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When I read your title, Victoria Barkley was the first thing I thought of too. It would certainly have been another angle that could have possibly worked.
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They opted for family conflict though - J.R already hated Clayton for helping Sue Ellen take John Ross away from him - and for having designs of her himself. By having Ellie marry Clayton it set up a lot more storylines.
I loved Clayton, probably because I loved Howard, he fitted into that show so well and I always find it very sad that he's always overlooked as a character, especially since he did many years on the show - and TNT's complete ignorance of him was despicable.
On the downside, they ran out of ideas for him...especially all that art rubbish with the worst actors on the planet - that storyline still makes me shudder.
I loved Clayton, probably because I loved Howard, he fitted into that show so well and I always find it very sad that he's always overlooked as a character, especially since he did many years on the show - and TNT's complete ignorance of him was despicable.
On the downside, they ran out of ideas for him...especially all that art rubbish with the worst actors on the planet - that storyline still makes me shudder.
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I was just watching one of my favorite scenes in all of Dallas when Miss Ellie returned with Clayton and Clayton sat in Jock’s chair. Lol
Classic.
Classic.
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I think it would be cruel to the character of Miss Ellie to let her remain a widow. I just think of what could have happened if Digger had survived Jock. Digger vs Clayton for the affections of Miss Ellie would have been interesting.
I always liked Clayton so I'm pleased with what became of him overall as the husband of Miss Ellie.
I always liked Clayton so I'm pleased with what became of him overall as the husband of Miss Ellie.
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Howard Keel was one of the best additions to the Dallas cast and I loved his scenes at SF
So glad he became a permanent feature on the show.
So glad he became a permanent feature on the show.
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I think she should have married a character played by Howard Cosell instead of Howard Keel - mix things up a bit with a real non-Texas outsider!
(just being silly, of course!)
(just being silly, of course!)
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I'm not sure I see the benefit of Miss Ellie written as a widow- who is Victoria Barkley?
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Victoria tells her stepson to get her shotgun out of the hall closet when some scandalous telegraph operator comes knocking.
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If that had happened we would never have been treated to the sight of Miss Ellie shoved in the car boot by crazy Lady Jessica Mountford! Actually you might be right!
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They should have married her to Leslie Nielsen. Imagine the fun around the Southfork dining table with all those whoopi cushions.
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JR: if you intend to stay around Southfork long enough to be driven off, as you surely will, you won’t see a dime
Leslie: *makes farting noise* and don’t call me Shirley
Leslie: *makes farting noise* and don’t call me Shirley
Sorry, Victoria Barkley was the matriarch of the Barkley Family "Big Valley" which was a western in the 1960s
I liked Howard Keel a lot, but I thought the Clayton character was kind of toothless and didn’t really add much to the show. He conveniently had no family and was willing to sell his business to move to Dallas with Ellie. Wouldn’t it have been more interesting for Ellie to fall in love with someone who had his own family and was a quasi competitor for the Ewings in business? There could have been a lot more conflict (i.e. drama) with Ellie’s second marriage.
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Bobby and Pam got divorced and then JR and Sue Ellen got divorced for the second time. If they'd had a lot more conflict in Clayton and Miss Ellie's marriage it would have gotten repetitious. Somebody in the family had to have a successful marriage for contrast.
You can have a successful marriage but still have to deal with each other’s children and business conflicts. Ellie’s second marriage was a missed opportunity from a storyline standpoint. To me, that would have been more interesting than the umpteenth J.R./Sue Ellen breakup/reconciliation.
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You're preaching to the choir on that. I don't now why they thought we would want to see any couple do the same thing so damn many times! It might have been at least a little more justifiable if it was because they had been searching for the most interesting woman possible to be JR's next wife...but...they chose Cally.
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I agree. I was waiting for his attraction to the art woman to be for a reason, such as she reminded him of his first wife, but it just turned into nothing; it seemed silly to me. I’m not sure, however, if it was worse than the Murder She Wrote plot in later seasons.
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Is it known whether the producers intentionally gave Miss Ellie a new husband, or whether they decided to do so because they realized there was good chemistry between Miss Ellie and Clayton?
Was there actually an alternative to Clayton as Ellie's second husband? I only remember one other admirer of Ellie's, whose name escapes me; Miss Ellie convinced him to abandon his construction project. Could he have been the right one for her?
Did the writers ever express regret over Digger's death, as a romance between Ellie and Digger could have been appealing after Jock's death?
Was there actually an alternative to Clayton as Ellie's second husband? I only remember one other admirer of Ellie's, whose name escapes me; Miss Ellie convinced him to abandon his construction project. Could he have been the right one for her?
Did the writers ever express regret over Digger's death, as a romance between Ellie and Digger could have been appealing after Jock's death?
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