Season 6 (1983 - 1984)
Bonehead Dialogue Award: None.
Pam Award: Katherine. Oh hell yeah.
Angelica Award: Pam's blue muumuu dress which makes her look like she's hiding a pregnancy.
Bobby Award: Donna's new hair makes her look kind of piggy. I don't have a better adjective to describe it.
April Award: Pam for not getting Sue Ellen the hell out of that boutique when she started drinking.
- The wallpaper guys must also do some outdoor decorating. Suddenly this episodes feature cool lights along Southfork lane, which you can see as Bobby drives up to the ranch. I don't think Noma was making Moonrays back then. I know some people who work there - I'll ask them.
- When Bobby prepares to take Sue Ellen to safety on the balcony, he wraps her up in her bathrobe. That's not a really great idea with an inferno raging around you, Bob. Time is of the essence here. I don't think Sue Ellen will be too concerned that you might catch a peek at her boobs, as long as her life is saved. And of course, Ray's already been there.
- Interesting that in all the panic about whether everyone is "all right" after the fire, no one mentions whether or not Lucy got out okay. Or does everyone just assume that she typically wasn't home?
- During much of the first segment of the show, the sound track is about a second or so out of sync with people's lips moving. It's most evident in the scene where Clayton and Donna are talking. Quite obviously, this footage was filmed during the previous season. The new "season" must start after the first commercial break.
- And after said first commercial break, it's quite evident that the camera guys are using a different lens filter, which gives the show a whole new look.
- My sister noticed that when JR and Bobby return to the ranch house to assess the damage, you can hear the moos and neighs of farm animals. I don't think the animals are kept quite that close to the ranch under normal circumstances, but certainly the ranch hands would keep them away after the fire, not to mention the fact that no animal would hang around a burnt-out building willingly for any length of time.
- When Pam comes to Sue Ellen's suite, it appears that she rings a doorbell or something which sounds exactly like the sound of the Ewing Oil phone buzzer. That in itself is quite odd, but since when do hotel suites have doorbells?
- I was going to say that it was very odd for Clayton to know a doctor in the Takapa area by his first name, but during their conversation we learn that "Neil" has been the Farlows' doctor for some time. So Neil made a house call from San Angelo to the Texas-Louisiana border? That's a full day's drive! Hope Clayton's medical insurance will cover it.
- When Clayton meets with JR and Bobby, he asks for coffee but leaves even before it arrives.
From Rob: When JR runs up to rescue his family at the end of 131, he is stopped in the hall by a HUGE burning chunk of the ceiling falling in his path. He then passes out from heat and smoke. In the next episode, when Ray and Bobby run upstairs, the burning debris is gone. I checked several times, and there's even a long shot of both the balcony and the hall, and you can clearly see that the only thing on the floor of the hall are those Persian rugs.
AHN Anne's corner:
- First, little John Ross amazes me. Not only has he
grown about three inches since the last episode, but all of a sudden, he can
speak fluently. I guess that a new season was a good place to introduce the new
actor, but I think they should have worked up into it a little bit better. Yes.
It's amazing what a change of season can do. We're finally introduced to Omri
Katz, the 'real' John Ross III. Of course, if the writers wanted to do a better
build-up we might actually have to see [horrors!] scenes where JR interacts with
his son.
- I think the writers changed the Miss Ellie/Clayton relationship pretty
quickly. In the fifth season, they were just "friends." Now both
Clayton's doctor and Sue Ellen make references to Clayton and Miss Ellie getting
married. They really slipped that one up on us. Do you think the vacation
automatically makes them an item? Yes,
it's Clayton and Ellie's new 'gimmick' - the marriage angle lasts the entire
season, if you can believe it. A lot must have happened on that vacation! Of
course, Clayton and Ellie have been going out a lot and JR's been continually
unhappy about it so it's not a total shock.
AHN Jason's corner:
- The Curse of the New Season Hair dos is back. Pam and Donna have
slightly longer hair. Katherine's looks less curly but that could be due to a
brush. Sue Ellen's looks a bit longer but I could be wrong. Halfway
through the show, Donna seems to have gotten a perm (which is possible).
Lucy's looks a bit thinner and straighter. The
first segment was filmed last season. That explains that.
- Empty purse meter- Pam and Sue Ellen at hotel, Donna at bar, Katherine
with JR, Sue Ellen with Clayton., Mrs. Rosa at the hotel (The baby sitter)
- Bobby claims that they put in a line at Southfork. This suggests that
there is more than one line in the house. Not a nit, exactly, but useful
for future information. Yes, I suppose
you're right. I think it's safe to assume that since they're doing work anyway
they'll put in multiple lines.
- I could be wrong but I think Bobby and Donna have on different clothes in the
first scene than they were seen in the end of #131. Quite
possible. I'll check.
- I think John Ross has on a different bedspread too. Definitely,
because it's a different room and a different actor.
- I could be wrong but it doesn't look like the firemen ask if anyone else is in
the house when they bring down the Ewings. You'd think they would ask.
After all poor Raoul and Teresa could have a whole camp of aliens trapped in the
wine cellar!
- Donna orders a "white wine" at the bar. I am not a big drinker
but usually you order a KIND of white wine. Also it looked more like a
rose' or blush to me.
- JR claims that he has been waiting 6 years for Pam to divorce Bobby. They have
only been married 5 or so. Yeah, but
remember that the mini-series was sort of a separate "season".
- Gee, what room service from that boutique at the hotel. Not only does
Sue Ellen get a new dress, but shoes, a purse, jewelry and make-up. And
how did she plan on paying for her drinks at a bar? I can't imagine her
new purse came with cash or credit cards and I hardly think JR would give her any
if he wanted to keep her at the hotel and sober. (I am assuming either Pam
paid for Sue Ellen's things at the boutique or Sue Ellen somehow set up a charge
account there to JR's banks.) Oh, Sue
Ellen has an account because of JR. Don't worry about that. I think the
champagne is free, based on how much Sue Ellen is likely to buy..
- I got kinda ticked when I heard Sue Ellen say that she had been "walking
around with all this guilt" over poor Mickey. I didn't hear her say
one thing in the last 3 episodes that suggested she thought of anything or
anyone but herself.
AHN Alett's corner:
- That blue smoke as Bobby and Ray run up the stairs is pretty fake looking. I
didn't notice anything blue, but I wasn't paying close attention.
- Clayton takes Ellie to TAKAPA RESORT. Man, that's the last place Ellie
would want to go. Maybe he had to promise
they'd go to the nature reserve. But I see your point. That is a blatant oversight by
the writers.
- Sue Ellen tells Clayton she's quit drinking. What is it? Just one
day after her last binge. Fine she feels like she's off the hook because
of Driscoll, but she should have more remorse over Mickey. So she can stay
away from liquor as long as she's emotionally removed from JR. What did
she do? Take a magic pill during the night? I
missed that part. That's a really odd thing to say. I guess that casual drinking
doesn't count as "drinking".
AHN Mike's corner:
- I had to laugh at the way Bobby tripped and unceremoniously dumped Sue
Ellen on the second floor porch. I hope Linda Gray had a stunt double for that
one.
- Mark's outrageous car makes its debut. I
don't know why people like Rolls-Royces. They are so damn ugly.
- There was a nice little continuity touch. At the hotel, they wheel in a rack
of clothes for Sue Ellen to select from since her wardrobe burned up at SF. The
first item is a short orange and white jacket. Later at the ice skating rink
with Clayton, she's wearing the jacket. Yes,
you're quite right. I wouldn't have caught that if you hadn't mentioned it.
AHN Pam's corner:
- Bobby was wearing a different shirt at the beginning of this episode than
he was wearing at the end of 131. In that episode he had on the gray sport
coat and black pants but he was wearing the blue shirt with the thin white
stripes. At the beginning of this episode, he's still wearing the gray
sport coat and black pants, but his shirt is black with some other pattern on
it. Also, his hair is much shorter during the first segment than it was
later when he had on the peach shirt. I guess the heat from the fire must
have really stimulated his hair follicles and promoted growth. Someone
thought so, and now you've confirmed it. Thanks.
- When we saw Sue Ellen unconscious in her bedroom before Bobby rushed in to
save her there were two lamps on in the room one on either side of the bed. When
J.R. left her in episode 131, he only turned on one lamp which was the one
closest to her. So who turned on the second lamp?? That's
a great one! I'll double check this.
- It was visually and symbolically obvious during Pam and Bobby's phone
conversation who's ready to end the marriage and move on and who's not.
Pam didn't have on her wedding ring, Bobby did.
- Donna should have sent back her glass of white wine when the waitress brought
it over. That was not a glass of white wine, it was White Zinfindell.
- Why didn't Pam take Sue Ellen to The Store do her shopping?? It seemed
when Pam was working there ALL the Ewings shopped there. I guess now that
she doesn't have her employee discount they've all decided to go elsewhere. I
guess so. Good thought.
- Clayton told Donna that he just read about the fire at Southfork in the Dallas
newspaper. Ummm.....no he was reading it from the TAKAPA LAKE newspaper.
That was the name on the paper when he pulled it out of the machine. It's
a little odd that the Southfork inferno would be top news on the front page at
Takapa Lake. I was certain it was the
Dallas Press, but since you spotted it that's a great find. However, when
talking to Donna, Clayton claims that it was "the Dallas paper".
- Bobby told J.R. that there was very little worth saving upstairs. It
seems everyone had lost everything. So where did Bobby get the peach
shirt, jeans and hat from, one of the hands? Ray?? Also, where did
Bobby get the suit he was wearing when he and J.R. met Clayton? Did he go
shopping?? Maybe he keeps stuff at the
office. That would explain a lot.
- J.R. was complaining that the papers he took from his bedroom were no good to
him anymore. They looked fine to me. I'm sure he had them in a safe,
probably a fireproof safe. If not, those papers should have burned in the
fire and he shouldn't even be able to find them. They didn't even look
like they'd been damaged by water from the fire fighters. Sometimes
you get lucky with these things.
- Here's a good one. After J.R. found out that Sue Ellen had left the
hotel he called down to tell the hotel staff that not only were they not to send
up any alcohol, but they were also not to send up another babysitter until he
said it was OK. The next thing we saw was Sue Ellen out watching the ice
skaters and talking to Clayton! Sue Ellen was out and J.R. was at the
office and I doubt he had given the OK for a babysitter. So who the hell
was watching John Ross?? I'd say a BABYSITTER! That's an incompetent staff
they have there at The Quorum. J.R. should consider changing hotels after
this. Hey...you're right! How the hell did
I miss that? I suppose it's possible that Sue Ellen left him with someone...but
who?
- Consider that you're looking at this from the viewpoint of looking in to the house while standing on the balcony. When Bobby and Ray crash through the French doors leading J.R. to safety on the balcony, notice that the doors swing completely open and don't move AND there are white curtains on the doors attached at the top and bottom with rods. When Ray and Bobby go back through the doors to rescue John Ross and Sue Ellen, the doors are still completely open and the curtains are still there and attached. But, when Ray and Bobby bring John Ross and Sue Ellen out on to the balcony, Ray crashes through the left door which is now closed but the right one is still open! So why not go through the right one instead of the left one, BILC?? The left one was open long enough while they stood there with J.R. that I doubt it would have swung shut by itself. Besides, if it had swung shut in the first place Ray would have either ran in to it or had to open it to go back inside. So who closed the door?? Also, notice, this is the BIG NIT, when Ray crashes through the door the second time with John Ross the curtains are now mysteriously GONE!! This is also noticeable when Bobby trips and drops Sue Ellen. What happened to the curtains?? Who took them down??
