April In Paris

[Bobby Southworth]

For those that have some tolerance for the later incarnation of the series, how did you feel about April being killed off? After two seasons of a buildup to their marriage, it seemed like kind of a slap in the face to me. I wasn't a huge April fan, but there was a lot of buildup to their marriage, and then, four episodes into season 14, she was gone. Wasn't what happened with Pam tragic enough? I've read that Sheree wanted to be written out because she had just had a baby, and I've also read that the powers that be actually wanted to put Bobby in a position to be ready for Pam if she were to come back for the end... That just seems like such a waste to me. Again, putting the development/evolution of the series aside in the hopes that Victoria Principal "might" return for the very end?

 

[Barbara Fan]

from a similar type thread and my sentiments are the same - Go Jordan! :byee:

Not in the fan club of either the character or actress playing her as she was pretty poor.

I also hated tramp to saint in 2 series and oh how i cheered when she met her maker in Paris, always thought it was a pity it didnt happen about 3 seasons earlier

Also used to wonder what hold she had on Uncle Lennie and his "favouring" her.

April for me is about the dumbing down and beginning of the end for dallas
A second rate character who could in NO WAY Hold a candle to the other females on the show and ESPECIALLY NOT Victoria Principal. I would have been happy for Bobby to marry Jenna but he had absolutely NO CHEMISTRY with SJW and their scenes are ones to FWD, also that whiny, simpering voice - shudder!

And then came the annoying little sister and the writing was on the wall. Neither were fit to lick the boots of LG, VP, SH and BBG.

yes its fair to say I wasnt a fan! :eck: :fp:

 

[pete lashmar]

I thought the death was shocking, but what came before and after was soap at it's very worst - no police, dream sequences, terribly contrived villains it all just made me wince.

I did like April but absolutely hated her sister Michelle (and her acting) and so Michelle's reaction just really irked me.

It hindsight they shouldn't have killed her off, I agree with the producers that it was a big mistake...but then the whole of season 14 was a big mistake IMO.

 

[Bobby Southworth]

from a similar type thread and my sentiments are the same - Go Jordan! :byee:

Barbara Fan, I actually agree with a lot of your sentiments about April. The transition in her character wasn't very believable. For me, when I first viewed the Bobby and April relationship, I had not had seen anything with April, prior to season 11; so, I wasn't aware of what she was like when she first arrived in Dallas. Also, yes the character could be whiny and acted entitled at times. However, I just felt like with all of the time invested in building the April and Bobby relationship, it was a waste to have it turn out the way that it did. As Pete Lashmar pointed out, what resulted from her death was a huge letdown for the final season.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

April should never have been anything more than a stalker for Bobby, Katherine Wentworth 2.0 but less homicidal.

Bobby should have married Tracey McKay, and Tracey and April should both have been killed in Paris. Leaving Bobby free to romance Afton after Cliff neglects her in his pursuit of Michelle.

 

[Michelle Stevens]

It was a shock that April was killed in that story leave Bobby grief-stricken by another love in his life yet again. At least with Victoria Principal they gave her an opening to come back up until season two (2013) of TNT Dallas. It would have been next to impossible to write a way April came back to life from being killed in front of Bobby and then buried in Paris.

I loved the sibling relationship of April and Michelle as it seemed the most natural of the series' siblings. At least Bobby and Michelle spent most of season 14 searching for her killer.

 

[Sarah]

It was a shock that April was killed in that story leave Bobby grief-stricken by another love in his life yet again. At least with Victoria Principal they gave her an opening to come back up until season two (2013) of TNT Dallas. It would have been next to impossible to write a way April came back to life from being killed in front of Bobby and then buried in Paris.

I loved the sibling relationship of April and Michelle as it seemed the most natural of the series' siblings. At least Bobby and Michelle spent most of season 14 searching for her killer.

Victoria Principal wasn't asked to appear in TNT, at all...Certainly from what I have been told - it was never going to be an option.

I loved April. I thought her and Bobby were lovely together, especially in Paris. I was so sad she was killed in such a horrible way.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

I loved April. I thought her and Bobby were lovely together, especially in Paris. I was so sad she was killed in such a horrible way.

Glad it happened.

