The shower scene was the problem, not the dream explanation

[DallasFanForever]

Pam waking up after the Ewing oil explosion

Her reaction never seems realistic to me. Her actions when she awakens doesn’t match up with someone who had just dreamt their best friend and sister in law had both been in separate bombings; not to mention your fiancé being murdered by your sister and your former fiancé coming back from the dead. She certainly awakened with a very low key reaction to all of it.

 

[Jock's Ghost]

I can assure you that Patrick's wife didn't really come up with the dream scenario -- even if she guessed it.

Katzman was determined to do it that way and no other way.

Thats what the story was at the time. I guess they thought it to be funny.... Sounded pathetic to me.

 

[Sea - Boo! - Er]

I will never ever believe they didn't know it would turn into a dream when they shot the shower scene. They obviously had made up their mind long before.

Patrick knew but the crew thought they were making a soap or shampoo commercial - or so the story goes. Victoria's scene was edited in later.

 

[xab]

Her reaction never seems realistic to me. Her actions when she awakens doesn’t match up with someone who had just dreamt their best friend and sister in law had both been in separate bombings; not to mention your fiancé being murdered by your sister and your former fiancé coming back from the dead. She certainly awakened with a very low key reaction to all of it.

Of course. If she had been shown awaking too abruptly, it would have made the thing too obvious... The audience is not so dumb...

But I agree on this point. This is not a woman's reaction emerging from the most terrible nightmare... It doesn't match anyway.

 

[alexpaige]

Katzman wrote about 5 episodes or thereabouts that season, didn't he? But yes, far less influence than any other season of Dallas, as he wasn't Producer and didn't direct any episodes.

Katzman and Arthur Bernard Lewis were busy on their own series - OUR FAMILY HONOR - which ABC had picked up after they'd done a successful pilot. That was going on during the dream season. And as Snarky says, Katzman had no creative input on the dream season, "creative consultant" title notwithstanding.

Once it became clear OUR FAMILY HONOR was not going to be picked up after the initial run of episodes, Katzman was clearly looking for other work, and that's when the behind the scenes shenanigans to bring him back to Dallas began.

I don't know what stage negotiations to bring Duffy back started, but it's clear from the record that he wasn't confirmed as returning to the cast until after the dream season had been written and wrapped.

The final episode of the dream season had already been written, filmed and edited before Katzman was appointed as the new executive producer. It was 'in the can' with a different ending written by Dunne & Feigenbaum.

But before it went to air, Katzman shot the shower scene with Duffy and an independent crew (apart from his nephew, Wayne Farlow who was Unit Production Manager) and changed the ending - editing Duffy's scene in.

So it was a literally last minute decision. There was no opportunity to do any foreshadowing that the season was going to turn out to be a dream, because none of the creative team who'd overseen the season knew it was going to happen.

 

[DallasFanForever]

But before it went to air, Katzman shot the shower scene with Duffy and an independent crew

I wonder what made them decide on the shower scene specifically. I know they were shooting the soap commercial but I’ve always wanted to know if they considered other possible ways of making it a dream other than that specific scene. Of course it probably doesn’t matter really.

Once it became clear OUR FAMILY HONOR was not going to be picked up after the initial run of episodes

Such a disappointment! This show had great potential.

 

[Sea - Boo! - Er]

I wonder what made them decide on the shower scene specifically. I know they were shooting the soap commercial but I’ve always wanted to know if they considered other possible ways of making it a dream other than that specific scene. Of course it probably doesn’t matter really.

It's my understanding that there never was a commercial; it was just a story to tell the crew. If that's so then the decision would have already been made before filming. I suppose the most logical thing was to pick up first thing the next morning.

 

[KayLloyd]

Her reaction never seems realistic to me. Her actions when she awakens doesn’t match up with someone who had just dreamt their best friend and sister in law had both been in separate bombings; not to mention your fiancé being murdered by your sister and your former fiancé coming back from the dead. She certainly awakened with a very low key reaction to all of it.