AHN Analise's corner:
- The Southfork fire alarm is a very quiet high pitched sound. Not too smart if you happen to be unconscious. I see your point. Maybe it is louder and for the sake of the viewers at home they just deadened the sound a bit.
-
Notice how an unconscious Sue Ellen holds on to the firefighter as he carries her out. You see her bent arms and her deliberate hand motions as she is being placed on the fireman. Yup. Good call.- Bobby suggests that JR take Sue Ellen and John Ross to a hotel. Bobby two minutes before explained to Sue Ellen that she has to go to the hospital for her own good. Hmm, guess that changed. Yes, this struck me today. Might have been a cut during which someone said something to change everyone's mind.
- Sue Ellen's bandage on her left hand has stayed perfectly white throughout the entire fire.
- Pam leaves the hotel suite but Mark stays. What's up with that? I don't know. I have a feeling he's going to go into her underwear drawer and do things I'd rather not think about.
- John Ross must love hearing from the new babysitter that he will be no trouble at all. If I were he, I'd have thrown a fit. Guess he really IS traumatized. That's a great point.
- Never knew that JR's Mercedes had 4 wheel drive. It was able to drive through the ranch.
Bonehead Dialogue Award: [courtesy of me]
Mickey: "I want to make an honest woman
out of you."
Lucy: "What do you mean?"
Clearly the concept of being an honest woman is lost on Lucy.
Pam Award: Pam's Wilma Flintstone dress. It's flimsy and sort of loose but can't hide the goods.
Angelica Award: Pam's shapeless nightdress.
Bobby Award: Afton's wacky upsweep. Sue Ellen was close.
April Award: Pam for continuing to be indecisive about her future.
- I don't know about the staff at Dallas Memorial. Look at their treatment of Mickey...when the Mickey crowd [minus Donna] comes to visit, he's lying down on his side. You don't do that to a person who may have neurological damage! No wonder he may never recover.
- Mickey has the same problem that Rebecca Wentworth had as she lay dying after her plane crash. His neck mobility is actually quite good for a paralyzed person!
- JR parks right in front of Ewing Oil to talk to Katherine. Someone get this building a permit for underground parking.
- Matt pointed out that the desk in Pam's hotel room, while it is still the same desk, now has a typewriter and a lamp. Can't Pam afford a computer to do her word processing?
AHN Analise's corner:
- Ugly bathing suit Sue Ellen has on. Plus she looks like she's been swimming in full makeup. The bruise on her left cheek looks like smudged mascara! It probably is. Swimsuits just don't seem to agree with Linda Gray.
- Afton is so sick of Cliff's behavior that she stays with him. Guess she likes the company he keeps?
- John Ross was wearing dark socks with shorts. Sue Ellen is probably still drunk?
- Why didn't Pam's hotel front desk let her know that JR was downstairs? Or did he just waltz in? Of course that would be hard due to the fact that JR would have no idea what room she is in. An excellent point. I'm sure he has ways of finding out...the hotel staff probably know who he is, and he could easily make up a story about why he wanted to see Pam.
Bonehead Dialogue Award: [courtesy of Analise]
Sue Ellen: "JR, I can operate a car."
Odd, given her recent track record.
Pam Award: Katherine. What a wardrobe!...
Angelica Award: ...except for that ugly pink teenybopper dress when talking to Pam towards the end of the episode.
Bobby Award: Someone tell me where Donna's hair ends and the rest of the universe begins.
April Award: Pam for singing any document without reading it. Nominated by Analise.
- Things have really changed for the hired help. Raoul shaved, and now Paco has come around because the house is just too big for Raoul and Teresa. Yikes!
- Watch carefully when Pam and Mark come big from their big pool party. Katherine is squatting next to Christopher's playpen and he's happily cooing right beside her. Then the camera angle reverses and we see Christopher and Katherine's backs. Suddenly Christopher has moved to the other side of the playpen! What were they feeding this kid?
- In today's pool scene at Mark's place, Afton is wearing the same bathing suit as yesterday, which is okay. But then she says "this is wonderful!" as if she'd never been there before.
- And that reminds me: why does Pam go to the exercise room in the hotel? Why not her aerobics studio? What ever happened to that, anyway?
- There are some weird vibes at John Ross's day camp. When we first see Peter Richards [sigh] on the trampoline, his shorts look black. Then we see a close-up and they're blue. Then we go distant and they're black again, and then Peter rushes over to meet the Ewings and they become blue. The sun must be different there.
- Not only that, but it's affected the kids too! After Peter stops hogging the trampoline, he spends a good three minutes away with JR and Sue Ellen. Then we see him immediately hop on the trampoline with John Ross! What happened in between? All the other kids who were waiting just stood around because JR Ewing's son had arrived and they know he has to be pushed to the front of the line?
- When Pam calls Ewing Oil before the big break-up, Bobby picks up the phone without being alerted by the secretaries. It's night time, so they may be gone, but it's hard to say.
AHN NIS's corner:
- Paco opens JR's trunk to unload the luggage without a key?
Interesting. Excellent call! I completely
missed that.
- Katherine is in Pam's room when everyone is gone? And then Pam rings the bell to her
room so she, Mark and Christopher can get in? Hmmm. Another excellent call! Missed it too.
AHN Analise's corner:
- Sue Ellen lacks tact for yelling at JR in front of John Ross as well as mentioning in front of John Ross that he has emotional problems. She must get lessons from that babysitter! I think John Ross is probably quite used to this. Kids certainly hear these sorts of comments but they tend not to listen - you know what I mean?
- Hotel front desk fails again…Cliff arrives without Pam knowing about it.
- Usually in front a professional building, one does not see just one name on a sign but that’s what we see with the name Suzanne Lacey in front of it. Very unrealistic. This is a tough one - maybe Dr. Lacey's
office is on a first floor corner.
- Dr. Lacey speaks loudly enough for John Ross to hear. This is happening so often. How awful for a child to hear from numerous people that he has lots of problems and is disturbed. At least Sue Ellen was quiet. This is the old "beat them over the head with it" technique so that the whole premise of Sue Ellen and JR seeking help for John Ross is believable.
- So Katherine lives in the hotel in a suite? Why? I thought she was working as a reporter for the local tv station—or was until she fell in love with Bobby. Why doesn’t she have a home? No clue. Maybe she's more comfortable in hotels. Or maybe her reporter gig is temporary. Lord knows she never does any reporting any more.
- Peter while doing all of his flips on the trampoline was not spotted on all 4 sides of a trampoline…this is very dangerous and highly unrealistic for a top of the line camp. But it makes him look like more of a stud. [Cough]
AHN
Jason's corner:- Empty purse- Sue Ellen at hotel, Katherine with JR, Katherine at Pam's, Sue Ellen at Southfork, Pam with Bobby
- Serena sure is a bad listener for someone who's profession is making people happy.. You'd think she'd realize that guys sometimes want to just talk, especially a regular customer like JR, who already went through one bad spell with her when Jock died. Too much cabbage. Quite right.
Episode 135: My Brothers' Keeper
Bonehead Dialogue Award: none.
Pam Award: Katherine's always-great wardrobe gets edged out by Sly's hot little red outfit. Peter got some nominations.
Angelica Award: Diane's dress is rather ugly.
Bobby Award: Sue Ellen, because Donna wasn't around much today.
April Award: JR for thinking that Bobby would be enticed by Diane the night before he's about to get divorced.
- A question about Peter Richards. Has he been specially dedicated to John Ross? Since he's a 'counselor' at the fine institution of Windsor Meadows, shouldn't he have a group of troubled youngsters to look after, rather than just one?
- And why does John Ross arrive and leave in a swimsuit? Was today 'pool day?' Did Sue Ellen know that he was going to spend the entire day in the water?
- And why, oh why, does John Ross get into the car from the driver's side? He's still wet! He's going to mess up the car! No change rooms at the stately Windsor Meadows? [Did Peter also arrive and leave in his swimsuit? That's a scary thought! Then how come his lovely dark-haired friend didn't...oh, never mind.]
- I'm almost positive that this is the only time we will see the Ewing Oil outer office function properly by way of admitting guests. This Colby fellow talks to Kendall, the receptionist, and asks to be admitted to see JR. Kendall very properly buzzes executive secretary Sly, who confirms that it's okay. That's the way it should be. Too bad it never happens again.
- I understand JR and Katherine's desire to remain discreet in their arrangement to separate the ill-fated divorcing duo of Pam and Bobby, which is why they take the sensible precaution of having their first meeting in an out-of-the-way parking lot. Good. But their second conversation is a little bit more weird. Katherine is in her bedroom, wearing a luxurious nightgown. And JR is using his cell phone...in his car...under a shady tree. Why, oh, why does JR feel the desire to hide himself from the world? For gosh sake, you're using a cell phone! No one knows who you're talking to, JR!
- This lovely lady named Diane looks familiar, right? Awfully familiar...well, I'll let you in on a secret. Put some dark hair on her; age her about 15 years; and put her in bed with JR Ewing - or on the command deck of Babylon 5. That's right. It's Tracy Scoggins, who played Anita Smithfield in JR Returns and War of the Ewings.
- When Mark and Cliff conveniently leave the hung-over Pam and Afton in the car to get some coffee, they return with some oddly shaped cups. They look like soda cups! Which is okay...maybe they decided to get some Pepsi instead of coffee. That's all right. But why is Afton the only one who gets a straw? Or did Afton get the Pepsi and the non-annoying characters get coffee? I know she asked for a straw, but she's got to be kidding - no one drinks coffee with a straw, right? Right?
- And speaking of weird vibes in the Graiscomobile...the gang sits in the car for a good five minutes on a street near a downtown intersection. Not even a single car drives by. Not one. During the daytime, in downtown Dallas? Here in the suburbs of Toronto I can't go to the corner at four in the morning and not have at least a few cars present.
- Here's an anatomical nit, which I suppose is debatable. I
haven't studied my anatomy in some time, but I remember some things. Like, for instance,
the muscles involved in breathing. Normally, when you breathe, you use most of your chest
muscles to expand your chest and fill your lungs with air. These muscles only work if you
have some use of the nerves that emanate from the part of the spinal cord located in your
neck. Since Mickey is breathing on his own, we can safely assume that this is the case,
because the nerves that go to your diaphragm also emanate from this area. Follow?
Let's say that Mickey has functional use of these nerves. These nerves also allow you to
use most of your shoulder muscles! Mickey should actually be able to move his arms, albeit
with difficulty. And if these nerves aren't working, then he certainly should not be able
to breathe as easily as he is doing - he shouldn't be able to use the muscles around his
collarbone as effortlessly as he is. [Pick, pick, pick. I won't even leave a quadriplegic
alone.]
AHN Analise's corner:
- Was Sue Ellen driving JR’s car to the day camp? I would have thought she would have been spooked from ever driving his car after the accident. You'd think so, but what is she going to do? Walk?
- Who’s the girl who comes in to clean the Krebbs house? Is that another name for Donna? I guess so. I suppose it's POSSIBLE they have a cleaning lady. Donna could be a closet slob.
- Sue Ellen drove off from the camp without making sure John Ross or she had their seat belts on! Again, hasn’t she learned?
- Is Afton drinking coffee from a straw? I noticed that too.
Maybe "black, with a straw" is her private code with Cliff to get a Pepsi or something.
- Donna was carrying not just an empty purse but an empty briefcase!
