pretty outrageous, even prior to the dream explanation. What were the odds of both Sue Ellen and Pam having crazy, murdering sisters? I guess the dream resolution just took it to a whole different level? Can you think of any other times during the first 9 seasons that Dallas stretched the imagination just a bit too far?

 

[James from London]

Weddings in the driveway, wire coathangers in the closets, billionaires all living under one roof, poison dwarf supermodels, Miss Ellie's endless supply of sack dresses, Pam and Sue Ellen going to sleep and waking up in full makeup ... Before I'd even seen an episode of Dallas, I can remember my mother (who watched it from the start) lying in bed laughing at Terry Wogan making fun of it on his massively popular morning radio show. And that was how the series was originally introduced into a lot of people's consciousness in the UK. We came to laugh (and laugh we did) and ended up getting hooked (while continuing to laugh).

 

[Kenny Coyote]

I see a lot of fans draw the line at making season 9 a dream. That was supposedly the point of no return for several, but.. let's think about some of the earlier ways Dallas suspended disbelief. Let's see.. both Sue Ellen's sister, and Pam's half sister turned out to be psycho, although Katharine on a much larger scale. Dusty was brought back to life. At least he didn't have to have extensive plastic surgery, new skin, new voice like Jock would have(had that actually been true), and then you have Mark possibly not being dead during season 8, and actually coming back to life during season 9, which was not known to be a dream at the time, and after, yes, another plane crash. I guess they never thought Rebecca was worth bringing back from the dead, LOL. My point is simply that Dallas had been pretty outrageous, even prior to the dream explanation. What were the odds of both Sue Ellen and Pam having crazy, murdering sisters? I guess the dream resolution just took it to a whole different level? Can you think of any other times during the first 9 seasons that Dallas stretched the imagination just a bit too far?

Maybe the quickest way I can sum it up is Dallas went from a show that would ask you to believe that someone could survive a plane crash, using the same actor both pre-crash and post-crash, to asking you to consider someone would survive a helicopter crash. Planes glide. Helicopters drop like rocks. The supposed survivor of the helicopter crash wasn't even the same actor. He didn't have any debilitating injuries or even a scar despite claiming to have been burned beyond recognition.

Dallas went from asking you to believe the improbable to asking you to believe the impossible.

 

[Augustus355]

What did it for me was Cliff striking oil at gold canyon 340. No way that sniveling little brain dead weasel could strike oil.

 

[Kenny Coyote]

Cliff certainly was a weasely little weasel, but he had a lot of help in striking oil. Jordan Lee helped lot- he made all the difference. You could say that Cliff striking oil made it look dumb that JR, Bobby, and Mark - people with actual experience didn't want to get involved because it was too risky. But it made Cliff more of a threat, and that was the goal.

Rebecca bought him an oil company, a 500 million dollar one, as a reward for trying to kill himself. How dumb was that? You don't reward bad behavior as a parent, but then again I don't think Rebecca qualified as an actual parent. So then Cliff, of course, takes the top position in the company despite not knowing the business. Not a realistic formula for success, but it's fiction, so at the push of a pen, whatever they wanted to happen did happen.

That ability to do that - to have whatever you want to happen at the push of a pen, is what's so great about fiction, but it's a liability if misused in a way that hurts the show's credibility with the audience.

 

[Srqmom]

I agree with all the above but I will say a lot less crazy than daytime soaps!

 

[lbf522]

Kristin was written as a one note character with no redeeming qualities whereas I understood Katherine and where she was coming from. First her father dies and then is introduced to two half siblings from her mother's previously unknown marriage. If that were not enough, Rebecca brings Cliff into her father's company where he does not belong and Cliff somehow knows what he is doing. Rebecca dies fighting Cliff's war with the Ewings and then the final insult is Rebecca's will where she makes Katherine part owner of a company that should be completely hers and giving Cliff and Pamela part of it that they don't deserve. So I understood Katherine striking out. Not her being obsessed with Bobby.

Cliff striking oil and being an oil baron was silly as Alexis on Dynasty being a mogul over night.

