Solving Lucy.

darkshadows38

Telly Talk Star
i didn't like that cause she treated Pam like shit, she was a spoiled brat back than
 

Jimmy Todd

Telly Talk Mega Star
can you really blame her on that one? JR really did deserve to get shot let's be honest now by than he had done quite a lot to really mess with Lucy so her saying that is no surprise she really did hate the guy. Lucy of old hated him too i dunno if she would have said that but she hated him more and more as time went on so it does not surprise me at all
That line from Lucy was terrible and it conveyed how the show wasn't even taking itself seriously anymore. The first time JR was shot the family reacted to it for what it was- a family member could die and there was a still an assailant out there who could be one of the family. Lucy isn't reflecting that here, no matter how much animosity she has towards JR. Neither was Sue Ellen when she finds out JR is still alive and exclaims, "You mean that bastard is still alive?" Yes, she had plenty of reason to want to kill him, bit the enormity of her actions, including jail time and explaining to John Ross why mommy pumped three bullets into daddy, must be setting in to her.
The first and second times JR was shot really convey the stark contrast on the quality of the show.
 

Angela Channing

Telly Talk Veteran
They always treated Lucy as a peripheral character and her storyline was generally separate from the main focus of the show which was JR's dealing and Ewing Oil. I would have changed that by having her marry an oilman and teamed up with him to rival Ewing Oil and attempt to bring down JR.
 

ClassyCo

Telly Talk Warrior
Charlene Tilton was very pretty during her youth. She definitely had the makings of being the "It Girl" on DALLAS, but I'd say that never quite materialized as well as it could have with better execution.

Lucy was very interesting at the beginning of the show. Her side romance with Ray (which was later retconned as never existing) was quite steamy, and I liked how saucy Lucy could be towards her family. I also liked her relationships with Mitch and Mickey, and I often wished both of those guys had stayed around longer. Had Lucy been given a steady beau or her "on space" inside Ewing Oil, I'd theorize that her character would've been better utilized.

But nothing was stable with Lucy.

Mitch didn't fit in at Southfork, and they weren't about to take have Lucy move away with him permanently. Mickey finally wedged his way into the inner clique, but then the writers/producers/whoever killed him off... and then Lucy was all alone again. When watching DALLAS, I often got irritated at just how under-utilized Lucy was as a character. I cannot quite pinpoint as to why the producers used her so sparingly.

The decision to let Charlene Tilton go at the end of Season 8 (per DVD count) was probably wise. I mean, why keep someone around on payroll to waste her time? Lucy really wasn't missed, I'd say. Her presence on the show had become so insignificant that her absence was barely missed.

I've heard many theories as to how Lucy could've been better-utilized as a character. I've often heard it said that Lucy should've moved over to KNOTS LANDING and lived with Gary and Val, but that wouldn't have worked either. KNOTS was already stabilized as the 'middle class sister' of DALLAS, and Lucy would've been too high-class to fit in on the cul-de-sac. I've heard other theories, but whether or not they were good ones seems irrelevant: the producers hadn't any interest in developing her.

Sorry Charlie.

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Billy Wall

Telly Talk Dream Maker
I've heard many theories as to how Lucy could've been better-utilized as a character. I've often heard it said that Lucy should've moved over to KNOTS LANDING and lived with Gary and Val, but that wouldn't have worked either. KNOTS was already stabilized as the 'middle class sister' of DALLAS, and Lucy would've been too high-class to fit in on the cul-de-sac. I've heard other theories, but whether or not they were good ones seems irrelevant: the producers hadn't any interest in developing her.

Sorry Charlie.

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Lucy and Dr Mitch Cooper could have definitely fit in the cul-de-sac. It would have initially been rough for Lucy, but going from a spoiled rich girl to understanding how common folks live would have been her character arc.
 

darkshadows38

Telly Talk Star
i do like her being a smartass because i am one lol and proud to be one too he he anyways, if it were me and someone got shot that did a lot of bad things to me i mean the kind of things JR did i prolly wouldn't care what did happen to him if it were me. but that's just me
 

ClassyCo

Telly Talk Warrior
Lucy and Dr Mitch Cooper could have definitely fit in the cul-de-sac. It would have initially been rough for Lucy, but going from a spoiled rich girl to understanding how common folks live would have been her character arc.
I've heard that theory many times, and it sounds good on paper. My issue is that KNOTS didn't always do well writing for their younger characters: Diana, Olivia, and even Kenny and Ginger never really got the attention the others got. Yes, I know Diana had the Chip arc, and Olivia had her drug addiction and bats with Harold, but they were never apart of the "main cast" of the show. Claudia Lonow and Tonya Crowe both briefly got opening credits billing before being booted out.

Of course, there's an argument that KNOTS handled other younger characters quite good: Ciji (and later Cathy, albeit initially), Paige, Michael, and even someone like Joshua Rush had good writing and good runs.

It's really toss-up in my head whether KNOTS would've been a good "fit" for Lucy had the producers decided to relocate her from Dallas to sunny California.

But none of that was going to happen anyway. Joan Van Ark was very age cautious, apparently, as most actresses are, and evidently wasn't too keen on Charlene Tilton being around a lot. Joan didn't want to be viewed as being old enough to be a mother to the adult Charlene.​
 

Rove

Telly Talk Warrior
Joan didn't want to be viewed as being old enough to be a mother to the adult Charlene.
That's an odd thing for an actress to be thinking about rather than seeing the story for what it was. I'm assuming both Gary and Valene were teenagers when Lucy was born. When I first viewed Valene and Lucy together on Dallas I never thought it aged Joan. In fact Joan's youthful appearance added to the theory she was a teenager herself when Lucy was conceived.
 

DallasFanForever

Telly Talk Supreme
When I first viewed Valene and Lucy together on Dallas I never thought it aged Joan. In fact Joan's youthful appearance added to the theory she was a teenager herself when Lucy was conceived
I would agree with this. If anything Lucy and Val looked like sisters to me rather than mother and daughter. I never got the impression Charlene made Joan look too old.
 
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