Or some rip-off of "It's a Wonderful Life".
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It kinda highlighted how far Dallas had fallen, hard to believe that over a decade earlier Dallas presented us with the innovative "Who Shot JR" storyline.
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Far be it from me to defend "Conundrum" but I'm sure it was intended as a deliberate homage to It's a Wonderful Life not merely a rip-off while the whodunit structure of "Who Shot JR" is also a cliché in it's own way.
i agree. for me there's like 3 versions of Dallas you can choose from.
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It's how I now justify my viewing of Dallas. One day I may complete my DVD collection of Lorimar Dallas, the reunion movies and TNT Dallas. I however have reservations putting my hard earned money into the coffers that dished up that nonsense. Maybe my expectations were set too high for TNT Dallas. I had hoped it would go some way in correcting my love/hate relationship I have with a TV show spanning nearly 40 years.
TNT Dallas had so much going for it. The three main players were still active; Larry, Patrick and Linda. It easily had a rich history to draw from. Prior to TNT Dallas returning I read the producers/writers were told to ignore the reunion movies. Upon reflection I would have advised them to ignore just about everything after "Swan Song", but that's more to do with the inexcusable characters and weak story arcs added to the back-half of Dallas.
Given the reality laden garbage that exists on commercial/cable/satellite television today I'm surprised at least one commercial network hasn't spotted the need for a quality family drama series. Comedy programs appear to be on the wane, and I'm over any type of cop/lawyer show.
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Dallas outstayed it's welcome by 1991 and it shows in Conundrum, it does seem out of place in the early 90s, especially since it started in the late 70s!
Dallas should've ended in 1987 regardless if Bobby was there or not at least Dallas would've avoided further mistakes after the dream season.
Dallas should've ended in 1987 regardless if Bobby was there or not at least Dallas would've avoided further mistakes after the dream season.
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I'm glad that Sarah started this thread, and especially glad to see the responses because I may be the only one who actually liked Conumdrum.
And while I usually agree with all of you, it's even more fun and interesting when we have a friendly disagreement.
During the original run in the 80's, EVERYBODY was talking about J.R. His money, his power. He was the man we loved to hate.
But Conundrum showed that it wasn't only the money and power that drove J.R. It was his relationships with those around him. Those he loved and those he hated. In the end, when he didn't have those sparring partners any more, he lost a lot of the spark that drove him.
To put a finer point on it: J.R. needed the rivalry with Cliff. He savored the fight. When the rivalry was over, much of the fun went out of J.R.'s life. J.R. needed the back and forth with Sue Ellen. Once she moved on, J.R. wasn't the same.
Conundrum showed that while J.R. at first seemed to have the world on a string, money and power couldn't buy happiness once he was left behind by those around him.
Like I said, this is even more fun when we disagree, so feel free to come back with your opinions. I enjoy the friendly back and forth.
And while I usually agree with all of you, it's even more fun and interesting when we have a friendly disagreement.
During the original run in the 80's, EVERYBODY was talking about J.R. His money, his power. He was the man we loved to hate.
But Conundrum showed that it wasn't only the money and power that drove J.R. It was his relationships with those around him. Those he loved and those he hated. In the end, when he didn't have those sparring partners any more, he lost a lot of the spark that drove him.
To put a finer point on it: J.R. needed the rivalry with Cliff. He savored the fight. When the rivalry was over, much of the fun went out of J.R.'s life. J.R. needed the back and forth with Sue Ellen. Once she moved on, J.R. wasn't the same.
Conundrum showed that while J.R. at first seemed to have the world on a string, money and power couldn't buy happiness once he was left behind by those around him.
Like I said, this is even more fun when we disagree, so feel free to come back with your opinions. I enjoy the friendly back and forth.
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I'll politely argue it was Cliff Barnes and his drunk father that kept the rivalry with the Ewing family going. The Ewing family were happy to let sleeping dogs lie but every chance Cliff and Digger got they would poke the beast that was the Ewing family. JR simply retaliated by setting in motion a revenge plan to put Cliff back on his arse...and still Cliff didn't learn.
I understand this was the backbone of Dallas but in real life a sane person would have licked their wounds and made their way to Dallas International Airport and grabbed the first available flight.
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As usual, Rove makes a very good point.
I think that J.R. truly enjoyed the rivalry. There's an exchange where Cliff asks, "Why did you do it, J.R.?" and J.R. responds with joy in his voice, "Because you needed slapping down, Cliff!"
That's the Magnificant Bastard at his best.
And this where Conundrum makes me laugh a little bit. That Cliff would end up as Vice President of the United States if only he had given up his feud with J.R.
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Conundrum is...well...a conundrum.
I have no problem with the show imitating a wonderful life (which itself is an imitation of A Christmas Carol), but it shouldn't have been used as the finale.
Had it been used much earlier in the final season we could have seen J.R react to it - would he change, would he treat people any differently or would he be even more determined with his own plans? That could have given us a great opportunity to see how the man really ticked.
The finale for me would have been far more wrapped up. They could have shown Conundrum earlier in the season, and double banked the filming so that Linda etc were still in the finale it could have had a much more satisfying end.
