Finished the '80-'81 Season

[DallasFan20yearslate]

So as to not cause confusion I'll refer to the calendar years from now on instead of the Season years.

First off let me say that I believe everything written from January of 1980 through the Spring of '81 is the best TV I've ever seen. Great storylines, not much storyline wise that I didn't like.

What I enjoyed from the Fall of '80 to the Spring of '81:

Pam and Bobby toward the end of the season it seems are ready to try to actually be married for once in about the last 2 seasons.

Sue Ellen and JR getting along through periods of this season. I know I'm in the minority with this, but even the worst marriage has happy times, and it was good to sort of in a way see why they married to begin with.

Jock Ewing: Everything he did this year was entertaining, and made me love the guy. This being Jim Davis' swan song from a new fan's perspective, it's hard, but it's great that this is how I'll remember him.

Pam and Cliff's Mama coming back: I'm always surprised to see unhappy endings, but I'm like most are a sucker for the happy thing. The scene with Cliff and his Mama with the licorice to me made Cliff human and not just a TV character.

The Takapa Storyline: From beginning to end with how Ellie twisted it around, then un-twisted it when it was basically zero hour for hers and Jock's marriage was really compelling. As a guy hate to say it but I like how they made Miss Ellie out to be the wrong one. I'm so used to everything in a relationship going south being the guy's fault on tv, that this was refreshing.

I know this is out of character but I actually saw a seen with Garry that I liked: The scene in the hospital room with J.R. Bobby and Garry when they were talking about playing touch football and growing up, it actually felt like they were family, and that Garry wasn't complaining about something or another.

The JR/Sue Ellen divorce/custody issue: I know this is a new storyline at the end of the season, but it's enough of a pull to make me interested in the '81-'82 season.

Cattleman's Club scene with Jock and Bobby: I've watched the outtake where Jim Davis cusses, but if I'm Duffy I'm walkin' away thinking 'thank God he only cussed'.

Ray and Donna also is seeming to work though I had my doubts early on, be interested to see where this goes.

Also, from a "DVD" perspective, I LOVED the Reunion Special in the Bonus Features.

What I didn't like:

Killing Kristen off: I think this character had more legs storyline wise than Afton, and I think it was a huge mistake that they killed her off for any reason. I'm also more of a fan of Mary Crosby than the girl playing Afton.

Dr. Elby: The guy had the scariest face on tv, the worst rug (Seriously 2 sets of sideburns), and the storyline that ran the longest beyond it's appeal.

This P.R. Expert I think her name is Leslie?: It never felt like the show ever needed her for anything.

Mitch: They really tried a poor metrosexual male in the early 80's? At least when they did it with Cliff he seemed A. More middle class and B. More of a man's man. Mitch at times had good manly values, but just could never back it up.

From a "DVD" perspective I enjoyed the earlier seasons because they had a small episode synopsis which helps a rookie like me who doesn't know them by heart, and what's coming up next.

Overall this is the best completely put together season. Other seasons were good for half of the season or 3/4 of the season, but this time it seems like they put the whole thing together.

[Swami]

So as to not cause confusion I'll refer to the calendar years from now on instead of the Season years.

First off let me say that I believe everything written from January of 1980 through the Spring of '81 is the best TV I've ever seen. Great storylines, not much storyline wise that I didn't like.

What I enjoyed from the Fall of '80 to the Spring of '81:

Pam and Bobby toward the end of the season it seems are ready to try to actually be married for once in about the last 2 seasons.

Sue Ellen and JR getting along through periods of this season. I know I'm in the minority with this, but even the worst marriage has happy times, and it was good to sort of in a way see why they married to begin with.

Jock Ewing: Everything he did this year was entertaining, and made me love the guy. This being Jim Davis' swan song from a new fan's perspective, it's hard, but it's great that this is how I'll remember him.

Pam and Cliff's Mama coming back: I'm always surprised to see unhappy endings, but I'm like most are a sucker for the happy thing. The scene with Cliff and his Mama with the licorice to me made Cliff human and not just a TV character.

The Takapa Storyline: From beginning to end with how Ellie twisted it around, then un-twisted it when it was basically zero hour for hers and Jock's marriage was really compelling. As a guy hate to say it but I like how they made Miss Ellie out to be the wrong one. I'm so used to everything in a relationship going south being the guy's fault on tv, that this was refreshing.

I know this is out of character but I actually saw a seen with Garry that I liked: The scene in the hospital room with J.R. Bobby and Garry when they were talking about playing touch football and growing up, it actually felt like they were family, and that Garry wasn't complaining about something or another.

The JR/Sue Ellen divorce/custody issue: I know this is a new storyline at the end of the season, but it's enough of a pull to make me interested in the '81-'82 season.

Cattleman's Club scene with Jock and Bobby: I've watched the outtake where Jim Davis cusses, but if I'm Duffy I'm walkin' away thinking 'thank God he only cussed'.

