Did the Margaret Michaels scene make a difference?

[Rove]

Of course maybe it is an actual grave & contains Wes Parmalee's body, he was Jock Ewing after all.

 

[Chris2]

The TNT Dallas series also goofed by having a headstone for Jock. You can't have a headstone without a grave, unless JR or Bobby paid for one as a memorial to have beside their Mother's grave.

Or they finally recovered Jock’s body in the intervening 20 years, proving once and for all that Parmalee was an imposter.

 

[Billy Wall]

If a person does indeed go missing & a body is never found then all that can legally be done is a memorial service.

A funeral can only go ahead if there is a body to bury.

The TNT Dallas series also goofed by having a headstone for Jock. You can't have a headstone without a grave, unless JR or Bobby paid for one as a memorial to have beside their Mother's grave. However if one of them did, the wording on the grave should've began with 'In Memory of' or 'In Memorium of' which I don't believe it did. Of course maybe it is an actual grave & contains Wes Parmalee's body, he was Jock Ewing after all.

 

[Billy Wall]

The TNT Dallas series also goofed by having a headstone for Jock. You can't have a headstone without a grave, unless JR or Bobby paid for one as a memorial to have beside their Mother's grave.

You answered your own question. I’m pretty sure some people that are cremated have headstones.

 

[Swami]

Indeed reference to a memorial service for Jock is made in the book "Who Killed Jock Ewing?", although as far as I know it was an unofficial Dallas production.

Swami

 

[Seaviewer]

Did the scene with the recast Pam and the Doctor make a difference? In story terms should it have been left ambiguous what happened to Pam?

Ultimately it didn't make a difference. Pam may have said she was dying but there was never any confirmation so it remained ambiguous (until Dallas TNT).

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Ultimately it didn't make a difference. Pam may have said she was dying but there was never any confirmation so it remained ambiguous (until Dallas TNT).

Yes, we needed something more final for Pam before 2013. I still vote for their finding out Pam might be dead before 1991, with neurofibromatosis being the cause.

She was Digger's daughter after all! Who knows if Rebecca told Digger the truth about Pam's biological father? (And maybe Rebecca herself wasn't even sure...)

 

[TJames03]

I would have written it that Jock’s remains were found right at the end of the Parmalee story line and that would have been the final closure to Jock.

RE: MM’s Pam, I still say that, considering the circumstances, MM did the best she could with what she was given. I always thought that Bobby didn’t really look for Pam because, if even subconsciously, he didn’t want to deal with a burned wife.

 

[Jock's Ghost]

MM was fine. I'd rather have Pam back then lose the entire dynamic of her Bobby and Cliff. The producers were arrogant with Bobby's resurrection. I'd have left him dead and let the chips fall where they may. That's why Pam's exit was so messy and cloudy.
Since Patrick returned they should have left Pam alone. Mm would have been great way to introduce her new look. She could even say to Bobby, "I know I look different." A great way to explore Pam's new challenges, body image and damaged self esteem. No on the run looking for anyone. Just straight forward drama. Bobby and Pam stay together both doing something instead of the latter years of Bobby being a lost bore and marrying idiot April.

 

[Jock's Ghost]

It's not that

You answered your own question. I’m pretty sure some people that are cremated have headstones.

It's not unusual at all. I have a cousin who was cremated after her suicide and her kids bought her a headstone.
Sequel series did it for the sake of continuity of having Jock and Ellie together.

 

[Jock's Ghost]

Victoria was definitely the far bigger beauty, and likely actor but MM was no slouch in anyway.

 

[Jock's Ghost]

Victoria was definitely the far bigger beauty, and likely actor but MM was no slouch in anyway.

 

[pete lashmar]

The biggest problem with re-casting Pam was replacing Victoria full stop - VP had a real presence on screen, she commanded her scenes and had great chemistry with everyone she interacted with - whoever took over was going to be unfairly compared to her, no matter how great an actress they were.

But the bosses should have concluded the story by the end of the season and given closure to Pam. For me it's one of the show's biggest errors.

 

[Chris2]

Bingo. If they had recast Pam, we would have been complaining that the new actress didn’t have the same chemistry with Bobby and didn’t generate the same electricity in scenes with JR.

 

[Swami]

Bingo. If they had recast Pam, we would have been complaining that the new actress didn’t have the same chemistry with Bobby and didn’t generate the same electricity in scenes with JR.

Absolutely, but recasting was clearly not an option, having been down that road with Miss Ellie.

Swami

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

You answered your own question. I’m pretty sure some people that are cremated have headstones.

Some do, some don't.

It depends if their ashes have been scattered anywhere afterwards in accordance with their will.

 

[Seaviewer]

Recasts of core characters just don't work in prime time shows.

I think the problem is that they too often go for the big name. Donna Reed, Priscilla Presley and Steve Forrest all generated some buzz but were too different from the original actors. With Margaret Michaels we had someone unknown (at least to me) who bore a reasonable resemblance. It's just possible that she could have been the exception to the rule.

 

[thomaswak]

As much I really love Victoria Principal, I belong in the "they should have kept Margaret Michaels" group.
Imo Pam was a necessity. And as the show was not a huge hit anymore, they didn't have much to lose, recasting her.

I was even hoping that Margaret would end up in TNT Dallas, when they implied that Pam was alive, under a new name (Patricia Barrett)... Before confirming the character's death

Margaret Michaels, in 2019.

 

[xab]

Margaret Michaels could have been a nice recast, but she was too pretty in my opinion... Pam was supposed to be horribly burned, this is why she vanished into thin air. Because she didn't want to "frighten her little boy".... And only one year later she's back with a couple of scars and the face of the very watchable Margaret ? (Have you ever seen somebody burned the way Pam should have been ? Plastic surgery makes no miracle unfortunately... ) David Gordon is not a plastic surgeon, he's the Wizard of Oz...

 

[tommie]

Margaret Michaels could have been a nice recast, but she was too pretty in my opinion... Pam was supposed to be horribly burned, this is why she vanished into thin air. Because she didn't want to "frighten her little boy".... And only one year later she's back with a couple of scars and the face of the very watchable Margaret ? (Have you ever seen somebody burned the way Pam should have been ? Plastic surgery makes no miracle unfortunately... ) David Gordon is not a plastic surgeon, he's the Wizard of Oz...

That's just standard soap fare though. Of course irl Pam would've looked horrible if she had been burnt that way, things like eyelids, most of her nose, ears, lips, hair etc would've been burnt off, but nobody really wants to watch that.