Season 5 (1982 - 1983)

Episode 104: Changing of the Guard

Bonehead Dialogue Award: [courtesy of Alett]

Donna to Ellie: "You aren't interrupting me.....I welcome the interruption."
(Well, Donna, which is it?)

Pam Award: Tie between Phyllis, Pam, and Holly.

Angelica Award: Afton's white trash dress.

Bobby Award: Sly's new hairdo is rather unflattering. Bobby is back to his old tricks again too.

April Award: Sue Ellen for moving back to the ranch to "sort out her feelings".


- JR is so preoccupied with things that his grammar is failing. He tells Sue Ellen to come home to Southfork "where [John Ross's] mama and daddy is". Is? That should be 'are', as in "Jay Are".

- Sue Ellen has a really weird day. She's still wearing the same clothes at the beginning of this episode as she did at the end of the last episode - that's as it should be. But she has a new hair-do! She had time to get a new hair-do at the hospital?

- That's not all. When Sue Ellen is in the hospital, she gets a coffee from the machine and then proceeds to throw it away. I understand that - it was probably really lousy coffee. But where's her purse? How did she pay for it? And how did she pay for the hair-do? [I suppose JR could have paid for that, but why?]

- Speaking of which, where's Afton's purse? I realize she left in a hurry when the paramedics arrived to whisk Cliff away [at which time she had no purse] but certainly, when she arrives the next morning in that god-awful dress, she should have a purse.

- When JR goes to Sue Ellen's place to get John Ross's things, why doesn't he ask Miss Chambers to pack some of Sue Ellen's things? Surely, he expects Sue Ellen to stay at Southfork - this would force her to stay at the ranch. Doesn't this seem like something JR would do?

- When Afton and Sue Ellen are jawing at each other, she says that she belongs to Cliff until he throws her out. Way to be positive, Afton. I hope that after this episode there's no more wondering why Afton is attracted to Cliff even though he is admittedly such a loser.

- Christopher has now turned into Eric Farlow, in whose body he will remain until his mother starts dreaming.

- In a rather surprising twist, Dr. Holliston, who examined Digger a few seasons ago and diagnosed him with neurofibromatosis, is the same doctor who examines Cliff, and he even has the same name. Amazing. Ordinarily people on this show change family doctors more often than their underwear.

- The Cattlemen's Club invested in some new non-slutty uniforms for the waitresses.

- Nice to see that the Ewings have finally allowed Raoul and Theresa to talk. And they are finally the real Raoul and Theresa.

- When Pam first arrives at the hospital, she, Afton, and Rebecca have a scene at Cliff's bedside. At the end of this scene, the camera cuts to Cliff, and Ken Kercheval's jaw moves slightly. I understand how difficult it must have been to shoot this scene, but certainly this is egregious. Cliff is supposed to be in a coma! Comatose people don't move their jaws, or anything else. They don't feel any sensation or pain.

- I understand the need to give Lucy and Muriel some air time and create a little bit of suspense over Lucy's pregnancy. But if Lucy is so concerned about the news getting out [and she obviously is] then why didn't she just go get a home pregnancy test? I'm sure they had those in 1982.

AHN Alett's corner:

- I can see Cliff's ordeal being in the paper, but I doubt it would make the headline of the front page.

- Donna in shorts.  Is this a first?  I don't remember seeing any of the women dressed this way.

- Sue Ellen, Sue Ellen.  Not only is she a broken record by first telling Ellie that she doesn't think it would be a good idea to move into a guest bedroom and then 10 seconds later telling her how much she'd like to do it, but it's clear she wasted every penny spent on Dr. Elby.  As Clayton so aptly points out, what difference does it make if Cliff has brain damage or dies?  The facts about JR haven't changed.  Even Ellie is annoying here. She's enabling this whole mess.  She should be clear-headed enough to realize it's all voting shares, and Sue Ellen would be better off away from JR.

- That was a great scene with Bobby nailing JR in the nursery.  The new Christopher cries right on cue. Amazing! You'll never see it again. Usually Eric Farlow is quiet as a mouse.

AHN Val's corner:

- On leaving the Krebbs' place, Miss Ellie thanked Donna for the tea. Problem is, she didn't drink any. And I don't blame her. Miss Ellie's glass of "iced" tea lacked the ice. Warm tea on a warm day. Yuck!

- I'm sure everyone noticed Sue Ellen's abrupt hair style change at the hospital. Along the same lines, Pam seemed to have found time to do some lounging around the pool during her and Bobby's fact-finding mission to California. Her skin is much tanner than in yesterday's episode.

AHN Jason's corner:

- JR makes a comment that only people with Southworth and Ewing blood should attend the meeting of the voters.  Uh, JR, that would mean your mama won't qualify. Good point! Hadn't even thought of that.

- Empty purse meter-  Pam, Afton, and Rebecca at the hospital. Afton has two I think.   Sue Ellen and Pam at SF.  Sue Ellen with Clayton.

- Southfork looks real today.  Seems to match the theory someone had about only shooting on the real one for the first half of the season. It stands to reason. I figure that on average, more than five episodes worth of footage is shot as Southfork. Probably closer to the first half of the season is shot in Dallas, and then they move to California. Hence the need for the mid-season contract renegotiations. It also explains why Morgan Brittany is absent until Episode 120.

- Where were all the yellow flowers JR sent Sue Ellen?  I didn't see any roses in her apartment when JR came to collect John Ross's things. Maybe Mrs. Chambers forgot to put them in water and they all died.

- Watch Ellie's shoulder strap of her purse.  It mysteriously comes off during her talk with JR by the pool.

AHN Mike's corner:

- Typical JR . First he drops the bomb on Mrs. Chambers about John Ross moving permanently to SF (putting her in fear of losing her job), then he's condescending to her and heads straight for the bar.

- Rhetorical question: Why do the Ewings need two refrigerators in the kitchen when hardly anybody touches a meal, let alone finishes it? For Theresa and Raoul. Raoul doesn't have that gut by accident. He must eat all the leftovers and Theresa helps him.

- Bobby greets Kendall at the new offices as though she been there all the time. But isn't this the first time we've seen her staffing the Ewing suite of offices? Maybe she worked on another floor before and got promoted.

- Another rhetorical question: Why is everybody concerned that Cliff may have a personality change or brain damage if he recovers? Wouldn't this be an improvement? Also, in order to have brain damage, isn't it a prerequisite that you must HAVE a brain? Well, the last point is debatable, but I also considered the first point. I think any change would be an improvement, for sure.

AHN Pam's corner:

- Mrs. Chambers made a very boneheaded remark when J.R. came in:  "Are you alone?"  Well did she SEE anyone else with him?

- Mrs. Chambers was loading the dishwasher in Sue Ellen's apartment.  Why?  Sue Ellen and John Ross weren't there to make any dishes.  I daresay if these dishes were in the sink since the last time they ate there, I think Mrs. Chambers must be taking lessons from the Ewings' staff. Or maybe they're her own dishes. We have a new theory that the STAFF eats more than the Ewings, hence the number of dishes. It also explains Raoul's girth.

- I have a question about the passage of time.  Pam and Bobby found Lucy at Roger's a couple of episodes ago.  It may have only been two weeks ago at the most.  So how would Lucy know that she's pregnant?  It seems a little early to tell.  Even physicians pregnancy tests weren't this advanced in 1982.  I have to agree with her, under the circumstances, I'd have an abortion too. I was confused by this too, but I think what happened was that Lucy got pregnant by Roger BEFORE she was kidnapped. Then while she was kidnapped he raped her. The child was not CONCEIVED by the rape, but the psychological scar is there.

- I wonder if Donna was adlibing a bit during the iced tea scene with Ellie.  When she asked Ellie if she'd care for some lemon, BBG seemed confused for a second before answering.

- The prop guys must have gotten a deal on the those plain glass pitchers and glasses...or they just keep rinsing them out.  Ellie used the same pitcher and glass for her lemonade that Donna used for the iced tea.  The Farlows used this same set at the Southern Cross last season.

- Once again, John Ross is way too quiet for a three year old.  Ellie asked him if he wanted eggs, and his yes was barely audible.  Then when Sue Ellen came in he didn't scream with excitement to see his mother. Then he didn't even interrupt Ellie and Sue Ellen during their conversation.  This is completely unrealistic.  Christopher seemed to have the same problem until Bobby hit J.R., then he cried, good boy.   Christopher is also going through the same crib syndrome that John Ross did.   Get this child out of that room and outside for some fresh air. Absolutely. It's amazing how these kids turn out to be reasonably well-adjusted preteens.

- For once Bobby followed the rules of the road. He actually used his turning signal when turning in to Southfork from the road.  I don't think I've ever noticed this before.   Also, they've put in little decorative lights along either side of the drive leading up to the house.  They've also added the tacky spotlight shining on the house.


Episode 105: Where There's A Will

Bonehead Dialogue Award: [courtesy of Alett]

> John Baxter : "So you said you were waiting for your attorney.  Some kind of legal problem?"

[courtesy of Jason and Sara]

> Aunt Lil's letter  "Your father, Amos Krebbs..."

Pam Award: Pam visiting Cliff.

Angelica Award: Bobby's friend Carl nudges out Afton and Rebecca's ugly dresses.

Bobby Award: I don't like Lucy's mane, but Sue Ellen's hair still isn't great. Ditto for Bobby.

April Award: John Baxter for being a schmuck and not realizing JR and Serena are setting him up.


- When Sue Ellen comes to see Cliff in the hospital, an establishing shot indicates that it is very late. Aren't visiting hours long over? Otherwise Afton would still be there in a bad dress, right?

From Jack_Ewing: The view from Harve's window with that weird, ugly building, is the same as the former view from Bobby's office (before they remodeled.) Geeze, they're not consistent at all. Make's you wonder why they didn't just rent office space in a few different buildings...they wouldn't have to build sets that way, or worry about continuity.

AHN Dave's corner:

- I'm not sure, but I think JR dials 8 numbers when he calls his female assistant. Yes. The last might have been one of the "line" buttons, but he should push that BEFORE dialing the number.

- They got a vanity plate for the exercise bike?!!!!! Miss Ellie has a bit too much time on her hands.
I thought it was kind of cute. She probably got it as a present or something.

- That huge book is a will?! Does Jock account for every cent and atom of property?
I think the big book represents all of Jock's wills over the years. He probably changed it more than once, as his sons were born. And Harve says that he's been Jock's lawyer since before JR was born.

AHN Jason's corner:

- If I were Sue Ellen, I would think twice about leaving John Ross at the ranch.   Even if Ellie promises to watch him, I wouldn't put it past JR to pull some sort of scam to prevent her from moving him off is she wanted to.

- Empty purse meter-  Ellie at lunch with Bobby, Sue Ellen at Southfork, Millie at Ewing Oil, Afton, Pam, Sue Ellen and Rebecca at the hospital,  Afton again at the hospital,

- I thought it was strange that Phyllis would sit down at the meeting but some of the department heads would stand.  At the very least, shouldn't she sit on Bobby's desk or something so they can have her chair.

- Lil is called Lilly today.  I don't think she is ever referred by this name again.

- Just a note.. Harve must have some really young siblings.  Harve said to JR that he was Jock's lawyer since before JR was born.. that was 1939. That means Harve was probably at least 24 or so at that time.  Say 1917. John here looks to be about 25 at the most in 1982 .. Let's assume his wife is the same age.  Born in 1957 or so.  So assume Harve's sibling was born
30 years earlier... 1927.. I guess it would work but just seems to be a big age difference between uncle and niece..  Same thing with Harve and Anita. Seems like they should grandfather and granddaughter instead. That's questionable. I have to think about it a bit.

- Just a note.  Charlene Tilton was pregnant in real life at this point.  I don't think they will show her stomach again for a while since she will start to show.   I remember reading an article in a tabloid  (in 1982) about how she converted over to being a Born Again Christian and how (allegedly) they were going to write her pregnancy in to the show. Apparently they decided against having any more kids running around SF.

- I have to wonder why JR doesn't go in his office with the will... or at least turn on a light to read it.  He reads it in the dark while sitting on Phyllis's desk. I guess it's more for effect than anything else. Good point.

AHN Val's corner:

- When Donna went out to the range to see Ray, she brought him a can of beer to drink. First of all, when doing hard cowboy labor in the hot Texas sun, beer is not that great of a thirst quencher. In fact, alcohol has a dehydrating effect on the body. Secondly, since it is most likely the middle of the word day, Ray shouldn't be drinking on the job. Donna should have known better and brought her man a thermos of water or a bottle of Gatorade. Tsk, tsk, tsk, Donna! Frankly, Val, do you think Cro-Magnon Man cares?

- The Cirrus Room appears to be a high class joint. It's located in a high rise building, and has a great view of the city. The place seems to be frequented by JR, as the waitress called him by name! So why, oh why, oh WHY does the high-flying Cirrus Room have such CHEAP, tacky dining chairs?!?!?! And I'm not talking about the big, red upholstered ones in which JR was sitting. I mean those hideous brown things. You know the ones: heavy gauge metal frame, covered in ugly brown vinyl, with a cut-out on top to aid in moving the chair. These are commonly found in the local hole-in-the-wall diner or hotel banquet hall, not five-star restaurants!

- When Miss Ellie was riding her stationary bike, the background sound effects used sounded more like someone barreling up the driveway (a la Digger Barnes in the "Reunion" episode). I halfway expected a confrontation, but alas it was only Sue Ellen coming to pick up John Ross!

- There's something strange about Bobby's new office door. Oh yeah! It's actually an EXTERIOR front entry door, commonly found on houses in upper-middle class suburban neighborhoods built during the early-eighties. (When I was a child, the house across the street had one just like it.) The set decorator must have known someone in the construction biz.

- Cliff got a new phone. He got tired of his old yellow one and stole the white one off the counter of Sue Ellen's townhouse.

AHN Alett's corner:

- All of Pam's tough love berating Cliff for his suicide attempt is a bit hypocritical.   Her swan dive off the top of a building was only prevented by Bobby.  Again all this about everyone making mistakes but they bounce back is annoying too.  Her bounce back was because of Bobby and Christopher not her own efforts.  She even brings in "Mama".  She never thought about what her suicide would have done to Mama.

- It doesn't seem very realistic that Ewing Oil is cutting everything back by 25% but Bobby doesn't want any cut backs on the crews.  Saint Bobby is going to pay them all full wages when they're only doing 75% of their jobs. And that's why you and all the other girls love him, right?

- Aunt Lil's letter says they still can't afford Amos's care even after he was moved to the charity ward.  Doesn't charity ward mean that the state is picking up the tab?   She doesn't say it's just the original bills they're still paying on. I'm not too sure about that - I would assume that the charity ward means Medicare, but perhaps not.

- I'm surprised Harve has a daughter young enough to have married John Baxter. I wonder just how old Harriet is! Maybe Harve's wife is younger too.

- Pam's not very tactful when she asks Lucy if she knows who the father is.  She should have just said, "Who is the father?"  Now that the thorny issue of abortion is being brought up again, I wouldn't be surprised if we see Lucy taking up horse riding. LOL! Fortunately that won't be the case.

AHN Sara's corner:

- How the hell did John Baxter not hear JR loudly entering the condo? Clearly his brain is still focused on Serena's goodies.

- Surprising that new Smithfield and Bennett employee John Baxter knew all about the terms of Jock's will. It's probably been a topic of debate around the office. I'll bet there was a scene between Harve and John, just before JR arrived, that was cut.

- Lucy needs to get a new doctor.  Dr. Grosvenor discussed her and his concerns about her to Pam, an obvious violation of his confidientiality oath. Lucy may have said that it was alright, since Pam came with her. I suspect that some of this might have been cut too.

AHN Mike's corner:

- Christopher is wearing a shirt with what appears to be a huge alligator logo on front. Izod designer baby clothes?

- Was that the actress who later played Dora Mae who waited on the Ewings and the Andersons? I wasn't looking that closely but I doubt it. I'll look again.


Episode 106: The Billion Dollar Question

Bonehead Dialogue Award: [courtesy of Alett]

> Ray: "Instead of mailing that [the book] to the post office."
(Ray, she's mailing it to the publisher, not the post office.)

Pam Award: Pam in her tight pink dress.

Angelica Award: Sue Ellen's striped swimsuit.

Bobby Award: Bobby by default.

April Award: Nothing too terrible. Jason suggests Cliff for trusting Marilee's job offer.


- Yet again, Bobby only dials six numbers when he calls Harve Smithfield. Please, Bobby, try. Try for us, the fans.

- Ray has a brain spasm when talking to Aunt Lil. She ends her conversation by saying, "It'll be nice to see you." Ray responds, "me too." Now I understand that everyone does this sometimes - I do it a lot, when I'm idly making small talk with someone. So it's not a real nit. I just thought I'd point it out.

- When JR is talking to Nelson Harding, Nelson asks JR if he's being asked to do anything illegal. This is in plain hearing of the waitress. I'd want to keep this sort of question quiet if I were him.

- When John Ross comes to the Southern Cross, we see him happily swimming in the pool with Sue Ellen. So she left some of his clothes, including swimming trunks, in San Angelo? Or did JR bring them with him? Odd.

- And speaking of which, why is Sue Ellen constantly in a bathing suit at the Southern Cross? Is this at Clayton's insistence?

AHN Val's corner:

- Miss Ellie stated that she'd been thinking about the Oil Baron's Ball since having DINNER with Punk and Mavis. This is incorrect. She and Bobby had LUNCH with the Andersons. As they sat down at the restaurant, one of them even pointed out that it had been awhile since they had lunch together. Good call. I completely forgot about that.

- Donna said she was going to the post office in Dallas to mail her manuscript. Why not just go to the post office in Braddock? It's closer. And from what I've seen, Braddock is a large enough town to support a post office, and I'm sure it has one. Maybe the Braddock office is unreliable. Or maybe [snicker] Bonnie works there!

- When they arrived at Southfork, Mavis declined Ellie's invitation to come inside, citing that Punk doesn't like it if she's not there when he gets home. Something disturbed me about that comment. Mainly, I wondered how Punk might react if he did come home to an empty house. Would he throw a royal fit and resort to violence when Mavis finally did come home? I think our Punk Anderson has a dark side to which we viewers are not privy. I was never really fond of Punk but he's rather popular amongst the viewers. No clue why. That WAS sort of an odd comment.

AHN Alett's corner:

- The invitation is to The Oil Baron's Ball.  This means there is only one oil baron.  It should read Oil Barons'. Yes it should. I think I'm guilty of this too.

- They're very careful to keep saying this is a "therapeutic" abortion. It's not, so this just seems to be a way to cover themselves as a hospital.  If anyone was going to have a therapeutic abortion, it would have been Pam. She's under no obligation to confess this to Lucy, but it again does make her seem a little hypocritical.  Lucy never does receive the counseling she should have before making such a serious decision. Tough call. It is psychologically therapeutic, if not physically.

- It seems goofy that Lil says, "Raymond, this is your aunt, Lil Trotter." She's recently written to him.  No one else calls him Raymond.  She should just say, "This is your Aunt Lil." Yup. This is just for the two people in the Ukraine who wouldn't have been able to figure it out.

AHN Jason's corner:

- Empty purse meter-  Pam and Lucy at the doctors, Holly at dinner with Bobby, Ellie with Mavis, Pam and Lucy at the hospital, Afton and Rebecca with Cliff.  Pam may have had another empty purse when she went to collect Lucy from the
hospital. I honestly lost track.

- Pam tells Lucy that she had the same empty feeling when she had her miscarriage... uh   which one? Perhaps it doesn't matter, but I see your point. Probably the second one, in which she told Sue Ellen she felt empty.

- Some more good continuity here.  Lucy is to meet Dr. Crane, an OB, I believe.   I am assuming this is the same Dr. Crane who was Sue Ellen's delivery doctor Season One.  If not, amazing coincidence.

AHN Mike's corner:

- Have you noticed that huge ceramic coffee pot used in the SF outdoor sequences the last two days? Why do the Ewings need such a large container? Nobody ever takes more than a few sips of coffee before leaving their entire breakfast on the plate and running off.

- Is Pete the ranch-hand beconing a semi-regular? First he drove Miss Ellie to Donna's and we heard him called Pete. Then he's walking horses with Ray and is called Pete. Or are all SF ranch-hands called Pete, just like all the household staff must be named Raoul and Teresa? It's possible. Or maybe Pete is a family member of one of the crew, and so he's cheaper than hiring different actors every day.

- Bobby is a real high class guy, eating dinner at a place whose outside sign says "Restaurant". Even if Pam was at the hospital with Lucy, why wouldn't he go home to eat with the rest of the family. Oh? He read the script and knew Holly would be there? Apparently he did.


Episode 107: The Big Ball

Bonehead Dialogue Award: [courtesy of Alett]

> Dusty : "The problem wasn't physical."
> Sue Ellen : "Are you telling me it was psychological?"

Pam Award: I vote for Holly at the ball. All the other ladies looked pretty ordinary.

Angelica Award: Donna's mint green ensemble she wore on arrival to Aunt Lil's house. Or Holly's boob-flattening top she wore on the boat. Sue Ellen's ball dress was bad.

Bobby Award: Frank Crutcher.

April Award: Aunt Lil for complaining about her wayward son but not having the gumption to DO something about it, like be a parent. I'd give a special mention to whichever writer came up with the Frank Crutcher character.


- I have only one nit for today. Why is CLAYTON at the Oil Baron's Ball? Certainly he's an Oil Baron and he deserves to go, but if he was going, why wouldn't he have mentioned this to Sue Ellen? She's discussed going to the ball ad nauseum. You'd think they'd have talked about it.

AHN Alett's corner:

- Linda seemed to be a pretty decent sort until that bit about naming their first little girl "Sue Ellen".  Is this a little passive-aggressive of her or just plain dumb?  No woman in her right mind would name her child after the husband's old girlfriend. I'd say she's just dumb.

- I guess Donna is fidgeting because she's concerned about Ray, but it looks weird that she's only wearing one glove at the funeral and playing with the other one.

- Since we're told Jock loved going to the ball, it's odd we've never seen one before especially since this is the 30th one. 

- It sounds like Holly's date is from an escort service or something.  He doesn't even rank high enough for her to introduce him using his full name. He's just "Jordan". Do YOU want to know more about him? Actually, I think we see him again.

AHN Val's corner:

- Mickey has the yellowest teeth I've seen since that whitening toothpaste commercial where a woman at a party takes a liking to a guy across the room. Until he smiles.......

AHN Jason's corner:

- Empty purse meter-  Sue Ellen, Pam and Ellie at the ball.  Ellie and Mavis at Southfork, Sue Ellen at Southern Cross

- Margaret Krebbs died in 1961 and then sent 15 year old Ray to Jock at  SF.   Didn't Ray get a piece of land in 1978 for 20 years of service to SF?  Maybe I have the amount of years he worked there wrong. No, I think you're right.

AHN Mike's corner:

- I don't own The Cowboy's Dress Code Guide, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't call for a WHITE cowboy hat at funerals like Ray wore. Maybe he only brought his white one...but he knew he was going to a funeral, so he could have prepared. Good call.

- Ray mows Lil's lawn with a hand mower? Wake up Ray, you're a friggin' multimillionaire. Buy Aunt Lil a power mower and maybe Mickey would use it occasionally and we wouldn't have to look at you (again) with your shirt off. I hear you, but remember that Aunt Lil has no clue that Ray is Jock's son. That would upset the delicate balance of Emporia.

- And why did Ray miss the OBB? Shopuldn't he have been there for the Jock scholarship as one of Jock's (albeit half-breed) sons? I guess it wasn't so important to him. Usually the OBB, like barbecues, is for showing us the way relationships are changing. This had nothing to do with that.


Episode 108: Jock's Will

Bonehead Dialogue Award: [courtesy of me]

> Pam: "What would Jock have to hide from his family?"
Yikes! Where do I begin?

[courtesy of everyone else]

> Mickey: "Better than doing time..."
> Donna-: "You mean in jail?"

Pam Award: Pam in her lil' black dress.

Angelica Award: Donna's goonish bandanna when arriving home from Kansas. Lucy and Sue Ellen's outfits got mentions.

Bobby Award: Frank Crutcher. This is gonna be easy while he's around.

April Award: None.


- Harve's glasses have earpieces today, which is odd. Ordinarily he just pulls them off his nose.

- Sue Ellen got rid of that stupid horse statue by the door and replaced it with a lamp! Good!

