Not enough children

[the-lost-son]

Every prime time soap had lots of lost babies (through miscarriages mostly) , approx. once a year.

In Dallas I can think of:
- Pam (twice)
- SueEllen
- Donna
- Lucy

Apart from Pam, these events tended to be forgotten at the end of the month mostly.

I didn't like these constant miscarriages for several reasons:
1. It was repetitive and somehow lazy writing.
2. It was unrealistic. Of course, the other soaps did that too. But season 9 (DVD10) when Donna and Jenna had their children, it felt like a breath of fresh air.
3.. Storywise, children could have been used as links between characters. For example, Lucy having a child with Mitch and therefor stronger links to Afton (who was Cliff's sidekick in the end) Cliff and Jamie could have had a child to tie Cliff more to the Ewing family.
And most of all, with more Bobby/JR offspring Southfork would have been filled with Ewings.

Don't get me wrong - I wasn't a fan of turning John Ross and Christopher into full characters in the last seasons. Just have more children there as links between certain characters. This would have given more the feeling of a saga (instead of the only child-single parent structure we got in the end).

Was there a reason for all these miscarriages? Was production maybe more demanding with toddlers around?

 

[Billy Wall]

One reason might be is that they have to hire someone to play a nanny because we all know that none of them ever raises their own kids. Lol

 

[Barbara Fan]

Im quite happy with the number of children in Dallas

John Ross, Chrstopher and Charlie were quite enough for me! and i loved little Omri and Joshua in their roles

AS Terry Wogan said to Victoria P - nobody likes child actors

 

[Rove]

Pregnancies are the bread and butter of Soaps and can propel stories forward and add to the drama. Sue Ellen's pregnancy was the turning point for Dallas; changing it from stand-a-lone episodes to the serial it became. For Pam it was the opposite. Her fears in having a child were well founded. I do wish the writers would have allowed Donna to keep her down syndrome baby.

I would have thought allowing Donna to keep her baby would have benefited the series as a whole. Would there have been some difficulties in filming? Yes. But this could have so easily be overcome back in the safe environment of Los Angeles. It would have been interesting to watch how the other characters interacted with Ray and Donna's baby.

As Dallas continued I liked how Miss Ellie had little conversations with John Ross and Christopher. It's that multi-generational story telling which I find so enjoyable...

....plus Southfork needed more Ewing's, not less.

 

[Michelle Stevens]

It would have been nice if John Ross had a sibling his own age. Obviously Christopher filled that void to an effect but I felt it strange that after all the years JR and Sue Ellen were married they only had one child.

One reason might be is that they have to hire someone to play a nanny because we all know that none of them ever raises their own kids. Lol

That could have been a spin-off series.

 

[Justine]

Sue Ellen's miscarriage always feels like a missed opportunity for her and J.R. to have had a daughter but, if that had been the case, we probably wouldn't have been blessed with one of Linda's best performances in the dream season.

I like what I remember of Lucy's abortion storyline - it felt quite fitting for the character. Maybe the writers would have had more to explore with the character in later seasons if she had realised she was pregnant with Mickey's child after he died - that certainly would have made his death all the more traumatic.

I do think the way the series panned out worked quite realistically though. Donna was an ambitious woman, so it fit that she had a later-in-life pregnancy. Pam obviously had her issues, Sue Ellen too - the only 'mom' character I think of in Dallas aside from Miss Ellie is Jenna (and she didn't hold much interest for me, so Charlie and Lucas were more than enough children in that respect).

Then, I suppose if the writers hadn't spun Katherine into crazyville maybe she could have had a Ewing baby, from J.R. or Bobby take your pick.

 

[DallasFanForever]

I honestly think that they had enough children on the show. Any more could’ve been overkill, especially when I think about those later seasons. More kids could’ve meant less screen time for the adults so I think that John Ross and Christopher were enough.

 

[stevew]

While I see the point of enough children as is, I like JR with a forgotten child, Calley’s baby, and I could see him with a hidden family, like H.L. Hunt. As for Bobby, seems like he ended up with one. And off screen Ray had 1 with one woman and who knows his baby with another (adopted Charlie, assumed Lucas, had 1-3 more). Kinda realistic there. Then Gary - one child and then 20+ years later twins, kind of unrealistic set up to me but you never know I guess.

 

[Jimmy Todd]

The thing about children on shows like this is that the pregnancy is usually where all the interesting, soapy issues arise. Once the baby is born they're usually just there and the show never seems to know what to do with them. Then they try and give them screentime or storylines and the result is usually cloying, boring or both.
The only child character I recall not finding annoying was Olivia over on Knots Landing, and as she aged they actually gave her some good story arcs.

