The shower scene was the problem, not the dream explanation

[Grangehill1]

So think about this. It's towards the end of season 9. The show is in crisis. Leonard Katzman comes back to the show. Patrick Duffy comes back to the show. The new brass think let's get Bobby back for the cliffhanger. They've already got shot footage of Pam waking up and finding dead mark in the shower. Let's reshoot half of it and Pam finds bobby in the shower and it's all a dream.

Brilliant idea. If Dallas had ended then that would have probably been the greatest ending to a tv show. But the prOblem was in the rush to get the cliffhanger out, nobody stopped to think what a dumb cliffhanger it was. In other words they were forced into coming up with the dream explanation because of the shower scene.

If they'd have come up with a better cliffhanger or waited... and brought Patrick back slowly in season ten, the odd strange appearance here and here. Or have bobby wake up from his coma at the end of 9.

But in the rush to get the cliffhanger out I think they forgot all logic which would ultimately damage the show.

What do you think?

 

[Lastkidpicked]

Interesting points, Grangehill.

When the audience wanted Bobby back, and Parick Duffy wanted to come back, the producers had very few choices:

1. Bring Patrick Duffy back as Bobby's long lost twin brother
2. Reveal that Bobby faked his own death
3. Just bring Bobby back and pretend that nothing ever happened.
4. Bring Bobby back and pretend that the entire prior season never happened.

And that brought us to the shower scene.

I think the biggest problem with the storyline is that the show had already started to go downhill. The shower scene was just such a big event that people could point to and say, "This is when I quit watching."

 

[Grangehill1]

Yes but they could have held Patrick's return over to the beginning of season ten. He didn't have to appear at the end of season 9. People would have still watched if they announced bobby was to return in the new series.

Forgive me if I'm wrong but I don't think this angle has ever been discussed at all. My point is that the producers rushed into creating a cliffhanger and rushed into bringing Bobby back when they could have taken a bit more time after series 9 had finished to think about what they were doing. Had they done this, then maybe the coma solution may have been thought of

 

[Lastkidpicked]

Yes but they could have held Patrick's return over to the beginning of season ten. He didn't have to appear at the end of season 9. People would have still watched if they announced bobby was to return in the new series.

You are right about this. I wonder if the producers were so desperate to create some "buzz" around the show that they used the shower scene at the end of season 9 to get people talking about the show over the summer.

 

[JR Ewing Fan]

It would have made more sense if Bobby had the dream while in the hospital.

 

[Lastkidpicked]

It would have made more sense if Bobby had the dream while in the hospital.

That would have made a lot more sense! I wonder why they didn't think of it.

 

[Seaviewer]

I recall articles at the time saying that bringing him back as a lookalike was an option. Clearly a conscious decision was made to go with the dream. I don't believe changing the timing or whose dream it was makes any difference.

 

[pete lashmar]

Wasn't it Patrick's wife who suggested the dream?

Very interesting topic though and I agree - had the season ended with with all the cliffhangers it would have been fantastic anyway, the shower scene wasn't needed. What they should have done was have a scenario where one of the family around the bed at the end of the previous season somehow managed to kill someone, with the last shot of their face being the freeze frame...Pam probably - and that would then be the first image we see when the show returned, as Bobby wakes from his coma. They could have then have had it as Bobby's dream, with flashbacks throughout that season.

So yes I agree, ths shower scene was a needless cliffhanger IMO.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

In other words they were forced into coming up with the dream explanation because of the shower scene.

But in the rush to get the cliffhanger out I think they forgot all logic which would ultimately damage the show.

You're quite right. As a memorable cliffhanger it was effective. People were talking about it. But once Bobby appeared in the shower that really limited the options for explanations. There weren't many places they could go with it. Why would some lookalike be smiling away in Pam's shower? Or even Bobby himself if he's just come out of a coma?

Or have bobby wake up from his coma at the end of 9.

It would have made more sense if Bobby had the dream while in the hospital.

