Kenny Coyote
Telly Talk Star
A lot has been written recently of the decline in quality of Dallas starting around season 9 DVD count and then dramatically worsening when James and Michelle were given so much screen time that they were basically being forced down the viewers' throats.
Some reasons that have ben suggested as being most likely to blame for the decline in quality of the series are the writing, the loss of characters important to the ensemble, casting - hiring inferior actors in laters years (especially Michelle and James!), and the character of JR losing his power and falling from a highly competent and feared businessman, to somewhat of a buffoon!
The aspect I'd like to focus on is the quality the acting performances given by those of the original Dallas ensemble and those who were added to the ensemble fairly early - up to and including Howard Keel.
I'm interested in knowing how many people here, if any, blame a decline in the quality of acting from those particular actors as part of the reason for the overall decline in the quality of Dallas.
As mentioned above, JR has been mentioned for turning into somewhat of a buffoon but I don't believe that's the fault of his acting. Even in the worst years of Dallas Larry Hagamn's acting remained top notch. It's hard to imagine that anyone else could have done better with some of the storylines he was given such as Haleyville or staying married to Sue Ellen far after there was any good reason for the two of them to still be married. I find it painful to watch a lot of the scenes between JR and Sue Ellen past approximately season 8 (DVD count). The bad storylines for JR continued - after FINALLY getting divorced from Sue Ellen, having his new wife being Cally was something I don't imagine any actor of his age could have made more convincing or interesting. especially considering the lines he and Cally were both given. Checking himself into a sanitarium and what ended up happening to him once in there was absolutely pathetic and embarrassing to the legacy of the character.
Cliff also seemed to turn even goofier and become more of a buffoon and a loser as time went on but I can't find fault with Ken Kercheval's acting performances in the waning days of Dallas either. He did as well as anyone could have with the material he was given.
Howard Keel and Barbara Bel Geddes never seemed to "phone in their performances" either in the declining days of Dallas. Their acting performances remained high quality but clearly the creative department had nothing of them so they were relegated to becoming amateur detectives - somewhat similar to Murder, She Wrote.
Linda Gray - I could go on listing more members of the original ensemble such as Ray and Donna, but the only person I found to have declined in the quality of her acting performances is Linda Gray. In seasons 11 and 12 I found it particularly painful to watch her acting. There was something very phony and contrived about many of her acting scenes and her acting diversity also took a major hit. She used to be capable of exhibiting a wide range of emotions and while never one of my favorites, she was competent in the glory days of Dallas. In seasons 11 and 12 though her diversity was all but gone and if all you knew that the next scene featured Sue Ellen, it would be a fairly safe bet that she would be grinning like a Jack-O-Lantern throughout the scene. She had an enormous fake smile whether she was happy, angry, or and sometimes even when she was sad. Linda Gray should have been let go in season 8 or 10 (DVD count). After all, how many times could you watch JR and Sue Ellen get together for a short time, only for something to inevitably cause her to move into one of he guest bedrooms and yet stay married to JR before it became old and repetitive to you?
So, in conclusion, with ne exception, I think that even in the waning days of Dallas, the original ensemble members showed they were true professionals and always made the most of whatever scripts the were given. Please feel free to share your own opinions on this subject as I'm interested in finding out how the rest of you feel about this subject.
Some reasons that have ben suggested as being most likely to blame for the decline in quality of the series are the writing, the loss of characters important to the ensemble, casting - hiring inferior actors in laters years (especially Michelle and James!), and the character of JR losing his power and falling from a highly competent and feared businessman, to somewhat of a buffoon!
The aspect I'd like to focus on is the quality the acting performances given by those of the original Dallas ensemble and those who were added to the ensemble fairly early - up to and including Howard Keel.
I'm interested in knowing how many people here, if any, blame a decline in the quality of acting from those particular actors as part of the reason for the overall decline in the quality of Dallas.
As mentioned above, JR has been mentioned for turning into somewhat of a buffoon but I don't believe that's the fault of his acting. Even in the worst years of Dallas Larry Hagamn's acting remained top notch. It's hard to imagine that anyone else could have done better with some of the storylines he was given such as Haleyville or staying married to Sue Ellen far after there was any good reason for the two of them to still be married. I find it painful to watch a lot of the scenes between JR and Sue Ellen past approximately season 8 (DVD count). The bad storylines for JR continued - after FINALLY getting divorced from Sue Ellen, having his new wife being Cally was something I don't imagine any actor of his age could have made more convincing or interesting. especially considering the lines he and Cally were both given. Checking himself into a sanitarium and what ended up happening to him once in there was absolutely pathetic and embarrassing to the legacy of the character.
Cliff also seemed to turn even goofier and become more of a buffoon and a loser as time went on but I can't find fault with Ken Kercheval's acting performances in the waning days of Dallas either. He did as well as anyone could have with the material he was given.
Howard Keel and Barbara Bel Geddes never seemed to "phone in their performances" either in the declining days of Dallas. Their acting performances remained high quality but clearly the creative department had nothing of them so they were relegated to becoming amateur detectives - somewhat similar to Murder, She Wrote.
Linda Gray - I could go on listing more members of the original ensemble such as Ray and Donna, but the only person I found to have declined in the quality of her acting performances is Linda Gray. In seasons 11 and 12 I found it particularly painful to watch her acting. There was something very phony and contrived about many of her acting scenes and her acting diversity also took a major hit. She used to be capable of exhibiting a wide range of emotions and while never one of my favorites, she was competent in the glory days of Dallas. In seasons 11 and 12 though her diversity was all but gone and if all you knew that the next scene featured Sue Ellen, it would be a fairly safe bet that she would be grinning like a Jack-O-Lantern throughout the scene. She had an enormous fake smile whether she was happy, angry, or and sometimes even when she was sad. Linda Gray should have been let go in season 8 or 10 (DVD count). After all, how many times could you watch JR and Sue Ellen get together for a short time, only for something to inevitably cause her to move into one of he guest bedrooms and yet stay married to JR before it became old and repetitive to you?
So, in conclusion, with ne exception, I think that even in the waning days of Dallas, the original ensemble members showed they were true professionals and always made the most of whatever scripts the were given. Please feel free to share your own opinions on this subject as I'm interested in finding out how the rest of you feel about this subject.
