Sister’s keeper

In “My Brother’s Keeper,” a seventh-season “Dallas” episode, Cliff and Pam (Ken Kercheval, Victoria Principal) walk down a busy street together.

CLIFF: I tell you, there is nothing better than some good Mexican food to clear the cobwebs out of your hair.

PAM: Ugh. Just the thought of Mexican food right now is enough to make me sick. What I need is some more sleep. Do you know what time Christopher got me up?

CLIFF: You’re healthy. You don’t need anymore sleep. I think there’s a pretty good Chinese restaurant right around this corner.

PAM: Well, there’s a coffee shop just down the block.

CLIFF: You can’t exist just on coffee.

PAM: So I’ll have some toast. Since when are you so concerned about what I eat?

CLIFF: I’m not concerned about what you eat. I’m more worried about you right now.

PAM: You really are.

CLIFF: Yeah. And I tell you, I’m gonna be the one to pick you up and drive you to court tomorrow.

PAM: [Laughs] Why? Are you afraid I’ll change my mind?

CLIFF: No, except I know that you’re hurting right now, and I don’t want you to be alone. [They stop and face each other. He holds her arms.] Believe it or not, I understand how much you love Bobby. And tomorrow is going to be a rough day, and I want to be with you.

PAM: You know, whatever else has gone wrong for me these past few years, it’s wonderful to have my brother back.

They lean in to each other and smile.

Steve Kanaly

Steve Kanaly will be in Texas this week to film his latest guest spot as Ray Krebbs on TNT’s “Dallas.” I spoke to him recently about what it’s been like to walk in Ray’s boots for the past 35 years — and what the future might hold for everyone’s favorite cowboy.

I’m so excited you’re going to be visiting “Dallas” again. What can you tell us about this appearance?

I’m only in a single episode at this point. I made this bad joke more than a year ago, before Larry [Hagman] passed away, that they’re going to have Ray and Lucy in whenever there’s a wedding or a funeral. And that’s pretty much been the story. This is another wedding. It’ll be a big Southfork extravaganza.

Do you have a lot of lines? Fans like me want to see more of Ray.

No, it’s not a lot of lines, but that’s heartening to hear. I’m torn. Do you say, “No, thanks”? Or do you say, “OK, thank you. I’ll continue to be part of the background”? So I end up listening to all of my friends who tell me, “Take the money! Go be part of it. Something good might come of it.” [Laughs] But it’s still a thrill to say that you’re part of this phenomenon of “Dallas.” And this is the first year they’re going to have to get along without the J.R. character, so I want to wish them luck and help where I can. If being on the show helps, then I’m happy to do it.

Would you want to become a regular on the new show?

My wife says, “Be careful what you wish for.” They’re now filming the entire series in Dallas. I love Dallas, but I also love living in Southern California. I have a whole lifestyle here that I wouldn’t want to lose. And Dallas is nice, but I’d like to just be there on occasion. I would not want to be a regular character, if they’re listening out there. I’d like to appear more often.

And Charlene Tilton will be joining you again?

Yeah. And Afton [Audrey Landers] is in this show too. I saw the script and she has a nice role. I think the producers are going to stay with the younger offsprings’ storylines and the old guys will come in from time to time. They’re not really interested in going back to what we did before. And I have a lot of people on social networks saying, “We’ve got to get Ray back. Ray’s my favorite.” It’s all very flattering. I just wish somebody at the studio would pay attention. [Laughs]

There’s also been talk about bringing back Priscilla Presley as Jenna Wade. Ray could figure into that storyline.

There’s always talk. The last time we saw Ray, he was married to Jenna and raising Bobby’s baby. So that’s what I keep telling the guys on the new show. What about Bobby’s baby? [Laughs]

Bobby’s baby is probably 25 now!

Right. I’ve got a 25-year-old that I’ve been raising over in Europe. [Laughs] If Ray Krebbs ever comes back in a big way, that would be one avenue they could pursue.

Final goodbye

Your most recent appearance on the new show was J.R.’s funeral. What was that experience like?

It was very moving. I had been to two celebrations of Larry’s life — one here at his home in Ojai, where I live, and one in Santa Monica. And they were lovely, beautiful events. But it was not a final closing for me — not like playing that scene. It was really cold that day, and something happened when we filmed that scene that never happened to me at any other time in my 44-year career. I was the first guy to speak, and we had done a couple of rehearsals, and it was real quiet because of the somber nature of the moment. And I delivered my speech and I walk off and the next person comes up, and there are eight of us that do this. Well, it’s an uncut scene that runs for eight or nine minutes. And everybody does this without a flub.

Oh, wow.

Not one. And the director came up afterwards and said, “OK, that’s great. Everybody stay where you are. We’re going to go again. We’re going to move the cameras and come in tighter.” And you know, I’ll be darned if everybody wasn’t letter perfect again. I can’t explain it. I’ve never seen this before on a film set.

Maybe Larry was smiling down on everyone.

It was my final goodbye to Larry, although I really can’t say my final goodbye. Larry was my neighbor. From my kitchen table, I can look up on this hilltop where his house was. So Larry’s on my mind every day.

That’s so nice. Let me ask you one more thing about that scene. After Sue Ellen gives her speech, she’s upset and as she returns to her seat, Ray reaches out and takes her hand. Did the director tell you to do that?

No, that was something I wanted to do. I feel so often that they don’t write these things as well as they might. There’s a lot of family interaction that should go on — like in real families — and that was just something that I wanted to add.

I noticed it when I watched the episode and thought, “Oh, that’s so sweet.” It was a small gesture, but it says so much about who Ray is.

That was it. You don’t know if they’re going to pay any attention to that or not. You want to make the most out of your moment. That’s the thing: Even when I go back and I’m doing kind of a walk-on, I want to make the most out of it.

Back in the day

Let’s talk about this great character of Ray Krebbs. I’ve got to tell you: My dad loves you. You’re the reason he watched “Dallas.” He grew up loving westerns and considered Ray the last of the TV cowboys.

