I've Come To The Conclusion That Pam Was Crazy.

[tommie]

Pamela was a much stronger character in the early days and I did really like her. In the beginning when she was set up by JR and Ray she turns on JR, "and if I were you, I'd shut up" I knew then this sweetheart had another side to her.
In love and marriage when Pam & JR have words following him "propositioning" her and she brings up Cliff and Sue Ellen, she ends up apologising to him! No need to say sorry, she should've stayed strong.

She could be so firey and stood up to many people, that whole baby business was awful. Pam just wasn't consistent or convincing a lot of the time.

It's just such an odd turn to take the character, especially after she essentially defied the entire family by bringing John Ross to Swellin' at the end of season 4, then they suddenly turn her into a weepy nutcase for no real reason at all? They could've still had Bobby and Pam take on Kristin's baby, they really didn't need this huge set up by having Pam turn into a hysteric loon. They had already talked about adoption before so it wasn't as if Bobby was opposed to the idea.

 

[DarkVader]

Pamela was a much stronger character in the early days and I did really like her. In the beginning when she was set up by JR and Ray she turns on JR, "and if I were you, I'd shut up" I knew then this sweetheart had another side to her.

Yes! In the early days, the character of Pam was written as a feisty, strong, and independent woman full of spirit. The way she told J.R. to "shut up" and the way she made Lucy get out of that car to pick up the dress she threw out of the car window. You just knew that this was a girl that didn't allow anyone to mess with her. She stood her ground! And she was not perfect either - - or utterly good either. She was dating Ray Krebbs and was known as his girl - that is until he took her to the Ewing barbeque and she met Bobby and started seeing him literally behind Ray's back so in effect she cheated on him and then had the audacity to show up to Southfork as Bobby's bride and to add insult to injury she was Digger Barnes' daughter! That's ballsy!

 

[KayLloyd]

Hated when Pamela slapped Sue Ellen. I know Sue Ellen was a bit tipsy and having a go, but Pam could've handled it better. She actually slapped Sue Ellen to her knees! Definitely a crazy moment for perfect, not so perfect Pam.

Sue Ellen was calling Pam a gold digging whore, she totally deserved to be slapped and called out on her incredibly disrespectful behavior. Nothing else would have gotten Sue Ellen's attention, she learned her lesson that she had crossed the line, and they eventually became friends.

 

[LMLDallas78]

Sue Ellen was calling Pam a gold digging whore, she totally deserved to be slapped and called out on her incredibly disrespectful behavior. Nothing else would have gotten Sue Ellen's attention, she learned her lesson that she had crossed the line, and they eventually become friends.

Sue Ellen called Pam a gold digger and asked how many men before Bobby paid her bills, definitely didn't call her a whore, she still didn't deserve to be slapped to the floor. Pam should've been better than that.
Sue Ellen said it in the wrong way, but deep down was frightened JR wasn't coming back.
Nice that the scene ended with Sue Ellen taking hold of Pam's hand and I agree it brought them closer.

So funny how many times Pam offered to help Sue Ellen upstairs!

 

[DarkVader]

Nah, Sue Ellen deserved that slap. She needed to be taken down a peg.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

Sue Ellen called Pam a gold digger and asked how many men before Bobby paid her bills, definitely didn't call her a whore, she still didn't deserve to be slapped to the floor. Pam should've been better than that.
Sue Ellen said it in the wrong way, but deep down was frightened JR wasn't coming back.
Nice that the scene ended with Sue Ellen taking hold of Pam's hand and I agree it brought them closer.

So funny how many times Pam offered to help Sue Ellen upstairs!

The only reason Pam liked to help her upstairs was probably she was more often than not as drunk as a denebian skunk!

And yeah Sue Ellen more often than not went too far! She got this by hanging around JR, so in a way both Sue Ellen & JR where well matched together.

 

[LMLDallas78]

Nah, Sue Ellen deserved that slap. She needed to be taken down a peg.

Perfect not so perfect Pam deserved a lot more.

 

[Top Jimmy]

Sue Ellen deserved that slap by implying Pam was a kept woman or a prostitute. She was beyond mean and nasty in "Survival," not only to Pam, but to Lucy. She had a lot of nerve trying to stop Lucy from contacting Gary, her own father. Gary had a right to know what happened to his brothers. Lucy should have slapped Sue Ellen as well. Pam wasn't perfect and may have deserved a slap from Jenna when she offered to adopt her baby, but Sue Ellen was often intentionally malicious to people who tried to support her such as Bobby and Pam. That said, I also liked that they showed Sue Ellen's vulnerable side after the slap, and that Pam and she got closer after that. Sue Ellen was definitely complex but often despicable, at least in the early years.

 

[LMLDallas78]

Sue Ellen deserved that slap by implying Pam was a kept woman or a prostitute. She was beyond mean and nasty in "Survival," not only to Pam, but to Lucy. She had a lot of nerve trying to stop Lucy from contacting Gary, her own father. Gary had a right to know what happened to his brothers. Lucy should have slapped Sue Ellen as well. Pam wasn't perfect and may have deserved a slap from Jenna when she offered to adopt her baby, but Sue Ellen was often intentionally malicious to people who tried to support her such as Bobby and Pam. That said, I also liked that they showed Sue Ellen's vulnerable side after the slap, and that Pam and she got closer after that. Sue Ellen was definitely complex but often despicable, at least in the early years.

I guess being complex beats being dull. Being despicable then learning not to be keeps things interesting. Mean and nasty made her exciting. Yes, Sue Ellen could be deliciously bitchy, she could also be warm and loving. So many wonderful descriptive words for one character. Now let me describe perfect not so perfect Pam......... oh yeah, that's it, well maybe she was nice too with a bit of craziness.