More original and popular characters also needed to feature for it to be truly satisfying. For me there needed to be a death - probably Miss Ellie, with the family and friends coming back to pay their respects. For me though, the final shot should have been Bobby and Pam driving down the highway just as they were when the show started.
A shame we never saw VP back, but I completely understand how she felt betrayed by Pam's story after she left.
I have no problem with the show imitating a wonderful life (which itself is an imitation of A Christmas Carol), but it shouldn't have been used as the finale.
Had it been used much earlier in the final season we could have seen J.R react to it - would he change, would he treat people any differently or would he be even more determined with his own plans? That could have given us a great opportunity to see how the man really ticked.
The finale for me would have been far more wrapped up. They could have shown Conundrum earlier in the season, and double banked the filming so that Linda etc were still in the finale it could have had a much more satisfying end.
More original and popular characters also needed to feature for it to be truly satisfying. For me there needed to be a death - probably Miss Ellie, with the family and friends coming back to pay their respects. For me though, the final shot should have been Bobby and Pam driving down the highway just as they were when the show started.
A shame we never saw VP back, but I completely understand how she felt betrayed by Pam's story after she left.
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Conundrum is ranked no 3 on Time Magazine's Top 10 Most Anticipated TV Endings. Deserved or undeserved?
web.archive.org
Dallas (1991) - The Lost Finale: Top 10 Most Anticipated TV Endings - TIME
A sudsy chronicle of the wealthy Texas Ewing family, Dallas was insanely popular: some 300 million people in 57 countries watched in 1980. After fifteen seasons, the show wrapped up in 1991 with one...
web.archive.org
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Deserved as far as the anticipation fans had before the show aired. There was a lot of excitement about some of the returning stars.Conundrum is ranked no 3 on Time Magazine's Top 10 Most Anticipated TV Endings. Deserved or undeserved?
Dallas (1991) - The Lost Finale: Top 10 Most Anticipated TV Endings - TIME
A sudsy chronicle of the wealthy Texas Ewing family, Dallas was insanely popular: some 300 million people in 57 countries watched in 1980. After fifteen seasons, the show wrapped up in 1991 with one...
Undeserved as far as how we all felt afterwards.
K
Karin Schill
Guest
I would say undeserved as Dallas had one of the most crap endings of any TV-series I've ever watched. Dallas deserved a better ending than it got. 
Also I think at the time the article was written they probably felt like the ending of Lost was a huge deal. But I have never watched an episode of that show so I couldn't care less about it. Then as for *MASH* I've never watched an episode of that either but I heard it's ratings beat the episode where it was revealed who shot JR in the ratings so I think that deserved the number two spot.
I probably would have put "Friends" in the number one spot. Nobody wanted it to end. But since it did we all wanted to know how it ended. Also it did deliver a happy ending. I prefer those over unhappy ones.
Also I think at the time the article was written they probably felt like the ending of Lost was a huge deal. But I have never watched an episode of that show so I couldn't care less about it. Then as for *MASH* I've never watched an episode of that either but I heard it's ratings beat the episode where it was revealed who shot JR in the ratings so I think that deserved the number two spot.
I probably would have put "Friends" in the number one spot. Nobody wanted it to end. But since it did we all wanted to know how it ended. Also it did deliver a happy ending. I prefer those over unhappy ones.
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The only things i liked about Conondrum is the beginning, when they showed the special guest stars and that it had Sue Ellen.
But i quite liked the episode before, which was directed by Ken Kercheval. That one was really good for late Dallas, starts with a very classic music tune and ends really dramatic with the depressed J.R. on his bed, lost everything and ready to end it with his revolver.
But i quite liked the episode before, which was directed by Ken Kercheval. That one was really good for late Dallas, starts with a very classic music tune and ends really dramatic with the depressed J.R. on his bed, lost everything and ready to end it with his revolver.
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I still wonder how CBS managed to get so many viewers excited about the finale. A year earlier, Falcon Crest's finale was subpar, so it wasn't a given that Dallas would be watched. Was the promo that good? Were all returnees known in advance or were there any surprises for the US viewers? Was it known that Joey Gray would guest star?
en.wikipedia.org
Dallas ranks 12th in the most watched finals of all time. Audiences are generally more interested in sitcom finals than drama finals. When it comes to drama, Dallas even ranks 3rd behind The Fugitive and Magnum PI. I have no memory of the Magnum finale (even though I saw the show back then), but since Magnum also aired on CBS, good promos must have piqued the audience, too.
Series finale - Wikipedia
Dallas ranks 12th in the most watched finals of all time. Audiences are generally more interested in sitcom finals than drama finals. When it comes to drama, Dallas even ranks 3rd behind The Fugitive and Magnum PI. I have no memory of the Magnum finale (even though I saw the show back then), but since Magnum also aired on CBS, good promos must have piqued the audience, too.
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This should of been the last episode instead of Conundrum imo. And then you can still end it with the gunshot since he already has the revolver. I enjoyed seeing the returning guest stars in Conundrum but other than that it’s unwatchable for me.
I never liked how it ended. I wouldn't have minded if this was a SEASON cliffhanger. However, since was the SHOW'S finale, I didn't like that it was left open-ended. I remember just sitting there feeling disappointed. I was upset that we didn't know that JR lived or died.