AHN
Jason's corner:- Empty purse- Katherine at court, Pam, Afton, Serena and Diane at the restaurant,
- While Peter looks good in a bathing suit, I wonder if a camp for children would allow an instructor to wear such a skimpy bathing suit. The camps I worked at insisted on men wearing trunks, not speedos for professional appearance reasons. That would make a lot of sense.
- When Bobby takes a day off from the office, so does Phyllis. She is AWOL in the Ewing Oil scenes. You'd think he'd have her there to cover the phones. Good call. Totally missed that. Maybe she had vacation time coming.
- Notice the scene wear Peter falls back in the water. A nit for 2 reasons. First it is extremely dangerous to fall backwards into the water - you could hit something and wreck your spine or injure someone. A camp counselor should know this, especially if he is a swim instructor. Second, notice that when he falls in, there is no one around him but when he surfaces, children on rafts are seen very close by.
- When Mark passes Pam a coffee cup , it is clearly only 1/3 full.
Episode 136: The Quality of Mercy
Bonehead Dialogue Award: none.
Pam Award: Lots of great choices today. Phyllis was awfully pretty in her scene. Sly in her bathing suit. Afton looks great in her curvy spotted dress, and Katherine looks totally sweet when having lunch with Bobby. [Who needs that Barnes woman?]
Angelica Award: Peter's shirt cut off at his liver.
Bobby Award: Sue Ellen by default.
April Award: I'd have to say Katherine for not digging her claws into Bobby a little faster.
- Peter must get super-strength from swimming in the Southfork pool! Either that or Sue Ellen lazily tore his shirt up while fantasizing about his hot body [snicker, snicker]. When he comes to Southfork, he's wearing a T-shirt which he removes to go swimming with John Ross. Then when he leaves, he's wearing a similar shirt, but it's much smaller - it doesn't even reach his navel! Yikes.
- Lucy tells Sue Ellen how tough it is to deal with what Mickey is going through. Maybe it's just me but I think it might be easier for poor Mick if Lucy didn't always go to the hospital wearing next to nothing. The first time we see her, she returns to Southfork wearing a minidress that showcases her whole cleavage and she has to hold her tiny skirt with both hands to keep it from flapping in the gusty wind. Then later she arrives in a tube top showcasing her bazooms. Way to make Mickey feel better about not ever having sex again, Lucy.
- I really hate to pick on Mickey Trotter here. But Tim Murphy did it again. When Mickey has his minor heart attack, the doctor says he's gone back into a coma. There's just one problem: people in comas don't breathe! That's why they need a ventilator to stay alive. When the camera cuts to Mickey, you can see his chest heaving up and down as he takes in huge lungfuls of air. Contrast this to the final scene, where Mickey is lying very still, as dead people should.
- Just before we see Bobby coming out of the theatre, one of the billboards shows us that "Little Miss Circus" is playing and it's rated PG. Just what kind of Little Miss are we talking about here?
AHN Analise's corner:
- Bobby’s got a memory lapse. Clayton said that Ellie should not see her family…he said nothing about Ellie seeing her friends like Mavis and Punk.
- Why does Pam have boxes for her move? Is she taking the hotel furniture and fixtures with her? Probably. Or maybe it's stuff that belongs to the Ewings that she scrounged out of Southfork.
- Pam has no desire to work……well why did she get so excited about owning an aerobic studio? I'm just shaking my head.
- When Lucy kissed Mickey, none of her pink gloss was left on his lips. Not realistic.
- I never knew Pam had that many friends at the Store! Did the Store close for the afternoon so they all could come and visit? I guess so. They must all have Pam's work ethic.
- Sue Ellen asked Peter yet again if psychology was his major. Well he told her the other day plus we know that all counselors at the camp are psychology majors. I guess she has forgotten due to his Speedos? It won't be the first time.
- Ray keeps his cowboy hat on in the hospital. Isn’t that bad form? I thought a man is taught to remove his hat when he comes inside. Ray normally does. Excellent call.
AHN
Jason's corner:- Empty purse- Afton at hotel, Lucy at the Hospital, Holly at restaurant.
- Peter clearly takes off his shirt to go in the pool but he is never seen to take off his socks and shoes. Also he leaves his watch on. I didn't notice whether he was wearing socks but that's a good call.
Bonehead Dialogue Award: none.
Pam Award: Mark amongst the guys. I see no reason to take it away from Katherine...
Angelica Award: ...except for her weird dress when meeting with JR.
Bobby Award: Donna's poodle look.
April Award: Bobby for gimpily insisting on tossing Holly out of his life just because of her involvement with JR.
- Donna pulls a Bobby and parks right in front of the courthouse, when she goes to see Ray! I know she's in a rush but it's just stupid that the writers persist in believing that there's ever an open spot in such a prime parking location.
- Thornton McLeish tells Harve and the crowd that Barnes-Wentworth provided the drill bit that allowed Bobby to win the contest. Actually, it was Wentworth Tool and Die. That hot weather must be getting to him.
AHN Jason's corner:
- Harve says that he doesn't do criminal court cases, but didn't Kyle Bennett defend Sue Ellen in 1980? Wouldn't he be a better choice to handle Ray or refer someone, than Harve?
- Empty purse meter- Donna at the hospital, Sly with Cliff.
- Punk says Jock wrote the letter a year ago.. Not likely since it took several months after he died for them to declare him dead and then the contest was supposed to be a full year. I think I recall saying something like that when they first started the contest. I'll have to check.
- JR confuses me. He seems to tell Katherine that he hopes Bobby will leave now that he has lost Pam and (supposedly) lost Ewing Oil. I always thought JR wanted Bobby around as long as "that Barnes woman" wasn't around. I don't think so. That was only when Bobby was gone or threatening to leave. And I don't think he minds Bobby being around as long as he's in control of Ewing Oil.
Bonehead Dialogue Award: none.
Pam Award: Take your pick. Pam, Jenna, maybe even Lucy. No one stood out.
Angelica Award: That one girl at the pool party wearing the red horizontal striped suit. Katherine's recycles Afton's white polka-dot dress from two episodes ago and it doesn't look too great on her.
Bobby Award: Nothing too bad. Sue Ellen, I guess.
April Award: I didn't like Jenna faulting Bobby for breaking her heart the last time they met. Turn about is fair play.
- Jenna says that Charlie's thirteen? How did that happen? Remember in 1978, before Jenna had the first of her plastic surgeries? That's when we first saw Charlie. She was about four, maybe five then. Well, now it's 1983. How did she get eight years older in five years?
- And speaking of Charlie's age - based on the fact that Jenna says that she just turned thirteen, shouldn't Bobby clue in to the fact that he isn't the father? When presented with Charlie's birth certificate in a few weeks, Bobby is satisfied of the claim - so why not now?
- Ray is indicted for felony murder. Why? What felony did he commit that was an integral part of the death of Mickey Trotter? Felony murder means that you committed some crime such as kidnapping or rape, and a death resulted because of your reckless actions.
- I'm not too sure about this Paul Morgan guy. When the assistant DA cross-examines the last doctor who testifies, he makes a blatant statement that Ray undeniably caused Mickey's death. Shouldn't Paul object to this? Such a statement belongs as part of the closing argument, not as part of cross-examination!
AHN Jason's corner:
- The Grand Jury convenes on Sunday? unlikely.
- Lucy is called "Ms. Ewing" not Mrs. Cooper. Did she legally change her name? I don't think she has to. She is divorced from Mitch, and even if she were not, it's entirely up to her what her name is. Pam chooses to be Pam Ewing but we know she has her own reasons for that.
Episode 139: The Oil Baron's Ball
Bonehead Dialogue Award: none.
Pam Award: Pam [but not at the ball, where she's rather ordinary] and Katherine.
Angelica Award: Tough choice. Donna's ball dress is the worst of the bunch.
Bobby Award: I'd go with Jenna at the ball.
April Award: Katherine for stupidly not asking Bobby to the ball herself. Peter for leaving his charges unattended.
- I have a lot of problems with Aunt Lil's flashback. First of all, Aunt Lil seems to remember a lamp in Mickey's room, in the far corner. A very bright lamp. Where did this come from? There was no such light when we actually saw the rescue team trying to revive Mickey.
- Not only that, but Aunt Lil must have forgot about Ray rushing to the door to barricade it against the rescue team after pulling the plug. It's possible that he did and we didn't hear it because the flashback is silent, but you'd think we would have seen something.
- Another oversight that is easy to make. Aunt Lil says that her address is 17 Bry Lane, Emporia, Kansas. Unfortunately, Aunt Lil seems to have some amnesia, because last season, when Ray and Donna visited her house, the house number was 808. It's possible that Aunt Lil moved while we weren't looking but I don't think it's likely.
- And while we're at it: I know all about the significance of 'pulling the plug' and all that. But this is egregious. A plug. A real plug. Right at a reachable level so that Aunt Lil or Ray could disconnect it any time they wanted to. Give me a break. No hospital has this kind of setup! Only a doctor can authorize pulling the plug out - and it's not even a real plug!
- Something I just noticed today. The elevators at Ewing Oil have up and down indicators, as well as two buttons to press. So does that mean that Ewing Oil is not on the top floor of their own building? Seems kind of odd.
- Poor Kendall. The writers don't want to pay her sometimes, so they get Doris to be the receptionist today at Ewing Oil. She should file a complaint with the labor department.
- Punk is at Ewing Oil waiting for Bobby and JR and says that he heard about Ray's trial. Wait a minute...why the heck wasn't he AT the trial? He and Ray were business partners, right? Way to show moral support.
- There's a really bad cut when Sue Ellen is taking that walk in the park. She does a 90 degree turn in a nanosecond!
- John Ross takes a long time to change, given the fact that he's usually so thrilled about going swimming. Very convenient, so that Sue Ellen and Peter can have an extended conversation about the Oil Baron's Ball.
- When Pam and Jenna meet at the ball, I'm really impressed that Pam recognizes Jenna after the plastic surgery and hair implant. Then again, Bobby and JR both did.
- Punk calls up Lucy to announce the scholarships because she's been through SMU. Did Lucy graduate? I don't think so. There would have been a big celebration or party or something, right?
- I've already expressed disappointment at the lack of fireworks in the powder room. But some questions remain: why did Katherine, Pam, and Afton go to the powder room? They walk in, snap at Jenna, and then leave. Couldn't they at least have stayed for a few seconds to redo their makeup or something?
- And what happened to the lady who was looking after the powder room? When Jenna and Sue Ellen walk in, you can see a matron or whatever they're called sitting at a small table near the door. Suddenly, when the ladies are alone and bantering at each other, she's gone. What happened?
- Where are Marilee and Jordan Lee? Shouldn't they be at Cliff's table, especially in light of his expected honor? Instead, there's some people we've never seen before sitting at Cliff's table. Very odd. It would have been cool if Holly Harwood had showed up, too.
AHN Jason's corner:
- Empty purse- Katherine and Pam in the bedroom, Pam and Katherine at Oil Baron's, Pam at Cliff's, Katherine with Bobby
- Peter left a pool full of kids to go talk to Sue Ellen.. scary... Peter is scary in general.
- Just a note.. some interesting interactions today. Cliff seems to know a lot about Jenna, whom he met once and will never talk to again. Lucy and Jenna are introduced but neither actually says hello to each other. Has Katherine ever said hello to Ray or Donna? Donna did not acknowledge Jenna with a polite hello, which is rather out of character for her. I guess she doesn't realize that Cilla is here to stay and is going to be her best friend for the next few seasons. I think Cliff only knows what just about everybody knows about Jenna. He might know a bit more than his share about Charlie, but that's just adding two and two.
