Spooky Owl!
Telly Talk Supreme
Funny, I watched this episode Tuesday night for the first time in a long while (I'm re-watching DALLAS from the beginning for the first time in 3 or 4 years) and it's the only time I'd really noticed Guzzler's speech.
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Werewillie Oleson
Telly Talk Schemer
A bunch of notorious kidnappers has arrived in Dallas, and this time they plan to extort a fortune from Jock Ewing.
Their target: JR Ewing.
Bobby has a flat tire, takes JR's car to drive to the construction site and that's how they end up kidnapping the mistaken identity Ewing instead.
I always like scenes like these, those short moments before the characters are confronted with a tragedy.
Pam is getting a little worried, but only we know how really bad the situation is.
Cliff arrives with a note from the kidnappers, Jock reads it and it becomes apparent that they had intended to kidnap JR.
Now, none of this is JR's fault of course, but it does create the idea that Bobby is the victim because JR isn't.
The characters don't act or say anything that supports this idea, but somehow it makes the situation even more uncomfortable.
Bobby is almost sexually harassed by the female kidnapper.
Is that politically correct or incorrect?
She looks like a cross between Jennifer Saunders and Rebecca Wentworth.
JR and the Southfork men shoot the kidnappers shortly after the money/victim exchange.
Cliff accuses JR of endangering their lives, and his life in particular. And to be honest, Cliff was still rather close when they started shooting.
You'd expect JR to laugh it away, but he's getting quite upset.
"There's no chance of that. You were both in the clear, both of you!"
It's not really clear why this bothers him so much. Maybe he hates the idea that his decision may not have been the best decision?
Or because he doesn't want Bobby to think that he would intentionally imperil the life of Cliff Barnes?
It seems to be a happy ending without any heroes…
...but JR declares himself a hero anyway.
"Well, with me there he was never safer in his life"
There's absolutely nothing convincing about that statement, but that's not the point - or actually, it is.
Their target: JR Ewing.
Bobby has a flat tire, takes JR's car to drive to the construction site and that's how they end up kidnapping the mistaken identity Ewing instead.
I always like scenes like these, those short moments before the characters are confronted with a tragedy.
Pam is getting a little worried, but only we know how really bad the situation is.
Cliff arrives with a note from the kidnappers, Jock reads it and it becomes apparent that they had intended to kidnap JR.
Now, none of this is JR's fault of course, but it does create the idea that Bobby is the victim because JR isn't.
The characters don't act or say anything that supports this idea, but somehow it makes the situation even more uncomfortable.
Bobby is almost sexually harassed by the female kidnapper.
Is that politically correct or incorrect?
She looks like a cross between Jennifer Saunders and Rebecca Wentworth.
JR and the Southfork men shoot the kidnappers shortly after the money/victim exchange.
Cliff accuses JR of endangering their lives, and his life in particular. And to be honest, Cliff was still rather close when they started shooting.
You'd expect JR to laugh it away, but he's getting quite upset.
"There's no chance of that. You were both in the clear, both of you!"
It's not really clear why this bothers him so much. Maybe he hates the idea that his decision may not have been the best decision?
Or because he doesn't want Bobby to think that he would intentionally imperil the life of Cliff Barnes?
It seems to be a happy ending without any heroes…
...but JR declares himself a hero anyway.
"Well, with me there he was never safer in his life"
There's absolutely nothing convincing about that statement, but that's not the point - or actually, it is.
Guzzler’s Frightening Hair
Telly Talk Winner
their rundown hideout house might well be the absolute pinnacle of television set design in the 70s
James from London
International Treasure
The first example of why one Ewing should never drive another Ewing's car. See also: Sue Ellen and Mickey in Season 5, Pam in Season 9.
Bobby is almost sexually harassed by the female kidnapper.
Is that politically correct or incorrect?
I was too young to see this season when it originally aired and this episode wasn't shown during BBC2's post 'Who Shot JR?' nightly reruns and this scene was cut out of the VHS release so when I eventually saw it on DVD I was ... shocked.
Ha - yes, she does! Also, her character is more or less replicated by the female hostage taker in "Moments of Truth", the baby shower siege episode of KNOTS a couple of years later, even down to the flinty eyes and auburn colouring.
The Ewing doth protest too much, methinks. He wanted Cliff dead, I reckon.
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Werewillie Oleson
Telly Talk Schemer
It looks very staged, like a set for a video clip.
