Dallas Scenes That Didn't Make Sense

[Kenny Coyote]

This could be a scene where you thought there was a scene that didn't make sense in the context of the storyline or a scene where something someone did seemed so out of character for their character that it didn't make sense.

In the episode where Bobby was kidnapped, the shooters start shooting at the kidnappers before Cliff has gotten completely out of the way. Bobby is safely out of the way but Cliff is only gotten a little bit away from the targets. So, Bobby turns around, and runs back towards the shooting, towards Cliff.

Why would Bobby run towards the bullets? Are we supposed to think he thought he had to tackle Cliff because he thought Cliff was too dumb to even have the common sense to duck down to the ground? Or was he planning on using his body to shield Cliff so that he would save Cliff's life even if Bobby died in the process?

I fully understand Bobby pushing Pam out of the way of the car when she was about to be hit. Bobby loved Pam so much that he would risk dying to save her.

But to risk dying to save Cliff, who hated the Ewings? Cliff had been trying to wreck Bobby's marriage by not saving her when she was thought to be the "Spy In The House." Julie Gray was the spy, Cliff knew it and could have said so to save Pam, but he let Pam take the blame hoping it would ruin Bobby and Pam's marriage.

 

[James from London]

But to risk dying to save Cliff, who hated the Ewings? Cliff had been trying to wreck Bobby's marriage by not saving her when she was thought to be the "Spy In The House." Julie Gray was the spy, Cliff knew it and could have said so to save Pam, but he let Pam take the blame hoping it would ruin Bobby and Pam's marriage.

Yeah, but Bobby's not mentally flipping through synopses of past episodes, recalling what Cliff did to whom and when, he's acting instinctively, in the moment.

 

[Billy Wall]

And Bobby was really thinking about all of that when tackling Cliff who was very instrumental in saving his life from those kidnappers?

JR being so hung up on Lesley Stewart to let her sabotage a deal to get back good with the cartel. Come to think about it, that was probably the worse storyline of the early seasons.

JR having a Kumbaya moment in that mental institution. But that really wasn’t JR Ewing at that time.

 

[Alexis]

Yeah, but Bobby's not mentally flipping through synopses of past episodes, recalling what Cliff did to whom and when, he's acting instinctively, in the moment.

How dare Bobby try and save his wife's brother's life. Idiot.

 

[Willie Oleson]

I had a weird experience after watching the Dallas season 3 (DVD) premiere.
When Willie Joe Garr appeared on screen I assumed he was Dallas' third recast because he looked so different, although I didn't remember exactly what the "previous" Willie Joe Garr looked like. I just knew - instantly instinctively - that that wasn't him.
And of course I was going to mention it in my oh-so-leisury rewatch review but I decided to check it, just to be on the safe side. But there was only one name: John Ashton.

The recast that never happened, it was my Dallasense that never made scene. Another piece of info that may or may not be relevant: a few hours before I watched the season 3 premiere episode I had been looking for the Twin Peaks series 3 DVD, and also the movie Fire Walk With Me.

 

[Kenny Coyote]

How dare Bobby try and save his wife's brother's life. Idiot.

How could he save Cliff's life? Was he going to use his body as a shield and take a bullet for Cliff, since dying wouldn't be as bad as having to live in a world without Cliff?

What could he do for Cliff that Cliff couldn't do himself? All either can do is get down on the ground. I can't imagine Bobby thought Cliff was so dumb that he wouldn't know that he should get down.

"Idiot" - The thing that made him an idiot is that was worst case scenario is that Cliff gets shot and because Bobby re-enters the scene he gets shot too and they both die.
******************

Why did they make such a big deal about Jack Ewing having such a mysterious past? He was a con man so it's understandable that every time he made someone mad at him, he moved. I understand that but not taking it to such an extreme as every time Jack gets upset, he talks about leaving Dallas. To me it seemed like the other reason he moved is because every time anything went wrong for him, he blamed the town instead of himself. Jenna dumped him and of course, he blames the town and leaves. Jamie asks him where he's going so she can contact him in case of emergency. Jack relies that he doesn't know where he's going.

