Pamela Rebecca

Sarah

Sarah

Moderator Emerita
Why do you think that compared to her namesake, our Pamela, that Pamela Rebecca was such an evil bitch?

I admit I did not like this character one iota from quite early on in the new show. I much preferred Elena. I do realise that's not a popular opinion but what made Pamela Rebecca so nasty? Even her father Cliff wasn't a 'nasty' character, for all his fights with JR and the Ewings. I'm no fan of Afton and find her horrid - is that where Pamela Rebecca's personality comes from? Or for those of you in the Afton camp, how can someone who is a Barnes, who -ok not by blood - was related to lovely Pam be so so horrible? Like she's proper evil. It went beyond the normal Barnes Ewing feud and was in nowhere near the same league as how JR would behave.

She's just hateful. What made her so bad?
 
Rove

Rove

Telly Talk Warrior
An interesting thread Sarah but one I'm struggling with simply because of the atrocious writing from the TNT writers. There wasn't enough depth to the background story as to why Pamela Rebecca had turned out the way she did...and don't get me started how awful the creative types had given Cliff Barnes a new personality. The same could be said of Afton Cooper and her interaction with Sue Ellen. Nothing was making sense. Why the vulgarity? Is it something with becoming old and bitter? If anything Afton should have went after Cliff for putting Pamela in that position of setting up the Ewing family.

I didn't like Elena. But that was more to do with the actress and another woeful story. I did however begin to thaw with Pamela Rebecca as the series progressed, especially her interaction with John Ross until that horrible shock value threesome with Emma.

Again. Not enough back story to fully understand why Pamela Rebecca and Cliff turned on the Ewing family like they did.
 
Sea - Boo! - Er

Sea - Boo! - Er

Telly Talk Warrior
I just wish they'd continued the character as we'd seen her in JR Returns.
 
Sarah

Sarah

Moderator Emerita
Rove said:
An interesting thread Sarah but one I'm struggling with simply because of the atrocious writing from the TNT writers. There wasn't enough depth to the background story as to why Pamela Rebecca had turned out the way she did...and don't get me started how awful the creative types had given Cliff Barnes a new personality. The same could be said of Afton Cooper and her interaction with Sue Ellen. Nothing was making sense. Why the vulgarity? Is it something with becoming old and bitter? If anything Afton should have went after Cliff for putting Pamela in that position of setting up the Ewing family.

I didn't like Elena. But that was more to do with the actress and another woeful story. I did however begin to thaw with Pamela Rebecca as the series progressed, especially her interaction with John Ross until that horrible shock value threesome with Emma.

Again. Not enough back story to fully understand why Pamela Rebecca and Cliff turned on the Ewing family like they did.
Click to expand...

Thanks Rove. I can be on board with Afton's vulgarity and bitterness. I always found her one of the most hypocritical characters on the show. Sue Ellen did NOTHING to her. She slept with Sue Ellen's husband and then couldn't handle it when the shoe was on the other foot. If she passed even half of that on to her daughter, it makes sense why Pamela Rebecca was so horrible. But I agree about the writing and backstory to this.
 
K

Karin

Moderator
Staff Member
I liked PamBecca. But I didn't like how she never got any reprecussions after accidentally killing Tommy. When I saw the spoiler photos for season two at a trial I thought she was the one on trial. I was so disappointed when I found out it was Ann. It would have been better with PamBecca on trial. She would have gotten off by claiming it was self-defense. But seeing her showing some remorse over the life she took would have made her more human.

Also I wish they would have explored more of her troubled relationship with her parents. A Barnes centered episode would have been good. But it's yet another missed opportunity. :(
 
L

lbf522

Telly Talk Well-Known Member
I also did not care much for Pamela Rebecca's hatefulness especially since we never got to find out where it came from. There was lots of potential with JR's son and Cliff's daughter paired up and married. The fireworks that would have caused. Fans do remember that the Ewing had already met Pamela.

The actress did her best with the material she was given. I blame the writers for all of that.
 
Rove

Rove

Telly Talk Warrior
lbf522 said:
There was lots of potential with JR's son and Cliff's daughter paired up and married. The fireworks that would have caused.
Click to expand...

I could have easily lived with the pairing of John Ross and Pamela Rebecca from the get go. I think I alluded to this in another thread that John Ross and Pamela Rebecca met up Europe, fell deeply in love and quietly married. The opening scene to TNT Dallas is John Ross and Pamela Rebecca driving in their red convertible towards the great city. Pamela Rebecca is nervous about her acceptance as the newest Mrs. Ewing. John Ross responds that everything will be fine, except he is now wondering if secretly inviting the extended family to Southfork was such a good idea. JR, Sue Ellen, Bobby, Ann and Christopher are enjoying pre-dinner drinks (except Sue Ellen). JR is up to his usual pre-dinner banter when in walks Cliff Barnes and Afton. To the surprise of many everyone is friendly...then in walks John Ross and his bride Pamela Rebecca....the fuse is lit...the fox is in the hen house...let the games begin.


