What were writers attempting in the range war season?

[Kenny Coyote]

I didn´t have fun watching the stupid things they did that season, from encouraging John Ross and Chris to kill animals

They were hunting. The boys had a good time and learned a lot. They ate what they killed too.

Old times Wendell would have used every trick in his bag to blackmail or force the Ewings to sell the lands, but still being the cold as ice villain he always was.

I loved it when they outsmarted Wendell and finally got him. It was one of the highlights of Dallas to me. He was a smart guy and a worthy competitor but he was still human and fallible. Sooner or later either the Ewings would have beaten Wendell or he would have beaten them. Still, William Smithers had a nice long run on Dallas. He played his part perfectly!

"The Sting" in which the Ewings finally got Wendell was the last really great episode of Dallas for me.

I'm not sure what you meant by this: "And then look, McKay is a good guy because we got George Kennedy to play him"

Is it that you don't think George Kennedy is a good actor, or something else?

BTW, From what I heard, Kennedy usually played bad guys. Gene Hackman is another who usually plays bad guys.

 

[Toni]

They were hunting. The boys had a good time and learned a lot. They ate what they killed too.



I loved it when they outsmarted Wendell and finally got him. It was one of the highlights of Dallas to me. He was a smart guy and a worthy competitor but he was still human and fallible. Sooner or later either the Ewings would have beaten Wendell or he would have beaten them. Still, William Smithers had a nice long run on Dallas. He played his part perfectly!

"The Sting" in which the Ewings finally got Wendell was the last really great episode of Dallas for me.

I'm not sure what you meant by this: "And then look, McKay is a good guy because we got George Kennedy to play him"

Is it that you don't think George Kennedy is a good actor, or something else?

BTW, From what I heard, Kennedy usually played bad guys.

A) The hunting: The way that part of the episode is depicted, it´s as if John Ross really MUST kill a deer to become a real man. Otherwise, he will be like "weak Uncle Gary who read poetry (oh yeah, in an alternate "Knots" universe...)". That was outdated and sexist (and probably even subtly homophobic) before it was aired, and much more now. "The Dove Hunt" doesn´t show a JR keen on hunting, but quite scared of any kind of violence or killing. That to me is a betrayal to the essence of the show. Katzman was trying that season to appeal the male audiences who had left their wives alone at the sofa when Bobby appeared in the shower or VP disappeared in flames. Again, a sexist, chauvinistic POV that ended up destroying "Dallas" slowly but relentlessly (see subsequent seasons to confirm that).

B) I loved both Smithers and Kennedy, and played their roles very well, but Wendell was a pale shadow of himself when he returned to WestStar: he was just a pawn to the awful range war, and even a precedent of the Cider House logics of things (let´s twist and turn and twist again). I´m rewatching that season, and when Wendell is arrested, McKay suddenly becomes the most honest man on Earth. Come on, he had been dealing with mercenaries and corrupt businessmen until 5 minutes ago, and now the guy is good "just because"? This has nothing to do with the actors, but with Katzman´s sloppy and very lame writing for that season. Oh and again they contradicted themselves about McKay: he also would deal with abstract OPEC and would reveal he had been working for mobs like Johnny Dancer. Odd he wasn´t the one who sold the drugs to his son Tommy (Cider House would have loved this "delicious" twist!).

And very especially, but very briefly, I´ll mention the tongue-in-cheek Hagman&Duffy Hour routine acting of everyone involved in that episode you like so much. They aren´t playing it straight as usual on "Dallas", they are cracking up because they know they are in for the bucks and the script just sucks. Oh those cynical times of the show... Just my opinion anyway.

This I´d have liked to see instead:
Wendell is outed by the Ewings who have pics of him in a gay panto.
Then he gives up and gets ready for the jailhouse action.​

 

[Kenny Coyote]

And very especially, but very briefly, I´ll mention the tongue-in-cheek Hagman&Duffy Hour routine acting of everyone involved in that episode you like so much. They aren´t playing it straight as usual on "Dallas", they are cracking up because they know they are in for the bucks and the script just sucks. Oh those cynical times of the show... Just my opinion anyway.

I interpreted as they were cracking up because they were so happy they'd finally beaten Wendell, a man who had been out to get them for a very long time. I was smiling and laughing during that as well.

But we all have our own way of looking at things and that's fine. It keeps things interesting.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Leonard Katzman speaks at 5:30:

The arrest of Wendell was stupid, like a cartoon scene. The idea that JR and Bobby would take down so easily a man like Jeremy Wendell wasn't believable at all.

And it only happened because Larry apparently tricked William Smithers into asking for a raise at a time when Lorimar-Telepictures was cutting back, so his role was essentially given to George Kennedy. The removal of Wendell from the show's later years was one of the worst things that happened to DALLAS near the end -- Jeremy was the only real threat to JR, and the series needed that menace.

