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I’ll go with Jock’s trial for the murder of the saddletramp/thief Hutchinson “Hutch” McKinney!
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What I love about that storyline is the juxtaposition between Jenna’s melodramatic ordeal at the hands of Naldo and the coldly sceptical scrutiny she receives from the legal system following her arrest, especially at the trial. "You have woven yourself quite a tangled web, Mrs Marchetta,” observes the icy blonde judge after casting a dispassionate eye over Jenna's complicated history, making no allowances for the fact that Jenna lives in a soap opera world where tangled webs are unavoidable. And the casting is ace, with Scotty Demarest as the defence lawyer (laid-back as ever with his thick Southern drawl) making a great contrast with Scooter Warren from Knots as the prosecuting attorney (brisk, sharp and witty). Plus you've got the Pam/Bobby/Jenna triangle running alongside the events in the courtroom and Priscilla Presley looking just so darn pretty.
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My only problem with those two are their brevity -- they just go by a wee bit too fast to carry the necessary weight.
It's a metaphor for the season as a whole. Lots of potential but dragged out, and Mis-Ellie and that poor dear girl's acting just kind of tank it.
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Jocks murder trial for killing Hutch McKinney
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I have to concur with Billy Wall and Taylor Bennett: Jock's Trial.
However, James From London reminded me about the only thing I did enjoy with Jenna's trial: Jenna being treated as if she were guilty, especially after what she had just been through.
However, James From London reminded me about the only thing I did enjoy with Jenna's trial: Jenna being treated as if she were guilty, especially after what she had just been through.
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in a field not all that removed (if at all) from “nighttime soap opera”, they used to say that pro wrestler Ric Flair could put on an entertaining match with a broomstick for an opponent. That’s kinda what Stephen Elliott, aka Scotty Demarest, was tasked with in the Jenna’s Trial storyline…
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lord, that judge was insufferable…
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and this was about the second or third year they started doing roughly 30 episodes..my goodness. Just going off memory, I can't quite recall exactly how far along the season was when Jenna was arrested, but it seems like the trial dragged on for half the season.. I mean, were viewers at the time really that invested in this? I know Dallas was still hot at the time, but outside of the twist of Jenna going straight from the victim, to the accused, I find this to be an extremely tough binge. That said, I'm sure it obviously made a difference when you didn't know for sure exactly how it was going to go, but it just didn't need to drag on so long.
I guess they were building up to the big cliffhanger, and it's almost like, in knowing Patrick was leaving, they had to find a way to prevent his relationship with Jenna from advancing forward, and hold off till the end of the season for the reunion with Pam. Dang it, Patrick. All of this for nothing.
That said, you know, I don't really begrudge Patrick for feeling like he needed to do something else. He was getting older, and this is the way of life. You want that promotion, you want to keep believing that you have even more yet to accomplish, and I would imagine he may have even been feeling some pressure from people in his circle(not Larry, of course), but.. the bigger problem is obviously that he came back, or the way he came back, or the way he insisted on being written out. This is where I get frustrated.
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Re; Jenna's trial. It went on too long, but I was intrigued by the hints they gave about who the actual murderer was, hoping it would be whom I wanted it to be. It was, but only confirmed very briefly the following season.
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The early section of the Jenna/Naldo story in the 84/5 season, up to the point where he forces her to jilt Bobby and marry him, is probably the most slow and boring Dallas ever got pre-Dream Season, but from the moment he gets all rapey with her in the motel on their wedding night, it really picks up, partly because of how it intersects with all the other big storylines going on at the same time. For example, it's only because Bobby asks Jamie to ask JR to contact a judge that might be able to influence Jenna's bail hearing that Jamie finds JR snogging Serena which leads to both a rift between JR and Sue Ellen and JR kicking Jamie off Southfork, which in turn leads to Jamie joining forces with Cliff to claim their two-thirds of Ewing Oil, which leads to all sorts of shenanigans. Then there's Cliff and JR continually taking advantage of the latest twists in Jenna's ordeal and Pam's search for Mark to keep Bobby and Pam apart, etc. All these plots are deliciously intertwined in quite a Knotsian way. (Funny that it's the next season that the Knots/Dallas swap-over happens).
And again, there's lots of great guest characters along the way: as well as those involved in the actual trial, there's the Laredo judge ("an ornery son of a gun," as Scotty describes him) who refuses Jenna's bail because he resents the Ewings; the doomed Veronica Robinson; her Julia Cumson-ish sister; Mr Parrish the wonderfully fastidious antiques dealer; and the brilliantly chilling hitman, Andre Schumann.
And again, there's lots of great guest characters along the way: as well as those involved in the actual trial, there's the Laredo judge ("an ornery son of a gun," as Scotty describes him) who refuses Jenna's bail because he resents the Ewings; the doomed Veronica Robinson; her Julia Cumson-ish sister; Mr Parrish the wonderfully fastidious antiques dealer; and the brilliantly chilling hitman, Andre Schumann.
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That's almost exactly what I was going to say.
I remember I was at the time, but on my latest rewatch not so much.
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Oh, from JOHNNY GUITAR.
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I feel like if Jenna had somehow inexplicably given the “Bobby loved emeralds” speech on the stand it would have saved the whole trial storyline.
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After all these years Ray's trial over that Trotter boy's death always stands out.
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You do keep reminding me about things I actually did enjoy the first time around. I didn't see it when it originally aired, but on a network here called TNT when I was in the 8th grade. They only showed up through the dream season, and then stopped. I didn't get to see seasons 10 or the parts of season 11 that I didn't see in real time until TNN 5 years later in '97.
The problem for me is, that ever since that first screening, I haven't really enjoyed the trial..I'm just not a Jenna fan..PP's version. In binge watching with DVD/streaming, I just can't wait for it to be over. However, I do, (as I've mentioned), still enjoy the contrast between victim, and then accused. This was good writing.
Yes, originally, even though I already knew, that-obviously, Cliff and Jamie didn't win Ewing Oil, it was interesting to see how that all did play out. There were things to appreciate about the whole season. For some reason, I just don't really enjoy it on repeated viewings. It doesn't work the same for me as most of the other seasons, and already knowing how they are going to resolve.
I think maybe there are just too many elements for me that don't feel as authentic about the show, somehow. Part of that may be having Donna Reed playing the part of Miss Ellie in such a different manner; the addition of family members we had never heard of. I don't even mind the fact that they were added, but for me, this period doesn't feel like a good representation of the core of the series. That may also be because in 3 seasons, we'll practically never hear mention of their existence again. I wanted Bobby and Pam back together, and when it finally happens, she falls asleep..
Maybe on the next watch I will have more appreciation based on some of the things you have outlined/refreshed my memory on. I think, in a sense, perhaps I have been watching the season in kind of an autopilot mode for years.
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