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<blockquote data-quote="James from London" data-source="post: 297205" data-attributes="member: 22">I wonder if scariness is linked with unpredictability. Because DALLAS went on for so long and JR was the star of the show, he became increasingly familiar and therefore less likely to surprise or scare.The common thread that links all of JR’s “fish out of water” escapades during the last few years is that no matter where he finds himself — on a chain gang or trapped overnight in an elevator or on a mystery mission to Moscow or committed to a mental hospital — he is fundamentally unchanged by his surroundings*. He remains resolutely convinced of both his own importance and his ability to bribe his way out of trouble. Much like a character from SEINFELD, a show that would help symbolise the ‘90s just as DALLAS had the ‘80s, he never &quot;grows&quot; from his experiences. That&#039;s JR&#039;s USP, if you like. And I guess its his refusal or inability to change even as the family changes around him that leads to him trying - or sort of trying - to kill himself at the end. But the byproduct of all that is his increasing predictability.What I loved about New DALLAS (among other things) was that it made JR, for the first time, mysterious. We didn&#039;t know when he&#039;d show up or for how long or what he was capable of or how far he&#039;d go or where his true loyalties lay. He may not have been scary exactly, but he was suddenly dangerous and unpredictable again.*That weird goodbye scene where he hands out presents to the hospital patients notwithstanding.He did do the same thing with Alex Barton (Cally&#039;s Svengali) to make him leave the country.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="James from London, post: 297205, member: 22"] I wonder if scariness is linked with unpredictability. Because DALLAS went on for so long and JR was the star of the show, he became increasingly familiar and therefore less likely to surprise or scare. The common thread that links all of JR’s “fish out of water” escapades during the last few years is that no matter where he finds himself — on a chain gang or trapped overnight in an elevator or on a mystery mission to Moscow or committed to a mental hospital — he is fundamentally unchanged by his surroundings*. He remains resolutely convinced of both his own importance and his ability to bribe his way out of trouble. Much like a character from SEINFELD, a show that would help symbolise the ‘90s just as DALLAS had the ‘80s, he never "grows" from his experiences. That's JR's USP, if you like. And I guess its his refusal or inability to change even as the family changes around him that leads to him trying - or sort of trying - to kill himself at the end. But the byproduct of all that is his increasing predictability. What I loved about New DALLAS (among other things) was that it made JR, for the first time, mysterious. We didn't know when he'd show up or for how long or what he was capable of or how far he'd go or where his true loyalties lay. He may not have been scary exactly, but he was suddenly dangerous and unpredictable again. [SIZE=1]*That weird goodbye scene where he hands out presents to the hospital patients notwithstanding.[/SIZE] He did do the same thing with Alex Barton (Cally's Svengali) to make him leave the country. [/QUOTE]

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Who played JR Ewing?