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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Chris2" data-source="post: 363876" data-attributes="member: 495">I’m watching the early seasons now, and David Jacobs’ original setup was truly rich and nuanced. All of the backstory (the Barnes/Ewing feud having complex underpinnings) and character motivations (JR knows he was not his parents’ favorite) are great.Uncle Lenny knew how to move the plot along. But he wasn’t nearly as talented as Jacobs at developing characters. Aside from Donna, did any new characters introduced beyond the original cast really work or were any built for the long haul? Most of them simply existed to move the plots along as opposed to becoming rich characters in their own right. Even Clayton, who lasted the longest of the non-original cast, was pretty much a cipher. We never learned what motivated him or much about his backstory beyond losing his wife Amy and adopting his nephew. He existed simply to be with Miss Ellie.</blockquote>