Dallas Couples The Letter & other plots that kept us waiting.

[pete lashmar]

At the time the separation of Bobby & Pam was devastating, but at the same time a brilliant soap plot. Watching the episodes on re-watch (AGAIN! - gotta love a lock down sometimes people) and it amazes me that this wasn't resolved quicker.

Pam and Bobby never had an issue telling each other what they thought of each other's actions, yet The Letter, a hugely important plot twist is never ever discussed until we get the resolution and the classic Pam/Katherine slap (which should have been a damn great Donna Krebbs punch).

Did Dallas keep some of their storylines going too long sometimes?

I know that the other one that always frustrates me is the final season with Bobby hunting down Shiela - it just goes on and on and on. Add to that the really trashy dream sequences/music with April and it's another reason I'm glad it was put out of it's misery.

 

[Sarah]

I much preferred JR's love letter to Sue Ellen

 

[CeeCee72]

The Valentine Lingerie plot/Mandy Winger affair went on far, FAR too long.

It was a nice setup. Sue Ellen's idea to make Mandy trashy in JR's eyes really was brilliant. But it took too long. Seemed like it drug on episode after episode. Then we finally got a nice tie-up. Mandy and JR say goodbye at the stadium, Sue Ellen reveals herself to Mandy and JR, JR gets impressed by Sue Ellen, should have been the end of it. But NO. They had to bring her back for another round. And for what? To make Sue Ellen look weak and jealous? To make JR look lovesick? JR and Mandy had only a couple of interactions during her return and they weren't even interesting ones. Mostly all we got was Sue Ellen standing around photo shoots looking insecure over Mandy's beauty. And then that last scene, when Sue Ellen finally finds her back bone and fires Mandy, Mandy says "You'll hear from me again" but she never shows back up. Plus in the season ending episode, Sue Ellen is furious about that picture of JR and Mandy in the paper, but it never, ever gets mentioned again.

The whole thing was too long and useless so far as I was concerned.

 

[Sarah]

It really was to show the silly hag that she was indeed the ‘manipulative homewrecker’ that her actress Deborah Shelton called her for. She was pathetic. The one thing that came from the story was that JR realised it was Sue Ellen he wanted, but Winger was around like a bad smell for far too long. Who threatens a marriage like that? Nasty evil full of herself witch. I wish her nothing but a painful sticky end!!!

 

[Kenny Coyote]

The Valentine Lingerie plot/Mandy Winger affair went on far, FAR too long.

It was a nice setup. Sue Ellen's idea to make Mandy trashy in JR's eyes really was brilliant. But it took too long. Seemed like it drug on episode after episode. Then we finally got a nice tie-up. Mandy and JR say goodbye at the stadium, Sue Ellen reveals herself to Mandy and JR, JR gets impressed by Sue Ellen, should have been the end of it. But NO. They had to bring her back for another round. And for what? To make Sue Ellen look weak and jealous? To make JR look lovesick? JR and Mandy had only a couple of interactions during her return and they weren't even interesting ones. Mostly all we got was Sue Ellen standing around photo shoots looking insecure over Mandy's beauty. And then that last scene, when Sue Ellen finally finds her back bone and fires Mandy, Mandy says "You'll hear from me again" but she never shows back up. Plus in the season ending episode, Sue Ellen is furious about that picture of JR and Mandy in the paper, but it never, ever gets mentioned again.

The whole thing was too long and useless so far as I was concerned.

Sue Ellen's marketing model of "trash with class" was always met with laughter whenever I've watched it with women. Somehow "trash with class" didn't appeal to them.

A woman in Sue Ellen's position, with a man who had cheated on her so many times for so many years, should have been thankful to Mandy Winger for helping to expedite a way out of her marriage. Mandy was initiating what could have been a new start for Sue Ellen if she had had the strength to leave JR and make an attempt at building a good life for herself.

The idea of a woman who for the first time in JR's life made him not desire "the chase" any longer was something they brought up but didn't commit to. I'd have liked to have seen them go with that idea and have them get married. Seeing JR go through some type of character development along those lines could have injected some new vitality into the character. If the characters never go through any type of growing process, I don't know that they can sustain success for any longer than they did. Having the characters transform into wiser, more mature versions of those characters gives a show a shot at remaining at a high level of success for longer. If the characters don't learn from their mistakes, eventually the audience has to wonder "what are we watching this for"?

Sue Ellen "saved" her dead marriage. They had JR go on to marry Cally instead of Mandy. That was a questionable decision. Maybe if they'd been a comedy show that could have worked, but for a drama, JR and Cally as a couple weren't going to work for any substantial length of time.

