Arlington Suite: just how mad was Katzman at Susan Howard?

[Spooky Owl!]

The Arlington Suite -- it sounds like a potential spin-off.

It's well established that some of the cast didn't like The Dream Scenario with which Bobby was revived from Pam's year-long nap in 1986, at the start of Season 10 (per DVD count). Only Larry, Patrick and Uncle Lenny seemed to think it was just fine -- the dream explanation. But most of the actors were discreet with their objections and criticisms --- but not Susan Howard.

So, in her last season, as she's trolling around D.C. as a lobbyist attempting to impact oil law, Katzman has her residing in The Arlington Suite at her hotel (Arlington is the big cemetery in the nation's capital) and then he puts her in an all-black outfit and a big black hat for Bobby's & Pam's second wedding -- and we know how blazing hot it gets out there shooting those Southfork scenes, on the tarmac, in the Dallas sun.

I mean, just how vindictive was he towards the actress for her public candor? It wreaks of Reed-ian "this star is fading fast!" to me. (And Katzman actually liked that Donna!)



"I'm sorry, Donna. But you've contracted fatal 'sunstroke-by-dark-clothing-at-high-noon-on-a-Texas-ranch-in-the-summertime' Syndrome --- there's no cure and, upon your expiration, the Culver clan callithump will carry your charred, carbonized cadaver and travel the exact same trek as JFK's cortège some 24 years ago. You'll be interred within view of the Kennedy family burial site, even though you're a registered Republican, and that will be the end of it... I wish I could give you better news, Donna, but medicine has only progressed so far..."

 

[Piggyrella Sanderson]

The Arlington Suite -- it sounds like a potential spin-off.

It's well established that some of the cast didn't like The Dream Scenario with which Bobby was revived from Pam's year-long nap in 1986, at the start of Season 10 (per DVD count). Only Larry, Patrick and Uncle Lenny seemed to think it was just fine -- the dream explanation. But most of the actors were discreet with their objections and criticisms --- but not Susan Howard.

So, in her last season, as she's trolling around D.C. as a lobbyist attempting to impact oil law, Katzman has her residing in The Arlington Suite at her hotel (Arlington is the big cemetery in the nation's capital) and then he puts her in an all-black outfit and a big black hat for Bobby's & Pam's second wedding -- and we know how blazing hot it gets out there shooting those Southfork scenes, on the tarmac, in the Dallas sun.

I mean, just how vindictive was he towards the actress for her public candor? It wreaks of Reed-ian "this star is fading fast!" to me. (And Katzman actually liked that Donna!)



"I'm sorry, Donna. But you've contracted fatal 'sunstroke-by-dark-clothing-at-high-noon-on-a-Texas-ranch-in-the-summertime' Syndrome --- there's no cure and, upon your expiration, the Culver clan callithump will carry your charred, carbonized cadaver and travel the exact same trek as JFK's cortège some 24 years ago. You'll be interred within view of the Kennedy family burial site, even though you're a registered Republican, and that will be the end of it... I wish I could give you better news, Donna, but medicine has only progressed so far..."

A couple of weeks ago, the cast present at the Southfork Experience (couples mainly: Lucy & Mitch, Sue Ellen & Peter, Bobby & Aprilskunk, and Ray and a woman with a mask with a photo of Susan, really!) played a game where each had to answer questions like "Whose blame was that your marriage ended?". Well, Susan was not there but sent her answers anyway, with her usual irony and smartness. When that answer above came up, her card read "Ex. Prod. Leonard Katzman!). Everybody laughed (especially me).

 

[Grangehill1]

What I’ve always struggled to understand is how did Susan Howard NOT realise the writing was on the wall? She featured in maybe a scene per episode towards the end.
Her performance in that last season is just awful. Stilted and slow. None of the fun that Donna exuded. Painful exit for a fantastic character

 

[Jock-O-Lantern]

What I’ve always struggled to understand is how did Susan Howard NOT realise the writing was on the wall? She featured in maybe a scene per episode towards the end.
Her performance in that last season is just awful. Stilted and slow. None of the fun that Donna exuded. Painful exit for a fantastic character

Because she was a totally different character. Gone was the Donna that would be seen at a bar or knocking out Bonnie, replaced by the more high society Donna that would rather be in Washington.

 

[Guzzler’s Frightening Hair]

Instead of phasing Donna out, they should have her become Governor. Season 10 was only a few years before Ann Richards took office, so it wouldn’t have been so far-fetched.

Imagine JR sucking up to her publicly while scheming to bring her down behind the scenes. Poor Ray would have had to be institutionalized with crippling jealousy.

 

[Piggyrella Sanderson]

Donna became a zombie in her last season. Susan had never played her with such a passivity, she was all sighing and melancholy, and it´s understandable. If you have done the best work of your career (Dream Season) and someone comes and tells you that it´s all deleted, and your performance doesn´t matter anymore, and you have to act out the opposite emotions and events, I would be zombie-like too.

