After Pam Ewing's departure who should Bobby have hooked up with?

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DallasFanForever

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Mustard said:
I think Bobby and Jenna were okay before Naldo stopped the wedding, but they were never the same afterwards, not in the short period after Jenna got out of jail before Bobby's death nor in Season 10 DVD
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That’s fair. You can definitely feel the air coming out of the Bobby and Jenna balloon as we get closer to the end of the season. Of course, that was probably intentional to make way for Pam and Bobby’s reunion. I just think Bobby and Jenna getting back together after Pam’s exit would’ve been better than what we got with Ray and Jenna. At least there was history to build on with Jenna more so than any of the other women Bobby went with.

Mustard said:
Pam and Mark were much better as a couple than Bobby and Jenna, in my opinion.
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I never thought about this to be honest. I think I viewed the pairing of Mark and Pam quite similarly to how I looked at Bobby and Jenna. I see Mark as the second best choice for Pam, just as I see Jenna being Bobby’s second best choice. If Mark would’ve returned in season 10 hypothetically I always thought it could’ve been interesting to see him paired off with Jenna as the two jilted lovers, jealousy and bitterness uniting them as Bobby and Pam remarry. Just a thought.

Mustard said:
I do think Bobby and Phyllis would have been better than what they ended up doing post-Pam.
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Again, Phyllis’s character would have to be expanded first for this to happen in my opinion. There just wasn’t enough known about her. But they did have a deep mutual respect and friendship that seemed to go beyond the employer/employee labels. There was definitely chemistry there and I think it could’ve worked.
 
Mustard

Mustard

Telly Talk TV Fanatic
Scary Organ said:
I actually liked Tracey Lawton as a character (not her stupid brother, Tommy, who was just brought in to sabotage the impact of the 'Who Killed Roger Grimes?' mystery plot on DYNASTY which Katzman's deputy, Paulsen, had escaped to) and her issues, and the repeated Romeo & Juliet dynamic was interesting. But DALLAS was no longer listening to nature.

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Speaking of Dynasty, Beth Toussaint (who played Tracey Lawton on Dallas) later became the wife of Jack Coleman (who played Steven Carrington from Seasons 3-8 on Dynasty).

The best thing that Dallas could have done if Victoria Principal wasn't coming back would have been to recast Pam to Margaret Michaels. It would have slowed down Dallas' decline instead of accelerating it.
 
GillesDenver

GillesDenver

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Mustard said:
The best thing that Dallas could have done if Victoria Principal wasn't coming back would have been to recast Pam to Margaret Michaels. It would have slowed down Dallas' decline instead of accelerating it.
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I'm not sure about that. Donna Reed had been pointed out by a lot of people as the main reason "Dallas" lost its rank as number one in the ratings during the 1984-1985 season.
 
Mustard

Mustard

Telly Talk TV Fanatic
GillesDenver said:
I'm not sure about that. Donna Reed had been pointed out by a lot of people as the main reason "Dallas" lost its rank as number one in the ratings during the 1984-1985 season.
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It's not like Donna Reed at all though. Reed's Miss Ellie was a big change in character. And correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Swansong (the Dallas episode with Bobby's death) do better in the ratings than Royal Wedding (the Dynasty episode with the Moldavian Massacre)? Those two episodes both went out on the same week in the USA, Royal Wedding on Wednesday 15 May 1985 and Swansong on Friday 17 May 1985.
 
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D

DallasFanForever

Telly Talk Supreme
Mustard said:
The best thing that Dallas could have done if Victoria Principal wasn't coming back would have been to recast Pam to Margaret Michaels. It would have slowed down Dallas' decline instead of accelerating it
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Possibly, although I’m of the belief that recasting Pam would’ve been a huge mistake. I just can’t see the fans accepting it back then. If anything, it might have had the opposite effect and sped up the decline. Just my opinion.
 
Snarky Oracle!

Snarky Oracle!

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Mustard said:
It's not like Donna Reed at all though. Reed's Miss Ellie was a big change in character. And correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Swansong (the Dallas episode with Bobby's death) do better in the ratings than Royal Wedding (the Dynasty episode with the Moldavian Massacre)? Those two episodes both went out on the same week in the USA, Royal Wedding on Wednesday 15 May 1985 and Swansong on Friday 17 May 1985.
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The Mis-Ellie recasting in fact hurt DALLAS during Season 8 (per DVD) not the writing so much; even at the time, the recasting felt so bizarre and tone deaf that it cast a tonal pall over the year.

The death of Bobby outrated the Moldavian massacre because DALLAS -- and its cliffhangers -- were character-based while DYNASTY was not. So that gave the impact of a single character on DALLAS much greater impact.

I like Margaret Michaels, but recasting core characters in nighttime shows is just too risky, and the success rate for it isn't good. I mean, it was apparently discussed after Jim Davis died as to whether or not they should recast Jock --- and they mercifully voted against it... Sure, Jim Davis had died, but even if he'd left the show over health reasons, a "new" Jock would have been the same disaster that re-casting Miss Ellie.

Why would Pam be any different?
 
C

Chris2

Telly Talk Dream Maker
I liked Karen Kopins as Kay and she looked good with Patrick Duffy. I hated her old lady name, though - no one under 70 is named Kay, even back then. The character was a little bland, and they never really integrated her with the rest of the cast.

Holly and Bobby could have been fun as a couple for a little while.

The problem was that Patrick and Victoria had such great chemistry that it was going to be hard for anyone else to come in as Bobby’s love interest.
 
Monzo

Monzo

Telly Talk Star
Trick-Or-Treat Stevens said:
To take the question a step further, what about after April?
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For the original run, staying single was the right decision for Bobby. However, had it been established that Dallas would be renewed, Bobby and Jory should have become a couple. Instead of dying, Hillary should have turned herself in and betrayed her accomplices to avoid jail. Jory should have just been Bobby's new love because Hillary as a character offered many options: in season 15 she could have dated JR or Cliff, or she could have had a son (Jory's half-brother) who seduces Michelle.
 
CeeCee72

CeeCee72

Telly Talk Star
Sue Ellen.

Bobby and Sue Ellen had a close friendship at times and Linda and Patrick had great chemistry together. Imagine, after JR and SE split for good in season 11, Bobby comforts her and they slowly fall in love. The absolute delicious drama of JR having to deal with Bobby marrying HIS wife! Plus we could see Bobby's internal struggle of fighting his feelings for a woman who had always "belonged" to JR.
 
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