 

[DarkVader]

I really loved Sue Ellen most when she was with Dusty. She showed great compassion and great love for him even after she found him confined to a wheelchair. She had the capacity to love unconditionally no doubt and her need for love was clearly evident, but boy when she was with J.R. her toxic side came out in full force. And it was not a pretty sight.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

Pamela was a much stronger character in the early days and I did really like her. In the beginning when she was set up by JR and Ray she turns on JR, "and if I were you, I'd shut up" I knew then this sweetheart had another side to her.
In love and marriage when Pam & JR have words following him "propositioning" her and she brings up Cliff and Sue Ellen, she ends up apologising to him! No need to say sorry, she should've stayed strong.

She could be so firey and stood up to many people, that whole baby business was awful. Pam just wasn't consistent or convincing a lot of the time.

You can blame the writers for this in season ten. They knew that Victoria Principal was leaving the show at the end of that season so they deiberately down played the character. That's why Jenna's baby storyline was made to leave Pam looking more vulnerable than she normally would. They down played her being such a strong woman in order for the Oil Tanker collision to have more impact (excuse the pun!). I'm not sure it was the right way to write the character out but with hindsight it did show Pam's vulnerable side and her humanity and love for both Bobby and Christopher.

 

[LMLDallas78]

You can blame the writers for this in season ten. They knew that Victoria Principal was leaving the show at the end of that season so they deiberately down played the character. That's why Jenna's baby storyline was made to leave Pam looking more vulnerable than she normally would. They down played her being such a strong woman in order for the Oil Tanker collision to have more impact (excuse the pun!). I'm not sure it was the right way to write the character out but with hindsight it did show Pam's vulnerable side and her humanity and love for both Bobby and Christopher.

She changed way before season 10 though.

 

[DarkVader]

Pam was quite a trip in Season 4. I completely understood her frustration with Bobby pushing her to the side for Ewing Oil and then later his Senatorial race but to let her guard down and fall for Alex Ward?!?! She pissed me off to no end and then there’s the issue of that perm….don’t get me started!

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

although Bobby was pretty horrible to Pam only a few episodes in when he spent so much time with Jenna..

..and I agree that Jenna should have slapped Pam in season 10. Furthermore, a petulant Charlie should have hauled off and belted Miss Ellie at the Oil Barons’ Ball right there in front of the Ewings and the entire Texas oil community, inciting a party-wide brawl that made the one started by Cliff and JR a few years prior look tame.

If that brat of a sister of mine so much as lays a finger on Miss Ellie I swear I'll tell everyone how she got pregnant by Randy and has a little boy now!

 

[Mustard]

I'm watching the episode where Bobby and Ray got into a fight because the Jenna and Charlie moved in. When Bobby tells Pam about it, she got hysterical and beyond pissed. Screaming and slamming doors over Jenna living with Ray?

If you're THAT threatened over your husband's ex moving in with his brother, your marriage was never going to last. Come to think of it, both Bobby and Pam were unbearable in this particular episode.

It's Season 10 DVD. Pam was odd for a lot of that season.

..and I agree that Jenna should have slapped Pam in season 10.

Francine Tacker's Jenna would have

 

[Mustard]

It's just such an odd turn to take the character, especially after she essentially defied the entire family by bringing John Ross to Swellin' at the end of season 4, then they suddenly turn her into a weepy nutcase for no real reason at all?

The reason is that Pam had become emotionally connected to John Ross, and she thought that taking him to Sue Ellen was both the right thing to do and would help her (Pam's) morale. Instead, John Ross' absence did the exact opposite by bringing to the surface how much Pam wanted a child. Then the depression.

It had been slowly building for a while, since the miscarriages (the first of which was at the end of the miniseries, Season 1 DVD), Digger dying and not being her biological father, and then the whole thing with finding Rebecca. John Ross being gone from Southfork, and no baby at Southfork, brought Pam's problems to the surface. The fact that Pam had believed the opposite would happen, i.e. that she'd feel good with taking John Ross to Sue Ellen, only made Pam's mental state worse. I think even J.R. laid off her a little bit because he could see that she was in a very bad place, though he still laid the boot in a bit anyway, confining it to some harsh words.

 

[LMLDallas78]

It had been slowly building for a while, since the miscarriages (the first of which was at the end of the miniseries, I think even J.R. laid off her a little bit because he could see that she was in a very bad place, though he still laid the boot in a bit anyway, confining it to some harsh words.

JR became pre occupied wooing Sue Ellen back to Southfork and re marrying her.
I feel Pam's craziness just didn't really bother anyone. When Sue Ellen had her depression everybody knew and got involved.
Pam should've taken Miss Ellie's advice and booked some sessions with Dr Elby!!

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

She changed way before season 10 though.

I agree. I thought she became more hypocritical, self-centered and whiny when the battle for Ewing Oil began.

 

[Snowcat]

That's why it would a, for lack of a better term, cutting-edge move for the show. The very human heroine of the show getting put in her place. I don't want to actually see Pam slapped, but something that really brought the Ewings to earth and pointed out their sometimes bad behavior would be refreshingly honest. It would also divide the Ewings, with some being horrified at Jenna's response, and some horrified at Pam's action. Think of how JR could exploit this situation and the various reactions of the other characters.

Pam deserved to be slapped for that

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Even Patrick described Pam -- at least, I think he meant Pam -- as "pigstick nutty."

But then, especially in the earlier years, the character of Pam was less clearly defined (until Victoria's acting solidified) and Pam was used by the writers to push the plot along in whatever way they needed. Which made her .... inconsistent.