Kenny Coyote
Telly Talk Star
He wouldn't have minded Cliff being dead but he wasn't trying to kill Cliff; just scare him. If he'd really wanted Cliff dead, Cliff would have been dead. It's often occurred to me that in real life, Cliff would have ended up dead. Not in this episode necessarily but at some point. Spending your life antagonizing people who have a lot of power isn't particularly healthy.
Of course they wouldn't have had JR or some other oilman kill Cliff because that would hurt the show too much. You need somebody keeping the Barnes-Ewing feud going. It would have hurt JR's popularity if he had had Cliff killed because while people would put up with a lot from JR because they liked him so much, they wouldn't have put up with that Then he becomes just an ordinary villain instead of that blend of hero and villain that makes up an antihero.
BTW, what did you think when Bobby, after already being free and clear of the kidnappers ran back towards them and towards the area where the gunfire was taking place to tackle Cliff? Didn't he think Cliff had enough common sense to duck? I can't seriously believe Bobby didn't even think Cliff had the sense to get down on the ground until the gunfire was over. The only remaining reason for doing that is he wanted to use his body to shield Cliff, but are we really supposed to believe Bobby valued Cliff highly enough that he'd take a bullet for him? I find it difficult to believe but nevertheless, that's what they had Bobby do - risked taking a bullet by using his own body to shield Cliff's body. So, what does that say about Cliff considering that after Bobby risked making a sacrifice on that level, Cliff still kept trying to hurt Bobby and even Pam by trying to ruin her marriage to Bobby? What would Bobby have had to have done to get Cliff to leave them and their marriage alone?
Guzzler’s Frightening Hair
Telly Talk Winner
I'm not sure if it was the kidnappers or if it was the notorious graffiti artist Pancho Lee, but someone who was in that house sure loved spoons!
Werewillie Oleson
Telly Talk Schemer
It's a shame that Dallas didn't have a character named Sherlof Spoons.
Werewillie Oleson
Telly Talk Schemer
The next episode is a sentimental drama à la Little House On The Prairie, with the Red File Land story running in the background.
It's funny that the scene changes from this painting (shades of the Mercantile - and yes, Harriet would definitely turn Walnut Grove into an oilfield)
to the scene where we see Jock Ewing sitting in a painting.
If you'd throw a ball over the fence, an invisible force would simply throw it back! I'm a sucker for this kind of fakery.
Miss Ellie and Sue Ellen are making plans for the nursery.
And Miss Ellie makes a rather shocking reference to "JR not being so shy anymore".
Sue Ellen calls Cliff to ask for his opinion on the wallpaper, as a way to include him in the baby-process.
She probably means well but it's a silly thing to do since he's never going to be part of their lives.
Cliff suggests pale-yellow. Well, of course!
Are the Ewings trying to steal Florida's nickname?
In the meantime, Jock and Ray discover some fishy monkey business on section...40, I think.
I don't remember how this story is going to end, but a discovery is always an interesting development.
SoapLand's first return-from-the-dead character is Miss Ellie's brother, Garrison Southworth.
Both his name and his looks suggest that he's a villainous patriarch from a Gone With The Wind type of movie.
For what will become a classic soap trope, I must say Barbara Bell Geddes gives a credible performance, alternating between shock, outrage and sheer happiness.
But not all the Ewings are thrilled to have another Southworth in their midst.
Incidentally, are there any trophies in that cabinet?
Hunk in hideous towel alert #1 (the other towels weren't ugly)
In the meantime (maybe I should call it in the "Raytime") Ray is snooping about, because he knows ordinary people.
Since Garrison was supposed to inherit Southfork (before he forgot to mention that he didn't drown), Miss Ellie gets the extremely nobel idea to retroactively grant her father's wishes. It's mostly about guilt, because she knows that her brother's death was the only reason she got Southfork.
(I hope I'm not mixing up the "forks" and "worths").
However, Jock doesn't share this feeling of guilt, even more so because without him there wouldn't have been a Southfork to inherit.
But it's also Jock's standard argument: "my money". After all, dollars don't lie.
It becomes a heated argument, and also the episode's most delicious scene.
"You're overstepping your place, Miss Ellie".
"My PLACE?"
"Just what IS my place?!"
Jock doesn't give in.
"I am still the head of this household, with or without your permission!".
It's an interesting contradiction: she opposes Jock's authority but she also considers herself "just a daughter" who couldn't inherit from her father - eventhough Garrison left them when things went rough.
Charlie Wates spills the beans about Ray's investigation.
