Who was the worst father?

[Chris2]

Most of our Dallas dads aren’t exactly father-of-the-year material. Let’s discuss. Our nominees are:.

Jock. His sins include:

• Being primarily responsible for raising that sociopath J.R.
• Withholding love for Gary because he was “sensitive”.
• Blatantly favoring Bobby

J.R. His sins include:

• Emotionally abusing his son’s mother.
• Withholding love for his son until he was assured the boy was biologically his.
• Secretly sending his son to boarding school so the boy’s mother couldn’t find him.

Bobby. His sins include:

• Buying his son off the black market.
• Abandoning his second son because his first son felt insecure..

Gary. His sins include:

• Abandoning his daughter and letting her be raised by her grandparents.
• Not coming to see his adult daughter after she had been kidnapped and raped.
• Fathering three children while not wed or in a relationship with their mothers.

Ray. His sins include:

• Seemingly having very little interest in his daughter with Donna.
• Weirdly obsessed with stepdaughter Charlie’s romantic life.
• Packing Charlie off to Swiss boarding school when they weren’t getting along.

Digger. His sins include:

• Being drunk all the time while raising Cliff and Pam.
• Murdering Pam’s bio father.
• Fueling the Barnes Ewing feud and instilling that hatred in Cliff.,

 

[LMLDallas78]

Hard one this is.

One could argue that as long as the child felt loved, safe and secure then the Father's personality or treatment of others doesn't come into it.

Jock told JR he was good at business and needed to be be a good husband and Father. John Ross was loved by JR once he knew he was his son. Raised to be power hungry but that's how he himself was raised.

Ray and Digger look the worst from the list above with Ray being a neglectful Dad and Digger being drunk, but he still managed to raise two well grounded children, even if Cliff did follow him and his hatred for the Ewings.

Bobby neglected to love Lucas too.

Jock loved his sons differently but his shortcomings were made up by Miss Ellie or in JR's case other women and the business. JR strived for approval from Jock and sought love from women other than his wife but his greatest mistress and love was Ewing Oil.

 

[Kaleid]

I would have to vote for Ray. For everyone else's faults, they at least had moments on screen where they were active, loving and instructive parents. The only parental interaction that Ray didn't botch was when he held his daughter for the first time.

When he finally decided to cut his umbilical cord to Southfork, he should have moved closer to Donna rather than treating Bobby's son as a replacement part.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

This is an easy one, that oaf Ray Krebbs.

I heard that he tended to get far too possessive over my half sister Charlie, mind you she was a bit of a spoilt brat.

He even had the gall to try and lecture my father Bobby Ewing when he was remarrying my step mother Pamela Barnes Ewing whilst Jenna was pregnant with me!

I never did like that when Pam told me about it. It doesn't say much for him as a dad. He was okay I guess but I honestly think deep down it frustrated him with Bobby being my father.

I've never thrown my status as Bobby's real son up to Christopher. He's my big brother and I will always love him.

 

[DallasFanForever]

If we’re counting TNT Dallas then I’d say Cliff

 

[Taylor Bennett Jr.]

as much as I liked the character and actor, I’d have to say Jock. With Digger at least you could say he’d had some bad luck and that alcoholism is a disease. The Battle for Ewing Oil resulting from the will made for great drama, but as parenting it was sheer unadulterated sadistic idiocy, especially with the “never mind the contest! I’m sure you boys want to work together now, anyway!” follow-up letter..

 

[Sarah Danner]

If we’re counting TNT Dallas then I’d say Cliff

My answer, too. He had that platform blown up with his pregnant daughter on it. That's a monster for you.

 

[Sarah Danner]

The only parental interaction that Ray didn't botch was when he held his daughter for the first time.

He also came across as a great father figure for Tony, but unfortunately we never got to see what might have come of that.

 

[Kaleid]

He also came across as a great father figure for Tony, but unfortunately we never got to see what might have come of that.

Its very interesting that Ray was at his domestic best in Pam's subconscious. Perhaps she still harbored some longing for him in some way.....

 

[DallasFanForever]

Its very interesting that Ray was at his domestic best in Pam's subconscious. Perhaps she still harbored some longing for him in some way.....

I’ve never considered that to be honest but it does make sense. Perhaps she was dreaming things the way she wanted them to be and not how they necessary were? Maybe when they were briefly together Ray gave her the impression he didn’t want a family or kids someday so she dreamt him differently. That would also explain why she dreamt J.R. and Cliff as being nicer versions of themselves and why she dreamt Jenna as being crazy. Maybe Pam was dreaming of life the way she hoped it would be.

 

[Taylor Bennett Jr.]

I’ve never considered that to be honest but it does make sense. Perhaps she was dreaming things the way she wanted them to be and not how they necessary were? Maybe when they were briefly together Ray gave her the impression he didn’t want a family or kids someday so she dreamt him differently. That would also explain why she dreamt J.R. and Cliff as being nicer versions of themselves and why she dreamt Jenna as being crazy. Maybe Pam was dreaming of life the way she hoped it would be.

a couple of the storylines/characters most commonly ridiculed as over-the-top and “not Dallas” strangely kind of retroactively make sense as “something Pam would have dreamed.”

In Matt Cantrell we have Bobby’s kind of sleazy “long lost best friend” who’d made a drunken pass at her a handful of years prior reimagined by her subconscious as a more “conventionally hunky”bare-chested adventurer, mining for emeralds in South America instead of building high-rises.

We all saw Pam in the early seasons, dreamily drawing fashion designs in the Southfork den, working her way up to head buyer at The Store, even getting to fly to Paris to scout new fashions. Exactly the sort of experiences that would lead a subconscious to conjure up a preposterously glamorously-costumed Nicaraguan-Greek tycoon (with equally bizarre ‘European’ sidekicks) to do battle with JR and others.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

Its very interesting that Ray was at his domestic best in Pam's subconscious. Perhaps she still harbored some longing for him in some way.....

Have you been at the gin buddy!?!

Pam interested in getting back together with that oaf!

I don't think so.

 

[LMLDallas78]

working her way up to head buyer at The Store, even getting to fly to Paris to scout new fashions.

Didn't JR set that up with Liz's boss?

 

[Mustard]

Probably Ray. He would be a good friend, but a pretty bad father, way too overbearing.

Gary or Bobby as the best. Gary is kinder, Bobby nice but firm.

 

[LMLDallas78]

Probably Ray. He would be a good friend, but a pretty bad father, way too overbearing.

Gary or Bobby as the best. Gary is kinder, Bobby nice but firm.

Ray was great with Tony and the kids from the deaf school.
Ray took Charlie on when she was a whinging teenager and hadn't raised her.

Gary? He was a raging alcoholic with a fierce temper.
Bobby? Neglected his blood child and had a fierce temper.

 

[Kaleid]

Have you been at the gin buddy!?!

Pam interested in getting back together with that oaf!

I don't think so.

In my defense for Ray, neither Bobby nor Mark ever
1. Fired up the Southfork chopper to whisk Pamela away for a romantic winter swim in a pond
2. Romanced Pamela in the Southfork hayloft ( Not specifically mentioned during the show, but this would explain how Pam figured out about Ray and Lucy so quickly.)

 

[Mustard]

Ray was great with Tony and the kids from the deaf school.

True. But that wasn't long time wise.

Ray took Charlie on when she was a whinging teenager and hadn't raised her.

And made a terrible job of it.

Gary? He was a raging alcoholic with a fierce temper.

Gary was hardly ever off the wagon, and had a strong discipline for the most part in keeping himself sober. There were only two occasions where he fell off the wagon on screen, i.e. the Bottom of the Bottle 2-parter at the end of Series 1 of Knots Landing, and during Series 4 of Knots Landing around the time of Ciji's death.

Bobby? Neglected his blood child and had a fierce temper.

Nice but firm, though.

 

[Taylor Bennett Jr.]

Didn't JR set that up with Liz's boss?

true, but Pam was already skyrocketing up the ranks of fashion buyers in the US Southwest. Her reputation was growing in Milan and Paris and it was just a matter of time before Harrison Page took notice. It all worked out in the end for Harrison and the temporarily-Houston-deposed Liz Craig, though, as they found true love in their mutual disdain for JR and his dastardly dealings.

 

[Snowcat]

For me it’s Gary, followed by Ray. Gary literally abandoned his family twice. Everyone likes to make JR the bad guy. Gary could have left & taken Valene and Lucy with him. For Ray, everyone likes to call Charlie a brat. But Ray made everything worse. Then he shipped her off to Switzerland. But the worst part of that is Jenna agreed.

 

[DallasFanForever]

For Ray, everyone likes to call Charlie a brat. But Ray made everything worse. Then he shipped her off to Switzerland. But the worst part of that is Jenna agreed.

Charlie wasn’t the first rebellious teenager and I’m sure she wasn’t the last. Jenna agreeing to shipping her daughter off overseas always puzzled me as well. You’d think she of all people would’ve understood Charlie’s behavior and clued Ray in as to how difficult teenagers can be.