Peter Richards storyline

[DallasFanForever]

That scene you posted @Rove was one of my favorites of that entire season. Like I said earlier I wasn’t a big fan of the Peter-Sue Ellen storyline but that final scene when J.R. outs them both is magnificently written. J.R. at his finest!!

 

[Rove]

that would have defeated the purpose, these two neurotic, impotent personalities....

I agree. We sometimes should be looking at this from the inside out, not the outside in. Many are arguing about the casting of Christopher as being too young, inexperienced (as an actor) for the role but I see now he was perfectly cast. He is young, he is naïve but this fits perfectly with Peter Richards.

Cally was barely out of school when JR had his wicked way with her. That relationship seemed more creepy than Sue Ellen and Peter

That relationship just creeped me out but Dallas by this point was on the slippery slope to oblivion.

but imagine Brad Pitt in the role

Not sure...I'm trying to build an image here...let's see if this helps...

Peter: Sue Ellen that was hot as hell...but let me fix your hair before you return to Southfork.​

 

[stevew]

I've always liked the Peter Richards character. I first watched the storyline in reruns and as a 14 year old girl I found Peter rather good looking.

Peter and Sue Ellen on the other hand wasn't the best match. I think it's just as okay for an older woman to date a younger man as it is for an older man to date a younger woman. But well the way it came across it seemed like Sue Ellen didn't want to be with Peter. She tried to tell him to leave her alone. But he wouldn't listen and even used emotional blackmail on her "If you stop seeing me I will drop out of college" to get her to keep seeing him. That wasn't right.

Still I did find a perfect song that I think sums up the relationship so I ended up making a fan video about Sue Ellen & Peter:

It's in Swedish but has English subtitles.

Nice job.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Yes, the way it played out, Sue Ellen almost seemed coerced into the romance; Peter indeed emotionally blackmails her, and then, when he decided he "feels guilty", he almost tells JR about the affair.

So Peter's immaturity wasn't just physical.... Can a kid in a Speedo be #MeToo'd ??

 

[darkshadows38]

him being younger isn't really even an issue him looking like it's been said a freshman or sophmore in high school however is just too young.
that's not to say that is how young he actually was i doubt it. but find someone who looks their age rather than look the same age my niece is at the moment which is 14

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

It's hard to imagine this season without the Peter/Sue Ellen storyline... and how else would we have gotten to see Lucy's psychotic post-party meltdown??

 

[Miss Texas 1967]

Storyline was fine, casting was a mismatch. Looks like a lot of people agree.
I don't really mind Sue Ellen having a fling with a younger man or that he turned into a needy, manipulative person throughout his development, keep everything the same but the actor and things might be judged more for the plot than the way things looked.

 

[Lastkidpicked]

There was at least one great part to this storyline. Watch the video again that @Snarky's Ghost posted.

As the audience, we know that J.R is aware of Sue Ellen's affair with Peter Richards. So we get to watch the scene knowing that J.R. is plotting his revenge.

When Lucy announces the affair Peter is having with Sue Ellen, we figure it's all over. But J.R. is in full manipulation mode and it is great to watch him in action as Richard keeps trying to confess, and J.R. keeps cutting him off.

Lucy announces that Sue Ellen and Peter are having an affair:
J.R: Just who the hell do you think you are accusing my wife of this? Peter, I apologize for this outburst.
Peter (Decides to confess): Mr. Ewing, I need to tell you something. . .
J.R. (Cutting him off) Lucy, you have a lot of nerve treating Peter like that. He's been a lot of help to this family. He's a fine young man.
Peter (Tries again to confess): Sir, it' not because Lucy's been drinking. It's that. . .
J.R. (Cuts him off again): Oh yes it is.
Peter (Has decided he is DEFINITELY going to confess now): Sir, I don't feel right about this. There's something I want to say."
J.R: Don't say anything. Don't thank me. Just get home and get some sleep.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! "Don't thank me." That magnificent bastard!

 

[darkshadows38]

yeah he was laughing his ass off cause like i said Peter looked far too young and JR even thought she could do better and well she could. i always found it funny how he would get pissed off when she was cheating yet it was okay that he did it. i don't get how it could be worse with her doing it? she wasn't doing anything he wasn't doing already. his folks knew he was a cheater hell the entire family knew yet.....

 

[James from London]

In retrospect, I think what was really confusing was the disconnect between the way the storyline played out on screen and the way the it had been originally publicised in the press. As I recall, this was the first time an upcoming DALLAS guest appearance had been so aggressively hyped, complete with photos of Christopher Atkins pouting sleazily, his arms draped around Sue Ellen and Pam, amidst rumours that his character was set to seduce them both.