 

[Kenny Coyote]

The removal of Wendell from the show's later years was one of the worst things that happened to DALLAS near the end -- Jeremy was the only real threat to JR, and the series needed that menace.

Apparently you don't think Carter McKay was a real threat to JR. I'm wondering, is that because George Kennedy's acting wasn't good enough to accept him as a legit threat, or do you blame the scripts for Carter McKay not coming across as a real threat to JR?

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Apparently you don't think Carter McKay was a real threat to JR. I'm wondering, is that because George Kennedy's acting wasn't good enough to accept him as a legit threat, or do you blame the scripts for Carter McKay not coming across as a real threat to JR?

I'd say it was the scripting for McKay. George Kennedy certainly turned beat-red enough to be terrifying,

 

[Toni]

IMO Kennedy was introduced partly because Kercheval wanted to play a more positive version of his Cliff after the reconciliation with Miss Ellie. GK was a big name in the league of supporting actors (which most times is stronger than the one for the leads) and got an Oscar as such for "Cool Hand Luke" (which was spoofed / homaged / tarnished just when he showed up on "Dallas" thru the awful Haleyville storyline and the chain gang...).

With a well-thought story and Paulsen-esque dialogues, McKay would have been the last great character on "Dallas". Without them, he was constantly wasted and playing a caricature of a villain. Hagman had already worked with him before becoming J.R. and I´m sure he knew Kennedy would give much-needed prestige to the fading soap. Instead, they reduced Cliff´s part from Season 11 on, and gave McKay such no-no-notorious characters around him as the mercenaries, FakeWendell, Rose, Tommy, Tracy, Johnny Dancer/Danzig et al. Go figure...

 

[Frank Underwood]

Wendell and McKay essentially filled the same function as the head of West Star and a thorn in JR's side. However, they were written very differently. Up until the range war, Wendell was an extremely intelligent person who was led by his brain rather than his emotions. In fact, he was a straight up emotionless sociopath, but it's what made him a great villain.

McKay, on the other hand, was a much more emotional and temperamental character. George Kennedy was a fine actor, but I preferred the ice cold ruthlessness of Wendell.

 

[southfork88]

IMO Wilson Cryder was the real new Jeremy Wendell, Carter McKay wasn't believable at all.

 

[Monzo]

Gerrit Graham, who played Fred Hughes, Carter McKay's right-hand man in the range war, has passed away.

Gerrit Graham, Actor in ‘Phantom of the Paradise,’ Screenwriter and Grateful Dead Collaborator, Dies at 77

Gerrit Graham, actor in "Phantom of the Paradise" and many other films and TV shows who co-wrote a song for The Grateful Dead, died Tuesday.

variety.com

I have seen some of the series and films Gerrit Graham appeared in, but he actually stands out most in my memory for Dallas; although I didn't particularly like the character Fred, Gerrit Graham portrayed the role convincingly.

 

[Bobby Southworth]

Gerrit Graham, who played Fred Hughes, Carter McKay's right-hand man in the range war, has passed away.

Gerrit Graham Dead: 'Phantom of the Paradise' Actor Was 76

Gerrit Graham, the actor known for roles in 'Phantom of the Paradise' (1974) and 'Star Trek', has died. He was 76.

deadline.com

The Deadline article falsely claims that Gerrit Graham appeared in an episode of Dynasty, when in fact it was the 1976 TV movie Dynasty.

Gerrit Graham, Actor in ‘Phantom of the Paradise,’ Screenwriter and Grateful Dead Collaborator, Dies at 77

Gerrit Graham, actor in "Phantom of the Paradise" and many other films and TV shows who co-wrote a song for The Grateful Dead, died Tuesday.

variety.com

I have seen some of the series and films Gerrit Graham appeared in, but he actually stands out most in my memory for Dallas; although I didn't particularly like the character Fred, Gerrit Graham portrayed the role convincingly.

May he rest in peace. They didn't really flesh out his character much with the writing, but he worked with what he was given well.

To touch on this thread, as I'm surprised I somehow missed it back in the day- but.. I think others might have more or less already stated my perspective, but I think they were trying to return to the early days a little, but because(again, as others have mentioned) sitcoms were really the thing at the time, they tried incorporating a little humor, or making things a little lighter. So, they tried the early days with a mix of comedy, and..for the most part, the comedy was a fail(but not every single time), but I personally enjoy the range war, but the attempts at humor really taint the Haileyville story-line. When I think of the humor that did work that season, the only instance that's coming to mind at the moment is when Sue Ellen is standing outside of the bedroom on his wedding night to Cally, and she says, "you're a little quicker than usual, J.R.," and pops the balloon. That was kinda fun.

To touch on the episode where Bobby and J.R. were stuck in the elevator..one has to admire the strength of those Ewing bladders. Beer and wine normally went straight through me, but.. they were used to drinking all the time, so, there's that.