Should J.R. Have Been Darker or More Lighthearted

[CeeCee72]

Yes, even though JR let Pam off the hook uncharacteristically after she kidnapped John Ross and took him to Sue Ellen. Or perhaps he assumed she was in emotional meltdown and figured it wasn't worth the effort -- although I always want JR to have had a role in putting her on top of that building when she was about to jump.

Frankly, though, I tend to wonder if Pam, given her psychiatric profile, was a molestation victim. Maybe by Edgar Randolph.

JR was always sorta soft on the women in his family, so not sure it was uncharacteristic that he let Pam off the hook.

A mean as he could be to Sue Ellen, he only put her in the sanitarium because the family practically forced him too. He didn't run her through the mud during the custody hearing, because Miss Ellie asked him not to. Auch as he groused about Donna being at Ewing Oil after Bobby was shot, he didn't do anything about it. He didn't move against Pam or Lucy when they took John Ross to Sue Ellen.

He was a dangerous man, but he pretty much left the Ewing women alone.

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

JR was always sorta soft on the women in his family, so not sure it was uncharacteristic that he let Pam off the hook.

A mean as he could be to Sue Ellen, he only put her in the sanitarium because the family practically forced him too. He didn't run her through the mud during the custody hearing, because Miss Ellie asked him not to. Auch as he groused about Donna being at Ewing Oil after Bobby was shot, he didn't do anything about it. He didn't move against Pam or Lucy when they took John Ross to Sue Ellen.

He was a dangerous man, but he pretty much left the Ewing women alone.

Interesting point. Maybe JR thought of it more as keeping family intact.

 

[Mustard]

JR was always sorta soft on the women in his family

He doesn't underestimate his mother, that's for sure.

so not sure it was uncharacteristic that he let Pam off the hook.

When did he let Pam off the hook? J.R. was regularly trying to ruin Bobby and Pam's marriage, exploiting any slight weaknesses. Pam was usually very wise to J.R.'s methods and can be feisty when directly challenged, which is why J.R. described her as "a thorn in my side since the day that she first arrived on Southfork".

A mean as he could be to Sue Ellen, he only put her in the sanitarium because the family practically forced him too.

His family forced him to do something about Sue Ellen's predictament, but I remember that scene where J.R. sweet talked both his parents into thinking that it was the right thing to do to put Sue Ellen in the sanitarium, where she'd get help, professional care etc. to get better.

He didn't run her through the mud during the custody hearing, because Miss Ellie asked him not to.

Miss Ellie is not to be underestimated. Season 5 DVD she was like a force of nature at times with the way that she acted in Jock's absence, and into Season 6 DVD when she almost broke Jock's will. She was on the brink of a nervous breakdown just before the Southfork fire though, another victim of the Battle for Ewing Oil, the in story explanation for her missing the first 11 episodes of Season 7 DVD.

Auch as he groused about Donna being at Ewing Oil after Bobby was shot, he didn't do anything about it. He didn't move against Pam or Lucy when they took John Ross to Sue Ellen.

Pam ended up in a sanitarium herself soon after taking John Ross to Sue Ellen. This happened despite most of the other characters thinking that Pam would have been the last person that would have suffered a nervous breakdown. J.R. helped a bit in that, with his cruel comments. But Pam taking John Ross off Southfork also hurt her at the time in a way that she hadn't thought of, because there wasn't a baby around Southfork anymore, so in that sense Pam thought J.R. was right when he was lambasting her for taking John Ross to Sue Ellen, lowering Pam's self-esteem further.

He was a dangerous man, but he pretty much left the Ewing women alone.

What would you expect him to do to them?

 

[CeeCee72]

What would you expect him to do to them

I guess I would have expected him to make P face swift and severe consequences for taking John Ross to SE. I guess I would have expected him to make SE suffer more for taking his son. I guess I would have expected him to throw Donna our of EO on her hiney.