THAT is the guy who was supposedly there to be a "replacement" for Bobby since Patrick Duffy was leaving. I don't see the similarity. Bobby wasn't a con man. Bobby worked for a living. Bobby wouldn't be so irresponsible that every time something went wrong in his life he'd blame the town, decide to leave and tell his family that he couldn't tell them how to contact him because he didn't even know where he was moving.

One day Jack is talking to Ray about going back and Jack says "they say you can never go back." Who are they? I've moved back to places I used to live several times with no problem. Anyway, Ray asks Jack where he was living before Dallas and Jack very melodramatically says: "Nowhere." What cringeworthy dialogue!

 

[CeeCee72]

I don't think that Bobby was thinking at all during that scene. He heard gunshots and his first instinct was to be a hero. That was always his first instinct.

I'll tell you the scene(s) with Bobby that never made sense to me - the ones where he dealt with Katherine after Pam's accident.

1. She comes to the hospital to see Pam and he just lets her walk away? Why? He knows how dangerous she is - she shot him and tried to poison him. He can't be so stupid as to think she wouldn't try to off Pam at her first opportunity.

And

2. After the hospital tells him Pam is missing and asks him if they should call the police he says "No, not until I know more." I mean, seriously? He thought Kathrine had Pam and he STILL doesn't want to involve the police. Why? If he was right, all he was doing is giving that crazy woman a huge headstart.

 

[Willie Oleson]

a scene that didn't make sense in the context of the storyline

Aren't you overlooking the fact that Cliff Barnes was (rather unwillingly, I suspect) involved in the Ewing kidnap drama?
This was not about the old feud, this was an extreme situation that endangered both of them. It creates a unique (albeit short) bond between people.

People hate and disagree, and yet in such circumstances there's something that connects us with our purest, inner-human. Many people have risked their lives to save total strangers.
Furthermore, Bobby's temper suggests that he's an impulsive person, and this was a neat opportunity to show the good side of that bad temper.

 

[CeeCee72]

Furthermore, Bobby's temper suggests that he's an impulsive person, and this was a neat opportunity to show the good side of that bad temper.

Agree. For the good or the bad, Bobby was impulsive and had very little control over his emotions. Running back towards those gunshots doesn't seem to be out of his character at all to me.

 

[Kenny Coyote]

Aren't you overlooking the fact that Cliff Barnes was (rather unwillingly, I suspect) involved in the Ewing kidnap drama?
This was not about the old feud, this was an extreme situation that endangered both of them. It creates a unique (albeit short) bond between people.

People hate and disagree, and yet in such circumstances there's something that connects us with our purest, inner-human. Many people have risked their lives to save total strangers.
Furthermore, Bobby's temper suggests that he's an impulsive person, and this was a neat opportunity to show the good side of that bad temper.

OK, suppose Bobby wanted to save Cliff's life. Just explain this: How could he save Cliff's life? What could he do for Cliff that Cliff couldn't do himself? All either can do is get down on the ground. I can't imagine Bobby thought Cliff was so dumb that he had to tackle Cliff because he would even expect Cliff to have the common sense to know that he should get down.

 

[CeeCee72]

OK, suppose Bobby wanted to save Cliff's life. Just explain this: How could he save Cliff's life? What could he do for Cliff that Cliff couldn't do himself? All either can do is get down on the ground. I can't imagine Bobby thought Cliff was so dumb that he had to tackle Cliff because he would even expect Cliff to have the common sense to know that he should get down.

You keep assuming that Bobby was THINKING about the situation rationally. It all happened within a few seconds time. He didn't have time to analyze the situation. He simply reacted with instinct.

 

[Kenny Coyote]

Agree. For the good or the bad, Bobby was impulsive and had very little control over his emotions. Running back towards those gunshots doesn't seem to be out of his character at all to me.

Bobby was impulsive but not an idiot. Was he planning on outrunning the bullets so that he could tackle Cliff before the bullets reached him? Did he think Cliff lacked even the self=preservation instinct to get down and therefore needed to be tackled?

The only thing running back into the bullets was likely to do is if it so happened the bullets were being shot in that direction, then instead of only Cliff possibly being shot, Bobby could possibly be shot too. How does that improve things?

Acting solely on instinct would cause someone to ran away from gunfire - not towards it. it's part of the self-preservation instinct which is what has kept the human race from extinction so far.

