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Message: <blockquote data-quote="James from London" data-source="post: 198592" data-attributes="member: 22">I've always had this silly idea about watching all the episodes in a timey-wimey, non-chronological order, zipping through time and space, zigzagging from era to era and back again, just because -- well, just because, really. I'm not sure how far I'll get before I'm overwhelmed by the sheer utter pointlessness of it all but until then ...Abby's Choice (KNOTS, 16 Dec 82) v. Acceptance (DALLAS, 02 Apr 82)<img src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BODZlYTIyNTAtYWMwZC00YWYzLTk4ZjctYzg4YTdmZjZlYTI3XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNDU3MzA3NA@@._V1_UY1200_CR513,0,630,1200_AL_.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /><img src="https://dallasdecoder.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/critique-dallas-episode-102-acceptance-1-copy.jpg?w=584" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />The whole of Abby's Choice is focused on one question and there's a real sense of urgency to it: will Abby agree to donate her kidney to Diana? As Lilimae points out, Abby "has never done an unselfish thing in her life", which makes her response all the more interesting. She is angry, resentful and defiant, but mostly scared -- we've never really seen her like this before. She and Gary haven't been together very long at this point, and neither have Karen and Mack (nor Chip and Diana, come to that). Likewise, the wounds between Gary and Val, and Abby and Karen are still very raw. So the interactions between all of these characters are full of fascinating little nuances. (The instant friendship between Laura and Ciji feels a bit forced in comparison, but the actors make it work.)  The shadow of Sid’s death hangs over the whole ep so when the Fairgates get their happy ending, you feel like they've earned it. And Claudia Lonow's great as Diana -- understated and vulnerable and lovely.On Acceptance, the characters are mostly divided into different storylines. While Bobby does his action hero thing to help bring Jeff Faraday’s killers to justice, Rebecca disowns Cliff (great scene), JR courts Sue Ellen and Miss Ellie tries touchingly to keep the reality of Jock’s death at bay. Compared to Abby's Choice, it's quite a calm episode even though it's the penultimate one of the season. The Ewings finally come together at the end for an old-fashioned family dinner, but trying to turn the clock back proves too much for Miss Ellie and she finally loses it in the kitchen over Jock. This is the dramatic climax we've been building towards, but despite the emotion, the domestic surroundings mean there’s still something very comforting about it (compared to the cold hospital environment on KNOTS). Like KNOTS, it ends on an optimistic note, as Miss Ellie tells Donna she’s accepted Jock’s death. And the winner is ... Abby's Choice.Bonus Beats (i.e. the song title in my music collection that bears the closest resemblance to the name of one of these episodes):[MEDIA=youtube]h66-EvYMThQ[/MEDIA]</blockquote>

Verification: Who played JR Ewing?