Where would JR be without all the other two-faced people?
Anyway, there's also good news: Garrison doesn't want Southfork, he only came home to die.
And Jock can keep the painting.
It's funny that the scene changes from this painting (shades of the Mercantile - and yes, Harriet would definitely turn Walnut Grove into an oilfield)
to the scene where we see Jock Ewing sitting in a painting.
If you'd throw a ball over the fence, an invisible force would simply throw it back! I'm a sucker for this kind of fakery.
Miss Ellie and Sue Ellen are making plans for the nursery.
And Miss Ellie makes a rather shocking reference to "JR not being so shy anymore".
Sue Ellen calls Cliff to ask for his opinion on the wallpaper, as a way to include him in the baby-process.
She probably means well but it's a silly thing to do since he's never going to be part of their lives.
Cliff suggests pale-yellow. Well, of course!
Are the Ewings trying to steal Florida's nickname?
In the meantime, Jock and Ray discover some fishy monkey business on section...40, I think.
I don't remember how this story is going to end, but a discovery is always an interesting development.
SoapLand's first return-from-the-dead character is Miss Ellie's brother, Garrison Southworth.
Both his name and his looks suggest that he's a villainous patriarch from a Gone With The Wind type of movie.
For what will become a classic soap trope, I must say Barbara Bell Geddes gives a credible performance, alternating between shock, outrage and sheer happiness.
But not all the Ewings are thrilled to have another Southworth in their midst.
Incidentally, are there any trophies in that cabinet?
Hunk in hideous towel alert #1 (the other towels weren't ugly)
In the meantime (maybe I should call it in the "Raytime") Ray is snooping about, because he knows ordinary people.
Since Garrison was supposed to inherit Southfork (before he forgot to mention that he didn't drown), Miss Ellie gets the extremely nobel idea to retroactively grant her father's wishes. It's mostly about guilt, because she knows that her brother's death was the only reason she got Southfork.
(I hope I'm not mixing up the "forks" and "worths").
However, Jock doesn't share this feeling of guilt, even more so because without him there wouldn't have been a Southfork to inherit.
But it's also Jock's standard argument: "my money". After all, dollars don't lie.
It becomes a heated argument, and also the episode's most delicious scene.
"You're overstepping your place, Miss Ellie".
"My PLACE?"
"Just what IS my place?!"
Jock doesn't give in.
"I am still the head of this household, with or without your permission!".
It's an interesting contradiction: she opposes Jock's authority but she also considers herself "just a daughter" who couldn't inherit from her father - eventhough Garrison left them when things went rough.
Charlie Wates spills the beans about Ray's investigation.
Where would JR be without all the other two-faced people?
Anyway, there's also good news: Garrison doesn't want Southfork, he only came home to die.
And Jock can keep the painting.
Kenny Coyote
Telly Talk Star
One thing about Jock - he doesn't flip-flop like Miss Ellie did there as you pointed out. He says what he means and means what he says. You always know where you stand with Jock and he's right that without him saving Southfork from foreclosure, there wouldn't have been a Southfork for either Ellie or Garrison to inherit.
J. R.'s Piece
Telly Talk Star
Richard Kelton died one week before his performance as Guzzler aired. I watched him in a regular role as Ficus (a sort of Spock-type character) in the futuristic space comedy series, Quark. In a two-part story, he is lusted after by the Princess Libido (Joan Van Ark).
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Werewillie Oleson
Telly Talk Schemer
And I'm sure he banged on about it during that dinner with the Ewings.
Guzzler’s Frightening Hair
Telly Talk Winner
great post! Is this available to watch anywhere?
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Guzzler’s Frightening Hair
Telly Talk Winner
Joan’s daughter Lucy was sure into him as well
J. R.'s Piece
Telly Talk Star
Quark: All The Emperor’s Quasi Norms parts 1 & 2. Starring Richard Benjamin. Also starring Timothy Thomerson, Richard Kelton, Tricia & Cyb Barnstable and Conrad Janis. Special Guest Star Joan Van Ark as Princess Libido. Special Guest Appearance by Ross Martin
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Guzzler’s Frightening Hair
Telly Talk Winner
that show’s actually pretty amusing in a goofy way. Things get pretty hot and heavy Guzzler and Valene, who it turns out is quite a musician - a bit in the vein of a Sun Ra.
Kelton is ever-so-sightly less effusive as Ficus than as the Guzzler, but still quite charismatic. A fun little watch!
