The timescale of Katzman and Duffy returning to the show

[Taylor Bennett Jr.]

On a recent re-watch of the "Dream Season" I wasn't missing Bobby. I felt his death - much like Jock's - was being used to showcase the actors range and how it affected the characters.

I enjoyed the dream season quite a bit on a fairly recent rewatch, even the cartoonish Matt “Fake Guzzler” Cantrell and Angelica Nero parts. I think the secret to enjoying Angelica is to just treat it as goofy entertainment, especially the outfits. I could see where it would have been discouraging to see that stuff as it aired though.

People complain about how everyone was getting along with each other by the end of the season, but I found it quite jarring when the next season started and just about everyone was a petty, selfish jerk again. It was actually nice seeing Cliff act like a human being for the first time in years, and I started to understand the “JR and Sue Ellen’s great love affair” sentiment more than I had.

That said, if they were going to bring Bobby back, I feel they had to wipe out the previous year. Any kind of “Bobby narrowly survived the crash then was whisked away by the CIA on a secret mission to bring down international scofflaw and Jock Ewing impersonator Wyatt Haines” contrivance would have been too ridiculous to pull off without a total suspension of suspension of disbelief.

 

[James from London]

Paulsen is a company man -- what he says and what he thinks are two different things. He would never have used the dream scenario were he running the show himself, no matter how much he defends it for Lenny.

And yet his idea for bring Pamela Sue Martin back to DYNASTY was remarkably similar: end of season, intimate setting, naked figure turns round to face ex-spouse/current bed partner and ... look who's back!

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

And yet his idea for bring Pamela Sue Martin back to DYNASTY was remarkably similar: end of season, intimate setting, naked figure turns round to face ex-spouse/current bed partner and ... look who's back!

But that's just a re-re-casting, isn't it? Both shows were well-familiar with that.

 

[James from London]

But that's just a re-re-casting, isn't it? Both shows were well-familiar with that.

The staging of it, the audaciousness of it, is strongly reminiscent of Bobby's return in the shower. If Paulsen really disliked the whole dream explanation, it seems strange that he would devise a scenario that would have invited a direct comparison with it.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

The staging of it, the audaciousness of it, is strongly reminiscent of Bobby's return in the shower. If Paulsen really disliked the whole dream explanation, it seems strange that he would devise a scenario that would have invited a direct comparison with it.

Well, but a year of plotting (such as it was) wouldn't have been tossed. And after Fallon got off that UFO, then god knows what morphable condition she'd be in.

 

[ArchieLucasCarringtonEwing1989]

Well, but a year of plotting (such as it was) wouldn't have been tossed. And after Fallon got off that UFO, then god knows what morphable condition she'd be in.

I mean if Paulsen bringing back PSM in 1988 would writing off the previous four/five years as a dream been a bad thing ;-) it would have explained an awful lot.

As for the dream season, it was a good opportunity to completely reset the show, by the 1984-85 season the show was beginning to show its age and was repeating old storylines, even the Who Shot Bobby storyline was a poor copy of the Who Shot JR story, Killing off a major player was the right thing to do by 1985, and Bobby was the right character to kill off at that time, he seemed to have come to the end of himself by then, at a crossroads with his love life, everyone around him was moving on, his finale season he seemed to be in some existential crisis.

With Bobby dead you finally had the yin and yang of Pam & JR facing each other off, the writers had planned this some years earlier when Dallas first started to kill Bobby off so Pam would be alone to face the Ewing’s.

I honestly didn’t miss Bobby in the 1985-86 season, his departure didn’t cut as deep as Pam’s departure two years later, I really missed Pam in the 1987-88 season, Pam’s departure was more detrimental to the show than Bobby’s.

 

[Frank Underwood]

Well, but a year of plotting (such as it was) wouldn't have been tossed. And after Fallon got off that UFO, then god knows what morphable condition she'd be in.

Exactly. It would have been more of a wink at the camera. Sort of like the slow reveal of Donna Reed at DFW, followed by BBG's head turn in the following season's credits.

It's a creative (albeit silly) way to acknowledge a recast, but at least it doesn't wipe away an entire season.

 

[Chris2]

I would have missed Bobby less if they had truly let the show revolve more around the partnership between JR and Pam. What a missed opportunity. And eventually find a new love interest for Pam that wasn’t Mark Graison. He was her past, and there was story to be told about Pam finding a new love of her life, not going back to the guy who was a passable substitute for Bobby when they were divorced.

