New characters from later seasons in the good years

[Snarky Oracle!]

I think Tracey Lawton should have been around longer (and not her brother, who was only brought in by Katzman to steal away Roger Grimes) and she should have been the one Bobby married in Paris, April a mere stalker who followed the couple to Europe. Tracey's quirks, and her Romeo-and-Juliet dynamic with Bobby, should have been further explored. (Once Tracey and April die in France, Bobby eventually turns to Cliff's other ex-girlfriend which creates its own problems).

Most of the rest of them didn't really appeal to me very much, or just weren't terribly interesting -- due either to uninspired casting, or mediocre writing for them, or they just possessed no raison d'être.

Nicholas Pierce was okay-ish, but he and his mafia backstory got too much screen time.

Kay Lloyd and Cally were acceptably cast but, again, the writing. Carter McKay could have worked but the producers didn't know what they wanted to do with him. And, yes, James needed another less-lackadaisical actor.

Everybody felt shoehorned in.

 

[southfork88]

The script regarding the character of Carter McKay and the performance offered by George Kennedy (Oscar winner 1968 !) are frankly among the worst aspects of the last seasons of Dallas.

 

[Barbara Fan]

Cally were acceptably cast

She was one of the worst actresses to ever hit the show and there were plenty in the final years

that voice and accent! Quick get the shotgun out of the hall cupboard - Dallas had well and truly dumbed down by then!

 

[southfork88]

I had great expectations for the character of Kay Llyod... obviously expectations that were soon disappointed.

 

[Taylor Bennett Jr.]

I’d like to have seen Japhet Harper appear suddenly midway through season 3 as Pam’s previously unmentioned second husband (in between Ed Haynes and Bobby).

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

Any number of characters in later seasons were good choices, perhaps in concept, but not in the way they were written and/or developed.

Kay Lloyd, Michelle Stevens, Tracey Lawton are examples of this.

Carter McKay seemed to be a more masculine version of Jeremy Wendell.
In a way, Wendell was more impactful because his adversarial role was more nuanced, more manipulative.
George Kennedy is an excellent actor. I think he is underrated in the role,
partly because the show was in decline when he joined the cast.

Casey Denault was a good character - it was a good idea for JR to have a protege of sorts, and the
storyline worked well at times, with insights about how the oil business changes people.

James Beaumont and Vanessa was a really good idea.
It allowed the show to to explore JR's past, pre Sue Ellen,
and even show some of JR's better nature.
Unfortunately, the show was in decline, and the storyline didn't quite work

Seasons 11-14 were basically a shadow of the show, still good at times, but not consistently.
Main characters left or were written out, mostly because of declining ratings
and a lower budget.

VP decided to leave, but not Susan Howard.
If I could choose one character to have stayed, it would have been Donna

 

[southfork88]

Of the characters present in the final seasons, in my opinion, the most valid and potentially exploitable were:
1) Michelle Stevens
2) Kay Lloyd
3) Casey Denault
4) Lee Ann de La Vega
5) Tommy McKay
6) James Beaumont
7) Vanessa Beaumont
8) Liz Adams
9) Stephanie Roberts
10) Wilson Cryder (!!!!!)
11) Kimberly Cryder

They were already present and boring enough: Callie Harper, Carter and Tracey McKay, Nicholas Pierce, Hillary Taylor.

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

Of the characters present in the final seasons, in my opinion, the most valid and potentially exploitable were:
1) Michelle Stevens
2) Kay Lloyd
3) Casey Denault
4) Lee Ann de La Vega
5) Tommy McKay
6) James Beaumont
7) Vanessa Beaumont
8) Liz Adams
9) Stephanie Roberts
10) Wilson Cryder (!!!!!)
11) Kimberly Cryder

They were already present and boring enough: Callie Harper, Carter and Tracey McKay, Nicholas Pierce, Hillary Taylor.

Mostly agree, though I think George Kennedy is a good addition to any show

 

[Taylor Bennett Jr.]

Nicholas Pearce instead of Peter Richards?

hm, now I’m trying to picture a younger Jack Scalia playing the Peter Richards character -- same sappy “I love you, Mrs. Ewing” dialogue, same cutoff t-shirts and short shorts, but with Jack’s bouffant hairdo, generously hairy chest, and “tough guy” east coast accent. It might have been a triumph!

 

[Toni]

hm, now I’m trying to picture a younger Jack Scalia playing the Peter Richards character -- same sappy “I love you, Mrs. Ewing” dialogue, same cutoff t-shirts and short shorts, but with Jack’s bouffant hairdo, generously hairy chest, and “tough guy” east coast accent. It might have been a triumph!

I can see him as a plumber who goes to Southfork and Miss Ellie hires him to change all the pipelines. Swellin has an orgasm every time she sees him... and he ALSO wears his trunks when Lucy invites him to have a swim in the pool...

Oh what we missed...!​

 

[Monzo]

I also wonder if Lee Ann was the girl with J.R. in the barn in the Early Years.

It would have been nice if Lee Ann had turned out to be the girl in the barn. Does anyone remember if the tabloids speculated for years about whether Barbara Eden would join Dallas? I never actually saw a headline like that, but I can easily imagine that "Jeannie Reunites with Her Master" would have made for a great article in the 80s. I could have pictured Lee Ann as the mastermind behind Jamie’s arrival, seeking revenge on JR by stripping him of parts of Ewing Oil. She could have even had the documents forged to insert Jason’s name, thereby keeping the original backstory between Jock and Digger intact.

Jack Scalia certainly could have helped Dallas more as Sue Ellen’s hot lover when the show first started to falter, rather than waiting until it was already in freefall. Perhaps, as a mysterious stranger Nicholas Pearce could have found a drunken Sue Ellen on the street and helped her overcome her alcoholism in season 9 instead of Dusty. Nicholas’s criminal family background might have fit the vibe of the dream season better than it did in season 11. It would have been interesting if the other Nicholas in the series—played by George Chakiris—had been cut and Jack Scalia had taken on the role of Angelica’s ally instead. It could have turned out that he had been assigned to Sue Ellen just as Grace was to Jack, but that he fell in love with her just as Grace did with Jack. Seeing Barbara Carrera, Merete Van Kamp, and Jack Scalia together could have been pretty cool.

Regarding the characters leading in the poll, I think Carter McKay could have worked at any time if we hadn't known anything about his personal life. As for James and Vanessa, the perfect moment for me would have been to introduce them shortly after JR and Sue Ellen remarried. It's always been a missed opportunity for me that Sue Ellen and Vanessa didn't interact with each other. Would Sue Ellen have recognized a similarity between Vanessa and herself, and would she have thought she was just a placeholder for Vanessa? Would it have thrown her into a crisis? It also would have been interesting to see if JR's relationship with Ray would have changed. When James appeared in season 13, JR said he could now understand Jock and his relationship with Ray. Would an earlier appearance by James have led to JR and Ray getting along better?

 

[Rove]

Of all the characters introduced when Dallas was ailing from poor casting and story I think James had the best potential. And instead of Jamie Ewing meandering down the Southfork driveway I would have had James Ewing, son of Jason Ewing claiming a stake in Ewing Oil. But...it had to be someone with acting chops - sorry Sasha.