Re-watching the Ewingverse ... alphabetically!

[Mel O'Drama]

By the end of the ep, it does feel like we know Ginger a lot better than we did at the start, and it’s interesting that she chooses not to tell husband Kenny about her teenage abortion.

I suppose this nicely ties in to the flashbacks in Will The Circle Be Unbroken. Although I'd convinced myself that The Constant Companion was a Season Two episode, rather than coming along just four episodes later. My memory of the latter episode is very cloudy indeed.

Did she ever tell him? Or would that information be a spoiler for something that comes later in the alphabet?

the last time I sat through it, I promised that I would never make myself watch it again. So I haven’t.

Oh, this surprised me and made me chuckle in equal measure. I wonder if any other episodes will get this treatment?

 

[James from London]

Did she ever tell him?

I'm pretty sure it's never mentioned again.

I wonder if any other episodes will get this treatment?

Um, I think it's safe to say Conundrum is a one-off, in all sorts of ways.

 

[valkaren]

Great recaps James! Your insights about THE CONFESSION, about how out of context you come to appreciate some of the moments in the episode, is particularly interesting. I think gets to the root of why those middle years were so successful as even if on paper the story-lines are weak or drawn out, the producers and writers in this period still knew how ground a lot of it in these fabulous character moments. So while the whole Lilimae / Cathy cover-up saga may have been totally ridiculous and implausible as a whole, the story still manages to produce gems of scenes like the ones you describe.

I'm always surprised whenever I do a re-watch as it happens to me many times. A story I am not looking forward to on a macro-level, yields fabulous moments and surprises on the micro-level.

 

[James from London]

Courageous Convictions (KNOTS, 13 Mar 80) v Crash of ‘83 (DALLAS, 04 Feb 83)

JR mentions “the little man” a lot in Crash of 83. Mostly he talks about supplying him with cut-rate gasoline (and himself with a quick profit, the better to beat Bobby for control of Ewing Oil). Men don’t come much littler than Richard Avery who was so in awe of JR when they met in Community Spirit. At the end of Courageous Convictions, Richard describes how much he hates being ordinary. He doesn't want to be the little man; essentially, he wants to be JR himself — so much so that he invested in an oil deal which has now turned bad and plunged him and Laura into a financial crisis.

That Courageous Convictions is arguably the most forgettable episode from KNOTS’ first season has always struck me as odd, given that it focuses on Richard and Laura’s marriage and boasts typically strong performances from both actors. I wonder if at least part of the reason is down to the way it’s filmed. In almost every shot of the ep, there is a good inch or two of dead space at the top of the frame (so that when you’ve got, say, two characters talking, you’ve got also good chunk of boring ceiling above their heads). It’s remarkable how much that causes the dramatic tension to leak out of a scene. (This might be due to the DVD transfer, which can sometimes result in more of the image being shown than originally intended —for instance on the DALLAS DVDs, the lighting rig above the fake Southfork backdrop is occasionally visible the way it never was on TV — but it’s not usually as blatant, or consistent, as it is with this ep.)

While the main subplot on KNOTS sees the Fairgates reacting nervously to Diana’s first steady boyfriend (whereas Karen does a lightly comic variation on the overprotective mother from hell she’ll turn into later in the series, Sid turns a characteristic blind eye), there’s an age reversal of the same scenario on DALLAS as JR and Sue Ellen both start twitching uncomfortably at the first signs of a budding romance between Miss Ellie and Clayton. (I'm not sure Ellie and Clayton will ever seem more natural and likeable a couple as they do during this initial courtship.)

As both KNOTS plots develop, Laura and Diana each discovers her man has behaved unethically for money. While Richard tries to pressure Laura’s father into mortgaging his house on their behalf, Diana’s boyfriend steals $100 from Sid. Meanwhile, the best scene on DALLAS features Pam’s angry reaction when Bobby confesses to blackmailing a member of the Texas Energy Commission JR has in his pocket.

On KNOTS, Richard explains to Laura that his reckless actions are born out of a fear of being ordinary. On DALLAS, Pam won't allow Bobby to explain his actions; she already knows. “There's only one reason! You would do anything to beat JR and get the company — anything!” she shouts angrily. It’s very satisfying to watch Pam let rip at her husband like this, and one finds oneself urging Laura to do the same thing rather than continually turn the other cheek. However, early KNOTS isn’t in the business of giving the audience what they want when they want it (that’s its great strength). It’s playing a long game instead, especially when it comes to the Averys.

Rather than Pam, the DALLAS female in Crash of ‘83 closest to Laura is poor put-upon Afton. She too has a man who treats her like crap but for whom she nonetheless prostituted herself earlier in the season, just as Laura did. Cliff remains blissfully ignorant of this fact — at least until the scene where he comes home to find Gil Thurman with his hands all over Afton, eager for “another ride on the rollercoaster.” Cliff loses his temper with Afton and storms out. Likewise, when Laura offers Richard an ultimatum — she'll let her father loan them the money they need on the proviso that Richard allow her to get a job and take over the family finances — he too loses his temper and storms out. Whereas Richard subsequently returns home with his tail between his legs, Cliff does not.

