I stand corrected. I meant to say is there were those moments where she reminded me of Victoria Barkley not that she was like her. I agree there were times where I did not much like her like siding against JR, voting him out of Ewing Oil, and getting involved with Clayton who kept her grandson from JR.
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But if we HAD to re-cast Miss Ellie...
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Frankenstein Underworld
Telly Talk Champion
I preferred Amanda #1 for the reasons Toni mentioned. The episode where she mistook Bobby for Jock packed an emotional punch.
Spooky Owl!
Telly Talk Supreme
Although I'm not crazy about the HD upgrade of the scene which removes the shadows.
Frankenstein Underworld
Telly Talk Champion
I loved it when they wrote Miss Ellie like this, especially since BBG nailed these scenes beautifully.
It's a shame she wasn't written more consistently. The episode where she's drunk and whining about Clayton ("That break your hearrrrrt") was particularly painful to watch.
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southfork88
Telly Talk TV Fanatic
Sure, an emotional scene. But Amanda #2 also mistook Bobby for Jock and then hands him the documents that cut off Cliff and the Ewing cousins, Jamie and Jack, from Ewing Oil.
Frankenstein Underworld
Telly Talk Champion
True, but I don't recall that scene being as emotional. From what I remember, it was mostly used as a plot device so Bobby could get the document he needed.
That wasn't the fault of the actress, but I thought the impact of Amanda #1's appearance was greater.
The Eyes of Laurie Marr
Telly Talk Well-Known Member
If we HAD to cast Miss Ellie? Lansbury was already launching the prime time juggernaut of Murder She Wrote by that time, so she’s out. My left field choice would have been Kim Hunter.
Piggyrella Sanderson
Maximum Member
Hunter would've been good for Rebecca, she even had her style in the Apes saga... (with all due respect to the "other" PP...
Long live to our very dear Priscilla Pointer, the longest-living "Dallas" actress to this date.
Long live to our very dear Priscilla Pointer, the longest-living "Dallas" actress to this date.
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Spooky Owl!
Telly Talk Supreme
So would BBG, actually.
Piggyrella Sanderson
Maximum Member
For years my bestie and I used to call Rebecca "Zira" and "Baboon". Yeah, I know now, but we were young and silly...
Sea - Boo! - Er
Telly Talk Warrior
It was not a shock the second time - either to the audience or the characters.
southfork88
Telly Talk TV Fanatic
20 Glamorous Portraits of a Young and Beautiful Donna Reed in the 1940s
Donna Reed (January 27, 1921 – January 14, 1986) was an American actress. Her career spanned more than 40 years, with performances in more t...
Jock Ewing Fan
Telly Talk Star
Thank You for a wonderful tribute to a beautiful, talented woman.20 Glamorous Portraits of a Young and Beautiful Donna Reed in the 1940s
Donna Reed (January 27, 1921 – January 14, 1986) was an American actress. Her career spanned more than 40 years, with performances in more t...www.vintag.es
Donna Reed is an Oscar winner, was featured in dozens of films, including an iconic role in "It's a Wonderful Life",
starred in her own show for 8 seasons, and is honored with a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame.
I would watch any film or TV show that featured Donna Reed
Spooky Owl!
Telly Talk Supreme
Tessa40602
Telly Talk Newbie
I agree. Wardrobe alone was such a major departure from Bel Geddes that it was difficult to watch. Like Miss Ellie gets remarried and is suddenly into sequins? Hardly. If Reed had a single mannerism that matched Miss Ellie from the previous 6 years, it may have worked. Doing a rewatch now and hating all of Reed’s scenes. Ratings went down when Bel Geddes came back but I would venture to guess that had more to do with Duffy being gone.One could argue whether or not Donna Reed gave a good performance, but the bigger issue was the fact that she reinvented the character of Miss Ellie. That's fine if you're doing a play, as performers are allowed to put a new spin on a static story. However, a serialized TV show is a completely different beast. Recasts take people out of the story when the replacement actor is drastically different. Any recast would be hard to accept, but casting a "BBG type" would certainly have helped with the suspension of disbelief.
Nancy Olson looks like she fits the bill to me. Of course, if they were going to go with a sitcom mom from the 50s, I think Barbara Billingsley would have been a better choice.
Spooky Owl!
Telly Talk Supreme
Yes, the ratings slipped despite Bel Geddes coming back because the show had a new writing team -- and they didn't really understand the show.
Spooky Owl!
Telly Talk Supreme
Oh, can't somebody A.I. Bel Geddes' face and voice into the scene where Miss Ellie takes down Jock's portrait...?
Sea - Boo! - Er
Telly Talk Warrior
There are a lot of free AI online video generators now. I'm not tech-savvy myself but I imagine that it can be done.
Piggyrella Sanderson
Maximum Member
I think I could but shouldn´t...
In this pic from her show she does look more Ellie-like than on "Dallas". Maybe we should blame designer Travilla instead of poor Ms. Reed. The only character he didn´t glammed up was Teresa...
"Campbell chicken soap, dear. It´s the best!"
Well Donna Reed was in a difficult spot regarding the sequins ... if she'd dressed as Miss Ellie did we'd then be accusing her of trying to imitate Barbara Bel Geddes. Patrick Duffy's absence did fundamentally alter the dynamic of the show, although I found Pam more interesting as a character without Bobby.