Ray and Donna also is seeming to work though I had my doubts early on, be interested to see where this goes.

Also, from a "DVD" perspective, I LOVED the Reunion Special in the Bonus Features.

What I didn't like:

Killing Kristen off: I think this character had more legs storyline wise than Afton, and I think it was a huge mistake that they killed her off for any reason. I'm also more of a fan of Mary Crosby than the girl playing Afton.

Dr. Elby: The guy had the scariest face on tv, the worst rug (Seriously 2 sets of sideburns), and the storyline that ran the longest beyond it's appeal.

This P.R. Expert I think her name is Leslie?: It never felt like the show ever needed her for anything.

Mitch: They really tried a poor metrosexual male in the early 80's? At least when they did it with Cliff he seemed A. More middle class and B. More of a man's man. Mitch at times had good manly values, but just could never back it up.

From a "DVD" perspective I enjoyed the earlier seasons because they had a small episode synopsis which helps a rookie like me who doesn't know them by heart, and what's coming up next.

Overall this is the best completely put together season. Other seasons were good for half of the season or 3/4 of the season, but this time it seems like they put the whole thing together.

I do agree that I would have liked to have seen Kristin stay longer but realistically JR was always going to be aiming to get revenge on her.

Swami

[SnarkyOracle!]

I've spent the last two weeks watching Season 3, 4 and 5 (per DVD count) back to back, something I haven't done since syndicated reruns in the '90s.

It's resulted in something I never do: dream wall-to-wall about DALLAS for 14 days. Talk about living in an alternate reality!

I find it interesting how dry the show becomes after 'Who Shot JR?' concludes, for the next 15 months. And I can't quite tell why... I do wonder, also, if Kristin was shipped out of Texas too quickly.... The plots are actually okay, but there's just something about the tone or the pace of it which reeeeeeally drags, not tightening up until Spring of 1982, just towards the end of Season 5 (per DVD count) before Cilff attempts suicide.

The Takapa Storyline: From beginning to end with how Ellie twisted it around, then un-twisted it when it was basically zero hour for hers and Jock's marriage was really compelling. As a guy hate to say it but I like how they made Miss Ellie out to be the wrong one. I'm so used to everything in a relationship going south being the guy's fault on tv, that this was refreshing.

Except that she wasn't the wrong one. Certainly not entirely! I'm no PC-feminist, but at Ray and Donna's house, the way they had Miss Ellie spontaneously confess to being responsible for Charles Manson, The Holocaust and nuclear armament was kind of disgusting.

Yes, her frustration over Jock's rejection of Gary came out after Ray was given part of the trust fund. But she had her reasons, God knows.

But the way they dumped it all onto her ("and that hate was all inside of me") was stupid to point of being almost comical. Except that they were serious.

And once she'd admitted to being The C*nt of The Universe, then everything was somehow "fine."

DALLAS dumping blame on the woman is not such an unusual thing. And I'm a guy.

[Jock-1981]

Kristen is unfortunately one of those supporting characters on Dallas that,once they do what they were created to do,the writers don't even bother looking for a new direction for that charater and just find a way to get rid of them. Kristen,Mickey,Alan etc.
Could there have been a new storyline for Kristen? That is hard to say.

[SnarkyOracle!]

Kristen is unfortunately one of those supporting characters on Dallas that,once they do what they were created to do,the writers don't even bother looking for a new direction for that charater and just find a way to get rid of them. Kristen,Mickey,Alan etc.
Could there have been a new storyline for Kristen? That is hard to say.

To a degree, the new supporting charcaters are brought in to move along the principle's plotlines. And usually that's okay. Depending.

[Swami]

Kristen is unfortunately one of those supporting characters on Dallas that,once they do what they were created to do,the writers don't even bother looking for a new direction for that charater and just find a way to get rid of them. Kristen,Mickey,Alan etc.
Could there have been a new storyline for Kristen? That is hard to say.

They could always have brought her back a couple of seasons later for another big plot.

Swami

[ronald mascot]

I didn't mind the killing off of Kristin because after the shooting, she became bigger-than-life and there was not much she could do to top that but you were always thinking she was going to do something big again- so it was best to kill off expectations.

There were parts I liked of the season, parts I didn't. I did think it was thrilling when Pam took John Ross off of Southfork and gave him to Sue Ellen. That was surprising- and daring. If Jock had lived and been back at the ranch, I'm not sure how that would have played out- their relationship would have been very frosty.

[SnarkyOracle!]

I I did think it was thrilling when Pam took John Ross off of Southfork and gave him to Sue Ellen. That was surprising- and daring. If Jock had lived and been back at the ranch, I'm not sure how that would have played out- their relationship would have been very frosty.