Katzman probably carried out what we have commented here so many times: the "producers´ revenge". He also did that with Donna Reed in her last episodes, and would do it again with VP and Linda when they knew they would leave at the end of the year. Though I´d like to know if it´s all about Lorimar because "Falcon" and "Knots" also injected that bad vibe into the departures of Ana-Alicia, Robert Foxworth or Constance McCasin.

We´ll always have this:

Her positivity and irony is bullet-proof here. I just love her.​

 

[Rove]

Susan was spot on with her analyses of it was all a dream. This may have worked in daytime soap land where logic is left at the front door but this was Dallas.

I get so angry now at the colossal missed opportunity of not elevating Dallas into the stratosphere after the death of Bobby. The next season should have had a scorched earth approach to it. Remove that incessant winning smile of JR and return him to a brooding, dark, menacing character. The writers cleverly positioned Pam at Ewing Oil. Of course she would have been a fish out of water but Donna was right there. Why not make use of this character because both she and Bobby liked each other and Donna was no fan of JR.

It was obvious there was too much bickering behind the scenes. Producers trying to stab each other in the back and actors jockeying for position. Victoria made the correct call in leaving and regardless if Susan wished to leave or not having her character shipped to Washington was a good thing.

Just look at what happened to Dallas...an embarrassment.

I just love her.

And I'll second that.

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

I always thought Donna and Ray together were the underlying, underrated stabilizing element of the show.
Ray represented the part of the show that had its basis in old West Texas, even more so after Jock passed.
Donna was an intelligent, accomplished, ethical woman.
Far more so the strong woman so than Miss Ellie and Pam and Sue Ellen (although Sue Ellen evolved)

 

[Spooky Owl!]

I didn't have any problem with Donna, or Susan's performance, in her last year on the show -- and even the Ray/Donna divorce made some sense, as the show had always pushed the "Cowboy and the Lady" issue in the script, the innate problems between them. And the stubbornness that Ray had often displayed about her successes finally overtook Donna as well, and so the marriage ended.

That happens. But keeping Donna around for at least another year, while the Ewings grapple with their weakened company, and trying to get its name back, would also have made sense -- she could have helped them from Washington, D.C.

And while Lorimar, under the new auspices of Telepictures, was slashing budgets and cutting core cast members from their other shows, too, the DALLAS producers telling Susan that her character "no longer had any validity" is pretty cold.

She's been pretty astute in some of her commentary over the years. She described the use of The Dream as "the audience abused again," and framed the entire DALLAS series (when people foolishly questioned her Christianity for appearing in such a salacious TV series) as being "one great big morality play, with all these wealthy, privileged people with every imaginable advantage, constantly stabbing away at each other --- over nothing." (I, myself, have described DALLAS as very Old Testament --- while DYNASTY was very New Testament, in that it had a savior, Krystle, who was ultimately crucified as per expectation, along with the writing).

It's funny that, per the video @Toni posted above, the DYNASTY stars knew the DALLAS story details better than Susan did -- but if The Dream explanation had to be used, it would make much more sense if it had been Bobby's dream.

Katzman had hired Susan for both PETROCELLI and DALLAS. So he probably felt "betrayed" that she'd come out against the use of The Dream so publicly.

But, of course, she was right.

David Jacobs told Uncle Lenny that the dream was a "terrible" idea, and says Katzman asked (probably contemptuously) if Jacobs could think of a better one. Jacobs, who has said he would have used a different explanation, probably could've come up with something better, but Katzman undoubtedly wanted to use The Dream (to wipe out Peter Dunne's admittedly-flawed work).

The audience wasn't a consideration in this. And just before the '86/'87 season began airing, the actors were told -- like Howard Keel -- to go around telling the press that "it's the dream" in order "to cut the anger." But that didn't work, because it was so un-DALLAS that people just assumed it was a tabloid fantasy.

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

I have so much respect for Susan Howard

In addition to her superb performance on "Dallas" she played the first female Klingon ("Mara") on the original Star Trek series and was the only one ever to speak

Susan Howard - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Piggyrella Sanderson]

I have so much respect for Susan Howard

In addition to her superb performance on "Dallas" she played the first female Klingon ("Mara") on the original Star Trek series and was the only one ever to speak

Susan Howard - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

You can take a look at Mara at 5:00 of my latest video:

 

[Rove]

Far more so the strong woman so than Miss Ellie and Pam and Sue Ellen

It's why I believe the producers made a fatal error when they told Susan the character of Donna had run its course. I would have left Bobby dead as the pairing of Pam and Donna at Ewing Oil could have made for interesting viewing.

Post Bobby death I wished to see JR's back up against the wall. Mischief at the office dealing with Pam and Donna protecting Christopher's interest and then dealing with Miss Ellie at home; telling JR not to cause problems for Pam as she wished to continue a relationship with Christopher.

Of course JR wasn't going to stand for that nonsense. Bring on the drama.

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

I wondered if it was ever considered to pair Bobby and Donna, since they were quite similar in their outlooks.
It would have created lots of possibilities Pam and Ray again?
An alliance JR and Ray?
Clayton caught in the middle? (Not that I care for Clayton to have any role, but he would have at least had some purpose,
other than rivaling JR)