That’s very flattering. In my first meeting for “Dallas,” my agent told me, “Oh, there’s three male roles that you could possibly play: J.R., Bobby or this guy Ray Krebbs.” And then I saw the script. Well, here’s this cowboy that’s got a girlfriend up in the barn. He runs a ranch in Texas and flies a helicopter, and I’m thinking, “Well, hell, this is my only chance to play a western character. And what a cool one.” Because like your father and a lot of other people my age, we grew up on old westerns. It was Gene Autry and Roy Rogers and Hopalong Cassidy. And of course John Wayne and Gary Cooper and all the big film stars that played westerns. And then suddenly westerns dried up. So this was my chance to play a western character and pay homage to the blue-collar guys who work hard and try hard and don’t always get the attention.

Was that the secret of Ray’s appeal — he was someone the audience could identify with?

Yeah, very much so. And the writers and the producers always wanted to make Ray very vulnerable. Pride was his big hurdle in life. You know, he tries a lot things and he fails many times, but he kind of always bounces back. He’s always a very honest and straightforward guy. You can always trust Ray to do what he thinks is right.

Did Ray change as the show progressed?

I think there were a lot of changes in the character. The arc was over 11 years. In the beginning, Ray was pretty loose and fancy-free. In the first episode, he was J.R.’s buddy and he was up in the hayloft with this teenage girl. And then there’s the period of Ray and Donna, and then he graduates to being a Ewing. That, by the way, was a huge thing for me.

Tell me about that.

In the third year of the show, I was not happy. They were not giving Ray Krebbs anything to do, and the show was moving further away from ranch life. So I’m thinking, “Gee, I don’t need this. I have a film career I can go back to.” And Larry Hagman said, “Hey, whoa. Don’t run off here. This thing’s about to catch on. We need you.” And so we came up with some story ideas. I had one I liked, which is Ray marries a Mexican girl. They didn’t want to do that then. The other one was, Ray was an illegitimate son of Jock. So thank you, Larry, for convincing me.

Were you two good buddies?

Yeah, the whole cast was very familial. Larry, from the beginning, having had another series experience, saw that it was an ensemble show. He was looking to be at the top of the heap from the very beginning, but he also knew that we all had to work together and act as a family to promote the show and to bring out the chemistry. He was a leader in that way. And we all joined the club. We became a family. I had my life at home with my wife and children and I had my life with my “Dallas” family.

Besides Ray finding out he was Jock’s son, what are your other favorite storylines? Mine is Ray’s relationship with his cousin Mickey Trotter, and how he tries to take him under his wing the way Jock did with Ray.

The Mickey Trotter stuff was, once again, a case of: It’s Ray’s turn. When you have a big cast, it can’t always be your turn. And when it is, you can get excited about it.

Do you remember working with Timothy Patrick Murphy?

Well, sure. He was a great young guy. Always prepared. Easy to get along with. He had a nice edge to him at times. I thought he did a great job as Mickey.

I want to ask you about one of my other favorite moments, which is your performance during Bobby’s deathbed scene. There’s a shot of you just standing there, holding Susan Howard and sobbing. It never fails to move me.

For me, it really was saying goodbye to a friend [Patrick Duffy], who you love. It wasn’t hard to find that emotion. We were all pretty upset that he was not going to be on the show anymore.

Ray and Donna

I mentioned Susan Howard. How did you enjoy working with her?

We got along real well. She’s a very sweet girl. She brought a lot of nice things to the show — and she’s a real Texan. Our families got along well. She was a little bossy. [Laughs] And so I would come home and I would complain to my real wife about my stage wife bossing me around. [Laughs]

Well, you know, Donna was a little bossy.

That was her character too. Ray and Donna became one unit. It was “Ray and Donna.” And you know, you sometimes wish it didn’t quite happen like that. It’s better when they’re struggling in some way.

How did you feel when they wrote her out of the show? Because as you say, you were a pair and suddenly half of you were gone.

It’s just one of those things that nobody could do anything about. There were internal issues that were going on, and from my perspective it meant that there was an opening for Ray Krebbs to branch out and do other things — other business things, a new wife, new storylines. You know, after you’ve been on a show for a long time, you’re looking for those kinds of opportunities, so it was a mixed blessing. I know she was not happy leaving. But that’s just the way it turned out.

Let me get back to one thing. We touched on this briefly, but how are you and Ray alike and how are you different?

Well, I try to be honest with everybody in my personal life. I would say that Ray was like that, a straight shooter. I’m definitely a hard worker, which Ray was. I don’t have quite the amount of pride that he did. I don’t struggle with that. Ray had kind of a violent side to him that I don’t have. But you know, Ray was a guy that I liked to be. It was fun to be Ray. I never wanted to be any of the other characters. I never wished that I was Bobby or J.R. I know Kenny Kercheval wanted to play Ray. I think he was happy to be Cliff Barnes in the end.

I think I’ve read where he auditioned for Ray. I can’t even wrap my mind around what that would have been like.

He would have been good. He’s a wonderful actor. But they let me kind of develop this character. Certainly the story had a lot to do with it, but how I wanted to play it was pretty much was what I got to do and I can thank [producer] Leonard Katzman for that. Leonard trusted me. He was the guy who kind of gave me the nod for the part to begin with. If there was a lot of Steve Kanaly in Ray or a lot of Ray in Steve Kanaly, I don’t know. They got kind of mixed up along the way.

You once did a TV Guide interview where you said people on the set would call you Ray.

Not just the set! [Laughs]

You said that that didn’t happen so much to Linda [Gray] or Larry. No one called them Sue Ellen and J.R. in real life.

Larry would call me Ray sometimes. [Laughs] This was when we were neighbors in Ojai! “Hey, Ray. Oh, I mean Steve.” So it was an enduring character, I think. And I did my homework. I went to the rodeo all the time. And I made friends with all these cowboys. I went into the cattle business. This is funny: The first week I’m on the show, this one guy, who was a Teamster captain and a cowboy, came up and said, “Well, Mr. Kanaly, you’re doing a real good job with this Ray Krebbs, but I’ve got to tell you: Around here, see, nobody wears them damn Levi’s. You got to wear Wrangler’s. You’ve got to wear boot-cut Wranglers. That’s what the real cowboys wear.” So I began to understand that there was a real fashion and you had to pay attention. The cowboys and the people who love the westerns are very critical of what they see. And if you don’t have the right jeans on, or if you wear your hat in some funny way, or if it’s an odd hat in their opinion, they’re going to notice.

Switching gears a bit: You recently filmed a guest spot for “DeVanity,” an online serial.

