Sasha Mitchell

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

Dallas was a sinking ship at that time and I fully understand the producer's decision to add new, younger faces.
The writing was very bad at that time.

I was annoyed by the character of James from the very beginning, I couldn't find anything that did not irritate me.
It's hard to compare actors, but if you play the son of THE iconic TV character of the 80s, JR Ewing, these are big shoes to fill.

Josh Henderson managed that (for me), Sasha Mitchell didn't.

It was devastating when JR was "outsmarted" by James who locked him into the sanatorium. What a slap in the face of the loyal fan base.

I watched Sasha Mitchell in Dallas and step by step. I did not take on this goofy surfer approach in his acting.

Every Dallas TNT return of an old character was thrilling for me, but I'd never wasted a thought about him.

Maybe I'm too harsh in my judgment, blaming these bad final seasons on him (and Michelle) but that's the way I feel.

The problem with the final years of Dallas was that Leonard Katzman stayed too long.

He'd been Executive Producer too long and the series felt stale.

Dallas really needed a new Executive Producer and showrunner to steer it into the 1990's.

It didn't get one and so the series ended in 1991 with Conundrum, one of the worst episodes of the entire series run!

 

[the-lost-son]

The problem with the final years of Dallas was that Leonard Katzman stayed too long.

He'd been Executive Producer too long and the series felt stale.

Dallas really needed a new Executive Producer and showrunner to steer it into the 1990's.

It didn't get one and so the series ended in 1991 with Conundrum, one of the worst episodes of the entire series run!

Despite some questionable decisions I think there was a great variety of reasons leading to its end.

Due to budget cuts, cast departures the structure of Dallas was changed and did not work anymore.

Age was one important aspect for me (Here's the thread I started:

An aging cast

This thread is not meant to be offensive. Dallas' cast aged really well, but nonetheless during such a long run age is a factor which has its influence if certain storylines work or don't. Lenny Katzman said in the early 90s that the show was produced with the same care like a decade before...

www.tellytalk.net

There was a time in the series where JR had three children.
A thirty something James
a teenaged John Ross
a newborn with Cally

What a mess.

The scenes when James was hanging around with 12 year old John Ross trying to make friends were cringe-worthy for me.

Additionally all these scenes with James and Cally emphasized the age gap between Cally&JR very much. It did not benefit JR and made him look weak when he was constantly outsmarted.

The problem was in the structure.
Except JR&Bobby the family was gone, the Ewing Oil we knew was gone. What's the point fighting with Ewing Oil gone and Southfork empty?

You can't replace most of the old casts with new faces and keep going.
At one time you just have to let go, which I did years before.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

Despite some questionable decisions I think there was a great variety of reasons leading to its end.

Dur to budget cuts, cast departures the structure of Dallas was changed and did not work anymore.

Age was one important aspect for me in this thread I started:

An aging cast

This thread is not meant to be offensive. Dallas' cast aged really well, but nonetheless during such a long run age is a factor which has its influence if certain storylines work or don't. Lenny Katzman said in the early 90s that the show was produced with the same care like a decade before...

www.tellytalk.net

There was a time in the series where JR had three children.
A thirty something James
a teenaged John Ross
a newborn with Cally

What a mess.

There scenes when James was hanging around with 12 year old John Ross trying to make friends which were cringe-worthy for me.

Additionally all these scenes with James and Cally emphasized the age gap between Cally&JR very much. It dud not benefit JR.

The problem was in the structure.
Except JR&Bobby the family was gone, the Ewing Oil we knew was gone.

You can't replace most of the old casts with new faces and keep going.
At one time you just have to let go, which I did years before.

With hindsight the show's final season was painful viewing.

Just why did they only offer Barbara Bel Geddes and Howard Keel only four episodes?

That last series was truly the Bobby and JR show and not in a good way because Dallas was so much more than that.

 

[the-lost-son]

Just why did they only offer Barbara Bel Geddes and Howard Keel only four episodes?

For the same reason they did not shoot on location anymore. Budget costs.

