Gary Ewing in Dallas

the-lost-son

the-lost-son

Telly Talk Well-Known Member
I always liked Gary back in Dallas. It was realistic that some offspring of the Ewing family lived further away and when he arrived it was always for a major reason (reading of Jock's will, Lucy's wedding, Bobby's funeral)

I have watched only a few episodes of Knots Landing, but I really liked this clip here:

If Knots Landing had been less successful, they should have brought Gary&Val back on a permanent basis. Especially in the later years they could have given us more family drama within the Ewing family instead of McKays, Beaumont...

When Bobby died and JR lashed out at Gary (and Ray in the living room) I thought for a moment he could take Bobby's seat. Additionally Muss Ellie and Lucy would have got some material to work with.

And imagine Gary&Val (or Abby?) on Southfork at dinner time.

Would you have welcomed Gary back on a permanent basis?
 
D

DallasFanForever

Telly Talk Supreme
It’s kind of hard for me to see Gary back on a permanent basis because I think the whole basis of the character was that he just couldn’t be very close with his family. He was always “the black sheep.”

I do like that scene in Knots Landing when he stands up to J.R. That’s one of the very best scenes between them imo.
And that scene makes me think that if Gary did return to Dallas, it may have been much better to come back with Abby than Valene. Abby living at Southfork would’ve been a lot more drama.
 
J

Jimmy Todd

Telly Talk Mega Star
I loved when Gary and Valene were in Dallas, but I agree it's more fitting that they lived in a different state. I'm very glad KL ran for so long, but if it hadn't it would have been wonderful if they were recurring characters.
When Gary went to Dallas for the reading of Jock's will he was with Abby, and it would have been great fun to have her in a few scenes with Miss Ellie, Lucy, Pam, etc..
I said in another thread I would have liked Jock to have met Katherine once just to get his reaction to her. I wonder if Jock had Abby if he would have seen right through or fall for her charms.
 
James from London

James from London

International Treasure
Jimmy Todd said:
I wonder if Jock had Abby if he would have seen right through or fall for her charms.
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Jock was pretty gullible. He bought JR's act most of the time, and Kristin's, and Guzzler's -- and Abby was arguably smarter than all of them so ...
 
James from London

James from London

International Treasure
GillesDenver said:
Was it mentioned in "Dallas" or "Knots Landings" (or both ?)
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There was an extra episode of KNOTS that originally aired the same night as Jock's will reading on DALLAS that had Gary, Abby and Val all in Dallas plus guest appearances from JR, Bobby and a very soggy Christopher.
 
J

Jimmy Todd

Telly Talk Mega Star
GillesDenver said:
Donna Mills never was in "Dallas".
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I meant he was "with Gary" in the sense that he had left Val and was "shacking up" with Abby at that point.
He asked Val to attend the reading of the will with him because Jock always liked her and there was a chance Jock included her in the will. She told him to take a hike, but @James from London is right. Abby went to Dallas to surprise Gary.
 
Mustard

Mustard

Telly Talk TV Fanatic
GillesDenver said:
Donna Mills never was in "Dallas".
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True, but Abby was there in Dallas at the time that her then boyfriend Gary was in Southfork for the reading of Jock's Will. The Knots Landing episode "New Beginnings" aired later the same night as the Dallas episode "Jock's Will", and the first scene in New Beginnings was Gary at Southfork with Bobby and Christopher just before leaving, as Bobby tried to reassure Gary about his inheritance. Val (still Gary's wife at the time, separated after Val left him, but with question marks over their future) was also in Dallas at the time, coincidentally, signing copies of her book "Capricorn Crude". J.R. brought the entire publishing company and delighted in telling an annoyed Valene the news as he brought his copy of her book to sign. He also showed admiration for Gary's stronger character for the first time, and Abby's influence on him.
 
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Mustard

Mustard

Telly Talk TV Fanatic
Jimmy Todd said:
I meant he was "with Gary" in the sense that he had left Val and was "shacking up" with Abby at that point.
He asked Val to attend the reading of the will with him because Jock always liked her and there was a chance Jock included her in the will. She told him to take a hike, but @James from London is right. Abby went to Dallas to surprise Gary.
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Val left Gary, after catching him in bed with Abby in the Season 3 finale of Knots Landing. Gary pleaded with Val not to leave, but to no avail. Gary looked a bit terrified with the Val emotional safety net not guaranteed anymore. Abby did not suffer fools at all. Abby even told Gary once "I'm not Val. I'm not going to mother you. Face responsibilities". Abby also had two young kids, Olivia and Brian, to look after. She was like a softer J.R. at that time but who wanted to build Gary's character. Still, the bond between Gary and Val was pretty much unbreakable, even when they were apart and married to different people. I think the bond between Gary and Valene was even stronger than between Bobby and Pamela.
 
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Mustard

Mustard

Telly Talk TV Fanatic
It may have been copyright bureaucracy as to why Abby wasn't in the Dallas episode "Jock's Will", as the character of Abby originated on Knots Landing. That's probably why we never got to see Miss Ellie in Knots Landing too. The best time would have been after Bobby's death, but Barbara Bel Geddes had only just returned to the role of Miss Ellie at the time. Similar bureaucracy existed on the TNT Dallas, as to why Bobby and Betsy (Gary and Val's twin children) weren't included.
 
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