Yeah. The producer, Michael Caruso, sent me some material and it was a six-page scene. And I read it and said, “Hell, this is good!” And Michael told me, “Well, I wrote it for you.” So I was obligated to say yes. And it’s virtually for zero money. But all the years I ever did “Dallas,” I think the longest scene I ever had was with Barbara Bel Geddes, and it was five pages.

So besides acting, what else are you up to these days?

I’m happily married to my original wife for 38 years. We’re best buds. We’re very invested in being grandparents. We have four grandkids now and they’re all up in San Francisco, so we try to go up there once a month for at least a week or so. One of my other main things is staying healthy, so I work out every day. I do that nearby at a school where I’m a volunteer, teaching a program that has to do with sport shooting. It’s very rewarding. And I paint and play the piano. I’ve done that all of my life.

Tell me about your painting.

I do watercolor, transparent watercolors. It’s something that I’ve done for years.

It’s hard to imagine Ray Krebbs picking up a paintbrush, unless he’s whitewashing a fence maybe.

Yeah, right. I guess there’s one area where Ray and Steve are not at all alike.

Share your comments below and read more Dallas Decoder interviews.

Open door policy

J.R. and Sue Ellen’s relationship takes a lot of twists over the years, but nothing fascinates me more than when she starts emulating him. It begins during Linda Gray’s final seasons on the original “Dallas,” when Sue Ellen becomes a wheeler-dealer in business, and it continues on TNT’s sequel series, when we see her reach into J.R.’s bag of tricks to defeat enemies like Governor McConaughey. In “The Oil Baron’s Ball,” Sue Ellen’s transformation into J.R.’s protégé is still a few years away, but this episode nonetheless offers a glimpse of where Gray’s character is headed. By the end of the hour, we see just how much Sue Ellen is learning at the feet of the master.

Gray has three notable scenes in this episode. In the first, Sue Ellen is strolling through a park when she notices all the happy young couples surrounding her. Eventually, she comes across a group of attractive, shirtless men playing football and stops to watch. Writer-director Leonard Katzman shows the game in slow motion, allowing the camera to linger on the players. There’s no doubt what this scene is supposed to represent: Sue Ellen’s sexual desires, which have gone unfulfilled since she moved out of J.R.’s bedroom several episodes earlier. By today’s standards, the football scene seems a little campy — especially when all those half-naked, straight-from-the-80s hunks start falling all over each other — but it also strikes me as surprisingly progressive. Here’s “Dallas,” easily one of the era’s most chauvinistic TV shows, taking a moment to acknowledge that women don’t exist solely to please men; they have needs of their own. How can you not admire that?

As soon as the football scene ends, Katzman cuts to Southfork that night, where J.R. is reading in bed. Suddenly, the door opens, revealing Sue Ellen’s silhouette. “Do you want something?” he asks. She strides into the room, flings the door closed behind her and climbs onto the bed. “Yes, I want something,” she says, taking the book out of J.R.’s hand and kissing him aggressively as the screen fades to black. The next time we see the couple, Sue Ellen is turning on the bedside lamp as a beaming J.R. watches from under the covers. When she tells him she’s going back to her room, he’s confused. Sue Ellen explains: “You see, J.R., I have no desire to live with you. Now, granted, from time to time, I may need you. And if and when that happens, then I’ll be back. But that’s all. That’s as close to being married as we will ever be.” J.R. is furious and accuses her of treating him like “some kind of stud service.” Her response: “What other possible use would I have for you?”

This is a terrific scene for a lot of reasons, beginning with Gray’s playfully sultry delivery. It’s a moment of triumph for Sue Ellen — and Gray savors every second of it. Indeed, consider how far her character has come: In “Spy in the House,” “Dallas’s” third episode, a sexually neglected Sue Ellen buys a negligee, hoping to get J.R.’s attention; when he calls it “cheap” and walks out on her, she collapses in tears. Sue Ellen soon begins turning to other men, but “The Oil Baron’s Ball” marks the first time we see her take charge of her sexual relationship with J.R. It puts her on the same page as Pam, who is the original “Dallas’s” most sexually liberated woman (occasionally incurring her own husband’s wrath). Perhaps more anything, J.R. and Sue Ellen’s bedroom scene is an exercise in poetic justice: The man who has treated countless mistresses as sexual playthings now gets a taste of his own medicine — and from his wife, no less.

Sue Ellen’s most J.R.-like moment in “The Oil Baron’s Ball” is yet to come. In the third act, our newly empowered heroine visits Windsor Meadow and sends John Ross to summon Peter, the camp counselor to whom she finds herself increasingly attracted. Sue Ellen asks Peter to escort Lucy to this year’s Oil Baron’s Ball, although it’s pretty obvious that Sue Ellen really wants Peter for herself, not for her niece. Peter is reluctant to accept — the young man harbors a secret crush on Sue Ellen and has never even met Lucy — but every time he comes up with an excuse to not go, Sue Ellen is one step ahead of him. When Peter tells her that he would feel out of place at the ball, she responds there’s no place he wouldn’t fit in perfectly. When he says he doesn’t own a dark suit, Sue Ellen reveals she has already arranged for him to visit J.R.’s tailor to be fitted for a tuxedo, compliments of her. Peter has no choice but to say yes, demonstrating once again how much she has learned from her husband. Sue Ellen has always had a manipulative streak, but her use of charm, confidence and gifts to bend Peter’s will comes straight from J.R.’s playbook.

The rest of “The Oil Baron’s Ball” is a mix of heavy drama and light moments. The episode picks up where the previous hour left off, with Lil taking the stand in Ray’s trial and revealing he did indeed pull the plug on Mickey, but only because she couldn’t bring herself to do it. This is a fake-out worthy of TNT’s “Dallas” (admit it: you thought Lil was the culprit), and Kate Reid does a nice job delivering her character’s monologue. The most moving moment, though, comes when Donna tells Ray that even though she believes he had no right to take Mickey’s life, she doesn’t want him to go prison for it. I love this scene because Susan Howard is so good in it — she makes me feel very ounce of Donna’s anguish — and also because it clearly spells out the character’s dilemma of reconciling her personal beliefs with her desire to stand by her husband.

