Dallas Pictures Set Changes You Liked...

southfork88

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Dallas-101-S05xE24--The Investigation--March 26, 1982 0191.jpg
 

Snarky Oracle!

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Thanks for all the photos, @southfork88 !

I think in the last two or three years of DALLAS, I'd like to see Southfork decorated almost like a haunted house: Victorian furniture, brown interior wood frame and mouldings, rich colors for the wallpaper.

 

Snarky Oracle!

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Very ghostly:


Thanks for all the photos, @southfork88 !

I think in the last two or three years of DALLAS, I'd like to see Southfork decorated almost like a haunted house: Victorian furniture, brown interior wood frame and mouldings, rich colors for the wallpaper.

Oh, ha!, looks like I'd already said that a page or two back!
:lol:
 

Lastkidpicked

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Yes, a picture can say a thousand words. Look at an earlier time, and let's compare the two:


Notice just how busy everything is in the above picture. Look at the busy wallpaper, and the busy tablecloth.
Now look at the picture below-- stark, without the embellishments of patterns on the tablecloth. Nobody is too busy to get a word in edgewise in the lower picture.
Look at the picture above, and notice the opening where we can peek into the living room. It is a subtle, "Hmm... I wonder what's going on in that room back there?"
In the picture below, there is no such room beckoning to us. The opaque window covering is in place so we can't see out the window. It's as if Miss Ellie is all alone in the world.
Also, look at Miss Ellie's body language. In the above picture she is sitting up straight, leaning slightly forward as if she is about to say something important.
In the picture below, she is hunched over just a bit, in a contemplative state.

Oh, yes. A picture can say a thousand words. And also convey a thousand shades of a character's state of mind.


 
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Michelle Stevens

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Indeed, the Southfork dining room's decor improved over time, here in 1991. I noticed the chandelier was gone by this time.
southforkdinner91.jpg
 

Toni

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Indeed, the Southfork dining room's decor improved over time, here in 1991. I noticed the chandelier was gone by this time.

How strange that another fire at SF didn´t happen, with so many candles on the table and two little devils there...
 

Rove

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Look at the picture above, and notice the opening where we can peek into the living room. It is a subtle, "Hmm... I wonder what's going on in that room back there?"
It's what I really liked about Lorimar Dallas. The cinematographer created depth of field to give Southfork an idea it was a mansion, when really it wasn't. I also like how scenes were created to move the family from the living to the dining room or vice versa. Watching a family migrate like this gave me a sense the Ewing family had class. The interior of TNT Southfork was just like the series...soulless.
 

Lastkidpicked

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I also like how scenes were created to move the family from the living to the dining room or vice versa.
And this is another thing the writers got right. Land around Texas (outside of Houston and Dallas) is dirt cheap, if you'll excuse the obvious pun. Heating costs are also low (free for many of us who have natural gas wells nearby). What this means is that you don't have to be rich to own and maintain a large home out here.

So watch the Ewings, and notice what Rove observed-- families will migrate from room to room depending on what is happening during the day.

The kitchen will often be used for the most informal meals, especially breakfast, as many family members wake up at different times in the morning. We often see the Ewings eat breakfast outside on the breakfast patio, giving an even more informal feel.

A meal eaten in the dining room implies a set time and more formality. Imagine Miss Ellie, "Make sure you and Ray leave the cattle auction by four, Jock. Dinner is at 6 o'clock."

Another important note of the dining room-- this is a social gathering. "No business at the dinner table". Which leads us to. . .

The family room. This is where you can kick off your shoes and relax. "Get you a Bourbon and Branch?" This is where many of the family discussions and decisions take place. Also notice that Raul and Theresa are not usually serving drinks or snacks in the family room. This area is for family members to feel free to discuss any and all events of the day. Do you remember the room where Jock announced that Ray was his son?

More to Rove's point-- the writers can cut the end of the scene and then pick it back up in the next room. But it gives a nicer "feel" to the scene when we follow the family from one toom to another.
 

Rove

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This is where many of the family discussions and decisions take place. Also notice that Raul and Theresa are not usually serving drinks or snacks in the family room. This area is for family members to feel free to discuss any and all events of the day.
That's a great observation. The only time I'd see Raul or Theresa in the living room was when extended families/friends were gathering or Theresa had picked up the telephone and was announcing the caller wished to speak with such or such.

It also appears to be a point of difference between Lorimar Dallas and original Dynasty. On Dallas the servants understood their place and were treated as such, not in a demeaning manner, in fact quite the opposite. The servants were treated with respect. On original and new Dynasty the help stick their noses in where it's not wanted and get chastised or treated appallingly.
 

Rove

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Too barren:



Much better:

Strangely I prefer the "Too barren" image. It offers a sense of loneliness to JR. Here he is, all the wealth in the world, conditioned to having it all; Ewing Oil and Southfork. However, because the hall is so sparsely furnished it lends itself to inform us that JR may have it all, but at what cost?
 
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