- I'll defer to the car buffs on this one because I can't tell exactly what Ray is driving when he goes to the gas station, but my hunch would be that it's quite a guzzler. If Ray wants to fill it up, shouldn't it take a lot longer than the few moments Mickey has the pump in it? It takes me longer than that to pump fifteen dollars into my minivan.

- There's some non-Theresa maid serving drinks at Southfork. Who is she?

- When JR and Sue Ellen are talking about his foreknowledge of what's in Jock's will, she tells him "I know what I'm talking about." I think this is a first! Usually Sue Ellen doesn't know what ANYONE is talking about.

- Two things confused me about Jock's will. First, Harve says that a trust will provide for all the grandchildren [other than Lucy] when they reach the age of 21. It will be divided amongst them depending on how many there are at the time. What time would that be? If there are any other Ewing grandkids, they will all become 21 at different times. So which time? When John Ross, the eldest, becomes 21? Or perhaps the youngest? How long will they wait? This doesn't make sense. Even when John Ross reaches the age of 21, it is possible [though unlikely] that more grandchildren will be born. Any one of the Ewing sons could marry a younger woman and make that happen.

- And second, why didn't Jock allow for Amanda, his first wife, in any of the trusts? Remember when he told JR that he wanted to set it up, in the second season? So why didn't he? And if he did, why not mention her?

AHN NIS submitted: Jock's will stated that nobody but a Ewing shall own Ewing Oil. I wonder if it was legal when Bobby sold the company to Lee Ann de la Vega. I don't think Jock meant this in 'legal' terms - I think he meant that no member of the family should ever sell their share to a non-Ewing. Bear in mind that the Ewing Oil we know ceases to exist in 1987, and then Bobby revives it as a new entity which happens to have the same name. So even if there was a legal issue, Bobby could just say that it was a different company, not the one talked about in Jock's will.

AHN Jason's corner:

- Lucy dials five or six digits to call Blair.

- I was surprised to see Sue Ellen and John Ross at her place.  I thought that they moved to Southfork and then Sue Ellen went to see Clayton. Did TNN cut out some scenes where she decided to move back to her condo? I think so. She moves back until the wedding.

- Empty Purse: Sue Ellen at SF

- Not even a mention of Val or Abby at the airport when Gary arrives. I think I read somewhere that Donna Mills was originally supposed to guest star on this episode but something happened last minute that prevented her from coming.  I remember hearing that on an episode of Knots, they show a scene where JR and Bobby meet with her after the will reading, supposedly in Dallas.  JR and her have some plan going where she was to marry Gary for
his money and this "deferred" interest thing in the will somehow affects it.

- Notice that the second cowboy mysteriously appears up the walkway as Ray and Mickey arrive at the bunkhouse.  Only one cowboy was seen coming out of the house.

AHN Alett's corner:

- Harve seems to save the pince-nez for when he wants to look lawyerly, like in court.  Otherwise he's in those "adoption lady" style brown frames.

- There probably aren't many flights out to Dallas.  Amazingly Aunt Lil has the flight schedule memorized!

- I'm surprised that the issue of declaring Jock dead never deals with the obvious issue of what's happened in the cases of the pilot and others in the helicopter.  Have their families had them declared dead yet?  I would think that would play a key role in the judge's decision. Another very excellent point! Hadn't thought of that at all.

AHN Sara's corner:

- JR and Sue Ellen must have stayed out really late because when they get back to Sue Ellen's place you can see that it's daylight through her window. I thought so too but figured it might just be some weird lighting.

- Ray's not sure if he can get a plane back in time for Jock's will reading. He should ask Bobby for some help, because he can get a plane to anywhere at anytime.

- Jock is declared legally dead "in places unknown, in the jungles of South America."  I think they could have been a little more specific than that. They at least knew what country the plane crashed in if nothing else.

AHN Mike's corner:

- Hypocrite award: Pam preaching to Lucy about depression, etc. Lucy by the way is an absolute blimp in this episode. She looks like she's about to explode and that red clown outfit she's wearing in the living room accentuates her blimpness. I guess she was pregnant during these episodes. Actually, I think she's had the baby and is trying to lose the weight. In most of her kidnapped episodes, and scenes with Muriel, she's only seen from the boobs up.

- And why were JR and Sue Ellen dancing so close to the trumpet player? He was practically playing into JR's ear.

- Punk wears a regular suit and tie to dinner!

- Once again the mail arrives at SF before breakfast. Those Ewings must have some pull in Braddock County to get the post office to be that efficient.

- Just to make sure Sue Ellen has no second thoughts about Dusty, JR is now wearing Dusty's scarves. 

- Harve is wearing a humongous pinky ring and trots out the full glasses for the will reading. But how come Harve is not being seconded in court by his son-in-law? It would have been a nice touch to have JR's co-conspirator there for the hearing to get the will read. I suppose you're right. I guess it's so they don't have to pay him, but this was the season when the producers opened up the vault, so that doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

- On the trust fund for the grandchildren, the amount of the trust was noticeably not mentioned. No, because the producers have no idea what to say about it. I'm frankly amazed they mentioned it at all because the whole idea was handled so poorly.

AHN Val's corner:

- During their drive through Emporia, Ray told Donna that they controlled the train signals from "that house". What house? They didn't pass any houses between the tracks and the gas station. I wasn't too sure about this either. I think someone was hallucinating.

- When they returned to Sue Ellen's house from their date, JR hung his hat on the horse statue by the door. I thought that was a funny way of hiding the ugly.

- After she answered the phone, Aunt Lil told "Ray" that the call was for him. Until now, she had been referring to him as "Raymond". It's possible that Ellie asked for "Ray". That's a great one! Can't believe I missed it.

- Ray has curtains on his garage door windows. What's the point? Donna must be REALLY bored.

AHN Pam's corner:

- The whole idea of Ray going to talk to Mickey must have given Donna the creeps since she felt the need to change her clothes. When he left, she was wearing tan pants, a blouse with cranberry stripes and a high collar with a small ruffle and her hair was pulled up.  When Ray returned she was wearing tan pants, but a shade darker, a blouse with teal stripes with a teal polo underneath for the very popular 80's layered look, and her hair was down.

- Does J.R. have a stash of clothes at Sue Ellen's place?  They arrived together at Southfork the morning after their 'date' and J.R. was wearing a sport coat, a scarf from the Dusty Collection and a hat.  When he picked Sue Ellen up the night before, he had on a tux.  After the whole wedding invitation thing, I assume he got lucky and spent the night.  So where did he get the clothes?

- Mrs. Chambers is completely incompetent.  She told J.R. she was having trouble getting John Ross in to his chair for dinner.  I realize she is the hired help and not his mother, but let me ask this, who is the adult and who is the child?  If neither of his parents were around and it was meal time and John Ross was being 'difficult' what would she do, let him starve? John Ross didn't seem 'difficult' I would think he'd be screaming bloody murder if he wanted to play rather than eat.  He also should be jumping all over J.R. when he walked in and not wanting to eat because he's too busy screaming "Daddy's here!  Daddy's here!" Quite right all around. She must subscribe to the Aunt Lil method of parenting: shrugging your shoulders.

- Someone mentioned once that sliding doors don't have locks that can be opened from the outside.  This is true, I have one and I can't unlock it from the outside.  So do Donna and Ray have some special sliding door?  She asked Ray for the keys and he handed them to her and she opened the sliding door. Which also brings up the point as to why Donna didn't have a set in her empty purse, she had plenty of room for them. They must have done something special on this particular door.

- Empty purse meter:  Sue Ellen when coming home from her date with J.R., Sue Ellen at Southfork, Donna when arriving home from Kansas, Gary had an empty suitcase at the airport, Ray took his and Donna's empty luggage out of the trunk when they arrived home.  Mickey's duffle bag actually looked full!

- During the opening scene, it looked like Bobby almost slipped and then caught himself on the way upstairs to get Ellie.

- Lucy was so depressed that she was sitting around watching game shows in her nightie, but not too depressed enough to skip fluffing her hair and dipping heavily in to the cosmetics.

- Ellie greeted Sue Ellen and J.R. with a hearty "Good morning" and asked if they'd had breakfast. She should have noticed that they must have 'slept' in very late and should have wished them 'good afternoon' and asked them if they'd had lunch.  The sun was directly overhead indicating that it was at least noon or later.

- Shouldn't Punk have been referred to in the codicil as Marvin Anderson, his legal name, not Punk Anderson? This is a handwritten document, but Jock referred to himself as John Ross Ewing Senior, his legal name so I should think he would do the same with Punk.


Episode 109: Aftermath

Bonehead Dialogue Award: [courtesy of Jason]

> JR: "I have a battle ahead of me."
> Sue Ellen: "Against Bobby?"

Pam Award: Sue Ellen on her walk with Clayton, or Holly.

Angelica Award: Rebecca's frumpy "as big as a" housedress.

Bobby Award: Rebecca again.

April Award: Rebecca for giving Cliff another chance even though no one else, including Cliff, wants him to get back at JR anymore.


- Punk says that he was with Jock when he made the decision about the contest for Ewing Oil and added the codicil to his will. But a few days ago Harve said he did that before he left for South America. Punk and Harve should talk.

- Pam's blue dress at the beginning of this episode is recycled from a few days ago. And speaking of recycled, I don't think Afton has taken off that blue blouse since Cliff came home.

- Christopher is definitely not played by Eric Farlow today. I don't seem to recall the producers playing musical babies at this point, but I guess I'm wrong.

- And while we're at it, that non-Theresa maid makes another appearance today.

- I have a question to ask the guys out there. When Pam asked Christopher whether he wanted to take a bath with her, did anyone else raise his hand or blurt out "yes"? Just curious.

- When Pam tells Bobby about the upcoming adoption hearing, he grabs her and they fall onto their bed - which looks like two boxsprings without a mattress. That's not going to be very comfortable.

From Moran: When Pam and Miss Ellie are talking, Teresa informs Pam that she has a phone call. She calls her "Pamela", which seems very informal.

AHN NIS submitted: When Pam goes to see Bobby at Ewing Oil, it's daytime outside. Inside they said they were going to dinner and it was dark outside the window. Yes it was.

AHN Jason's corner:

- Lucy should be ticked that her dad didn't spend time with her in the last episode.  It is the last time they are ever seen together on Dallas. Yes, I believe that's right. But of course it would be too much to ask of her to go to California, wouldn't it?

- Empty purse meter  (hold on tight...)      Pam at SF, Rebecca at Cliff's, Sue Ellen with Clayton, Lucy at Blair's, Pam at Rebecca's, Afton with Cliff at his place, Afton with Cliff eating ice cream, Pam at Southfork again, Pam at Ewing Oil, Afton at Cliff's again, Sue Ellen at dinner with JR.

- Is that the same Wade Luce?  He looks kinda different. I think he shaved the mustache.

- Loved it when Rebecca said, "When my son needed me, I wasn't there for him."  Gee, what else is new? Yeah, I missed that.

AHN Val's corner:

- Punk wore a regular necktie today, instead of a bolo tie.

- WILL DIVIDES EWING OIL made the front page of the Dallas Press. The most likely place for this story would be on the front page of the BUSINESS section.

- Rebecca was buying "the entire assets, goodwill, and name" of Wade Luce Oil Company. What on earth would she want with the name? I'm not positive. It might have to do with the company's status in the cartel.
JREwing354 adds:  What Rebecca said is redundant because goodwill includes the name.  For example, let's say she bought the company for two million dollars when it was only worth 1.5 million dollars.  The extra half a million is considered a payment of goodwill.  Rebecca paid this because she received an established business, customer base, loyalty, product lines, location, and name, all of which could be very valuable.  

- Something bothers me about the layout of Cliff's kitchen. The range and refrigerator are right next to each other. While I'm not an architect, I would think that such placement would cause those appliances' respective functions to counteract each other. For instance, if Cliff had the stove and oven running full boar (it could happen), wouldn't the heat generated require the adjoining refrigerator to work twice as hard to keep the food inside cold? I would think so.  I've never really thought about it. We had this kind of setup in our last house and my mom didn't seem to mind. No idea.

- Cliff had the brown and browner placemats today.

AHN Sara's corner:

- When JR walked into his office for the first time since being fired his computer was on.

- Pam should watch what she says around Miss Ellie.  Today she mentioned that Bobby was meeting with some Canadian oil people at Fairview hotel.  How does she know that Miss Ellie won't accidentally tell this to JR? This is a great point from an objective standpoint, but as you know, Pam doesn't give a damn about the whole contest.

- The ice cream lady appeared to have forgotten to put her clothes on, instead going out in public and selling ice cream to children and Afton wearing lingerie. It seemed that way...sort of. I think in fairness it was really a thin lacy blouse and too-short shorts. Street walker stuff.

- The ice cream lady also got Afton's cones in record time. I can imagine chocolate not being tough, but I don't think pistachio is near the front of the freezer.

AHN Mike's corner:

- Once again Punk opts for a normal tie and sportcoat but is wearing some sort of metal tips on his collar tabs. Have you noticed that Punk has completely lost that hard, even nasty, edge he had in the prior two seasons? Now he's Saint Punk. Must be Mavis's influence.

- JR returned to a completely redesigned and refurbished office.

- If the reading of the Ewing will was front page news in Dallas, how come no reporter covered the trial either inside or outside the courtroom? The divorce certainly got its share of manic media types scurrying around. Excellent call. They may all have been kept outside.

- Only a loser like Cliff would like pistachio ice cream. Did you notice that Afton had a napkin around her cone and handed Cliff the one without a napkin? In the final exchange of dialogue, you can see the melting ice cream actually had dripped down the cone and into Cliff's hand. And, of course, in true Dallas tradition neither of them touched their cones. I didn't notice the dripping. I wonder how many takes they did of this.

AHN Pam's corner:

- There was one empty purse missed.  Ellie also carried one while she was walking with Punk.  Pam was also carrying an empty bag when she arrived at Southfork.

- Ellie's 'stationary' bike seems to move all over the place.  Yesterday she was riding it near the breakfast table.  Today she was riding it near the driveway.  So much for the bike being 'stationary'. I'd like to see Raoul carrying it around - just once.

- Sue Ellen must be moving her things in to Southfork.  Ellie snagged her plain beige placemats for the breakfast table outside.  Also, when Ellie remodeled the house she bought new outdoor china.  It used to be plain white.  But today when Bobby lifted his coffee cup at the breakfast table, there was a peach flower with green foliage on the cup.

- Bobby played a Ewing grandchild today when he left nearly a full plate of food at the breakfast table.  I think it would be great to see Raoul and Theresa clear the table after a meal and watch them start chowing the leftovers. No question they do. That's why Raoul's so fat.

- Pam brought Bobby that really cool mock J.R. punching bag and he asked Phyllis to put it in his office.  I think she took it home because I don't believe we ever see it again. I don't believe so either. Probably JR had it removed.


Episode 110: Hit and Run

Bonehead Dialogue Award: [courtesy of Jason]

> JR: "I have a battle ahead of me."
> Sue Ellen: "Against Bobby?"

Pam Award: Pam at home with Bobby. Carol Driscoll looks pretty good too.

Angelica Award: Lucy's Hamburglar outfit during her modeling session. Pam's clown outfit when talking to and meeting Rebecca. Sly's blue dress was rather unflattering.

Bobby Award: Even Frank Crutcher can't outdo that dude who takes Carol's money after the accident.

April Award: Carol Driscoll for trying to pay her way out of an accident.


- Bobby is really being nice about the split of Ewing oil fields. He allows JR to take fields 1 through 17, and he takes 18 through 34. Doesn't he remember that Ewing 23 partially burned up? Or are the other fields more valuable, and this makes up for the deficiency? Or is there a new Ewing 23? This is never addressed.

- I love John Larroquette. I think he's a fantastic actor and Dan Fielding from Night Court was one of my favorite characters ever on television. But there is a nit as to his presence on the show. Why isn't Harve or one of his associates representing Lucy in her divorce? If there was just a need to get Larroquette on the show, they could have had him be one of Harve's employees, couldn't they? Just seems kind of odd.

- Here's something I found weird. When speaking to Sue Ellen and Miss Ellie, Pam refers to Rebecca...as Rebecca. Why? Shouldn't she call her 'mama' or 'mom'? I never refer to my mother by her first name. Strange family, that Barnes clan: they refer to Digger as 'Digger' too. Bizarre.

- ANDY BRADLEY
SPEAKS! We'll start chalking this one up on the tote board.

- Why is there that wild music playing during Lucy's modeling session? Is it supposed to be mood music? How come we've never heard it in any of Lucy's other shoots?

- And speaking of the shoot, why in the world would Dan Fielding...I mean, Mr. Colton call Lucy there? Why would he not have called Southfork and left a message? Where did he get the studio's number?

- This one is pretty egregious. Bobby Ewing, co-president pro tem of Ewing Oil, the largest independent oil company in Texas, needs to hear about Wentworth Industries' acquisition of Luce Oil from his SECRETARY after she reads the evening paper? This is the kind of thing he should know at 9:06 AM the day after the sale is completed. It's his business. 

- Rebecca claims that she was seventeen when she left Digger and the kids. Jason will have more to say about this, but let me just point out this one thing. If she's telling the truth [and there's no guarantee of that] then she is, roughly speaking, sixteen years older than Pamela. It's been established that Pamela was born in 1953 so is twenty-nine. So Becky is forty-five? Right. Tell me another one.

- Carol's driving accident is way too over-the-top. Yes, she's jerking that car around rather quickly, but by the way the camera was moving it seemed to be like she was doing sixty [that's thirty-five for you folks in the States] in the PARKING LOT. And unless that "drunk" guy's skin is made of some sort of brick, there's no way that such an accident could cause Carol's windshield to shatter into a billion pieces the way it did.

- When Bobby arrives at the restaurant to meet with the McLeish boys, he sits down and suddenly Thornton moves his chair closer to his brother's. This was to get a better camera angle but it looks really weird. 

- If the Driscolls have a maid, why did Walt have to answer the phone when JR called? [Good help must be so hard to find in Dallas.]

Julia Cinemar submitted: The big day has arrived: Donna's book has been published! I love it how she referred to the book as "600 pages of blood, sweat and tears" and yet the finished product is about 400 pages short. Not only that, but while Dave was paging through it, it looked like 40% of the work was pictures. You'd think that after all that blood, sweat and tears, Donna would be ticked off that her book is the size of a Nancy Drew novel.

AHN NIS submitted: Walt Driscoll doesn't notice the windshield on his wife's car is cracked in a big way? Maybe he didn't park next to her. Good point! Harry did say that she tries to get home early before he gets there, but this would have been difficult to hide. Maybe for a day or two, but eventually Walt would notice, right?

AHN Dave submitted: Why is Ellie on the side of the dinner table instead of across from that guy? (What's his name?) Frank Crutcher? I really dislike this guy. This is a good question - he doesn't look like the kind of guy I'd want to get too close to. With him as an alternative, Clayton Farlow's looking mighty good.

AHN Jason's corner:

- I found it humorous that Afton said Marilee was so nice about letting Cliff leave her job.... Like he did anything for her anyway.  She was probably glad to get rid of him.

- Why did Harve give Punk the letter to read after the "final" audit when that is a year away?  In terms of the show, this will mean that the viewers would have had to wait a calendar year to find out about that letter. Rather long for them to hold on about a little detail like that. But at least that letter isn't thrust on us out of nowhere. I'd say this is a neat little nuance.

- Pam's phone call to Rebecca sounded fake.  She seems to dial 5 or so digits then after a ring starts to talk without hearing a "hello". I'll look at this again. I was too busy paying attention to Pam's clown outfit.

- Empty purse meter-  Sue Ellen at SF and the restaurant, Pam and Rebecca at her house, Lucy at her lawyer's, Carol at the salon (although she must have had keys and cash in it although we don't see it.)

- I have to wonder even if Mitch was the type of guy to want Lucy's money, would he get part of her inheritance months after they have split? I am not sure inheritances are community property. Technically he could have a claim. Terri Thomas tells me that when a couple is married or even common-law, unless there are special provisions made or specific contracts drawn up, all property is considered to belong to "them". A divorce ends this "themness" so that neither has any claims over the other's property. Mitch would have to make a pretty good case that some of the money belongs to him but he could take Lucy to court over it.

- Rebecca claims to have been 17 when she left Digger and the kids. I am not saying it is impossible but from what I have seen, she sure didn't look that young in the flashback in #52.  Also, this means that she had 4 kids by that age, since Pam was born before she left Digger.  I also find it hard to swallow that she couldn't read or write but was able to teach herself these skills (according to Clayton) and then put herself through secretary school and then work her way into becoming Herbert Wentworth's secretary. Not bad for a 17 year illiterate bigamist.

AHN Val's corner:

- Rebecca told Pam that she plans to fence the pool for when Christopher comes to visit. Good idea. EXCELLENT idea. Too bad said fence never materializes. Oh wait...I know why...BIDLC!!!!!

- Mrs. Driscoll goes the the hair dresser EVERY OTHER DAY!?!?! So she's dumb, shallow, AND has too much time on her hands! Most women I know (myself included) are lucky to get to the hair dresser once a month! 

- The decor of the Cattleman's Club (specifically where Sue Ellen and JR were seated) looked exactly like the apartment kitchen on "Three's Company". The orange-yellow plaid wallpaper and wood ice cream parlor chairs were a dead giveaway.

- JR asked Harry if he'd gotten Mrs. Driscoll's license plate number. I'd think he'd already have it, considering how much he's been digging into her personal affairs. He was just being morbidly funny, I think.

- The exterior, nighttime shot of the Krebbs' house shows Donna's OLD car (a Lincoln Continental, similar to Jocks). She has since gotten a new car--a Lincoln Town Car.

AHN Mike's corner:

- The Steve Kanaly school of acting was prominent in the craps scene with Mickey and the boys, Kanaly gritted and spoke through clenched teeth the entire scene.

- Laughable dialogue: Walt Driscoll to Harry McSween on the hit and run accident - "Sergeant, we're awfully sorry.". Yeah, that's the ticket. A sincere apology will get you off the hook for this one.

AHN Pam's corner:

> Empty purse meter:  Pam and Rebecca during their meeting, Sue Ellen at Southfork, Afton and Rebecca at Cliff's office, Marilee and Sue Ellen at the Cattleman's and Lucy at her lawyer's office.

- Speaking of Lucy's photo session, the photographer, Annie I believe, said it was their first session together.  So WHY was the CLIENT sitting there??  Lucy and Annie should have spent some time together BEFORE bringing in a client.  Also, if I were trying to sell 'Texas Cola' I wouldn't dress Lucy up like a matador ready for a bull fight.  I'd probably dress her in some type of cowboy outfit from the Ray Collection. That would have been at the client's insistence, for sure. Why they're there is a good question. Obviously it's so Lucy can meet Bill Johnson, but there's no other good reason.

- Mrs. Driscoll goes to the hairdresser for a two hour appointment twice a week??  I don't know ANYONE who does this.  I don't even think Sue Ellen or Pam does this.  She's also really getting ripped off!  Her hair was definitely nothing special that she couldn't do with a curling iron like most women did back then. Also, her salon didn't seem like it was in the best part of town.  I should think that if she were going to a salon twice a week, she'd be there with some pretty wealthy women who would not patronize a shop in that neighborhood. These last few are great points. Maybe she's from the wrong side of the tracks too, and just keeps going to the old salon.

- Walt should have suspected something was up between J.R. and McSween.  When McSween first arrived, they acted as if they barely knew each other, acquaintances.  J.R. called him McSween and McSween called J.R. Mr. Ewing.  Later, J.R. called McSween Harry.  This should have tipped off Walt to their plot, because it all seemed very phony from the first second.  I guess Walt was just too concerned over his blonde ditz to notice. I also noticed that but I was making notes so I figured I might have missed something.


Episode 111: The Ewing Touch

Bonehead Dialogue Award: [courtesy of Alett]

Jordan Lee [on phone to Cliff] : "Can you make it over to the Cattlemen's about now?" 
(Well, not unless Cliff can fax himself over there.)

Pam Award: Pam's lil' black dress again.

Angelica Award: Lucy's pregnant six-year-old outfit. Unanimous decision.

Bobby Award: Frank Crutcher.

April Award: None.


- Let's see. Ellie's at the custody hearing. Rebecca is at the custody hearing...why isn't Cliff at the custody hearing? Instead, he's busy trying to cut oil deals. Serves him right. Then again, did Pam even invite him?

