Was Victoria Principal right to speak out

[Laurie!]

Patrick described the relationship between Bobby and Pam as “unsuccessful”, and his reason was that the character of Pam had been “pigstuck [?] nutty”. So maybe that would indicate that it was Patrick who wasn’t too keen on Pam returning to the show. Linda Gray’s reaction to Patrick’s negative description of Pam’s character was rather astounded and taken aback.

I remember that. I think it was "pigstick nutty". He seems to have softened since then again. In an interview in France...series mania or something in 2018, Patrick's back to complimenting Victoria. Saying the reconciliation scene is one he enjoys watching to this day and even that Victoria's acting for his deathbed scene was his favourite out of all the others.

Perhaps there was no bad blood, just an annoyance for constantly being asked about her returning to the TNT version and knowing she had no interest in a return. Or perhaps he succumbed to the kismet of it all...realizing that Victoria's "Midas touch" as Larry said, was too much to tackle. She does freakishly have a way of coming out on top and there's no denying that.

Imagine signing up for TNT and rewriting history with tales of "the big three" who always had each other's backs (imagine Linda's shock at that statement when Patrick and Larry didn't threaten to walk when she was fired) and trying to convince original fans that Victoria wasn't a vital player. Then they're constantly baraged with questions of Victoria returning as though karma is interjecting and bursting their facade. Admittedly, it was very satisfying for me to watch play out as a longtime Bobby and Pam fan.

 

[Rove]

security measures were exaggeratedly high

As I would expect to protect the heirs to Ewing Global and Southfork

 

[Kenny Coyote]

I remember that. I think it was "pigstick nutty". He seems to have softened since then again. In an interview in France...series mania or something in 2018, Patrick's back to complimenting Victoria.

The first part is about Pam and how she ran away from her husband and son and never come back because she wasn't pretty anymore. Yeah, that is nutty. To say the least. The rest is about Patrick Duffy complimenting the actress who played Pam. She didn't write the script.

 

[xab]

The first part is about Pam and how she ran away from her husband and son and never come back because she wasn't pretty anymore. Yeah, that is nutty. To say the least. The rest is about Patrick Duffy complimenting the actress who played Pam. She didn't write the script.

It's not about being not pretty anymore... It's about being burned and disfigured... Google it, you'll understand. I would do exactly the same thing as her. Maybe I would kill myself.
In my childhood, I often came across a man who had been burned. I was terrified. I still can't understand how he could survive his own sight. I guess it takes time and psychological work...
I never thought it was out of character. Pam suffered a nervous breakdown because she couldn't carry a baby. She tried to commit suicide.
The "mummy" storyline was not so badly handled. She really looked severely injured and her own sight in the mirror must have been a big trauma...
It's the Margaret Michaels recast that made no sense... It wasn't realistic. Burned people don't have those lips and nose, let alone that smooth baby skin... When you compare Mummy Pam and this pretty Michaels face, it kills the original storyline: why did she ever run away? Sequelae didn't look so terrible. Running away the first time was not out of character. Staying away from Christopher while she knew she was dying definitely was.

 

[Kenny Coyote]

It's not about being not pretty anymore... It's about being burned and disfigured... Google it, you'll understand.

I saw the show; I don't need to Google it. They showed what she looked like and yes, she did have scars, but not to the degree you're describing or which would warrant abandoning her family. You may not like how they did that, but it was the story they presented.

 

[xab]

I saw the show; I don't need to Google it. They showed what she looked like and yes, she did have scars, but not to the degree you're describing or which would warrant abandoning her family. You may not like how they did that, but it was the story they presented.

When I said Google it I meant check what it really looks like being burned the way Mummy Pam bandages suggested she was. Real persons I mean. You may feel like running away, but you certainly won't turn into a Margaret Michaels.

 

[Laurie!]

The first part is about Pam and how she ran away from her husband and son and never come back because she wasn't pretty anymore. Yeah, that is nutty. To say the least. The rest is about Patrick Duffy complimenting the actress who played Pam. She didn't write the script.

It definitely isn't nutty to isolate yourself entirely from loved ones after dealing with immense trauma such as complete and total body disfigurement. To say so is to entirely disbelieve the existence of depression and other mental health ailments.

Why does Bobby get a pass from you in that regard? He was merely blind and his arrogance caused him to tell Jenna he could no longer marry her if he didn't regain his sight. Imagine if he'd been burned beyond recognition.

 

[Kenny Coyote]

It definitely isn't nutty to isolate yourself entirely from loved ones after dealing with immense trauma such as complete and total body disfigurement. To say so is to entirely disbelieve the existence of depression and other mental health ailments.

Why does Bobby get a pass from you in that regard? He was merely blind and his arrogance caused him to tell Jenna he could no longer marry her if he didn't regain his sight. Imagine if he'd been burned beyond recognition.

"Burned beyond recognition"? We saw when Cliff went to meet Pam, that wasn't the case. She wasn't scarred nearly in the way you're describing.

I think you're mixing what you think would happen in real life with the story they told. Patrick Duffy is referring to the story Dallas told in the interview several posts above this. He's talking about how Pam responded in Dallas - not how a different woman might respond in real life if she were horribly disfigured. It's not complicated.