And the fact that JR didn't target Pam the next season was very lazy of them. Taunting her in the Crazy House, or saying something to her to send her to the roof of The Store, seems the way to go --- and yet they just had him forget about it!!

[Jock-1981]

JR vs Pam is always entertaining when done right. JR is really the only one that knows how to get at Pam and upset her. On the other hand,Pam is probably JRs most hated person.

The exit of Kristen basically left things open for the next character to fill that spot,and that would be Katherine.

Talking about Jim Davis in this 1980-1981 season,I recall an article about that year and how they said that instead of Jim just taking a leave of absense because of his illness and treatments,Jim insisted on a trailer for him to relax and rest in between his scenes and he so badly wanted to be there taking part in that show. No matter how weak or sick he got,he pushed himself to be there and do his scenes. Jim was in all but the last two episodes of that season.

[E.J. Andre]

I've always had a special place in my heart for the '80-81 season. It was the first season that I watched, and as a kid at the time, I'd never watched a show anything like this.

I also generally agree with the criticisms of it -- the at times glacial pace following the solution of the shooting, impossible-to-please Mitch, the questionable casting of Leslie Stewart.

I think the shooting was solved too quickly -- this is especially evident when watching the series on DVD or syndicated reruns. The biggest storyline in the history of TV, and four episodes later, bang -- it's over. Although in the context of 1980, this wasn't the case. J.R. was shot in March, and the crime solved around Thanksgiving -- with the actors strike, production got delayed, and eight months was long enough for the public to wait. And yeah, I wish Kristin had stayed.

Some of the show's most memorable storylines and scenes.... for the first time we get to see the happy version of J.R./Sue Ellen, which was great but bordered on creepy; particularly with J.R.'s entertaining trysts with Louella. The J.R./Afton tryst in his own bed set the mark for chutzpah -- J.R. doing this with Sue Ellen just downstairs! I still don't know how he could take that kind of risk.

The season-ender is in my top 5 episodes. I remember being blown away by the J.R./Pam confrontation at the staircase -- even for DALLAS, that seemed pretty shocking. I also didn't know at the time that this was the cliffhanger episode, until they showed 'scenes from next week'; and the scenes revolved around J.R. back at the hospital after the shooting; it took me a minute to realize it was rerun season.

[ronald mascot]

Yeah, here is Sue Ellen in creepy zombie JR love mode.

[Final Terror]

Oh I loved Leslie Stewart... She was a great semi-villainess, and it was great how disappointed her and JR were after they slept with each other.
The finale was great, and yes that scene with Pam really stood out, though I'm also a little unhappy JR never followed through with his threats. And of course you have Donna's reintroduction to the show. I just find Susan Howard spellbinding and amazing in any scene she's in [the 'book' storyline, and fall out with Ms Ellie in the next season is too good].
Also Dusty's return was great... I'm only on to the 82-83 season myself [or season 6 on DVD], and each new season I watch becomes the best one yet .

[E.J. Andre]

I think that overall the '83-84 season is the best, but the entire '80-84 stretch was definitely a golden era.

I don't think J.R.'s leaving Pam alone was really due to weak writing; J.R.'s bark was worse than his bite when it came to Pam. He always had to tread lightly around her, otherwise he'd have a knuckle sandwich waiting for him courtesy of Bobby.

[ronald mascot]

I always felt he was a bit overwhelmed at everything happening at the time to sit down and concentrate on getting revenge on Pam, but I did notice he didn't retaliate- although one could say he spent the next five or so years retaliating against her when he could.

[DallasFan20yearslate]

Right now, and only being at the end of Season 4, it just seems to me that Kristen has more legs as a character than Afton does. As I get into Season 5 and beyond I may change that opinion once I understand what went on.

[SnarkyOracle!]

Right now, and only being at the end of Season 4, it just seems to me that Kristen has more legs as a character than Afton does. As I get into Season 5 and beyond I may change that opinion once I understand what went on.

It's different: Kristen is fast burn, Afton is slow burn.

[SnarkyOracle!]

I've spent the last two weeks watching Season 3, 4 and 5 (per DVD count) back to back, something I haven't done since syndicated reruns in the '90s.

It's resulted in something I never do: dream wall-to-wall about DALLAS for 14 days. Talk about living in an alternate reality!

I'm actually being driven a little bit nuts. Between my S3, 4 and 5 reviewing, and the new DALLAS, I'm living in a 24/7 DALLAS world where I'm dreaming about it every night, all night long.

I've never done that before. I may finally be going DALLAS crazy.

[Canyon340]

I'm actually being driven a little bit nuts. Between my S3, 4 and 5 reviewing, and the new DALLAS, I'm living in a 24/7 DALLAS world where I'm dreaming about it every night, all night long.

I've never done that before. I may finally be going DALLAS crazy.

Wish to share any of the plots with Ms Cidre and your UD chums?