Dallas Creatives

[Laurie Marr]

It is perhaps appropriate for a show that dwelled obsessively on parenting that Dallas replicated these anxieties behind the scenes. Jacobs was the ‘creator’ but abandoned his progeny in its infancy and - in numerous interviews - never could quite bring himself to tell Dallas that it was loved by him. Katzman was the surrogate but could never shake off the feeling that ‘Dallas’ would never fully be his. Paulsen was the troubleshooter - making sense of it all: the wise uncle (as was Art Lewis, to a lesser extent). Capice was the distant elder who took the praise, dished out the criticisms but avoided the hard daily graft of bringing up baby.

For context, here’s a quote from one of the last interviews with the late David Jacobs: “Lennie was tired of the conflicts with Phil. I also think it annoyed Leonard that when something big happened on “Dallas,” like the “Who Shot J.R.?” episode, that I would get so much press because I created the show. He wanted to develop a show that could be his from the get-go. Leonard had something to prove, just like we all have something to prove.”

‘Who’s the Daddy?’ was both a frequent pivotal plot in the show and the psychodrama that informed its creative development.

 

[LMLDallas78]

That's a great write up using the comparisons of parenting and who's the daddy featuring in the politics behind the cameras as well as the stories infront.

Dallas for me was always about what happened infront of the camera. I didn't comprehend or really want to know about any of the behind the scenes business. It's only in recent years I've become more interested in writers, directors and producers.

Dallas is often referred to as chauvinistic with weak women. Katzman of course had a sexist reputation. I think Miss Ellie was the exception in being portrayed as a strong willed women. When others were strong it was usually short lived.

With Dallas having that reputation I was surprised to learn that some of my favourite episodes were actually written by women especially in the early seasons. That's not the reason they're my favourite though.

Far from being an expert and having zero knowledge about producing I'm curious to know how influential producers were over writers.

Was it only Katzman who gave Dallas the chauvinist reputation, is that how David Jacobs intended it to be? Or more just a sign of those times?

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

Any chauvinism will always come out in the writing so I'm afraid the fickle finger of fate gets pointed directly at Leonard Katzman.

 

[Laurie Marr]

Interesting questions. I’ve often wondered just how strong the men were…….JR was obviously suffering from a personality disorder; Cliff was a cauldron of neuroses; Gary was an alcoholic; Ray was permanently in thrall to an inferiority complex; Bobby’s passive aggressive tendencies also suggested arrested development.

 

[LMLDallas78]

Obviously the men had their idiosyncrasies but on the whole things went their way and they were seen as being more in control.


Now let's describe the women............

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

And Camille Marchetta. The first wife, neglected and ignored and taken for granted, who never gets her due because she's a woman in a man's world.

Howard Lakin, the idiot adopted or half-breed son who appears one day with a suitcase on the driveway, taking over the family store simply because he's a guy, ultimately destroying the business with no acknowledgement or apologies.

 

[Taylor Bennett Jr.]

‘Who’s the Daddy?’ was both a frequent pivotal plot in the show and the psychodrama that informed its creative development.

only one individual had the authority and gravitas to tell us the answer to that question, for the show and its development and its characters:

and for those of us (men and women, as these are more enlightened times) who might need a little something to calm the nerves after hearing the truth:

 

[Laurie Marr]

Obviously the men had their idiosyncrasies but on the whole things went their way and they were seen as being more in control.


Now let's describe the women............

Can you name one prominent female character on the show (apart from Donna) who didn’t have significant mental health issues at one time or other? I can’t and this even extends as far back as Jock’s first wife. Many were also assassins (Kristen, Sue Ellen, Sheil Foley, Michelle Stevens, Jessica Montfort, Katherine Wentworth, Angelica Nero, etc. ).

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

Good old Doctor Danvers he was a dab hand with a tranquiliser or a sedative.

 

[Taylor Bennett Jr.]

Can you name one prominent female character on the show (apart from Donna) who didn’t have significant mental health issues at one time or other? I can’t and this even extends as far back as Jock’s first wife. Many were also assassins (Kristen, Sue Ellen, Sheil Foley, Michelle Stevens, Jessica Montfort, Katherine Wentworth, Angelica Nero, etc. ).

hm, does Marilee Stone count? ...and she was a relatively minor character treated as a joke of an 'older-woman nymphomanic' when she was pretty much a milder version of JR - a wheeler-dealer who inherited an oil company from Daddy and liked to bed younger partners and business associates - but relatively sane and not a basket case, at least. She wasn't portrayed as particularly more bumbling that Jordan Lee and the great Andy Bradley in business, so I guess we can assume her father trained her in the business, if not with the Jock-JR intensity.

