Dallas Character Wes Parmalee story with hindsight

[Lastkidpicked]

Agreed ! That scenario would have been much more believable. I can think of others also..... heres one:
Wes Parmalee and Jock did wildcatting together in their early days, Parmalee did Jock a big favor that was never repaid. The two meet up again in South America, and Jock modifies his will to pay Parmalee back by giving him a certain lucrative Ewing oil field. This doesnt sit well with JR and Bobby, who dont know him from a hole in the wall, and try to block it. Ray comes down on Parmalees side, which causes friction between Ray and Bobby.

Another great idea, and it goes to show that there were MANY storylines that would have worked better than "Jock comes back from the dead".

It must have been like Lord of the Flies in that writing room.

Katzman has the conch!

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

Regarding Wes being Jock.

"No that was not a possibility, anymore than it was our intention to bring back Patrick as his twin brother, which we joked about. No, Jock was there; that painting of him was virtually there in every episode and how could you do that? We would not do that and it certainly would not serve him. The character of Jock remained in Dallas all the way through. So insinuations that Wes was Jock were there, but there was never any intention to do that, no."

David Paulsen
Dallas writer/producer

I hate to say this but Paulsen wasn't in charge of Dallas right the way through.

Steve Forrest could've stayed on as Jock Ewing if Patrick Duffy hadn't have come back as Bobby.

Bobby's Ewing's return effectively nixed the return of Jock Ewing as played by Steve Forrest.

 

[Piggyrella Sanderson]

I always thought that Ben Stivers was going to be Jock (he seemed to have had bypass surgery just like him, but not Wes), and the actor wasn´t liked enough by the audience (and I agree with them). Maybe Katzman didn´t want to discard a whole storyline for his return season, or take the risk of being taken to court by Forrest a la Donna Reed, and he chose the middle road: using him for half a season and then let the actor go to do that TVM. I don´t think that any member of the original crew and cast would have wanted Wes to actually be Jock. Jim Davis´ shadow was large, and that would have also implied to redo Jock´s picture! Can you imagine that...?

Jock and Kristin? Or was it a dream (=sex fantasy) of Wes Parmalee?​

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

Wes Parmalee’s storyline was probably the last great one for DALLAS, as the show returned to form after the quasi DYNASTY dream season. IMHO Steve Forrest was an A* actor and he blended in nicely with the main cast. He would have been a very worthwhile addition to the principal cast in season 10 (DVD-11), had things worked out differently. He should have been cast as Jock’s brother Jason. I can understand how some fans believe he was Jock but nobody could replace Jim Davis.


The Southfork barbeque is underway. Ray (Jock’s illegitimate son) is drinking at the entrance bar, with his buddies. Wes Parmalee (Jock’s impersonator) appears for the last time, (a scene from season 9, DVD-10, 1986 – ’87):

Ray: “I just can’t believe you coming out here again. Especially knowing how people are feeling.”

Wes: “I need to see Miss Ellie.”

Ray: “I cannot believe the hurt you are causing this family.”

Wes: “Nobody is hurting any worse than I am.”

Ray: “Maybe but you’re the one that’s causing it. You’ve got Miss Ellie’s head all twisted around. You turned her sons against her. You put Clayton Farlow one of the finest men in the world through the ringer.”

Wes: “Move aside Ray. I need to see her!”

Ray: “You know at first I prayed that you were Jock. But now even if you are I don’t think even I care anymore. You’re not the man I loved. He would have disappeared off the face of the earth before he broke a family up like you have.”

Wes: “You’re a good man Ray. Any man would be proud to have you as a son.”

Parmalee struts away into the crowd and eventually into the mansion, to see Ellie.

Reading that scene above is exactly what happens later in the episode. He talks to Miss Ellie in an exchange which is never shown on-screen & then vanishes never to be seen again.

So was Wes Parmalee really Jock Ewing or was he a con man & a fraud?

I don't think he was a con man. I don't believe he was Wyatt Haines either.

The blood tests & the X-rays had conclusive proof of who he was & that was as Jock Ewing.

 

[Chris2]

Jim Davis was simply too distinctive a presence to ever be replaced. When Jock Ewing was killed off, it was with no body, so clearly they were thinking of perhaps bringing him back in the future with a different face. But it was a bad idea. You’d think they would have learned from the Donna Reed debacle when they conceived of the Ben Stivers plot.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

They should've had Wes turn up in Conundrum, when JR was gonna shoot himself, along side the returning Barbara Bel Geddes and have Miss Ellie confirm what a lot of the fan's were dreading, she sent Wes away so as not to hurt Clayton when he admitted that he wasn't a conman he really was Jock Ewing.

JR would start scoffing until Wes as Jock finally tells him that there is a way he can prove who he is. JR stares open mouthed as Wes produces a copy of Jock's will that was written in South America. Taking it & studying it, it's in Jock's handwriting. But JR wants to know why he didn't produce this when he was first in Dallas & Wes admits that he had mislaid it or he would've. With JR convinced, there's the matter of getting Bobby convinced too. Bobby arrives home from the airport & is angry to see Parmalee, JR hands him the copy of Jock's will.

