Unpopular opinion: I think the dismantling of Ewing Oil and Pam leaving was the downfall of Dallas

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

As much as I wanted much more to come out of Pam working at Ewing Oil, it would’ve meant her having to stoop to J.R.’s level in order to survive there and that just wasn’t going to happen. I like the idea of her becoming more manipulative and sneaky in order to go toe toe with him but Pam was much closer to being Bobby than she was .J.R. She was watching over Christopher’s shares and that meant too much to her to compromise her integrity.

Yeah and once the show was reset with Bobby's return in season ten the characterisation of Pam took a slight nose dive. She turned into a slightly whiny character which they were already doing for Presley's version of Jenna Wade. Having Pam & Jenna at loggerheads in season ten didn't really help the characterisation of both of there characters.

Pam was a much stronger character in season nine, it's a real shame this season was turned into a dream scenario as the storylines did have potential even though the Angelica Nero, Marinos Shipping storyline went on for too long. They really should've ended it sooner and introduced Steve Forrest's Ben Stivers character a lot earlier rather than leaving it a few episodes shy of the season finale.

The "Dream Season" started off very strong, and if they built on the original premise of Pam working at Ewing Oil with JR it would have stayed strong. Providing of course it was done with some realism so that they didn't make Pam suddenly an expert in the oil industry, but kept Pam the scrappy, fish out of water, David against Goliath type. (If I could think of another metaphor I'd throw that in as well )
Unfortunately, they took the show in another direction that season, and Pam abruptly and quite awkwardly sold Christopher's shares of Ewing Oil to JR.

I think I can give a good guess as to why those storylines were curtailed. Larry Hagman was unhappy behind the scenes at the direction Philip Capice was taking the show. I'm willing to bet he wasn't a fan of giving some of his female co-stars more meatier storylines and having them take the lead in the series. He was probably hoping for a meatier storyline of his own and that was the Marinos Shipping storyline which went on to dominate the latter half of the season. He possibly didn't want Pam to be at loggerheads with JR at Ewing Oil and that's maybe why that storyline never really set up a battle between them.

We know he wanted Patrick Duffy back but he also wanted Leonard Katzman back too. You'll notice when Katzman takes control of Dallas for season ten most of the female characters take a backseat to the male stars on the show. Whilst I love season ten it's very much a male orientated season with only Sue Ellen's Valentine Lingerie storyline and Donna's failing marriage to Ray storyline being the only real female stand outs of that season. Pam and Jenna's storylines were intertwined for a while but it was the beginning of the whole Charlie spoilt brat storyline which did my head in on rewatches.

I honestly think Larry was his own worst enemy at times and sometimes did things which weren't for the betterment of the show but merely for his own benefit.

 

[LMLDallas78]

Bobby's return in season ten the characterisation of Pam took a slight nose dive.

I'm afraid that happened way before.

Pam had some good points, but that nose dive had already started.

bet he wasn't a fan of giving some of his female co-stars more meatier storylines and having them take the lead in the series

That might well be the case or maybe such meatier storylines weren’t sustainable for Pam's character or dare I say VP's acting?

I honestly think Larry was his own worst enemy

He probably was, but he made the show what is was and had the most clout.

 

[Mustard]

The "Dream Season" started off very strong, and if they built on the original premise of Pam working at Ewing Oil with JR it would have stayed strong. Providing of course it was done with some realism so that they didn't make Pam suddenly an expert in the oil industry, but kept Pam the scrappy, fish out of water, David against Goliath type. (If I could think of another metaphor I'd throw that in as well )
Unfortunately, they took the show in another direction that season, and Pam abruptly and quite awkwardly sold Christopher's shares of Ewing Oil to JR.

I agree that they should have had Pam slowly get to grips with tackling J.R. at Ewing Oil (initially suffering some bad setbacks at J.R.'s hands), with Mark, Cliff, Jamie and Jack helping her out, Jack being more of an unpredictable one. This is how it should have gone, but some bad politics behind the scenes stopped it.