- Ray doesn't close the back on his pickup truck when he goes riding with Mickey. I guess he knows every bump on the road at Southfork and realizes that there's no darn way any of his stuff is going to fall out the back of the pickup. Yikes.

- During the poolside celebration at Southfork, who is that non-Hispanic maid holding Christopher while the family celebrates? Was Theresa in the bathroom or something?

- Let's take a look at Ray's day. He goes to the DOA meeting with Donna, presumably for lunch. Then he comes back to his house and changes. He goes out to the bunkhouses and finds that Mickey is not around. He heads over to the ranch house to celebrate the adoption with the family. Then that evening he finds Mickey at the bar. So he waited all day to head out and find his cousin? 

- Pam's lil' black dress shows up again [thanks, wardrobe guys!], but it's recycled. At the dinner with Punk, Mavis, and Frank, both Pam and Sue Ellen's dresses are recycled as well.

- And of course, ANDY BRADLEY SPEAKS.

AHN NIS submitted: Why didn't they just tell Bobby that his parts order was canceled over the phone? But then we couldn't see Bobby rough up somebody. Yeah, we needed a scene like that! I love it when he tells someone he's going to 'tear them apart'. It's really corny.

AHN Mike's corner:

- Have you ever noticed that nasty scar on Ken Kercheval's nose? It comes up pretty clear on a big screen. I'm surprised he never got that fixed.

- That looks like a fake big screen TV on JR's office wall - a panel pasted to the wall that LOOKS like a TV. I actually thought it was a projection screen.

- Another great example of how totally self centered Sue Ellen is she asks Clayton to move to Dallas to be there for her. Then she shows how totally clueless she is by asking him to give away the woman he loves to the man he hates at her wedding to JR. Two more royal smackdowns from the queen of smacking Clayton down. I can understand asking to be given away - Sue Ellen is that dumb and inconsiderate. But I cannot fathom why the heck she wants him to move to Dallas. I guess she doesn't realize that the Southern Cross might actually MEAN something to him.

- Couldn't help but think of Ray and Lucy when the camera panned to the top of the barn and it said "Stud Barn". You and everyone else.

- Today was the first time I've ever heard Ray say Y'all".

- Apparently Braddock is full of bar floozies. Even Mickey is picking them up two at a time, beating Uncle Ray's time. Worse yet, the floozies mistake Ray for Mickey's "daddy", showing Ray he is past his bar floozy prime. Where's Bonnie to set these whippersnappers straight?

- Punk gets into the Dusty scarf collection today and has a long horn tie clip on it. He looked like his clothes were two sizes too small for him.

- Since when does Donna have to speak for Miss Ellie? Since Miss Ellie decided that this is a wimpy scene for her. She stood up to Rebecca, and I think that's her tough scene for the week.

AHN Jason's corner:

- Eric Farlow is back as Christopher.  And he has a full head of big blonde curls.

- Rebecca and Ellie sit really close to each other at the adoption hearing.  I was kinda surprised. Again, this is very "Dynasty". When it comes to family matters, everybody clings to each other on that show. I didn't much care for it.

- Is that a new courthouse in Braddock? It's a new sign, that's for sure.

- The Reunion tower where Pam and Cliff have lunch looks like the same restaurant where Pam and Cliff had lunch in #8 when Bobby was shopping with Jenna #1. I believe you're quite right.

- Empty purse meter-  Pam at SF, Pam at lunch with Cliff, Rebecca at lunch, Donna at the lawn party, Sue Ellen with Clayton (questionable), Ellie has no purse at lunch with Rebecca, Pam and Bobby.

- When Ellie asked the whole family to be present at dinner for Frank, Ray and Donna were present yet they did not wind up going to dinner.  I find this rather strange, considering how much Donna seems to hang out with Ellie. (Maybe there wasn't any coffee for them to mooch.)   Also Lucy did not show up for dinner either. Well, in fairness, Lucy wasn't around when the big dinner was announced. And I guess Ray and Donna just sort of excused themselves.

- I wasn't sure but it looked like Afton didn't have any food in her bowl at her place setting at Cliff's, yet she appears to make motions to eat.

- Watch Donna and Ellie's car scene.  As you face Donna, the hair on her left shoulder moves back and forth during the different camera angles.

AHN Alett's corner:

- In disgust, Pam throws the money Cliff left off the table.  WHY?  All this achieves is that the poor waiter will probably lose his tip.

- That Frank has sharp eyes if he's able to spot antique silver all the way from the living room. Very bizarre. Or else he assumes that any silver in Southfork must be antique.

AHN Val's corner:

- When they left their celebratory lunch, Miss Ellie told Bobby that she would be taking a taxi home. How? She didn't have a purse for cab fare, and I don't think her dress had pockets. Maybe she'll just tell the cabbie that's she's Ellie Ewing. And if he says "Who?" then he will suffer the fate of Kent Jackson.

- When Rebecca got into her car to leave the restaurant, Miss Ellie just stood behind the car, dazed as Rebecca started the engine. She should move or Becky's gonna back right over her. Good call. Totally missed that. Or maybe she's sending a message daring Rebecca to try it.

- Cliff still has the brown placemats. (Please, Cliff, let the Krebbses have a turn with them!)

AHN Pam's corner:

- I read your nit about the fact that Bobby got Ewing 23, I thought about that too.  But I didn't remember about the fire part of it.  What struck me about the fact that Bobby got Ewing 23 is that under the terms of the document that Cliff found after Digger's death, Ewing Oil is required to pay Cliff half of all the profits made from that well.  Unless things changed somewhere, which I don't believe they did, Bobby would still be obligated to pay Cliff a share.  So you're absolutely right, Bobby is being VERY nice about the division of at least the wells.  Also, it was mentioned that all of the wells produce differently. So I find it a little hard to believe that J.R.'s control over wells 1-17 would be at the EXACT same production level as Bobby controlling wells 18-34. Maybe it would somehow all balance out in the end, I don't know.  Also, here's one other point.  When Bobby resigned as president a couple of seasons ago, he, Jock and J.R. all signed a contract in which Bobby asked for certain things.  I believe total control over Ewing 23 was one of them but the big thing I remember is that he got a 12 1/2% cut of whatever business the refinery did.  I would assume that the terms of that contract would still be in effect.  I would assume that he would make money off of refinery business done by both he and J.R..  Does the will somehow supersede the contracts signed a couple of years ago?  I wouldn't think so.  Any thoughts on any of this? I think the producers really hoped we would forget about all this. 

- It was another hot day in Texas while taping.  Ray had a big sweat stain under his arm when he lifted it up while sitting on his horse.

- Bobby waited until what seemed after work or at least late afternoon to let the family know he had rented a room for a special dinner??  Isn't this something he should've told Ellie earlier in the day so that Teresa wouldn't prepare (snicker) a meal?? Unless he was considerate enough to tell her himself the servants won't be subjected to leftovers but rather the whole meal tonight.

- After Bobby took off in the helicopter and the phone rang, Pam practically ran to answer it.  I guess she just knows that Teresa and Raoul are either slacking off somewhere or have their heads buried in the refrigerator. Or in each other.


Episode 112: Fringe Benefits

Bonehead Dialogue Award: [courtesy of Jason]

> Sly:  JR, are you there?
Of course he is... he just answered you a minute ago.

Pam Award: Pam and Bobby's swimwear.

Angelica Award: Afton's blinding gold blouse. Sue Ellen's checked blouse while eating with JR.

Bobby Award: Frank Crutcher continues his streak.

April Award: JR for using Sue Ellen to entice Gil, and Bobby for telling Macklin about the Canadian deal.


- When Punk comes to Bobby's office, what the hell is he wearing? Look at the jeans. They have white stitching down the outer leg and around the pocket. This is something a teenager, albeit a nerdy one, would wear - not a corporate executive!

- On a personal note, I found one line very interesting. Miss Ellie says to JR, when they're discussing Frank Crutcher, "there's no need for me to live like a hermit."
This is quite interesting. First of all, Miss Ellie IS a hermit! She rarely if ever leaves the ranch - maybe to go and have lunch with someone, but that's about all. The only other times we see her she's lounging around Southfork or riding her bike or something like that. Face it, Ellie - crabs have nothing on you.
But the other reason is that Barbara Bel Geddes, in real life, truly is a hermit. She moved to Nepal or some place like that and is living in seclusion in the Himalayas. Must have been difficult to get this line out.

- There's another non-Theresa maid shown wandering around Southfork today.

- I found it rather ridiculous that Punk Anderson would talk to Bobby about his concerns over what JR is doing. If he wants answers, why not ask JR? Why the end run? That doesn't seem like Punk's style of operation, and it sure as hell wasn't Jock's way of doing bidness.

- When JR arrives at Sue Ellen's place, he puts his hat on the horse statue again.

- In this episode, Afton mentions going back to "her place" after sleeping with Gil. So she still has a place? Hard to believe since we ALWAYS see her at Cliff's apartment.

- At the end of this episode, there are some brutal continuity problems. First, we see JR with his head leaning back on his chair, glaring at Cliff. Suddenly there's a cut and he's sitting upright and laughing mockingly. Then we cut back and his head is tilted again and he's all serious. JR is not given to mood swings, so the cameraman deserves a raspberry for this.

AHN Dave submitted: Why in the world is JR trying to prostitute Sue Ellen? Why not go to an old faithful like Serena? An outstanding point, which everyone picked up on. I'll have more to say in the "I think" this week, and I'm bringing back the Poll of the Week for this one.

AHN Jason's corner:

- Empty purse meter-  Afton at Cliff's  (2X), Pam at Rebecca's.  Sue Ellen and Pam at the wedding dress shop.

- Here's an interesting nit that only Knots Landing viewers would know.  JR claims to have never been involved with off-shore drilling on the west coast before.  This is Nov/Dec 1982.  Yet in the second episode of Knots (aired Jan 1980), JR guest stars and Gary, Val, Karen and the gang try to (and are successful at) preventing him from drilling off of their beach. JR doesn't in fact drill off of Knots Landing but he clearly made references to the process in that episode and had done it before. Thanks for the tidbit. That's kind of interesting. I wonder whether he's just playing coy with Macklin.

- Horrible cabbageing on Punk's part about the will and contest. Even Bobby said so.

- I have to wonder, if Gil is so wealthy, why doesn't he just buy some "friendship".  He clearly has no problem about making it clear that he wants sex, not love. No clue. This whole thing is very strained.

AHN Val's corner:

- JR wanted Sue Ellen to treat Gil Thurman like royalty. So he suggests serving COCKTAIL WEENIES for appetizers?!?!? I'm sure JR's never set foot on the cocktail weenie aisle of the grocery store.

- When seeking JR's opinion on attire for the "big dinner", the second dress Sue Ellen held up was the one she wore to dinner in yesterday's episode.

- Sue Ellen came out of her funk awfully quickly after the Gil Thurman fiasco. She and JR got romantic almost immediately! JR set up that awful scenario, and Sue Ellen was plenty mad at him for it. She had every right to be. I'm not surprised that she forgave him so quickly. But I am bothered at the extent to which she forgave him. Sue Ellen managed to put the incident behind her so fast and that she was quite willing to get romantic with JR. In fact, they probably spent that night together, too. I'm sure most women would agree with me that we wouldn't be forgiving our signifigant others that much that quickly. In fact, I'd that in most households, someone would be sleeping on the couch for awhile! This whole episode seemed kind of surreal. It's like we took a detour for an hour or something. I felt really disoriented.

AHN Mike's corner:

- "Two wrongs don't make a right and two but's don't sound right" department: Cliff says to the cartel members "Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to kick JR's butt, but...". Didn't the scriptwriters ever read these lines aloud to see how they sounded? I guess not.

- Bobby's taking his co-presidential role seriously from a sartorial standpoint ended quickly. He's now wearing boots, jeans and a loosened tie again in the office.

- What is that huge white fabric hanging on Cliff's office wall behind Gil Thurman? Looks like a tattered blanket.

- Bobby is worried about moving off SF and "leaving Momma to JR's tender mercies"? I don't understand what he's talking about. JR isn't going to do anything to his mother, except maybe coerce her out her voting shares. But why should Bobby care, since his reason for leaving would be to extricate himself from Ewing Oil? I think he means that his mother would really be isolated if he left the ranch. It's not like JR really spends that much time with her or anything. I agree that JR isn't go to DO anything to Ellie, but neglect can be just as bad.

AHN Pam's corner:

- It was mentioned early in the episode that J.R. and Sue Ellen's wedding was only a week away.  So why the hell was Pam asking Sue Ellen if she'd picked out a color for her dress yet?!  Not only should the color be picked, but the dress should be nearly completed. I realize J.R. and Sue Ellen threw this wedding together quite quickly, but she should've had her color picked at her first fitting and they should've begun making the actual dress shortly thereafter.

- Sue Ellen was going over the menu with J.R., presumably for his approval.  So why did she have a bottle of 'his daddy's favorite wine' sitting around the house?  I guess it just goes with the fully stocked liquor cabinet.


Episode 113: The Wedding

Bonehead Dialogue Award: [courtesy of Pam]

> Sue Ellen:  Why don't you and John Ross move in here after the wedding, just until the battle for Ewing Oil is settled."
> J.R.  "You mean live here with you?"

Pam Award: Pam's button-up pink dress. I'll bet it's as nice going on as it must be coming off.

Angelica Award: Pam's wedding dress is pretty bad. Sue Ellen's ain't so hot either.

Bobby Award: Rebecca by default.

April Award: None.


- Clayton already has sweat stains when he disembarks his chopper. Odd for December. And some non-Raoul takes his bags.

- The Ewings must really love a wedding - any excuse to redecorate! There's a brand spanking new green carpet in the living room. Looks very nice but it's an awfully sudden change.

- Why the heck is everyone so shocked when JR says that Bobby is going to be his best man? Who else would JR consider? Gary? Ray? Wally Hampton?

- It's well established that it is December in Dallas right now. Yet Holly's wearing a bathing suit when JR comes to visit her. Was 1982 an El Niño year as well?

- Lucy says Sue Ellen started to become a better person while she was away from JR...how the hell would she know? Like she and Sue Ellen have even spoken in the last forty episodes.

- There's a continuity blip towards the end of this episode. Afton and Rebecca have their conversation, and it appears to be mid-morning, around 10 AM or so. Then Ellie and Donna talk and it's quite evident that it is very early morning - not too long after sunrise, because the shadows are much fainter and longer. An easy thing to miss during shooting.

- Where is Christopher during the wedding? John Ross is happily camped next to Miss Ellie's chair in the front row, but where is Pam's little uggie-wuggie snookums?

AHN NIS's corner:

- December 3, 1982, the date of the wedding, was a Friday. Yet JR invites Cliff to a gala affair on the 'weekend'. I suppose late Friday afternoon could be considered the weekend, except for the fact that the sun sets at about 6 PM in Dallas in December! Unless everybody took a holiday from work just to be at Southfork this is absolutely ridiculous.

- Blair Sullivan, that hip dude, finds nothing wrong in dialing only five numbers on his rotary telephone in order to make a long distance call to Bill Johnson in Galveston. You're really cool, Blair.

- Clearly, from Miss Ellie's conversation with Punk, several oil men were invited and didn't come. If no oil men showed up, why were all of the seats taken?

AHN Jason's corner:

- Mickey seems to have stuffed his pants a bit during his chat with Ray.

- Sue Ellen wears a recycled dress at the beginning of the episode.

- Watch Lucy's hair at Blair's.  It starts to look a lot flatter midway through her chat with him.

- Bobby wants long range effects of JR's pumping on Ewing Oil.  He makes it sound like this is for years down the road.  I think I remember a nit from the Dream Season where it was said those kind of effects are very hard to determine. Well, I don't see why, frankly. "Gee, Mr. Ewing. I'd have to more research but my best guess would be that if we pump all that oil we won't have as much in a few years." I find this pretty dumb.

AHN Alett's corner:


- Ellie is surprised there are no other oil men at the wedding besides Punk and Clayton. WHY?  Don't these people return R.S.V.P.'s?  Whoever set up the chairs realized it because there are no empty ones.

- So Mickey believes RAY is saying a grubby ranch hand can't have anything to do with Lucy.  If Mickey only knew the irony of this! You know, that didn't hit me at all. And it didn't hit Jason either. As far as denial goes, Ray could give Sue Ellen pointers.

- Yes, another boom problem.  In the first livingroom scene, as the camera pulls back to show Pam pouring drinks, the boom makes a slight "bob" over JR. Oh, man. I missed it again. Damn.

AHN Mike's corner:

- Clayton does have a stain on his right rib cage when he exits the helicopter. That's an odd place for a sweat stain though, since there weren't any other stains in more common places. However, once he gets to the patio, the stain is mysteriously gone.

- Did you notice that impertinent waitress called JR by his first name instead of "Mr Ewing"? I noticed. Guess she knows him.

- Mrs. Chambers must be a few bricks short of a load. She makes a pot of coffee for JR and Sue Ellen, but instead of leaving it on the hot plate under the coffee brewer, she puts it on a tray to get cold. Who know how long it will be before the lovebirds come down stairs?

- Miss Ellie has a short memory when she says to Donna "I'm always glad to see you." It was only a few episodes ago she was avoiding Donna over the book controversy. 

AHN Pam's corner:

- Empty Purse Meter:  Afton at Rebecca's, Rebecca and Ellie at the restaurant with Cliff, Donna and Mavis at the wedding.  Clayton's suitcase was definitely empty when he got off the helicopter.

- Cliff is really CHEAP!  When J.R. came to his office, notice the sign on his door behind J.R.'s head.  It should say Cliff Barnes, or C. Barnes or something.  But does it?  NO!  It says PRIVATE!  Huh? I rewound the tape several times to be sure.  So where is his office?  In a broom closet? I never noticed that. Good one.

- Bobby entered the living room by saying that Jordan had come to his office that afternoon.  During that meeting in his office Bobby was wearing jeans, a pale yellow dress shirt and a camel colored sport coat.  The establishing shot of Southfork right before Bobby entered the living room showed him turning in to the Southfork driveway from the road.  But when Bobby walked in to the living room he was wearing a black suit with a white dress shirt and a tie.  Where did he get the suit?  He came from the side, like he was coming in from outside, he didn't come from upstairs. Does he keep a suit in the closet in his office in case he's running late for dinner?

- Afton and Rebecca have become very friendly all of a sudden.  Until today Afton always referred to her as Mrs. Wentworth.  During their conversation when Afton told her about Cliff saying Sue Ellen's name in the hospital, she called her Rebecca. I noticed that too. I wasn't 100% certain if this hadn't happened before, though.

- Sue Ellen asked Pam after the rehearsal if she wanted to go in to town with her for her FINAL fitting?!  No woman, and I mean NO WOMAN would go for the final fitting of her wedding dress the day before her wedding!  Most women I know would be panicked if their dress wasn't hanging in their home (or their parents home if the couple lives together) by this point. Miss "J.R. you handle stress much better than I do" is way too cool here.

- Sue Ellen asked J.R. if he and John Ross would like to move in to the townhouse with her until after the wedding.  So does that mean Sue Ellen's been living at the townhouse by herself and she's letting John Ross live at Southfork with J.R. until the wedding?  She's been there a lot too.  Maybe they're only using the townhouse for their nights of passion and to squeeze slime balls like Gil Thurman.  J.R. could've strung her along without marrying her a lot longer than this. I see your point. Hadn't considered that.
 
- WHY would J.R. have at Sue Ellen's of all things PAJAMAS??  The robe I can understand, but pajamas??  I can't believe he's actually sleeping in them while he's there. And I can't believe I missed that.

AHN Val's corner:

- Donna blew Dave a kiss as he left her place. Strange behavior for a step-mother. These two are REALLY weird. Few stepsons are this affectionate.

- The Cirrus Room got rid of those tacky brown metal framed chairs and replaced them with much classier beige upholstered ones.

- Miss Ellie wore heels on her walk to the stable. Heels are uncomfortable enough when walking on solid surfaces, but wearing them in dirt requires a high pain threshold AND good balance.

- Sue Ellen had said that she wanted the wedding guest list to stay small--just the family and close friends. It looks like she and JR invited most everyone they've ever known! The number of people was comparable to a Ewing Barbecue. Even still, none of the oil men showed up. I wondered about that too when she said it last week. Maybe this IS small by Sue Ellen standards.

- And speaking of the guest list, where was Patty Shepherd? It's one thing that she not attend the wedding. What with Kristin's death at Southfork, and all. But her absence should have been somehow explained away by Sue Ellen. "Mama is simply too busy to get away from Albuquerque right now" Of course, we all know that's not true, but it would suffice. Ordinarily I would agree with you, but who the heck cares where she is? I'm sure you agree with THAT.


Episode 114: Post Nuptial

Bonehead Dialogue Award: [courtesy of Bill W.]

> Ray: " I'm really worried about Miss Ellie."
> Bobby: "Mama?"

Pam Award: Bobby and Holly in their poolside scene. Not much to pick from today.

Angelica Award: Same as yesterday.

Bobby Award: Mr. Eugene.

April Award: None.


- After walking out on the wedding ceremony, Cliff goes over to the mobile bar and pours himself a drink. Where is the bartender? Certainly he wasn't invited to sit in on the ceremony, was he?

- Before Cliff makes a scene, Pam tells him that he's dis-invited. Uh, no, sweetie. That's UN-invited. 

- When JR calls Mac Carruthers, he seems to dial eight numbers on the phone. The last one may have been a 'SEND' button, but I don't think it's a cellular-type phone - they didn't have those back then.

- That scene with Bobby and the OLM dudes probably will get the "ball peen hammer" award of the week. The cabbageing here is painful. "We think JR is selling the oil to an embargoed country." "An embargoed country? You mean one on which our country, the United States, has placed an embargo?" "Yes, and the Justice Department will not be happy if it is true. This country could be in the Caribbean." "You don't say?" And on and on...

- When Harry Perkins calls Bobby the second time, it's a really bright day. When Phyllis tells Bobby he has a call, it's a bright day. Suddenly Bobby picks up the phone and it's dark.

- When Bill Johnson arrives at Lucy's hotel room, her bed is made very neatly. Yeah, right. Raise your hand if you think that Lucy's ever made a bed in her life.

- Ray Krebbs is still going through his 'macho man' phase. If you recall, in Episode 111, he leaves the back of his pickup truck open because none of his gear would dare fall out the back during his trip out to the fields. Well, today, he's taking on the sun! After Dave Culver leaves his house, we see Ray go over to an open cooler and pull out a beer. Why not close the darn thing, Ray, so that the beer actually stays cold? Or have your intimidated the sun into not heating up the area in the vicinity of your home?

- JR's last comment, "You can try, Bobby", was clearly dubbed. I guess they realized how dumb it is to have JR just stand there silently after Bobby threatens him.

- AHN NIS pointed out that when JR and Sue Ellen arrive home, Sue Ellen carries one suitcase out of the car. Why isn't it in the trunk with the others?

AHN Jason's corner:

- Afton threatens to leave Cliff at the wedding, but how would she get home?  Call a cab and pay with the nothingness in her empty purse?  Or will she sing for her ride? Hope she doesn't have to go far. Actually, I'll bet most cabbies were [and are] willing to take you home and then let you go inside and get some cash.

- Empty purse meter-  Sue Ellen at refinery, Afton at wedding, Sue Ellen at SF.

- Looks like a new Raoul.

- If I was Mr. Eugene, I wouldn't be too sure about my company not being involved with this exporting oil mess.  Sally isn't exactly known for her scruples. Speaking of which, where is she?  Having another plastic surgery? Maybe he's taken a bit more control of the company since that whole thing.

- Why didn't Dave call Donna?  He drove all the way to Krebbs Manor just to say,  "The bill passed.  You got a job." A perfect example of Tom Fuccello, among others, having a contract to work X number of episodes.

AHN Val's corner:

- How did Mickey get invited to the wedding? He's not a friend of JR or Sue Ellen. And from the way JR talked to him, he's not even an acquaintence. Did Ray bring him along to keep an eye on him? If that's the case, then Ray's a poor excuse for a babysitter. Mickey wasn't about to be torn away from that bar. I suppose ALL the ranch hands were invited. That might explain it.

- The music played during the Bobby/Ray and Clayton/JR conversations sounded exactly like the Sanford and Son music played during Sue Ellen's baby-buying saga in Episode 10. I missed that completely.

