Miss Ellie, Clayton, and Laurel

[Holly]

I can't stand this whole storyline about Miss Ellie thinking that Clayton is sleeping with Laurel Ellis. Miss Ellie refuses to believe Clayton when he tells her that nothing romantic is going on between him and Laurel. She really got on my nerves when she was rude to everyone at breakfast when they asked about Clayton.

[Tatianna]

I hated this whole storyline. It was so out of character for Miss Ellie or even for Clayton to be involved in this mess.

If the writers wanted to put Clayton into an affair, why not give him a woman who would be more his and Miss Ellie's age, instead of having him behave like a moonstruck adolescent over a girl in a portrait.

[Pamcakes]

Well, Clayton was being a fool, BUT, he did have a point when he brought up Miss Ellie and the Jock wannabe. I don't understand why she didn't just confront him in the beginning instead of acting like everything thing was fine to his face and them running off, crying and having anger fits, and getting drunk. The good ol Miss Ellie would've chased him around with a shotgun til she got some truth outta that man!

[ShopGirl]

I hated this one too. First we knew Clayton was not going to cheat on Miss Ellie. That was not the kind of guy he was. Second we knew that if Miss Ellie thought he was having an affair, she wouldn't go off on a binge. She'd confront him head on as well as confronting Laurel herself. After all she went throught the secret crap with Jock 50 years ago and she wasn't about to go through it again. Third we knew that when she thought Jock was having a fling with Julie Grey, she called Julie to SF and told her in no uncertain terms to STOP seeing Jock, period. End of story. That's the Miss Ellie we were used to. The twilight zone trip into Sue Ellenville did not set well and did not suit Miss Ellie.

Though you gotta admit BBG was great playing the drunk.

[ShopGirl]

I hated this one too. First we knew Clayton was not going to cheat on Miss Ellie. That was not the kind of guy he was. Second we knew that if Miss Ellie thought he was having an affair, she wouldn't go off on a binge. She'd confront him head on as well as confronting Laurel herself. After all she went throught the secret crap with Jock 50 years ago and she wasn't about to go through it again. Third we knew that when she thought Jock was having a fling with Julie Grey, she called Julie to SF and told her in no uncertain terms to STOP seeing Jock, period. End of story. That's the Miss Ellie we were used to. The twilight zone trip into Sue Ellenville did not set well and did not suit Miss Ellie.

Though you gotta admit BBG was great playing the despondent drunk.

[ncpryor56]

This story line was just pitiful. From this point on in the series the writers wasted the talent of BBG and Howard Keel. I hated the drunk Ellie scene. I hated the way that Ellie handled the Laurel situation all together.

[ShopGirl]

Why did my response post twice? How odd.

[NCDallas]

The Clayton/Laurel storyline was a repeat of the Jock/Julie storyline, because Miss Ellie was in the habit of unnecessarily babying sick, older gentlemen. My grandmother is 85. The quickest way I could shorten her remaining years would be to insist she sit and watch TV or sleep all the time. As long as older folks are alive, they need their dignity, and to be able to keep doing the things they love to do... It may actually help with more than it hurts them, when all things even out.

Yes, the other similarity is that JR bedded them both at the end, but there was a big difference. He could force Julie to give in based on their past relationship, which she obviously loved. But with Laurel, she not only had no interest in him, but had thrown down the gauntlet and said she never would let him touch her. He took it as a challenge, and had to prove her wrong...

Although it was a bit far-fetched that JR solved the crime when the police could not, I actually enjoyed the Clayton/Laurel storyline more than the Jock/Julie storyline.

But then again there was an awkwardness to Dallas in the first season, that has since straightened itself out...

[Beth Harmon]

I liked the Jock/Julie story a hell of lot more than the dreadful Clayton/laurel story, which I think was the worst storyline of season 10. Miss Ellie didn't turn to the bottle when she found out Jock was seeing Julie, she cut to the chase and confronted Jock and Julie over it. I preferred THAT Miss Ellie to the one who got drunk instead of confronting her husband Clayton which is what she should have done.

The "awkwardness" of the first season was nowhere near as bad as this ridiculous rehash of a better story in a better season.

[Sid Fairgate]

I liked the Jock/Julie story a hell of lot more than the dreadful Clayton/laurel story, which I think was the worst storyline of season 10. Miss Ellie didn't turn to the bottle when she found out Jock was seeing Julie, she cut to the chase and confronted Jock and Julie over it. I preferred THAT Miss Ellie to the one who got drunk instead of confronting her husband Clayton which is what she should have done.

The "awkwardness" of the first season was nowhere near as bad as this ridiculous rehash of a better story in a better season.
:good:

I absolutely agree with you Beth. Jock and Julie also had a history together since she was his secretary before JR took over as president of Ewing Oil. Laurel was just some girl in a painting, and Clayton's obsession with her came out of nowhere.

Although season 10 has a continuing format, I actually find it to be more awkward than the episodic first season. This biggest example of this was the poor handling of Pam's departure, along with Katherine's cameo appearance. It was pointless to bring her back if they weren't going to fully use her.

Laurel, Lomax, and Shulton are all odd additions to the cast. Clayton and Laurel was bad enough, but who cares about her opportunist friend or her ex-boyfriend.

Nick and his family ties to the mafia is also un-Dallas like. They did this big build-up to where Nick's true identity of Joey Lombardi is revealed, but since this is the only season he's been on the show I found it to be very anti-climatic.

JR's West Start takeover has also been anti-climatic so far, mostly because it is moving at a snail's pace. He's talked a good game so far, but it's mostly been a bunch of hot air. What sucks even more is knowing Sue Ellen and Kimberly stop him anyway, and that this is the beginning of JR's descent into becoming a constant failure.

[NCDallas]

Yeah, but remember, Miss Ellie saw this as history repeating itself. That's worse, because you are dealing with a difficult present (Clayton and Laurel), while remembering a difficult past (Jock and Julie). It's a double-whammy, and especially the second time around you REALLY start to question your self-worth...

Not to mention the fact that BBG did some of her best acting as a drunk. She proved (even to people who only saw her in Dallas) that she can play more than a doting Grandmother...