 

[CeeCee72]

The problem with Mandy (well one of the many problems with her) is the dream season. Once JR goes through the maturing process ON SCREEN with Sue Ellen, it's damn near impossible to ask fans of the couple to shake that all off and accept Mandy and JR again. They attempted to have JR go through a similar process with Sue Ellen again in season 10, and they actually did a halfway decent job, but they crashed and burned the whole thing with Cryder and then both JR and Sue Ellen regressed as characters (all the way back to habits from seasons 7&8).

I know that I keep blaming the dream season for everything, but really, in this case it ruined any chance of fans accepting Mandy with JR long term.

Also, as much as we talk about Bobby and Pam being the Dallas Super Couple, in many ways, I always felt it was more JR/SE. Yes, they were toxic. But that was because they were so much alike.

I think a lot of male fans wanted JR with Mandy. Most of us female fans were team Sue Ellen all the way.

But... No matter which way it turned out, that whole triangle went on WAY too long.

 

[Swami]

Sue Ellen's marketing model of "trash with class" was always met with laughter whenever I've watched it with women. Somehow "trash with class" didn't appeal to them.

A woman in Sue Ellen's position, with a man who had cheated on her so many times for so many years, should have been thankful to Mandy Winger for helping to expedite a way out of her marriage. Mandy was initiating what could have been a new start for Sue Ellen if she had had the strength to leave JR and make an attempt at building a good life for herself.

The idea of a woman who for the first time in JR's life made him not desire "the chase" any longer was something they brought up but didn't commit to. I'd have liked to have seen them go with that idea and have them get married. Seeing JR go through some type of character development along those lines could have injected some new vitality into the character. If the characters never go through any type of growing process, I don't know that they can sustain success for any longer than they did. Having the characters transform into wiser, more mature versions of those characters gives a show a shot at remaining at a high level of success for longer. If the characters don't learn from their mistakes, eventually the audience has to wonder "what are we watching this for"?

Sue Ellen "saved" her dead marriage. They had JR go on to marry Cally instead of Mandy. That was a questionable decision. Maybe if they'd been a comedy show that could have worked, but for a drama, JR and Cally as a couple weren't going to work for any substantial length of time.

Even JR marrying Mandy would have been much better than JR & Cally.

Swami

 

[CeeCee72]

Even JR marrying Mandy would have been much better than JR & Cally.

Swami

JR marrying ANYONE else would have been better than Cally. She was the WORST possible wife for him.

 

[Swami]

JR marrying ANYONE else would have been better than Cally. She was the WORST possible wife for him.

Not just as bad as either Granny Beaumont or Rose McKay, they would have been the worst.

Swami

 

[Sarah]

Yes - Mandy was a self absorbed airhead who loved herself more than anyone.

I liked Cally - at least she had some spunk unlike me me me Mandy - determined to destroy a marriage for her own needs.

I find it staggering that anyone would think JR would be happy with her long term. She was basic and not enough of a challenge to him. He'd have been back to Sue Ellen in a heartbeat - a woman despite her flaws who loved him unconditionally, had intelligence and a mind of her own.

Both male AND female fans for the most part loved them together and to be honest, sorry, Mandy modeling lingerie and some thinking she's JR's perfect match is rather telling. Even when JR dumped her she came back like a stinking boomerang. All about HER.

Many Dallas actors have backed this up - Joan Van Ark saying most fans saw JR and SE as the 'King and Queen' and you can refer to Deborah Shelton's quote above. Even SHE could see her for what she was.

There was no way JR could be happy with an insipid bore like Mandy long term. He said it himself in that he needed a challenge - and that challenge was Sue Ellen. He loved her. In Larry’s words ‘he is endlessly captivated by her’ (Sue Ellen).

Anything else is a sexist fantasy regarding a woman who had to take her clothes off to get ahead.

Has she meddled with Pam's marriage God help us! That sure would be a different conversation wouldn’t it?!

Mandy went out of her way to break up a marriage and when she didn't succeed, she lied to and manipulated the wife to try to get her own way.

JR didn't want her long term, and admitted Sue Ellen was the love of his life.

Get over it. Seriously. And if you want to start the blame game, put it where it's deserved, at JR's door - which he also admits in the end 'I was never worthy of you' (to Sue Ellen).

But maybe some think an airhead with no mind of her own like Mandy would do better with JR.. Unfortunately this isn't 1888.

