The early sets --- I mean, really..??

[Snarky Oracle!]

I know that "glitz" was not the original focus for DALLAS, and that was probably a good thing. The Ewings were a somewhat redneck, nouveau riche Texas family (except for Miss Ellie, who seemed like she might have had some brief ivy league exposure in her youth) and their orientation was more about making money than haute couture or decor.

But --- really? The early studio sets were soooo tacky it almost defies belief, especially for a multi-million dollar family.

I mean, were they really gold-plated trailer trash, the Ewings?

Even before DYNASTY ever existed, we used to snicker over the paltry sets on DALLAS... The Ewing Oil offices looked like dentists' offices (albeit way up there in the air) and the rooms at Southfork were ridiculous -- I didn't really mind the downstairs so much, the floral dining room, the paneled living room (despite those ceramic dogs which spoke to Elie whenever she was alone), but the bedrooms were an architectural fright -- especially JR and Sue Ellen's bedroom, with its powder blue walls, and white wicker furniture, its dying plants, the vomit brown carpet and the bric-a-brac (what is that exactly??).

Perhaps if they'd reproduced in a Hollywood set at Lorimar from the rooms they'd used in the Swiss House for the 1978 miniseries (or those darker offices) it might've worked. But once they switched Southforks, and then used the Calder House interiors (which were a bit more '70s informal rustic than that home would later become) and then based the studio sets on those (plus those tiny, two-bit high-rise offices) the effect was absurdly gauche and decidedly down-market.

Now, I realize that all the money in the world can't buy an ounce of class or a shred of good taste, and some affluent people choose to live below their means, but would Miss Ellie really permit her family to exist that way??

And when the producers re-constructed the Calder House decor in Hollywood, they didn't even spiff them up a little bit! Even the Calder House owner marveled at how close the studio reproductions were, unable to tell the different between the studio sets and her own home except for the placement of a few vents and light switches ("they even copied those awful brocade drapes," she marveled).

But I have to go back to JR and Sue Ellen's original bedroom -- is this why Sue Ellen become an alcoholic? Or did her alcoholism simply encourage the filthy mess she lived in?

Only when DYNASTY came in and quickly rose in popularity, and the 1980s began to define itself as a wealth-obsessed decade, did the wardrobe and sets on DALLAS begin to improve --- fortunately, rarely going too far, always maintaining a high-end, semi-rural rustic appeal which conveyed a demure, Texas-centric opulence (although the dream season got a little cluttered with excessive set pieces and the gowns often over-the-top). In contrast, DYNASTY's mansion, despite being bigger and "more glamorous," quickly came to look and feel like a mausoleum, dull and colorless (the production design on THE COLBYS spin-off was much more interesting).

But what gives? Or gave??


"Swellllllin -- this place is a frickin' dump...! And I figure it's gotta be all yer fault..."

 

[Willie Oleson]

Yes, one would expect more from a filthy rich oil family, and it would take several decades before John Ross decided that Southfork needed to be bigger.

But I think these small bedrooms also created an intimate and even raunchy atmosphere, like in those 1970s British TV dramas.
Furthermore, there's something very ironic about the watery-tranquil colour paletter of JR and Sue Ellen's bedroom.

I guess we should be thankful that JR and Bobby no longer shared the same bedroom like when they were kids.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Yes, one would expect more from a filthy rich oil family, and it would take several decades before John Ross decided that Southfork needed to be bigger.

But I think these small bedrooms also created an intimate and even raunchy atmosphere, like in those 1970s British TV dramas.
Furthermore, there's something very ironic about the watery-tranquil colour paletter of JR and Sue Ellen's bedroom.

I guess we should be thankful that JR and Bobby no longer shared the same bedroom like when they were kids.

And what about those guest cottages, the ones that JR and Sue Ellen had, the ones Bobby and Pam were going to move into, the ones where Gary once lived when he was a brunet? The cottages that were wiped out when that twister hit a few weeks after the spring barbecue after Bobby & Pam were married, and the face of Southfork and the front rooms had to be replaced?

Didn't they explain all that in TNT's nuDALLAS?

And should the 1986 prequel DALLAS: THE EARLY YEARS have been filmed at Cloyce Box Ranch instead of Duncan Acres??