I've seen this suggested a few times over the years, and think it could really have worked. It would certainly have been more plausible than what we were given.

Someone with more imagination than me even suggested many events of the dream season could still really have happened. Comatose Bobby dreamt about them having been subliminally fed the information from visitors to his bedside, keeping him up to date with what's been going on.

If they'd have come up with a better cliffhanger or waited... and brought Patrick back slowly in season ten, the odd strange appearance here and here.

A few seasons before Duffy returned to Dallas, Knots Landing brought back an actor whose character had been definitively killed off. The character's death had been a major part of the previous season's cliffhanger. They were shown on-screen to be very dead - even being seen on a mortuary slab. Characters had discussed the post mortem results in detail.

But the actor breezed back onto the show the following season, randomly appearing in a scene without explanation. By season's end, the return was fully accepted by the other characters and - more importantly - the viewers.

Yes - it asked the viewer to suspend their disbelief, but it was done with as much credibility as a "back from the dead" can be done.

The explanation given for their return is almost secondary. I won't even mention it here. But the main reason it worked is because it was carefully plotted into the show and wasn't hurried. We were fed the information piecemeal and the characters were as shocked and incredulous as the audience. And all those doubts were laid to rest. The ridiculousness of the situation became a driving force for the plot. In other words, it was character driven.

But then the approach of the two shows in general is quite different. Cliffhangers were a Dallas hallmark. I can understand why they'd want to get a big wham/bam moment out of it and create a buzz. After all, the serendipitous "let's just shoot the bastard" approach had worked out well for the show before. I can understand, too, the need for secrecy, but if more people had been involved and more time taken to plot it out, chances are someone might have pointed out how limiting the shower scene was.

I recall articles at the time saying that bringing him back as a lookalike was an option.

Me too. That was fuelled, I think, by Duffy's credit at the end of Blast From The Past.

 

[JROG]

What do you think?

I think that's an interesting theory, but certainly not the case. Katzman's co-workers have been quoted saying clearly that, when Katzman came back, he did not understand what had been done to the show during Season 9. He simply decided to erase the developments. He wanted it gone. He didn't want to deal with it. That's it.

1. Bring Patrick Duffy back as Bobby's long lost twin brother
2. Reveal that Bobby faked his own death
3. Just bring Bobby back and pretend that nothing ever happened.
4. Bring Bobby back and pretend that the entire prior season never happened.

Afraid not. These are only the options if one wants to find a way to excuse the dream scenario.

Even if the previous season ended with the shower scene, there was no reason why Bobby & Pam couldn't just hang out at the beginning of the next season and, through flashback, recount the way Bobby came back to their lives. It would have taken more than one line, though, but so what? Hell, they could have done a whole episode if they needed. Pam would have talked about how shocked she is, but also delighted, that Bobby's back in her life, viewers would rejoice at their reunion, and the show would move on.

But this would also mean the show has to pick up all the story threads Season 9 left us with. They didn't want to do that. So, they erased it.

They wanted the slate wiped clean. All the rest is just persistent PR.

 

[JROG]

Me too. That was fuelled, I think, by Duffy's credit at the end of Blast From The Past.

They were toying with the audience. And they got burned.

 

[Rove]

Someone with more imagination than me even suggested many events of the dream season could still really have happened. Comatose Bobby dreamt about them having been subliminally fed the information from visitors to his bedside, keeping him up to date with what's been going on.

I could easily have believed this scenario however the issue would have been how do we pick and choose what remains relevant from the Dream Season. After Bobby's supposed death there is his burial, mourning and the reading of his Will. It would have taken the viewer some time and intelligence to figure out what the hell was happening. The producers clearly did not have that luxury. Have Bobby spin in the shower and say, "Good morning" and freeze frame, we'll figure out the rest later.

It was a water cooler moment. Everyone was talking about it during the off season. The problem was the resolution. If Leonard Katzman wished for the previous season to be wiped clean then the only solution was to have Bobby - not Pam - dream the whole stupid exercise. Putting that on Pam just weakened Dallas straight out of the box.

