Were Afton & Rebecca the worst women in Dallas?

[pete lashmar]

For the prosecution - Afton Cooper.

Slept with JR & Cliff for personal greed. Slept with business associates to seal deals, Set up Cliff for J.R, stirred the pot between Sue Ellen & Clayton, left Cliff and never told him he had a baby, destroyed people's eardrums with her cat like singing.

For the Prosecution - Rebecca Wentworth.

Ran away from her family, dis-owning her children, married a multi-millionaire and lied to him all his life about her past, denied that she was Pam's mum to her face, backed Cliff over Pam every given opportunity, encouraged Cliff to continue his fight with J.R and have more defeats at his hands, refused to go to Southfork to see her grandson, threatened Miss Ellie to her face.

Are these 2 the very worst of the Dallas women characters? Other women had the odd affair with JR or Bobby, but neither did as much as these 2 did they...?

 

[James from London]

I'm glad they did all those things.

 

[Jon Ewing Jr.]

I agree. Afton was a tramp. She had some nerve lecturing Sue ELlen about things after screwing JR

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

The absolute worst was the cleaning lady who found JR shot!

She just dusted a bit and then went to pieces!

Did she actually finish the dusting?

I want to know if she got fired!?!

 

[Angela Channing]

Sometimes characters are just so awful they don't require words to explain why.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

Something characters are just so awful they don't require words to explain why.

View attachment 35142

Yeah I know what you mean!

My post above was just being light hearted however Annabel Schofield was a snoozefest to watch as Laurel Ellis, she had absolutely no chemistry with Howard Keel. Even the actor who played David Shulton was a better actor than her, his name escapes me at the moment.

For me the worst female character was Priscilla Presley's version of Jenna Wade, she was a real snoozefest, constantly whining and complaining especially from season nine DVD count and beyond. I got really fed up with her moping over Bobby's death and then with her being angry and resentful at him after he was resurrected.

 

[Angela Channing]

Even the actor who played David Shulton was a better actor than her

She probably has developed into a very competent actor but while on Dallas even her portrait was more believable that she was.

For me the worst female character was Priscilla Presley's version of Jenna Wade, she was a real snoozefest, constantly whining and complaining especially from season nine DVD count and beyond. I got really fed up with her moping over Bobby's death and then with her being angry and resentful at him after he was resurrected.

Don't get me started on my views of this iteration of Jenna Wade. Just ghastly.

 

[Richard Channing]

Well neither of them tried to kill anyone at least, which several other women on Dallas did do. So if we're talking about morals I wouldn't say these two were the worst.

 

[James from London]

if we're talking about morals

It never occurred to me to judge the characters in a moralistic way. I've used this analogy before, but so much of the thrill and excitement of DALLAS came from watching people behave amorally that it's a bit like watching a porn film and then complaining that the characters are too slutty.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

It never occurred to me to judge the characters in a moralistic way. I've used this analogy before, but so much of the thrill and excitement of DALLAS came from watching people behave amorally that it's a bit like watching a porn film and then complaining that the characters are too slutty.

I've never felt like that when I'm watching any of my Falcon Video packs!

 

[CeeCee72]

I would go with Katherine.

Sleeping with a married man, breaking up her sister's marriage, shooting Bobby then trying to poison him...

Think she wins.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

I would go with Katherine.

Sleeping with a married man, breaking up her sister's marriage, shooting Bobby then trying to poison him...

Think she wins.

She was a snake, so sweet to Pam's face and actively trying to destroy her marriage behind her back.

She even tried to implicate poor Cliff for the shooting of Bobby.

She was a right bitch, so she wins.

 

[Richard Channing]

And let's not forget she also had Naldo killed and framed Jenna for it.

 

[James from London]

Also, I think it's not so much what they do as how they're written. Sue Ellen got up to all sorts, but if one is inclined, one can explain/excuse/justify her actions by drawing on her past and saying, "Well, she only did that because ..." It's less easy to provide a "defence" for some of the supporting characters' "crimes" because their backgrounds, and their psychology, weren't explored in as much detail.

 

[Bobby Southworth]

Rebecca was pretty low if you stop and think about it. She left her kids with a drunk, and didn't look back when she came into the good life. Then lied to Pam's face about being her mother. What kind of a man was she married to if she couldn't be honest about her history? Then she only came to Pam after he died. I would have told her to screw off had I been Pam. I never could really warm to Rebecca because of these things. I wouldn't say she was the worst, but she's definitely up there.

Afton, well, maybe she grew up? One could make that argument for her, but she ultimately started out as a gold digger... Kind of the same way April transitioned, but I hardly hear anyone complain about Afton's transition, the way they do April. Would she have ever been with Cliff had he not become wealthy, though? I do think she truly cared for him, and gosh knows, he treated her like crap, so; I give her that. Poor Audrey Landers... By the 7th season, she never really had plots of her own, just there to fight with Cliff on the occasion, and that was it.

I would agree characters like Katharine and Kristin were worse for obvious reasons, but the above two were hardly the saints they ended up portrayed as, especially Rebecca.

 

[Taylor Bennett Jr.]

this woman was the worst! How on earth did she think she was going to help out the poor wayward boys of Dallas County with this kind of attitude?

 

[Jimmy Todd]

I'm glad they did all those things.

So am I. Most of these things happened during Dallas' best seasons, and their actions also elicited reactions from other characters. These reactions helped us know and understand them better.
I liked Sue Ellen and Afton's scenes together. There was an interesting dynamic there. Sue Ellen knew Afton shagged JR in her own bed, a low class, terrible thing to do. Yet, Afton would also deliver some truths to Sue Ellen. She rightly pointed out that Clayton was in love with Sue Ellen AND that if Sue Ellen was smart she'd ditch JR and Cliff for an upright man like Clayton. Sue Ellen had very good reasons to dislike Afton and when people tells us some truths, well, that's the worst. For Sue Ellen, not us, the viewers
If I'm not mistaken, @Snarky Oracle was the one who brought up the archetypes in the soaps. Afton then would be the Greek Cassandra, the prophetess who was doomed to never be believed. Sue Ellen didn't believe her. Pam wouldn't believe her. Cliff didn't either. Ironically, JR was the only one who valued her judgement.
Ah. Dallas. I bet Aristotle, Plato, and Shakespeare would have been big fans.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

If I'm not mistaken, @Snarky Oracle was the one who brought up the archetypes in the soaps. Afton then would be the Greek Cassandra, the prophetess who was doomed to never be believed. Sue Ellen didn't believe her. Pam wouldn't believe her. Cliff didn't either. Ironically, JR was the only one who valued her judgement.
Ah. Dallas. I bet Aristotle, Plato, and Shakespeare would have been big fans.

I don't think that was me, and I certainly can't remember it. But if it makes me sound brilliant, then I'm all for it!

 

[James from London]

Poor Audrey Landers... By the 7th season, she never really had plots of her own

In a way, Afton never had a plot of her own: everything she ever did was in response to Cliff and/or the Ewings. And as a supporting character, maybe even the best supporting character of the whole series, that worked fine.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

I need Afton marrying Bobby for the final season, and married to Bobby in nuDALLAS.

It's just what I want, It's just what I see.