Bonehead Dialogue Award:
> Sue Ellen to Peter after applying iodine: "Does it sting?"
Pam Award: Pam's and Katherine tie again. Donna looks pretty good in her scene with Paul.
Angelica Award: Peter's half shirt reappears.
Bobby Award: Sue Ellen
April Award: Katherine for being a whiner, and Paul Morgan for being a weasel and hitting on Donna.
- Bobby says he never had a picnic on a working day. What about with Jenna in the first season? I remember him skipping work to go be with her in the park - the same park, I think!
- Jenna tells Charlie to get ready for school the day after the ball. So the ball is not held on a Friday or Saturday? There'll be a whole lot of oil barons with hangovers at the office.
- What's with Jenna's scarf? When she's talking to JR, she keeps adjusting it like she has something to hide. Does she have mono? Or maybe just a wicked hickey from her night with Bobby, and she'd prefer that JR not find out about it?
AHN Jason's corner:
- Jenna's Oil Baron's hair do looks a lot more under control today.
- Empty purse meter- Katharine with JR.
- Bobby tells Katharine that Jenna was the first girl that he ever truly loved. This is interesting in light of something Bobby implies in Swan Song- that he has only ever loved one woman in his life. This premise seems to change quicker than Donna's hairstyle.
AHN
Pam's corner:- Bobby must be a real slave driver! He called Katherine and said he just got in and Phyllis gave him her message. Ummm.....what the hell did Bobby do at Southfork all day?? Why bother to go in to the office that late in the day and what the hell was poor Phyllis still doing there? Hopefully he was just avoiding Katherine and used this as an excuse.
- Pam was very poorly dubbed during the first part of her conversation with Cliff in her office.
Episode 141: The Buck Stops Here
Bonehead Dialogue Award:
> Jenna: "I've had offers to marry
rich, but I would never trade my self-respect for that."
Not yet, anyway.
Pam Award: I'd go with Jenna. I'm sure the women will nominate Bobby's swimwear.
Angelica Award: Peter's blue cut-off shirt appears again. But Pam should win for her awful hat at the polo practice and then her ugly blouse when Bobby comes over.
Bobby Award: Jenna's upsweep is rather bad.
April Award: Pam for continuing to be a wishy-washy nosy bitch.
- During their argument, Jenna tells Katherine that she knows her salary isn't up to par with what's offered by Wentworth Industries. How does she know that Katherine is one of THOSE Wentworths? How much has Bobby told her? Lest you say that the Wentworths are probably well known, I'll remind you that Cliff didn't know who Rebecca Wentworth was until she told him. Has Bobby told her all about Pam's family and the Wentworth fortune?
- I usually never agree with Pam, but she's right about one thing: this Tracy woman who's got the hots for Mark is really annoying! Tracy says that Mark was fifth in last year's rodeo but at this year's rodeo, the announcer says that he placed third. Is she playing head games? And why doesn't Mark say something in his own defense? Or is the rodeo announcer senile?
- I've been holding this one back for a while because I thought I'd give Peter a chance but this has gone too far. Peter only owns three shirts! The first time we saw him, he had that blue collared shirt on; since then, all we've seen is his Windsor Meadows shirt, or the studly-looking blue piece of cloth that doesn't cover his navel. What is up with that? Is he just trying to impress Sue Ellen with his chiseled stomach? [Well, we know he is, but this is so lame.]
From Kelly Curtis: Ray and Donna are suddenly back from New York for the festivities at the rodeo. That was a pretty quick trip, and there's no mention of it at all.
AHN Jason's corner:
- Phyllis got that phone call placed really fast for a number she was unfamiliar with. Well...it was in the file, right? Tough call.
- How did Katherine know where Jenna worked? Would Bobby tell her that? Based on their conversation Jenna seems to know a LOT about Katherine and the whole Barnes/Wentworth clan. It definitely makes me wonder how much Bobby has told her. Maybe she could find this out innocently, since Bobby wouldn't have any qualms about drooling over Jenna to her.
- In a rather Freudian Slip sort of way, Bobby refers to Katharine as his sister-in-law instead of "ex SIL" almost like he subconsciously denies his relationship with Pam is over. Yes, especially since he called her ex-SIL the other day - talking to Holly, I think it was. Odd.
- I don't understand this mechanical bull thing. Does it speed up randomly so each person doesn't get the same chance to show off? The announcer seems to say that. I have NEVER understood rodeo or how it's scored. Certainly degree of difficulty should play a role in the whole thing - some bulls are tougher, and what not. But I always thought the whole point of a mechanical bull was to eliminate the differences between bulls.
AHN
Pam's corner:- The vault is definitely open at this point in the series but there seems to be a lot of wardrobe recycling. Bobby's peach shirt from episode 132 (after the fire) makes another appearance as does the ugly print blouse Pam was wearing during the smackdown she got from Bobby. She wore it last season when she was stupid enough to let Mark answer the phone in her hotel suite.
- Jenna hasn't been an heiress for at least 10 years or so. I highly doubt that white dress with the drape neckline she wore to dinner with Bobby could be from that time period. She would have bought it in the 70's and dresses like that weren't even around then. She may have been teasing him, if so that brings up the question of how Jenna manages to afford expensive dresses like that and the one she had on at the Oil Baron's Ball on a bar waitress' salary. She must get some great tips!
Bonehead Dialogue Award:
Pam Award: Jenna, since she's being showcased. Pam was really close...
Angelica Award: ...but she brought another ugly brown dress out of the closet.
Bobby Award: Nothing terrible.
April Award: Cliff for leaving JR alone in his office.
- This is getting to be ridiculous. What is with John Ross on the computer? Of course his keystrokes don't correspond with what's happening on the screen - like father, like son. But when Harry and JR are talking in his office, you can hear John Ross banging away! Yikes!
- Why does Sly call McSween "Harry McSween" when he first arrives? JR knows that she always calls him Uncle Harry. Must be for Phyllis' benefit, I guess. Privately, she does call him Uncle Harry later.
- While talking to Peter, Sue Ellen puts her purse on the driver seat and then sits down. Presumably she sits on it and that's why she's so uncomfortable when she drives off.
- And speaking of Sue Ellen, she has been wearing that blue dress with the green sleeves for about three days now. I think Katherine has also recycled that black dress with the white design more than a few times.
- Whoa! Hold up here! I thought Sue Ellen's hairdresser was Mr. David, right? Then how come, when we see Sue Ellen pulling away, the name of the salon is proudly boasted as "L'Image"? Now, maybe Mr. David is one of the guys who works there...but then how the Sam Hill would Peter know that?
- The establishing slot of the club that Bobby and Jenna visit with Ray and Donna is actually Da Vinci's where Mitch used to work.
- When Katherine is looking through her microfiche of old newspapers, the image of the daily crossword puzzle appears a second time, three pages away from the first one. What gives here?
- When JR shows Sly the photo evidence of her meetings with Cliff, he shows her some shots of pool meetings...from seven episodes ago. How is that possible?
From Russ D'Angelo: I find it unacceptable to believe that Cliff would leave JR alone in his office. Certainly not considering the hate between those two and the Barnes/Ewing feud. OK, Cliff doesn't know that JR is going to bug his phone but would he really leave JR alone with all his personal files in his office? It just doesn't seem logical.
AHN Jason's corner:
- This is one I would have missed if I hadn't watched the Jenna/Bobby wedding episode... Today, she says to Charlie that her old ranch is 3 miles from SF. But when she and Bobby almost get married in the 7th season, she says it was 5 miles down the road (from SF). Excellent call! But I guess this is really a nit for Episode 173.
- Empty purse- Pam and Katharine walking, Pam with Cliff and Mark, Sue Ellen with Peter. Phyllis and Kendall at Ewing Oil. Sly's is debatable.
AHN
Pam's corner:- Mark must not be the man Bobby is in bed! After a hot night together Pam's hair and makeup were just perfect in the morning. Yup. This happens again - remember their last night together? Mark quietly leaves and his side of the bed is perfectly made.
- Bobby's peach shirt made another appearance. Hope he washed it!
- Cilla should remember to take off her engagement/wedding ring when doing her scenes. I noticed when she and Bobby talked about Pam and Mark's changing relationship.
- JR asked Kendall for a list of everyone that had been in the office over the past couple of months. Why would Kendall have such a thing? For one thing I have never seen anyone sign in with her before going in to the office and for another thing that might mean they were trying to use some sort of security. Ah, well said! Chalk this up to a tote. I figure that Kendall MIGHT somehow keep records of everyone who whizzes past her, but that implies non-existent security. Excellent.
- Cliff asked JR if he stopped by his office to apologize for what happened at the ball the other night. It was hardly 'the other night'. Mark mentioned in the last episode that the rodeo was a week from Saturday and we've seen Bobby with Christopher on two different Sundays. It's been at least two weeks since the ball.
- After Bobby invited Ray for dinner he told him he'd see him there. Where? Bobby never mentioned where he was planning to take them. Ray and Donna must have telepathic powers because they showed up at the right nightclub. I thought something was odd about that.
- I am now convinced that the city of Dallas never has anything to report that is newsworthy. Otherwise I can't imagine why Jenna booking passage on a luxury liner would be of any interest to anyone.......even on the society page. Good thing it was or Katherine would have had to spend much more time digging up dirt on Jenna.
Bonehead Dialogue Award:
Pam Award: Pam's low-cut swimsuit is DA BOMB. Honorable mentions should go to Jenna at Southfork and Sly's lil' blue dress when she meets Cliff. Katherine looks sort of pudgy today.
Angelica Award: Afton's squaw outfit at the barbecue.
Bobby Award: Donna at Southfork.
April Award: Pam for acting surprised at seeing Bobby with Jenna at the barbecue.
- Bobby walks in to JR's office without knocking to tell him about the Boyd deal. Doesn't he always complain about JR barging into his office? What's up with that?
- Phyllis tells Bobby that Travis Boyd is on Line 3. Who is on the other two lines, especially since JR and Sly are talking to each other?
- There's a problem with the press clippings that Katherine's investigator shows her. Jenna didn't look like that at the time! Her hair was a lighter blonde, and she was taller...and she looked like Morgan Fairchild. Who doctored the photos?
- Mark says he's never been to a Ewing barbecue before. Why not? He certainly moves in those circles, doesn't he?
- And why does Jenna say that Charlie has probably not met Pam? Wouldn't she remember everything that went down in Episode 8? Did she get a lobotomy along with that plastic surgery?
AHN Anne's corner:
- Miss Ellie says to Jenna: "Bobby told me he was seeing
you." Did he now? I thought the whole point of Miss Ellie's vacation was so she
wouldn't make contact with any family members. How is it that Bobby told her that?
Excellent point! I missed this because I was
making notes, but if Ellie said that then this is a huge nit.
- Why isn't Lucy ever at family dinners? When J.R. seated Donna at Lucy's place, I had to
wonder.
Real reason: Donna just needs a place to sit
and Lucy would add nothing to the scene. It's a good point.
- My friend pointed out that that on Charlie's birth certificate, Bobby is listed as
"Bobby." That struck both of us as being a little too informal. His name should
appear as Robert. What do you think?
That is interesting. I know that Bobby has
been referred to as "Bobby" by everyone, always. Except one time by that
jabronie reporter in Season 1, who asked for 'Robert'. Even on his gravestone after his
temporary death, his name is written as 'Bobby James Ewing'. So the answer is that in the
real world, his name should be written as Robert. In the Dallas world, I think we'll have
to do with Bobby.