 

[LMLDallas78]

Can you name one prominent female character on the show (apart from Donna) who didn’t have significant mental health issues at one time or other? I can’t and this even extends as far back as Jock’s first wife. Many were also assassins (Kristen, Sue Ellen, Sheil Foley, Michelle Stevens, Jessica Montfort, Katherine Wentworth, Angelica Nero, etc. ).

They were still described as weak and being reactors to the men folk. Still had the reputation of being chauvinistic. I didn't just dream up these adjectives.

 

[Laurie Marr]

They were still described as weak and being reactors to the men folk. Still had the reputation of being chauvinistic. I didn't just dream up these adjectives.

I’m agreeing with you. Strong women were often either mad or bad, or both. That was the point of my post.

 

[LMLDallas78]

Leonard Katzman

Just him though?

I’m agreeing with you. Strong women were often either mad or bad, or both. That was the point of my post.

Right, I see that now. I thought you being facetious regarding the men having flaws.
Proves how posts can be misinterpreted.

a milder version of JR -

Your description is spot on.

She was also possibly a murderer of her "beloved" Seth who was smart enough to try and frame JR, then weakened and forgave him.

 

[Taylor Bennett Jr.]

Howard Lakin, the idiot adopted or half-breed son who appears one day with a suitcase on the driveway, taking over the family store simply because he's a guy, ultimately destroying the business with no acknowledgement or apologies.

what could be better for a show than having a Ray Krebbs/Jamie Ewing/post-Farlow Christopher hybrid take over? Kind of amazing (or telling?) that he wrote the generally highly-regarded Fourth Son episode, but preferred his… not-highly-regarded later efforts.

Your description is spot on.

She was also possibly a murderer of her "beloved" Seth who was smart enough to try and frame JR, then weakened and forgave him.

JR had to fight Bobby for years to get control of Daddy’s company, but the far more clever Marilee just offed her husband (and implicated JR in the process).

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

Just him though?

Well he was the Producer. He would've been the one to finally sign off the scripts prior to production.

However I do take your point, some of the other writers may have just been as bad as what he was.

 

[DallasFanForever]

Interesting questions. I’ve often wondered just how strong the men were…….JR was obviously suffering from a personality disorder; Cliff was a cauldron of neuroses; Gary was an alcoholic; Ray was permanently in thrall to an inferiority complex; Bobby’s passive aggressive tendencies also suggested arrested development.

When people say the women could’ve been portrayed as being stronger I tend to point to all of this. No matter how weak they might’ve made the women look at times, I still think they come off looking stronger than the men of the show as a whole.

J.R., Cliff, Gary and even Bobby all had serious issues throughout the course of the show. Womanizing, alcoholism, narcissism, anger management, greed, obsession, etc. and so much more. As badly as all of the male characters treated their female counterparts they were all virtually nothing without them and they all realized it at one point.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

what could be better for a show than having a Ray Krebbs/Jamie Ewing/post-Farlow Christopher hybrid take over? Kind of amazing (or telling?) that he wrote the generally highly-regarded Fourth Son episode, but preferred his… not-highly-regarded later efforts.

But he wrote individual scripts that were assigned to him, earlier on, and they were okay. Later, as "supervising producer," Lakin was controlling the overall narrative (which was the problem).

 

[Laurie Marr]

And yet Lakin regarded ‘Wedding Bell Blues” as his own finest piece of writing.

 

[LMLDallas78]

As well as The fourth son Lakin wrote Head of the family, Adoption and Penultimate which were all really good, but his later season stuff not so good.

Apparently his favourite was that wedding bell blues one (whatever it's called) which Larry Hagman directed and Lakin was one of the supervising producers which is probably why it's his favourite.

Mind you, I can't say anything too bad against him as he did state he especially loved writing Sue Ellen and that her story was the most engaging to work on.

 

[Toni]

Can you name one prominent female character on the show (apart from Donna) who didn’t have significant mental health issues at one time or other? I can’t and this even extends as far back as Jock’s first wife. Many were also assassins (Kristen, Sue Ellen, Sheil Foley, Michelle Stevens, Jessica Montfort, Katherine Wentworth, Angelica Nero, etc. ).

Mandy. She was just a tramp.

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