Seaviewer
Telly Talk Warrior
I think you may have answered your own question here. Pam was the more important character. In fact, it was had been intended that Bobby die in the miniseries so they were belatedly carrying out the original plan.
Willie Oleson
Telly Talk Schemer
Then why did she even bother with the plastic surgery?
It's really funny how they struggled with Pam's departure. On the one hand it had to be clear and visible enough to the audience (like Bobby's "death") but on the other hand (unless she had died in/because of the accident, something they obviously didn't want to do because of the previous Bobby-debacle) her deformation as the reason to not return to Southfork wasn't strong enough.
Soap audiences don't emotionally connect with it because it's so very easy to fix physical damage in soap reality - which they did! - so they had to give her a slow death on top of that.
And that could also be fixed, just in case.
I wonder if they could have written the fatal disease in VP's last season, Laura Avery-style, and even if she'd miraculously recovered she still wouldn't go back to SF because it would make her look like weak and selfish, someone who's only there for the "good times".
If anything, it would make her look heroic for not disrupting Bobby and Christopher's lives again.
But at least they'd still have the option to find VP's Pam, should the writers decide to do so (and VP agree to that).
They could still do the crash, except that Pam's car was stolen or hijacked by some punk, which turns out to be a blessing in disguise for Pam because now Bobby would believe that she couldn't return to SF, even if she was going to change her mind about the arrangements regarding her fatal disease.
So, where would VP's Pam go? Stay with Katherine? Hide in the SF attic so she could watch Christopher grow up? The possibilities are endless.
I think the totally unnecessary recast was the biggest flaw in this storyline.
Haha, I had never thought of it that way. You're right, Steven II was also a recast-with-a-reason.
TJames03
Banned
What was this Rambo hangup of the 80’s? The man was a dreadful actor!!!!!!
Seaviewer
Telly Talk Warrior
Good question. I'd have to assume that the terminal diagnosis came after the plastic surgery had already been performed - or else she was vain enough to want to - what's the saying? - leave a good-looking corpse.
MenaceTheDennis
Telly Talk Member
I’ve said it before. They wanted to get a good cliffhanger out of it. So this just erases Pam just divorcing Bobby and leaving Dallas. Which is clean and leaves room for a Principal return or cameo. More bang for the buck (the crash) so to speak when the show was declining in ratings. The show became so poorly written and ill conceived at this point, I’m not surprised they would do something so far fetched. i can imagine maybe Pam wanting to heal on her own, but they reached a point when Bobby and Cliff just gave up on her, which is ridiculous. Cliff shouldve known something was up when she told him she was marrying her doctor. If Bobby would’ve went after her in the final season, it would’ve given the show a boost after April’s death. The fact is Principal wouldn’t have been needed for the last shot of the series. Just a stand in with long red hair, shot from Patricks pov, and the look of shock on Bobby’s face after he tracks her down, as they embrace. End of series.
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Jabari Lamar
Telly Talk Fan
As I've said before, in some of the other bajillion threads here on this perennial topic, it's easy to look back in hindsight and say "they should've just done this or that", but I do sympathize with the bind that the show's producers felt they were in at the time. After the Patrick Duffy and Barbara Bel Geddes situations, they didn't want to kill her or recast her. That being said I do think they could have simply written her off the show like they later did Sue Ellen. Pam finally has enough of the Ewings and all the fighting and decides to leave Bobby for good, moving away either by herself or with some other suiter, Mark Grayson perhaps, yet deciding to let Christopher remain with Bobby at Southfork. And then you just periodically write Christopher off the show for a few episodes each season saying he's off visiting his mother. And that's that.
But I also want to add that I could not disagree more with the notion that Pam was the most important character on the show, or even more important than Bobby. I realize that show was originally built on the "Romeo and Juliet" romance of Bobby and Pam, but I think as it progressed and J.R. became the real star(and most important character) of the show, the underlying premise was the "Cain vs. Abel" sibling rivalry between J.R. and Bobby.
That was the universal hook that made Dallas so relatable to millions. Pretty much anyone with a sibling can relate to that basic conflict. No matter how close you and your siblings are, there were times when you hated their guts. J.R. vs Pam didn't have the same feel to it, because ultimately their connection was tenuous. They could, as they did in the end of season 9, just cut ties and go their own ways, but J.R. and Bobby would always be brothers no matter what. And no matter how much they fought, deep down they still loved each other. That's why they needed to bring Patrick Duffy back, and why I'm perfectly fine with the dream resolution (although maybe it would have been a little better if it had been Bobby's dream while in as coma, rather than Pam's, as some folks have suggested here before), because it was the simplest way to get the classic status quo back. And the following season was one the show's best ever, so it worked.