 

[Karin]

I was 12 or 13 the first time I watched the episode when April was killed. I watched the show with my parents and I was worried when April got kidnapped. I was literally on tenterhooks watching that. My parents weren't bothered at all, they were so sure that Bobby would be the hero and rescue her. They sure were surprised when April was killed as they hadn't seen it coming at all. mg:

I was so pissed off since April was one of my favorite characters. I loved Bobby and April together. I think I wrote in my diary that evening that "Dallas was stupid" or something to that effect. Watching it also made me not wanting to go to Paris for many years to come. I didn't visit the city until some 7 years later in 2000.

Then as for killing off April to leave Bobby free for Pam if she returned. I think that idea makes sense since the show began with Bobby and Pam so it would have come full circle if it had ended with that. But they should have made sure that VP was actually on board with coming back for the end before they did that. I think a lot of fans wanted Bobby and Pam to end up together so if the show had ended that way it would have been a satisfactory ending.
But since they killed April and Pam didn't come back it felt like they did it all for nothing.
In fact out of all the big four prime time dramas, Dallas, Knots Landing, Dynasty and Falcon Crest I think Dallas had the worst ending. It could have been a great ending if they had wrapped it up with JR Returns and Pam had returned for that one. But they didn't.

Also when the show came back it would have been better to have Bobby and April married with two kids and Christopher at the beginning. It would have given the new show a richer set up. Sheree J Wilson sure regretted asking for April to be killed off when Dallas came back. :mo:

Finally I talked to one of my teachers in junior High about Dallas and he told me that he had given up on the show when April had been killed off and then started to return (in the dream sequences) like Bobby had returned before. That proved too much for that loyal viewer and he tuned out.

 

[Miss Texas 1967]

Finally I talked to one of my teachers in junior High about Dallas and he told me that he had given up on the show when April had been killed off and then started to return (in the dream sequences) like Bobby had returned before. That proved too much for that loyal viewer and he tuned out.

This is the thing that confuses me the most. SJW wanted to be written out of the show because she was having a baby and wanted some time for that, fair enough. But she reappears midway through the season again in dream sequences. To kill April off is one thing, to have her return later on for dreamy scenes is just bizarre and sort of goes nowhere.

For the record, I like April a lot, especially on the recent rewatch I've done. I literally just watched the first 5 episodes of season 14 yesterday, so the April in Paris situation is fresh in my mind. The story wasn't bad, but I don't think I liked it. I haven't rewatched further into the season yet, but I still don't really understand why there was an entire elaborate plan involving April, Bobby, Jordan, Sheila/Hillary, and the goons she had working for her. For the purposes of getting into the rooftop event Sheila could have just as easily been Jordan Lee's plus one, couldn't she? Jordan was already in on the plan.

 

[Clubsoda]

I only liked April in her first season and had Victoria remained on the show I'd have been ok with April remaining and being a character similar to Afton or Jamie.

Replacement to Victoria Principal? No way hosay she absolutely could not pull that off. Sheree and Patrick may have been close friends but that chemistry never spilt out into their onscreen performances together which were forced and empty.

I wasnt sad to see April die as I'd have really disliked the original show ending with April and Bobby together.

 

[Karin]

This is the thing that confuses me the most. SJW wanted to be written out of the show because she was having a baby and wanted some time for that, fair enough. But she reappears midway through the season again in dream sequences. To kill April off is one thing, to have her return later on for dreamy scenes is just bizarre and sort of goes nowhere.

For the record, I like April a lot, especially on the recent rewatch I've done. I literally just watched the first 5 episodes of season 14 yesterday, so the April in Paris situation is fresh in my mind. The story wasn't bad, but I don't think I liked it. I haven't rewatched further into the season yet, but I still don't really understand why there was an entire elaborate plan involving April, Bobby, Jordan, Sheila/Hillary, and the goons she had working for her. For the purposes of getting into the rooftop event Sheila could have just as easily been Jordan Lee's plus one, couldn't she? Jordan was already in on the plan.

You raise some valid points. The Paris kidnapping plot did have some plot holes. I think Jordan Lee had retired from the oil business at that point though so maybe he wouldn't have gotten into the event.

What annoyed me the most was when he tried to save her and they were found out before they got out of the house. Why didn't they go out the same way that he came into the room?

 

[Miss Texas 1967]

You raise some valid points. The Paris kidnapping plot did have some plot holes. I think Jordan Lee had retired from the oil business at that point though so maybe he wouldn't have gotten into the event.

What annoyed me the most was when he tried to save her and they were found out before they got out of the house. Why didn't they go out the same way that he came into the room?