Still, I can’t help but think this conversation between Ray and Donna should have occurred at the beginning of the “who killed Mickey?” mystery, not at the end. For that matter, I also wish this storyline should had been wrapped up in the previous episode, “Ray’s Trial.” No sooner has the judge handed down Ray’s sentence — parole, not jail (naturally) — than Ray and Donna are dancing at the glittery ball. It’s odd to see these characters move on so quickly. Likewise, we never see Lil bid farewell to the Krebbses; after the verdict is announced, Reid simply vanishes from “Dallas” (although she does pop up again briefly a few years later). After the trial, wouldn’t it have been nice to see Ray, Donna, Lil and Lucy visit Mickey’s grave? Besides giving the audience a sense of closure, it would have served as a nice bookend to the memorable Amos Krebbs’s funeral scene a year earlier, when the Trotters were introduced.

Even if the juxtaposition between the courtroom and the ball is jarring, I must admit: The latter scenes are awfully fun. Ken Kercheval somehow manages to make Cliff seem both humbled and overbearing in the instant when the character is named oilman of the year, and the clash between the Ewing and Barnes/Wentworth women in the powder room is delicious. Above all, I love the bon mots J.R. drops during the course of the ball. When Pam arrives and drops by the Ewing table, J.R. delights in re-introducing her to Bobby’s date, Jenna Wade. Bobby tells him to cut it out, but J.R. can’t help himself. “Well, for those who don’t have a program, I’m just going to have to announce the names of all the players, aren’t I?” he says. Larry Hagman’s smile is even more mischievous than usual.

Later, when J.R. sees how uncomfortable Bobby, Pam and Jenna are around each other, he declares this is going to be “one of the great nights of my life.” Leave it to Sue Ellen to put him in his place. “Nothing brings out the best in you like other peoples’ unhappiness,” she says. The line makes me think: Perhaps J.R. has a thing or two to learn from her too.

Grade: B

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At last

‘THE OIL BARON’S BALL’

Season 7, Episode 8

Airdate: November 18, 1983

Audience: 23 million homes, ranking 2nd in the weekly ratings

Writer and Director: Leonard Katzman

Synopsis: After Lil testifies that Ray pulled the plug on Mickey at her request, Ray is found guilty but given parole. Sue Ellen treats J.R. like a sexual plaything and persuades Peter to escort Lucy to the Oil Baron’s Ball. At the ball, Pam and Jenna clash and Cliff is named oilman of the year.

Cast: Charles Aidman (Judge Emmett Brocks), Christopher Atkins (Peter Richards), John Beck (Mark Graison), Morgan Brittany (Katherine Wentworth), Delores Cantú (Doris), Roseanna Christiansen (Teresa), Glenn Corbett (Paul Morgan), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Susan Howard (Donna Krebbs), Richard Jaeckel (Assistant District Attorney Percy Meredith), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Omri Katz (John Ross Ewing), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Audrey Landers (Afton Cooper), Timothy Patrick Murphy (Mickey Trotter), Priscilla Presley (Jenna Wade), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Kate Reid (Lil Trotter), Debbie Rennard (Sly), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing), Deborah Tranelli (Phyllis), Debi Sue Voorhees (Caroline), Morgan Woodward (Punk Anderson)

“The Oil Baron’s Ball” is available on DVD and at Amazon.com and iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.

The boys are back

“Dallas” will begin its third season on Monday, February 24, at 9 p.m., TV Guide reported today. The series will telecast eight episodes and then take a midseason break before resuming in the summer. Altogether, the season will consist of 15 hours.

“Dallas,” which will start its third season more than 10 months after its second-season finale, will be part of TNT’s aggressive push to capture more viewers during the winter months. The cable channel will pair “Dallas” with the new reality show “The Private Lives of Nashville Wives,” which will be shown Monday nights at 10, beginning February 24. TNT is also bringing back two of its top-rated summertime crime dramas, “Rizzoli & Isles” and “Perception,” for a four-week run on Tuesday nights, beginning February 25.

Wisely, TNT is saving this programming slate until after the Winter Olympics. NBC will broadcast the games from Sochi, Russia, beginning Friday, February 7. The closing ceremonies are slated for Sunday, February 23.

Of course, even though “Dallas” will get a pass from the Olympics, the show will still have its work cut out for it. Its Monday competition will include NBC’s “The Voice,” ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars,” Fox’s “The Following” and two CBS sitcoms, “Mike & Molly” and “Mom.”

“Dallas” averaged 2.7 million viewers on Monday nights during Season 2, although the audience climbed to 3.8 million when DVR users who record the show and watch it within seven days were counted. The audience included 1.6 million adults between ages 25 and 54, a demographic that TNT targets, and 1.4 million adults between 18 and 49, another group advertisers pay a premium to reach.

This will be the first time “Dallas” will start a new season without Larry Hagman, who died last year during production of Season 2 and whose famous character J.R. Ewing was laid to rest in the instant-classic “J.R.’s Masterpiece” episode. The show plans to keep J.R.’s memory alive while also continuing to focus on the Ewings’ next generation, led by cousins John Ross and Christopher (Josh Henderson, Jesse Metcalfe).

Producers are otherwise keeping a tight lid on the new season’s storylines, although a handful of clues and tweets have surfaced since production began last month. TNT has also announced two new characters for Season 3: Nicolas, a billionaire played by new regular Juan Pablo Di Pace, and Southfork ranch hand Heather, who’ll be played by guest star AnnaLynne McCord in a multi-episode arc.

Other Season 3 guest stars are slated to include Cliff Barnes (Ken Kercheval) and Judith Ryland (Judith Light), as well as three fan favorites who’ll appear in a special wedding-themed episode: Ray Krebbs (Steve Kanaly), Lucy Ewing (Charlene Tilton) and Afton Cooper (Audrey Landers).

J.R. Ewing wouldn’t dream of betraying his beloved daddy, the mighty Jock Ewing. Unfortunately for J.R., his own sons have a bad habit of rebelling against their father.

In “False Confessions,” one of TNT’s second-season “Dallas” episodes, John Ross meets with Cliff Barnes to tell him J.R. is plotting against Cliff’s daughter Pamela. Cliff is suspicious of his longtime enemy’s son. “Are you telling me that you’re willing to betray your own father?” he asks. John Ross responds by explaining J.R.’s parental performance has been less than stellar, but Cliff is too blinded by his own hatred to trust John Ross. “You’ve wasted enough of my time today,” Cliff says.