Meanwhile, Constant Companion’s Beatrice Handleman swaps her kaftans and voodoo dolls of Ginger for shoulder pads and a Filofax as she transforms herself into Rebecca Wentworth and wages war on JR. “The stakes are very high here, Pam!” she declares before flying off to Houston to sabotage his refinery deal.

Each episode ends with a surprise for Laura and Pam respectively — Richard wears his new night shirt to bed and word reaches Southfork that the Wentworth jet has crashed with Pam’s mama onboard.

And the winner is ... Crash of ‘83

BONUS BEATS:

 

[Mel O'Drama]

In almost every shot of the ep, there is a good inch or two of dead space at the top of the frame (so that when you’ve got, say, two characters talking, you’ve got also good chunk of boring ceiling above their heads). It’s remarkable how much that causes the dramatic tension to leak out of a scene.

This is an interesting observation and perfectly explains the psychology behind composition in dramatic series.

When watching A Place To Call Home recently I took a number of screenshots - something I don't normally do. I noticed a trend for characters' heads to be at the very top of frame, and often disappearing slightly out of shot (which doesn't always make for great avatars. My current one being a case in point). I knew there had to be a reason for this choice, but couldn't fully put my finger on what it was.

When taking a photograph of someone, I'd usually make a point of getting some space above my subject. This can draw attention to the background as much as the person (which is often the intent). Now you've pointed out about dramatic tension leaking from the scenes it makes sense why dramatic series' are framed very differently to portraits.

 

[Daniel Avery]

In one of James's photo threads, there is a photo of the 1980s Carringtons in the nursery that looks like it was used for publicity. You can clearly see the upper edge of the set and a bit of the studio lighting, since the photographer pulled back too far while trying to capture as many of the cast as possible. Used in publicity, it might not have the same effect since stories in the papers break that fourth wall....but if the viewer saw that view during the scene, it would have become "a scene about the lack of a ceiling in the nursery" rather than a scene about the kidnapped baby (or whatever the scene was supposed to be about).

 

[James from London]

Funnily enough, Dallas FanzIne posted this picture on Twitter yesterday. The central pose is a familiar one, but just off to the right you can see Howard Keel chilling out.

 

[James from London]

Cricket (KNOTS, 04 Mar 82) v Crime Story (DALLAS, 04 Mar 88)

Two very different episodes, exactly six years apart. Cricket is a sweet, if slight, tale of a step-kid (Cricket) of an ex of Val's (Rusty) who gets dumped on her doorstep. No-one but Val likes her — a plot contrivance that obliges Gary and Lilimae to play the bad guys, which is kind of interesting. Val and Cricket eventually forge a tight bond, but then Rusty gets his act together, takes Cricket back from Val and they leave together in a happy/sad ending.

The most intriguing part of the scenario is Val having an old boyfriend, but as Rusty's off screen for the most of the ep, we don't get to find out if he was the one who "rung her chimes", as a drunken Gary put it in Bottom of the Bottle, during their long separation. There again, maybe it works better if we don't learn too much about Val's wilderness years; that way, she retains the "frozen in time" quality that makes it seem like the Val who ran away from Southfork in the early '60s is the same girl/woman who Lucy found slinging hash at the Hot Biscuit in the late '70s, and it's only now, as her second marriage to Gary starts to unravel, that she is finally forced to evolve.

If there is a link between these two eps then maybe it's the sudden influx of big-hearted New Yorkers. Cricket also sees the introduction of Karen's brother Joe — and what a hugely warm, likeable presence he is. He may have barely been mentioned before (if at all), but as soon as he walks through the Fairgates' door you totally believe in him as a member of the family. There are more effusive displays of familial affection between Noo Yawkers as Nicholas Pearce risks a visit to his Witness Protected parents on DALLAS and they all start cooking and crying and talking Italian. (Hey, there are worse stereotypes.) It can sometimes be hard to get past Nick's cheesy '80s hair and cheesy '80s knitwear and cheesy '80s dialogue (likewise Sue Ellen's next suitor, Don Lockwood), but underneath all that, he's a decent, sympathetic character and the few scenes he gets with his family are really quite endearing (especially in hindsight when you know that he's not long for this world).