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Werewillie Oleson
Telly Talk Schemer
Marilee Stone mentions her firstborn, I didn't even know she had children. Are they going to pop up in Dallas sometime?
Sue Ellen and her friends spot JR with a young, blond woman - and her friends are not so friendly, as it turns out.
After an argument with JR she decides to move out, and this marks the beginning of a familiar scenario.
Shortly thereafter JR has his tycoon daddy breathing down his neck, he wants to know what thedevil hell is going on.
Miss Ellie is worried sick, and JR better fix it, or else!
I know they're all adults, but this kind of emotional pressure borders on abuse.
Sue Ellen's mother has moved to Dallas, it's time to find a man for Kristin.
Patricia's plan is so matter-of-factly that she reminds me of Lady Tremaine who's looking for a Prince Charming for her daughters.
This Kristin is very, very sexy, I could picture her as Karen Fairgate's trashy niece. The Sammy Jo of Knots Landing, as it were.
But the Dallas girls need a little bit more oomph and much more hair so I guess it won't be long before Mary Crosby takes over.
In the meantime, a group of developers promise Cliff the moon and the stars if he agrees to become their yes-man, but he declines.
No claustrophobic offices yet in season 2.
I wonder what dark figure on the wall means. Is it some kind of war relic, the Mexican-American war, perhaps?
They send the maquette to his office anyway, but the film in that scene is fuzzy and shaky, and that's why it looks as if mini-South Dallas is being hit by a mini-earthquake.
JR finds out about Sue Ellen and Cliff (I thought she had already mentioned Cliff when she told JR about the pregnancy, but apparently not).
I think this how JR looks at his most sinister, with the other person facing his back.
All the focus is on his facial expression, or even the lack thereof, it's a private moment between him and the viewer.
It looks a bit underplayed, but I'm sure that's not what it is. It also reminds me of Angela Channing who was often more intriguing in her nondescript reactions.
Nondescript is usually not what we want to see in soaps, but for some characters it really works.
Silence can be more frightening and foreboding than the scream.
As expected, there's the Ewing/Barnes confrontation and there was something about it that just didn't work for me.
JR theatens with a scandal that would automatically ruin any attempt at a political career - something Cliff could have foreseen - and he almost immediately caves in.
"You'd really do that, wouldn't you?" as to emphasize how much there's at stake here, but the bafflement in Cliff's voice doesn't make sense to me. Of course JR was going to raise hell, one way or another.
Well never mind, it's all about the result of this confrontation because it's the moment that Cliff Barnes crosses over to the dark side.
And I guess this also marks the beginning of a very familiar scenario.
Sue Ellen and her friends spot JR with a young, blond woman - and her friends are not so friendly, as it turns out.
After an argument with JR she decides to move out, and this marks the beginning of a familiar scenario.
Shortly thereafter JR has his tycoon daddy breathing down his neck, he wants to know what the
Miss Ellie is worried sick, and JR better fix it, or else!
I know they're all adults, but this kind of emotional pressure borders on abuse.
Sue Ellen's mother has moved to Dallas, it's time to find a man for Kristin.
Patricia's plan is so matter-of-factly that she reminds me of Lady Tremaine who's looking for a Prince Charming for her daughters.
This Kristin is very, very sexy, I could picture her as Karen Fairgate's trashy niece. The Sammy Jo of Knots Landing, as it were.
But the Dallas girls need a little bit more oomph and much more hair so I guess it won't be long before Mary Crosby takes over.
In the meantime, a group of developers promise Cliff the moon and the stars if he agrees to become their yes-man, but he declines.
No claustrophobic offices yet in season 2.
I wonder what dark figure on the wall means. Is it some kind of war relic, the Mexican-American war, perhaps?
They send the maquette to his office anyway, but the film in that scene is fuzzy and shaky, and that's why it looks as if mini-South Dallas is being hit by a mini-earthquake.
JR finds out about Sue Ellen and Cliff (I thought she had already mentioned Cliff when she told JR about the pregnancy, but apparently not).
I think this how JR looks at his most sinister, with the other person facing his back.
All the focus is on his facial expression, or even the lack thereof, it's a private moment between him and the viewer.
It looks a bit underplayed, but I'm sure that's not what it is. It also reminds me of Angela Channing who was often more intriguing in her nondescript reactions.
Nondescript is usually not what we want to see in soaps, but for some characters it really works.
Silence can be more frightening and foreboding than the scream.
As expected, there's the Ewing/Barnes confrontation and there was something about it that just didn't work for me.