 

[the-lost-son]

The thing about children on shows like this is that the pregnancy is usually where all the interesting, soapy issues arise. Once the baby is born they're usually just there and the show never seems to know what to do with them. Then they try and give them screentime or storylines and the result is usually cloying, boring or both.
The only child character I recall not finding annoying was Olivia over on Knots Landing, and as she aged they actually gave her some good story arcs.

Agreed. I didn't like Christopher and John Ross portrayed as equal characters at all. Nobody likes to watch 10 year olds fighting over a card game (a scene I remember).

I would reduce all children to extras like Raoul or Theresa. Just have them there so there are more interactions between more characters.

 

[lbf522]

I would have liked for JR and Sue Ellen to have had a daughter after John Ross I agree with Christopher and John Ross fighting over a card game. That was silly.

 

[tommie]

I mean, the obvious issues with having kids on shows is that you need kid actors (who can only work for limited hours) and then deal with usually crazy stage moms on top of that. I'd also assume they weren't as worried with continuing on the legacy as their daytime soaps counterparts usually are (plus on daytime you usually rapid age the kid after a few years).

 

[Taylor Bennett Jr.]

I generally agree that less is more when it comes to the child actors having significant scenes with dialogue, etc, but I strongly feel they should have beefed up the role of young Eric Farlow, who stole scenes time and again as toddler Christopher with his precocious dynamic range and marvelously deft line delivery.

Perhaps they could have done a reverse Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen and had him play triplets, each with a distinct personality. At the very least, having Christopher in the opening credits would have highlighted his versatility and undeniable screen magnetism.

(ok, maybe not, but I did find him completely adorable and legitimately enjoy the “Pam launches into lengthy exposition for the audience and her dumbfounded infant son” scenes)

 

[Seaviewer]

The only child character I recall not finding annoying was Olivia over on Knots Landing, and as she aged they actually gave her some good story arcs.

I think Knots Landing was the only one that started with children old enough to gradually age into characters in their own right within a reasonable amount of time.
As @Rove says, it's the pregnancies that are interesting. The trouble with babies is that, unless you age them overnight, once they're born there's not much you can do with them storywise.

 

[GillesDenver]

It's quite ironical that several months ago some people (I don't remember who) complained in the Dynasty forums that the children (Fallon's son and daughter, Steven's son, etc) were not seen/used enough.
And now in the Dallas forum several persons complain about the fact the children were too much present.

 

[Taylor Bennett Jr.]

I think Knots Landing was the only one that started with children old enough to gradually age into characters in their own right within a reasonable amount of time.
As @Rove says, it's the pregnancies that are interesting. The trouble with babies is that, unless you age them overnight, once they're born there's not much you can do with them storywise.

well, there was Charlie on Dallas, but for some reason the powers that be felt the viewers would want to be subjected to "chemistry-less couple Ray and Jenna play overbearingly sanctimonious parents to whiny teenager" ad nauseam

 

[Billy Wall]

I mean, the obvious issues with having kids on shows is that you need kid actors (who can only work for limited hours) and then deal with usually crazy stage moms on top of that. I'd also assume they weren't as worried with continuing on the legacy as their daytime soaps counterparts usually are (plus on daytime you usually rapid age the kid after a few years).

The Young and the Restless was good for this. Kids would always go to summer camp and come back as young adults. Lol

 

[DallasFanForever]

The Young and the Restless was good for this. Kids would always go to summer camp and come back as young adults. Lol

I never could understand this as a kid. I’d watch the day time soaps with my grandparents and I’d see when these kids were born on these shows and the next thing I know they’re older than me. I couldn’t figure out how that was even possible.

 

[Rove]

And now in the Dallas forum several persons complain about the fact the children were too much present.

I thought the writers on Dallas had a better understanding how to use John Ross and Christopher. Their screen presence felt natural. Meanwhile over on Dienasty the writers used pregnancies to feed the adult stories. If the foetus was fortunate enough to take its first breath the writers didn't know what to do with it after.

 

[GillesDenver]

I thought the writers on Dallas had a better understanding how to use John Ross and Christopher. Their screen presence felt natural. Meanwhile over on Dienasty the writers used pregnancies to feed the adult stories. If the foetus was fortunate enough to take its first breath the writers didn't know what to do with it after.

Well I think the kids were used a lot in seasons 7 and 9.