While this episode of KNOTS is centred almost entirely around the cul-de-sac, with Cricket fleecing the neighbours and Karen and Joe getting reacquainted in the kitchen, this episode of DALLAS spreads its canvas wide. In fact, this era of the show might have the largest supporting cast of its entire run. And what a wonderfully diverse selection of weirdoes they are, including Clayton's painting-come-to-life, the beautiful bonsai-tweaking Laurel Ellis; her snobby psycho English ex (future FALCON CREST nut job Charley St James); her slovenly blackmailing painter pal David (who this week gets knocked on his artistic arse by Clayton when he tries to extort $50,000 from him); Kimberly Cryder's powerful but wheelchair-bound daddy who appears to have been wheeled in from the set of PEYTON PLACE, and would-be teen rebel Charlie who's just the worst liar ever. Meanwhile, Sue Ellen is on fine smouldering form, mocking her husband and assuring Kimberly that she intends "to stay married to JR till the end of time, just so you can't have him", only to let herself down slightly by blubbing when Nick says he won't be able to give her his full undivided attention for a little while because his entire life does not revolve around her.

And the winner is ... Crime Story

BONUS BEATS

 

[James from London]

Critical Condition (KNOTS, 19 Nov 81) v The Crucible (DALLAS, 16 Feb 90)

I don’t think I’ve noticed before, but the whole of Critical Condition takes place within the space of one day -- a pretty surreal day, but surreal in way that real life often is. To start off with, Sid's doctor tells him his condition‘s improving, the paralysis is wearing off, everyone's relieved and Karen goes home to tell the kids. Then, just as they all start to relax, the paralysis returns, along with a gnawing fear which everyone tries to keep at bay because they don't want to lose the good feeling they just had when it seemed like everything was gonna be OK. Karen tries to keep the kids away from the hospital and is annoyed when they turn up anyway and insist on seeing Sid -- but it's a good job they do because it could be their last chance. Then time seems to suddenly speed up as he needs to be prepped for emergency surgery and there's no time to say all the things you want to say, if you even knew what they were. Karen manages a "I love you, William Sidney!" as he's wheeled towards the operating theatre. Once he's in surgery, time slows down again and the creeping fear returns. But then Val shows up with home-made flapjacks and Karen takes a break from being scared to reminisce about when Diana was born ... and then suddenly Sid's gone. For the rest of the episode, hardly anyone speaks. They’re too numb, too worn out.

There's more death in The Crucible, but whereas the events of Critical Condition are depicted as realistically as the Ewing-verse ever gets, this is at the other end of the scale. Curly Morrison, a never-before-mentioned pal of Clayton's, dies seconds after being named heir to the fortune of Atticus Ward, another never-before-mentioned pal of Clayton's, at the reading of his will. It's kind of like a pastiche of a '70s TV movie rip-off of an Agatha Christie novel. Elsewhere, Bobby is dating Jeanne, Pam's look-slightly-alike, in a storyline that is soapy and farfetched, but also sweet and sad. Bobby realises he "never got the chance to say good-bye" to Pam so he says good-bye to Jeanne instead. It's his "I love you, William Sidney" moment.

If there's one only-on-TV contrivance (and that’s too harsh a word really) in Critical Condition, it's the tape-recording Sid makes for Karen just before his surgery which she plays when she gets home from the hospital at the end of the ep (it's the audio equivalent of Laura's 'Noises Everywhere' video). On it, he manages to say what everyone would probably like to say just before their death if only they had the foresight and a really good scriptwriter. Bobby has to make to do with a whispered "Good-bye, Pam" delivered to the night sky -- one of those moments made far more poignant post-New DALLAS when we know that Pam really has died by this point.

While this isn't peak-era, edge-of-the-seat DALLAS, it's very enjoyable, cosy Sunday afternoon DALLAS instead (even though it wouldn't be moved to that slot in the UK until the following season). There's plenty of fun feudin': April, Michelle, Lucy and Cally hurling insults and drinks in each other's faces, JR and James almost coming to blows by the Southfork fridge, and JR making an enemy out of a terrifically vampy Lesley Anne Down.

And the winner is ... Critical Condition

BONUS BEATS:

 

[James from London]

Curiosity Killed the Cat (DALLAS, 20 Dec 85) v Cutting the Ties That Bind (KNOTS, 06 Jan 83)

Jenna grieving Bobby for longer than the allotted time (thirteen episodes is fine; any longer and you're a loony) sets off a satisfyingly soapy chain of events in Curiosity Killed the Cat. Jack, frustrated by her behaviour, takes off for parts unknown, which makes Angelica Nero extremely twitchy. JR attempts to placate Angelica by spending the night at her hotel. Cliff tips off Mandy to this assignation. Mandy is already angry at JR for reuniting with Sue Ellen for the sake of John Ross and so flushes an expensive bracelet down the toilet and tells Cliff she wants to get even. Meanwhile, Grace takes the afternoon off work to murder a detective.

Elsewhere, alas, there are several indications of the weird tedium that will clog up the latter part of the dream season: an uncut emerald arriving through the post for Bobby, job offers for Ewing wives from medical centres and deaf schools, Ray and Donna laughing merrily after a burst water pipe ruins their home, and Clayton being too boringly proud to talk to Miss Ellie about his boring financial problems.