- During the pool fight, a piece of tile was missing from the edge of the pool.

- Holly knew Bobby was coming over so she conveniently changed out of her tennis duds and into a swimsuit. Real subtle, Holly. Reeeeeal subtle. It's a shame that after that Barnes woman gets out of his life, he forgets about her. Bobby and Holly would have been a great couple.

- How is it that Ray is having to do maintenance on his roof? That house is only a few years old. Well, remember who built it in the first place.

AHN Mike's corner:

- Where were JR and Sue Ellen the day after the wedding, at some Ewing vacation home on the Gulf or a large lake? Don't believe we ever saw this place before or after this episode. No, I don't believe so either. I have no clue. Probably somewhere near the Gulf.

- In Ray's roofing scene, he's dry as a bone when he comes down from the roof but sweating bullets when he moves to the shady table and starts sucking down the beer. I never realized beer-swilling was such hard work.

- How lame was Lucy's client? All he's getting are signs to back off and he keeps clumsily barging ahead. First he's getting zero response kissing her (in fact, looking at that made me want to give up kissing entirely). Then he immediately jumps to trying to unbutton her blouse? Jeez, buddy, get a clue! Of course, Lucy's startegy to not protest but not to cooperate either made little sense. With respect, please tell me the last time you thought that Lucy's strategy about ANYTHING made sense.

- The honeymoon is definitely over as JR and Sue Ellen return to SF. Sue Ellen has to carry her own bag and JR isn't the least bit embarrassed when Ray offers to carry it for her. And as if to underscore his victory, JR breaks out a scarf from the Dusty Farlow collection for his triumphant return with the bride. I think it's safe to assume that JR knows nothing about Sue Ellen and Ray. Even if he does, it's obviously been taken out of the history books.

AHN Pam's corner:

- Sue Ellen took an obviously empty suitcase out of the car at Southfork.

- Mickey was drinking the ever popular brand known as "BEER" with the very poorly hidden Bud label.

- I can't believe Holly was swimming in those huge red earrings with the gold trim.  She had them on with the black and white swimsuit.  I don't know any woman that would swim in earrings of this size.  She must have really wanted to look her best for Bobby....especially since she was also swimming in full makeup.

- Sue Ellen must have brought along her white china coffee service on her honeymoon, she and J.R. were using it at breakfast.  This is also the same coffee service Ellie used for indoor breakfasts at Southfork before she remodeled.  Dr. Conrad also used this set during her therapy sessions with Pam.

- Sue Ellen did not have her engagement ring soldered to her wedding band before the ceremony. This is not a nit, just an observation because her huge rock was visible when she lifted her hand to for J.R. put on her wedding band.  The problem with this is that when a woman has an engagement ring that is not soldered to her wedding band, wedding etiquette states that she move the engagement ring to her ring finger on her right hand during the ceremony so that the groom can place her wedding band on her left ring finger.  After the ceremony she is supposed to move it back to the left ring finger in front of the wedding band.  This is done so the wedding band will be the closest ring to the bride's heart.  I would think Sue Ellen of all people would be very conscious of proper wedding etiquette.

- Pam's wedding ring seemed was different today. The other day when she was on the phone, she had on a large engagement ring with a wedding band.  Obviously an upgrade of her original plain gold band from Bobby.  But today when she hugged Lucy by the staircase, she had on a plain gold band surrounded on both sides by a channeled diamond guard.  Does she have more than one wedding ring?? Perhaps she does. She's been married twice.

- Someone asked the question as to why Mickey was invited to the wedding which was answered that all of the ranch hands may have been invited.  The real question here is why is Mickey sitting in the FRONT ROW with the immediate family?  He's NOT related to either J.R. or Sue Ellen.  Even if Ray wanted to watch him like a hawk, I don't think he would've caused any trouble during the ceremony.  Ray should have been more worried about him during the reception but seemed to have little concern for his whereabouts.  He should've at least been sitting behind the immediate family if not further back in the crowd.


Episode 115: Barbecue Three

Bonehead Dialogue Award: [courtesy of me]

> Holly: "There's something you need to know right away."
> Bobby: "Is it important?"

Pam Award: I thought that Marilee looked pretty decent today. Or Holly at the barbecue.

Angelica Award: Donna's butt-ugly hat. Rebecca's "as big as a" housedress returns. Pam's see-through dress is pretty bad too. Punk's brown ensemble with Al Bundy pants.

Bobby Award: Sly. What is she thinking?

April Award: Holly for wanting to entice a faithful husband by asking him to cheat on his wife.


- Well, it's good to see that Lucy's made productive use of her time - she's taken a speed reading course! When Mickey first comes to the ranch, she's near the beginning of her book. Suddenly, towards the end of the scene, she's near the end! She may have done this just to get rid of Mickey, but I think not - he probably would have noticed. What a lame excuse that 'I have to finish my book."

- Why doesn't Ray let go of Donna's hand when she's walking in to the committee's building? It's obvious that her gait is strained because of it.

- This one is so stupid. What government committee has four members? Or any even number of members? This is just stupid. For those who don't realize, the reason they're doing this is so the committee will be deadlocked on crucial issues at opportune times for the writers. It would be a great idea if it wasn't so preposterous! Why not add a fifth member, and then have them come up with some rule that says that at least four of them have to agree on significant legislation?

- And that's some committee! They pledge allegiance, take a vote on one issue, and then adjourn for lunch. How do I get on this committee?

- When Holly Harwood calls Bobby, he's busy typing in numbers on his computer. Then, when he prepares to leave, he hits one key on the keyboard - right above the numeric keypad! The only keys above the numeric keypad on keyboards of this time period are Num Lock, Scroll Lock, and Print Screen. None of these keys seems like a logical thing to hit when one is preparing to leave the computer for a while.

- Business must be good for Deltham Catering. Larry Deltham got a spiffy new van and logo! Good for you, Larry! Art imitates life. How refreshing.

- Since when has there been a TV in the Southfork livingroom?

- Remember what happened last episode? JR and Sue Ellen got married. What was the date? December 3, 1982. There were some nits about this last episode. Here are two new ones:

1. When Pam goes to Rebecca's mansion, some guy is raking leaves. Raking leaves? In December? A little late, aren't we? Rebecca really needs to get a firm rein on the hired help!
2. And while we're on the topic of season-inappropriateness, why is the Ewing barbecue being held in December? Wouldn't springtime or perhaps summer be more appropriate for this?

- AHN NIS suggested that if the oil men wanted to get to JR, they should have just headed over to Ewing Oil instead of calling. True, but this way Ellie gets to yell at everyone, and that's good.

- AHN Dave reminded me how silly Holly is. She tells Bobby she's looking for a man who will be faithful to her - so he wants him to cheat on his wife. No offense to Holly, who is a very lovely lady, but you're no Pam Ewing.

AHN Jason's corner:

- Those sure were very polite and patient reporters outside Donna's meeting.  They ask her one question at a time.  Usually they all gab at once.

- I have a question about this Energy Commission.  I believe you stated that there were only 4 voting members but there are six people at the table. Donna, the other three voters, the guy who reminded them about the 10 day wait and a lady with one of those court room typewriters. I had assumed the guy was the secretary by the way the lead guy addressed him but then if he is the secretary, what is the lady?  The recorder?  Usually the secretary takes the minutes at a Meeting, at least on the Board of directors I am on. Yes, she is like the stenographer or something. The secretary will take minutes, but the stenographer will make notes of everything that was said. Ordinarily you would not have such a person there, because it SHOULD be the secretary's responsibility. But oh well.

- Pam says something that caught me as funny.  She says that she would never let JR drive a wedge between her and the rest of the Ewing family. What is she smoking?   Remember #22-#25 when she left the ranch b/c she was sick of JR's antics that caused Cliff to be jailed?  I am sure there are others but I can't remember them now. They're coming up next week.

- There is a ranch hand seen standing behind Ellie during her chat with Ray.  I wonder if this was Pete, the talkative chauffeur working on being more than just an extra....

- JR and Sue Ellen seemed dubbed at the BBQ in their first conversation.  Jordan's last line also seemed dubbed.

AHN Analise's corner:

- When the Secretary of the Energy Commission did a voice vote he addressed each of the members by a Mr. or Mrs. except for George Hicks.  Is this because he disagreed with him? Perhaps. Good point.

- Miss Ellie is talking maybe 2 inches from Larry Deltham.  Hope each of them used a breath mint.

- "Give me time to think", Rebecca says to Clayton and Pam.  Gee, it isn't like they asked her whether she should be the first woman to land on Mars!

- The gas prices are $1.21 before JR cuts the prices. $1.21 is the current price for 87 octane in Hoboken, NJ right now!!! But in 1982 I bet they were quite a bit higher. I'll have to ask Mike, who would remember.

- Why is Pam sunning by the pool during the day?  Whose minding the aerobics studio?  Who is minding her precious Christopher? The studio is capital-g GONE. I have no clue about Christopher.

- Donna walks to the Texas energy commission meeting with an empty briefcase and no pocketbook.  Like that's realistic? The pocketbook is probably under that umbrella she calls a hat.

AHN Mike's corner:

- Pam tells Rebecca she has "a son-in-law who loves you". Say what? Bobby has barely spoken to Rebecca in all this time. Is that his fault? She won't come to Southfork. She won't come to Ewing Oil. She hates anyone who was born a Ewing. How are they supposed to talk?

- Once again Dallas characters refuse to discuss something over the phone and insist on a face-to-face meeting (Holly and Bobby. And did Mr. Eugene really need to come all the way up from Galveston to tell Bobby what he told him?). Do all these people think the phones are tapped or do they just like wasting time and money on unnecessary travel? These people have contracts to appear in a given number of episodes.

AHN Pam's corner:

-  Pam and Sue Ellen were going to help Ellie write the invitations for the BBQ, fine.  But shouldn't they have done this before now??  After the commercial J.R. commented that it had been a week since the first Energy Commission meeting which was the same day and he said the BBQ was this Sunday.  So Ellie only sent her invites out for an event this large about a week and a half before the event??  She's about a week or two behind!  Lucky for her that Texans RSVP quickly when free food and booze are involved.  It seemed she got her responses in record time because Sue Ellen said the phone hadn't stopped ringing all week and Ellie had a stack of mail.

- Amazing!  Sly, Phyllis and even Kendall weren't on the phone today when Holly called Bobby.  Phyllis buzzed him and said she was on line 1. Yeah, that's amazing! I missed that.

- What gas station posts their gas prices on easel type signs next to the road?  None I've ever seen. Gas stations around me use those high-in-the-sky light up signs so that everyone can see their pricing from the road a good distance away. I guess getting one of these was way too expensive for the producers.

- Ray and Donna haven't been to the house much for dinner lately.  They weren't even at the 'special' family dinner the night before J.R. and Sue Ellen's wedding.  But it's a good thing Ray was there to mooch a meal so he could break up J.R. and Bobby.

-  Mickey drank another bottle of 'BEER' while trying to hide the Bud label.

- Empty Purse Meter:  Pam at Rebecca's.

- Not only were the reporters very polite at Donna's committee meeting, they were rather polite at the opening of J.R.'s gas stations. Again they asking him only one question at a time.

- Holly's not married or even seeing anyone for that matter, she's too busy trying to put the moves on Bobby. So why didn't someone tell the actress to remove her ENGAGEMENT RING!!  I couldn't tell if there was a wedding band with it, but it was very noticeable while she was dancing with Bobby.


Episode 116: Mama Dearest

Bonehead Dialogue Award: [courtesy of Analise]

> Sue Ellen [on seeing JR upset]: "Is that because of Miss Ellie's decision?" 

Pam Award: Pam by default. Believe me, this is only because there are no other candidates.

Angelica Award: The real estate agent's jacket.

Bobby Award: Holly's new do is pretty bad.

April Award: None.


- Ellie asks Harve Smithfield whether he heard about what happened at the barbecue. Wait a minute: why wasn't Harve invited to the barbecue? It doesn't seem like the kind of invitation you would turn down, yet I find it hard to believe that Ellie didn't invite Harve. Bizarre.

- When Bobby gets the call from Donna to let him know that the commission voted in favor of JR, Bobby comes all the way over to JR's desk to take the call. Why doesn't he use the phone that sits on the small table near the liquor cabinet, especially since he's standing right near it?  The real world answer: it's more dramatic for him to walk out of the office and brush past JR this way.

- The second time Pam and Bobby discuss the strain on their relationship, there's some bad continuity. During the scene, Bobby has just gotten up from his chair and Pam still stands behind the chair. Suddenly there's a cut and Bobby has moved a few feet towards a table, and Pam is a good three steps away from the chair!

AHN Jason's corner:

- Muriel and Mickey are credited but AWOL... HMM  wonder who's plot was cut today!!! Well, Lucy still got to do more than Ray. I wonder what the heck Muriel could contribute at this point. Hey, the summary pages tell me we see her once more, in 122. And she's uncut.

- Empty purse meter-   Rebecca at Cliff's, Ellie and Pam at Harve's, Afton and Mrs. Stockwood at Cliff's new place, Sue Ellen with JR, Ellie at new lawyer's.

AHN Analise's corner:

- Bobby is now wearing a bolo tie in the first scene of today's episode.  He didn't have it during the BBQ in yesterday's episode. Are you sure? I'll double check.

- Punk now remembers that he is the administrator of the will?  Must have forgotten that at Southfork.

- Cliff's looking for a new place to entertain?  When did he ever do that when he did move? Can't recall any time.

- It's morning at the Krebbs house and it looks like Donna slept with her hair up and in that stale black dress.

- The real estate agent is a moron.  Where is the wedding band on Afton's finger which told her to call her Mrs. Barnes? Perhaps she doesn't look at people's hands. I generally don't.

- Nice how Pam sides with her mother in law against her own husband and is her lackey during the day. I guess she is forgetting the aerobics studio her HUSBAND bought for her because he loved her? Pam has forgotten everything Bobby's ever done for her. She's disgusting, frankly.

- In any committee meeting the members usually refer to each other by their first names and not their last names. This seems to be an off the record or at least informal meeting.

- Where did Donna get an environmental report the day after the BBQ?  Are her state aides working at night? Oh yes, like the state authorizes overtime!

- Clayton said he would pave the way for Miss Ellie, but Brooks Oliver said that Clayton told him practically nothing.  Nice help.

AHN Mike's corner:

- Has anyone mentioned that hideous black sculpture of a goat with a pot belly on Cliff's credenza? That's WAY uglier than Sue Ellen's horse sculpture.

- What happened to Frank Crutcher? He's disappeared without a trace of explanation. Good.

AHN Pam's corner:

- Sometime during the BBQ Sue Ellen managed to get a haircut.  Her hair is about an inch or two shorter in the back and much less full on top.  She also took a shower and washed her hair before putting on her lingerie.  When she was outside with J.R. her hair was very flat, like she didn't bother to use a curling iron.  So why did she bother to put on her makeup?

- Donna also managed to get a trim after the BBQ. Her bangs seemed much shorter than we've seen them so far when she had the upsweep while talking to Ray at the house and later on the phone with Bobby.

- Empty Purse Meter:  Rebecca at Cliff's, Afton and the realtor at the condo, the realtor had no briefcase, odd, Ellie and Pam at Harve's office and Pam again at Bobby's office.

- Ellie pulled out the silver coffee pot for breakfast outside with J.R.  Where's the new coffee pot with the peach flower on it?  They were using the cups.

- Brooks Oliver offered Ellie tea at his office. Why not coffee, that's more common.  I could understand coffee or tea.  But just tea??  Weird.

- Pam and Rebecca went to Madison's for lunch, it's been remodeled.

- The reporters were quite polite again today while J.R. had his little press conference at the office. They were asking one question at a time, mostly letting the blonde reporter Terri do all of the questioning. Dallas has also managed to get a second television station. Terri wasn't from the usual KGIM, but KZAL. That was a great trivia question last year.


Episode 117: The Ewing Blues

Bonehead Dialogue Award: None yet.

Pam Award: Pam by default again. Hurts me to say that.

Angelica Award: Brooks's suit with the big black bow and white pocket hankerchief. 

Bobby Award: The Chinese food delivery guy.

April Award: Mark for trying to win an honest woman by enticing her to cheat on her husband.


- Pam and Ellie have really tough times dealing with reality in this episode. Let's start with Ellie. After her discussion with her lawyer, she comes to the realization that Jock was a very rational person. So why does she have such a hard time finding the decision of his codicil 'rational'? Surely she should have been able to figure it out by now!

- Let's turn to Pam. Pam's incomparable ability to be the densest woman on earth has been well documented, so I can understand why she doesn't realize Mark's motivations for meeting with her. But Bobby is not so dumb. Let me put it this way: if I'm married to Pam, and some guy who she met yesterday calls and wants to meet her for breakfast, I would be very concerned. If you think Bobby's a gimp for letting it happen, give me a HELL YEAH!

- Just before Bobby meets with his lawyer, he's working on the computer. His fingers look like he's typing in numbers, but he's actually hitting random letter keys with one hand! Come on, Bob, find the numeric keypad, would you?

- I'm confused as to what sort of show Roy Ralston hosts. Is it supposed to be a happy feelgood Sally Jessy kind of show? Then I don't see a guest like JR appearing on it. But if it's a serious informational show, then why in the world would you have your guests come out to lame Lawrence Welk music?

- Clearly the producers didn't feel like paying Andy Bradley for speaking in this episode. In the scene in which he does appear he's mute and then he's not invited to meet with Bobby, unlike Jordan and Marilee. 

AHN Jason's corner:

- Rebecca says that she and Ellie met and made up about the Barnes/Ewing Feud.  This is a rather important event so I am assuming TNN cut it rather than CBS not taping it to begin with.  Bizarre. Agreed. I guess it was just too boring to see them to coo over Christopher.

- The fake SF is seen today.. with footage of the real one.  Seems that this is the beginning of the mid season as Mark is added to the credits. Could very well be. We'll know for sure on Monday.

- Empty purse meter-  Pam with Mark (2x), Afton with Cliff (2x), Rebecca with Cliff, Holly with Bobby, Marilee at Bobby's

AHN Mike's corner:

- If Grayson was in such a hurry to leave town on business, he could have asked Pam his two simple questions on the phone the night before, but at least there was a reason (albeit a sleazy one) for meeting face to face. But how can Grayson say he won't tell anyone they "had breakfast together" when neither one of them touched a bite or even a sip of coffee. And isn't Pam somewhat to blame for making herself vulnerable. Why didn't she bring Miss Ellie with her? Because Pam is the dumbest woman I've ever seen.

- That outdoor restaurant had really cheap furniture. I've seen better chairs used to bash heads in at the ECW Arena. Not the sort of place you'd expect the rich in Dallas to congregate in. That's an interesting analogy. Maybe Pam should have thrown one of the chairs at Mark and given him a Van Daminator.

- Cliff is packing for his move wearing a dress shirt and suit pants and is wearing the same clothes the next evening at his new condo when Afton arrives for dinner. 

- Holly's secretary Elliot needs to get out more. Sans-a-belt slacks were NEVER fashionable, even for male secretaries with unusual duties.

- Continuity blip. When Holly sits down in Bobby's office, he holds her hand. In the immediate succeeding camera shot she is using both hands to talk with.

AHN Pam's corner:

- FINALLY...the brown and beige placemats have come back.....to the KREBBSES!!!  They were on the table when Ray and Donna were closing all of the curtains before going to bed.  Funny thing though, in the next scene Cliff also had them on the counter to be packed for his move.

- Recycled clothing meter:  Pam's gray dress with the big collar from a few episodes ago.  Afton also wore the short sleeved teal sweater with jeans from a few episodes ago.

- Continuity blip:  When Pam and J.R. were in the kitchen and Pam wiped Chistopher's face there was a green bowl on the table in front of Pam.  When the camera angle changed and Pam started to get up from the table, the green bowl was gone and she didn't have it in her hand.


Episode 118: The Reckoning

Bonehead Dialogue Award: None yet.

Pam Award: Pam by default. None of the other women are really trying.

Angelica Award: Nothing that stands out, but the wardrobe in general was pretty bad today.

Bobby Award: Sue Ellen's hair is particularly bad today.

April Award: Pam for not seeing that Mark wants to drag her home by the hair. TNN for airing this episode out of sequence.


- An interesting note: this episode is directed by Bill Duke, who played Seth Foster in "The Early Years". Frankly, it surprises me that the Number 1 show in the country [at the time] had an African-American directing episodes. It's refreshing, but surprising.

- The cabbageing at the beginning of this episode is worse than usual. This time it might be a bit understandable. I think this is the mid-season break point or pretty close, so there may have been a long delay in real terms from when the previous episode was aired. 

- When Mark finds Sue Ellen and Pam eating in the restaurant, I have a question. How did Mark recognize Pam by the back of her head? He comes in the door with Pam's back to him. Is he so obsessed that he's memorized every lock of her hair? 

- Harve tells Bobby and JR that the old will is fifteen years old. Perhaps Harve is just estimating, but it doesn't matter. According to the Dallas chronology, JR was born [at latest] 1939. Fifteen years ago would have been 1968, and JR would have been twenty-nine. Bobby would have been eighteen or nineteen. But Harve says that the will was radically different because the boys were, and I quote, "so young". Eighteen or nineteen is young, in terms of a will? Not hardly. And certainly JR would have been at the ripe age to run Ewing Oil, anyway.

- During the hearing, when the folks are assembled outside waiting for the verdict, where are Punk, Harve, and Brooks? They are conspicuously absent from the throng. Did the bailiff allow them to sit inside the courtroom if they promised to be real, real quiet?

- I understand that he did it out of respect, but Harve really ought to have objected to almost all of Brooks' questions to Ellie on various grounds, primarily for leading the witness.

AHN Jason's corner:

- Maybe not a nit, but I found it kind of strange that Lucy would be worried about what happens to Gary in the old will.  She must know that Ellie would provide for him. The question might be how much, but I see your point.

- Empty purse meter-  Ellie and Pam outside of the court house (2x), Sue Ellen outside the courthouse, I think Donna outside the courtroom.

- Dr. Danvers was on Ellie's witness list.  What could he contribute to the status of Jock's mental health in South America?  Did he fly down and prescribe a sedative for him? Perhaps he airmailed the prescription. I don't know.

- Notice the wall behind Sue Ellen when she talks to Pam at SF. You usually don't see that camera angle.

AHN Analise's corner:

- I'm sure Harve drafted Jock's previous will considering Harve made a big stink earlier about being Jock's lawyer before JR was born.  It seemed odd that he said that he did not know what was in the will.  I would think that even if he did not remember it, he would have looked it up within the last few weeks.  A good lawyer would have! Maybe, maybe not. I suppose he should have remembered the gist of it, though.

- Pam and Sue Ellen are eating at a table for 3-4 people. Mark is sitting at a huge table too.

- I bet these Cartel members have never set foot in their own offices! I bet they have no offices to set foot in. My guess is they work out of their homes like Holly.

- If it takes $25 million to buy out Bobby and there are 4 Cartel members...they could split it to $6.25 million a piece.  These people have spent more on clothing at that time. You're exaggerating but I see your point. I suppose it is a lot of cash to drop all at once.

- Sue Ellen is going to bed in full makeup. Pam works out in full makeup.

- When did Pam become certified to teach aerobics? There was certification back then. I work out 4-5 days a week.  I have never seen a backup instructor work out along with the others. Lucky for Pam.

AHN Mike's corner:

- Cliff must have the world's longest portable bar in his condo. The Cowboys could play their home games on that thing!

- Why is it that nobody working out at Pam's exercise studio looks like they need to lose weight? How unrealistic is that? Maybe not so much in the public-conscious 80s. People who were overweight tended not to want to be seen.

- The courtroom decision was particularly anti-climactic. Youda thunk there would have been a surprise witness or major revelation that would influence the judge's decision at the last minute. But no. I noticed that both time's the attendees were gathered in the hallway waiting to go back in, Clayton was the last person to re-enter the courtroom both times as they all filed in one at a time. Strange. Maybe they know he needs the most room. You've made me wonder what exactly the writers were hoping to achieve by this plot device. I wonder if it's a coincidence that it's the last time Ellie ever really does anything significant.

AHN Pam's corner:

- I believe Pam may have adlibbed a line when she told Ellie the car door was open.  Ellie was just sort of standing there and Pam's line just didn't sound like it flowed with the rest of the dialogue. Besides, we've never heard anyone ever have to TELL someone a car door is open, they just usually are.

