Death of Jock

[LMLDallas78]

Jock supposedly died in the helicopter crash that was taking him back to Dallas after working with the US government.

Jim Davis had passed away.
Would it have better to have Jock's death sooner, closer to Jim's death instead of his work mission and pretend phone calls?

Was Jock's death story handled well?
Would a different story of his death have been any better?

 

[Billy Wall]

I thought it was handled as well as it could have. What else could they have done?

 

[Chris2]

Jim Davis died in late April, 1981. At that point, the scripts for the first part of the 1981-82 season were already written and shooting was less than two months away. The writers knew that Davis was very ill and had written Jock lightly in those early season episodes (they were actually sending those scripts to Davis in the hospital, to keep his spirits up). It would have been very disruptive to rewrite those scripts to deal with Jock’s death immediately. It was easier to take him out of the scripts and send him away, so they could deal with his death in the latter part of the season.

 

[LMLDallas78]

I thought it was handled as well as it could have. What else could they have done?

I guess I might have liked to have seen a nice funeral. No one had nice funerals, well Bobby did and looked what happened to that!
I didn't like that he was never found. I wonder if they always had the Wes Parmalee story in mind even then?

Jim Davis died in late April, 1981. At that point, the scripts for the first part of the 1981-82 season were already written and shooting was less than two months away. The writers knew that Davis was very ill and had written Jock lightly in those early season episodes (they were actually sending those scripts to Davis in the hospital, to keep his spirits up). It would have been very disruptive to rewrite those scripts to deal with Jock’s death immediately. It was easier to take him out of the scripts and send him away, so they could deal with his death in the latter part of the season.

It's been well documented how the writers involved Jim right up to the end and treated his death with such regard.
I'm aware of his dressing room being moved right by the set as well as talking Jim through the scripts to keep him informed.
As you rightly point out rewriting those scripts would have proved problematic.

I think having a funeral is a more realistic way of introducing new family members who we didn't know, rather than rocking up at Southfork all dishevelled with a dirty face.
Loads of them could have emerged out of the woodwork for Jock's grand funeral.

 

[Rove]

for Jock's grand funeral.

...anything to witness another beautiful performance from the talented Barbara-Bel Geddes.

I was very happy the way Jock's death was handled and the writers/producers keeping Jim Davis in the know showed the respect they had for the character/actor and the series as a whole.

 

[Chris2]

I’m rewatching the 82-83 season, where they really deal with the repercussions of Jock’s death. In the court battle to break Jock’s will, I’m surprised to hear that the previous version of the will would have given control of Ewing Oil to Miss Ellie. The codicil mandating the contest was recent, so it surprised me that before then, he didn’t think JR or Bobby was up to the task. And that he felt that Miss Ellie - who always had mixed feelings about the oil business - was the right person to own Ewing Oil.

 

[DallasFanForever]

I think another reason they handled Jock’s death the way they did was because of Kristin’s. Having two deaths that close together would’ve been too much. Better to put one off for a few months, and as pointed out because of the timing it was easier to pivot and just sent Jock away for awhile while they came up with an exit storyline. Personally I wasn’t a fan of J.R. talking to Jock on the phone for the first part of the season when we knew the actor was already gone but there really wasn’t much else they could do at that point. They had to keep Jock alive while they figured out how they were going to handle it.

I guess I might have liked to have seen a nice funeral. No one had nice funerals, well Bobby did and looked what happened to that!

Poor Darius got dressed up for nothing!

But in all seriousness, in a way I kind of like that Jock never had a funeral. Funerals can be a little mundane when translated to television. What we got was something different. We got those beautiful flashback scenes and personally I’ll take those. We also got the heart wrenching scene of the boys trying to find him in that South American lake but to no avail. As sad as it was, I prefer that over the old funeral.

As for Wes Parmalee, that’s a very good question. I’d like to know when they did first think of it. It was only a little over four years later when Ben Stivers first arrived. Perhaps it was a storyline they were thinking about doing for awhile but in retrospect I’m glad they waited a few years. Doing it sooner would’ve been a case of bad timing and perceived as disrespectful to Jim.

 

[the-lost-son]

I think another reason they handled Jock’s death the way they did was because of Kristin’s. Having two deaths that close together would’ve been too much. Better to put one off for a few months, and as pointed out because of the timing it was easier to pivot and just sent Jock away for awhile while they came up with an exit storyline. Personally I wasn’t a fan of J.R. talking to Jock on the phone for the first part of the season when we knew the actor was already gone but there really wasn’t much else they could do at that point. They had to keep Jock alive while they figured out how they were going to handle it.


Poor Darius got dressed up for nothing!

But in all seriousness, in a way I kind of like that Jock never had a funeral. Funerals can be a little mundane when translated to television. What we got was something different. We got those beautiful flashback scenes and personally I’ll take those. We also got the heart wrenching scene of the boys trying to find him in that South American lake but to no avail. As sad as it was, I prefer that over the old funeral.

As for Wes Parmalee, that’s a very good question. I’d like to know when they did first think of it. It was only a little over four years later when Ben Stivers first arrived. Perhaps it was a storyline they were thinking about doing for awhile but in retrospect I’m glad they waited a few years. Doing it sooner would’ve been a case of bad timing and perceived as disrespectful to Jim.