BTW: Does anybody find it eerily odd that the real Southfork Ranch was owned by a man named "J.R.", even when the fictional character of J.R. Ewing had already been named 6 months before they'd selected and started filming at Duncan Acres ??

That said, I do think the ceramic elephant brought the show good luck:

 

[Willie Oleson]

And what about those guest cottages

I don't think anyone's going to argue that the first ranch looked better.

Didn't they explain all that in TNT's nuDALLAS?

Do you want things to be explained?

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Do you want things to be explained?

Some things, of course. Otherwise, you don't have a story.

It's like the Wes Paramalee/'What-happened-to-Pam?' things -- you can have too much explanation, and you can have too little.

If you're going to entirely re-cast the house, it's reasonable to tell the audience why.

That said, I'm not sure Cloyce Box Ranch necessarily looked better -- I think it looked bigger, but then the tiny-ness of the Duncan Acres house doesn't quite read on camera, so it's fine. And all the gables and awnings of Duncan Acres are prettier. (Although the terrain around the Box ranch is more appealing, while Duncan Acres feels like it's in kind of a depressing gulch of some sort).

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

In fact, when Pam's mother's house was recast in 1984, I'd like to see some guys on ladders outside her house when Cliff shows up in the first episode of Season 8 (per DVD count) and Pam says as an aside that she's "having some work done" (on the mansion, of course). It's just friendlier.

Of course, the "twister" explanation for why Southfork changed edifices in 1978 still doesn't explain how it blew the pool 75 feet closer to the house. It must have been an EF-5.

 

[Taylor Bennett Jr.]

the mention of a twister made me think of another possibility: the dastardly Luther Frick came back and got his revenge via arson or explosives or something like that.

seen above: Luther before he finally got the hammer down on the Ewings. The hapless Ray Krebbs seen tumbling from his horse in the windstorm, rendering him useless in defending the original Southfork even though Lucy and even JR seemed to handle the weather just fine..

(a connoisseur of cheap decor, JR especially liked snails)

 

[Bobby Southworth]

The interior of the first floor wasn't too bad, especially the den. I really missed the den when they opted to make that set over into the kitchen. Granted, they needed a kitchen, but couldn't we have had both? As for the upstairs, yes.. somewhat small and one could say tacky, but I also remember the shag carpet(basement) and yellow kitchen counters the house I grew up in had; it was the 70's style. Heck the living room even had blue carpet when we moved in. Were we the Ewings? Far, far from it, but I think you have to forgive them 'somewhat' for the styles of the time.

I think the Ewings were more modestly rich, with Jock starting Ewing oil and never having had money before. As mentioned above though, it is interesting how the box ranch of the mini-series, and even the Ewing oil offices seemed to be more fitting for a well off family. I came to love the Southfork we all tuned into for the remaining 13 seasons, but it was a bit of a jolt after the more aesthetically pleasing look of the house, at least the exterior, and the offices of the mini-series. It's also interesting to note that the first house seen in "The Early Years" looked more like the box ranch.. I guess Jock's influence outweighed Miss Ellie's when rebuilding??

 

[Daniel Avery]

(a connoisseur of cheap decor, JR especially liked snails)

Like a snail, JR left a trail of slime everywhere he went.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

The interior of the first floor wasn't too bad, especially the den. I really missed the den when they opted to make that set over into the kitchen. Granted, they needed a kitchen, but couldn't we have had both?

They could have had both, because even after the kitchen was built (non-sensical as it was architecturally) they retained the den set -- they just used it for other various offices around town.

I think you have to forgive them 'somewhat' for the styles of the time.

But we were laughing at it at the time, surrounded by not-dissimilar accoutrements. Even by the '70s standards, the digs were awfully chintzy for rich folks. The Ewings lived like riff-raff.

 

[Willie Oleson]

I'm not sure Cloyce Box Ranch necessarily looked better -- I think it looked bigger

It has much more Southern grandeur, and with just the right touch of "decay". Decay as in "never bothered to maintain or enhance the swimming pool/recreation area" because the boys weren't using it anymore. JR is not a swimmer and Bobby was always on the road. I could sense the soil of Miss Ellie's poor excuse for a rose garden, it was perfectly imperfect without losing any of its imposing character. Pretty much like the Gioberti place in Falcon Crest.