The exchange evokes memories of “Tunnel of Love,” a segment from the original “Dallas’s” final season. In that episode, Cliff receives a visit from James Richard Beaumont, J.R.’s eldest son, who offers to give Cliff the evidence he needs (“incredible information, fully documented!”) to finally bring down J.R. But Cliff passes, citing two reasons: He’s skeptical of James (“Why should I trust you more than I trust your daddy?”) and he’s reeling from the death of April Ewing, Bobby’s wife and Cliff’s friend. Cliff kicks James out of his office, telling him, “Why don’t you take your fully documented information and go blow it out your exhaust?”

The two scenes reveal a lot about Cliff, who had mostly put his feud with the Ewings behind him when he spoke with James but was angrier than ever by the time he encountered John Ross. (What made Cliff so hateful? Could it be his hatred of the Ewings is another Barnes family genetic disorder; perhaps it went it to remission by the end of the original “Dallas,” only to flare up again in the years before the new series began.)

More than anything, these scenes tell us a lot about J.R.’s sons, who seem as oblivious as they are rebellious. James is aware of Cliff’s friendship with April; shouldn’t James have known Cliff would be grief-stricken in the aftermath of her death? Likewise, John Ross knows better than anyone how much Cliff hates J.R.; why would John Ross expect Cliff to trust the information he brings him?

Of course, these are sons of J.R. Ewing we’re talking about. The apple falls only so far from the tree. When John Ross tells Cliff that he’s looking out for Pamela, he can’t resist getting in a J.R.-style dig at Cliff, telling him, “If you had paid her more attention, it wouldn’t have come to this.” Likewise, when Cliff brushes off James, James delivers a parting shot worthy of his daddy: “You know, you’re as big a loser as everybody says you are.”

Something tells me that line in particular would have made J.R. awfully proud.

‘Why Should I Trust You More Than I Trust Your Daddy?’

Anguished

In “Tunnel of Love,” a 14th-season “Dallas” episode, a depressed Cliff (Ken Kercheval) sits at his office desk, mindlessly tossing miniature darts at a tabletop board, when James (Sasha Mitchell) enters.

JAMES: [Smiling] Mr. Barnes, I’d like to talk to you.

CLIFF: Not really a very good time. [Briefly looks up, then tosses a dart]

JAMES: [Approaches the desk] Oh, I know. I just found out about April myself. You were good friends, weren’t you?

CLIFF: Yeah. Real good friends. [Tosses a dart]

JAMES: Well, look, I won’t take up much of your time.

CLIFF: [Sighs] Well, that’s good because I’m not really in the best shape right now. [Tosses a dart]

JAMES: I have a deal for you.

CLIFF: It’s a lousy time to try to make a deal with me. [Tosses a dart]

JAMES: It’s about J.R. I know you’ve been trying to bring him down for years. Well, I can make it happen for you.

CLIFF: Some other time.

JAMES: Did you hear what I said?

CLIFF: Yeah, I heard you. [Tosses a dart]

JAMES: Look, I’m giving you a chance to finally nail him to the cross. I’ve got incredible information, fully documented. We could take him down together.

CLIFF: Why should I? [Looks up]

JAMES: Isn’t it obvious?

CLIFF: No, it’s not obvious. You’re his son. Why should I trust you more than I trust your daddy?

JAMES: Hey, I hate him worse than you do.

CLIFF: Well, maybe that’s so. But like I say, timing is everything. And right now, your timing stinks. [Tosses a dart]

JAMES: What are you talking about? Hey, I’m giving this to you. I don’t want anything in return.

CLIFF: You know something? You’re not a bit more compassionate than your old man. Did you ever think of what Bobby’s state of mind is right now? And you want me to go gunning for his brother — at this time?

JAMES: This has nothing to do with Bobby.

CLIFF: That’s where you’re wrong. You just don’t understand. It’s a family. So why don’t you take your fully documented information and go blow it out your exhaust?

JAMES: You know, you’re as big a loser as everybody says you are. [Turns and walks toward the door]

CLIFF: One of these days maybe you’ll grow up. [James turns to face him.] And hopefully you will find out that revenge is not the most important thing.

James walks out the door as Cliff tosses another dart.

‘You’re Willing to Betray Your Own Father?’

Angry

In “False Confessions,” a second-season “Dallas” episode, John Ross (Josh Henderson) arrives at a fairgrounds stadium, where Cliff (Ken Kercheval) sits waiting for him.

JOHN ROSS: Thank you for meeting with me, Mr. Barnes.

CLIFF: [Looks up] What can I do for you?

JOHN ROSS: [Sits next to him] I wanted to let you know that your guy Frank? He’s got a deal with J.R. Conspiring against your daughter.

CLIFF: Well, J.R. plotting against my family — that’s no secret.

JOHN ROSS: What about Frank?

CLIFF: Frank is like family. He’s been with me for over 25 years.

JOHN ROSS: Then he’s about to forfeit one hell of a pension. J.R. told me himself. I figured if there’s anybody that can stop him, it’d be you.

CLIFF: Are you telling me that you’re willing to betray your own father?

JOHN ROSS: Shouldn’t come as a surprise that his performance as a father hasn’t exactly gained my undying loyalty.

CLIFF: Aren’t you taking a dangerous risk being here talking to me behind his back?

JOHN ROSS: Let’s just say my interest depends on Pamela’s wellbeing.

CLIFF: Why are you so interested in my daughter’s wellbeing?

JOHN ROSS: One of us should be. If you had paid her more attention, it wouldn’t have come to this.

CLIFF: I took this meeting out of respect for your mother. You’ve wasted enough of my time today. [Rises, calls out to his henchmen]

JOHN ROSS: [Rising] You may not believe me, but you’re foolish not to check up on what Frank is up to with J.R.

CLIFF: [Glares at him] Goodbye, John Ross. [Turns and leaves]

What do you think of James and John Ross’s betrayals of J.R.? Share your comments below and read more “Dallas Parallels.”

Quit jiving us, Barnes

Our next #DallasChat on Twitter will be held Monday, November 25, from 9 to 10 p.m. Eastern time. Since Thanksgiving is later this week, our theme will be “Talkin’ Turkey.”

Here’s how #DallasChat works: I tweet a question roughly every five minutes for one hour. Each question is numbered and includes the hashtag #DallasChat, so your responses should do the same.

