Brilliant Writing or an Accident?

[Lastkidpicked]

Hello Friends!
Do you ever see a situation in Dallas where you think, "That is some brilliant writing! In fact, it's so perfect that nobody could be that smart. It might have been a lucky accident."

Here's an example:

In The Venezuelan Connection, Bobby buys 600,000 barrels of crude from Venezuela and pays for it in advance. He hires Sally and Eugene Bullock to ship the oil.
The tanker sinks on it's way to Texas.

In a fun twist, we find out that J.R. had known about the oil shipment and colluded with Sally Bullock to run an interesting scam. They insured the tanker, but not the oil. Then J.R. and Sally filled the tanker with water instead of oil, and sank it. They could then collect the insurance money on the tanker. They also took the oil that Bobby thought was in the tanker and they sold it, keeping the money for themselves! The way the storyline played out for the audience was very exciting as we discovered the scam little by little, just like Bobby did.

There's a throw away line when Bobby is talking with the insurance people. They told Bobby, "Frankly Mr. Ewing, it's not uncommon to over insure a tanker. But in this case, it's a rather obvious over valuation".

This is one of our favorite seasons, so we've watched this many times and that one line about a rather obvious over valuation always made me wonder why Sally would make such an error. But it was one little line so I never gave it much thought.

When Bobby unwinds the whole scam, Sally Bullock proposes that she make things up to him "In the most pleasurable way possible." It's clear she wants Bobby.

So, were the writers really smart enough to include the line, "Frankly, Mr. Ewing, it's a rather obvious over valuation" to tip us off that Sally actually wanted Bobby to uncover the scam? Or was it just a happy accident that it worked out that way?

And have you seen other instances where you think, "That was either brilliant writing or a lucky accident"?

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

The show was fairly well written up until the shows tenth season. After that the final four seasons are all over the place.

Sally Bullock was a character similar to Katherine Wentworth, she would've done anything to get what she wanted. I honestly think she didn't expect to get caught. It was just good writing.

The show did make one big mistake with the writing and that of course was the dream explanation for Bobby Ewing's return from the dead. Long term it ruined the shows popularity exacerbated by the departures of Victoria Principal and Susan Howard; and later on Steve Kanaly and Linda Gray. It was fun (mostly!) while it lasted.

 

[the-lost-son]

I regard the writing of Jock's death as brilliant, but I wonder sometimes if the writers realized their great work when they started the whole storyline.

First it was a good decision to wait a bit after Kristen's death. The first few episodes were great, but after 4-5 episodes after the Ewing B-B-Q that's then the writing was unique in my opinion.
Most other shows I watched would move on quickly if an actor died during production. They'd introduce a new character to keep the show's structure (eg. Cheers when coach died). I somehow think that on Dynasty or even Falcon Crest Miss Ellie would have been given a new love interest after +/- 20 episodes. But Dallas was different there.

I liked that the writers did not take the trodden path of reducing the role of a terminally ill actor in the first place (Takapa) nor deal with the standard soap procedure of "loss/mourning/moving on" in the typical 4-5 episodes. With the writing at that time they somehow defined the show's course for many years. Jock's presence was even bigger after his passing.

So in response to your opening thread - I wouldn't go that far to call it an accident, but I doubt that they realized the consequences of this brilliant bit of writing fully at that time.

 

[DallasFanForever]

I regard the writing of Jock's death as brilliant, but I wonder sometimes if the writers realized their great work when they started the whole storyline.

The most brilliant part of that storyline for me was the letter from Jock that gets read after the contest is over. We knew of that letter’s existence for a year and it definitely lived up to the hype. I mean, what a great piece of storytelling!

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

The most brilliant part of that storyline for me was the letter from Jock that gets read after the contest is over. We knew of that letter’s existence for a year and it definitely lived up to the hype. I mean, what a great piece of storytelling!

Yeah the earlier seasons are so much better than the last couple of seasons which saw the show out.

I think this was because of Philip Capice and Leonard Katzman working together.

Once Katzman got total authority of the show the creative control largely went out the window.

 

[Lastkidpicked]

The most brilliant part of that storyline for me was the letter from Jock that gets read after the contest is over. We knew of that letter’s existence for a year and it definitely lived up to the hype. I mean, what a great piece of storytelling

Yes! And this is one of my favorite scenes of that whole storyline. To refresh everyone's memory:

The contest for Ewing Oil is in full swing and people are actually getting killed at this point.
J.R. knows the numbers, and realizes he is likely to lose the contest. So J.R. goes to Bobby and tells him, "Let's end this contest right now and run Ewing Oil as brothers."
Bobby reluctantly agrees.

