Who shot Bobby? Cleverly executed homage or jaded and unoriginal?

[Richard Channing]

Dallas was no stranger to repeating it's story lines, and perhaps the most glaring example was Bobby's shooting in 'Endgame'. Even down to the killer being the sister-in-law who tried to frame a sibling she couldn't stand. The show was quite upfront about the fact that they were re-treading old ground, but served up a twist having Bobby be the victim and therefore left us not only wondering who was the killer, but also casting doubt over who was the intended victim.

What did you think of the story line? Do you think it was a good idea to emulate Dallas' all time most iconic story line so closely? Do you think they got away with it?

 

[Gold Canyon 340]

Hi Richard Channing,

Thank you for bringing up this topic. For years, I thought that cliffhanger was the beginning of the end. The season as a whole was great, and I was expecting something to do with Jessica and Miss Ellie for the cliffhanger, but sadly, that storyline was hastily resolved at the start of the episode and we are left with Bobby being shot. I thought it was unoriginal and a cop-out.

Not to mention, the opener for the next season just made it worse... One of the most dreadful scenes to me was Sue Ellen hiding the gloves and the gun in the bedroom. Really?! That seemed so out of left field for where her character was at during that time.... So, yes, Donna Reed as the fake Miss Ellie made matters even worse, but I'd argue that the cliffhanger was the first indication that Dallas' glory days were gone....

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

A lot of people seem to think the first few episodes of the next season are somehow awful, but they just never hit me that way.

 

[Michael Torrance]

Thank you for bringing up this topic. For years, I thought that cliffhanger was the beginning of the end. The season as a whole was great, and I was expecting something to do with Jessica and Miss Ellie for the cliffhanger, but sadly, that storyline was hastily resolved at the start of the episode and we are left with Bobby being shot. I thought it was unoriginal and a cop-out.

It's never a good sign when a show starts duplicating its past. Especially a soap so successful, others actually duplicated its genre in prime time.

 

[Rove]

At the time it originally aired I thought the twist was brilliant as the lead up would indicate JR was about to get shot...again.

 

[James from London]

It certainly didn't feel jaded at the time.

 

[Ome]

I thought it was jaw-droppingly fantastic. Not only was the wrong person shot as I thought at the time, but the gap between seasons had all kinds of scenarios going through my mind. Did the shooter know it was Bobby or were they expecting JR to be sat in his chair, the whole thing was just twisted apart. I actually thought this was better than the 'who shot JR' story because it wasn't as straightforward as that original story.

 

[Rove]

the first few episodes of the next season are somehow awful

I wouldn't say awful..but something was amiss, especially the absence of Miss Ellie. Were we in for a huge surprise when Clayton and Miss Ellie returned from their honeymoon. I'm surprised JR (Larry) in one of his infamous adlib's didn't ask Clayton, "Where's momma?"

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Perhaps with the benefit of nostalgia I've always found the events surrounding Bobby's shooting quite exciting to watch.

In 1984 I was only a casual, occasional Dallas viewer. The first airing of End Game was the watershed for me as I became hooked and ended up watching every new episode up from here until somewhere in the last season (catching up on a repeat of Season Six over the summer, adding a season to my consecutively watched episodes and allowing me to deduce that Katherine was the gunperson and Bobby the intended victim).

From a 2018 vantage point, some of the writing certainly feels unoriginal. I was a pre-teen, new to the show and it was a no-brainer for me who had done it and why.

But I think the final episodes of Season Six and the first few episodes of Season Seven leading up to the reveal have a special energy. It was a Who Shot JR? rip-off homage, but without the constraints of the earlier cliffhanger. The budget seemed bigger. The production values were improved. Perhaps most significantly it was unaffected the by strikes of 1980. Instead of stock music played on a tape recorder we were given a dynamic, memorable score when we found out whodunit (admittedly, I also have a fondness for some of those stock cues from 1980).

So if the revisit served a purpose it was to show a certain growth in the series. Besides, David Jacobs has said that Dallas basically had the same story every year - the battle for control of Ewing oil. So why not revisit their biggest storyline while they were at it?

The bottom line for me as a viewer is that I found Bobby's shooting more fun and memorable than Goodbye Cliff Barnes or the Southfork fire.