- Ellie was concerned about what the terms of Jock's former will would do to Ray and Gary.  Fine, I can understand Ellie's concern.  We saw her talk to Ray about the situation, but what about her precious Gary?? Shouldn't she have called and told him about her plans to try to overturn Jock's will and what the consequences might be?  Even if the producers didn't want to pay the actor to appear they should have at least shown Ellie on the phone supposedly talking to Gary.  She could have even mentioned in passing to Lucy or someone that she had spoken to Gary about the situation. Perhaps she did and it was cut. Or there wasn't time for that scene.

- Why was Donna wearing GLOVES the entire time she was in the courtroom??  These weren't fashion gloves, these were plain black leather gloves that one would wear with a winter coat.  I have a pair very similar. Judging by the clothing of everyone else during this episode, it's not cold outside and no one was wearing a coat.


Episode 119: A Ewing is a Ewing

Bonehead Dialogue Award: [courtesy of everyone]

> Pam to Mark - "You bring roses, champagne, and glasses.  I'd like to know why."

Pam Award: I think Wendy is quite pretty, if slutty. Holly looks nice in her negligee.

Angelica Award: Sue Ellen's furry blouse when she meets Clayton.

Bobby Award: Bobby by default. 

April Award: Pam for not seeing that Mark wants to drag her home by the hair again. Special mention to TNN for airing this episode out of order AGAIN too.


- Why is Andy not present when his other cartel compatriots meet with Cliff? He's part of the Wellington deal, right? Did he authorize Jordan or Marilee to sign it away for him?

- I certainly found that I was not alone in thinking how cheezy it was for JR to be on the cover of "Tempo" magazine.

- It seems like Bobby only dials six numbers when he tries to reach Carl. Hard to be certain, though.

AHN Analise's corner:

- When Bobby sees JR with Hicks, we see a very strange parking lot.  All of the cars behind the row Bobby's car is in, are all blocked!  That's a bit ineffective!

- I have been to Galveston before and the shoreline they showed looked much too nice.  Plus the water is not that blue.  I think they cheated and did a quickie shot of the California coast. I'm fairly sure this is California by now. Maybe not everyone is there, but certainly Ellie and Clayton are.

- Why would several men get together with Cliff Barnes to listen to Cliff's idea of who should be the next congressman?  I had to laugh!  Plus it was mentioned in the first season that Cliff and JR were in different parties.  Totally weird. I suppose you're right. But things can change.

- How could JR not see the gun which was next to Holly's knee? I watched the scene a few times.  The gun was not hidden.

- Clayton seemed to overreact to Sue Ellen. Betrayal? Cmon!  Clayton I guess does not want his refinery to make a profit because with JR's back against the wall, Clayton could overcharge him.

- Notice that during all of the outside Galveston scenes, the only man wearing a cowboy hat is Clayton. I tell you, these scenes are in California! They are. No question.

AHN Jason's corner:

- Empty purse meter-  Pam and Wendy at the Restaurant, Ellie at Southfork, Marilee at Ewing Oil,  Sue Ellen at the restaurant with Clayton.  Holly has no purse at Ewing Oil.

- Look at the ladies as they exit Pam's studio.  It looks like Jackie is one of them, but they don't credit her in the end (as far as I can tell since they minimize the credits for some ad.)  Strange since 2nd season, they did credit her when she had "extra status".

AHN Sara's corner:

- You would think a high-class place like Mario's would tell its waiters not to walk like Clayton and Sue Ellen's did.  I wish I could describe it but I am at a loss for adjectives.

- Miss Ellie needs to spend more time on her exercise bike.  Her cries of "I'm exhausted!" after throwing bread were a little pathetic.

- Am I to understand that Clayton carries around a bucket full of fish suitable for tossing at birds all the time?  And who even gives fish to birds? Bread is good enough. Maybe he knows some fish dealers by the docks.

AHN Mike's corner:

- Let's hear it for Holly Harwood, the only Dallas character who "gets it". She arrives at the Ewing offices and says "I really don't understand why I have to be here in person when we could have done this by phone." I also applaud her for pulling a gun on JR when he comes back for seconds after adding another notch to the JR Forced Sex meter. Three cheers for Holly. I can forgive the cellulite for this.

- Bobby once again goes to the restaurant named "Restaurant". He was there dining alone last season when he ran into Holly Harwood and one of her male bimbos. 

- Yes, Dallas and Galveston are indeed small towns. Bobby just happens to see JR and Hicks conversing on the street and Clayton just happens into the restaurant where Miss Ellie is moping. Clayton is now wearing the Dusty scarf collection on his visits to his refinery. And did you see that waitress who waited first on Miss Ellie and then the both of them? Terminal perkiness. And that manufactured ever-present toothy smile made it look like she was competing for Miss Texas or Miss Young Galveston.

- In typical Dallas fashion, JR doesn't touch a drop of his champagne in Holly's bedroom. Having a gun pointed at you will do that, I figure.

- Bobby's not much of an interviewer. To find the exact right ho to bring down Hicks, his interview consists of "Hi." "What's your name?" "You're very pretty." I'll bet that's a more comprehensive interview than Carl gives, in terms of dialogue. I'm sure most of his interview responses consist of fake moans.

AHN Pam's corner:

- Why would J.R. and George Hicks be meeting in the middle of the street?  J.R. certainly doesn't want anyone to know he's pulling the strings with Hicks. So I would think they'd meet in a quiet out of the way place.  Of course, this is necessary so that Bobby will see them.

- The entire cartel are so stupid.  As Bobby said, J.R. would never paint himself in to a corner when writing a contract.  The cartel knows very well that J.R. is ruthless when it comes to business and he's certainly not going to enter any deal without guaranteeing that he'll make a profit somehow.  They were positively surprised when they learned that they would have to buy Bobby's share of the Wellington land at five times the going rate.  Didn't they have an attorney go over the contract with a fine tooth comb before signing it?  If they knew about it, they were fools for signing it in the first place.  If they didn't know about it, then they deserved exactly what they got. They deserve whatever they get anyway anyhow. They are pure jobbers, plain and simple. They are the Barry Horowitzes of this show, except that they don't even have the physical dexterity to pat themselves on the back.

- Bobby met Pam for dinner at what looked like a very nice place, possibly one of Dallas's finest.  I find it hard to believe that a place where the maitre 'd is wearing a tux would be called 'Restaurant'.

- Pam whined to Bobby about squeezing the cartel. What does she expect him to do?  Play Mr. Nice Guy and let J.R. walk off with the company?  Again, she should shut the hell up!!  Besides that, if her precious brother did this to J.R., she wouldn't think it was so awful.  In her eyes, Cliff can do no wrong no matter what he does.  We've seen Bobby treat her much better than Cliff ever has.  Maybe she shouldn't forget that and give her husband some support, respect and understanding during this whole matter. Quite right all through. If Bobby wasn't so preoccupied with Hicks, I'm sure he'd lay the smackdown and remind her of what a worm her brother is for still trying to needle the Ewings.


Episode 120: Crash of '83

Bonehead Dialogue Award: [courtesy of Alett]

- Hicks to Bobby: "Are you blackmailing me?"

Pam Award:  I'll go with Wendy again.

Angelica Award: A lot of candidates. Sue Ellen's wardrobe has been horrendous lately. Hicks' jacket at JR's office. Rebecca's is always terrible.

Bobby Award: Gil Thurman. Duh.

April Award: Bobby for telling Pam about his set-up of Hicks.


- Rebecca insists that Cliff take the letter to Mike Hughes in Houston personally. Has she ever heard of Purolator or Fedex? Is it that important to make a personal impression in the matter? [Of course, the reason she has to do this is so she can job to gravity.]

- When Bobby shows the blackmail pictures to Hicks, why does Hicks throw the pictures back? Does he think they're not the only ones? They look like real prints to me. And then why does Bobby give them back? Just to prove a point?

- AHN Anne pointed out that Pam is just a little bit snooty to Cliff. Why is she insinuating that he's never seen Christopher before? Doesn't she remember Cliff coming over with a big stuffed bear after he was officially adopted? I understand that she might be upset that Cliff doesn't visit her at Southfork, but she should understand this, right? If she's so concerned about her son being close to his uncle, she should get in her car and drive over to his place once a while. If you're sick of goody-two-shoes Pam telling everybody else how to live their lives, give me a OH HELL YEAH!

AHN Alett's corner:

- I don't blame Cliff for not being eager to hang around Christopher.  Every time we see the kid he's crying and being appeased with a bottle being stuck in his mouth. Sounds a lot like me. All I needed was a jumbo dose of apple juice and I'd be quiet for a half hour.

- Sue Ellen tells JR that Miss Ellie and Clayton are "old friends".  Old friends?  They've only known each other for months. Well, they're old. And they're friends. Maybe that's what she means.

- It's been mentioned that there would be copies of the blackmail photos of Hicks, but they actually look like Polaroid shots.

AHN Pam's corner:

- Empty purse meter:  Pam and Rebecca at Cliff's, Sue Ellen at the restaurant, Wendy at the club, Donna at Bobby's office, Rebecca at Southfork, Rebecca again at Cliff's and Afton at Southfork.

- Donna was wearing the same black gloves again today that she had on at the courthouse in yesterday's episode.  What's up with the gloves all of a sudden??

-  Afton wasn't wearing any shoes when she was curled up on Cliff's couch.  She ran to the phone without putting them on.  Then she ran out of the house, quickly, she didn't even stop to put on shoes but I heard them when she ran across the concrete at Southfork.  When did she put them on? I didn't notice. I'll have to look at that again.

- How convenient, everyone left the closest parking space to the house so that Afton could pull in to it when she arrived.

- Since when did the Ewings have a doorbell on the sliding glass door off the patio?  Better yet, when did anyone ever USE the doorbell?  Usually when it comes to the sliding door, everyone has free reign to just walk right in. I don't actually recall this door being used by anyone but a family member, so I don't really know what to say.

AHN Mike's corner:

- Russell doesn't touch his drink and actually hands it back to JR as he is dismissed to follow that lead on a refinery.

- No wonder Christopher bawled throughout his entire scene. He just found out that loser Cliff Barnes is his uncle! That would make me pretty unhappy too. Plus..."that's my grandma? Waaah! Wait...Aunt Kathy...this is getting better."

- Surprisingly, Frank Crutcher did get wrapped up plot-wise in this show, even if he never appeared. I guess this is their way of wiping him out. Good.

- There seems to be a hallway with some brown furniture outside the door to Cliff's condo. I always thought that this was a door to the outside. Did the hallway disappear in later seasons? And speaking of Cliff's apartment, my wife picked this great continuity glitch up. There's a two shelf glass table in front of a mirror to the viewer's right of Cliff's door. In three separate scenes in time elapsed sequences on the same day, a brown pot changes shelves twice and a pot of flowers appears.

- Did Cliff grow some sideburns all of a sudden or had I failed to notice them previously? Also, I noticed they gave Rebecca a cut and new style in preparation for jobbing to the Wentworth jet.

AHN Jason's corner:

- Pam tells us Cliff has never set eyes on Christopher but he did, a few times right after Pam and Bobby adopted him.. he even brought a gift.


Episode 121: Requiem

Bonehead Dialogue Award: [courtesy of me]

> George: "I had to do it, JR. I was blackmailed!"
> JR: "By who?"
> George: "Your brother."
> JR: "Bobby?"

Pam Award: Katherine at Southfork. I'm glad SOMEONE is here to preclude Pam getting this by default.

Angelica Award: Holly's suit with fake tie is totally unflattering. Lucy's bubblegum dress was weird too.

Bobby Award: Holly needs some real work done.

April Award: Holly for thinking JR would get out of her company.


- When Bobby informs Katherine about her mother's plane crash, she says she'll be right over - where's she going to go once she gets to Dallas? Bobby can't possibly know what flight she's taking, and Katherine doesn't ask what hospital her mother is at. Perhaps she assumed that she's at Dallas Memorial, since that seems to be where everybody goes. But how exactly does Bobby find Katherine and get her to Southfork? Must be that amazing spider-sense Bobby has.

- And speaking of Katherine, how come everybody seems to know her? I don't mean know of her existence - I'm sure Pam has told everyone that she has a half-sister. But Ellie gives her a big hug just like Katherine is her own daughter, and Lucy speaks to her as if they've known each other for some time. I believe that the only time Katherine ever set foot on the ranch was the Ewing barbecue of last season, where Ellie got the news of Jock's plane crash. Then she disappeared back to New York. She wasn't around long enough for the other Ewings to get to know her. This is weird.

- Speaking of weird - the Dallas Press newspaper is weird! The news about JR's variance being rescinded is the front page headline! Laying aside the fact that this story should really be put on the business pages, what about Rebecca's death? Isn't this the kind of thing that makes front page news?

- How did Ellie get to the hospital? We see Clayton come to Dallas Memorial, and Ellie is there to greet him. Pam, Bobby, and Afton are already there and have been since the beginning of the episode, but Ellie was not with them for some reason. It seems unlikely that someone went back to pick her up. Certainly not Pam because of her mental state; probably not Afton; and Bobby would be unwilling to leave Pam at this stage. Perhaps Ellie took a cab but this seems somewhat odd.

- Susan Nichols furthered this by reminding me about this one: Pam and Katherine go over to Cliff's place and Pam says she has to meet Bobby at the funeral home.  How does she get there?  I assume she took her car to Cliff's apartment, and would therefore drive herself to the funeral home, but that doesn't  make sense because she rode home with Bobby in his car.  Even so, if she left her car there for Katherine, since they left Cliff's place separately, then how did Pam get to the funeral home? I think you were right the first time - I noticed this but I figured that Katherine might have taken a cab or something. Then I realized that Katherine doesn't have a purse! Where would she get the money?

- For someone on her deathbed, Rebecca is actually in pretty good shape! She moves her neck and is able to talk to Pam without excessive strain. Given the bandage around her head, I don't think she should be able to do either one of those things without grave discomfort.

- This hasn't happened in a while, so I thought I'd mention it. After JR lays the smackdown on Holly's desire to get him out of her life, he leaves her, all alone in his office and heads out towards reception. Why would he do this? Shouldn't Holly be the one to leave? After all, it is JR's office.

- When JR calls Walt Driscoll, Walt is just standing by the phone wearing a suit. Why? How long has he been standing there dressed like that? He wears a suit to lounge around his room?

- When the oil folks are visiting Cliff's place, where is Evelyn Lee, who should be accompanying her husband?

- AHN Anne pointed out that Teresa seems to be overstepping her bounds. Today, when Ellie comes down the stairs, Theresa greets her, "Good morning, Miss Ellie". Since when have they been on a first name basis? Theresa has referred to her, quite correctly, as 'Mrs. Ewing" until now. Good call, Anne! I guess Ellie likes it to be informal when no one else is around.

AHN Jason's corner:

- Katherine wears full makeup while sleeping.  Must have taken lessons from her "mummy" (snicker) who wears full makeup after extensive surgery.

- Look at Ray during his first scene with Donna.  She is about a foot shorter than him!  I KNOW she is usually a lot closer to Ray's height.  He must have been standing on a box or something. Or those big boots came into play.

- Even though they try to avoid it with the camera angles, it is clear that there was no Phyllis at her desk today.

- Watch Holly's hair at JR's office.  It is badly in need of a comb at the beginning but then suddenly looks much more under control when she throws him down the paper.

- Strange happenings with Rebecca's kids at Cliff's place.  Pam hugs Cliff then starts to leave without telling Katherine why.  Since it is clear that they came together, this is really weird.  Pam then leaves, Katherine yells at Cliff, then huffs off without a purse, presumably back to SF, since we later see Pam and Bobby drive back in his car.  I am guessing that Pam took a cab after leaving Cliff's and Katherine took her car back to SF. But then Pam must have left the keys in it while inside at Cliff's b/c she doesn't give them to Katherine. Good call. Actually I think Pam mentioned that she needed to go and do something or other but the rest is just bizarre.

- I am sure you were bored at this, but during Ray and Donna's scene where he is polishing his boots, Donna's line of "painting her toenails" sounded dubbed.  Must have been a misquote or something b/c the rest of her lines seem regular. I was bored but I thought I caught a twinge there too.

- Empty purse meter - Pam and Afton at the hospital, Ellie at SF, Pam at Cliff's, Sue Ellen, Pam, Donna, Lucy, Ellie and Katherine at SF after the funeral. Marilee (looking great!) and Mavis at Cliff's, Pam at Rebecca's.

AHN Alett's corner:

- When Bobby calls Katherine to tell her about Rebecca, we see two strange crystal animals behind her bed. They might be cats, but to me they look more like Chihuahuas.  This is suspiciously like the crystal gull Clayton gave Ellie in remembrance of Galveston.   HMMMMM.  Clayton you devil.  Did you have a fling with Katherine in Mexico? NO. Don't say nothin' bad about Kathy. [Seriously. I like Kathy. :) ]

- Pam says she's just going to change her clothes after the funeral.  It seems odd she'd take the time to change her hairstyle too.

AHN Mike's corner:

- To add to the confusion of how people came and went to the hospital, Cliff's condo, etc. - Ellie and Clayton return to SF from the hospital via a stretch limo. She must have taken a cab there and then got a limo back. What a world they live in.

- Rebecca all bandaged up looked like a nun. Of course any nun in a hospital bed after major surgery would not be wearing flawlessly applied lipstick. Was she spiffed up expecting a visit from Clayton?

- Later in the show the TV newscaster says Rebecca was killed in a collision of two planes. Of course, she doesn't actually die until a day or two later in the hospital.

AHN Pam's corner:

- Not only did Rebecca seem to be able to speak easily and move her neck while dying she was in full makeup while doing so.  But, considering she was just in a plane crash and had emergency surgery, wouldn't it be safe to assume that she would have SOME scratches and or bruises on her face?  Also, she had perfect color for just coming out of surgery and dying, people are generally very pale in both cases.

- Why were Punk and Mavis at Cliff's place after the funeral? I would think they would've gone back to Southfork with the Ewings since they were friends of Jock and Ellie's and both of Rebecca's daughters were there and then maybe stopped by Cliff's later.  Mavis also kissed Cliff and told them they'd see him soon. Since when have Cliff and the Andersons become such good social friends?  I'm not sure Punk even knew Cliff until just recently.

- Wentworth Industries seems to be a very well known company (though we never heard of it until Rebecca came around) so I can see why her funeral might be mentioned in a blurb during a local newscast.  But the segment J.R. was watching seemed seemed very long, highlighting several people that attended.  This was done of course so that J.R. would see Mark and start meddling in Bobby and Pam's marriage.  The coverage seemed much too extensive. As far as I know, only sports stars and other people who are truly considered hometown heroes get this kind of coverage.


Episode 122: Legacy

Bonehead Dialogue Award: [courtesy of me]

Pam Award: I liked Pam in her dress at the beginning of the episode, but I'm sure others didn't. I'll take Katherine again.

Angelica Award: Lucy's penguin suit.

Bobby Award: Muriel.

April Award: Bobby for pig-headedly not being able to see through JR's offer to end the battle.


- Mark Graison gets up to Pam's hotel room really quick! Fifteen seconds, at most! Given that Pam obviously has a really nice suite, she should be on a relatively high floor, right? So either the elevator went up at super-speed or someone at the front desk was really slacking.

- Who in the world is paying for the maid in Pam's hotel suite? Is Pam independently wealthy at this point? Or is she using Bobby's money to "find herself"?

- Bobby is a total gimp if he mistakes Katherine's voice for Pamela's.

- Rebecca purchased Wade Luce's oil company about ten episodes before she died. So somewhere within the time span of those episodes, she contacted her lawyer and had her will changed to leave all of this company to Cliff if the event of her death? With all of the other things that were going on, that seems like a rather odd thing to do.

- Rebecca's lawyer gives his condolences to Pam as he leaves Cliff's apartment. What about Katherine? Katherine was Rebecca's daughter, too, and she actually grew up with her mother. As Rebecca's 'friend', he should be more apt to talk to Katherine rather than Pam. Of course, Cliff is too sullen to worry about here.

- I remember Rebecca telling Cliff on several occasions that Wentworth Tool and Die is a 'small part' of Wentworth Industries - does it have so much sentimental value that it warrants a separate disbursement in the will? [Of course, if you've seen the rest of this season, you'll realize that the writers have a good reason for dividing the company this way.]

- This is the first time this has happened, I think. It's one of my biggest pet peeves with regard to Dallas. When Pam and Bobby meet for coffee, they argue and Bobby walks out just as the waitress arrives. So Pam gets stiffed for the coffee! First time, I think. Definitely not the last.

AHN Michelle's corner: 

- In the beginning of the episode, Pam tells Theresa to put the last bag of her things in the back seat of her car. You are telling me that Pam can fit ALL of her belongings in the back seat of a PORSCHE!!!  She must not own that much!!!  Plus when Bobby looks in the back seat to say goodbye to Christopher, the back seat is empty!!! Excellent call! I didn't notice this but this is a blatant oversight by the writers!

- When Bobby is talking to Miss Ellie in the living room, he is chugging down hard liquor at what seems to be sometime in the early morning!!  How to tell this is because in the scene right before that, JR is in his pajamas, and Sue Ellen is still in bed!!!  Bobby drinks hard liquor for breakfast, WOW!!!! Time indexing is one of the hardest things to do - it could be a few hours later, but Ellie is the proverbial early bird...yeah, I think this one is warranted.

- When Bobby calls Katherine from his office to talk to Pam, he only dials 5 digits on his phone!!!  Plus the first number he dials is the number #2 twice.  Do numbers in Dallas, Texas start with 2??  Someone will have to look into that  one for us.
I have to check the tape - I usually watch for these things with diligence but I must not have been paying attention. This is something Patrick Duffy would do.

- Mickey's eye is all black and blue AROUND the eye, but his eye is perfect!! He has no trouble what so ever opening and closing it!!!  I know. This bothered me. Just like Rebecca being able to move her neck yesterday. I was busy making notes, so this slipped my mind.

- When the Cartel visits Cliff at his apartment, where the heck is Andy Bradley???  Doesn't he care that Cliff is turning into a drunk and a bum, and doesn't care about work, and might once again according to Jordan Lee be suicidal???  I guess not!!!

AHN Jason's corner: 

- I think there is another way to tell SF set episodes.  Check the garage windows.. They are bordered over on the fake SF.

-  Empty purse meter-  Donna at Cattlemen's, Lucy clearly has one when she gives Muriel her purse for the keys (Muriel seems to have a bulge in hers), Katherine at Pam's, Marilee at Cliff's, Pam when she and Bobby meet for coffee.

- Sue Ellen is seen in the lounge, reading what looks to be a blank composition notebook.  Recording in her diary that she reveals in the 11th season? Perhaps. Hadn't thought of that.

- I found it kind of strange that Donna would greet Jordan and Marilee but not say hi to Andy.  Of course, that would mean he would have another line to say, and two in one day is pushing it. I suppose so. Maybe Paul Sorenson gets tired easily.

- Like Jock, Rebecca leaves a trust fund for "all future" grandkids. Hmm, wonder if the same will writer did both confusing wills. Apparently he did. Lame.

- Just a note-  Hotels do not give out a person's room number for safety reasons.  I have to wonder how Mark got Pam's room number.  The hotel desk person called Pam AFTER he had started up to see Pam. Maybe he said "hey pal, I'm Mark Graison."

AHN Alett's corner: 

- Donna again with the black gloves.  Is she a hypochondriac?  Has excessive dry skin? What?

- Pam comes out and tells Katherine, "No, I just washed my hair."  I doubt she JUST washed her hair in the sink.  She should have just said, "I just took a shower." Isn't that just what women say? I have no idea.

- When Marilee and Jordan visit Cliff, suddenly that weird entertainment center with two TV's is gone and there's a fireplace there.

- We don't see anything wrong with Mickey's eye after the fight or when he gets in the car.  In their next scene, it's all purple.  How many hours was Lucy sitting there with him?

AHN Mike's corner: 

- Was that Pete, the gregarious ranch hand, who carried that huge stuffed animal for Pam? And how did he fit it into her storage space-challenged Porsche? By the way, that was a stuffed bear, but in Pam's suite at the Fairmount it turned into a huge stuffed giraffe! I think Pam actually mentioned both a bear and a giraffe, but that also makes me wonder how it all got there.