 

[Laurie!]

"Burned beyond recognition"? We saw when Cliff went to meet Pam, that wasn't the case. She wasn't scarred nearly in the way you're describing.

I think you're mixing what you think would happen in real life with the story they told. Patrick Duffy is referring to the story Dallas told in the interview several posts above this. He's talking about how Pam responded in the story the series told. It's not complicated.

When Cliff went to meet Pam that was after years of exhaustive surgeries and as the story goes, she was dying and that's why she didn't return at that point. Seems pretty realistic (if you ignore that she wouldn't have survived in reality) and certainly not pigstick nutty as Duffy said.

I'm not complicating it at all. You were taking Duffy's side that Pam was nutty for leaving Bobby. I was explaining how it's human nature for a mother to want to shield loved ones from hurt and Pam had established the hurt from losing her would be less than enduring her surgeries with her. It's completely normal...much like Bobby pushing Jenna away when he was less than perfect in his mind.

 

[Kenny Coyote]

When I said Google it I meant check what it really looks like being burned the way Mummy Pam bandages suggested she was. Real persons I mean.

Which has what to do with Dallas? it's a show where a man, Wes Parmalee, had his whole face burned off and had no visible facial scars. None. That was in season 10, before Pam had the car accident. So, if you accepted that enough that you kept watching...

When Cliff went to meet Pam that was after years of exhaustive surgeries

Pam ran away in season 10. I thought Cliff went to see her the season after that. Maybe it was later than that.

I'm not complicating it at all. You were taking Duffy's side that Pam was nutty for leaving Bobby.

I agree with him on that. I think Bobby and the family were much more hurt than if Pam had stayed with them in whatever time she had left. None of them are gonna be thinking how does she have the gall to come back here and expect us to still love her and accept her as a wife, or a mother, when she's got those scars? She would have needed them and their support at that time more than ever. It would have been better all around for them to have each other at that time.

 

[Laurie!]

I agree with him on that. I think Bobby and the family were much more hurt than if Pam had stayed with them in whatever time she had left. None of them are gonna be thinking how does she have the gall to come back here and expect us to still love her and accept her as a wife, or a mother, when she's got those scars? She would have needed them and their support at that time more than ever. It would have been better all around for them to have each other at that time.

I don't disagree with that. However, that's the opinion of people who haven't endured what Pam did. Depression, PTSD, etc. can alter your brain's ability to make rational decisions.

It's also lame for Duffy to insult Pam for a character plot that was a direct result of him returning to the show and the powers that were, not wanting to kill Pam off in case Victoria returned.

However, on topic...I thought Victoria was right to make a statement that she wasn't returning, given Jesse and Patrick insinuating that she may.

 

[Kenny Coyote]

I don't disagree with that. However, that's the opinion of people who haven't endured what Pam did. Depression, PTSD, etc. can alter your brain's ability to make rational decisions.

That's a good point.

It's also lame for Duffy to insult Pam for a character plot that was a direct result of him returning to the show and the powers that were, not wanting to kill Pam off in case Victoria returned.

I didn't like the way they did that storyline. I haven't come across anyone here yet who liked it. They could have, if they want to make it somewhat realistic, had Pam die in the crash with the oil truck. I just don't see how anyone could survive the collision we saw. Unfortunately they'd taken the show in a different direction.

However, on topic...I thought Victoria was right to make a statement that she wasn't returning, given Jesse and Patrick insinuating that she may.

They shouldn't have brought up her name. If they'd just said Pam might come back, even though I don't like recasts, they did have that option. Victoria Principal didn't own the rights to the character. Jesse did mention Victoria's name specifically though, didn't he?

 

[Steven Wayne]

So you did have a little chat with Linda Gray.

Linda Gray. One of the few actors I would be delighted to meet. She won't ever know how much I owe her as an actor. I learned so much watching those guys...

YOU did met the mighty Linda Gray.

Would you really mind if I hated you?

Linda Gray is not only beautiful but a warm and kind person. And she writes lovely dedications with her autographs. I hope you’ll meet her some day.

 

[TJames03]

On 12th July 2013, Karin Schill and I had the opportunity to interview DALLAS cast members at a festival in the south of France. That was shortly after Victoria Principal‘s statement. And I remember Karin asking Patrick Duffy if there had been any real possibility of Victoria returning to the show. Patrick answered that he wasn’t aware of any offer having been made to Victoria, but there had been the potential for Pam’s character to return, until Victoria Principal chose to publicly declare that she wasn’t coming back. At another point in the interview, Patrick described the relationship between Bobby and Pam as “unsuccessful”, and his reason was that the character of Pam had been “pigstuck [?] nutty”. So maybe that would indicate that it was Patrick who wasn’t too keen on Pam returning to the show. Linda Gray’s reaction to Patrick’s negative description of Pam’s character was rather astounded and taken aback.

My, Duffy’s grapes are bitter! God, I wish someone would have asked him if Principal was coming back in the third season!!!!!

 

[Karin]

By the time we did that interview it had already been established that VP would not be coming back and that Pam was dead on the show.