Part of Bobby's condition for agreeing to go along with the plan was to see April everyday and on the day of the party he insisted it would be at the party and he and April sneak out the back door before Sheila makes her scene. Sheila said they couldn't get April in and Bobby told her to have April come as Jordan's plus one, which Sheila doesn't seem to disagree with. Then April is at the party so it must have been able to be done (Jordan was dead by this point). If that was the case then the whole plot falls apart because they didn't need Bobby or April. Even in the plan it's just weird that Sheila thinks anyone in the industry is going to take notice of "April Ewing" or let her take the stage to give a speech etc. April was a nobody, especially on an international stage.

I'm thinking back on the rescue scene, if I remember it correctly Bobby didn't hesitate before making a scene and hitting the guy who came in with food when he'd actually have been better off ducking into another room or behind a couch or something and then trying to escape when April was alone again. Bobby often hit first and thought later though.

 

[Taylor Bennett Jr.]

I think Jordan Lee had retired from the oil business at that point though so maybe he wouldn't have gotten into the event.

They stretched credulity like this before when a 70 year-old retired Jock, who'd had a major heart attack only a couple years prior, somehow was convinced by the State Department to leave his beloved family for months - ditching his wife before they even got home from their second honeymoon for heaven's sake - to rough it in the jungles of South America with his old semi-retired buddy.

At least with Jock they needed an excuse to have him 'away' until they figured out how to handle the actor's death, but you'd think Jordan Lee would have been just hanging back semi-retired, enjoying life by that point.

What's next, Andy Bradley suddenly leaving his faithful wife Linda to become a bullfighter in Spain?

 

[Chris2]

I don’t know why the State Department would ask Jock to do anything. My impression from the BD Calhoun affair is that the government wasn’t terribly fond of the Ewings to begin with.

 

[Kenny Coyote]

They stretched credulity like this before when a 70 year-old retired Jock, who'd had a major heart attack only a couple years prior, somehow was convinced by the State Department to leave his beloved family for months - ditching his wife before they even got home from their second honeymoon for heaven's sake - to rough it in the jungles of South America with his old semi-retired buddy.

At least with Jock they needed an excuse to have him 'away' until they figured out how to handle the actor's death, but you'd think Jordan Lee would have been just hanging back semi-retired, enjoying life by that point.

What's next, Andy Bradley suddenly leaving his faithful wife Linda to become a bullfighter in Spain?

It's not, when you look at what's going on today, when the Democrats' front runner had a heart attack earlier this year and he's well over 70. He's 78. Very hypothetically, if Sanders were elected president, he'd be in his 80s before his first term ended. If it were TV, they'd be beyond stretching credibility to have a 78 year old man with heart problems running for the most important, most stressful job in the country.

 

[Billy Wall]

It's not, when you look at what's going on today, when the Democrats' front runner had a heart attack earlier this year and he's well over 70. He's 78. Very hypothetically, if Sanders were elected president, he'd be in his 80s before his first term ended. If it were TV, they'd be beyond stretching credibility to have a 78 year old man with heart problems running for the most important, most stressful job in the country.

I think there should be an age cap of 60 to start a presidency. Now back to Dallas. Lol

 

[Taylor Bennett Jr.]

It's not, when you look at what's going on today, when the Democrats' front runner had a heart attack earlier this year and he's well over 70. He's 78. Very hypothetically, if Sanders were elected president, he'd be in his 80s before his first term ended. If it were TV, they'd be beyond stretching credibility to have a 78 year old man with heart problems running for the most important, most stressful job in the country.

sure, but that job is the absolute culmination of an entire life's work and ambition and obsession. Jock had accomplished that with Ewing Oil and had retired. He hadn't spent years and years relentlessly campaigning to go on some vague State Department mission to help some unnamed South American country organize its oil industry, leaving his family for months when he normally would get upset if everyone in the family wasn't home for dinner at 6 every day. It's just completely at odds with how he'd been portrayed for 3 years on the show, in addition to being fairly absurd that the offer would happen in the first place.

I never made it all the way in the series to the Jordan Lee/April storyline, but the Jordan Lee of 1980 certainly didn't seem like someone who'd be traipsing around Europe wrapped up in some sort of international intrigue 10 years later. (although he *was* virile enough to think he'd impregnated Kristen!). It just seems kind of random that they would have used him for this sort of storyline.

(I'd have to have seen Andy in action at the Ewing Rodeo or at least Billy Bob's before making a judgement on how good of a bullfighter he could have been )