You're spot on. In Barbara Curran's book it was documented just like that.
The body floating in the pool/Kristen's death shouldn't be overshadowed with the next major character's death.

The scene when Miss Ellie gets the call is my first Dallas' memory.
The death of Jock, the pacing, its repercussions - it's the best writing in TV for me. I wouldn't change a single thing.

In regards to funeral for Jock: I'm glad the producers stayed away from it. First, they bring very little to the plot (except introducing new characters) and the episodes were packed with content at that time. But foremost - missing characters are frustrating, eg. Lucy Ewing, a millionaire, who couldn't get a 2hour flight from Atlanta or a driver (11 hours) to get her to Bobby's funeral.

These are different times - the series Succession had a funeral of a major character towards its ending with basically every character attending. That or off-screen for me.

 

[DallasFanForever]

The scene when Miss Ellie gets the call is my first Dallas' memory.

It’s so well done when you look at it now. Outside the house there’s the music, everyone having fun, and then we go right to that phone call and her face. One of the greatest Dallas scenes. Perfectly written.

The death of Jock, the pacing, its repercussions - it's the best writing in TV for me. I wouldn't change a single thing.

Ironically his death led to the greatest era of the entire show. I hate to say this, but without Jock’s death occurring that early in the show’s run how different would the show have looked circa 1982-84? What replaces the battle for Ewing Oil after his death?

In regards to funeral for Jock: I'm glad the producers stayed away from it. First, they bring very little to the plot (except introducing new characters) and the episodes were packed with content at that time. But foremost - missing characters are frustrating, eg. Lucy Ewing, a millionaire, who couldn't get a 2hour flight from Atlanta or a driver (11 hours) to get her to Bobby's funeral.

I look at J.R.’s funeral as an example of funerals done right. Yes, there were still some omissions but overall it’s one of the best I’ve ever seen on TV. I thought Bobby’s, despite not being real of course, was well done also. Obviously Lucy not being there was an issue but I could’ve accepted them saying she was on her honeymoon in a faraway country and couldn’t be reached more than I could the fact that she couldn’t get from Atlanta to Dallas. But in Jock’s case, ultimately I agree that a funeral wasn’t necessary. It was handled perfectly.

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

I think that they handled it about as well as could be expected.
I may not be in the majority, but I did not care for the Battle for Ewing Oil concept,
even though it made for great entertainment
Splitting such a company 50-50 would have been impossible, and no matter what Bobby or JR did with their half
the company as a whole would have been responsible, as Jordan Lee pointed out.
Jock could have left the company to JR, and given the others some kind of
oversight function, but that would not be as interesting.
I always thought having Bobby as a Senator, or in a political position of power
that would have put him in conflict with JR and Ewing Oil, would have been more realistic, and Donna could have had an even
larger role with Pam, ray and Miss Ellie caught up in events

The big mistake, IMHO, was not recasting Jock.
Maybe before the winner of the battle was revealed, a recast Jock could have resurfaced
and the winner would have remained a mystery

 

[KayLloyd]

I think that they handled it about as well as could be expected.
I may not be in the majority, but I did not care for the Battle for Ewing Oil concept,
even though it made for great entertainment
Splitting such a company 50-50 would have been impossible, and no matter what Bobby or JR did with their half
the company as a whole would have been responsible, as Jordan Lee pointed out.
Jock could have left the company to JR, and given the others some kind of
oversight function, but that would not be as interesting.
I always thought having Bobby as a Senator, or in a political position of power
that would have put him in conflict with JR and Ewing Oil, would have been more realistic, and Donna could have had an even
larger role with Pam, ray and Miss Ellie caught up in events

The big mistake, IMHO, was not recasting Jock.
Maybe before the winner of the battle was revealed, a recast Jock could have resurfaced
and the winner would have remained a mystery

I always felt that when the actor dies, the character should die with them out of respect for the actor and their portrayal of the character. If the actor just leaves the show, that's different and recasting the role is fair game. The whole is Wes Parmalee Jock? thing struck me as disrespectful to Jim Davis's memory.

 

[Chris2]

Splitting such a company 50-50 would have been impossible, and no matter what Bobby or JR did with their half
the company as a whole would have been responsible, as Jordan Lee pointed out.

It made for great drama, but the concept is ridiculous. How convenient that the fields split so nicely in terms of production: fields #1-17 for JR, #18-34 for Bobby. C’mon, that’s just silly. And what about the shared services departments of Ewing Oil? Who is ensuring their neutrality? The heads of those departments certainly have their preferences (JR vs Bobby). The company never would have recovered from the split.

Jock would have been better off just splitting off part of the company for one of the sons, permanently. I‘ve seen that happen IRL - a local dry cleaning chain wound up splitting the stores when it passed to the next generation. Some remained part of the main chain, and a few went to the younger son, who renamed them and used them as the basis for his own chain. But Dallas wasn’t willing to give up the conceit of JR and Bobby battling for control of the company any more than they were willing to let the Ewing children live someplace other than Southfork (with the exception of any child who got his own spinoff series).