- Who was that strange guy sitting with the rest of the cartel at the Cattlemen's Club when Ray and Donna were asked to join them? By the way Marilee's roots were showing badly through her dye job.

- Are we supposed to believe that foxy 20'ish blonde in the bar was there with that senior citizen who beat up Mickey? If he was a millionaire, sure. But this was a cheap sleazy little dive in Braddock and he looked like a ranch hand. And how come the bar bimbos in Braddock are so good-looking? Because no one wants to see Mickey picking up ugly skanks.

- Clayton must not have a lot going on his life if he has nothing better to do than drive all the way out to SF on the chance Miss Ellie might be there.

AHN Pam's corner: 

- How late did J.R. and Sue Ellen sleep the morning Pam left?  Hopefully until at least noon because Bobby went in to the living room and poured himself a drink. I hope he wasn't doing this in the early morning hours.

-  Lucy and Muriel looked really stupid standing in the middle of the bar before the fight broke out. They stood there and had their conversation for about a minute or so.  Most people would have walked in and immediately either grabbed a table or sat at the bar.

- Ray and Donna drove up to the house on the way to the airport to tell Bobby they were sorry that Pam left.  Couldn't they have just picked up the phone and called him?  Also, was this a last minute decision or do they actually have to get on the main road to drive from their house to the main house.  It never seems so any other time.  But before they talked to Bobby the establishing shot of the main gate showed a car pulling in from the main road which was supposedly Donna and Ray.  Here's a rarity, the car pulled off the main road turning left in to Southfork.  I don't ever remember seeing this before and maybe not again, usually everyone turns right in to Southfork.

- McLeish had a big brass deer in front of the window behind him in abnormally snowy and freezing Toronto.  It must be a recent purchase, it wasn't there the last time Bobby spoke to him.

- Lucy's hair played some tricks of its own during the final scene in the living room.  The first shot of her, her hair is brushed back from the middle.  When she told J.R. she couldn't believe what she was hearing, it was parted on the left side.  In the last shot of her towards the end of the scene, her hair was again brushed back from the middle.


Episode 123: Brothers and Sisters

Bonehead Dialogue Award: [courtesy of Alett]

> Sue Ellen to Bobby: "What's she [Pam] doing with her time?"
(Bobby rightfully answers, "I wouldn't know.")

Pam Award: Katherine's boudoir look. I hate to say it but Pam still looks really good.

Angelica Award: Pam's skirt-of-many-colours ties with Ellie's worst clown collar to date.

Bobby Award: Cliff.

April Award: Sue Ellen for getting Bobby mad by reminding him about Pam's absence.


- The Cattlemen's Club has gone back to dressing its waitresses in sleazy uniforms. Am I the only one who thinks this place doubles as a Playboy club?

- When Sue Ellen is in her room talking to JR and applying her makeup, there's a continuity blip during a cut. Her arm moves higher on her face suddenly.

- AHN Pam alerted me to something last week. It was mentioned that there are 34 Ewing fields at this point, which should mean that on the big map of Texas behind JR, there should be 34 lit dots, each representing a field. In this episode, I got a fairly clear shot of the big board, and I count 31 dots. Bear in mind that a couple of the dots are rather big, so they may represent multiple fields.

AHN Anne's corner:

- Teresa did it again! When J.R. and Sue Ellen came down to dinner and J.R. greeted Teresa, she said, "Good evening, J.R." Teresa needs to learn her place.

- When Bobby comes home after his night at the office, the first thing Sue Ellen says is, "I'm sorry about Pam." Why on Earth would she say this now? Pam's been gone for at least a few days. It seems like the mandatory greeting for Bobby these days is: "Hi, Bobby, too bad about your wife." Yes, that's a good point.

- When Donna came over to visit Miss Ellie, the latter was wearing the most godawful collar I have ever seen—it looked like something straight out of a circus! Miss Ellie has worn collars like this before, but this was in poor taste, even for her. Outfits like these make it easy to see why viewers chose her as "Worst Dressed." :) She has a reputation to maintain at this point. That reminds me that I was bothered by something - Donna tells Ellie it's 9:15 and she says that she has to go change to meet Clayton. Wait a minute> didn't she know this when she woke up? Obviously it's the only thing on her mind. Why didn't she get dressed to meet Clayton when she first changed her clothes in the morning? Perhaps Ellie's 'breakfast-eating clothes' are in a different closet from the 'Clayton-meeting clothes'.

AHN Michelle's corner:

- At the beginning of the show when JR is in his office and Holly walks in, JR only shuts off the monitor on his computer, and NOT the computer itself. Somebody like Bobby, Holly, or even the cleaning person could come into JR's office and turn on the monitor and get all of JR's information and secrets! Yes - JR isn't too interested in security in the office or at home for that matter. Of course, the real reason is probably that Larry Hagman probably didn't know the first thing about computers at the time and probably figured that the way you erase a mistake is to liquid paper it out on the screen.

- I like how when Holly walks into JR's office at night, she doesn't even bother to knock, she just walks right into his office. #1-How did she know JR was there in his office, and #2-after being shot by his psycho sister-in-law  Kristen, while working at night, you might think JR might keep his office door locked!
My previous comment applies. As to how Holly knew he was in the office - that's an outstanding question! I've given up commenting about how little value the Ewings put on their own protection - I hashed it enough during the first two seasons.

- I think Andy Bradley was at the restaurant when the Cartel was talking to Ray and Donna. They showed him for about a second and he mumbled something about not liking JR.  That's what I couldn't understand, they showed him at the restaurant, but not when the Cartel went to visit Cliff.  Watch that part again, I am pretty sure it is him, and he mumbles something about disliking JR. I will watch it again - you've given me a lot to check!

- What does it say on the door, that Bobby slams open when he walks out of the restaurant after he sees Pam and Mark having lunch together?  Answer: Leave door unlocked at all times during business hours. Why would the door be locked DURING business hours? Oh, that's priceless! I didn't notice this at all! Good call!

AHN Jason's corner:

- Walt and JR stick out like sore thumbs at "Cocktails".  They really should have dressed down or something.

- Empty purse meter-  Phyllis and Sly at Ewing Oil,  Pam at lunch with Mark, Ellie at SF, SE at SF

- When Pam and Mark arrive back at the hotel, the maid seems to leave out a different door than where they came in.  Probably because she would block their shot if she headed out the same door.

- Bobby doesn't seem to have much of a morning shadow when he wakes up in his office.

- Cliff seems to have on a wedding ring.  KK is really married so it probably was his wedding band.

AHN Alett's corner:

- Ray, I beg to differ.  Jimmy Carter wasn't just a peanut farmer.  He had been governor of Georgia.

- The restaurant Pam and Mark meet in is supposedly "Summerhill".  When Bobby walks in and sees them, the name "Boggacio" is etched on the glass divider. Great catch!

AHN Mike's corner:

- If Roy Ralston came into my office and dumped 1431 pieces of mail on my carpet, I'd open up a king-size can of whoopass! And pour him a tall glass of shut-up juice.

- I thought Phyllis was MARRIED. Why is she talking about her date last night? I don't seem to recall Phyllis mentioning that she was married. Maybe she's divorced now or something. I'll have to check.

- Cliff looked like his hair had been combed by a helicopter. However, though he's suicidal and aimlessly moping around the house doing nothing, he's still dressed in suit pants and a dress shirt that look freshly pressed. That could be Afton's doing.

AHN Pam's corner:

- How did Holly know J.R. would still be in his office after hours?  Did she cruise through the garage at Ewing Oil and see his car or was it just parked out in front of the building as usual? Maybe she called earlier or something.

- It seems Katherine DOES have her own place.  She knocked on Pam's door, she wouldn't have done this if she lived with her, she would've had a key.  Also, Pam said she was going to call her later.  Again, she wouldn't do this if they were living together.  My guess is Katherine's suite is next door to Pam's. I think this makes sense.

- Roy Ralston said that there were 1,431 letters in the bag he dumped on the floor in J.R.'s office.  That pile seemed awfully small to be that many letters. I'd say it was more like 231. Maybe he left the other six bags at his office.

- Couldn't Dave have picked up the phone and called Ray and Donna to discuss his concerns over J.R. running for office?  If this is the only reason for his trip to Dallas he's really wasting the tax payers' money. Well, I assume he still lives there and keeps an office. That's iffy.


Episode 124: The Caribbean Connection

Bonehead Dialogue Award: [courtesy of Alett]

> Holly : "Didn't you want me to tell you if JR's shipping any more oil out of the country?"
> Bobby : "Is he?"

(No, Holly is just teasing you.)

Pam Award: I'll go with Katherine again. Holly in her white sweater was really nice too. Mark for the guys, I'm told.

Angelica Award: Katherine's blouse in her last scene. Where the hell did that come from?

Bobby Award: Bobby's helmet head was really bad today. Mr. Eugene is always a good choice.

April Award: None.


- When she meets with Bobby, Holly seems to suddenly find a real office - what happened to working out of her bedroom? I would have imagined she would prefer to have taken Bobby up to her bedroom to discuss matters.

- Bobby's learning - slowly. This time, when we see him dial out, he actually presses seven numbers! But he still manages to make a mistake. After receiving Eugene Bullock's call, he calls Ray immediately - without hanging up the phone.

- Phyllis dials seven numbers for Bullock Enterprises, which I suppose is okay. But the other secretary answers way too quickly - without even a dial tone or a ringing sound.

- When Driscoll meets JR for the last time to cabbage the arrangements for their deal, Driscoll doesn't snap his briefcase shut before leaving. Shouldn't it be awfully hard for him to hang on to that huge wad of cash JR gave him?

- Incredulously, when he calls the hotel room, Mark mistakes Katherine for Pam. Bobby did the same thing last week. What gives here?

AHN NIS astutely asked why...the combination is inside Walt's briefcase? Shouldn't you keep it with you in case you forgot it? You're right! Good call...this is really dumb when you think about it but I missed it.

AHN Michelle's corner:

- The service at Madison's restaurant must be really terrible, because if you look closely at the table where JR and Holly are sitting at, you will see that the salt and pepper shakers on the table are empty! Good one!

- When Roy calls Southfork, Sue Ellen picks up the phone and Roy asks to speak to Mrs. Ewing, and she says- "This is Mrs. Ewing". How did Sue Ellen know that she was the Mrs. Ewing he was looking for??  Miss Ellie is Mrs. Ewing, and Pam too, even though she doesn't live there anymore is still Mrs. Ewing. So Sue Ellen must be psychic or something, because he asked for Mrs. Ewing, but Sue Ellen knew it was for her! I know. I spotted this one too but it's happened so often.

- When Bobby called the motel that Driscoll was staying at, the front desk clerk told Bobby that Driscoll had left. #1-Does the front desk clerk really remember who EVERY single person is that checks into the motel? And #2-How exactly did he know that Driscoll was not in his room, because later in the episode when Bobby and Ray sneak into Driscoll's motel room, we see that his motel room is in the middle of the motel!! So its not like the front desk clerk could just look out the window and tell, because his room was in the middle of the motel!! Yeah, this is a good point. The clerk probably doesn't know everyone who checks in, but the person's name is certainly in the register. A better question is how the clerk knew that Driscoll wasn't there - the clerk should put Bobby through to the phone in Driscoll's room, and then find that Driscoll doesn't answer, and then tell Bobby that he's not there. This is a good one.    

- AHN Sara mentioned that Bobby did something good today.  He actually called Ray in an emergency instead of taking the time to walk to his house to tell him like usual.

AHN Jason's corner:

- I was surprised they bothered to include Kendall in the last scene.  Could have easily saved some cash.

- If Lucy dislikes JR (and Sue Ellen for marrying him), why doesn't she sit next to BOBBY on his side of the table.  NO ONE is on that side. No idea. Good one. I guess it's so that she's furthest away from Ellie so her grandma can't scold her for eating so much.

- Bobby sure parked his car weird.  It is faced out in the SF parking lot.  Kinda hard to do in such a cramped space.

- Holly calls Bobby at his home.  Is that wise with JR living there?

- Christopher plays with the same letter blocks JR bought John Ross in #89 BBQ 2. 

- In a rare out of character move, Donna OFFERS coffee to someone today.  I bet she swiped the pot from Ms. Ellie's kitchen and the REAL reason she doesn't like Mickey is he is mooching some of her loot.

AHN Alett's corner:

- Yesterday Miss Ellie told Donna to MAKE herself a cup of coffee> today Donna says the same thing to Mickey.  In both cases, the coffee is already MADE. All they need to do is POUR themselves a cup.

- Good one Mark.  Like Christopher needs another monstrous stuffed animal. Now the kid has THREE of them.  He might as well be sleeping in a zoo. He's going to have nightmares. After breast-feeding and now this, he's going to grow up thinking he's tiny.

- JR tells Holly : "I'm sure even you know $34.00 a barrel is the top price they're paying these days."  Of course she knows.  She just quoted him this price yesterday.

- The writers just recycled some of Sue Ellen's dialogue and gave it to Pam. She tells Mark it "wouldn't be right" to go out to dinner with him, and then ten seconds later she says, "I'd really like that." Yeah, come to think, it is recycled, isn't it? Perhaps this is why they've depushed Sue Ellen. Pam is in denial for the both of them.

- Bobby, international hero, strikes again.  Good thing he has Robin, oops, Ray with him. His momentary perplexity when he says, "It's locked," is just goofy.  A hotel room should always lock when you shut it from the outside. Those airport customs officials must be real dolts.  Even Ray figures out the false bottom in about 10 seconds. Maybe he's learned some of this stuff from Mickey.

AHN Mike's corner:

- Either Pam is living in an apartment building or that Fairview Hotel is a pretty cheap hotel. It looks like cheesy apartments from the outside. Pam could afford a lot better. But perhaps Katherine can't. I think it's safe to say she's living down the hall or something.

- Once again, a Dallas character can't deliver even a simply "thank you" message by phone, as Katherine tells Mark she has to discuss it in person. Mark pays her back for wasting his time by sitting down with her without showering after a racquetball game. Too bad he decided to shower before lunch, he should have made her sit through a fragrant lunch too.

- Pam leaves another dinner untouched as she goes out with Mark. Just send Bobby the bill and be sure to let him know it went uneaten because you went out with Mark.

- If JR was home, why didn't Sue Ellen give him the phone when Roy Ralston called? Instead she pretends he's not around and handles the call herself. By the way, Ralston appears to have rented Kirk Douglas' chin dimple. Because she has NOTHING to do. It's a shame how much Linda's been depushed.

- Mr. Eugene is supposed to have been retired a couple of years now. So why is he at his desk when Bobby calls? Hopefully the reason is that Sally is under the desk helping Mr. Eugene to enjoy his retirement. If that is truly the case, then good work my friend.

- Clayton has his hand on Miss Ellie's back the whole time during that househunting scene. He's getting a little bold for all his proclamation about this being friendship. Maybe BBG was tired and he's holding her up.

- The maid at Driscoll's motel examined the bill Ray gave her like she had good reason to believe it was counterfeit. Or like she had never seen a ten or twenty or whatever it was before.

AHN Pam's corner:

- Bobby played a Ewing grandchild today when he left a half a plate of food at the breakfast table.

- Holly stiffed J.R. in the restaurant when she didn't stick around to drink the glass of champagne she ordered.

- Donna told Mickey to help himself to a cup of coffee while he waited for Ray.  Mickey walked out with a china cup and saucer.  First of all, I'm surprised Donna had a pot of coffee made, I wasn't sure she even bought coffee but just mooched at Southfork.  Second, does she normally keep china cups and saucers sitting on the counter in case someone happens to drop by?

- Madison's looked like it had been remodeled once again when J.R. and Holly met.

- Theresa and Raoul are slacking again.  Bobby had phone duty twice today.  The first time was when Holly called> the second was when Mr. Eugene called.  Sue Ellen also had phone duty when Roy Ralston called. Those servants have it so easy.

-  Phyllis seemed to get three months of company cable and telegram records very quickly.  She had them for Bobby as soon as he finished talking to Mr. Eugene.  I would think that such records for the entire company might be kept in the accounting or telecommunications department.  It seems strange that Phyllis would be able to pull records for the entire company out of her file cabinet.

-  Bobby said to the camera guy that 20 minutes would be better for him than a half hour. Why? All he did when he left there was go back to his office and wait for Ray to call him.  I don't think 10 minutes would've made much difference here. Good call. I doubt there was a cut either because the last segment took the full 12 minutes.


Episode 125: The Sting

Bonehead Dialogue Award: [courtesy of Alett]

> Bobby to Lucy : "You going out?" 
(She's wearing a plunging neckline, short skirt, and is heading for her car.  I doubt she's just going to sit there and listen to the car stereo.)

Pam Award: Very difficult choice today. No one stood out.

Angelica Award: Lucy has another bubblegum dress when driving home with Mickey. Pam's shimmering orangey velour outfit is awful, as is Katherine's last outfit.

Bobby Award: Mickey.

April Award: Walt for leaving his doors unlocked and windows open.


- I found it really odd that Bobby would get into Ray's truck, open Walt's briefcase to confirm that there's money in it, and THEN go and make a phone call to the airport. It's pretty much standard procedure for Bobby to do these kinds of things well out in the open.

- Walt must not be in as much of a hurry as he claimed to be if Bobby's standing there waiting at the airport for him. Or does Ray know a shortcut to DFW?

- This Garcia fellow bothers me. Doesn't he want his money? Why does he tell JR off the first time they talk? He tells him not to involve him further because he 'doesn't like the way [JR] does business.' That's no way to talk to someone who owes you a hundred thousand. And then he changes his mind and says he won't tell him his contact's name in Cuba? Sounds to me like someone who definitely wants to be involved. It's possible that Garcia just wants more money, but it seems like an odd way of going about it - he could have said so from the beginning. Pissing off a person who wants to give you money is not a good negotiating tactic.

- When JR leaves the jail the second time, he heads to the door and is halfway out when Walt starts yelling. Then we cut back to him and he's again halfway out the door. Odd.

- When Lucy tells Mickey about her ordeal with Roger, she says she hasn't told anything about Roger to anyone except good ol' Pam - what about Muriel? Muriel was the one who sat up with her while she found out she was pregnant. Is she not worth mentioning here?

- When Bobby comes over to bring Christopher back to Pam's place, she's getting dressed for the day. Pam gets all upset because she says she had plans - then why isn't she dressed already? Of course, the real world reason is so Mark and Bobby can have almost have a fight and then Pam can rush in to break it up.

A new submitter, Mike H., pointed out: Another nit from episode 125 was that right after it showed Ray's wrecked truck, a couple of scenes later, you saw Ray's truck pulling into Southfork miraculously repaired......(I wish body shops here worked as fast!!) Yes, it is fixed! How 'bout that!

AHN Michelle's corner:

- In the beginning of the episode, when Walt gets in his car, if you look at his car, you will see that the windows on his side, and the passengers side were ALREADY rolled down!  It must be a real friendly neighborhood!!  We all know why the windows were down, was so that Bobby could switch briefcases, but who in real life, goes to a motel and leaves their car windows rolled down! You're right, it's awfully convenient.

- When JR goes into Bobby's room to confront him about how Bobby ruined JR's deal, Bobby is suppose to be just getting out of the shower, because he is drying himself off, BUT, Bobby's hair is dry, BONE DRY! And he wasn't suppose to be getting into the shower, because he was drying himself off, and then he PUT ON his watch!  I guess Bobby must either wear a shower cap, or doesn't wash his hair!
Either one is possible I suppose - maybe he realized that Pam took all of the Jhirmack shampoo out of their room and so he...Ah, never mind. I'll leave it to the nitpickers to decide.

AHN Jason's corner:

- I assumed Walt was staying at a hotel in Dallas, but the sheriff has a patrol car from Braddock. I wondered about that too. I guess in a way it could be an obvious tip-off to Walt if he wasn't so frazzled.

- Sure are a lot of spectators around Ray's truck after the accident but NO ONE sees Bobby make the switch with Walt's briefcase.  Wouldn't it have been funny if the passenger side door was locked and he couldn't get in? Would have been hilarious, but that never happens in Texas.

- Today is the only time Cliff refers to Barnes Wentworth as Barnes Oil.  Must be so he can piss off Katherine.

- The events of this episode obviously occur within an hour or so from the previous episode, but Pam is seen at lunch with Mark, wearing a different outfit than the one she had on when she was supposed to have Chinese with Katherine and Cliff.  And what happened to that meal?  Why is she eating lunch with Mark and not her loving family?  Also, I could be wrong but did Sly change clothes since the last episode? I don't know if it's an hour - could be more, if it's summertime which it probably is. I'll have to think about that a little bit.

AHN Alett's corner:

- The "accident" is no big deal.  This crowd gathering around it must really lead dull lives to be this enthralled. I guess it's a slow day in Dallas.

- How unprofessional of that waiter at the restaurant where Pam and Mark are. He should know better than to let a champagne cork POP like that. I'm not a drinker. You'll have to explain that one to me.

- Right on cue Christopher cries and has to have a bottle stuck in his mouth. That tummy on him suggests he's trained those adults very well. Quite right. Between that and the breast-feeding, that's one lucky kid.

- Bobby complains he had to get Christopher's things together by himself. Are we really supposed to believe Theresa told him, " I do meals only - I don't do kids." Maybe she did. Good point.

- Bobby's pretty smug in believing he's saved Ewing Oil, but technically Walt is so steamed at JR he could still spill the beans to the government. But the difference is a capital offense vs. INTENT to commit a capital offense, if I understand my law. If JR did not benefit from his illegal activity, then the Feds don't have much of a case. Where's the money?

AHN Mike's corner:

- Could Bobby have acted any more suspicious at the accident site? Skulking behind a tree, sneaking in a hunched over fashion around the car, he even had a guilty look on his face! Just act like you belong there and aren't doing anything unusual.

- Why does Pam's nanny have to wear a uniform? And why does Pam even need a nanny? It's not like she has anything to do except have an occasional meal with Mark. She doesn't go to the studio or The Store either. Seems like Christopher has become a very low priority lately. Quite right. But unlike John Ross, he's visible.

- Pam is an idiot scheduling Bobby and Mark an hour apart. Maybe subconsciously she wanted them to meet and brawl. Too bad it wasn't in a bar. Bobby's offense was weak. He seems to thrive in barroom settings only. I agree. What happened to the fists of fury?

- Why is Punk suddenly hanging around with the cartel members? He never did before and he wasn't part of the cartel. Is he lonely for Jock or has he suddenly joined them? Maybe he likes this new, more talkative Andy Bradley.

AHN Pam's corner:

- Louise, Pam's maid, should really learn her role. She sat on the couch and watched while Pam and Bobby had their argument over Pam's relationship with Mark. Then after Bobby stormed out Louise looked like she was giving Pam a very dirty look.  Maybe she's got a crush on Bobby?

- Cliff came over on a Sunday morning to take Pam and Katherine to brunch.  Where the hell was Afton?? Is Cliff so cheap that she only is allowed out of the house for a meal once a week and she got to go to the Cattlemen's for lunch the next day so she had to skip Sunday brunch? An excellent question. Totally missed that.

- Dallas must have a body shop that works over night even on the weekends.  J.R. noticed Ray's broken headlight on Saturday night.  We know this because Bobby had picked up Christopher that morning for the weekend and the next morning Cliff said it was Sunday.  When we saw the establishing shot of Ray's truck pulling in to SF, the same day, the headlight looked fine. I suspect it might be a different truck.

- The backdrop at Southfork when Lucy was heading to her car was horrible.  It looked worse than usual.


Episode 126: Hell Hath No Fury

Bonehead Dialogue Award: [courtesy of Val]

> Mickey: "Are you hungry?"
> Lucy: "I don't know. I haven't thought about it."

Lucy, either you're hungry or you're not. It's not something you really think about.

Pam Award: None of the ladies merit it, so let's go with Bobby in tight pants for the ladies.

Angelica Award: Bobby's Disco Inferno outfit when meeting Thorny the Snowman.

Bobby Award: What the hell died on Katherine's head?

April Award: None really, but I think I'd like to offer to one to Bobby for allowing himself to be used as his wife's love toy. Does he actually expect her to turn around because of their night together?


- Bobby dials six numbers when calling Phyllis at the office.