I also agree that Pam’s departure hurt more. I’ve seen Victoria’s quote about how she turned down the opportunity to be the highest paid actress on TV. But I take it with a grain of salt. We’ve heard others - including in Barbara Curran’s book - say that she was negotiating for more money and didn’t get as much as she wanted (allegedly parity with Duffy). And that she only wanted to come back for a year as opposed to two.

Katzman didn’t truly realize how important she was to the show, especially given how Pam was marginalized when he returned.

 

[DallasFanForever]

Pam & JR facing each other off

This was what I was hoping for. They could’ve used the fact that her sister was responsible for Bobby’s death as the catalyst to divide Pam and the Ewings even more. Maybe Katherine’s diary gets out as well. Pam and Cliff both even said that the diary could never be known to J.R. But sadly after a few weeks this was all forgotten. And instead we got Pam at Ewing Oil, which had the potential to create great conflict also. But that too was mishandled and never lived up to the hype.

 

[Brian Kinney]

I would have loved if they brought Bobby back exactly like in this article which showed Hagman taking off Bobby's bandages.

I don't know which article you refer to but I assume it would have been Pam's dream after the accident - without him dying in the hospital? Yes why didn't they use another time where Pam's dream could've started. That's what I've never understood.

The dream should've ended with Pam waking up in the hospital waiting room surrounded by J.R. and Cliff while waiting for a doctor to tell them about what happened. We viewers think it's about Sue-Ellen and Jamie (last seen at the end of the dream probably dying) - but the season ends with Bobby rolling in a wheelchair to them with some bandages. Bobby is in good spirit - thinking he's married to Pam, leaving J.R. and Cliff in a shock while Jenna arrives in this moment and hears everything!

BONUS Alternative final scene to end the season: Then we see Katherine with much more bandages (recognizable only by a close-up of her eyes) and wheeled off by some suspicious hunky bodyguard types (or Angelica Nero as a new character) - leaving the hospital! This would have been fitting to Katherine's character (she looked dead after the accident but we haven't seen an ambulance to get her).

 

[Seaviewer]

If they'd had it as Bobby's dream, in a coma it would have worked perfectly and I'll never understand why they decided it worked better as Pam's dream..

I can't see how it makes any difference; the year's episodes would still have been wiped away.

It‘s unclear if it was ever really intended to use a different explanation than the dream.

I didn't mean to imply that one was seriously under consideration, but the fact that they shot the decoy photos means that they were aware of alternatives.

 

[DallasFanForever]

I can't see how it makes any difference

I see ur point as it doesn’t change the fact that we would’ve lost an entire season. But I think people look at it like making it Bobby’s dream makes more sense if he’s in a coma. It’s the lesser of the two evils and easier to digest. I could’ve accepted this more than having it be Pam’s dream but I agree with you that there were other alternatives. But I’m also of the belief that no matter what they did the show never would’ve been the same after that.

 

[Rove]

even the Who Shot Bobby storyline was a poor copy of the Who Shot JR story

It might have been but I liked the twist when Bobby dropped to the floor instead of JR.

 

[GillesDenver]

I see ur point as it doesn’t change the fact that we would’ve lost an entire season. But I think people look at it like making it Bobby’s dream makes more sense if he’s in a coma. It’s the lesser of the two evils and easier to digest. I could’ve accepted this more than having it be Pam’s dream but I agree with you that there were other alternatives. But I’m also of the belief that no matter what they did the show never would’ve been the same after that.

Not only that but it doesn't erase the timeline. Bobby being in a coma for a year means when he wakes up the action takes place in 1986 and not in 1985.
It also means Donna is not pregnant anymore (she could have had her baby... or not), Jamie and Mandy could be out of the show as planned, Ben Stivers does not need to be reintroduced with another name, etc...
Only some explanations to Bobby about what happened when he was in coma and that's all. A few things that happened during the dream season could have been kept too, it would have been explained that Miss Ellie, Pam, J.R., Jenna, Ray and the others came to see Bobby from time to time and told him what was going in their lives and some elements of what Bobby heard during his coma were mixed up with his dream.
The ambiguity about what happened in 1985-1986 and what did not could have prevented to make the dream season totally pointless. For instance, no reference to Angelica Nero means the viewers can decide if she was part of Bobby's dream or if she had really existed.

 

[Rove]

But I think people look at it like making it Bobby’s dream makes more sense if he’s in a coma.

Which makes me question why place this plot on Pam? It's been noted when Pam wakes up and hears the shower the assumption is she discovers Mark. When we watch the scene carefully you will note at no point does Victoria interact with Patrick. His shower scene was filmed as a commercial without any of the Dallas cast or crew being involved. Patrick also states in interviews the idea of the dream came from his wife.

