Who was the worst actor replacement?

[Swellin]

Who do you think was the worst actor replacement to play the same character on Dallas?

 

[Billy Wall]

Donna Reed because she essentially changed the character from a matriarch of a ranch family to a socialite.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Yeah, Donna Reed, the poor thing. It had the most negative impact, if only because of Miss Ellie's place at the center of the family.

 

[Seaviewer]

Yes, I'm sorry to say I agree. It's a shame because she was a good actress but was misled about what the character should have been.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

In my head, Reed is Jenna's aunt Caroline who arrives in Dallas in anticipation her niece's nuptials to Bobby, all while Miss Ellie convalesces at Takapa with that psychotic mental breakdown collapse which nuDALLAS would "out" her on some 30 years later.

 

[xab]

I voted Priscilla Presley first. And then Donna Reed.

At least Donna Reed was an awarded actress. She was just a miscast...

Priscilla Presley was just a widow with a big name... In season 9 she was so bad, she made a fool of herself... Even Barbara Carrera proved to be a better actress... Fortunately, it was just a dream.

 

[Seaviewer]

I think Priscilla was quite good when she first appeared and Jenna still had an edge to her. It was the writing that made her character more insipid.

 

[Rove]

I voted for Donna Reed. I'm not blaming her personally. That fault lies at the feet of the knee-jerk, dumb-arse producers for recasting such a central character - Miss Ellie.

I liked the introduction of Priscilla Presley as Jenna. There was something about her which drew me in...perhaps it was her dogged independence. Unfortunately her time on Dallas was too long and her character should have been shipped/killed off prior to her entanglement with Ray. That relationship had no spark.

 

[LB-Colby]

I like Donna Reed as Miss Ellie.

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

I like Donna Reed as Miss Ellie.

I like Donna Reed, she was highly underrated as Miss Ellie. I thought she worked well with Howard Keel.
It was the only season that I found Clayton even mildly tolerable.
People overlook that Donna Reed was in at least a half dozen westerns, so she was not in unfamiliar territory.
She also based her interpretation on real life wives of oil barons that she knew,
and that deserves respect for her preparation.
And I still think that her more upscale dressing was more realistic for a wealthy woman.
Note that Barbara Stanwyck as Victoria Barkley dressed more fashionably as well, and she was a ranch matriarch
People often become different when they become wealthy, and they do dress better, if for no other reason
than their public appearances with other wealthy people. I think Donna Reed had that right