- I'm really sick of this Canadian weather-bashing. Today it's totally ridiculous. McLeish says that temperatures at their drill site hit 100 below zero? Is that Celsius, like we use in Canada? If so, then I understand the problem because the drillers probably are having trouble swimming through the liquid nitrogen that is forming from air particles. Sheesh.

- If this Mr. McIntyre fellow sounds familiar, he should. He gets reincarnated in a future life as Dr. Styles, father of Ms. Kimberly Styles, in the 87-88 season.

AHN Michelle's corner:

- When JR goes to the restaurant, how the heck does he walk in and immediately spot Katherine?  First of all, her back is toward him, and second, there are plants right behind her where she is sitting!  But JR walks right in, and knows exactly where she is!! 

- ONCE AGAIN, JR has no concern about his security what so ever, because once again, he is working late at night in his office, with the door wide open, and Holly walks right in!  I mean come on JR, any psychopath could walk in off the street and blow you away!! Then when JR leaves to go to the nightclub with Holly, he DOESN'T even shut off his computer, OR monitor!  I wonder, does he even bother to lock up the building when he leaves?  If I was the cleaning person, I would steal all of his secrets and info. that he has on his computer!
Computer crime wasn't such a big deal back then. This is true, though. I've just gotten tired talking about how the Ewings don't value security.

- When Bobby goes over to see Katherine, after she called him up, Katherine tells him that Pam went to the French Riviera with Graison, Bobby ONLY asked about Pam.  What about Christopher!  Doesn't Bobby care about his son, and where he is!
Hey, you're right! Good call!

- Why the heck wouldn't JR wash his shirt with the lipstick on it? I know that it is probably the maids job to wash clothes, but JR must have realized that his shirt must have smelled like perfume, because Holly was all over him at the bar. And Holly looks like a woman who would wear perfume. JR can't be that dumb, that he would not know to throw his shirt in the wash when he got home!!
I don't think it's dumbness - just force of habit. Sue Ellen probably hasn't done a single load of laundry in her life. She doesn't care about his clothes unless she has a reason too. And besides, she was asleep when he got back. This is iffy.

AHN Val's corner:

- The stock footage of JR driving out of the Southfork gate was that of JR's OLD car--the one from the first two seasons. He has since bought a newer model. A note to the editors: you need to pay attention to these little details, boys!

- I was surprised that Holly had Bobby meet her at her real office instead of her master suite. Yeah, I know Holly's disenchanted with anything Ewing at this point, but I'm still surprised she didn't seize the moment to have the handsome Bobby into her lair. She did the same thing a few days ago. I don't get it.

- Bobby talks about the first time he saw Pam--six years ago at a Ewing Barbecue. Well, if that's true, then the writers of "The Early Years" rewrote history. I think at this point the viewers are sticking to the official storyline that Pam was born in 1952, so it would have been impossible for her to be at the 1951 BBQ. Even if we say that "The Early Years" happened, it would be difficult for Bobby to remember seeing the three-year-old Pam for a brief moment on the swings. 

AHN Jason's corner:

- If Holly is so desperate to see Bobby, why does she keep calling the office?  Why not at home?  She knows his number because she called before. How does Bobby know where to meet Holly at?  Phyllis didn't say that she would be at her office or her house. Maybe she's moved her office out of her bedroom. Bad timing, now that she seems to be entertaining the Bob-man a lot.

-What a coincidence!  JR takes Holly to bar also named "Cocktails". Definitely different from Walt's Cocktails bar. Maybe it's a local franchise. Hey, that would answer a lot of questions! Let's assume that there's a "Cocktails" franchise and a "Restaurant" franchise in the Metroplex. Of course, that eliminates a whole lot of nits.

- Some really obvious scenes were cut today.  Cliff must have had one or two where he brags about his chance at the McLeish deal to his siblings. Holly and Sue Ellen apparently met up early in the episode where Sue Ellen tells her about how wonderful her life with JR is.  Holly and JR presumably shag and she gives his shirt the kiss of death. Yes. Though I can't see what else could have been cut instead. Maybe the Lucy/Mickey scene or Ray/Donna.

- Sue Ellen and Holly have empty purses at lunch.

AHN Alett's corner:

- It seems odd to have two guys just hanging around the lobby at Ewing Oil during Bobby's phone call to Phyllis. Yes. Can't imagine why they're there.

- When Bobby is reminiscing about how he and Pam met, he complains she spent the whole EVENING dancing with Ray at the Ewing BBQ.  We've never seen a BBQ go on into the night. Maybe it did in happier times.  Actually, I believe that next year's BBQ goes into the night.

- With all Pam's complaints that Bobby isn't the same man she married, I dare say he could lodge the same complaint about her.  All that "it was just sex.....it was just a moment" stuff is pretty cold. Very cold. I don't know why Bobby challenges her with that. Or maybe this IS the real Pam. Who knows?

AHN Mike's corner:

- Teresa must have received a smackdown. She is back to calling JR "Mr Ewing" and flashing big toothy grins as she subserviently pours his coffee. That "JR" crack must have earned her a depush.

- Poor Mark, he thinks by taking Pam to the Riviera she's going topless on the beach. Little does he know that Pam doesn't wear anything but the most conservative one pieces. I believe you're right, we'll have to see over the next few episodes.

AHN Pam's corner:

- Sue Ellen was talking out of her chin again while on the phone making her lunch date with Holly.

- Christopher is really low on Pam's list of priorities lately.  She's got a nanny for him, basically so she can date Mark or go anywhere anytime she pleases, and now she's left him to take a trip to France.  There was a time when she wouldn't have let this child out of her sight.  What gives?? No idea. I wish Bobby had sued her for custody.

-Someone mentioned the fact that obvious scenes were cut from this episode.  I had the original broadcast of this episode on tape for quite awhile before I had taped a couple of movies after it. Yes there were some key scenes cut.  There was a scene in Pam's suite in which Cliff DOES come over and brags to Katherine and Pam about the fact that he may have the opportunity to buy Bobby's Canadian fields.  Pam begins to feel bad about it and has some compassion for Bobby because he's been through a lot lately and because she was the one who helped Bobby land that deal in the first place.  This of course prompted her phone call to Bobby and invite him over for drinks...but why not dinner??  Also, Sue Ellen and Holly did run in to each other at Mr. David's, a hair salon.  They chat and Sue Ellen starts jabbering about how wonderful life is with J.R. which gives Holly the idea to destroy his marriage.  Holly and J.R. didn't shag.  There was another scene before their last scene together where Holly and J.R. were shown dancing in the bar and that's when she kissed his collar. That was my guess. Thanks for confirming. I seem to recall this last scene from the first time TNN showed it.

- J.R. commented that Katherine liked to choose out of the way places to have their meetings.  For someplace that was supposedly out of the way, it seemed awfully busy for lunchtime.

-  I'm surprised that Lucy would just leave with Mickey immediately following a photo shoot.  Most models don't model in their own clothes, even for head shots for ads.  They usually like to change.  Also, they generally have on so much makeup that they'd really like to wash their face before walking out on the street.  Lucy is not such a naturally striking beauty that she doesn't need any makeup. Lucy should've told Mickey she needed at least five minutes to change and wash her face.


Episode 127: Cuba Libre

Bonehead Dialogue Award: [courtesy of me]

> Donna to Lil: "Don't worry. You'll still see a lot of the old Mickey."
Wasn't that the problem in the first place?

Pam Award: Though I don't like her hair, I'll go with Holly at JR's office. Kendall looked very bodacious today as well.

Angelica Award: Katherine. The only competition is Sue Ellen's ugly skirt in Bobby's office.

Bobby Award: Katherine again. She's not ugly, but her mother is sure dressing and styling her funny.

April Award: Bobby for liking Katherine's ridiculous outfit.


- When Sue Ellen calls Holly, why does she address her as 'Miss Harwood'? When they met in yesterday's episode, Holly called her, informally and rather tactlessly, 'Sue Ellen'. So why is Sue Ellen being formal, respectful, or both? I can't see that mock respect is called for.

- Why is there a hotel called Majestic in France? Shouldn't it be called La Majestique or something? Must be to make all those rich Texans feel at home.

- After Bobby and Katherine meet with Mr. Sperry, he leaves and he spends about twenty seconds twirling her in the air. Then they rush out to the outer office to go to the elevators and celebrate. Mr. Sperry is capital-g Gone. This quickly? Did he run to the elevators, catch one immediately, and hurry down to get away from the lovely secretaries?

AHN Anne's corner:

- J.R.'s contact in Puerto Rico is speaking English with his secretary. That's a major oversight on the part of the writers.
I caught that too! Good one. It's possible that he may want to dictate his letter in English, but the rest is ridiculous..

- Holly tells Sue Ellen to come to her house. Is her address common knowledge? 

AHN Jason's corner:

- The whole JR/Garcia exchange was weird.  Maybe I am missing something but shouldn't they have played this "let's negotiate price" hardball before they met?  Seemed really stupid, although I can't explain why. It was very strained, that's why.

- Empty purse meter-  Sue Ellen at Holly's, Sue Ellen at Bobby's, Katherine with Bobby,  Pam in France, Katherine at hotel, Afton at Cattlemen's Club. Empty suitcase meter-  Lil with Donna at the house.

- The real SF was seen early on in stock footage, with little Styrofoam buoys in the pool but later when Mickey swims in the tank pool of the Southfork set, they are gone.

AHN Alett's corner:

- The self-effacing Lil is getting on my nerves.  When Donna offers to make coffee, she says, "I don't want to make you any work."  Geez.  Donna arranged and paid for her flight and picked her up at the airport, but COFFEE would be too much work.

- When Mark is waiting for Pam to come into the hotel, her entrance makes it obvious she was standing still waiting for her cue to enter.

AHN Val's corner:

- When talking on the phone with Donna, Aunt Lil has an entirely different kitchen than when Ray and Donna were visiting a few months earlier. It's possible that she redecorated, but the new set up--with 40's era yellow floral wallpaper--is even more dated than her last kitchen.

- Those didn't look like beer bottles from which Mickey and Ray were drinking. They looked more like jumbo sized cough syrup bottles.

- Just a thought: Has Elliot changed his clothes ONCE since he's been in Holly's employ? He wears the same shimmery grey Bobby-button down shirt and grey sansabelt slacks in every show he appears. I doubt it. I have a feeling all of these scenes may have been shot at once.

- Why was Sue Ellen brought into Holly's "office" bedroom for their little chat? This seemed so odd. It's always been my experience that whenever you visit one's home, you do your visiting in one of the "common" rooms, like the living room or the kitchen table. But the bedroom???? Not unless someone's sick in bed! She seems to meet with everyone other than Bobby there. I don't understand it either.

AHN Mike's corner:

- Sue Ellen has "things to do" and is too busy to go to Puerto Rico with JR? Like what? John Ross hasn't been seen with her for weeks. She's not involved in the DOA or any of her charities. Is shopping a full-time job? Apparently. Obviously she just doesn't want to go anywhere with JR, that's all.

- What were Donna and Ellie eating in their SF kitchen lunch? Looked like tatertots to me.

- With Pam in France, the Dallas hairdresser who specializes in making Pam look bad by putting her hair up, went to work on Lucy for the restaurant scene.

- I see Mickey is a member of the Alan Beam Chest Hair Club For Men (sez Alan "I'm not only an attorney and the president but I'm also a member.")

- Boy those Cubans really are feeling the embargo! That prison camp JR was in only had about a four foot wall around it and no barbed wire. I guess steel imports are down too.

AHN Pam's corner:

- Lil told Donna that she had pretty much talked Ray in to taking Mickey back to Southfork. When?  She was such a damn wimpy parent in Emporia that she had no clue what was going on in Mickey's life!  If it did happen, we never saw it and I don't remember ever seeing it during any other broadcast, including the original run of the series. 

- Sue Ellen just walked in to Bobby's office, she didn't even knock and he seemed very surprised to see her so I doubt she was announced.  This was odd, she's always announced whenever she comes to see J.R.  Where
were the secretaries?

- Bobby was hitting random keys on his computer when Sue Ellen walked in to his office.  Somehow I doubt he's going to have very accurate information this way.

- Sue Ellen was speaking out of her chin again today while on the phone with Holly.

-Cliff told Bobby to come over and he'd buy him a drink. Bobby walked over to the bar and there was already a drink waiting for him!  Cliff didn't ask him what he wanted and Bobby never told the bartender. Does Bobby spend so much time boozing it up at the Cattlemen's that as soon as they see him they automatically prepare a scotch on the rocks??  BTW, he took one sip from his drink and left the rest on the bar.


Episode 128: Tangled Web

Bonehead Dialogue Award: [courtesy of Alett]

> Ewings' dark-haired drill expert : "It's the only one we tested that's got a good chance of making it."......."I thought Wentworth's drill was ready for testing." 
(Well, which is it? They have tested it, or are they going to test it?)

Pam Award: Katherine. Whoa, baby!

Angelica Award: TBA.

Bobby Award: I didn't think Katherine's upsweep was THAT bad, but there wasn't much else.

April Award: Pam for thinking Mark just accompanied her to France to play backgammon.


- When Katherine comes to Cliff's place, she has no purse. That must have been an interesting...walk.

- Sue Ellen's first dinner outfit is recycled from a while ago. I don't remember exactly when.

- Wait a minute. Holly has a female secretary at her office, but a male secretary at home. Many things bother me about this.

- When Katherine goes over to Southfork, with the ridiculous excuse of bringing over some of Christopher's toys, why do we see her coming down the stairs, as though she took them upstairs herself? Probably because she did take them upstairs herself. So why exactly do the Ewings pay Teresa and Raoul? Shouldn't one of them have taken the packages up to the nursery? This is ridiculous. I know that the real reason is so Katherine can hang around to meet Bobby, but at least they could have had one of the servants come down the stairs with her so it looks like they were paying attention.

- JR's computer is weird. At first, we see him hit a bunch of keys and then it takes a few seconds for the computer to respond - that was normal in 1983. But then, suddenly, the image on the screen changes from a bar chart to a a graph without any input on the keyboard!

- Though I'm giving away a trivia answer, we should all note that Pam's in room 106. 106. That would be the first floor, wouldn't it? Why would Pam not get herself a penthouse, like she did in Dallas? This makes no sense at all.

- When Holly meets Sue Ellen at Mr. David's, her sweater is weird. At first, it's sort of on her shoulder and then when she sits down it's totally off.

AHN Anne's corner:

- This is the end of the season, which means that it's spring in Dallas. I'm from the Midwest and the nights are fairly warm here, they must be hot down South. That's why it irked me that Sue Ellen would wear a huge mink over to Holly Harwood's house. Seriously, she was weighed down by this coat and I just don't get why she was putting herself through the hell outside of winter. Well, it gives her an excuse for her painfully slow walk from her car to Holly's door. I guess it's just a glamour thing...wearing a fur coat in the springtime means that you're far too rich to care about the weather.

- The next thing is a minor nit. When Sue Ellen gets off the phone with J.R., she tells Clayton that he and Miss Ellie will be eating alone that night. Sue Ellen was invited to dinner with them? That doesn't sound like something Miss Ellie would have approved of and before the other night, Clayton and Sue Ellen were barely speaking> I can't believe that he would have suggested it. Yes. This is silly. Why on earth would JR and Sue Ellen be invited out with Clayton and Ellie? I don't think either one of them would be too enthusiastic about it.

AHN Michelle's corner:

- When Holly goes to see Sue Ellen at the beauty parlor, how the heck does Holly know that Sue Ellen is there!!!!!  Holly just walks right in and says she wants to talk to Mrs. Ewing. What is Holly psychic or something, she knows Sue Ellen's daily schedule, where she will go, and what she will do???  She must!!! I was wondering about this myself - I figured Holly just followed her or she just happened to see Sue Ellen there once, or maybe it's just 'the' place to go for a manicure. Tough call.

- When Afton calls up Pam in France, how does Afton know the hotel and phone number where Pam is staying???  I don't remember Pam telling Cliff or Afton that she was going to the French Riviera, ONLY Katherine!!!
Afton must have heard from Katherine at some point. How she finds the hotel and phone number is a good question though. Maybe she picked the Majestic out of the Paris phone book because it was the only French hotel with an English name.

- Afton gets all upset when she gets disconnected from Pam on the phone, but why??? Why doesn't Afton just call her back!!!
I have my own little theory about that. Cliff is such a cheapskate, right? So I figure that Afton thinks she can explain one long-distance call as just a wrong number or something, but two calls might looks suspicious. I'm trying to think like a dumb blonde here. Seriously, maybe Afton just figures that the connections are so bad it's not worth trying again till later. Or maybe because she knows she's going to take five minutes to get to the damn point! If you think Afton should stop being such annoying Cliff lemming and start using her head, give me a HELL YEAH!

- When Sue Ellen goes over to Holly's house, the front door is UNLOCKED! I know that Holly was setting up Sue Ellen, but leaving the front door unlocked???  And where was her maid and boytoy secretary? What did she do, give them the night off?  ONCE AGAIN, a big lack of security. Anybody could walk right in, Sue Ellen did!
Yeah, but it's just so Sue Ellen can waltz in and take her sweet time doing it. She probably gave the servants the night off and took a chance that nobody would sneak in to her unprotected house and rob her blind.

AHN Jason's corner:

- Geez,  nice to FINALLY see John Ross again.  Finally decided to pay for a ticket to CA for Tyler Banks. It's only for this scene, if I recall correctly. Next time we see him he will be Omri Katz. Are we sure it's Tyler?

- I realize that they couldn't show this on TV, but don't women usually sunbathe topless in Cannes? Many do, but not the [relatively] wimpy American women. I believe there are nude beaches and non-nude.

- Empty purse meter-  Pam in France,  Holly at Mr. David's, Sue Ellen and Holly at Ewing Oil.

AHN Alett's corner:

- On the beach during her talk with Mark, Pam has hair problems.  At first, a few strands are over her left shoulder, and then suddenly they're tucked behind her shoulder.

- What's the big worry over being able to feed John Ross?  Stick a plate of food in front of him, and that's it.  He's been feeding himself for some time now.  The only real concern should be that Sue Ellen won't be there to put him to bed.

AHN Val's corner:

- When Sue Ellen was getting her nails done, the manicurist told her to "let that dry".  I assume that meant the nail polish.  Then Holly showed up and the two started talking.  Sue Ellen picked up a cup with both hands and started drinking.  Look at her hands.  There is NO nail polish on them whatsoever.  So what needed to dry?  Did the manicurist have her soaking in Palmolive? When Sue Ellen was getting her nails done, the manicurist told her to "let that dry".  I assume that meant the nail polish.  Then Holly showed up and the two started talking.  Sue Ellen picked up a cup with both hands and started drinking.  Look at her hands.  There is NO nail polish on them whatsoever.  So what needed to dry?  Did the manicurist have her soaking in Palmolive?

AHN Mike's corner:

- Bobby obviously knew the underseas phone lines to France suck, as he chooses to fly there instead of doing the logical thing, which is to call. As to Afton not calling back after being disconnected, I believe this may have been back in the days when you had to get hold of an AT&T overseas operator to make a connection for you and then call you back when she had reached the called party - a sometimes arduous and hit or miss process.

- For a multimillionaire playboy, Mark Graison sure has some of the most cliched lines in the history of man-woman relationships ("You want me as much as I want you." Etc.). And if Pam's fellow Texans at the Alamo had resisted as little as Pam did, they'd have waved the white flag the first time they spotted a Mexican soldier uniform. The little tramp - especially after she moaned about how rumors would be starting and she and Mark had done nothing to deserve them. It amazes me how much of a Pam mark I used to be. Last year I was still finding myself clinging to the belief that Pam was worth Bobby's attention. How deluded I was.

- I had to re-run this a second time but in the last frames of Sue Ellen peering from her car at Holly's house, I could swear I saw a couple of snowflakes falling. Since this scene was most likely filmed in California, was the prop department adding fake flakes to make the scene (and the use of the fur coat) more realistic? I'll have to double check this.

AHN Pam's corner:

- The establishing shot of Cannes was OK, but the scene at the beach where Pam meets her friends is definitely NOT Cannes!  I've been to Cannes and this looked nothing like it.  Cannes is very built up near the beach.  I was there in '90 but I have a friend who was there in the mid 80's visiting family and I've seen pictures from that time and it was more built up even then.  This was definitely California, it looked kind of like the beaches around Malibu. Thanks for reminding me. I was thinking this but forgot to make a note.

- Who are George and Marie Walker anyway?  Pam told Mark they were old friends from Dallas.  Funny, we've never even heard of them until now. Cheaper than flying Jordan Lee or Andy Bradley in. [And less disgusting than seeing either one in swimwear.]

- Katherine didn't have a purse at Cliff's and those pants didn't didn't seem to have pockets for her keys either.  She didn't have a purse so it's safe to say she probably couldn't take a cab because she wouldn't have cab fare.  My husband suggests that maybe she took a limo over to Cliff's and it was waiting outside. Kathy doesn't strike me as being the limo type. Sorta gregarious for her.

- WOW!!  Not only does John Ross make an appearance, but he's allowed to eat at the dining room table.  Of course the only reason he's allowed to eat there is because no one else is eating there.  Also, why would Sue Ellen or Clayton have to feed John Ross??  He's been feeding himself for quite sometime already, I think he can manage. I know I could at three-and-a-half.

- Katherine should really find a better cleaners to press her clothes.  When she walked in to the living room at Southfork with Bobby the back of her red blouse had a big wrinkle right down the middle. Really? Didn't notice because she's got such a SWEET walk.

- When Ray was telling Lil about Jock the coffee pot was visible behind his head.  There was actually coffee in the pot, I would assume Donna made it to serve after dinner.  I'll bet she'll be serving cold coffee since the warming light wasn't on.


Episode 129: Things Ain't Going Too Good at Southfork

Bonehead Dialogue Award: [courtesy of Alett]

> Ellie : "Is she drunk?" 
(Well, duh.)

Pam Award: Pam in her white dress. She doesn't deserve it, but what the hell.

Angelica Award: Both of Lucy's dresses are awful.

Bobby Award: Bobby by default.

April Award: Lucy for dawdling [and allowing Mickey to dawdle] while Sue Ellen makes her getaway. Clayton for leaving Sue Ellen all alone and letting her get drunk.


- When Pam calls Southfork, Theresa tells Bobby it's a long distance call. I think it's safe to assume from this that it's not Pam herself who is speaking, but probably an operator, because otherwise Theresa would say, "It's Mrs. Ewing.". So why wouldn't the operator say that it was an 'overseas' call rather than a 'long-distance' call? Very odd. And how come the line is suddenly very clear, after Afton had so much trouble getting a good connection yesterday? Awfully convenient.

- Speaking of Pam, she makes less sense than Afton when she's talking to Bobby! Yesterday I was going to comment that Afton was incoherent almost to the point of babbling, but I've changed my mind. Pam wins that award, hands down. And after giving Bobby the "South Park Bus Lady" attitude, she demands answers from him about her sister? I wish that Bobby had responded to her query with "IT DOESN'T MATTER what I'm doing with Katherine!"

- And speaking of phones: this is one my sister caught. When Sue Ellen calls Clayton's hotel and finds that he's not in his room, you hear the quarter clink in the pay phone after Sue Ellen hangs up the phone. Shouldn't this happen as soon as the connection is made? Otherwise you could talk for a half hour and then press the coin return to get your money back!

- Okay, here's one for all of you people who think I'm too rough on Clayton. Even the most persistent Clayton mark amongst you has to admit that it is exceedingly oxy for him to keep MORE THAN ONE blue shirt in his closet with his initials monogrammed on it. That's rather vain. We know there's more than one because Sue Ellen's wearing one, and so is he when he comes back to Southfork. I'm going out on a limb and guessing it's not the same one.

- Speaking of the shirt: I'm surprised that in her drunken state Sue Ellen is able to button up Clayton's shirt to almost the very top. Not once but twice.

- Despite Linda Gray's wonderful acting talents [and yes, I was sad after they canceled Models Inc.], I have one complaint: when she's sobered up the morning after crashing at Clayton's place, she forgets to turn on her Texas accent. If you listen carefully, she's talking in her normal Linda Gray voice, not her Sue Ellen voice.

- Who is this Doris woman who is suddenly the front receptionist at Ewing Oil? What happened to the lovely and bodacious Kendall? And if Doris is a temp, how come Bobby and JR know who she is? Perhaps Bobby would know because he tends to care about his employees, but would JR be interested in knowing the names of the temps?