 

[Barbara Fan]

But --- really? The early studio sets were soooo tacky it almost defies belief, especially for a multi-million dollar family.

You should go to the real Southfork, they are verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry Tacky - really awful inside

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

You should go to the real Southfork, they are verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry Tacky - really awful inside

Oh, yes. Nothing beats the tackiness of the real Southfork interiors --- and the layout even makes less sense than the studio sets!

 

[Daniel Avery]

The producers likely never imagined the show would become the huge success it became. As the show took off, they probably realized they were saddled with a less-than-grand Southfork setting and there was little they could do about it, since the ranch had become almost a character of its own. So much had been written/played onscreen about how devoted Miss Ellie and the family were to the ranch, and by extension the ranch house, so they were basically stuck with it. Sure, they could have written a larger Southfork fire story that allowed them to build a new, larger, more ornate house, but would it have alienated some viewers to ditch the familiar Southfork? Had they known the show would be so successful as a depiction of the super-rich, they might have started off with a much larger mansion with better decor choices the way ABC did with Dynasty and the Carrington mansion, and the even more impressive Colby mansion on The Colbys.

On daytime soaps, rich families are said to be living in huge mansions, but we only see them interact in two or three rooms. When needed, they could just "invent" new rooms that they can claim had been there all along or claim there are numerous extra areas we just never see. This is possible partly because daytime viewers rarely see an exterior shot of said mansion, much less exterior scenes. We saw tons of exterior/location work at Southfork, so the viewer knew what size the house was and would not buy into the idea of a never-seen ballroom or extravagant guest suite. The homes of rich daytime characters could effectively be TARDISes with a never-ending supply of rooms and spaces since their homes were just places to live. Those homes didn't have the linkages to the family legacy the way Southfork had to the Ewings. The house may have seemed unsuitable for a family that rich, but its continued existence (as it was) added a lot to the "family saga" feel.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Oh, Southfork had its own Tardis aspects -- how about all those early guest rooms with windows on all four walls?

Besides, again, the Duncan Acres version of Southfork really doesn't look anywhere near as small on-screen as it does in real life. I'm fine with that bit of Hollywood illusion.

 

[Taylor Bennett Jr.]

the early bedrooms are bad, but the fake patio/pool, which of course lasted until the end, might be even worse! The cozy, sunny, relaxing pool with the long driveway and the little horse path leading right up to the back was such a nice touch and one of the top few sets of the show, right up there with the living and dining rooms and the Ewing Oil offices. I liked the contrast of the bright, happy, vacation-like setting with the constant family strife.

Then, about a third of the way into the season or a little more, we get this drab, fake, “overcast”, echoey set, overhead lights reflecting off a tiny replica pool…

There’s an early scene where a couple of Lucy’s friends are taking these tiny little steps trying to “run around the pool” to set up a situation where poor Jock isn’t even allowed to move his own barbecue grill out of the way. It looks completely absurd!

I think having the Who Shot JR reveal on the fake stage, while I guess necessary to keep secrecy, took some of the starch out of the scene.. everything seemed diminished there.

 

[LMLDallas78]

I'm going to defend those sets! As a young girl it was very lavish and rich to me. I envied that big family living in that ranch and yearned to be the same as them. I loved the ranch and everything about it and how it was decorated and furnished. I do remember feeling a bit miffed when Southfork 2 appeared.
I didn't notice any of the flaws and guess I'm a bit too accepting of what's being "sold" to me. And it's how fashions were back then.
I always loved JR's & Sue Ellen's bedroom and would look out for any new additions on the display units or be amazed when a window would appear that I hadn't noticed before or a new room upstairs.
I know that's my young fantasising view, but in later years its only the outside sound stage that bugs me.
At least when JR or Sue Ellen slammed their bedroom door (which was quite often) the whole room didn't shake like many other sets did on other shows.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

I do remember feeling a bit miffed when Southfork 2 appeared

But what was it that miffed you about the second Southfork? -- because that may have been what we were complaining about.

And it's how fashions were back then

But we snickered about them then -- until they improved later.

 

[Billy Wall]

That said, I do think the ceramic elephant brought the show good luck:

I thought it was to show that they were republicans. Lol

 

[Billy Wall]

For the record, I'm team Duncan Acres Southfork. I just think it looks better. Particularly the back area with the pool and where they had breakfast.