 

[DallasFanForever]

I wonder how much different it would have been if they had gotten the usual season ending break after Season 10 DVD before having to be back for the next season? That year, i.e. 1987, there was a much shorter break in between seasons.

Good question! I’m sure the lack of the usual hiatus had something to do with it, although I’m not sure how much differently they would’ve portrayed it to be honest. They just weren’t going to kill off Pam after they had to figure out how to bring Bobby back from the dead only a year earlier. In retrospect killing off Pam was the best option after her accident but obviously they were leaving it open just in case.

 

[Rove]

When Dallas did try to evolve, move on or become more modern it didn't work, viewers didn't like it.

Are we talking about the later seasons because that was disastrous for the series. The trouble hit the fan the season following Bobby being shot. There is no way Miss Ellie would have kept away from Dallas if she had learnt one of sons was in hospital. That wasn't in her nature. Of course at the time we weren't aware of those pesky background politics at play. Suddenly Afton was sent packing and in strolls Mandy Winger. It was this season when there was a seismic shift in Dallas and I don't think it ever recovered. Those creative differences behind the scenes suddenly exploded onto the small screen.

Up until this point Dallas was near perfection. I'm all for changes but they have to be subtle and the strength of Dallas was keeping the focus on the main characters and the continued drama between the Ewing and Barnes family.

 

[Seaviewer]

There is no way Miss Ellie would have kept away from Dallas if she had learnt one of sons was in hospital. That wasn't in her nature.

As I remember it, Clayton kept the news from her.

 

[Grangehill1]

I think I can give a good guess as to why those storylines were curtailed. Larry Hagman was unhappy behind the scenes at the direction Philip Capice was taking the show. I'm willing to bet he wasn't a fan of giving some of his female co-stars more meatier storylines and having them take the lead in the series. He was probably hoping for a meatier storyline of his own and that was the Marinos Shipping storyline which went on to dominate the latter half of the season. He possibly didn't want Pam to be at loggerheads with JR at Ewing Oil and that's maybe why that storyline never really set up a battle between them.

We know he wanted Patrick Duffy back but he also wanted Leonard Katzman back too. You'll notice when Katzman takes control of Dallas for season ten most of the female characters take a backseat to the male stars on the show. Whilst I love season ten it's very much a male orientated season with only Sue Ellen's Valentine Lingerie storyline and Donna's failing marriage to Ray storyline being the only real female stand outs of that season. Pam and Jenna's storylines were intertwined for a while but it was the beginning of the whole Charlie spoilt brat storyline which did my head in on rewatches.

I honestly think Larry was his own worst enemy at times and sometimes did things which weren't for the betterment of the show but merely for his own benefit.

You think Donna’s failing marriage is a female stand out?! It was awful. Susan Howard was relegated to cameo appearances and Donna ended up with zero charisma and personality

I'm afraid that happened way before.

Pam had some good points, but that nose dive had already started.



That might well be the case or maybe such meatier storylines weren’t sustainable for Pam's character or dare I say VP's acting?



He probably was, but he made the show what is was and had the most clout.

Pam’s nose dive definitely happened in season 10 and not before

 

[Taylor Bennett Jr.]

Are we talking about the later seasons because that was disastrous for the series. The trouble hit the fan the season following Bobby being shot. There is no way Miss Ellie would have kept away from Dallas if she had learnt one of sons was in hospital. That wasn't in her nature. Of course at the time we weren't aware of those pesky background politics at play. Suddenly Afton was sent packing and in strolls Mandy Winger. It was this season when there was a seismic shift in Dallas and I don't think it ever recovered. Those creative differences behind the scenes suddenly exploded onto the small screen.

Up until this point Dallas was near perfection. I'm all for changes but they have to be subtle and the strength of Dallas was keeping the focus on the main characters and the continued drama between the Ewing and Barnes family.

yep, by mid-season we have Donna Reed and Howard Keel, dressed to the nines for no particular reason, oh-so-disappointed and shocked that Jenilee Harrison of Three's Company (daughter of Jock's recently-deceased brother, who was an integral part of the Ewing Oil origin story yet was somehow never mentioned in the first several seasons) might possibly be leaving Southfork... it's a daytime soap level of turnover of the main cast - like we're watching a completely different show.