He would have done all that and more to anyone else

 

[Jimmy Todd]

Interesting observations about JR and his interaction with the women in his family. He seemed to be crueler to them when they were no longer family, at least in hos eyes. He did what could be considered his most malicious act to Pam after she divorced Bobby when he sent her on that wild goose chase to find Mark. During the custody hearing over John Ross, he was fully prepared to drag Sue Ellen through the mud until he saw Miss Ellie arrive.
Cruel as he could be, maybe JR does have some twisted sense of family, as long as they are actually family.

 

[Snowcat]

I though Jenna and Jack made for good friends, but the scenes where they made us think it might become more were kind of awkward.

Just like Jenna and Ray

 

[Snowcat]

JR was always sorta soft on the women in his family, so not sure it was uncharacteristic that he let Pam off the hook.

A mean as he could be to Sue Ellen, he only put her in the sanitarium because the family practically forced him too. He didn't run her through the mud during the custody hearing, because Miss Ellie asked him not to. Auch as he groused about Donna being at Ewing Oil after Bobby was shot, he didn't do anything about it. He didn't move against Pam or Lucy when they took John Ross to Sue Ellen.

He was a dangerous man, but he pretty much left the Ewing women alone.

Pam was that “Barnes” woman. He always felt the same about her. There was only so much he could do to Pam. Otherwise, Bobby would take him apart limb by limb. Also, hurting Pam would not bring John Ross back. He was facing so many hurdles, he didn’t have time to think about Pam

 

[lbf522]

Larry Hagman and the writers were careful not to make JR over the top evil. He was if anything a lovable rogue who we loved hot hate. They however made him a paper tiger who overtime watered him down to the point where he became a joke and he lost to every Tom, Dick, or Harry.

The JR Ewing of old would not have believed that James Beaumont was his son and accepted him like he did when he was suspicioius of Jamie.

Not saying that I would have wanted JR to be a mindless hot head like Bobby but be someone that people are wary of. Again, I realize that the writers and Hagman did not want JR to be over the top evil.

In the mini series, Ray and Lucy each said that JR had people killed but we never saw that. JR himself even told Bobby that he never killed anyone not even during the war.

I do think there were instances where they should have made JR a little meaner. You can count on one hand the number of times JR actually threw a punch. He let Pamela off to easy after she kidnapped his son. All he did was yell at her. The same when Donna took it upon herself to get into JR's face at Ewing Oil. In both instances, he should have been angry out for blood. The thing was neither Pamela or Donna feared him. Not only that he should have come up with more ways to get John Ross off the Southern Cross. I liked the idea of his buying up Clayton Farlow's oil was a good idea. The problem was that JR should have had a plan B for if or when oil prices fell. I don't like a character who is over the top evil (unless they are short term). I like that they have dimensions to them and JR certainly did.

If Dallas were done today, I would imagine the writers would make JR more evil than in the original.

 

[Mustard]

Pam was that “Barnes” woman. He always felt the same about her. There was only so much he could do to Pam. Otherwise, Bobby would take him apart limb by limb. Also, hurting Pam would not bring John Ross back. He was facing so many hurdles, he didn’t have time to think about Pam

Pam was in her most vulnerable spot at the time and didn't disagree with J.R. at that moment anyway, as she missed John Ross being at Southfork, which hurt her own self-esteem.

In more general terms, Pam usually anticipated J.R.'s thinking and angles anyway. He didn't like talking to her with deeper conversations much because she'd ruin any feel good moment for him. I think he hated Pam for that reason as much as her being a Barnes. Even when J.R. successfully riled Pam about her trip to Paris with Mark and asking if she sampled the Frenchmen while she was there, Pam just slapped him hard across the face and walked out, leaving J.R. to say "Damn, I hate that woman". He also said that Pam was a constant thorn in his side since the moment that she first arrived on Southfork, and what he means by that is that she regularly cuts out the angles and mood that J.R. tries to create when he makes his comments around the family. Lucy does it to some extent too, but Pam goes deeper with it to the point that it kills J.R.'s feel good factor.