When Dave Culver left his seat in the state senate and the council decided that instead of Cliff, which would have made sense, chose instead Bobby who had no political background at all.

 

[Srqmom]

How did Ray get out of being sentenced to prison when he admitted pulling the plug on Mickey but yet Jenna denies and there’s tons of circumstantial evidence to get her off but she has to go for awhile?

 

[Swami]

Weddings in the driveway, wire coathangers in the closets, billionaires all living under one roof, poison dwarf supermodels, Miss Ellie's endless supply of sack dresses, Pam and Sue Ellen going to sleep and waking up in full makeup ... Before I'd even seen an episode of Dallas, I can remember my mother (who watched it from the start) lying in bed laughing at Terry Wogan making fun of it on his massively popular morning radio show. And that was how the series was originally introduced into a lot of people's consciousness in the UK. We came to laugh (and laugh we did) and ended up getting hooked (while continuing to laugh).

There was nothing wrong with any of that, in many ways those eccentricities were part of the show's success.

The awful storylines and dreadful newbies who knew as much about acting as my backside knows about snipe-shooting were the main problem in the latter seasons.

Swami

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

Maybe the quickest way I can sum it up is Dallas went from a show that would ask you to believe that someone could survive a plane crash, using the same actor both pre-crash and post-crash, to asking you to consider someone would survive a helicopter crash. Planes glide. Helicopters drop like rocks. The supposed survivor of the helicopter crash wasn't even the same actor. He didn't have any debilitating injuries or even a scar despite claiming to have been burned beyond recognition.

Dallas went from asking you to believe the improbable to asking you to believe the impossible.

Now listen Kenny & listen good!

Wes Parmalee was Jock Ewing. I ought to know, I'm his grandson!

 

[Chris2]

When Dave Culver left his seat in the state senate and the council decided that instead of Cliff, which would have made sense, chose instead Bobby who had no political background at all.

And wasn’t even a Democrat! I know that early on, they established that Jock Ewing was pragmatic about building relationships with members of both political parties. That said, they did say early on that Dave and Cliff were members of the “other” party, and that other party would have selected one of their own.

 

[Bobby Southworth]

If only Bobby had been killed in plane helicopter crash instead..

 

[Barbara On A Broomstick]

first biggest mistake and WT????? is going on here moment and losing credibility

Replacing BBG and Miss Ellie with a woodentop in a blonde wig

mg:

 

[Srqmom]

Weird in season 9 all the characters talk about Bobby non-stop but barely a mention of Lucy. I don’t know why she left the show but she must have ticked off the writers.

 

[Swami]

Somehow expecting the audience to believe that JR would prefer an antiquated harridan like Granny Beaumont over Sue Ellen was the ultimate stretch of credibility.

Swami

 

[TJames03]

Kristin wasn’t a psychopath. She was sane. Patricia just put her and Sue Ellen against each other. I also agree with everything Katherine did. She had her whole life ruined because of Pam and Cliff.

 

[Jock-O-Lantern]

Weird in season 9 all the characters talk about Bobby non-stop but barely a mention of Lucy. I don’t know why she left the show but she must have ticked off the writers.

They simply didn’t know what to do with Lucy. I have no idea why her and Mitch didn’t leave for California and become apart of Knots Landing where they would have fitted in there more than Dallas.

 

[Jock-O-Lantern]

Kristin wasn’t a psychopath. She was sane. Patricia just put her and Sue Ellen against each other. I also agree with everything Katherine did. She had her whole life ruined because of Pam and Cliff.

Yes, but her obsession with Bobby was ridiculous.

 

[Chris2]

Was Katherine’s life really ruined by Pam and Cliff? I agree that Rebecca should not have split Katherine’s father’s company to give equal shares to his stepchildren that he never met. But Katherine was planning a career in television journalism. It’s not like she was going to run the company.

 

[Kenny Coyote]

Was Katherine’s life really ruined by Pam and Cliff? I agree that Rebecca should not have split Katherine’s father’s company to give equal shares to his stepchildren that he never met. But Katherine was planning a career in television journalism. It’s not like she was going to run the company.

Katherine ruined Katherine's life. She made completely irrational decisions and paid the price.