 

[Rove]

As I remember it, Clayton kept the news from her.

A throw-away line because we know full well Barbara Bel was out.

 

[LMLDallas78]

Pam’s nose dive definitely happened in season 10 and not before

That's your opinion, I don't share it.

 

[Mustard]

Suddenly Afton was sent packing and in strolls Mandy Winger. It was this season when there was a seismic shift in Dallas and I don't think it ever recovered.

I think Mandy Winger was an interesting contrasting girlfriend for Cliff Barnes compared to Afton Cooper. Mandy was so laid back after Afton had always been so uptight.

 

[DallasFanForever]

I think Mandy Winger was an interesting contrasting girlfriend for Cliff Barnes compared to Afton Cooper. Mandy was so laid back after Afton had always been so uptight.

I can definitely understand that opinion. I just felt he had much better chemistry with Afton though. For me they were the more interesting couple. Perhaps that had something to do with the fact that they were together a lot longer. I liked the Mandy character overall and I had no problem with Deborah’s portrayal. I just never felt she belonged with either Cliff or J.R. however. Something just always seemed off with those pairings to me.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

You think Donna’s failing marriage is a female stand out?! It was awful. Susan Howard was relegated to cameo appearances and Donna ended up with zero charisma and personality

With hindsight, I agree that you're right. You can blame Leonard Katzman for that as he dropped Susan Howard from the show.

 

[Snowcat]

This is not an unpopular opinion at all. I think the best thing for the show would have been to let Pam’s character actually die.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

This is not an unpopular opinion at all. I think the best thing for the show would have been to let Pam’s character actually die.

But then she wouldn't have survived the collision into the oil tanker.

Mark Graison wouldn't've have found out her condition and he wouldn't have used Wentworth Industries to take her from the hospital to get her much better treatment in Europe and away from that ruddy Ewing family. I wouldn't've have been sprung from the sanitarium I was in by Mark either.

It's because of Mark and Pam that I'm still alive and not languishing in the Fletcher Sanitarium. He even went out of his way to help Wes Parmalee when he left Dallas because that infernal Ewing family wouldn't acknowledge the truth that Wes was in fact Jock Ewing who had survived the chopper crash in South America. Yeah, I know all about that because of Mark Graison. He's my step father and Pam is my step mother.

About ten years ago Mark prevented a conspiracy where my half brother Christopher could've been killed in a car explosion. Thankfully Christopher was reunited with his mother. I wiped away tears when Chris recognised his mother and the two of them embraced.

Thank goodness all of us are alive and well.

 

[DallasFanForever]

This is not an unpopular opinion at all. I think the best thing for the show would have been to let Pam’s character actually die.

Totally agree with you. I understand why they didn’t kill her off but in retrospect it really was the best option in my opinion. It would’ve spared us the hospital scenes with the mummy and the whole convoluted disappearing act that seemed so implausible.

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

Totally agree with you. I understand why they didn’t kill her off but in retrospect it really was the best option in my opinion. It would’ve spared us the hospital scenes with the mummy and the whole convoluted disappearing act that seemed so implausible.

Best guess is that they still thought VP would return at some point in future seasons

 

[Chris2]

They didn’t need to write Pamela out the way they did. They could have had her become disgusted over JR’s latest shenanigans with BD Calhoun and Ewing Oil and just walk away. She had a history of doing that. Or they could have had her presumed dead in an explosion or a drowning or something. Anything but having her run away from her husband and son because she wasn’t pretty anymore.

 

[Seaviewer]

A throw-away line because we know full well Barbara Bel was out.

Well, yes, bit it was adequate to explain that staying away was not Ellie's choice.

 

[DallasFanForever]

Or they could have had her presumed dead in an explosion or a drowning or something

This was probably the best option in my opinion. We don’t get the mummy debacle, she doesn’t have to look bad for leaving Bobby and Christopher and if she did hypothetically choose to return later they haven’t officially killed her off on camera.