Cutting the Ties That Bind is even more of a soapy tangle and there are no boring bits. I guess you could say Ciji is in an equivalent position to Mandy — we see each of them waiting sadly alone in her apartment as her two-timing man stands her up in the name of business (Chip is busy schmoozing Jeff Munson over dinner at the Fairgates'.) But whereas JR genuinely cares for Mandy, Ciji is merely a commodity to Chip. When she tells him she's pregnant, all he can see is her earning potential going up in smoke, and when she refuses to have an abortion, he gets violent with her for the first time. "Nothing’s gonna interfere with what I have planned for you,” he snarls, grabbing her by the hair. But that's not Ciji's only problem — she also finds herself caught in the crossfire between both Gary and Kenny (the Ewings make a deal with Munson for Ciji's album that leaves Kenny out in the cold), and Richard and Laura. (An interesting role reversal has now taken place with the Averys: he’s become the attentive, affectionate one while she's the one keeping him at arm's length — only instead of sneaking next door to be with Abby, she nips upstairs for girly chats with Ciji.)

Elsewhere in Cutting the Ties ..., Val allows Jeff Munson to whisk her away to New York where she finally signs her divorce papers. It's kind of fascinating to see Val in this ep so soon after watching her in Cricket where she seemed forever destined to stand by her man while taking in the occasional Lucy surrogate. It's fascinating for Val too. “Is this really me on the terrace of a penthouse, thirty storeys high above New York City?” she marvels. "Things like this don’t happen to me. It happens in movies, but not in real life.” It's oddly poignant that the same episode which marks the beginning of the end for Ciji should hold such promise for Val. “To a new life,” she toasts, "starring Valene Ewing and a cast of thousands.”

And the winner is ... Cutting the Ties That Bind

BONUS BEATS:

 

[Daniel Avery]

“Is this really me on the terrace of a penthouse, thirty storeys high above New York City?” she marvels. "Things like this don’t happen to me. It happens in movies, but not in real life.” It's oddly poignant that the same episode which marks the beginning of the end for Ciji should hold such promise for Val. “To a new life,” she toasts, "starring Valene Ewing and a cast of thousands.”

Interesting dialogue, there. In the aftermath of the discovery of Peter Hollister's body at Lotus Point (S9, "Half-Truths"), Karen said to Mack

"I can't believe this is happening. A man I know personally is killed at Lotus Point and my sister-in-law is charged. I mean, this is something that happens on television. This is a soap opera....doesn't happen to real people like me."

 

[James from London]

Daniel (KNOTS, 07 Oct 82) v The Dark at the End of the Tunnel (DALLAS, 01 May 87)

These are both really strong eps. While Daniel is the second episode of KNOTS’ fourth season and really feels like the start of an exciting new era, Dark at the End of the Tunnel is the antepenultimate episode of DALLAS’s ninth season and exudes an equally strong sense of an era drawing to a close. “That part of my life is behind me,” says Ray, having bid a final on-screen farewell to Donna. Meanwhile, Pam tells Cliff she’s leaving Barnes Wentworth and Bobby tells JR he’s selling his shares of Ewing Oil, along with the rest of the family. “There’s a new time coming ... for all of us,” declares Pam. Miss Ellie’s looking forward to it: “This breakup of the company, I really think it’s going to be for the best.” Meanwhile, Sue Ellen and JR both seem strangely mesmerised by the returning Mandy Winger, who shimmers with Hollywood stardust.

With the exception of the Wards, all of the KNOTS residents have strong storylines to get their teeth into. Laura is the same position Ginger was a year ago: sick of being pregnant and irritated by her overly attentive, over-enthusiastic husband. She and Richard get into hot water when their car crashes on the way to the hospital and he is obliged to deliver the baby single-handedly. So far so soapy, but the actors make it so real, it feels like a scenario you’ve never seen before. Meanwhile, Karen plots revenge against Sid’s killers until Richard reminds her that she’s living in the real world not some piece of dramatic fiction:.“I'm a nice lady with three kids, a house and a business to run, not Michael Corleone,” she agrees.

Speaking of dramatic fiction, Val is dismayed when JR shows up at her front door again. If anything, he’s even larger than life (and funnier) than he was in Community Spirit. When we first see him, he’s chortling away in the back of a limo as he reads Val’s fictionalised version of his life in 'Capricorn Crude'. But it's notable that, whereas Richard fawned all over JR when they first met, now he can’t even remember his name — a subtle indication, perhaps, that KNOTS considers itself to be on an equal footing with DALLAS these days — or almost equal. Now that Abby is with Gary, JR is concerned that she wants to be Queen of the Ewings. She assures him she’ll settle for Princess. “Fine, you got it,” he tells her. “You get the jewels and the ermine, but the crown stays in Dallas because the crown is mine.” And with that line in the sand drawn, JR need never set foot in Knots (the city) again. He will make one more appearance on KNOTS (the series) in a few weeks time, but on home turf as Gary arrives in Dallas for the reading of Jock’s will.