AHN Jason's corner:
- Empty Purse Meter- Sly with Cliff, Ellie at SF, Lucy with Peter, Jenna with Bobby on the street.
- I think this is the first appearance of Cassie.. although this place looks more like the Cattleman's Club than the Oil Baron's Club. No, I'm pretty sure it's the Oil Baron's. It has windows.
- Donna appears to wear a shawl on the hot day of the BBQ.
AHN Pam's corner:
- In the opening scene there is a voice over of Bobby's meeting with Travis Boyd. During that voice over Travis says that it is an 'open secret' that Ewing Oil needs to expand. What the hell is an open secret?? A secret is private and no one is supposed to know! If everyone knows, it's not a secret and what does he mean buy 'open'?? This made little sense.
- Sue Ellen, Sue Ellen, Sue Ellen, you said the Ewing BBQ is an annual event (even though we don't see all of them) which means two things, you know it's going to take place and approximately when it's going to take place. So why oh why do you (and Ellie) always insist on throwing it together at the last minute?? It was nice to see Larry Deltham is still catering this event (he showed up in a black pickup rather than his white catering truck) but giving the guy more than ten days notice to get all that food and booze together might be nice. She barely has time to get out her invites let alone receive her RSVPs. I guess it's more fun to throw it together at the last minute.
- Now I've seen it all, I am definitely convinced about the lack of newsworthy events in Dallas and that the Ewings and anyone associated with the Ewings makes headlines anywhere in the world. During the last episode Katherine finds a blurb in the Dallas society page about Jenna booking passage on a luxury liner. That's bad enough. But today Katherine is sifting through clippings with her investigator and ran across one with a headline about Jenna attending the OPERA!!
- Jenna keeps whining to Bobby about how she is her own woman and she supports herself and Charlie. How is that possible when she seems to have the work ethics of say......PAM?? Bobby asked her to dinner and she 'called off of work'. Guess she won't be pulling down the great tips tonight. Bobby sure knows how to pick a woman with great work ethics. Well, she has been WORKING at least. She's entitled to a day off here and there, or she might have just traded shifts with someone.
- Sue Ellen said that Bobby was late for dinner because he had to pick up Jenna, implying that they would be arriving in the same car. Someone should have clued the producers in to this so that they wouldn't use old stock footage. Look closely when Bobby pulls in to Southfork, he's ALONE in the car! So where is Jenna?? Stuffed in the trunk?? Excellent call. I totally missed it.
- I loved all of JR's little digs while doing the seating arrangements at the dinner table. "Jenna, you sit in Pam's old chair. Donna, you sit in Lucy's seat since we really don't have a place for you and Ray you can sit in Gary's chair since you're so much alike." Ya gotta love it!!
- Mark is really a slob and doesn't look too impressive in front of Bobby. While the two of them were standing at the bar playing nice with each other at the BBQ notice that Mark has a stain on the right side of his shirt. It looked like coffee or steak sauce or something. It definitely was not sweat, he spilled something on himself.
Bonehead Dialogue Award:
Pam Award: Pam in her red dress at the office. Hurt me, baby!
Angelica Award: Lucy's penguin dinner outfit.
Bobby Award: Donna's poodly hair again.
April Award: Sue Ellen for not putting her foot down and getting Peter out of her life sooner.
- Cliff calls some guy named Tom in Washington to find out about Edgar Randolph. Wait a minute - how about good ol' Dave Culver? Cliff still has a pretty good relationship with him, despite the fact that he fell out with Donna, right?
- When we first see Pam in this episode, she comes in to Cliff's office. At first, she has her hand up near the top of door in a very provocative pose. Suddenly, the camera angle changes and her hand is next to her hip.
- When Clayton barges into Ewing Oil, Sly calls him "Mr. Farlow". Has Clayton ever been to Ewing Oil? How in the world would Sly know who he is?
AHN Anne's corner:
- The ring that Clayton gives Miss Ellie is the same ring that he
was planning to give Sue Ellen, or at least it's an exact replica. That is just too
bizarre. Either the crew was short of props or we, the viewing audience, are supposed to
believe that Clayton knew he'd be using the ring again. What a sneak!
I didn't notice this. This is hilarious!
- Secondly, and this is major nit-picking, when Clayton meets
Bobby and Ray for lunch and the waitress asks what they want to drink, only Bobby says
anything. Then she tells them that their drinks will be there in a minute. How can there
be more than one drink if nobody else ordered one?
Excellent call! I was making notes so I
missed this.
AHN Jason's corner:
- Empty purse meter- Sue Ellen with Peter, Sue Ellen at school again.
AHN Pam's corner:
- There was a really bad cut when Pam and Mark were started to kiss in the restaurant, which was disgusting anyway. When they first start to tilt their heads, both tilt towards the window, not a great idea to tilt the same way when kissing. Then the camera angle changes and Mark's head was suddenly tilted the other way.
Episode 145: Peter's Principle
Bonehead Dialogue Award: Ellie
to Clayton: "By my family, you mean the boys."
Well gee, Ellie, WHO ELSE is in your family that would object to you
getting married? Jamie, Jack?
Pam Award: Lucy's very curvy blue jumpsuit in the first scene. I'll make Jason happy and say that Marilee looks pretty good in this episode.
Angelica Award: Afton's head scarf when she comes home to find Cliff with Marilee. She looks like she's been scrubbing the floors all day.
Bobby Award: None. Donna's hair is much better today.
April Award: Sue Ellen for not putting her foot down and getting Peter out of her life sooner, for the second time.
- When Ray meets Clayton at the Oil Baron's Club, he talks to the staff on a first-name basis. That's rather odd. Has Ray ever been there before? Often enough to get to know the staff members? Often enough that they would know his "usual"?
- What is the enrollment at SMU? I don't know for sure, but it must be several thousands at least. So you're telling me that Sue Ellen just happened to go to the particular area on the huge campus where Peter's roommate just happens to hang out, and just happens to find a girl who knows Jerry Hunter? Or has she been searching for hours and the producers just decided not to show this?
- There's art on the walls at Peter's apartment? How long has he been there? He only bought it a few days ago.
- When Pam confronts Cliff about his possible cheating on Afton, there's a continuity error. She starts to blast him and in doing so crosses her arms. Then suddenly there's a cut and she crosses her arms again.
AHN Jason's corner:
- Sue Ellen seems to give Jerry a business card with SF's phone number on it. Why would she have a business card to SF? Not really a business card, I think. It's sort of weird...maybe it's the kind of thing she gives to DOA contacts or something.
-
I know this may be a topic of heated debate but I seriously have to question the statement that Jock ever really controlled JR and kept him in line.... No offense to Jock but I do remember many times when he told JR to do something and JR did just what he wanted to anyways, sometimes even telling Jock to his face.. ( Episodes #1 and #8 when he interfered with Bobby and Pam's marriage come to mind.) He also mortgaging Southfork, screwing over the Cartel and damaging the Ewing name, lied about knowing about the Asian Oil leases etc..) Ellie didn't say that Jock controlled JR, I don't think...she said something like he "sometimes could control him". I'll check.- Empty purse meter- Marilee at Cliff's, Sue Ellen at College
- Just a random thought.. Marilee's company is named Stonehurst. Stone was her late husband, Seth's last name. I thought Bobby once said that Marilee and her father built up this company to what it was... so why did they name it after > her late husband. Was Hurst her father's name or something..... I imagine it was. There might have been a merger and Stonehurst sound better than Hurststone.
AHN Pam's corner:
- Understandably Sue Ellen wants to get away from the breakfast table during the whole Peter interrogation. But geeze, find a better excuse than having to change John Ross's shirt before school!!! The child looked fine and he didn't have time to spill anything on himself since Sue Ellen didn't give him time to eat his breakfast which is par for the course for a Ewing grandchild. Even JR noticed he didn't eat, but didn't do anything about it either. The poor kid will be starving by the time she picks him up at noon. Oh, he's used to it.
- I had to laugh during the Donna/Ellie 'workout' scene. Ellie, as usual, was on her stationary bike. Donna on the other hand was breathing heavily and had a somewhat pained look on her face suggesting that she was in the middle of a tough workout. I doubt it, look at the weight machine, she's only lifting ONE weight, the 10 POUND weight!!! Hardly a tough workout!!! No wonder she didn't break a sweat! That's like Ray. Remember that one episode where he talks to Lucy in the exercise room, does one bench press of 40 pounds, and then acts like he just had a killer workout?
- We all know what a loser Cliff is but I can't believe he was this stupid!! Yes, he thought Afton was going to be at the club for several hours. Still, you don't schedule a 'business meeting' with a viper like Marilee in your own condo where your girlfriend could possibly come home at any given moment. Everyone in Dallas knows exactly how Marilee seals a deal.
- I really wish the producers would find some new establishing shots for places and stop using the same old stock footage and hope we the viewing audience won't notice. The establishing shot of Cliff's condo, at night before his business meeting with Merilee, shows the SAME building used in episode 144 to show Jenna's condo at night when Bobby came over and they resolved the whole boutique issue. Cliff's was shot straight on while Jenna's was shot on sort of an angle, but it's definitely the same building.
Pam Award: A tie between Afton's busty red dress and Pam's sweet white ensemble.
Angelica Award: Peter's cut-off shirt.
Bobby Award: Sue Ellen's mousy look.
April Award: Sue Ellen for not putting her foot down and getting Peter out of her life sooner- again.
- I'm trying to figure out why Sue Ellen would have gotten her hair cut on the way back from Peter's.
- Peter, Peter, Peter. Et tu, Peter? Why, oh, why, did you dial eight numbers to call Southfork?
- It's hard to see because of Pam's big head that blocks it out for most of her conversation with Bobby, but the new clock at her home - both hands are the same length! I noticed this because I was going to make a trivia question out of it - is it 9:30 or is it 6:45? It's impossible to tell!
- John Ross excitedly takes Peter up to his room to see his train set - but when he gets there, he starts showing it to Charlie! And then, once it gets going, he calls Sue Ellen over to have a look? Has he completely forgotten about Peter? [Must be his father's influence - he's already noticing pretty thirteen-year-old girls?]
AHN Anne reminded me that Pam said that Katherine called her on the phone about the upcoming
trip to Rome and that she didn't understand why Katherine left in the first place.
Katherine came to the house to visit Pam and tell her that she was off to Rome to find
romance. I felt that this was a bit much for Pam to forget.
Yes, I noticed this right away. Good call!
Episode 147: Some Do, Some Don't
Pam Award: I'd have to call it a tie between Bobby's tux and Katherine's outfit at Ewing Oil. Special mention should go to a totally babelicious Claudia Christian, who plays the gal that mistakes Sue Ellen for Peter's mother.
Angelica Award: Nothing terrible.
Bobby Award: Donna's hair, which has sucked the whole season, was rather bad today.
April Award: I'll give it to Katherine for trusting JR to help her land Bobby.
- Travis Boyd is the victim of a really bad cut. In one instant, he's looking at Bobby's desk as they talk. Suddenly the camera angle changes and he's looking right at Bobby.
- Cliff is really a lowlife. He makes Sly pay for the ice tea he orders when they meet! This might not have been so dumb if he had taken more than one sip.
- Kendall's been going to the Jackie Dugan Academy of Secretarial Arts. She receives a call from someone and says she'll transfer the caller to Personnel. But she turns around to talk to JR and just hangs up the phone!
Episode 148: Eye of the Beholder
Pam Award: Lucy strikes me as being rather cute today.