Bobby won't believe it. He's not Jock & demands to know where Clayton is. Clayton is apparently at the Quorum hotel.

"You're not my Daddy! And I've had it with the Oil Business!"

As Bobby is about to walk away, Wes asks, "You once wanted me to draw up a document where you had the power to run Ewing Oil! When our cash situation wasn't fluid enough for you to make deals & I'd taken money from the Ewing account!! You told me I'd given you power but I told you that Real Power is something you take, Bobby!"

Bobby stops in his tracks & turns round! His mouth dropping open, only one person could know that! There is tears on Wes's face.

Freeze frame, end of the series.

I suppose I've opened another kettle of worms!!

 

[Spooky Owl!]

You’d think they would have learned from the Donna Reed debacle when they conceived of the Ben Stivers plot.

But there's a difference between an overt re-casting (Donna Reed) and a mysterious "is-it-really-him?" plotline (Ben/Wes).

Now, if Donna Reed appeared in "It's a Wonderful Conundrum" at the end of Season 14 claiming to be the ghost of Miss Ellie post-plastic surgery, we'd all have been OK with it.

 

[Spooky Owl!]

…. and after he leaves Southfork, Parmalee shows up in Knots Landing and starts the whole thing all over again.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

There's no doubt about it.

Wes Parmalee really was Jock Ewing.

Just go back & watch season ten again & you'll see for yourself who he was.

Rest In Peace Jock.

 

[Piggyrella Sanderson]

The final test:

"Please Mr. Parmalee say after me: I am Takapa!"

Of course he would say it wrong thus proving he was NOT Jock.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

The final test:

"Please Mr. Parmalee say after me: I am Takapa!"

Of course he would say it wrong thus proving he was NOT Jock.

But he was Jock Toni.

 

[Karin Schill]

Jim Davis was simply too distinctive a presence to ever be replaced. When Jock Ewing was killed off, it was with no body, so clearly they were thinking of perhaps bringing him back in the future with a different face. But it was a bad idea. You’d think they would have learned from the Donna Reed debacle when they conceived of the Ben Stivers plot.

Yeah Steve Forrest was no more Jock than Donna Reed was Miss Ellie!

 

[Sea - Boo! - Er]

Yeah Steve Forrest was no more Jock than Donna Reed was Miss Ellie!

 

[Chris2]

Wes Parmesan’s hair is all wrong to be Jock. I bet his penis isn’t as big, either.

 

[pete lashmar]

Wes was Jock, nothing proves him not to be, but plenty proves him to be.

The timeline doesn't work out in Bobby's favour, no one could know someone's entire life story after a few hours of delerious talking - and it makes no sense that Wes knew all of his family and friends on sight.

Wes was absolutely Jock.

If the writers & production team say he wasn't then they simply don't know their own characters and material.

 

[Swami]

Wes Parmesan’s hair is all wrong to be Jock. I bet his penis isn’t as big, either.

Clearly he likes cheese as well?

Swami

 

[Chris2]

Well, it was a cheesy attempt at a recast, anyway.

 

[Kenny Coyote]

Wes was Jock, nothing proves him not to be, but plenty proves him to be.

The timeline doesn't work out in Bobby's favour, no one could know someone's entire life story after a few hours of delerious talking - and it makes no sense that Wes knew all of his family and friends on sight.

Wes was absolutely Jock.

If the writers & production team say he wasn't then they simply don't know their own characters and material.

Then how do you account for him having no burn scars? Pamela was similarly badly burned and the result was it scarred her face so badly she didn't even want to be seen. No X-rays are necessary to show this man was not involved in the accident he claimed to have been in. Maybe he wasn't Wyatt Haynes. Maybe he was someone who knew Jock and about Jock's family through other means. There was plenty he didn't know that Jock would have known but he claimed to have memory problems.

He claimed to have a whole new voice too because of damage. His voice didn't sound damaged to me; it just sounded like someone else's voice, with entirely different mannerism of speech including distinctly different inflections and pronunciations.

Imagine a 70 year old man being in that type of crash and he has no serious, lasting physical injuries. He didn't need even need a little help from a cane to walk. If anything, he appeared younger and rejuvenated by the experience. Where Jock had been wanting to retire six years earlier, this man wants to take on the job of ranch foreman.

The reaction of the people I was watching it with as well as my own reaction can be summed up in the following three words that one of us said out loud while the storyline originally aired: "This is silly."

 

[Chris2]

It was a plot twist worthy of a daytime soap.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

Wes Parmesan’s hair is all wrong to be Jock. I bet his penis isn’t as big, either.

Well Miss Ellie didn't get a chance to find out or she would've got an almighty shock!

Like her face in the video below she would then know for certain than Jock was back.

"It's mine Miss Ellie, always has been!"