- When Bobby tells JR about Sue Ellen's call, she says she's with some friends. But Bobby tells JR that she's with "a friend". Why? How was Bobby able to divine this information?

- When Clayton and Ellie bring Sue Ellen home, why do they all sit in the front seat? Sue Ellen is sandwiched between them in the front, even though Clayton's driving a freaking Lincoln Town Car [I think it is - it's that big, anyway.] What possible trouble can Sue Ellen get into in the back seat of the car? [Assuming there's not another man back there, at least.]

- MattMC and MEH both pointed out that the car Sue Ellen and Mickey leave the driveway in is J.R.'s 1983 Mercedes sedan, but the one that flips is his old one, possibly a 1979 model. MattMC goes on to say that they had J.R. mistakenly drive up to Southfork in it the other day, too.

- MattMC also asked if anyone else noticed the Ever-Changing Desk in Pam's hotel suite? There are at least two alternating (and completely different) desks. I haven't noticed, because I'm so disinterested in the Pam/Mark storyline. Pam is so bitchy and annoying right now. But I'll take your word for it. 

AHN NIS's corner:

- Did JR back his car in when he came home? When Sue Ellen takes off in JR's car, she pulls straight out. She also takes time to fasten her seat belt so Mickey has time to jump in.
It looks like he did - which he ordinarily does not. Awfully convenient for Sue Ellen, not to mention the writers. And you're right - it's a good thing she's so safety conscious, or else we'd be subjected to more of this dumb Mickey/Lucy/Aunt Lil storyline.

- Did Pam drive to the airport when she went to France? I thought she and Mark left together. I would think that they would have taken his car, a limo or something. And would they leave in his private jet from the main airport? Assuming Pam took a commercial flight back, and the private jet left from a different airport, how did she get her car? (Ok, she took a cab to wherever her car was but I believe she said she was coming straight from the airport)
We're not told or shown how Pam got to the airport. Maybe she flew back from Paris on the shiny new broom that Mark bought for her.

- When Pam called Bobby, I believe it was after 9:00pm (eating late again) Dallas time (the time Holly was supposed to meet JR). It would be after 4:00am in Paris (+7hrs). Kinda early.
Good call! Even if you give them an hour or so, it is awfully early.

- If Pam left in the evening/night then she wouldn't arrive in the morning Dallas time. You would have to leave in the middle of the night (1:00am) to get to Dallas in the morning. Most flights leave mid-morning and arrive in the afternoon.
Let me think about this. I remember coming back to Toronto from London. We left in the afternoon about 3 PM London Time and got into Toronto at about 7 PM Toronto time. The flight was about eight hours or so. Paris is one hour ahead of London, and Dallas is one hour behind Toronto. So if you left in mid-morning, say 10 AM Paris time, you'd probably reach Dallas at about 3 or 4 PM in the afternoon, Central time. So you're right - it would be almost impossible for Pam to reach Dallas in the morning unless she took the red-eye. Good call!

AHN Val's corner:

- Christopher was badly dubbed when Bobby was feeding him. There was a child's whining sound, but Chris didn't even have his mouth open when it was made. Actually, I know a few kids who can pull this off. Don't yours do this sort of thing? You know, they're crying but they're not sad?

- At their little patio barbecue, Mickey had at least four hamburger patties on the grill. FOUR hamburgers for TWO people? I guess both Mickey and Lucy have voracious appetites. Or maybe that's all they were eating. I didn't see any potato chips or cole slaw on the patio for them to eat with the burgers. My guess: one for me and three for you, Lucy.

- Also, Mickey joked that he and Lucy could move back to Emporia, he'd get his job back at the gas station and get her a job at the packing plant. Wait a minute. Wasn't Mickey laid off from the packing plant? That's what Aunt Lil told Ray and Donna during their last visit. So if Mickey was laid off from the packing plant, what makes him think he could Lucy a job there? Clearly he's just joking, but I'm sure the plant could use Lucy's skills. [Snicker.]

AHN Alett's corner:

- When Holly is embracing JR in bed, what is that gray thing in her hand? If it's some kind of remote, there was no music or TV on. I didn't notice. I'll check.

- Katherine must really enjoy walking in heels.  When she shows up at Pam's, again she has no purse or pockets for her keys. This is possible, since she's just down the hall, but I suppose it's unlikely.

- Sue Ellen's hair is too fluffy in the second drunk scene at Clayton's.  It wouldn't look even that good after her shower.  She really has potent eye makeup on too.  None of it washed off.

AHN Sara's corner:

- When talking to horrible Pam, Bobby put the phone up to his hair.  Well, in all fairness, I wouldn't want to have to hear her either. I don't know why he gives her the time of day. He should take Christopher and move to California with Katherine.

- Can Sue Ellen drink anything slowly?  The way she gulped down the water in Clayton's room after a hard night of drinking would have her throwing up within minutes.  One word, Sue Ellen: Sip.

- There is no possible way that Clayton could have been asleep on the couch. He was obviously holding himself up to keep from falling off.

- Clayton is glad that the hotel staff was so easily fooled by a falling-down drunk Sue Ellen and allowed her into his room.  Um, I wouldn't be.  If someone so drunk that she is practically passed out could convince them that she's his sister, then almost anyone else could too. Agreed. That is SO lame.

- Phyllis proudly tells Bobby that she read an interesting article in the newspaper that he should see.  It must be nice to have a high-paying job in which having idle time to read the newspaper is smiled upon.

- In keeping with the fine tradition of stupidity he displayed in this episode, Clayton tries to solve Sue Ellen's hangover problems by ordering up some breakfast.  Then he wonders why she won't eat anything.

AHN Mike's corner:

- I'm surprised nobody noticed how they had Aunt Lil all glammed up for dinner in every possible type of face and eye makeup. She looked like a corpse ready for viewing at a funeral home.

- Teresa was looking good in that French Maid's outfit for dinner. She's not particularly pretty but in these days she cut quite a nice figure. Yes she did. I wonder what happened.

- The Dallas prop department spared no expense in the pursuit of realism, having "CF" embroidered on Clayton's shirt. And didn't that shirt fit Sue Ellen just a little too well to actually be Clayton's. He's a big, wide guy. His real life shirt would have looked like a tent on Linda Gray.

AHN Pam's corner:

- I find it a little hard to believe that Sue Ellen would know the phone number to Clayton's hotel right off the top of her head......especially considering the fact that she was three sheets to the wind when she made the call. I guess she knows what hotel he's staying at. He may have told her the room and she may have been focusing on calling him, which may the only reason she remembers.

- Pam seemed to get a dye job on the plane on her way back to Dallas.  Her hair is a shade or two darker than at the end of episode 128.

- Pam told Bobby that she was coming straight to Southfork from the airport.  For someone who supposedly just spent an entire night on an airplane she looks remarkably refreshed.  There's not one hair out of place, her makeup was perfect, and her outfit didn't have one wrinkle.  Even if she were in first class this seems a little unlikely.  Also, if I'm not mistaken, she's wearing a different outfit than the one she was wearing on the phone the night before while talking to Bobby when she was supposedly rushing out the door to the airport.


Episode 130: Penultimate

Bonehead Dialogue Award: [courtesy of me]

> Mark to Pam: "I'm not trying to push you...I'm willing to wait."
What? Dude, you look like you're ready to explode!

Pam Award: Donna while talking to Sue Ellen. Don't ask me to explain why, she just looks good.

Angelica Award: I didn't like Phyllis's blue dress. It doesn't look right on her at all.

Bobby Award: Bobby by default.

April Award: I'd have to say Bobby for coddling Pam and pretending that nothing's happened.


- It's informal poll time. This one is just for the guys. Here's the situation: after taking your child away and moving out of your home for a month, your wife comes to your office and tells you that she thinks she has feelings for another man. Do you:

A) Tell her to pancake her roody-poo candy ass out of your office, throw divorce papers at her fast enough to cause whiplash, and make sure you send her an invitation for the big day when you marry her much more sensible half-sister?
B) Sit her down and insist on talking out your problems in your marriage?
C) Take her out to dinner and act as if nothing bad has happened?

I don't think I need to say any more.

- I hate to knock somebody when they're really doing a good job, but Linda Gray is overacting in this episode. She has a forearm cast on, but while walking she holds her arm bent as though she's wearing a sling or a heavy cast going up to her elbow.

- The lovely and bodacious Kendall is back. So who the hell was this Doris woman we saw yesterday?

- JR became a partner in Harwood Oil before Jock's will was read. Jock's will decreed that Ewing Oil was to be split in two halves and whichever Ewing brother showed the largest profit with his half would inherit the company. Now JR is agreeing to be bought out of Harwood Oil. How in the world can he claim that whatever money he will receive from Holly is "profit", which should be deposited into the Ewing coffers? Holly's agreement was not with Ewing Oil; it was with JR himself, at a point when he was not a part of Ewing Oil. Certainly any wacky deals that he made on Harwood's behalf AFTER the will was read could be considered Ewing business through creative accounting, but not anything he did before that.
Now, under normal circumstances, I'm sure JR could find a way to say he made twenty million bucks in some deal that no one ever heard about. But Bobby knows all about this. He knows everything that's happened. So why is he worried? If JR mentions this deal with Holly, Bobby can just say that it wasn't a Ewing Oil deal, but personal business between JR and Harwood Oil. It doesn't count. Bill Withrow confirms this and adds that, though it's a moot point, even if Holly paid JR in installments, he would still be able to count whatever is owed to him as accounts receivable.

- In the final scene at the hospital, some strange costume changes occur. Donna is wearing the same nice looking outfit as she did in her previous scene while talking to Sue Ellen; same for Lucy. But at the hospital Donna has lost the grey sweater that was hanging on her back, while Lucy has put on a patterned sweater. So it is cold or is it hot? 

AHN Jason's corner:

- Empty purse meter-  Pam at Bobby's, Mavis at the restaurant, Lucy at the hospital.

- Pam says that she and Bobby have lived together for 6 years. I think it is more like 5. It sure is. Just FEELS longer.

- I must comment on how selfish Sue Ellen is.  She is so wrapped up in her self pity that I bet she doesn't even bother to think about what she did to poor Mickey, just how it will come back to punish her. She's not alone in that department. I dare you to name three mainline characters who haven't done or said something exceedingly selfish in the last three episodes.

AHN Alett's corner:

- Pam should forget the goofy conversation she has with Christopher a la the conversations Sue Ellen used to have with Baby John Ross and just turn the sipper cup around so Christopher could actually drink out of it. That's not her fault. I have a little niece who does the same thing with her sipper cup. She doesn't understand gravity, but she's learning that sometimes the juice doesn't come out unless she turns it around.

- Somebody slap Mickey's doctor at Dallas Memorial.  What a clumsy bedside manner. He's a neurosurgeon. Most of their patients don't understand them anyway.

- That place Sue Ellen gets her nails done is great.  She's been through a car accident, and her polish isn't even chipped.

AHN Mike's corner:

- Well, for the first time ever when a Dallas character winds up in the hospital, Sue Ellen will be around instead of being out shopping or meeting with men who aren't her husband. She has no choice, since she's one of the characters going. Did you note that Braddock Emergency is one of those Dallas generic franchise operations like "restaurant" and "cocktails"? Its sign read "hospital". I noticed.

- When you think about how long that drive is from the house at SF, out the driveway and down that long road to the front gate, you almost have to blame Mickey for his current plight. If you've gone all that distance with a raging drunk at the wheel and didn't buckle your seatbelt, you're a damn fool.

- Memo to Lil, Ray, Donna and Lucy: Get a new doctor for Mickey. This guy says Mickey has three vertebrae that "seem to be broken". Doc, the x-rays ought to show that they either are or aren't broken. There shouldn't be any "seem to be" if you know what you're looking at. I can't remember how good X-ray technology was back then, but I suspect you're right. They should be fairly definite about the fractures but not about the effects.

AHN Pam's corner:

- Lucy had an empty purse with her during her first scene at the hospital. I would assume that the hired hand that J.R. mentioned was waiting in the car drove him and Lucy to the hospital. I would imagine that she and J.R. were also at the crash site. I would think the last thing on Lucy's mind would be to run upstairs and grab her purse. I think JR may have come along separately. Lucy probably went in the ambulance or something.

- Clayton and J.R. had their confrontation at Southfork during the day. Bobby was wearing his disco inferno black outfit with the sand colored sport coat. The next scene was an establishing shot of the hospital and it was dark outside. The following scene was an establishing shot of Holly's office and it was daylight again and Bobby was still wearing the disco inferno outfit while talking to Holly! Something is seriously wrong here. Totally missed it. Good one.

- Recycled wardrobe: Pam's ugly orange shimmering velour lounging outfit and Sue Ellen's mauve satin robe from better days with J.R. However, she was wearing a different nightie under it. 

- J.R. and Clayton must be using the same tailor, or they're sharing a suit. While they were fighting there was a clear shot of the lining in Clayton's jacket when Bobby grabbed him. The lining in his jacket matched the lining on the back of J.R.'s vest. 

- I would assume by the cast on Sue Ellen's wrist that she broke it. When she went downstairs she opened the bedroom door using that hand. Why would she do this?? I would think it would hurt like hell! Why didn't she just use her other hand? It's not like she had a drink in it at that point. It's not really a cast, so it may not be a break - could just be to strengthen the wrist. That's a good point, though.

- Lucy may have stopped to get a manicure on the way to the hospital with Donna. It was very hard to tell (I ran the tape back three times) but the long shot of her in the kitchen looked as though her nails had no polish or maybe clear polish. Later at the hospital when she raised her hand to her face her nails were definitely polished with a coral pink color. 

- Bobby was entering information in to his computer by pressing a bunch of numbers, fine. But when J.R. walked in he just turned off the monitor without saving his information. Then he left for the Cattlemen's and he STILL didn't save his information! It would serve him right if J.R. walked in and zapped all of it. 

- There was a half a pot of coffee behind Pam while she was feeding Christopher.  Like Donna and Ray in episode 128, Pam doesn't use the warming light either. If she's not finished with the coffee it's bound to be cold.  Either all of these people like cold coffee or they haven't figured out the function of the warmer.

- Holly must have a lead foot!  She told Bobby she called the office and Phyllis told her he was on the way to the Cattlemen's.  So unless Holly's office is right next door, Bobby stopped somewhere else on the way, or she's been hanging out at the Cattlemen's boozing it up all afternoon she must have broken the speed barrier in order to beat Bobby there.  She had half a glass of wine down by the time he arrived.


Episode 131: Ewing Inferno

Bonehead Dialogue Award: [courtesy of Alett]

> Ray : "Who the hell did he [Driscoll] think was driving the car?"
(Ray, do you really need Fenton to explain this one?)

Pam Award: Pam in her white dress. Dictionary description of a fallen angel.

Angelica Award: Pam's blouse when talking to Mark at her hotel.

Bobby Award: Probably Sue Ellen.

April Award: My personal vote: Cliff for not throwing Afton the hell out of his house for being such a whiny troublemaking budinsky.


- As Vince McMahon would say, Holly must not be the sharpest knife in the drawer. Does she really believe that JR only got 17 million [the going market price] for selling a half million barrels of oil to Cuba? She's dumber than her secretary looks. 

- I almost couldn't believe my ears when Pam told Mark that [and I quote] she's been "selfish". That's more of an understatement than saying that Jock was overbearing.

- I don't understand Ray. [What else is new?] He won't eat Donna's carefully prepared dinner, but he'll go over to the fridge and grab a generic beer.

- John Ross is clearly dubbed when he tells JR he wants to say goodnight to his mother.

- As the final scene begins, Theresa is bringing some bourbon to the livingroom. For whom, exactly? There's no one in the livingroom at the time! She must have read the script and figured JR would have wanted some. It's possible that JR asked for it, but in that case she must have dawdled, because JR's been upstairs for five minutes.

- I also find it odd that Theresa would lock the dining room doors, which is something she's never done before and I don't believe will ever do again. This may be part of the Sue Ellen-liquor-denying thing, but I sure hope nobody gets an attack of the munchies and needs to get into the kitchen.

From Tony Winfrey: When JR and Ray are fighting, and Ray slings JR into the piano, the piano moves into the wall to the left of it, and moves the wall about a foot.

AHN Anne's corner:

- J.R. throws a lamp at Ray and the house catches fire, yet they continue to fight. They could hear the fire and the smoke was pervasive, but it didn't matter. What the hell is wrong with them? Do you think Ray wanted to kill J.R. so badly that he would disregard the destruction of Southfork to do it? That fight was incredibly long and drawn-out and I found myself completely annoyed by the whole thing. Am I alone on this? I thought it was a bit silly that they ignored the smoke. I think Ray just turned into a wild man, so he didn't care about what was happening and he was totally focused on strangling JR - that's for sure. But you've reminded me of something else: two minutes earlier, Teresa said she wanted the night off so she could see a movie with Raoul. Aside from the fact that this is the first inkling we've ever got of a minor character actually having a life, I have a question: did they go to the movie in their uniforms? I don't think so. So shouldn't they have to change? Wouldn't this take some time? The point is, how much time elapses from the moment Teresa and JR break off their conversation to the start of the blaze? Not long enough, in my mind, that Teresa and Raoul should be so far away from Southfork that they can't see what's going on.

- When Clayton is comforting Miss Ellie, he tells her that her family are adults and they can take care of themselves. Excuse me, but when the two of them met in Galveston, Clayton told Miss Ellie that her family needed her just to be there. I don't get how the present circumstances would be less dire than the former ones. Clayton needs to take a stance and stick to it. I do realize that the writers had to get Miss Ellie out of the picture for Barbara Bel Geddes' heart surgery, but Clayton could have used another excuse, in my opinion.
This is not the only time that Clayton does this sort of thing. Think back to the first couple of seasons - would you say that Ellie is or is not a strong woman? Although the writers seem to have diminished her capacity after Jock's death. So why does Clayton feel [as you will see in upcoming episodes] that she needs to be 'protected' from bad news about her beloved home and family? When JR mortgaged the ranch and there was a good chance they would lose it, Ellie faced the problem up front. Clayton, you silly ox, relax! Ellie can handle it!

AHN Jason's corner:

- How much did Holly make off the Cuban deal?  I thought it was $17 million but Jr said she made $15 million. He may have been guesstimating.

- I see a flaw in Holly's logic of why she slept with JR.  She assumed Sue Ellen would refuse to let JR keep a professional relationship with her due to the affair.  Then how would she expect Bobby to take her to live at SF as his bride with SE (and JR) there?  Surely that would be a very uncomfortable situation for everyone. I guess she, out of everyone else who lives in Dallas, is apparently unaware of his marital troubles.

- Empty purse meter-  Pam at Ewing Oil 2x, Pam and Katherine at Cliff's, Donna at the Hospital.

- The smoke sure got up to the bedrooms really fast, considering the fire was downstairs and several yards down the hall. They must have used the special super-flammable wallpaper.

- I could be wrong but I think that wasn't Tyler Banks in the last scene. It was him in the beginning but when JR tucks him in they make sure you don't see his face and the hair looks a bit different.  I could be wrong. I would be willing to bet that it's a look-alike.

- JR/Larry Hagman used a stunt double in his long shots when Ray wrestles him in the lounge.  The stunt double doesn't have a toupee on. Makes sense to me. I guess Larry doesn't trust Steve as much as that.

- The burgundy on the wall looked like red paint. Too bright for an alcohol.

- Strange, but I don't remember the Ewings ever having candles (at least burning ones) in the lounge before.  Of course, there is a good reason for this.

- JR leaves the light on in her room after he checks up on Sue Ellen. Why do that if she is asleep?

AHN Mike's corner:

- When will the Dallas wardrobe department (and VP as well) learn NEVER EVER to put Pam in a no sleeves outfit that exposes those concentration camp arms of hers? I don't think it would be so bad if said outfits didn't have linebacker shoulders.

- How dumb can Pam be to let Mark answer her phone, especially when she has every reason to believe Bobby will be calling based on her visit to Ewing Oil when she wanted to see him? Is there such a thing as a marriage death wish? Yes. And she has it. She has NEVER deserved Bobby.

- Are we to believe that JR didn't see the empty bottle next to Sue Ellen or smell the liquor when he had his little one-sided chat with her? He acted with John Ross and by himself that she was simply napping peacefully. In later seasons they talk about this - how JR always told John Ross that mommy was just "sick". That nuance doesn't really come out here, though.

- Sue Ellen must have been really drunk before she threw that bottle. She uses the phrase "How solicitous." No sober person would say that with a straight face.

- You had to love that look on Katherine's face when Pam announced she was getting a divorce. I did. Oh hell yeah. She is so perfect for Bobby right now. And that is the truth.

- JR's escape makes an longtime AT&T employee proud. He broke away by clobbering Ray twice with the handset of that AT&T Trimline phone. Today's phones made with cheap plastic would have shattered and probably not knocked Ray dizzy. But in those days Western Electric made those phones to stand up to any punishment. They used to drop them and smash them and put them through all sorts of torture tests so they could be designed to be virtually unbreakable. That's a real interesting insight! Hadn't thought of that. You know, I still have one of these. I got it in Boston and hung on to it. Those things are LOUD too.

AHN Alett's corner:

- Of course Sue Ellen manages to find a bottle of BURGUNDY in the kitchen. It's just as likely there would be a bottle of sauterne, but, naturally, we need to see a "bloody" stain on the wallpaper. You bet. Vodka wouldn't look as cool on the wall, either.

- I'm impressed. Ray's grammar can be sketchy, but today he answers the phone with, "This is he."

- That fire seemed to spread too fast.  It was almost like the drop cloth was coated in gasoline. I think the glue was definitely petroleum-based.

AHN Pam's corner:

-  I'm Sue Ellen and I'm a drunk who has found out all the precious liquor is locked up.  I'm lucky enough to find a nice bottle of Burgundy in the kitchen.  I have a fight with my husband and I don't want him to touch my child. But, as a drunk am I going to to be dumb enough to throw the only alcohol I have at him or am I going to hold on to it for dear life and throw say maybe the glass or one of Miss Ellie's crystal figurines at him?  Obviously she's not rational and she threw what she had in her hand, but I'm surprised she didn't go over and start licking the wall after this.

- Lucy seemed very dressed up to be sitting around in Mickey's hospital room all day.  If I were sitting in a hospital room for many many hours the last thing I'd want to be wearing would be a skirt, nylons and heels.  I guess she wanted to look her best when/if Mickey wakes up.

- Sue Ellen's been lounging around Southfork for days in her robe sucking down booze.  But she felt like dressing up in a skirt and heels to slam her last bottle of vodka and then pass out on the bed.

- Why did J.R. leave the light on while Sue Ellen was asleep??  I guess he read the script and knew that someone would have to go in there later and wouldn't have time to stumble around in the dark.

- J.R. brought John Ross in to kiss a passed out Sue Ellen good night.  Why didn't he take John Ross back to his room and tuck him in instead of letting him go back by himself??  Kids at this age love to be tucked in and usually won't go to bed unless someone does tuck them in.  Actually, after getting that close to Sue Ellen's breath I'm surprised the poor kid wasn't intoxicated and staggering back to his room.

AHN Analise's corner:

- Why doesn't Ray seem angry that Sue Ellen was drunk behind the wheel? Does he still want to protect her because she was hot in bed in Ep 10? That would be my guess. I guess he realizes it's not her fault she's a drunk - not that that excuses anything.

- The Krebbs had freshly cut roses on their dinner table. Does one always stop at the florist when they come home from the hospital? Or do they steal them from another hospital bed? 

- Theresa was carrying a tray loaded with a silver coffee set? Who was drinking it? Sue Ellen was unconscious, Bobby was out, and I don't see JR as the coffee drinking kind of guy. Miss Ellie must be pounding away at the coffee. Not good if she can't sleep? I thought it was bourbon or something. I didn't get a really good look. Was it coffee?

- The Krebbs phone does not ring normally. It rang twice without any break in between. Notice that? Didn't notice. I'll check.

- John Ross has some lungs for his parents to hear him yell "Mama" as they are arguing downstairs while he is upstairs. Easy when you talk through a tape recorder.

- Cliff is an idiot for being upset that Wentworth gets to beta test the drill bit in Canada. That can only make him millions. He's still bitter about losing the deal. Remember that the McLeish brothers offered Barnes-Wentworth the Canadian deal but thanks to Pam, Bobby got it. He's upset that he only makes millions rather than tens of millions.

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