Angelica Award: Nothing terrible.
Bobby Award: Tie between Sue Ellen and Donna.
April Award: Bobby for telling Pam he hasn't been home for a few nights. Good one, pal.
- Can't anyone on this show handle a phone properly? In the opening scene, Pam gets a hankering to call Mark Graison, so she dials seven numbers on the phone next to her bed. What's wrong with this, you ask? Well, she was calling Houston! Houston is long distance from Dallas, right? Sure it is. [Or maybe...Pam dialed the Singletree hotel in Dallas, and they said that Mark Graison wasn't there, which is obviously true, since he's not in town.]
- The scene with JR and Edgar Randolph baffles me. What point does it serve, except as a 'cabbage' scene? JR tells Edgar Randolph he wants to know what the highest bid is for the offshore leases so that he can beat the bid without wasting any extra money. Well, spank my butt and call me Charlie! What else would JR possibly want to know? Are the writers saying that Edgar doesn't already know what information JR would want? This is stupid.
- There's a subtle in-joke in this episode. When Cliff tells Afton, Pam, and Mark that he plans to go to Houston to finalize arrangements with some investors, Pam comments that Cliff thinks he's "The Man from Atlantis". 'The Man from Atlantis" was an actual TV show, aired during the late 70s, starring the one and only Patrick Duffy.
- At one point JR is banging on his keyboard and then turns around to talk to Bobby about the Boyd deal. Suddenly there's nothing on the monitor when the shot changes.
- Cliff orders a "Baron Burger". The Oil Baron's Club has a burger? That is totally ridiculous.
- It also sounds like JR only dials seven numbers to call Harry in San Angelo, which should be long distance.
AHN Anne's corner:
-When J.R. referred to Bobby's business deal with Travis Boyd as
"secretive," I really had to wonder what was going through the writer's head.
Bobby told J.R. about the deal, about how he was planning to move on it and get J.R.'s
signature "when the time was right" because he didn't want to lose another deal
to Cliff Barnes. Remind me how this is secretive? I think JR is just trying to make Bobby feel
guilty about doing things behind his back. Of course he remembers the details, because he
recalls how much money they needed to spend on it. Why Bobby follows up on it and says he
had to be 'secretive' is a good question, though.
- Bobby tells Pam that he hasn't been home for the last couple of nights, leading her and
us to believe that he's spent them with Jenna Wade. Now, if that's true, have they stopped
caring that Charlie is around? Jenna couldn't exactly send her daughter to a friend's
house for the week. I had to look over the summaries for
this...let's see. Bobby spends last night with Jenna, we know that; the night before was
the night they were supposed to go out to some formal event, but Jenna forgot. So they got
pizza or something. Charlie must have been around then, so you're right. Maybe Jenna
wasn't in the mood so Bobby slept on the couch? Interesting.
- At the moment when Miss Ellie goes to hug Clayton, she puts her arms over his shoulders.
The next shot shows her right arm beneath his arm in the embrace. I realized that they
probably filmed two separate shots so that Clayton's face wasn't hidden by her arms when
they showed him, but this is still pretty irritating. I did notice that there was a lot going on
during this scene, and it was painfully obvious that there were two shots of it, because
the shots that focus on Ellie show Clayton as being much more distant than the ones that
focus on him. I didn't notice the 'flying arm syndrome' specifically, but I'm sure you're
right. Good call!
Episode 149: Twelve Mile Limit
Pam Award: Katherine in lingerie. Yee-oww.
Angelica Award: None.
Bobby Award: Donna again.
April Award: Didn't see one.
- Today's key word is incompetence, DALLAS fans. The nurse at the hospital is first num-num. She tells Ray and Donna that Edgar is probably 'not too well'. So what does he do? He has an excited conversation with them that lasts about five minutes!
- The next num-num is Kendall. When Ray and Donna barge in to Ewing Oil, she asks if she can help them. Ray angrily says 'no' and then continues in. So what does Kendall do, bearing in mind that Phyllis and Sly are not in the office? Does she valiantly try and stop Ray and Donna? Or even get in their way? No! She sits back down and picks up her nail file!
- And finally, Katherine. She's evil. She's beautiful. She looks great in lingerie. What's not to like? Well, the fact that she seems to think of Canada as a third world country is one strike against her. When Earl Johnson tells her he traced Naldo Marchetta to Montreal, Katherine says "Canada?" with a really pained look on her face. As if one becomes a second-class human being for even considering going there. [Well, he did go to Montreal and not Toronto, so he can't be that smart.]
- Not a nit, just an observation: Ray pulls the 'we locked ourselves out' thing again when he can't get into Edgar Randolph's room. You'll recall he did the same thing when he and Bobby needed to sneak in to Walt Driscoll's hotel room. Ray had better watch it or he'll get a reputation amongst hotel staff!
Pam Award: I'll have to go with Katherine again.
Angelica Award: I didn't like Sue Ellen striped diagonal dinner outfit, nor her outfit at Jenna's boutique
Bobby Award: Sue Ellen's hair is particularly bad today.
April Award: The guy driving the station wagon for hitting Sue Ellen. How could he not have seen her?
- Jenna's nerves are clearly frazzled after witnessing Sue Ellen's accident. First, from the hospital, she doesn't dial 9 before calling Ewing Oil [she clearly dials only seven numbers].
- And why does Jenna ask for Bobby first instead of JR? It is JR's wife who was hurt, after all. What would Bobby do, other than tell JR what happened?
- When Donna meets with Paul Morgan, he says that she would "know Edgar better than I". No, it's "me", not "I".
- Just a note: isn't it ironic that Sue Ellen would get hit by when appears to be 78' Impala wagon like she used to have for the first few seasons?
Episode 151: When the Bough Breaks
Pam Award: Katherine's red dress completely outshines Sly's red dress.
Angelica Award: Naldo in his sweaty running gear. How can Katherine stand to be near him, let alone have his arm around her?
Bobby Award: Sue Ellen again.
April Award: None that sticks out.
- AHN Anne submitted: TERESA'S DRIVING ME CRAZY!!!!!! Okay, so
she calls her boss "Miss Ellie." I can live with that, because she's done it
before; maybe they have a very positive working relationship. Fine. But how can she call
Sue Ellen "Mrs. Ewing?" Especially when Miss Ellie has so much seniority! It
just makes Miss Ellie look stupid. And then, when she wants to tell Sue Ellen that she has
a call, she says, "Mrs. Ewing, you have a phone call." Both Miss Ellie and Sue
Ellen look at her, but Sue Ellen just automatically knows that it's for her. That is such
a stretch! And I know that since Miss Ellie and Teresa are best friends now, Sue Ellen
might already know that she's "Mrs. Ewing" and Miss Ellie is "Miss
Ellie," but Teresa vacillates so much that it still doesn't make any sense.
You are absolutely right! I did catch the
fact that Teresa said "Mrs. Ewing, you have a phone call", and I was going to
point out that there are TWO Mrs. Ewings standing right there, but I figured that she was
looking right at Sue Ellen when she said it, so both women were able to figure out who she
meant. But I totally forgot that she called Ellie "Miss Ellie" a minute ago.
This is hard to believe. The only thing I can think of that makes sense here is that Sue
Ellen, being the insecure and somewhat uppity type, insists on being called "Mrs.
Ewing", whereas at some point Ellie probably told Teresa to just 'call her Ellie' or
something like that. Can't you just picture Teresa slipping once and calling her
"Miss Sue Ellen" or something like that, and Sue Ellen snapping at her in turn,
threatening to get her fired? I can.
Bonehead Dialogue Award: [courtesy of Anne]
Cliff: "What are you doing here?
Bobby: "My son lives here!"
Cliff: "Oh, yeah, I forgot."
Pam Award: Katherine didn't impress today so I'll leave this one open.
Angelica Award: Katherine's wacky outfit at Ewing Oil. That cape is way over the top.
Bobby Award: None.
April Award: I guess Jenna for trying to keep her secret from the world even after being exposed by Naldo.
- There's just one problem I can see with the Naldo angle [which otherwise is very well done!]. In all the time that Bobby, Jenna, and Charlie have spent together, the topic of Charlie's birthday has never come up? Certainly, if Bobby knew that Charlie was born in November of 1970, the jig would be up, right? Certainly at some point Charlie would probably have mentioned this.
- When talking to the Krebbses, Barbara Mulgravey leaves her house door wide open. Why?
- My new friend Tim submitted a minor point, but when Marilee Stone and J.R. were having lunch in either
yesterday's or Tuesday's episode, Marilee started talking to JR about the past.
After a brief exchange, Marilee said to JR, "You didn't ask me to lunch to talk about
the past" or something like that as though JR had initiated that topic of
conversation.
Hmm...I don't recall for sure, but I do
remember that this conversation was strange. I'll take your word for it.
Episode 153: And the Winner Is...
Pam Award: Pam, for old times' sake.
Angelica Award: Katherine's wardrobe in this episode is very unflattering.
Bobby Award: Peter when modeling the dressy European look.
April Award: None.
- Donna says that Ray spent the airplane ride "reading a farm equipment magazine." Normally airlines, even in first class, have Time and Newsweek, or maybe Sports Illustrated. But I don't think they'd go and get a farm equipment magazine just for Ray.
AHN Anne's corner:
- When the doorbell rings at Pam's home, the maid yells,
"I'll get it" to which Pam replies, "Thanks!" Now, maybe things are
different down South, but where I come from, the help is hired to answer the door, among
other things. It's not for the employer to answer the door at all, so why was Pam's maid
doing her a favor?
I guess Pam's still getting used to being a
rich girl. This is uncharacteristic, though...when she lived at Southfork, she certainly
knew the role of the hired help - handing Christopher off to Teresa for even the slightest
reason, for instance.
Pam Award: I guess Pam in her black dress at Katherine's party. It's not spectacular but there's not much to choose from in this episode.
Angelica Award: Katherine's hideous black-and-white Angelica special at Ewing Oil.
Bobby Award: Nothing too bad.
April Award: Bobby for continuing to be a gimp to Jenna.
- After Charlie is announced at Ewing Oil, she takes about one second to come from the outer office to Bobby's door. Seems kind of fast.
- Bobby does something very un-Bobby-like in this episode. When he comes to Jenna's place, she tells him that when came home she told her mother that she spent some time with Bobby earlier in the day. I don't remember the exact words, but the implication is that Charlie 'came' home, she was not 'brought' home. So Bobby didn't bring Charlie home, even if he just brought her to the door without going inside, for the sake of avoiding an awkward moment with Jenna? Very unlike him.
- The establishing shot of the Wentworth Industries headquarters requires some circumspection. Why does it say, 'Houston, Texas" on the address slab? Certainly everyone knows what city they are in when they stand before this majestic building, right? Think of it this way: can you imagine seeing "Ewing Oil, Dallas, Texas" on a big sign in front of the Ewing Building? I can't, very honestly.
AHN Anne's corner:
- Miss Ellie greets Clayton with a "Good morning!" and
Clayton says that he has been looking all over the house for her, because they have a
lunch date. Neither one of them seems old enough to eat lunch at 10 am so that s/he can
catch dinner at four in the afternoon, so my guess is that it's at least 12:00. Get with
it, Ellie! It's not morning anymore!
Good call! I was too busy trying to make
sure that Ellie's information about Jessica was not nit-picking material that I didn't
notice this. [Ellie said she called Jessica when it was 4 PM in London, which would make
it roughly 9 or 10 AM in Dallas, which is reasonable. Often times, things happen in Europe
when it's 3 AM in Dallas.]