I'm pretty sure, today Dallas would have been canceled 2-3 years earlier. I don't blame PD or LH for staying around till the very end. They were paid very little in the first two years.

Dynasty and Falcon Crest had to suffer the same development, quite comparable to Dallas with no more location shoots and the original cast reduced to +/- 2 characters.

All these shows were allowed to stay on air because the producers simply did not know what to replace it with.

The late 80s/early 90s were a dreadful time in TV business. Things started to improve after twin peaks.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

For the same reason they did not shoot on location anymore. Budget costs.

I'm pretty sure, today Dallas would have been canceled 2-3 years earlier. I don't blame PD or LH for staying around till the very end. They were paid very little in the first two years.

Dynasty and Falcon Crest had to suffer the same development, quite comparable to Dallas with no more location shoots and the original cast reduced to +/- 2 characters.

All these shows were allowed to stay on air because the producers simply did not know what to replace it with.

The late 80s/early 90s were a dreadful time in TV business. Things started to improve after twin peaks.

But to allow Dallas to stagnate & die was not good.

Perhaps they thought that after thirteen seasons it was time to call a halt on the lives of the Ewing's!

Such a shame that Lorimar didn't think to allocate a new Executive Producer to keep Dallas going, rather than relying on Leonard Katzman!

 

[CeeCee72]

I'll be the first to admit that by the time James came along my love for Dallas had already turned into annoyance. The destroyed three core characters by the way they wrote them out (SE, Pam, and Donna) and JR was by then on a downhill slide.

Bringing in a lost love of JR's with a grown child could have actually saved the show, if it had been done right. I stead we got the unbelievably sappy JR fawning all over Vanessa and the whole crock of poo "love of his life" shoved down our throats.

I didn't much care for Sasha's acting. And yes, I found his voice annoying. But honestly, the material was so bad not sure any other actor could have done better.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

I'll be the first to admit that by the time James came along my love for Dallas had already turned into annoyance. The destroyed three core characters by the way they wrote them out (SE, Pam, and Donna) and JR was by then on a downhill slide.

Bringing in a lost love of JR's with a grown child could have actually saved the show, if it had been done right. I stead we got the unbelievably sappy JR fawning all over Vanessa and the whole crock of poo "love of his life" shoved down our throats.

I didn't much care for Sasha's acting. And yes, I found his voice annoying. But honestly, the material was so bad not sure any other actor could have done better.

I think the show was living on borrowed time by the time it got to season thirteen and the final season.

Lorimar had every opportunity to change the production team, but probably didn't think that was warranted with Leonard Katzman in charge.

Perhaps Dallas might have gone on if a new Executive Producer had injected new creative life into it.

 

[Rove]

She would have had no screen time with Larry Hagman and that would really make it harder to except the character

That's a great observation. It would have been interesting to see how the writers of TNT Dallas were going to allow this character to develop in Season 4. The weird thing was watching the reaction of John Ross in that final episode. I think it was foolish for the writers to give John Ross the idea this long lost daughter was a good thing. It's not the reaction I would have. This could have bitten him on the arse if she decided to contest JR's Will. I also imagine the relationship between Sue Ellen and this daughter would have been contemptuous but again, knowing how delicious the writing was on TNT Dallas they might have had Sue Ellen and this daughter become besties. I would have rolled my eyes at that one. The introduction of some long long daughter was just another useless exercise in plot driven madness from the house of Cidre.

 

[darkshadows38]

i still think they need 2 hr tv movie to end that one and not leave it open for more to come either

 

[MarkDallasAddict]

I think that they got every thing they did with James wrong. The casting, the behaviour towards JR, not giving him a relationship with Miss Ellie, and sidelining John Ross. It was all wrong. His backstory was also a mess, he was meant to have had a privileged background and gone to a decent school, but his language and expression and his manner did not fit in with that. I like the actor very much, but the introduction of James was a bad idea that was poorly executed.

 

[Sarah]

What is the obsession with JR having a daughter? Why JR? Why not Bobby or Ray?