Referring to that will, JR assures Abby that “Gary’s coming into money, big money,” including 10% of Ewing Oil. Five years later on DALLAS, Bobby informs Harve Smithfield that Gary has given him his proxy to sell that 10%. He’d better hurry — having discreetly lit the blue touch paper that will lead to the downfall of the family empire, Jeremy Wendell predicts that “pretty soon, 5% of Ewing Oil and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee.” Word of this reaches Donna in Washington before it does Southfork, whereupon Miss Ellie starts wailing and Clayton launches himself at JR before becoming only the second person to take a soapy tumble down the SF staircase (a drunk and pregnant Sue Ellen being the first, eight years earlier).

And the winner is … Daniel

BONUS BEATS:

 

[Daniel Avery]

Daniel Avery (the Knots character) made a messy entrance into the world. First, Laura's water broke while she was sitting on Val's couch (ick), and then of course Daniel was born in the back seat of a Mercedes. I often wonder if Richard had the nerve to drop the car off at the dealership to be detailed afterwards. Val's couch? It would have been on the curb for Thursday garbage day, no discussion required.

 

[James from London]

Day of the Assassin (KNOTS, 11 Mar 93) v Dead But Not Buried (KNOTS, 18 Oct 90)

Given that Day of the Assassin is the penultimate episode of the entire series, it’s striking how little of the action takes place in the cul-de-sac (just one scene). Plus it’s virtually a Mackenzie-free zone. Mack is entirely removed from the main storyline — Tom Ryan has assumed the heroic investigator role — while Karen appears only once, briefly, in New York when Mack comes to make amends. Rather than married couples in suburbia, the emphasis is very much on corporate intrigue and violence — Nick beaten up in an alley, Greg shot in his office, Treadwell doing unspeakable things to the lovely Vanessa, a bomb on a plane.

Anne and Nick team up again, getting into dangerous scrapes like they used to, but because their capers are now part of a bigger picture (i.e., Treadwell’s scheme to take over the Sumner Group, killing everyone who stands in his way), rather than just happening in a comedic vacuum, the urgent bits feel more urgent and the funnier bits are funnier. (Anne’s disgust as they squeeze past the dumpster of a fish restaurant while fleeing the bad guys kind of reminded me of my favourite bit from Star Wars, the trash compactor scene.)

Apart from Gary and Kate (who are more interesting as a couple when they’re separated than when they’re together), most of the soapy relationship stuff is generated by the eight-sided love/lust triangle that exists between Treadwell, Vanessa, Tom, Paige, Greg, Anne, Nick and Claudia.

The closing minutes — Tom trying and failing to stop the Sumner jet from taking off with a bomb on board, followed by perhaps the most exciting “Next on KNOTS …” preview ever — are heart-poundingly good.

In both Day of the Assassin and Dead But Not Buried, Paige and Tom are officially Not A Couple but end up having a sexy snog anyway. In Day of Assassin, he’s her self-appointed bodyguard who offers her a bed for the night, after he’s escorted her to a business dinner at a prophetically named restaurant:



One thing inevitably leads to another, but then they are interrupted by the lovely Vanessa who is trying to escape Treadwell's evil clutches. In Dead But Not Buried, Paige returns Tom’s engagement ring following their aborted wedding, he accuses her of sleeping with Greg, she realises he’s mixed her up with her mother and delivers a funny, sad, ironic speech about how she’s “always wanted one of those little old grey-haired, rosy-cheeked, rounded tummied ladies who worked in the candy store behind the counter for my mother. No such luck.” I don’t know why I’m continually surprised by how good Nicollette Sheridan is, but her delivery of this speech is just lovely, and of course, Tom can’t resist her.

Dead But Not Buried kicks off with a satisfyingly hammy conclusion to the "My Love Always" story with Karen shocked to discover that Jeff Cameron is a) not dead and b) a serial killer. After Jeff is carted away by the police, Season 11’s other psycho funster, Danny Waleska, is found floating face down in Abby's former swimming pool.

Each licking their wounds after being terrorised by their respective loony, Karen and Gary (“It was like being raped,” he says of being force-fed alcohol by Danny) have the kitchen conversation which culminates in the famous Pollyanna speech, oft shown on reunion shows as one of Michele Lee’s Best Bits. It plays a lot better within the context of the scene where her idealistic rant comes as a response to Gary’s bitter cynicism. It’s interesting that she says, “I liked being a Pollyanna.” I guess she's referring back to the days, not just when you could send cash in the mail, but when she would wear sundresses with a flower in her hair and take on the likes of JR as much for the fun as the principle of it, before crime syndicates, shoulder pads and psychopathic son-in-laws entered her life.