 

[Billy Wall]

JR was always sorta soft on the women in his family, so not sure it was uncharacteristic that he let Pam off the hook.

He was a dangerous man, but he pretty much left the Ewing women alone.

I think Sue Ellen, Pam, Lucy and Val would disagree. Lol

 

[CeeCee72]

I think Sue Ellen, Pam, Lucy and Val would disagree. Lol

Val maybe.

Lucy got away with murder (including taking John Ross to SE) and all he ever did to her was to insult her.

As hard as he was on SE while they were married, he never sought revenge for her Weststar stunt. He never trashed her in open court. He didn't do a damn thing when she punched him and knocked him on his hiney in public, he never moved against her over the movie, and he continued to socialize with her after she shot him.

 

[Billy Wall]

Val maybe.

Lucy got away with murder (including taking John Ross to SE) and all he ever did to her was to insult her.

As hard as he was on SE while they were married, he never sought revenge for her Weststar stunt. He never trashed her in open court. He didn't do a damn thing when she punched him and knocked him on his hiney in public, he never moved against her over the movie, and he continued to socialize with her after she shot him.

If anything, the Ewing’s have been light on JR. They were big time enablers of some of the things he did.

He caused Pam to lose a baby and went out of his way to break up her marriage to Bobby. Even when she left, he, along with Cliff, sent her on a wild goose chase to find Mark Grayson.

He treated Sue Ellen like dirt for the vast majority of the 14 years they were on air. The reason Sue Ellen knocked him on his ass was because he lied to Cally about her. What was JR going to do? Beat up Sue Ellen in front of everybody?

As for Lucy, he did everything in his power to seperate her from her mom. That’s a big deal IMO.

 

[Snowcat]

If anything, the Ewing’s have been light on JR. They were big time enablers of some of the things he did.

He caused Pam to lose a baby and went out of his way to break up her marriage to Bobby. Even when she left, he, along with Cliff, sent her on a wild goose chase to find Mark Grayson.

He treated Sue Ellen like dirt for the vast majority of the 14 years they were on air. The reason Sue Ellen knocked him on his ass was because he lied to Cally about her. What was JR going to do? Beat up Sue Ellen in front of everybody?

As for Lucy, he did everything in his power to seperate her from her mom. That’s a big deal IMO.

If anything, the Ewing’s have been light on JR. They were big time enablers of some of the things he did.

He caused Pam to lose a baby and went out of his way to break up her marriage to Bobby. Even when she left, he, along with Cliff, sent her on a wild goose chase to find Mark Grayson.

He treated Sue Ellen like dirt for the vast majority of the 14 years they were on air. The reason Sue Ellen knocked him on his ass was because he lied to Cally about her. What was JR going to do? Beat up Sue Ellen in front of everybody?

As for Lucy, he did everything in his power to seperate her from her mom. That’s a big deal IMO.

Sue Ellen & JR have a complex & unhealthy relationship. There was definitely love between them. But JR had to be in control. He was flat out verbally & emotionally abused her. But he generally softened when he saw her stand up to him & when he saw her on her own 2 feet. He was proud of her accomplishments as long as she didn’t cross him. He genuinely considered her & John Ross his nucleus family. When he was married to Cally he wanted to take Sue Ellen & John Ross to dinner. He loved her as much as he was capable of loving anyone. Which unfortunately isn’t much

 

[Snowcat]

I think Sue Ellen, Pam, Lucy and Val would disagree. Lol

None of those women were his flesh & blood except Lucy. But she was a product of Val & Gary

 

[Billy Wall]

None of those women were his flesh & blood except Lucy. But she was a product of Val & Gary

They were Ewing women regardless.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Despite the profound flaws of nuDALLAS, at least they tried to take it all seriously. The closing years of oldDALLAS did not.

As David Jacobs once said, these shows can have humor and satire underneath the surface, but they must be played absolutely straight on the face of it.