 

[CeeCee72]

Yes - Mandy was a self absorbed airhead who loved herself more than anyone.

I liked Cally - at least she had some spunk unlike me me me Mandy - determined to destroy a marriage for her own needs.

I find it staggering that anyone would think JR would be happy with her long term. She was basic and not enough of a challenge to him. He'd have been back to Sue Ellen in a heartbeat - a woman despite her flaws who loved him unconditionally, had intelligence and a mind of her own.

Both male AND female fans for the most part loved them together and to be honest, sorry, Mandy modeling lingerie and some thinking she's JR's perfect match is rather telling. Even when JR dumped her she came back like a stinking boomerang. All about HER.

Many Dallas actors have backed this up - Joan Van Ark saying most fans saw JR and SE as the 'King and Queen' and you can refer to Deborah Shelton's quote above. Even SHE could see her for what she was.

There was no way JR could be happy with an insipid bore like Mandy long term. He said it himself in that he needed a challenge - and that challenge was Sue Ellen. He loved her. In Larry’s words ‘he is endlessly captivated by her’ (Sue Ellen).

Anything else is a sexist fantasy regarding a woman who had to take her clothes off to get ahead.

Has she meddled with Pam's marriage God help us! That sure would be a different conversation wouldn’t it?!

Mandy went out of her way to break up a marriage and when she didn't succeed, she lied to and manipulated the wife to try to get her own way.

JR didn't want her long term, and admitted Sue Ellen was the love of his life.

Get over it. Seriously. And if you want to start the blame game, put it where it's deserved, at JR's door - which he also admits in the end 'I was never worthy of you' (to Sue Ellen).

But maybe some think an airhead with no mind of her own like Mandy would do better with JR.. Unfortunately this isn't 1888.

Sarah, that's an interesting point about Cally being a more likeable character than any of JR's other women. She really was. She did have spunk - a spark.

But it was so hard for me to believe JR would be in a long term relationship with her, much less a marriage.

Again though, we see Sue Ellen affecting the course of JR's life. She's the one who tricked him into marrying Cally after all.

And I always suspected she did it not just to make him miserable, but to make sure his next wife would in no way compare favorably to her.

 

[Kenny Coyote]

Anything else is a sexist fantasy regarding a woman who had to take her clothes off to get ahead.

That's one way of looking at it. Mandy modeling lingerie was something they did in the last season with her, but it wasn't integral to the character. In seasons eight and nine she didn't do that. At the push of a pen, the writers could have done a number of different things with Mandy instead of going with that particular decision. I guess that makes the whole thing a certain type of fantasy, doesn't it? It's fiction. What they could have written for the character was only limited by their imaginations.

In my opinion, where they took the character of Mandy in season 10 was not to their advantage. I don't think they did themselves any favors letting Deborah Shelton go after season 10. When they already knew one of the two best looking actresses on the show was leaving after season ten, to let the other go was not exactly brilliant on their part.

Get over it. And if you want to start the blame game, put it where it's deserved, at JR's door - which he also admits in the end 'I was never worthy of you' (to Sue Ellen).

But maybe some think an airhead with no mind of her own like Mandy would do better with JR.. Unfortunately this isn't 1888.

I'm not looking to start a "game" of any type, "blame" or otherwise. I can't speak for anyone else. When a marriage fails there is fault on both sides. There may be the occasional exception to that, but not in JR and Sue Ellen's marriage. They became a brutally dysfunctional couple as the series progressed. I guess there's some entertainment value to showing that for a while, but when they started dragging it onwards into seasons eight, nine and ten, it got repetitive.

They could have done something to give the fans something new, whether it was making JR and Sue Ellen fix the problems in their marriage or having them divorce for the second time and then have the two of them move forward in positive directions in their lives. Mandy, depending upon how the character was written, marrying JR could have been a positive direction for the show. They decided to go the comedy route, which doesn't work well for a show like Dallas. The ratings indicate the fans were not pleased with the direction the show took. From the script writing right down to the casting decisions on the part of the show in their later years, the whole thing became a comedy of errors.

 

[Sarah]

I absolutely agree @CeeCee72 - he didn’t love Cally, he didn’t love Mandy - he loved Sue Ellen.

She tricked him into marrying Cally because she KNEW. Just the same way she knew he’d never marry Mandy. Cally was his punishment or lesson. Mandy was also his lesson.

Everyone apparently has a First, a Lesson and a True Love.

JR knew Sue Ellen was the only woman who held that sort of power over him. And she knew it too. She was his true love and debating anything else is quite frankly hogwash.