 

[tommie]

The only way the dream season would've worked is if they had started inserting "odd" and "dreamy" scenes at least a few episodes before. Maybe then it would've been semi-acceptable, but it just happened and Twin Peaks was a few years away. But as of now, it's a complete season of waste without any meaning to it.

Hell, Pam having a weird dream, such as flying before the big reveal would've at least given it some meaning.

 

[Presea]

As stupid as Bobby looked (and he usually does look stupid to me) spinning around to say "Good morning!" in Pam's girly-looking shower, I will grudgingly admit that it was better than the whole idea of Mark being found dead in the shower. It's pretty gross to find a dead person in your shower, and I don't even want to think of what it would have looked like.

 

[JR Ewing Fan]

And the dream goofed up a lot of things. Katherine was stalking Pam and Bobby, Dusty had met with Sue Ellen to tell her he left his wife, Ben Stivers looked like Wes. So many things that we had to pretend never happened when the dream was over.

 

[Rove]

The only way the dream season would've worked is if they had started inserting "odd" and "dreamy" scenes at least a few episodes before.

It must have been a difficult process for those behind the scenes to manage. I'd imagine the season Bible had already been ticked off. The actors would have spent some weeks in Dallas completing on location scenes then return to Hollywood for studio work. I'd be curious to know the time frame when Patrick and Lorimar had reached an agreement on his return.

I do like your premise of odd and dreamy scenes however would Dallas fans have liked it. Personally I've never liked 'dream scenes' perpetuating to be real. It's a cop out in the writing department. If CBS had given Lorimar permission to create additional episodes how would this scenario have played out? Or, the moment it was agreed Patrick was returning begin inserting images/scenes of Bobby interacting with other characters, as though we were watching some parallel Dallas. Maybe we could have had an early 'Sixth Sense' concept for Dallas. What we considered to be factual, wasn't, and we all sat on our lounges/couches watching the final episode when Bobby suddenly appears and collectively we scratched our heads and said, "What the hell?" It would have been daring but if done right it would have been bloody awesome.

I'll give 2 smiley faces for the poster who can come up with a ripper of a yarn.

 

[tommie]

Maybe Ellien could've been dreaming about Bobby?

But really, I would've wanted them to go Twin Peaksy before Twin Peaks - just loads of unrelated scenes that might've made us go "wtf" - because that's dreams. Unpredictable.

 

[pete lashmar]

Does anyone know at what point during the dream season that Patrick agreed to come back?

 

[Victoriafan3]

Thought this gem might be appropriate to post here. If only this had really happened instead. Such fun!

 

[Seaviewer]

Someone with more imagination than me even suggested many events of the dream season could still really have happened. Comatose Bobby dreamt about them having been subliminally fed the information from visitors to his bedside, keeping him up to date with what's been going on.

I've never thought of that but it's the only way the dream could have worked ...

After Bobby's supposed death there is his burial, mourning and the reading of his Will. It would have taken the viewer some time and intelligence to figure out what the hell was happening.

... but there is that.

We were fed the information piecemeal and the characters were as shocked and incredulous as the audience.

Even if the previous season ended with the shower scene, there was no reason why Bobby & Pam couldn't just hang out at the beginning of the next season and, through flashback, recount the way Bobby came back to their lives. It would have taken more than one line, though, but so what? Hell, they could have done a whole episode if they needed. Pam would have talked about how shocked she is, but also delighted, that Bobby's back in her life, viewers would rejoice at their reunion, and the show would move on.

This is something that's rarely touched upon - the fact that the viewers were denied that chance. We couldn't really be happy that he returned if he was never really away. The moment was gone.

And the dream goofed up a lot of things. Katherine was stalking Pam and Bobby, Dusty had met with Sue Ellen to tell her he left his wife, Ben Stivers looked like Wes. So many things that we had to pretend never happened when the dream was over.

Right.