Kenny Coyote
Telly Talk Star
Dallas had one new character in their last few years that was successful and that character was April. She started out as a gold digger, hunting down her ex-husband to try to get half of his ten percent of Ewing Oil. She was willing to do whatever it took to get her five percent of Ewing Oil and she got it. Then she sold it to JR for 100 million dollars. That was who April initially was.
Did Dallas really need another character who was greedy and willing to do whatever it took to get money? They already had characters like that. Instead, they had April develop as a woman in a very positive way with vastly improved ethics and who acted in a much more admirable way. They sort of did that with Afton before, and again, they took a character who would do anything for money and then had started to show her developing positive qualities - qualities that would make her likable.
Afton developed a lot as a character but still, through all of that, look at who her ideal man was - Cliff Barnes. He was a character who displayed almost no positive, admirable qualities. His vices were enormous: Greed, jealousy, bitterness, vengefulness, being self-absorbed, being inconsiderate of any girlfriend her ever had and even being inconsiderate to Pam. I've lost count of the number of ways Pam tried to help Cliff and still, when it was within Cliff's power to do one thing for her that would make her life immeasurably better- to sell her his 5% of Ewing Oil in an effort to stop the Barnes-Ewing feud so she could finally, at last, live a nice, peaceful life, Cliff said "No."
Cliff was Afton's ideal man, so how positive of a character could she ever have become as long as she was in love with him and putting up with all of his abuse? Afton had good qualities, but a woman who felt about Cliff the way Afton did could only ascend to a certain level in the eyes of the audience.
Now contrast her with April. Who was April's ideal man? Bobby Ewing. She was certain that he was the best man in the world for her and she absolutely refused to settle for anything else, because once you've experienced true love, how can you ever settle for anything less?
April was persistent, she was patient and she continually went after what mattered to her most in life, no matter how painful the struggle was to get him to see her for who she had become instead of who she had been. April continued in that positive direction until she succeeded. She already had money but she was missing love. That was what, above all else, mattered to her, and she found true love with Bobby. April became a heroic character.
In a show were some of the fans were asking: "Where are the strong women" April was that strong, heroic woman who refused to settle for anything less than true happiness. A woman who won't settle for anything less than that which she values most, whether it's becoming a rock star or a movie star or being in a love relationship with her ideal man is a strong woman.
For a woman to try be as good as JR is at his own game isn't strength; it's a lack of self-respect and self-esteem. To think that someone could justify becoming a powerful, wealthy woman no matter what underhanded, dishonest means she'll use is a woman who is lost. She may have power in the sense of political influence, she may be wealthy, but she's traded part of her soul for it. She has compromised herself in the worst way.
A truly strong woman refuses to compromise herself. She achieves what she achieves based on her virtues - not on her vices. She is completely unwilling to descend to sleaziness, dishonesty, blackmail or extortion because to descend to those levels would be to deface and devalue the very essence of who she is. Achieving success while refusing to compromise one's highest values and ethics and to succeed based on virtue instead of vice is more than just true strength; it is heroic.
Did Dallas really need another character who was greedy and willing to do whatever it took to get money? They already had characters like that. Instead, they had April develop as a woman in a very positive way with vastly improved ethics and who acted in a much more admirable way. They sort of did that with Afton before, and again, they took a character who would do anything for money and then had started to show her developing positive qualities - qualities that would make her likable.
Afton developed a lot as a character but still, through all of that, look at who her ideal man was - Cliff Barnes. He was a character who displayed almost no positive, admirable qualities. His vices were enormous: Greed, jealousy, bitterness, vengefulness, being self-absorbed, being inconsiderate of any girlfriend her ever had and even being inconsiderate to Pam. I've lost count of the number of ways Pam tried to help Cliff and still, when it was within Cliff's power to do one thing for her that would make her life immeasurably better- to sell her his 5% of Ewing Oil in an effort to stop the Barnes-Ewing feud so she could finally, at last, live a nice, peaceful life, Cliff said "No."
Cliff was Afton's ideal man, so how positive of a character could she ever have become as long as she was in love with him and putting up with all of his abuse? Afton had good qualities, but a woman who felt about Cliff the way Afton did could only ascend to a certain level in the eyes of the audience.
Now contrast her with April. Who was April's ideal man? Bobby Ewing. She was certain that he was the best man in the world for her and she absolutely refused to settle for anything else, because once you've experienced true love, how can you ever settle for anything less?
April was persistent, she was patient and she continually went after what mattered to her most in life, no matter how painful the struggle was to get him to see her for who she had become instead of who she had been. April continued in that positive direction until she succeeded. She already had money but she was missing love. That was what, above all else, mattered to her, and she found true love with Bobby. April became a heroic character.
In a show were some of the fans were asking: "Where are the strong women" April was that strong, heroic woman who refused to settle for anything less than true happiness. A woman who won't settle for anything less than that which she values most, whether it's becoming a rock star or a movie star or being in a love relationship with her ideal man is a strong woman.
For a woman to try be as good as JR is at his own game isn't strength; it's a lack of self-respect and self-esteem. To think that someone could justify becoming a powerful, wealthy woman no matter what underhanded, dishonest means she'll use is a woman who is lost. She may have power in the sense of political influence, she may be wealthy, but she's traded part of her soul for it. She has compromised herself in the worst way.
A truly strong woman refuses to compromise herself. She achieves what she achieves based on her virtues - not on her vices. She is completely unwilling to descend to sleaziness, dishonesty, blackmail or extortion because to descend to those levels would be to deface and devalue the very essence of who she is. Achieving success while refusing to compromise one's highest values and ethics and to succeed based on virtue instead of vice is more than just true strength; it is heroic.