A sample exchange:

Q1. Who is “Dallas’s” biggest turkey? #DallasChat

A1. That’s easy: Cliff Barnes. He’s been jiving the Ewings for years. #DallasChat

Two pointers:

• During the discussion, enter #DallasChat in Twitter’s search field. This will help you watch the search results so you can follow the conversation. Click “All” to see all the related tweets.

• Include the hashtag #DallasChat in each tweet you send so others can see your contributions to the conversation. Feel free to start side conversations of your own, but be sure to include #DallasChat in those tweets too.

This will be a fun, festive chat. Don’t miss it!

The end?

Our next #DallasChat on Twitter will be held Monday, December 2, from 9 to 10 p.m. Eastern time. Our theme will be the generations-old conflict between the Barneses and the Ewings, otherwise known as “The Feud.”

Here’s how #DallasChat works: I tweet a question roughly every five minutes for one hour. Each question is numbered and includes the hashtag #DallasChat, so your responses should do the same.

A sample exchange:

Q1. Now that Cliff is in jail, is it time for “Dallas” to move beyond the Barnes-Ewing feud? #DallasChat

A1. Never! It ain’t “Dallas” without Ewings and Barnes loving and/or loathing each other. #DallasChat

Two pointers:

• During the discussion, enter #DallasChat in Twitter’s search field. This will help you watch the search results so you can follow the conversation. Click “All” to see all the related tweets.

• Include the hashtag #DallasChat in each tweet you send so others can see your contributions to the conversation. Feel free to start side conversations of your own, but be sure to include #DallasChat in those tweets too.

This promises to be another interesting chat. I hope you can make it!

TV Guide’s William Keck delivered another early Christmas present for “Dallas” fans today: a video that mixes snippets from the TNT show’s new season with clips from older episodes, all set to the tune of “Jingle Bells.”

The video begins on a warm-and-fuzzy note, with a voiceover from John Ross (Josh Henderson), who says, “Whatever battles we face from here on, we fight together.” We also hear Bobby (Patrick Duffy) declare, “The Barnes/Ewing feud is over,” and then Sue Ellen (Linda Gray) says, “We all worked so well together since J.R. died. I’d like to see that truce continue.”

Of course, this is “Dallas,” so things quickly go downhill from there. The new scenes show Elena (Jordana Brewster) firing a gun at a shooting range and hitting a male-shaped target in, um, a very sensitive spot; an angry Christopher (Jesse Metcalfe) slamming his hand on a table; and Judith (Judith Light) hitting Harris (Mitch Pileggi) with a cane.

There are also new shots of John Ross and Christopher embracing in what appears to be the Southfork kitchen and workers erecting a “Ewing Global” sign in office space.

The older footage includes second-season shots of Pamela (Julie Gonzalo), Ann (Brenda Strong), Emma (Emma Bell), Drew (Kuno Becker) and Cliff (Ken Kercheval).

Watch for yourself and then share your thoughts below.

Linda Gray is Dallas Decoder’s Woman of the Year, but she isn’t the only person who shaped the “Dallas” franchise in 2013. Here are five more.

The boss

Cynthia Cidre. Larry Hagman’s death forced the “Dallas” showrunner to rewrite Season 2 on the fly, but she proved up to the challenge — and then some. Cidre penned the exquisite “J.R.’s Masterpiece” funeral episode, which lovingly honored the franchise’s biggest star and kicked off the fun, freewheeling “Who Killed J.R.?” mystery. Cidre also deserves applause for answering the question that has bugged “Dallas” diehards for 25 years: Whatever happened to Pam Ewing? Some fans didn’t like the answer, but if you ask me, Cidre redeemed the character and fixed one of the old show’s biggest blunders. Bravo.

The glue

Patrick Duffy. This was the year Bobby Ewing got pissed! He also got sad, frustrated and more than a little devious. Duffy did a beautiful job conveying Bobby’s internal conflict, especially when he read J.R.’s letter in the moving season finale. And just as Bobby held the Ewings together, Duffy played an influential role behind the scenes. Before Cidre proceeded with the twist ending to “Who Killed J.R.?” — he was dying of cancer and arranged his own death — she sought the blessing of two people: Hagman’s son Preston and Duffy. That says a lot about the respect people feel for Patrick Duffy. He’s earned it.

The future

Josh Henderson. No one on the new “Dallas” has faced as much scrutiny as Henderson, who had the unenviable task this year of sliding into the boots of the legendary Larry Hagman. But if Henderson felt any temptation to imitate his on-screen daddy, he wisely resisted it. Where Hagman swaggered, Henderson struts. Where J.R. was confident, John Ross is cocky. In other words: Henderson has given John Ross his own brand of cool. This young actor has become the future of the “Dallas” franchise, and if his performance this year is any indication, we’re in good hands. I can’t wait to see what he does next year.

The genius

Ken Kercheval. After Hagman, Kercheval has always been “Dallas’s” most fascinating actor. In 2013, he was as electric as ever. Longtime fans still wonder what made Cliff so evil, but I just sat back and enjoyed the ride Kercheval took me on, especially in the shocking scene where Cliff ordered the bombing of the Ewing Energies rig. Besides, as Cliff tightened his squeeze on the Ewings, Kercheval offered more flashes of his old character’s combustability. The scene where Bobby hands his enemy the keys to the Ewing kingdom? That was classic Cliff. You may hate his character, but Kercheval is brilliant.

The enigma

Victoria Principal. Hill Place Blog suggested I include Principal on this list as a joke, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. As Hill Place put it: What other “Dallas” star generated more discussion, debate and dissent this year without appearing in a single frame of film? Principal remains a powerful figure in the “Dallas” mythology. Like a lot of my fellow Principal fans, I wish Pam had come home to Southfork in 2013, but the actress’s public statement in March made it clear she has no interest in reprising the role. (Sigh.) So rest in peace, Pam. Like your old rival J.R., you won’t be forgotten.

Who did I miss? Share your choices for Dallas Decoder’s 2013 VIPs in the comments section below.