 

[Alexis]

How could he save Cliff's life? Was he going to use his body as a shield and take a bullet for Cliff, since dying wouldn't be as bad as having to live in a world without Cliff?

What could he do for Cliff that Cliff couldn't do himself? All either can do is get down on the ground. I can't imagine Bobby thought Cliff was so dumb that he wouldn't know that he should get down.

"Idiot" - The thing that made him an idiot is that was worst case scenario is that Cliff gets shot and because Bobby re-enters the scene he gets shot too and they both die.
******************

I mean its a soap. It's obviously a scene to add tension and peril. An "Oh I hope they don't die" moment. If ya cant see that then I don't know...

 

[Kenny Coyote]

You keep assuming that Bobby was THINKING about the situation rationally. It all happened within a few seconds time. He didn't have time to analyze the situation. He simply reacted with instinct.

Bobby had very little time to think then or when he pushed Pam out of the way of Katherine's car. In the latter, I imagine he was thinking he loved Pam so mcuh he would rather trade his life for hers than live in a world without the woman he loved. In the former situation, I doubt he was thinking, he'd rather die, than live in a world without Cliff. Both situations happened as suddenly.

 

[Alexis]

Bobby had very little time to think then or when he pushed Pam out of the way of Katherine's car. In the latter, I imagine he was thinking he loved Pam so mcuh he would rather trade his life for hers than live in a world without the woman he loved. In the former situation, I doubt he was thinking, he'd rather die, than live in a world without Cliff. Both situations happened as suddenly.

It couldn't just be that his natural instinct is to protect those in danger? Which seems very in tune with the Bobby Ewing I recall. You are assuming a lot, projecting your thoughts onto it.

 

[Kenny Coyote]

It couldn't just be that his natural instinct is to protect those in danger? Which seems very in tune with the Bobby Ewing I recall. You are assuming a lot, projecting your thoughts onto it.

But how would he protect Cliff? Bobby wasn't bulletproof anymore than Cliff was. There was nothing Bobby could do for Cliff by tackling him that Cliff couldn't do by just getting down in the ground. That leads me back to my original thought which is: Did he tackle Cliff because he didn't think Cliff even had the common sense to get down on the ground during gunfire?

 

[Willie Oleson]

Did he think Cliff lacked even the self=preservation instinct to get down and therefore needed to be tackled?

He seemed very suprised and confused, and his instinct was to see where the bullets came from.

It's possible that Bobby immediately understood the situation, and prevented Cliff from running towards the bullets coming from Ray and JR.

 

[Alexis]

But how would he protect Cliff? Bobby wasn't bulletproof anymore than Cliff was. There was nothing Bobby could do for Cliff by tackling him that Cliff couldn't do by just getting down in the ground. That leads me back to my original thought which is: Did he tackle Cliff because he didn't think Cliff even had the common sense to get down on the ground during gunfire?

You want us to say Cliff was stupid and endangered his and Bobby's life? For whatever reason Cliff wasn't on the ground. He could have been in shock, Bobby tried to get him out of the way. It was a natural human response for Bobby. They were being shot at, Bobby isn't going to think, oh well he hates the Ewings he can just die.

 

[Alexis]

Bobby was impulsive but not an idiot. Was he planning on outrunning the bullets so that he could tackle Cliff before the bullets reached him? Did he think Cliff lacked even the self=preservation instinct to get down and therefore needed to be tackled?

The only thing running back into the bullets was likely to do is if it so happened the bullets were being shot in that direction, then instead of only Cliff possibly being shot, Bobby could possibly be shot too. How does that improve things?

Acting solely on instinct would cause someone to ran away from gunfire - not towards it. it's part of the self-preservation instinct which is what has kept the human race from extinction so far.

This is a load of crap. There are plenty of times when people have put themselves in danger in order to save the life of someone else. Even the life of a complete stranger.

 

[Kenny Coyote]

You want us to say Cliff was stupid and endangered his and Bobby's life? For whatever reason Cliff wasn't on the ground. He could have been in shock, Bobby tried to get him out of the way. It was a natural human response for Bobby. They were being shot at, Bobby isn't going to think, oh well he hates the Ewings he can just die.

I'd like someone to say what the upside is to Bobby running towards someone he thinks is being shot at. Then maybe Bobby and Cliff get shot. That's the downside. Where is the upside?