 

[LMLDallas78]

The whole is Wes Parmalee Jock? thing struck me as disrespectful to Jim Davis's memory.

They did allow for a decent amount of time to pass before that story, but it still didn't work.

By all means have Wes as an imposter, but not show us all that evidence that we doubted ourselves and questioned could he really be Jock after all.

Maybe Miss Ellie could have still fallen for him because he was a bit like Jock and caused more problems for her and Clayton.

But leave Jim and Jock's memory alone.

 

[Taylor Bennett Jr.]

It made for great drama, but the concept is ridiculous. How convenient that the fields split so nicely in terms of production: fields #1-17 for JR, #18-34 for Bobby. C’mon, that’s just silly. And what about the shared services departments of Ewing Oil? Who is ensuring their neutrality? The heads of those departments certainly have their preferences (JR vs Bobby). The company never would have recovered from the split.

Jock would have been better off just splitting off part of the company for one of the sons, permanently. I‘ve seen that happen IRL - a local dry cleaning chain wound up splitting the stores when it passed to the next generation. Some remained part of the main chain, and a few went to the younger son, who renamed them and used them as the basis for his own chain. But Dallas wasn’t willing to give up the conceit of JR and Bobby battling for control of the company any more than they were willing to let the Ewing children live someplace other than Southfork (with the exception of any child who got his own spinoff series).

also… Jock thinks of this.. and then has a “never mind! I’m sure you guys are eager to work as a team now!” letter waiting to be revealed at the end of the year… and people think he was somehow wise?! And “that was the only way to do it”?! Preposterous!

(the fight was probably the show’s best year dramawise, though! I thought the denouement early in the next season with the “never mind” letter and Bobby winning anyway at the last minute, with JR’s reaction played for laughs, was a bit of a copout..)

 

[LMLDallas78]

Funerals can be a little mundane when translated to television

I take your point, but Jock still could have died how he died, but his body was found and then a funeral could take place. We could still have those lovely flashbacks.

This was big Jock Ewing after all, the Patriarch of the the family and all we got were the speeches at the Ball, which were beautifully done I know.

Kristin's funeral wasn't shown.

Once a character is shown dead on air, they can't can't back, unless you're Bobby of course, which makes me think the writers wanted to keep that possibility open by not having Jock's funeral.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

He was such a great character but sadly the passing of Jim Davis allowed the inimitable Larry Hagman to take centre stage on the show as JR.

I can see some of you believe recasting the role with Steve Forrest was a mistake and disrespectful and I can certainly understand that. Jim made the role his own. However had he been allowed to remain on the show Steve could've been just as powerful as Jock.

Let's never forget this little scene just prior to Pam's car accident at the end of season ten where JR tells John Ross "This is Ewing Oil!" It nearly always brings a lump to my throat and a tear in my eye. Jim may have left us but Jock Ewing never left Dallas.

 

[DallasFanForever]

I take your point, but Jock still could have died how he died, but his body was found and then a funeral could take place. We could still have those lovely flashbacks.

I can live with that, or I guess they could’ve done a memorial service without the body and had the mourners flashback to those scenes while all sitting there perhaps. Either way I definitely wouldn’t want to lose the flashbacks.

This was big Jock Ewing after all, the Patriarch of the the family and all we got were the speeches at the Ball, which were beautifully done I know.

The lack of a funeral kind of added to the drama for me in a way. It’s very sad that such a great character didn’t get to have that but it’s also a reminder that death, much like life, doesn’t always go as planned. Jock’s death lacked the proper closure, and unfortunately that’s a very realistic thing with death sometimes.

Kristin's funeral wasn't shown.

A missed opportunity in my opinion. Considering her transgressions as a character, we missed out on the conflicting emotions her funeral would’ve brought to both Sue Ellen and Patricia. It could’ve made for some really good and touching scenes between them. Granted, Patricia obviously wasn’t as privy to a lot of what Kristin had done but of course she had just lost a daughter and those scenes could’ve been very emotional.

Was Kristin’s cause of death known yet? Did they have the results? I’m going blank now.

If so I can see Patricia staring stone faced at that casket and saying “That darned California. It turned my sweet, innocent little angel into a crazy woman that thought she could fly!”

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

I don't want to see the Wes Parmalee storyline reneged on, since originally Wes was actually going to be Jock.

I'm glad they never found Jock's body, at least that gave them an out to bring the character back later on, which of course with the benefit of hindsight it didn't work out and Parmalee departed with the ambiguous question hanging over him of whether he was Jock or not!

Everybody of course has their own viewpoint on this storyline and that's as it should be. The storyline remains part of the pantheon of Dallas and it's either loved or reviled by the shows many fans.

I of course, love it.

 

[Sea-Boo!-er]

You do have to wonder why the body was never found. Jim Davis was unambiguously dead, but it does seem they wanted to leave themselves some wiggle room.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

You do have to wonder why the body was never found. Jim Davis was unambiguously dead, but it does seem they wanted to leave themselves some wiggle room.

They obviously intended at some point to recast the role with another actor.