- I realize that the woes about J.R., Bobby, and the computer are
old news, but today, right before Katherine entered J.R.'s office, I had to wonder about
something. He looked like he turned off the whole computer, instead of just the monitor.
That means that everything he was working on is gone forever because he never saved it.
Yeah, I noticed this one.
-When Sue Ellen descends the staircase to chat with Bobby before the Andersons' party, she
is alone. And after she talks to him, she looks like she's going to leave the house
alone, too. You'd think that Miss Ellie and Clayton and certainly J.R. would be hanging
around somewhere so that they could go to the party together.
Ah, but if they were hanging around, she
couldn't have that heart-to-heart with the Bob-man, right?
- When Bobby knocks on Jenna's door, he tells her that it's him, but she looks through the
peep hole anyway. Why did she do that? She knew it was him. Does Jenna get a kick out of
seeing her guests in walleye vision?
Force of habit, maybe? It's a good point.
Pam Award: None. The wardrobe guys are doing a very poor job.
Angelica Award: None. The outifts are all so ordinary.
Bobby Award: Some of Pam's outfits turn her rather bad hair into a shapeless void.
April Award: Cliff for getting suckered into taking the loan at Vaughn's terms.
- Did anyone else notice that Cliff said 'nit-picking'? Cool!
- Oh, Pam. Dear, sweet, lovely, Pam. I know you're trying, dear. But try a little harder, would you? In Episode 148, you dialed seven numbers to call Dallas from Houston. Today you dialed ten! That's close, but maybe next time dial 1 for long distance!
- Now here's a great nit. Three in fact. Peter's astronomy lesson in this episode was totally bogus! Thanks to AHN Tim, whose corner appears below for the first time, we know that this episode aired March 23, 1984. So that means that Peter was lying through his teeth! First, he told John Ross that Galileo discovered the moons of Jupiter in 1610. That was correct. However, I don't know what the context of this is because in March and April of 1984, Jupiter was not visible from Dallas until 1 AM in the morning! I'm hazarding a guess that this is way past John Ross's bedtime - and anyway, JR asks Peter to stay for dinner, so it must be early evening.
- Next stop on our solar tour: Saturn, which Peter says is shining brightly and John Ross should be able to make out the rings. Strike two. First of all, in March of 1984, Saturn did not rise in Dallas until 11 PM. Still probably past bedtime.
- And Peter whiffs badly on the last one. He tells John Ross to take a look at the Evening Star, which we all should know as the bright planet Venus. Guess what? Venus was a MORNING star from January till August of 1984. Strike three. Why is Peter lying to this child who idolizes him?
GReichman submitted this very interesting one: The brief scene shown before the dialogue between Peter, Lucy, and the Modeling Agent really stuck out to me. This brief scene showed the outside of Peter's apartment which depicted a dingy brick apartment building with a yellow 1960's convertible Mustang out front. Please notice that this is the same shot they used in the 1980-1981 season to depict where Mitch Cooper lived. This same outside Apartment shot was used when Mitch's mom and his sister Afton flew into Dallas for Lucy's wedding and visited Mitch before the wedding. Furthermore the Yellow Mustang out front is the car I believe Mitch drove when he was dating Lucy. So what on earth is Peter doing living in Mitch's Apartment building in 1984? Moreover, why is Mitch's car (in 1981) parked in front when he is supposed to be living in Atlanta and would probably be driving something else? This is clear case of the producers of Dallas just pulling old file from previous years to fill a brief scene. The funny thing about it is both times they used it, it was to depict the living conditions of Lucy's love interest. Guess Lucy has something about guys who dwell in this apartment complex. As well as a car that has been stationary for 3 years. WOW! This is a great one. I'll have to see what I have taped from that time period. I can't confirm it, though I don't doubt it for a minute. Great find!
AHN Anne's corner:
- Only a few today and pretty lame ones at that. First, when Katherine comes into the room after Pam has gotten off the phone with Mark, she asks who was on the phone. How does she know that Pam was on the phone? Actually, what was Pam doing answering the phone in Katherine's house anyway? She didn't sound like she was expecting Mark's call.
- Secondly, right before Jessica arrived, Lucy looked as though she were going to take an appetizer, but then when the camera backed away, you could hear her saying "No thank you." No thanks after she picked one up? I've given up trying to explain Lucy.
- Lastly, Clayton ate breakfast with the family as though he were living at the ranch, which would make sense, considering the fact that he told Ray he was going to. But in this episode, he suggested that Jessica get a suite at the hotel next to his. Any idea what Clayton's living accommodations are at the moment? I think Clayton is still at the hotel, he just spends all of his waking time at Southfork. I didn't think Ellie was such a prude, but I guess she is!
AHN Tim's corner:
- When JR asked Peter to stay for dinner, JR said that he would
tell Sue Ellen to set a place for him. Isn't this something Teresa should be doing?
- Also, when Katherine told JR that Pam was going to marry Mark, JR said, "I've been
waiting six long years to hear that!" However, Pam and Mark have only known
each other for a little over one year.
Episode 156: Strange Alliances
Pam Award: Lucy struck me a bit in yet another very ordinary episode for babe-watching.
Angelica Award: None.
Bobby Award: None.
April Award: None.
- When talking to Katherine, Pam worries that by marrying Mark she's taking him away from things he might want to do before he dies- like be with other women. So Pam is considering, at some level, allowing Mark to knock boots with other babes? What is up with this woman?
- When Pam calls Jerry Kenderson, his phone rings like a doorbell. Why? This is really stupid.
- How many look-alike maids does Pam have? It was Louise a few days ago, now it's Annie? What's up with that?
- When Bobby comes over to pick up Christopher, he walks away towards the door with only his son. Shouldn't he have a bag of Christopher's clothes and stuff? Why didn't Pam pack for her uggie-wuggie snookums?
- Pam obviously has a false sense of her own charm. When Jerry Kenderson arrives at her place, she simply greets him, and then expects him to change his mind about telling Mark about his fatal condition. Come on, Pam! You're absolutely gorgeous, yes, but this is a bit extreme.
- And finally, just to show that I'm not all bad: there's a nice bit of continuity in this episode when Pam tells Jerry her address is still 227 Antioch Drive, just as it was two seasons ago! And she dials seven numbers when she calls Katherine! Good for you, Pam! Now if only you can clean up the rest of your act!
AHN Anne's corner:
- REPEAT OFFENDER!!! Pam's maid, standing right next to door, says "I'll get it!" as the doorbell rings. Stop the insanity!
- Jessica tells J.R. that she's heard "Ewing Oil has its share of enemies, especially J.R. Ewing." What? J.R. is Ewing Oil's worst enemy? Is this a mix-up on words? Lastly, Jock built the new Southfork?!?! Miss Ellie is trying to tell us that he constructed that mansion by himself? Get outta here! I think these are both just grammatical oversights by the writers. Obviously, Jessica means that JR has his share of enemies, as does Ewing Oil; and Ellie must mean that Jock 'had the new Southfork built'.
Pam Award: Still can't bring myself to say that any of these outfits looked good.
Angelica Award: Jessica's whatever-it-was at the party ties with Katherine's outfit at Ewing Oil.
Bobby Award: None.
April Award: None.
- Yesterday, Cliff told his guy in the Gulf that he was going to get another rig, right? So why does he act surprised when Cliff tells him to buy new rigs? Is it just because Cliff said 'rigs' instead of 'rig' and he figures he'll have to place an order for only one instead of the seven he had lined up?
- At the party, when Ellie spots Jessica and wants to introduce her to someone, she tells her "We've been looking all over for you." The camera angle changes and we see that Jessica is no more than a few yards away. Well, gee, Ellie, maybe if you'd pay attention to what's going on right in front of your face, you might find who you're looking for!
AHN Tim had a slightly different take on this: When Ellie says, "I've been looking all over for you," how does Jessica know that she is addressing her? She could have been addressing Ray (which is what I thought at first) who was standing next to her and who also is the best man and has only been a Ewing for four years, so there may still be some family friends he hasn't met yet. Good call! This was a weird line, period, as I've already pointed out.
- AHN Anne submitted: I thought that it was more than a little spooky how Donna reprimanded Jessica for staring at Clayton when she was staring at Ray the whole time. Aside from that, how could she hear what Jessica and Ray were saying? They were practically whispering and yet she knew their conversation by heart at the restaurant with Bobby and Jenna. I'm not sure whether they were 'whispering', but Donna did seem kind of far away from them...Donna's sudden psychic abilities are kind of spooky though. Not only does she repeat some of their words verbatim, but she acts like she's been around Southfork enough lately to determine that she's been spending a lot of time looking at Clayton and talking to JR. Weird.
AHN Tim also submitted: When JR calls Harry to tell him that it is time to "destroy"
Peter, it is implied that Harry is talking to JR on the other end and JR is
listening. But, then JR nods his head! How was Harry supposed to see
this? Maybe he and Donna possess the same psychic ability! Maybe. But maybe JR's just nodding instinctively, going
along with whatever Harry happens to be saying...it's iffy.
And finally, AHN Tim also pointed out that JR referred to the party at the beginning of the episode as being a
week from Friday. At the end of the episode, JR says that the party was a week ago,
so we can assume that about two weeks has elapsed. My nit is that Jessica, who
is against the wedding, kept the photograph of Clayton and Ellie for over two weeks.
(The pictures were taken two weeks ago before the party.) Surely her sick mind could
have come up with something evil to do to it by then. Also, why would she keep it in
such a prominent place (face up on the table next to her bed.) Wouldn't seeing that
photograph just disgust her?
Did he say that? I missed that. Good nit!
Pam Award: Jenna, if I must choose.
Angelica Award: Katherine's ugly dress when meeting Bobby at the Oil Baron's Club.
Bobby Award: Donna's in one scene but she wins it today.
April Award: Katherine for trusting JR. She's been dumb all along, but today it comes to a head.
- The producers saved some money by having Susan temp for Jackie. But this is silly: in real life, Jackie is Sherril Lynn Katzman, the executive producer's daughter. Why would they put in a temp for her? Maybe she wasn't feeling well.
- And speaking of Susan, she decides to model a foldover dress, like Pam used to have to wear occasionally. Susan's pretty but wearing Vicki's hand-me-downs doesn't seem like the smartest idea.
- My sister pointed out that it's very strange that the deputy who reads Peter his rights reads them off a card. He doesn't have them memorized? Must not be too many arrests in Peter's neck of the woods.
- When JR comes into his office, Bobby hits a 'screen saver' key or something like that which is presumably to end his current computer session. The key he hits is near the top right of the keyboard. It looks like he hits Scroll Lock or something, which he's done before in Episode 115. Possibly F10 or F12 for save?
- AHN Tim submitted: Harry told JR that rumors of Clayton starting the fire are still "flying around San
Angelo." If this is true, why did Harry have so much trouble getting
information about Clayton's past earlier in the season?
Good call. I was busy making notes so it
didn't click but now I do recall Harry saying that!
- AHN Anne submitted: I don't understand why Pam drove Sue Ellen home. Sue Ellen had to get to the restaurant
somehow, and it seems unlikely if not plain stupid that she would take a cab. And here's a
question: is it common for the ignition to be on the left side of the steering wheel? I've
never seen a car where that is the case except for Pam's.
Neither have I. Good call! And you're right
about the meeting at the restaurant.
- And finally, AHN Anne said: When the women were making out the wedding invitations and Clayton was
sitting around, it looked like he was doing the crosswords and IN PEN! I guess Mr. Farlow
is a lot cockier than we realized!