It's my impression Dallas was meant to finish with the double cliffhanger; Jamie's death and Sue Ellen walking into the office before it explodes. Or was Pam finding Mark collapsed in the shower going to be the triple cliffhanger and if not, when was this scene to be used? I for one would like to know the exact time frame and who knew what and when. It was really clever to use that shot of Pam walking up to the shower and opening the door and brilliant editing to splice Bobby in.

It's not until Dallas returns the following season where we physically see both Victoria and Patrick in the same shot. You will also note Victoria's hair is slightly longer. It has all the appearances of Katzman rushing back to the editing room and see what footage had been shot and he hastily thought, "Good. We'll use this footage of Pam walking to the shower, placing her hand on the door handle....and cut."

 

[DallasFanForever]

The ambiguity about what happened in 1985-1986 and what did not

And I like that scenario a lot better than erasing an entire season. It still leaves a lot of questions unanswered but at least it wouldn’t have undone all 31 episodes.

 

[ArchieLucasCarringtonEwing1989]

It might have been but I liked the twist when Bobby dropped to the floor instead of JR.

Yes that was good actually, the cliffhanger itself wasn’t at fault but the aftermath was a bit meh

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

Which makes me question why place this plot on Pam? It's been noted when Pam wakes up and hears the shower the assumption is she discovers Mark. When we watch the scene carefully you will note at no point does Victoria interact with Patrick. His shower scene was filmed as a commercial without any of the Dallas cast or crew being involved. Patrick also states in interviews the idea of the dream came from his wife.

It's my impression Dallas was meant to finish with the double cliffhanger; Jamie's death and Sue Ellen walking into the office before it explodes. Or was Pam finding Mark collapsed in the shower going to be the triple cliffhanger and if not, when was this scene to be used? I for one would like to know the exact time frame and who knew what and when. It was really clever to use that shot of Pam walking up to the shower and opening the door and brilliant editing to splice Bobby in.

It's not until Dallas returns the following season where we physically see both Victoria and Patrick in the same shot. You will also note Victoria's hair is slightly longer. It has all the appearances of Katzman rushing back to the editing room and see what footage had been shot and he hastily thought, "Good. We'll use this footage of Pam walking to the shower, placing her hand on the door handle....and cut."

The original season nine cliff hanger was Miss Ellie looking for Clayton & going to Ben Stivers bunkhouse. She would've found items belonging to Jock there. Ben would've walked in on her & the season would've ended on the revelation that Ben was really Jock. The original cliff hanger was scrapped once Patrick Duffy agreed to return. A similar scene was later filmed in season ten when Steve Forrest was playing Wes Parmalee.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

The damned women!

I watched PD on an episode of ET recently and he actually referred to Bobby as "God"...saying, "they killed God"...lmao! I don't think he realizes what a jerk Bobby Ewing was a lot of the time. He also referred to one of the characters as a "tart"...which as a woman, I find that very offensive and sexist. Ugh!

He has such an over-inflated sense of self worth when it comes to DALLAS. It's also weird listening to him in interviews and he almost acts as though Victoria didn't exist. It was just the three Musketeers and he and Larry single-handedly made the show a success...like he always touts how the ratings fell when he left but then came way back up for the five years afterwards. I'm pretty sure the last season's of the show had lower ratings than the season he was gone (minus the first year he came back).

On a side-note, I think it's karma that his two screen wives made hundreds of millions of dollars on their own and he didn't.

The ratings for season ten were mostly identical to season nine. However once Victoria Principal left the show the ratings for season eleven and afterwards started to take a nosedive.

Dallas was an ensemble show, whilst both Duffy and Hagman would like to think they were the show they weren't. Hagman maybe because JR was the breakout character. A lot of people forget that Pam was also a breakout character which certainly explains the ratings sliding after Victoria left. Duffy and Hagman weren't enough to keep the show a hit. Victoria Principal's departure showed that Dallas was really an ensemble. I also wouldn't be surprised the ratings also slipped because Susan Howard also departed at the end of season ten, further proof for me that the fans loved all the core cast members and not just Duffy and Hagman.

 

[Chris2]

I was under the impression that the final scene was going to be the explosion at Ewing Oil. And that Victoria’s scene where she gets out of bed and heads toward the shower was filmed because they knew Patrick was returning, but she didn’t know what she was filming when she did the scene. And that Pam did not find Mark dead in the shower, but instead stepped into the shower with Mark and they had a love scene.