That's because as far as Victoria knew at the time it was filmed, Pam was waking up to her new husband Mark in the shower, not from a season long nightmare.

 

[DallasFanForever]

It's my understanding that there never was a commercial; it was just a story to tell the crew. If that's so then the decision would have already been made before filming. I suppose the most logical thing was to pick up first thing the next morning.

That's because as far as Victoria knew at the time it was filmed, Pam was waking up to her new husband Mark in the shower, not from a season long nightmare.

Maybe, as suggested earlier, they should’ve brought Bobby back at the wedding itself. I know it’s such a cliche-ish thing to do back then but they could’ve had Pam pass out as the cliffhanger and then still done the dream reveal the next season instead of the shower scene. Of course then that kind of messes up the order of the other cliffhangers as Sue Ellen and Jamie would obviously have to be at the wedding so I’m not sure how they would carry out the bombings the same way. Maybe the shower scene was all they really could come up with.

 

[alexpaige]

I wonder what made them decide on the shower scene specifically. I know they were shooting the soap commercial but I’ve always wanted to know if they considered other possible ways of making it a dream other than that specific scene. Of course it probably doesn’t matter really..

They weren't really shooting a soap commercial. That was just a cover story Katzman told the filming crew so they wouldn't know they were actually shooting Duffy's return to Dallas.

Maybe, as suggested earlier, they should’ve brought Bobby back at the wedding itself. I know it’s such a cliche-ish thing to do back then but they could’ve had Pam pass out as the cliffhanger and then still done the dream reveal the next season instead of the shower scene.

They couldn't have done that. Because the whole last episode of the dream season had already been completed. They weren't in a position to go and rewrite & reshoot the entire episode. All that Katzman could do in practical terms was exactly what he did - edit in a few seconds at the end. When you think about it, it was actually really clever of him to work out a way to shoot some footage of Duffy which would fit with the footage that had already been shot of Victoria getting out of bed and going into the bathroom.

 

[DallasFanForever]

When you think about it, it was actually really clever of him to work out a way to shoot some footage of Duffy which would fit with the footage that had already been shot of Victoria getting out of bed and going into the bathroom

Yes, what they did was clever. I’ve always felt that way as well but I just wish they could’ve done it in a different way if it had to be a dream. Ultimately I was a little disappointed, but as you say they were limited since the season was already filmed and I get that.

 

[GillesDenver]

When you think about it, it was actually really clever of him to work out a way to shoot some footage of Duffy which would fit with the footage that had already been shot of Victoria getting out of bed and going into the bathroom.

If I'm not mistaken, Victoria was also call back to film this additional scene, it was not in the original script. She was told the episode was not long enough and it was necessary to add an additional (short) scene.

 

[tommie]

shoot some footage of Duffy which would fit with the footage that had already been shot of Victoria getting out of bed and going into the bathroom.

IIRC, wasn't Victoria actually called back to shoot that footage? I think she was told they needed time filler (which happens at times). I might be wrong.

 

[alexpaige]

IIRC, wasn't Victoria actually called back to shoot that footage? I think she was told they needed time filler (which happens at times). I might be wrong.

I have never heard that. My understanding is it had been filmed for a scene earlier in the episode and then Katzman moved it to the end in order to add in Bobby in the shower .

 

[Sea - Boo! - Er]

I thought I read somewhere that she was to have found Mark passed out, possibly in the shower.

 

[DallasFanForever]

I thought I read somewhere that she was to have found Mark passed out, possibly in the shower.

I’ve read that too but then I’ve heard others debunk it so I’m really not sure what’s true anymore. Dallas really made a simple thing like taking a shower kind of complicated.

 

[Matthew Blaisdel]

I thought I read somewhere that she was to have found Mark passed out, possibly in the shower.

I heard that that was, what they told VP while filming the scene, and that they would insert the John Beck footage later on, because he "wasn't available" for filming.
All of that, so that she wouldn't be too suspicious about it...

 

[Sea - Boo! - Er]

All of that, so that she wouldn't be too suspicious about it...

Makes sense.