Dead But Not Buried is also The One Where Paige Evicts Anne, and she ends up sneaking into the Sumner Group and sleeping in Paige’s office. I was a little surprised this happened so early in the season; it means Anne is fending off homelessness for the best part of a year. At the end of the ep, she receives the salacious photos and blackmail letter that will bring Nick into her life the first time around, leading to lots of wacky, New DYNASTY-ish capers.

And the winner is ... Dead But Not Buried

BONUS BEATS:

 

[valkaren]

The wonderful thing about the last episodes is how self-assured they are, and recognizing that the building blocks for the last three episodes have been in place since near the beginning of the season, since the unknown link between Joe Robeson and Val's 'death' and the unknown connection between Vanessa and Nick. You feel a sense of the show doing what it loves to do the most, creating one last umbrella arch for the principal characters to come under. The downside in the final year, is that there is so much story to tell that the overall arc feels a bit forced sometimes to fit it all in, and to get the characters into the places they need to be for maximum impact in the finale. This, combined with logistical roadblocks to tell the story (19 episodes, with mandatory reductions in the use of principal characters) that some of the enjoyment is lost in following the journey.

Season 12 on the other hand, is sort of kind of almost the opposite of that.... they had 27 episodes to tell any story they wanted, utilizing their cast as they see fit, yet there is nowhere near enough story to fill the year. As a consequence a lot of the stories flounder (Val's virus runs out of steam early, a huge amount of time is spent on the Jason story), yet the writing is still strong, and the characters so dynamic, that there is always something to enjoy. As the limited plot allows the characters to breathe, unexpected character moments crop up in most episodes, which are appreciated when there is little to no plot to hang your enjoyment on.

 

[Jimmy Todd]

Day of the Assassin (KNOTS, 11 Mar 93) v Dead But Not Buried (KNOTS, 18 Oct 90)

Given that Day of the Assassin is the penultimate episode of the entire series, it’s striking how little of the action takes place in the cul-de-sac (just one scene). Plus it’s virtually a Mackenzie-free zone. Mack is entirely removed from the main storyline — Tom Ryan has assumed the heroic investigator role — while Karen appears only once, briefly, in New York when Mack comes to make amends. Rather than married couples in suburbia, the emphasis is very much on corporate intrigue and violence — Nick beaten up in an alley, Greg shot in his office, Treadwell doing unspeakable things to the lovely Vanessa, a bomb on a plane.

Anne and Nick team up again, getting into dangerous scrapes like they used to, but because their capers are now part of a bigger picture (i.e., Treadwell’s scheme to take over the Sumner Group, killing everyone who stands in his way), rather than just happening in a comedic vacuum, the urgent bits feel more urgent and the funnier bits are funnier. (Anne’s disgust as they squeeze past the dumpster of a fish restaurant while fleeing the bad guys kind of reminded me of my favourite bit from Star Wars, the trash compactor scene.)

Apart from Gary and Kate (who are more interesting as a couple when they’re separated than when they’re together), most of the soapy relationship stuff is generated by the eight-sided love/lust triangle that exists between Treadwell, Vanessa, Tom, Paige, Greg, Anne, Nick and Claudia.

The closing minutes — Tom trying and failing to stop the Sumner jet from taking off with a bomb on board, followed by perhaps the most exciting “Next on KNOTS …” preview ever — are heart-poundingly good.

In both Day of the Assassin and Dead But Not Buried, Paige and Tom are officially Not A Couple but end up having a sexy snog anyway. In Day of Assassin, he’s her self-appointed bodyguard who offers her a bed for the night, after he’s escorted her to a business dinner at a prophetically named restaurant:

View attachment 23551

One thing inevitably leads to another, but then they are interrupted by the lovely Vanessa who is trying to escape Treadwell's evil clutches. In Dead But Not Buried, Paige returns Tom’s engagement ring following their aborted wedding, he accuses her of sleeping with Greg, she realises he’s mixed her up with her mother and delivers a funny, sad, ironic speech about how she’s “always wanted one of those little old grey-haired, rosy-cheeked, rounded tummied ladies who worked in the candy store behind the counter for my mother. No such luck.” I don’t know why I’m continually surprised by how good Nicollette Sheridan is, but her delivery of this speech is just lovely, and of course, Tom can’t resist her.

I like how you always point out the talent of actors that don't always get the credit they deserve, imho.
I always thought that Ms. Sheridan elevated Paige far above the typical "blonde vixen" soap opera type and infused her with humanity. The writers were also smart to not make her another Abby, but to be her own person. She was a reason, along with Greg, Anne and, of course, the remaining original cast, the show was still good in its later years.