Bull run

In “Past Imperfect’s” best scene, Clayton Farlow storms off the elevator at Ewing Oil, barges into J.R.’s office and shoves him onto the sofa. Clayton, who is newly engaged to Miss Ellie, has just discovered J.R. has been poking into his past — and he’s none too pleased about it. “When are you going to get it through that thick skull of yours that I love your mother and all I want is a chance to make her happy?” he says. J.R. looks a little rattled as Clayton stomps away, but a big grin soon breaks across his face. He turns to a shaken Sly and says, “A man who gets that angry over a little snooping must have something interesting to hide. I wonder what that is?”

Larry Hagman steals this scene with his smile, but the sequence also demonstrates why Howard Keel was an ideal successor to Jim Davis. This requires a somewhat lengthy explanation, so hang with me. First, consider the dilemma “Dallas” faced when Davis died at the end of the fourth season. The producers could have gone in several directions, including recasting Jock with another actor. Wisely, they decided instead to kill off the character and give the audience time to adjust to life without the show’s beloved patriarch. Then, in Season 6, “Dallas” began testing possible love interests for Ellie, including Dale Robertson’s Frank Crutcher, who was just as crusty as Jock but not nearly as intimidating. I also get the impression the show toyed with the idea of turning Donald Moffatt’s character, regal lawyer Brooks Oliver, into a beau for Ellie, which would have represented a total departure from Davis.

Finally, the producers turned Clayton into Ellie’s new mate. Perhaps they realized Keel offered the best of all options: He’s a big, commanding presence like Davis, but he’s also gentlemanly enough to ensure Clayton will never be accused of being a clone of the crotchety Jock. Since joining the show a few years earlier, Keel — a onetime star of MGM musicals — had become one of “Dallas’s” most reliable utility players, dutifully fulfilling whatever role the writers assigned to Clayton: Sue Ellen’s father figure/suitor, J.R.’s business adversary, Rebecca Wentworth’s gentleman caller. Clayton eventually became Ellie’s friend, which offered the first hint of the warm rapport that Keel and Barbara Bel Geddes would perfect as their on-screen relationship progressed.

Clayton also became a strong character in his own right, as we see in the wonderful scene in “Past Imperfect” where he summons J.R., Bobby and Ray to the Oil Baron’s Club — not to get their permission to wed Ellie, but to give them an opportunity to air any grievances they may have with him before the nuptials take place. Keel’s exchange with Steve Kanaly in this scene, when Clayton confidently assuring Ray that his opinion matters too, is especially good. But never forget: No matter how well Clayton got along with Ellie, Ray or anyone else, “Dallas” was J.R.’s show, and so Keel’s chemistry with Hagman mattered most of all. And since J.R. was destined to despise any man who courts his mama, the producers needed to fill this role with an actor who could play off Hagman. In Keel, they found their man.

This is why J.R. and Clayton’s confrontation in “Past Imperfect” is so crucial: It establishes that Clayton is no pushover. In the scene, Keel is fire and Hagman is ice; it’s not unlike the dynamic that exists between Hagman and Victoria Principal when Pam gets riled up. Perhaps not coincidentally, Clayton, like Pam, is an outsider who isn’t afraid to stand up to J.R., which earns Clayton instant respect from the audience — and perhaps from J.R. himself. Keel’s physical stature doesn’t hurt (the actor stood well over 6 feet, so he can look Hagman in the eye), but his booming baritone matters even more. In “Past Imperfect,” when Clayton tells J.R., “You are a liar!” the line sounds like it should be accompanied by a lightning bolt. Can you imagine Frank Crutcher or Brooks Oliver pulling off a scene like this?

J.R. and Clayton’s confrontation is a technical achievement too. Hagman, who directed “Past Imperfect,” films Keel coming off the elevator and marching into J.R.’s office in a single, continuous shot. This kind of camerawork requires a lot of coordination: Keel must deliver his lines while in motion — when Sly tells Clayton he can’t enter J.R.’s office, Clayton exclaims, “The hell I can’t!” — and the dialogue must be timed so Keel and Deborah Rennard complete their lines before Keel rounds the corner and begins his exchange with Hagman. We don’t see a lot of complicated shots like this on the original “Dallas,” but when they pop up, they’re often in episodes helmed by Hagman or Patrick Duffy. Why do actors make such inventive directors?

There are also quite a few comedic scenes in “Past Imperfect,” a reflection, perhaps, of Hagman’s sitcom roots. The best of these moments occurs when Clayton sweeps into the Southfork living room during cocktail hour to present Ellie with an engagement ring. He faces her and J.R. stands between them, with Jock’s portrait looming over J.R.’s shoulder — a harbinger of the two obstacles Ellie and Clayton will have to overcome on their way to the altar. The funny part comes when Keel takes the drink out of Bel Geddes’ hand and hands it to Hagman; Ellie and Clayton never take their eyes off each other, and the sneer on J.R.’s face makes it clear he doesn’t appreciate Clayton treating him like a servant.

Hagman also showcases Ken Kercheval’s comedic timing throughout “Past Imperfect.” In one scene, Cliff is talking about offshore oil leases at dinner with Pam and Mark when Afton asks him when he’s going to take a break and taste his meal. Cliff ignores her and keeps talking, so she gracefully sticks a forkful of food into his mouth. The blabbing continues, but after a few moments, Cliff finally realizes what happened. “Oh, this is good. Afton, it’s terrific,” he says. In another scene, Cliff interrupts a romantic moment between Pam and Mark with another monologue about the offshore oil deal he’s pitching to them. They ignore him and walk away. “Well, I thought I was talking to somebody,” he says.

I like how Hagman frames the latter scene, with Pam and Mark facing each other and Cliff in the middle, looking at both of them. (It echoes the earlier cocktail scene with Ellie, Clayton and J.R.) Hagman delivers several other nifty shots in “Past Imperfect,” including one where Sue Ellen drops off John Ross on his first day of school and watches workers raising the Texas flag in front of the building. Hagman opens with a tight, stationary close-up of the flag; as the flag rises out of the frame, it reveals Peter Richards leaning against his jeep in the distance, waiting for Sue Ellen. It’s a cool effect, although it also illustrates how stalkerish Peter is becoming.

Speaking of John Ross’s first day of school: “Past Imperfect” seems to confirm what I suspected — that the beginning of “Dallas’s” seventh season takes place in the summertime. This makes sense, since John Ross attends a day camp in these episodes, and that’s the kind of thing kids do in the summer. But if we assume John Ross’s school year begins on the first Tuesday of September, how do we explain the scenes in this episode that take place one day earlier, when J.R., Bobby and their secretaries are shown going about their business during a typical day at the office? You don’t suppose J.R. was heartless enough to make everyone work on Labor Day, do you?