Yes. That is impressive for someone who's
admittedly 'conservative' - sounds like something the daring Jessica would do. Shouldn't
he be deathly afraid of making a mistake and not being able to erase it?
Pam Award: Jenna again. This is mighty tough.
Angelica Award: Drunk Katherine at the Oil Baron's Club.
Bobby Award: Drunk Katherine at the Oil Baron's Club.
April Award: None.
- I was going to make a snide comment about Pam saying she knows what goes on at stag parties, but I believe I will postpone. [For those who can't wait...how would Pam know anything about these parties? Unless, of course, she spent part of her teenage years being a hired plaything at such parties.]
- I'm very impressed with the way Mark uses Katherine's lithe body as he brings her home. First, he uses her foot to turn on the bedroom light. And then, to top it off, he manages to balance her purse on her abdomen all the way up from his car or taxi to her room! At first, I thought it might be strapped around Katherine's shoulder, but it falls off of her tummy when she rolls over on her bed. Neat trick, Mark!
- And speaking of impressive feats by Mark...when Mark solemnly leaves the blissfully sleeping Pam in her bed, the blankets and sheets are somehow very neatly arranged...especially on Mark's side of the bed! You'd never guess that he'd slept there that night, much less had a 'perfect' last night of sex with his special lady. How did Mark manage to do this without disturbing Pam?
- I understand that the conversation between Mark and Jerry was supposed to be emotional in a male-bonding sort of way. But when Mark asks if Jerry has ever thought about what he would do if he only had six months to live, Jerry says "Haven't we all?" Is this proper bedside manner? This doesn't sound like the kind of thing a supportive friend should say. Good for Mark, leaving him to pick up the check!
- JR meets McSween at Mitzi's which is an ordinary burger joint - why do the waitresses have street-walker outfits, like the Cattlemen's Club? Seems out of place.
- When Bobby comes to Jenna's place and insists that she and Charlie take the day off, Charlie tells them she had a field trip scheduled today. Shouldn't Jenna know this already? Or did Charlie forget to make her sign the permission form?
AHN Anne's corner:
- First, you have to tell me, is Cassie the only waitress at the Oil
Barons' Club? It seems that no matter where the characters sit, she's their server and
it's just a tad annoying.
Yes, and not only that! Today she changed
dresses in mid-shift! Did you notice this? When serving Katherine and Bobby, she's wearing
the red low-cut model. Then when Mark comes to pick up the zonked Kathy, she's wearing the
black model with less cleavage showing. Why? Did Katherine spill a drink on her or
something?
- When Sue Ellen tells J.R. that Peter is in jail, his response is that he will call Harve
Smithfield. Yello! Smithfield is in wills! I don't think he's qualified to handle a drug
bust. And then they don't consult Harve anyway.
Maybe they did off-screen. Usually they talk
to Harve just so he can suggest a good defense lawyer. And for the record, Harve does more
than just wills - he defends Ewing Oil interests in a variety of situations. I think his
specialty is corporate law.
- When Clayton and Ray come home from wherever they were [I'm not going to
comment on their incredibly and embarrassingly immature behavior], Ray goes inside and
yells Donna's name as though she were a) having an affair and he was really angry and b) as
though she were in an opposite wing of the house. I was always under the impression that
the kitchen was practically in your face when you came in the back way, so there was no
need for him to holler. And I still don't understand why he sounded so ticked off when he
did so.
This was just dumb. Why were they punching
each other like ten-year olds? Silly.
Episode 160: Hush Hush Sweet Jesse
Pam Award: Katherine in her opening scene.
Angelica Award: Couldn't see anything terrible.
Bobby Award: Nothing terrible.
April Award: Katherine for telling Pam she wanted Bobby all along.
- At the beginning of this episode, JR tells us that Sue Ellen is so upset after hearing about Mark's death that she had to go upstairs and lie down. Given that I don't think she's ever met Mark, that's hard to believe. Even if they have crossed paths once or twice it's STILL hard to believe.
- Obviously, this whole episode wouldn't mean much without the
revelation that Jessica is Dusty's mother. But it raises some interesting questions. First
of all, when Dusty calls, Clayton announces to the family that "It's Dusty."
Then he says, "Where are you, Dusty?"
I don't understand this. Clayton has always, always, always, referred to Dusty as
"Steven" - never Dusty. I can recall conversations with Sue Ellen in the third
season in which Sue Ellen would say something referring to 'Dusty' and Clayton would
reply, referring to 'Steven'. He even calls Dusty 'Steven' during their own conversations.
So why the heck is he calling him 'Dusty' all of a sudden? Bad vibes from Dusty's real
mama?
- Jessica calls Dusty from Donna's house, or so we are led to believe. I've listened to the first phone conversation and I'm very hard pressed to find any possible way that Clayton or Jessica could have figured out where Dusty was staying in Pocatello. So how does Jessica know where to find him?
- Oh, Katherine. Oh, dear sweet Katherine. You let me down, sweetheart. You were my favorite Dallas babe for so long, but not after today. After being a beautiful, evil, manipulating bitch for two seasons, Katherine just gives up the ghost and jobs to Pam. How in the world are we supposed to believe that after Katherine successfully put on the perfect supportive sister act for so long, that she would just cave in and admit everything to Pam? I never thought I would say this about Katherine, but she deserved that slap.
- I'm trying to think why Mark would use Fred Robinson, an occasional lawyer, to handle his last requests to Pam rather than Brooks Oliver. Even if the actor who plays Brooks Oliver is unavailable, why couldn't the producers invent a partner or an associate for him, like they do next season?
AHN Anne's corner:
- When Dusty calls, the first question Clayton asks is "Where are you?" Is the man deaf? Teresa just told him that it was his son calling from Idaho! Yeah, I caught this too. Maybe he just meant "What city", but this is weird.
- As Sue Ellen, Peter and J.R. proceed to their table (in that order), the host says, "Right this way, Mr. Ewing; your table's ready." Way to state the obvious! They're following him, so one would think their table would be ready and aside from that, J.R. is in the back of the line, so why is the host saying that particular comment to Sue Ellen? Good call. Bizarre.
- Jessica got a hold of one of Ray's handguns. Good lord! Explain to me why Ray would keep his rifles under lock and key, but the handguns are easily accessible. Both types can kill people, but handguns are easier to use, so he might as well have given Clayton's lunatic sister the murder weapon. This is hard to believe. Even if Ray's just a gun collector...wait, let me amend that...ESPECIALLY if Ray is a gun collector, his primary concern should be with safety, right? Sheesh.
- Finally, I have a comment/question. This is not a nit, because I think the Ewings have the right to redecorate the house when and where they see fit, but did you notice the kitchen doors in this episode? I don't remember the restaurant-style glass windows from previous episodes. Nor do I. We'll have to see how long they last.
Pam Award: The Ewing Oil girls, especially Kendall, look especially nice today.
Angelica Award: Sue Ellen's monstrosity when preparing for a day out with Pam.
Bobby Award: None.
April Award: Katherine for yet again trying to insinuate herself into Bobby's life.
- After talking to Jenna, Pam leaves Southfork without telling Sue Ellen. But that's okay because Sue Ellen has miraculously turned into Angelica Nero! What the hell was she wearing? I thought she told Pam she wanted to go out for lunch or maybe a movie. Did she just want to make sure it was a horror movie? Sheesh. Now I think I know why she was voted third-worst dresser on Dallas.
- During all of the wedding preparations and lead up, there's no mention at all of Gary Ewing, not even from Lucy, who is usually all pouty about not seeing her parents enough and complaining about how they're never invited to family affairs. Why is Lucy suddenly silent about Gary's presence?
- How come Jenna is invisible at the wedding? Shouldn't she be around doing something, even if she's not a maid of honor?
- When Peter meets with JR and Sue Ellen at the Oil Baron's Club, JR asks how he is and he says "I'm very worried, Mrs. Ewing." Surprised they didn't redo this scene.
- It kind of bugged me to see how similar this cliff-hanger was to the "Who Shot JR" cliff-hanger is 1980. Same setup, even down to the ominous call that JR receives when he's in the office alone. I have one question, though: why does the assailant call in the afternoon, when nothing happens until much later in the night time?
- Since we're not going to see her for a while, let's talk about Ellie for a bit. She is one tough woman! Ellie spent at least eighteen hours in the trunk of Donna's car! Notwithstanding the fact that it would probably get really tough to breathe after a while, wouldn't it also get unbearably hot, especially driving down that lonely Texas desert road in early summer? Poor Ellie! It's a shame she's going to be massively de-pushed in the near future.
- I happened to see this episode uncut, and during one of the cut scenes, Lucy learns that Sue Ellen had Theresa move all of her stuff back into JR's room. Theresa very uncharacteristically refers to "Miss Sue Ellen" rather than "Mrs. Ewing". Very odd.
Here's a great one!
From Angus Gill: Not a nit, but just a question:
At the end of Tuesday's episode, when we're looking through the eyes of the killer as
he/she stalks about the Ewing offices, did you notice a reflection of a man in the glass
front doors of the office? I played it back slowly with the videotape, and it looks like a
guy with a white shirt. And he appears to be standing, not walking.
Did you notice this? Am I just seeing things?
YES! YES! YES! I checked and
you are absolutely right! There's a guy - it could even be Larry Hagman, judging by the
way he's standing, reflected in the glass on the right side of the screen! This is
priceless! This is the first time we've found such a blatant production SNAFU on Dallas!
Let's keep looking! Click here to see the video evidence.
Patrick submitted: Bobby
went into JR's office to check his phone for a tap. He picked up the receiver to check it,
therefore opening the phone line. When Katherine entered Ewing Oil and gazed around at the
secretaries' desk, wouldn't one of the lights on the phones be lit (namely Sly's)? It's
minor, but I think I'm right. It might've helped in the way that Katherine psychically
knew that Bobby was in JR's office and not his own.
Patrick also submitted: Another minor thing: my Dad, who was a physics major, noted something
about the way Bobby falls from his chair after being shot. He said that Bobby's physical
reaction to being shot in the back would keep him sustained in the chair...either that or
he'd slouch down a little more. His body would not use the muscle to push himself forward
and onto the floor. (Obviously, they did this so that we could see who was shot in the
chair.) A better idea might've been to have the chair slowly turn around to reveal that it
was Bobby who was shot and not JR.
Both of these are absolutely outstanding
points!
AHN Anne's corner:
-Sly tells Phyllis and Kendall that she'll catch up with them
later. Did they say where they were going?
No, but maybe they have a favorite watering
hole where they regularly go.
- Afton left the house in a such a rush that she forgot her
purse, which means that she won't be able to get in when she comes back to pack her
things. And she was criticizing Cliff for forgetting his keys!
Chalk up one more bonehead move for Afton.
- I had to include a few nits for Ellie, since she won't be around for a while to indulge me. When J.R., Bobby and Ray find her in the trunk and Miss Ellie tells them that she wants to go back to Southfork, she says, "You three boys will have to carry me." Come on! I highly doubt that she's that heavy! Clearly not, since Bobby seems able to pick her up out of the trunk by himself. As I pointed out above, it's a wonder she can speak at all!
- And secondly, what about this exchange:
Ellie: Clayton, maybe we should postpone the wedding.
Clayton: It was supposed to be tomorrow.
Yes, Clayton, that would be why Ellie used the word
"postpone" in this case.
Now do you understand why I refer to Clayton
as a big dumb ox? Because sometimes he is.