JR theatens with a scandal that would automatically ruin any attempt at a political career - something Cliff could have foreseen - and he almost immediately caves in.
"You'd really do that, wouldn't you?" as to emphasize how much there's at stake here, but the bafflement in Cliff's voice doesn't make sense to me. Of course JR was going to raise hell, one way or another.
Well never mind, it's all about the result of this confrontation because it's the moment that Cliff Barnes crosses over to the dark side.
And I guess this also marks the beginning of a very familiar scenario.
James from London
International Treasure
She has a son but he doesn't show up until DALLAS Reborn, the first and only fanfiction I've ever attempted to read (it's also the one where Abby marries Jack Ewing and Clayton gets AIDS from Lucy's friend Muriel).
I guess it's early days -- Soap Land is still writing its own rules here and nobody quite knows what anyone else is capable of yet.
Wow!!
Great to see Capricorn Crude back on the air!
Werewillie Oleson
Telly Talk Schemer
At least one episode per week, that's doable combined with the other series. It's better than not watching at all, and this particular rewatch has been overruled so many times already.
Werewillie Oleson
Telly Talk Schemer
Lucy and some cool Dallas kids hang out by the Southfork pool, and since Muriel isn't cool Lucy has invited a hairier and more masculine redhead to keep her company.
Grandpa Jock is feeling excluded from everything that's going on and the only attention he gets is when someone tells him not to do something.
This is illustrated by a non-stop series of various examples and it looks kinda funny and exaggerated, but they need to get the point across.
It just so happens that a female redhead who also isn't Muriel returns to Dallas. Surprise! It's the lovely Julie Grey.
She apologizes to Jock for her disloyalty, and their chats about the good ol' days makes him feel appreciated again.
This results in a friendship, and in order to cause sufficient distress at Southfork he sees her every day. You'd think they'd run out of things to talk about at some point, but it's also about boosting his ego.
Miss Ellie wants it to stop, and rightfully so because this kind of man/woman friendship, whether it's adulterous or not, undermines the special bond between husband and wife.
Maybe that's an old-fashioned idea, but these are old-fashioned characters so it makes sense to me.
Miss Ellie may be a powerful woman, but in essence she's not able to achieve anything. Jock ignores her ultimatum until he has a change of heart and says farewell to Julie.
The tension at Southfork almost causes violence to erupt at the dinner table, but Pam's screams of fear nips the situation in the bud.
But there's another issue: Julie Grey is also the woman who knows too much about JR's betrayal i.e. the Red File (which has also nothing to do with Muriel).
After Jock and Miss Ellie return to Southfork, JR barges into Julie's apartment - although everything appears to be a condo in Dallas - and forces himself on her.
But because JR is irresistible and because he always gets what he wants she kisses him back.
I'm not quite sure what it is that makes him irresistible but maybe it's his legendary reputation of the notorious womanizer that maintains the attraction.
Grandpa Jock is feeling excluded from everything that's going on and the only attention he gets is when someone tells him not to do something.
This is illustrated by a non-stop series of various examples and it looks kinda funny and exaggerated, but they need to get the point across.
It just so happens that a female redhead who also isn't Muriel returns to Dallas. Surprise! It's the lovely Julie Grey.
She apologizes to Jock for her disloyalty, and their chats about the good ol' days makes him feel appreciated again.
This results in a friendship, and in order to cause sufficient distress at Southfork he sees her every day. You'd think they'd run out of things to talk about at some point, but it's also about boosting his ego.
Miss Ellie wants it to stop, and rightfully so because this kind of man/woman friendship, whether it's adulterous or not, undermines the special bond between husband and wife.
Maybe that's an old-fashioned idea, but these are old-fashioned characters so it makes sense to me.
Miss Ellie may be a powerful woman, but in essence she's not able to achieve anything. Jock ignores her ultimatum until he has a change of heart and says farewell to Julie.
The tension at Southfork almost causes violence to erupt at the dinner table, but Pam's screams of fear nips the situation in the bud.
But there's another issue: Julie Grey is also the woman who knows too much about JR's betrayal i.e. the Red File (which has also nothing to do with Muriel).
After Jock and Miss Ellie return to Southfork, JR barges into Julie's apartment - although everything appears to be a condo in Dallas - and forces himself on her.
But because JR is irresistible and because he always gets what he wants she kisses him back.
I'm not quite sure what it is that makes him irresistible but maybe it's his legendary reputation of the notorious womanizer that maintains the attraction.