Of course we never saw her die, we only saw a letter and a death certificate, both which easily could have been faked if Pam had been kidnapped. So I guess the potential for Pam to return was still there. But since it was obvious they were not going down that route on the show it would have been pointless to ask if Pam would return.

What I find interesting about Patrick's reply however is that he says:
"It was actually Victoria's call. I don't know if you know, the Ultimate Dallas was aware of the... she wrote a letter, actual made sort of a public statement, declaration about why she wasn't returning to the show. So it was ultimately, Ultimate Dallas, it was ultimately her choice not to come back . I don't think an offer was made, but then again our producers have always said that any character that is still alive and any actor who is still alive that's played the character is open game for coming back on the show. They want to make this show as reminiscent of the original show and of this period so her potential was there to come back as a character and it was ultimately her decision not to."

So maybe this indicates that an offer would have been made if VP hadn't made her statement?

And in light of that maybe VP was jumping the gun when she gave her public statement?

I mean there might be a possibility that an offer would have been made between season two and three if she hadn't already shot down the idea from the beginning!

 

[tommie]

So maybe this indicates that an offer would have been made if VP hadn't made her statement?

They had already filmed the episodes by the time she made the statement.

But she's made it very clear that she's done playing Pam and that for her she died in the crash. IIRC, didn't she actually contact them at some point when the reboot was first announced to let them know she wasn't coming back?

 

[Toni]

They had already filmed the episodes by the time she made the statement.

But she's made it very clear that she's done playing Pam and that for her she died in the crash. IIRC, didn't she actually contact them at some point when the reboot was first announced to let them know she wasn't coming back?

But maybe she was open to play other characters...like Pam´s infamous twin sister, or even Judith Ryland´s sister from hell (is there any other kind of sisters on "Dallas"?).

 

[Kenny Coyote]

By the time we did that interview it had already been established that VP would not be coming back and that Pam was dead on the show.

Of course we never saw her die, we only saw a letter and a death certificate, both which easily could have been faked if Pam had been kidnapped. So I guess the potential for Pam to return was still there. But since it was obvious they were not going down that route on the show it would have been pointless to ask if Pam would return.

What I find interesting about Patrick's reply however is that he says:
"It was actually Victoria's call. I don't know if you know, the Ultimate Dallas was aware of the... she wrote a letter, actual made sort of a public statement, declaration about why she wasn't returning to the show. So it was ultimately, Ultimate Dallas, it was ultimately her choice not to come back . I don't think an offer was made, but then again our producers have always said that any character that is still alive and any actor who is still alive that's played the character is open game for coming back on the show. They want to make this show as reminiscent of the original show and of this period so her potential was there to come back as a character and it was ultimately her decision not to."

So maybe this indicates that an offer would have been made if VP hadn't made her statement?

And in light of that maybe VP was jumping the gun when she gave her public statement?

I mean there might be a possibility that an offer would have been made between season two and three if she hadn't already shot down the idea from the beginning!

You've got a great viewpoint on this. I don't see any benefit to her "jumping the gun", as you put it. What was there for her to gain by shooting down a potential offer when she didn't know what the offer might be?

It seems like an emotional, and not a rational reaction. Was she afraid that if they made her a great offer she might take it? Was she that ambivalent about it? If not, what does she have to lose in that situation by responding an offer when it's made? Offhand I can't think of anybody who would basically say:" Just in case you might make me an offer, I want not only you but the public to know that nothing you offer me could possibly be good enough, so forget about it." Does that sound maybe a little bit like an emotional response to you? Maybe a LOT?

 

[Richard Channing]

Victoria left when she sensed the quality of the show was in decline. Quite possibly the dream resolution and the way the audience responded was a red flag. She wanted the character of Pam to be done justice, and it seemed she was starting feel this wasn't happening and it was time to go. She closed that chapter of her life and didn't want to go back to playing Pam so I don't think any offer from TNT would have been of any interest to her. It's not like she needs the money. And she wouldn't have had to watch much of the new show to know that it was highly unlikely the character of Pam would be done justice by these writers. She probably didn't want to be associated with it. So I think she did the right thing.

 

[Barbara Fan]

Victoria left when she sensed the quality of the show was in decline. Quite possibly the dream resolution and the way the audience responded was a red flag. She wanted the character of Pam to be done justice, and it seemed she was starting feel this wasn't happening and it was time to go. She closed that chapter of her life and didn't want to go back to playing Pam so I don't think any offer from TNT would have been of any interest to her. It's not like she needs the money. And she wouldn't have had to watch much of the new show to know that it was highly unlikely the character of Pam would be done justice by these writers. She probably didn't want to be associated with it. So I think she did the right thing.

:ex:

I think Miss P was very discerning during the original run of Dallas and recognised that the quality of the show in S9 was not what it was during the early years to 1983. Also big buck offers didnt tempt her, and I admire the fact that the most "popular" soap star in terms of coverage in the media at that point in time (she had surpassed Larry by then), walked away from it when it would have been easy to take the pay rise and phone in the lines a bit like the final year of the show.

And she was quite right not to want to be associated with anything TNT related.