Grade: A

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Four’s a crowd

‘PAST IMPERFECT’

Season 7, Episode 13

Airdate: December 23, 1983

Audience: 20.1 million homes, ranking 1st in the weekly ratings

Writer: David Paulsen

Director: Larry Hagman

Synopsis: Clayton tells the Ewing brothers he wants to make Miss Ellie happy, but he becomes angry when he finds out J.R. has been snooping into his past. Cliff, believing J.R. wants to bid on offshore oil leases, approaches Mark about bidding too, but Mark is skittish. After Sue Ellen breaks up with Peter, Lucy learns he’s dropped out of school. Bobby buys a boutique for Jenna to run. In Rome, Katherine searches for Naldo Marchetta, Jenna’s ex-husband.

Cast: Christopher Atkins (Peter Richards), John Beck (Mark Graison), Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Morgan Brittany (Katherine Wentworth), James L. Brown (Detective Harry McSween), Roseanna Christiansen (Teresa), Pat Colbért (Dora Mae), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Eric Farlow (Christopher Ewing), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Michael Griswold (Thomas Hall), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Susan Howard (Donna Krebbs), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Omri Katz (John Ross Ewing), Howard Keel (Clayton Farlow), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Audrey Landers (Afton Cooper), Alberto Morin (Armando Sidoni) Priscilla Beaulieu Presley (Jenna Wade), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Debbie Rennard (Sly), Danone Simpson (Kendall), Paul Sorensen (Andy Bradley), Don Starr (Jordan Lee), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing), Deborah Tranelli (Phyllis)

“Past Imperfect” is available on DVD and at Amazon.com and iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.

He started a trend!

TNT has started showing a series of 30-second promotional spots that offer tantalizing clues for the new season of “Dallas,” which begins Monday, February 24. If you’re spoiler-phobic, stop reading now and don’t click on the videos that appear below.

In the most revealing spots, which were posted to YouTube this afternoon, Pamela tells John Ross, “If I ever find out you’ve been stepping out on me, God’s wrath will be the least of your worries.” In another shot, Christopher visits Cliff in jail and tells him, “You are exactly where you belong.” (We knew Jesse Metcalfe would sport a beard this season, and now we know Ken Kercheval will too.) The spot ends with Sue Ellen announcing, “The family that blackmails together stays together.”

This promo is followed by a second spot that shows Pamela undressing, Harris being strong-armed in prison and Bobby declaring, “I’m taking down anyone who’s involved.” Like the other spot, it ends with Sue Ellen delivering a line about blackmail, except this time she says, “Good blackmail never sours.” The other spots depict various cast members lighting matches, posing seductively, pointing guns and engaging in some highly stylized, slow-motion fighting moves.

In addition to the clips from the show and the action shots, the on-screen graphics and voiceover narration in the spots suggest other clues for Season 3. Among the announcements: “In Dallas, where there’s smoke, there’s always fire;” “If you’re not in their good graces, good luck;” and “Family can always turn on you.”

TNT began showing the spots last week. The online versions appear on the YouTube channel for Ausxip, which bills itself as “a non-profit network of sites whose main goal is to promote and support the actors/tv shows.”

What do you think of the “Dallas” promotional spots? Share your thoughts in the comments section below and read more #DallasS3 news from Dallas Decoder.

Happy ending? Ha!

TNT released some more tidbits about “Dallas’s” third season today, including clues about the new characters and how they’ll fit into the storylines. If you don’t want to know what’s going to happen, stop reading now.

Here are the headlines:

• TNT is pretty vague about what the main characters will be up to, although the press materials state Harris (Mitch Pileggi) will struggle to “keep Emma in check while also mending fences with Ann.” The emphasis is ours.

• Pamela (Julie Gonzalo) is described as “determined to find a happy ending with her new husband, John Ross, and make a home for herself on Southfork Ranch.” Good luck with that, honey.

• According to TNT, Nicolas Trevino (Juan Pablo Di Pace) comes to Dallas to act as Cliff’s proxy in Ewing Global, but “it will soon come to light that Nicolas has his own agenda.” The materials also describe Nicolas as “an old childhood friend” whom Elena (Jordana Brewster) turns to in her quest for justice.

• Heather (AnnaLynne McCord), whose last name isn’t given, is described as “a no-nonsense, calls-it-like-she-sees-it ranch hand [who] was raised by a single father and four older brothers. After her oldest brother was killed during a tour in Iraq, she ran away and eloped with her high school sweetheart.”

• TNT calls Di Pace “a regular cast member,” while McCord is listed as a guest star, along with Ken Kercheval, Judith Light and Marlene Forte. Also receiving the “guest star” treatment: Kuno Becker, who joined the show last year as Elena’s brother Drew.

Remember: “Dallas’s” season premiere is Monday, February 24, at 9 p.m. Eastern time. That’s one month from today, not that we’re counting every second or anything.

What do you think of the latest tidbits from TNT? Share your thoughts in the comments section below and read more #DallasS3 news from Dallas Decoder.

The natural

At the end of “Eye of the Beholder,” Miss Ellie tearfully tells Clayton that she had breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy years earlier. It’s another moving performance from Barbara Bel Geddes, although when I try to explain why she excels in scenes like this one, I always come up short. Is it her ability to summon tears whenever the script calls for it? Is it her halting delivery, which mimics the way people tend to talk in real life? Or is it some magical, Hagman-esque quality that can’t be described? Whatever the reason, Bel Geddes always makes me forget I’m watching a world of make-believe. She’s amazing.

To be fair, Bel Geddes gets plenty of help from “Eye of the Beholder” scriptwriter Arthur Bernard Lewis, whose unsentimental dialogue ensures Ellie isn’t seen as a figure of self-pity. Here’s how she tells Clayton about her ordeal: “Clayton, I had surgery. I’ve had a mastectomy. The doctor found cancer. They cut off my breast.” This series of clipped, matter-of-fact pronouncements reminds me of Bel Geddes’ wonderful monologue in “Return Engagements,” when Ellie acknowledges her failure to help Gary keep his family together. (“I should’ve fought them. I didn’t. I did nothing.”) