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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mel O'Drama" data-source="post: 329739" data-attributes="member: 23">Round 2 - Week 2Match 1Both these episodes represent "firsts" in my relationship with the respective series, which means I'm very fond of both.This was the first episode of Dynasty I recorded. Or at least the first I recorded as a "keeper", to rewatch and enjoy in the longer term rather than simply wiping it. It's the same reason I gave for my fondness of the Dallas episode of the same summer where Sue Ellen shot JR.1988 clearly saw a shift in my viewpoint on TV series and home media: I also recorded Swan Song which was repeated over the summer and, later the same year, I made a conscious decision to record and keep every remaining episode of Knots Landing's sixth series on VHS. This magic window of time - where I realised there's no reason I couldn't rewatch a TV series many times in the same way I would a favourite film - changed my relationship with television. For that reason, the ones I recorded in that first year hold a special place in my heart.Out of context, I've always thoroughly enjoyed rewatches of Dynasty's 1988 finale. It's great fun, and I was far less critical than I would be today, allowing me to simply enjoy it again and again. In addition to those in the captions, there were also little endings and cliffhangers in Steven's decision to leave Denver and Sammy Jo accepting Jeff's proposal while Fallon is in the bedroom, still exhausted from an overlong lovemaking montage with Jeff (in the O'Drama household, a collective sigh of relief at the sex scene's commercial break fadeout was immediately followed by a collective groan when it faded back in and briefly resumed. It was a moment). Blake's final line resonated round my head, so all in all it ticked all the cliffhanger boxes for me.Meanwhile four years earlier, End Game was the episode that got me hooked on Dallas... and I only watched it through peer pressure. In 1984 I was on a children's hospital ward, and there wasn't a great deal to do but gather in the main ward where there was a large TV and watch together. Someone - I dare say one of the nurses or mothers - had to watch Dallas, so we all ended up watching by default.  I must have loathed spoilers from an early age, and I must have been invested early in the episode, because I remember feeling peeved when a staff nurse wandered in and commented that she'd read that Bobby was going to be shot at the end. All the same, I didn't quite believe it until I saw it with my own eyes. The moment itself was very exciting, with the tantalising subjective direction and the wonderfully cinematic score. This was reinforced by a recap of suspects immediately afterwards (promoting a breakfast TV show the next morning) and then the depressing announcement that I'd have to wait until the autumn to find out who shot Bobby (the concept of TV seasons was new to me and I couldn't believe they could make us wait that long). This is exactly as I saw the final scene back then, complete with the following announcements:[MEDIA=youtube]aXMxIuLYRw0[/MEDIA]During the summer, I lapped up every repeated episode of the season, beginning with Southfork on fire (I had no idea why or how) and running all the way through to the repeat of Bobby's shooting. By the time the new season began, I was a Dallas fan. And I'd also correctly worked out whodunnit.In another match, I'd happily give this Dynasty episode a vote. But up against such a seminal episode, I can only vote for...Dallas - Season "Seven"Match 2Well, I voted for this Falcon Crest episode before, and it does look like a key turning point. But...The structure and emotional intelligence of Dynasty's first season made this moment not only iconic but also important and substantial. This is as good as courtroom drama gets. Plus Brian Dennehy's in the thick of it, bellowing out accusations.It's an easy win for...Dynasty - Season One</blockquote>

Verification: Who played JR Ewing?