That's my opinion, and I'm not gonna argue with anyone who disagrees.
But I also want to add that I could not disagree more with the notion that Pam was the most important character on the show, or even more important than Bobby. I realize that show was originally built on the "Romeo and Juliet" romance of Bobby and Pam, but I think as it progressed and J.R. became the real star(and most important character) of the show, the underlying premise was the "Cain vs. Abel" sibling rivalry between J.R. and Bobby.
That was the universal hook that made Dallas so relatable to millions. Pretty much anyone with a sibling can relate to that basic conflict. No matter how close you and your siblings are, there were times when you hated their guts. J.R. vs Pam didn't have the same feel to it, because ultimately their connection was tenuous. They could, as they did in the end of season 9, just cut ties and go their own ways, but J.R. and Bobby would always be brothers no matter what. And no matter how much they fought, deep down they still loved each other. That's why they needed to bring Patrick Duffy back, and why I'm perfectly fine with the dream resolution (although maybe it would have been a little better if it had been Bobby's dream while in as coma, rather than Pam's, as some folks have suggested here before), because it was the simplest way to get the classic status quo back. And the following season was one the show's best ever, so it worked.
That's my opinion, and I'm not gonna argue with anyone who disagrees.
MenaceTheDennis
Telly Talk Member
I think most would agree season 9 post dream season wasnt the best. The show lost much credibility bring Duffy back in such a ridiculous way. The writing was deteriorating in this season in a very noticeable way also. The BD storyline was decent enough, but they shouldve let it build to season end. Is Jock dead or not? Mixed feelings, but it was very disrespectful to Jim Davis. Sue Ellen and the lingerie company? Pretty dumb, and the fact this embarrassed JR, considering the way he treated women, just didn’t work. Jenna and the pregnancy? Dumb again and the character should’ve been written out. Even Pam and Bobby just didnt have the same spark, considering how much nonsense they had to pull to get them back together. Bringing Duffy back just didn’t have the impact under the its all a dream cloud. Without a lot of the actors who quit or shown the door, and without the good writing of the first few seasons, I just didn’t care about the JR and Bobby dynamic anymore.
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Jabari Lamar
Telly Talk Fan
Like I said, I'm not gonna argue about it. You're all entitled to your wrong opinions. 
KayLloyd
Telly Talk Addict
I also believe that Victoria would likely have been willing to play Pam one last time in a final storyline in 1991 if they hadn't let their anger over her departure cloud their business judgement, and just honored her reasonable request for closure for Pam and Bobby.
KayLloyd
Telly Talk Addict
Victoria has always publicly expressed gratitude for the opportunity that Dallas gave her, and recognized the talent of her Dallas co-stars. Watch the speech that she gave at the People's Choice Awards in 1987, where she thanked fans for the privelage of being invited into their homes for 9 years, and said her public goodbye as Pam. And she stopped Cynthia Cindre from stringing fans along during the TNT Dallas.
Yes, Dallas limped along without her, but it was never the same without the Bobby and Pam dynamic that was the whole premise of the show
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As great as Larry Hagman was, the show wasn’t the same without the Romeo/Juliet story of Bobby and Pam. You could even do the show without Romeo, because you would still have the dynamic of Juliet vs Romeo’s family (of course, the show did not execute well on this during the dream season). But without Juliet, it just became another show about a rich family, in search of a central conflict.
stevew
Telly Talk Star
She marries Mark and he gets appointed U.S. Senator (probably JR’s doing to get rid of them, or any number of appointments, ambassador to Mexico, whatever). She takes Christopher with her of course. She’s not really leaving her family. All that’s left in Dallas is Cliff. She’s certainly well off enough to fly back and forth when she wants and Christopher can be on Dallas any time they want him. Easy fix. I don’t believe they could replace here and I think killing her or limbo as they choose are terrible ideas. So she moves away. People do it all the time.
Good point. They played up the Cain and Abel but until it became the JR and Bobby show.
You nailed it. And no reason for it. A million ideas for how to handle it. 1) kill her off (which I think was too harsh for a major character) or send her away - with her son. Problem is with her departure they really needed a new direction, as has been bright up here. I think they tried with a Cain and Abel story but it didn't work out. Maybe return to Shakespeare: MacBath? Hamlet? I also think the time was right to advance JR. He’d run out the villain angle in my opinion. It was time he transitioned to family patriarch.
TJames03
Banned
I disagree. Pam’s mental state was crumbling when she found out that Jenna was pregnant. She already had issues and was terrified that Bobby would go back to her and Jenna’s pregnancy was really affecting her. Being burned, etc., was the final straw. I don’t think that Pam was in her right mind when Cliff found her.
TJames03
Banned
Bobby chose JR over Pam every time. That should also have fueled her forever leaving.