In Harv Smithfield's office, the results are tallied. J.R. is the winner! But it doesn't matter, because the brothers had decided to set the contest aside and run the company together. And Harv reads the letter that @DallasFanForever mentions. So the boys will run the company together. But wait! J.R. starts to wriggle out of the deal and take over the company himself, since he did win the contest. J.R. suggests the deal and letter were made in emotional times so the winner really should take over the company.

Thornton McLeish bursts into the office at the last minute, practically out of breath. Bobby's investment in the frozen Canadian fields paid off at the last moment, thanks to the Tundra Torque drill bit from Barnes Wentworth. So Bobby won, once and for all-- Right after J.R. announced there was no deal on running the company together. (Meaning that Bobby should run the company and J.R. would be completely shut out).

Now, here's the question of brilliant writing or happy accident?

J.R. immediately is all smiles, even though he lost. "Well, Bobby! Here's to your success! I've never been a sore loser. Of course, it doesn't matter, since Daddy's letter and the deal we made to run the company together." HA! Every time I watch that scene I laugh at the very thought that J.R. had the guts to try and pull this off. And pull it off he did! He lost the contest but still ran Ewing Oil along with Bobby.

This part of the scene was a huge risk. The risk was this smiling, slap on the back fun could have made J.R. look like a buffoon. It could have damaged his credibility of the ruthless businessman. But Larry Hagman pulled it off perfectly. The smiles and handshakes in the face of defeat made J.R.'s character all the stronger. It was as if after all of the death and destruction, J.R. was able to chuckle because to him, it was nothing more that just a game.

So, was this brilliant writing? Or did the writers just get lucky that Larry Hagman was able to pull this off so perfectly that we forgave him for "Ruining the lives of a half dozen people"?

 

[DallasFanForever]

So, was this brilliant writing? Or did the writers just get lucky that Larry Hagman was able to pull this off so perfectly that we forgave him for "Ruining the lives of a half dozen people"?

I’m gonna say a little bit of both. To me that scene at the end of the contest is one of the most iconic in the show’s history. It’s perfectly written, but I think they wrote it knowing that Larry would play it perfectly, which he did. The contest is called off. They’ve agreed to run the company together, yet once J.R. realizes he’s officially won he’s ready to take it all for himself. But once he’s realized he lost it’s back to working together again. It’s classic J.R. and Larry plays it so perfectly to the point you can’t help but laugh at the end of that scene.

 

[Taylor Bennett Jr.]

I’m gonna say a little bit of both. To me that scene at the end of the contest is one of the most iconic in the show’s history. It’s perfectly written, but I think they wrote it knowing that Larry would play it perfectly, which he did. The contest is called off. They’ve agreed to run the company together, yet once J.R. realizes he’s officially won he’s ready to take it all for himself. But once he’s realized he lost it’s back to working together again. It’s classic J.R. and Larry plays it so perfectly to the point you can’t help but laugh at the end of that scene.

I’m with @James from London from his season review when it comes to this scene, but maybe a bit less charitable:

That such a crucial turning point in the saga should be played for laughs does not perhaps bode well for the series’ future credibility, but Larry Hagman’s depiction of a JR rapidly shifting gears in pursuit of his own interests is just too skilfully comic to resist.



for me it’s too much like one of the sitcom-y endings from the self-contained days, e.g. “the Ewings chuckle when JR asks why Digger was sleeping in his office” in the Edison Faraday Haynes episode.

 

[DallasFanForever]

for me it’s too much like one of the sitcom-y endings from the self-contained days, e.g. “the Ewings chuckle when JR asks why Digger was sleeping in his office” in the Edison Faraday Haynes episode

I can definitely see your point. I guess in those earlier seasons the humor didn’t bother me as much because the drama was so good, whereas in the later years the humor is there as the alternative to the lack of drama. But I get what you’re saying.

 

[Lastkidpicked]

For me it’s too much like one of the sitcom-y endings from the self-contained days, e.g. “the Ewings chuckle when JR asks why Digger was sleeping in his office” in the Edison Faraday Haynes episode.

Yes! In that case, the humor fell flat because it weakened the characters.

They did take one risk that I think paid off because it actually strengthened the characters. I still remember this from the original run:

J.R. wants a sneak peak at Jock's will. Harv Smithfield correctly refuses to unseal Jock's will as this would be an unethical breach. J.R. decides to go around Harv and blackmail Harv's future son in law, John.

Through a series of manipulations, J.R. uses Serena to seduce John. The setup is complete when J.R. "accidentally" walks in on the pair in bed together. You all know the famous J.R. Ewing line--

"I'm a firm believer in the sanctity of marriage and I'm damned disappointed in you."

BWHAHAHAHA! Did he really say that?

Yes, and this strengthened the character of J.R. Ewing. It showed us that J.R. was actually enjoying the set up.
It's scary enough to have a villain who is smart enough to pull off a complex scheme because he has something to gain. It's far scarier to have a villain who is manipulating and blackmailing because he enjoys it.