Worst Dallas storyline in the show's run

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

Inspired by my own post in the Pam's Mummy debacle thread, what do you all consider to be the worst storyline in the show's run?

Storyline's which spring to mind are the Clayton & Laurel Ellis storyline which I find really cringey. The Mummy Pam storyline I consider my personal worst of the show's run but which one stands out for you as being either cringey, poorly done or just a bad or awful storyline?

Over to you all.

 

[Taylor Bennett Jr.]

Haleyville is in a class of its own for me, especially in tone and execution, rivaled perhaps only by 'JR puts himself in a sanitarium with a bunch of crazies and their madcap antics'.

Those ones amazingly didn't even manage to score any "so bad it's good" points with me, which is quite an achievement.. hm, maybe they would on another rewatch in just the right mood, though, perhaps aided by some top-grade nitrous oxide or something similar.

If only they'd gone all-in with the 'New Dallas' concept, maybe "Bobby tracks down his old basketball coach to deliver some bad news" could have approached a spot in that exalted firmament of preposterousness in a self-contained way..

 

[Angela Channing]

Inspired by my own post in the Pam's Mummy debacle thread, what do you all consider to be the worst storyline in the show's run?

Storyline's which spring to mind are the Clayton & Laurel Ellis storyline which I find really cringey. The Mummy Pam storyline I consider my personal worst of the show's run but which one stands out for you as being either cringey, poorly done or just a bad or awful storyline?

Over to you all.

I have to agree, the Laurel Ellis storyline was the worst. The word that always comes to mind when I think about it is ghastly.

Also that pile of crap that was the Sheila Foley/Hillary Taylor storyline and the following saga featuring Jory Taylor. Just yuk!

 

[Barbara Fan]

Hayleyville and intro of Cally as the worst
Laurel Ellis and her wooden bonsais - went with her acting
JR in the sanitorium - so bad i dont realy remember it
BD Calhoun and Range war plots
Nicholas Pearce / whiny April and Mafia plot

Long live original Dallas - Original 1 - 6, 8 and 9

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

Hayleyville and intro of Cally as the worst
Laurel Ellis and her wooden bonsais - went with her acting
JR in the sanitorium - so bad i dont realy remember it
BD Calhoun and Range war plots
Nicholas Pearce / whiny April and Mafia plot

Long live original Dallas - Original 1 - 6, 8 and 9

I go along with 4 of the 5 - I liked the Range War story.

I would add the Ray/Jenna pairing and basically all of Season 13 and 14.

Does New Dallas count?
Basically everything about how Cliff Barnes was written

 

[Billy Wall]

Hayleyville, because it went on and on.

 

[Mustard]

LeeAnn de la Vega. The absolute nadir of the 1978-1991 run of Dallas.

 

[Rove]

Mafia plot

Anytime the mafia plot is introduced to a soap it tells me the writers have run out of ideas.

 

[Monzo]

For me it's also Haleyville.

Laurel Ellis' story always reminded me of The Twilight Zone. An old husband falls in love with the young woman in a painting. I wonder how Rod Sterling would have solved the story.

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

For me it's also Haleyville.

Laurel Ellis' story always reminded me of The Twilight Zone. An old husband falls in love with the young woman in a painting. I wonder how Rod Sterling would have solved the story.

A twist could have been that she was Clayton's daughter. Probably was not followed through because the actress and the story just was mot
too good

 

[Seaviewer]

Jeanne O'Brien.
It made zero sense that Bobby was so taken with her, yet didn't actually know she resembled Pam because Cliff was the only one who'd seen her post-surgery.

 

[the-lost-son]

That's a tough one for me. I watched the last 4 seasons only once twenty years ago.
Till then the worst for me was BD Calhoun because it was dragging on foreeeeever.

Afterwards it's difficult. I completely forgot about Laurel Ellis (I know from reading here that she painted and that it was bad, but that's it). The same goes for Nicolas Pearce. I remember only he was together with SE, had a mobster dad and fell over the balcony.
(Please don't remind me of aby details. I'm fine like that )

The problem with the storylines of the last years was that they simply did not make any longterm effect.
Halleyville, sanatorium, ranch war...all forgotten after the next episode started. It was a daytime soap at this point.

For me SueEllen's movie storyline was also depressing. All these flashbacks emphasized the huge differences between the storylines of the first and the last years.

 

[Mustard]

Jeanne O'Brien.
It made zero sense that Bobby was so taken with her, yet didn't actually know she resembled Pam because Cliff was the only one who'd seen her post-surgery.

I think the point is that Jeanne O'Brien resembled pre-crash Pamela, like Margaret Michaels resembles Victoria Principal. The storyline was a bit odd though, even morbid.

 

[Toni]

LeeAnn de la Vega. The absolute nadir of the 1978-1991 run of Dallas.

LeeAnn´s storyline was genius compared with the sanitarium, Rose McKay, Johnny Danzigcer, Jory Taylor and the Debra Lynn saga. Just think about it for one second! As if it were a Jeannie spin-off!

 

[pete lashmar]

Laural and Haylyville come close.....but for me, the worst storyline (by miles) has to be Afton Cooper being a singer!!!

Oh the pain that put me through on original broadcast and the pain it caused my fast forward finger on DVD!!!

 

[Seaviewer]

The problem with the storylines of the last years was that they simply did not make any longterm effect.
Halleyville, sanatorium, ranch war...all forgotten after the next episode started. It was a daytime soap at this point.

Haleyville did result in Calley who stayed around for a while.

I think the point is that Jeanne O'Brien resembled pre-crash Pamela, like Margaret Michaels resembles Victoria Principal. The storyline was a bit odd though, even morbid.

Uh, okay. I'll raise it from zero sense to 1% sense.

 

[Rove]

Afton Cooper being a singer!!!

I agree. My right thumb never recovered. GOD forbid what it's going to be like if Warner Bros gets around to re-releasing Dallas on Blu-Ray. I have an Android TV now. I wonder if I can give it a voice command...'Hey Google, fast forward.'

 

[lbf522]

The Hayleyville storyline was the beginning of the end. There is no way that a man like JR Ewing would not have made the lives of the people there a living Hell. That the sheriff having the nerve to come to JR's office was especially stupid.

 

[Victoriafan3]

How were all of you still able to even watch the last two seasons? I’d long given up. Sounds like you each had two years of nails being drawn down a blackboard watching this show. Such a shame. It used to be so good

 

[Rove]

How were all of you still able to even watch the last two seasons? I’d long given up. Sounds like you each had two years of nails being drawn down a blackboard watching this show. Such a shame. It used to be so good

I was obsessed with Dallas and there is no denying in its prime it was must watch TV. Despite limping to 'Conumdrum' I still felt the need to watch my favourite television family. Some of us hoped it might have improved...it did not...but for me there was this internal urge to keeping watching it. I returned of course for the movies and that pitiful excuse, TNT Dallas...and of course I will return to my favourite series of all time when Warner Bros release it on Blu-Ray.

Some here might suggest I book an appointment with Dr. Ellby but sadly he has passed away.