These salacious hints of a “toyboy lover” scenario with its Joan Collins overtones bear no resemblance to the confused, tentative romance we were eventually presented with. No wonder we were confused, complaining that Atkins was miscast as a stud when that wasn’t what he was playing any more than Sue Ellen was meant to be a man-eating cougar. Both were too vulnerable to start tearing each other's clothes off in elevators the way mutually attracted characters were expected to do at the time.

 

[Rove]

As I recall, this was the first time an upcoming DALLAS guest appearance had been so aggressively hyped

Perhaps the writers should have taken the slow burn approach rather than signing Christopher to one off season deal. The way Christopher talks in some old interviews he was expecting a longer stint. Maybe the writers should have introduced Christopher Atkins as Mickey Trotter rather than Timothy Patrick Murphy. More or less the Mickey Trotter story remains the same but with some minor tweaks.

Lucy feels an instant attraction to Mickey but is told by Ray to ease off...still the attraction is there. Sue Ellen of course is fighting her demons and spends more and more time horse riding which brings her in contact with Mickey. As they spend more time together Mickey develops a crush on Sue Ellen but dares not show it. Then one fateful, hot, steamy night at Southfork, Sue Ellen and JR have another blistering row. He grabs his coat and heads to Dallas. Sue Ellen decides to go for a walk around Southfork, bottle in hand. She stumbles upon Mickey in the stables. Tormented by the fact JR has rejected her again she sets her eyes on Mickey.

I would have made Sue Ellen the aggressor in this scenario as it fits with her neurotic personality. Mickey is left feeling hurt and used when later Sue Ellen rejects his advances....and we all know with a flick of the switch how bitchy Sue Ellen can turn. Mickey feeling rejected turns to Lucy where a romance begins.

So more or less the following story remains the same. JR and Sue Ellen have another blistering row. She grabs the car keys and Lucy yells at Mickey to stop her.

This whole Sue Ellen/Peter story might have worked if Christopher was signed to a 2 year contract and the story was given its due rather than the producers seeing it as stunt casting and plot driven. Dallas was brilliant at story-telling because when the usual cliff-hanger/pay off came around it meant something to the viewer.

 

[Jimmy Todd]

It's hard to imagine this season without the Peter/Sue Ellen storyline... and how else would we have gotten to see Lucy's psychotic post-party meltdown??

Charlene Tilton may not have been the best actress on the small screen, but I wouldn't want any other actress n the world to play her. When I first saw this scene, I thought her acting was terrible here. However, now I just see Charlene's weaker moments in terms of acting as just....Lucy.
I missed Lucy after she left.

 

[Pamela_E]

I love this storyline, probably because it would never ever happen now, unless it was a story about older women sexual predators, followed by a helpline number.

Back then most people were talking about his speedos and people saying Peeder , and making jokes at school 'peterfile" because he was always hanging around with John Ross.

Gotta love the 80's, when PC meant your local police officer .

It was an hilariously brilliant story, mainly because Christopher Atkins was such a random choice. I'm not even sure how famous he was at this point, did he do anything other than that film with Brook Shields?

So not sure what was going through the producers minds as he did look extremely young when you think about it in today's context.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Christopher Atkins was such a random choice. I'm not even sure how famous he was at this point

He was pretty famous by then -- at least in the States.

 

[Seaviewer]

I didn't object to the storyline at all. I think with a stronger actor as her young lover, it really could have worked.

than that film with Brook Shields?

As I recall, it was a big deal at the time because of the popularity of The Blue Lagoon, but I rewatched these episodes just recently and he really does come across as quite ineffectual now.

 

[tommie]

Re: the casting of Christopher Atkins. While it was obvious stunt casting I also think it depends on what you see is the purpose of the storyline - was it to give Sue Ellen a potential long term interest or did they want to play up inappropriateness of the age difference? If it's the latter, they did a good job with casting Atkins. Obviously, they could've cast a 22-year-old 6'3 stud that looked fully grown up, but then again it would've potentially actually turned them into an actual potential long-term threat to JR / Sue Ellen and she wouldn't look as foolish since her hair wouldn't have towered over him.

 

[Rove]

did they want to play up inappropriateness of the age difference? If it's the latter, they did a good job with casting Atkins

Spot on Tommie. Many keep arguing Christopher was miscast but I think the producers goal was deliberate and to titillate the audience...good or bad.

 

[Laurie Marr]

He was pretty famous by then -- at least in the States.

Famous he may have been, but even a cursory glance online at the nude Playgirls photos from ‘82 reveal that he could not accurately be described as a big star……

 

[Taylor Bennett Jr.]

I'm not saying the character had to be Mark Graison Jr. (or the 3rd, I guess), or Randy Powell-Pitt, but the cutoff t-shirt look was a bit much...

(especially for a classy joint like Pizza Hut!)

 

[Lastkidpicked]

Famous he may have been, but even a cursory glance online at the nude Playgirls photos from ‘82 reveal that he could not accurately be described as a big star……

I'm wondering how many ladies read this and opened a new tab. . .







For research purposes.