 

[Michelle Stevens]

That's a great observation. It would have been interesting to see how the writers of TNT Dallas were going to allow this character to develop in Season 4. The weird thing was watching the reaction of John Ross in that final episode. I think it was foolish for the writers to give John Ross the idea this long lost daughter was a good thing. It's not the reaction I would have. This could have bitten him on the arse if she decided to contest JR's Will. I also imagine the relationship between Sue Ellen and this daughter would have been contemptuous but again, knowing how delicious the writing was on TNT Dallas they might have had Sue Ellen and this daughter become besties. I would have rolled my eyes at that one. The introduction of some long long daughter was just another useless exercise in plot driven madness from the house of Cidre.

I'd be interested in knowing how Cidre planned to explain a long lost daughter of JR Ewing. With no screen time between him and this daughter it would be next to impossible to cement this bond that John Ross would have to challenge in any way. With James Beaumont there was a believable connection. I don't understand why the child of Cally and JR was not said to be a daughter than a son. At least we had the frame of JR looking at Cally holding his infant child from afar in the second to last episodes of the original series. Most casual fans would have forgotten this but it was canon and easily explained.

What is the obsession with JR having a daughter? Why JR? Why not Bobby or Ray?

Or Jock! Imagine if Jock lived longer and revealed he had a daughter from another affair. It does seem odd that it's an unwritten rule that Ewings have to have sons and sons only. Poor Lucy, no wonder Gary had so many issues.

 

[Sarah]

Och it puts my head away. It’s just another thing to come between him and Sue Ellen! Had enough of this daughter drivel!! James and his specimen was enough!

 

[Toni]

What we really needed was a daughter of Garnet McGee and no one knowing if she was JR´s or Ray´s. Cherish Lee Tilton might have played her!!

 

[pete lashmar]

As a young gay man coming to terms with my sexuality at the time I was very impressed when Sasha first appeared - he was exceptionally good looking.

Then he then opened his mouth and tried to act and my love affair with him was over.

But those 10 seconds were wonderful.

 

[Grangehill1]

The problem with him being in Dallas TNT was that he just didn't have the historical relevance as he came so late into the show.

Maybe if it had continued we may well have seen him but it was already in a bit of mess and adding him or anyone else would have made things even messier at that point.

But I do wonder if one of the reasons he didn't come to JR'S funeral was because they wanted to keep that card in their deck for the future.

As I said it's a shame they didn't add a long lost child earlier for JR. It would have been quite believable that JR and even Jock had a child out there somewhere.

As we now know ifnwe had seen a 4th season of Dallas we would have met JR's long lost daughter and the show shifting towards John Ross vs her. Which would have been interesting. It was going to be a bit of a mini reboot.

And yet they brought back a recast Tracey McKay - the well known character from the original series later years

 

[Pamela_E]

And yet they brought back a recast Tracey McKay - the well known character from the original series later years

Yes but they were not massively going to impact the characters nor the dynamic.

Bringing in JR's son is a massive story arc.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

And yet they brought back a recast Tracey McKay - the well known character from the original series later years

That sort of beggars belief.

The Producers didn't approach Victoria Principal but yet they also didn't approach Beth Toussaint who played Tracy McKay on the original Lorimar Dallas either!
I've often wondered how much of the Lorimar Dallas that Cynthia Cidre actually watched, because it couldn't've have been very much!

 

[Taylor Bennett Jr.]

As a young gay man coming to terms with my sexuality at the time I was very impressed when Sasha first appeared - he was exceptionally good looking.

Then he then opened his mouth and tried to act and my love affair with him was over.

But those 10 seconds were wonderful.

I wonder how the Peter Richards storyline would have played out with an actor with Sasha's looks (and hopefully some acting ability) rather than the almost pre-pubescent Chris Atkins.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

What we really needed was a daughter of Garnet McGee and no one knowing if she was JR´s or Ray´s. Cherish Lee Tilton might have played her!!

Garnet McGee!!

That bitch stranded the USS Voyager in the Delta Quadrant!!