 

[Willie Oleson]

I also like the way it was done - as we follow the future killer to his future victim. I'm not sure if I thought it was supposed to be JR...
Anyway, it kinda reminds me of Fear In The Night (starring Joan Collins)

 

[Lastkidpicked]

What did you think of the story line? Do you think it was a good idea to emulate Dallas' all time most iconic story line so closely? Do you think they got away with it?

At the time it originally aired I thought the twist was brilliant as the lead up would indicate JR was about to get shot...again.

It certainly didn't feel jaded at the time

Not only was the wrong person shot as I thought at the time,

Perhaps with the benefit of nostalgia I've always found the events surrounding Bobby's shooting quite exciting to watch.

So, Richard Channing, you will notice that those of us who were around for the original run have a very specific take.

Remember that this was well before internet spoilers, hulu, and TiVo. So we all got to watch in real time. Picture this:

It's a Friday night Dallas party. We're in the basement, walking across the gold shag carpeting to fondue our favorite foods.

And the above picture is EXACTLY how I remember the Dallas parties. Imagine others milling around the billiard table, and looking through the 8-Track tape collection. Good times. . .


Oh no! An assassin is on the way to shoot J.R. Some of us are excited, and others jaded by the fact that they are retreading an old storyline. But remember, none of us has a clue what will happen because we are all seeing it for the first time.

The footsteps are the same as the first time around. The chair is almost the same.

The shots ring out! Will J.R. live or die? Who shot J.R. this time?

And the chair slowly rotates, and out falls . . .

Bobby?!

We were in shock! Love it or hate it, I will give them credit for one thing-- nobody at our house saw that one coming!

 

[Richard Channing]

We were in shock! Love it or hate it, I will give them credit for one thing-- nobody at our house saw that one coming!

I didn't either and I was totally shocked as well. I remember turning to my mother and asking "is he dead?", as at 9 years old I naively assumed that surely getting shot in the head meant you were dead. And then I thought no, he can't be dead, what about poor Pam? She just lost Mark a couple of episodes ago and now this!

I thought it was a brilliant twist and didn't find it repetitive because I didn't even really remember the run up to 'Who Shot JR' all that well. And not knowing who was the intended victim opened up all kinds of possibilities. Even if the final outcome was somewhat predictable, they kept us on our toes there for a while. If you are going to redo an old story line then you have to put a fresh spin on it and they did it very well.

 

[Willie Oleson]

Even if the final outcome was somewhat predictable

How was it explained?

 

[Richard Channing]

How was it explained?

 

[Willie Oleson]

Oh dear, not one of Dallas' best scenes
Although it's funny that JR was kinda miffed that the bullet wasn't meant for him.

 

[Richard Channing]

Oh dear, not one of Dallas' best scenes

Rates pretty high on Dallas' campest scenes though!

 

[Rove]

And the above picture is EXACTLY how I remember the Dallas parties

Even then...parents were finding ways of distancing themselves from their children. Today it's called smartphones or tablets. Back in the 70's or 80's it was cleverly designed lounge suites.

 

[Rove]

Has there ever been another secondary character (Katherine) who had such an impact throughout the history that is Dallas. I cannot think of any. Despite being killed off mid-sentence in TNT Dallas just the fact she scores a mention is testament to the longevity and influence of Miss Katherine Wentworth.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Remember that this was well before internet spoilers, hulu, and TiVo. So we all got to watch in real time.

Although not all of us managed to stay spoiler-free.

End Game, for example, aired in the UK just four days after its US screening. But that was still enough time for the UK tabloids to make the ending public knowledge. When I watched the first airing of End Game here someone walked into the room, saw that Dallas was on and casually mentioned that Bobby was going to be shot at the end.

Likewise, Bobby's death had photo spreads in the red tops long before it aired here.

Spoilers weren't as prevalent then as now, but remember that Dallas had a huge audience compared with a TV show of today. Mentioning one watched the show potentially invited someone to mention something they'd just read in the paper about an upcoming storyline. Watching Dallas taught me a lot about carefully avoiding spoilers to maximise my enjoyment.

 

[Seaviewer]

At the time it originally aired I thought the twist was brilliant as the lead up would indicate JR was about to get shot...again

Agreed. Where they went wrong was in having Bobby be the intended victim, and then having him be blind was a major cliche as well.

Although not all of us managed to stay spoiler-free.

The shocking moment was on Entertainment This Week, I think just a night or two before the episode was screened - on the same channel.