​
 
L

lbf522

Telly Talk Well-Known Member
The fact that the writers did not invest in John Ross and Pamela Rebecca tells me that they were incompetent and did not know what they were doing.
 
tommie

tommie

Telly Talk Hero
I thought it was a bit lame to have John Ross cheat on Rebecca that early on in their relationship. Felt a bit like a "look he's as bad as JR!!!!" moment.

Personally, I'd have at least a season where they actually did act like a terrible twosome before encountering things like cheating. Of course their marriage was never going to be a happy one, but let them wreak havoc among the other characters before their bitter in fighting.
 
Rove

Rove

Telly Talk Warrior
tommie said:
I thought it was a bit lame to have John Ross cheat on Rebecca that early on in their relationship. Felt a bit like a "look he's as bad as JR!!!!" moment.
Click to expand...
John Ross behaving just as his father did was too predictable (lazy on the writers part) and something most viewers would have expected. In that heated kitchen exchange between mother and son John Ross slams down his hand on the kitchen bench exclaiming, "I am not my father!" Well guess what kid, don't try to be. When it came to the characters of John Ross and Christopher the writers were treating them as if they were teenagers, pent up with all that rebel rage. Those two guys were now in there early 30's. At least have one of them happily married with a couple of snots running riot through Southfork.
 
tommie

tommie

Telly Talk Hero
While I don't see the John Ross/Pambecca relationship lasting in the long term, I think that they really needed a honeymoon period. Plus there was plenty of story to be milked with them just being the terrible twosome causing headache for their family members. There was a lot of potential there that I felt they were just throwing away with a cheap cliffhanger scene for seemingly little reason, but I guess it had shades of JR cheating with Afton.

Oh well, woulda shoulda coulda.
 
K

Karin

Moderator
Staff Member
lbf522 said:
The actress did her best with the material she was given. I blame the writers for all of that.
Click to expand...

I agree. I wish CC or someone from her writer's team would have read the Suzy Kalter book "The Complete Book of Dallas - Behind the scenes at the world's favorite television show" published in 1986. In it they perfectly explain and analyze the ingredients of what made Dallas into the phenomenon it was. It breaks down which elements a soap needs and yes plot twists is a part of it but so is the payoff and reality and coincidence. The stories needs to stay grounded and make people believe they could actually happen. A successful soap opera is not a crime drama. At least not in the 1980's and that's when Dallas was at it's peak. So the audience who tuned in to watch the new Dallas expected it to stay true to the show they loved. The book ends on a closing remark from David Jacobs "Dallas is just plain fun".

I think that sums it all up perfectly and the new writer's team could have learnt something from reading a book like this one!
 
L

lbf522

Telly Talk Well-Known Member
Yes it was lazy on the writers part to have John Ross cheat on Pamela Rebecca. Of all of JR's traits, they choose cheating? Sue Ellen's excuse for not telling Pamela Rebecca that John Ross was cheating on her was dumb. How it not telling her protecting her.

As for that threesome, clearly it was for shock value and hot but dumb at the same time. Reality would have been Pamela pulling out a gun and shooting John Ross.
 
tommie

tommie

Telly Talk Hero
lbf522 said:
As for that threesome, clearly it was for shock value and hot but dumb at the same time. Reality would have been Pamela pulling out a gun and shooting John Ross.
Click to expand...

The threesome still stands out for me as one of the dumbest moments on the show - just not it actually happening, but the reasoning being that Pamela had planned an overdose to punish John Ross. At first I just assumed she was so heartbroken that she'd accidentally overdosed and just did something stupid to try and keep John Ross, but no, Cynthia confirmed that this was Pamela's plan all along. WTF?
 
Richard Channing

Richard Channing

Eternal Member
Willie Oleson said:
Been there done that, like, a hundred times I think.
This was original and fun and her revenge was carefully planned.
Click to expand...
But that's the problem, you can't plan that your husband and his mistress are gonna both be up for a threesome upon being caught, you cant plan that you're gonna start vomiting at just the right moment and you can't plan that you're not gonna die or have brain damage or organ failure or something as a result of your overdose. And what was it even supposed to achieve? So was it a smart and carefully planned revenge tactic? No, it was just pretty dumb and ill conceived.
 
Top