 

[Julia's Gun]

I always thought that Ms. Sheridan elevated Paige far above the typical "blonde vixen" soap opera type and infused her with humanity. The writers were also smart to not make her another Abby, but to be her own person. She was a reason, along with Greg, Anne and, of course, the remaining original cast, the show was still good in its later years.

I agree, it would have been so easy after Abby's leaving showdown with her - the 'Abby scale' scene - for the writers to have groomed Paige to take over Abby's role. Other soaps would have gone down that route, but instead the writers kept her as an individual, with her own vulnerabilities that allowed Sheridan to grown herself as an actress.
I even warmed to Anne in the final season. She didn't need to be made homeless again, just seeing her desperately trying to save her marriage to Greg made her sympathetic and compelling to watch, and it was nice to see a final mother/daughter reconciliation between her and Paige at the end.

 

[James from London]

Dead Reckoning (DALLAS, 25 Aug 14) v Deadly Combination (KNOTS, 18 Mar 88)

I've only started re-watching New DALLAS relatively recently and hadn’t seen Dead Reckoning for six years so my memory's a little hazy. When I saw who actually killed Drew Ramos in the “Previously on …” recap, I was really shocked. And then when I saw John Ross entering what looked like some sort of hovel, a drug den maybe, I was momentarily confused, until I realised it was actually the remains of JR’s bedroom following the recent fire at Southfork.

New DALLAS just feels so raw and dark and emotional. The acting is so passionate and committed, and yet it’s most definitely still a soap, full of dizzying twists and turns and outrageous contrivances (a diaphragm with pinholes in it!). And it just looks fantastic. While I was obsessed with the original series, I rarely found it an emotional experience — I could probably count the number of scenes that moved me to tears on one hand, and funnily enough they nearly all involved Bobby and Pam — yet I find New DALLAS deeply moving on pretty much a weekly basis. I’m not sure if I can put my finger on why exactly. Maybe it's because everyone’s kinda broken and vulnerable in a way they weren’t in the '80s. Even Bobby has a weariness and fragility that he didn't have when he simply the heroic Good Brother. Arguably, the only character to have remained secure within their position throughout the new series is Carmen the cook — and that all changes in this episode following her son’s death when she finally realises that she is, as Nicolas Trevino once described her to Elena, "a servant for the people who caused your father’s death and stole the millions that should have been hers.”

Drew’s family identify his body in a morgue scene that’s just as wrenching as the one where the Ewings did the same for JR. Like JR's coffin, Drew's is draped with an American flag and we see his mother weeping over it just as Sue Ellen did before her. Emma even receives a posthumous lover letter like Sue Ellen did. Drew may have only around for a fraction of the time JR was, but within the context of the series, his life matters. It reminds me of Ray’s line to Mickey in Cuba Libre: “You, me, your ma — we're just as good as anybody."

Dead Reckoning is the second episode following the mid-season premiere of Season 3 (how modern), and the reverberations of the Southfork fire and Pamela’s “I’ll show you; I’ll kill me” overdose are still being felt. Deadly Combination has a similar “aftermath of an aftermath” vibe: Jean Hackney has been vanquished, Greg is alive and well, and Ben and Val’s ordeal is over — yet the characters are unable to move on: Laura can’t forgive Val and Ben can’t believe his family are out of danger. He even mistakes Lilimae for an intruder and puts her in a headlock — and no-one wants to see Lilimae in a headlock.

Even more surreal is Mack and Anne dancing to Mamas and the Papas and singing along to Marvin Gaye on the Avery staircase. Karen’s ever-decreasing tolerance for her husband’s daughter’s mother living next door finally evaporates after she and Mack have to explain the concept of Garbage Day to her. Mack promptly cuts Anne adrift, prompting her to take an overdose —which gives her something in common with Pamela Barnes Ewing twenty-six years later.

And the winner is ... Dead Reckoning.

BONUS BEATS:

 

[James from London]

A Death in the Family (DALLAS, 20 Feb 87) v A Death in the Family (KNOTS, 07 Jan 93)

The deaths in question are Jamie Ewing’s (caused by a random Mexican rockslide) and Mary Robeson’s (it was moider!). While Mary’s body isn’t discovered until the end of this KNOTS episode (“Oh my God!” gasps Karen), the news of Jamie’s demise actually reached Southfork at the end of last week's DALLAS. Nonetheless, both shows open with a scene between a brother and a sister: Pam breaking the bad news to Cliff about his ex-wife; Mary and Joe arguing over their impossible-to-follow scam which ends with her giving him a bundle of cash and telling him to get lost.

Even though Jamie died offscreen, having already been written out of DALLAS, most of the characters in this ep are in some way affected by her passing, from April Stevens to Ozwald Valentine, and even JR seems genuinely sorry — yet no-one’s too devastated and there’s no real attempt to pull on the viewer’s heartstrings. Instead, we get to watch Cliff trying wistfully to make sense of this bizarre incident until the deliciously fun payoff in the final scene where it emerges that Jamie died without either signing a will or filing her divorce papers, which makes Cliff the heir to her five per cent of Ewing Oil. "God bless her!" he smirks.

There’s also a self-contained subplot where Christopher, while playing with John Ross, accidentally shoots at him with a real gun on the very cardboard patio where the lovely Michelle will deliberately mow down Sheila Foley in four years time. The incident leads to an in-depth discussion about gun control. Pam: “This never would have happened if there were no guns in the house.” Bobby: “There’s nothing wrong with guns.” The end.

John Ross and Christopher act their little hearts out, but whether they are more traumatised than little Meg Mackenzie after another visit from her evil fake granny is hard to say.

Foreshadowing of the week. "I feel like I’m in the middle of a tunnel with trains coming from opposite directions,” says Pam. It’s not quite “I feel like I’m about to collide with an oil tanker,” but it’s pretty darn close.

Eight years after taunting Pam by asking her, “How many men paid your bills before you found Bobby to pick up the tab?” Sue Ellen finally practices what she preached by paying for dinner with JR.

“You got the bun in the oven, the rock on the finger, the cash in the bank. Kick back - enjoy your life,” Greg advises Anne on KNOTS. Except hers is a phantom bun. She's also being blackmailed by the lovely Vanessa who has discovered her prescription for fertility pills. (We catch a fascinating glimpse behind Vanessa's cheerfully slutty persona here: “You people are so damn imperious,” she snarls at Anne.) Anne's solution is to put an end to her phantom pregnancy with a phantom miscarriage. Her accomplice in her previous schemes has been the incorrigibly naughty Nick Schillace. This time, her only confidante is her sensible, down-to-earth gynaecologist and it is through her alarmed eyes that we see what a poignantly (as opposed to zanily) desperate character Anne has now become.

And the winner is ... A Death in the Family (1987)

BONUS BEATS:

 

[James from London]

Dedicated to the One I Love (KNOTS, 27 Feb 92) v Deeds and Misdeeds (DALLAS, 03 May 85)

Dedicated to the One I Love is the one where we find out it was Paige, rather than Greg or Anne, whom Pierce Lawton shot at the end of the previous ep. She is taken to Ewingverse Memorial Hospital where she is caught between the same rock and hard place as Sid Fairgate was nine years earlier — risk life-or-death surgery or face certain paralysis. Surgery it is, but despite Karen telling Anne, “I went through this with my first husband … it gets to be a long night,” the episode lacks the clammy reality of Critical Condition (the ep where Sid died on the operating table) or even the nightmarish surreality of Abby’s Choice (the ep where Diana had her kidney transplant). Instead, it is full of the kind of tropes you'd expect to find in any generic hospital-based drama — sad music, sentimental flashbacks, a montage set to a mawkish ballad, even an “I can’t move my legs!” cliffhanger. There’s nothing uniquely KNOTSian about the episode all — unless you count the quality of the actors and the three-dimensionality of the characters (primarily Anne, Greg and Mack), who are substantial enough to breathe new life into old cliches.

Lurking on the outskirts of the show are Alex Barth and Vanessa Hunt who, rather touchingly, demonstrate their concern for Paige by having sex on Greg’s desk, and Pierce who does some exciting shaky-cam heavy breathing while looking suitably deranged. Oh, and Karen and Gary have a scene in the Mackenzie kitchen which kind of feels like a sequel to the Pollyanna scene in Dead But Not Buried. He asks her if Paige’s surgery has triggered memories of Sid’s and she claims not (“I laid his ghost to rest a long time ago”), but one wonders if maybe she’s still keeping Gary at bay regarding Sid, just as she did in Critical Condition all those years before.

Deeds and Misdeeds is the antepenultimate episode of a hugely long season of DALLAS (thirty episodes) and all kind of momentous-seeming things are happening: Donna is secretly pregnant, Sue Ellen is secretly drinking, Lucy visits Mitch in Atlanta, Cliff and Jamie marry, Pam dares to dream (no pun intended) of a future with Bobby, and Bobby pre-empts Wes Parmalee's Jock impersonation by two years when he pretends to be his daddy in front of Jock's first wife Amanda. This is DALLAS at its most super slick and confident. All of the women, even Jenna in prison, are so ravishingly glamorous, they look like they’re made of sugar.

Like Paige six years later, John Ross is in hospital (recovering from appendicitis). The scene where JR brings him a toy robot and then casually asks him to spy on his mama is, I think, one of the sweetest and funniest in all of DALLAS. Every one of John Ross’s line readings makes me laugh out loud.

And the winner is ... between classic era DALLAS and slightly generic KNOTS, this should be no contest, but because D2T1IL focuses on a single storyline, it perhaps lends itself better to being watched out of context, so it's … Dedicated to the One I Love

BONUS BEATS: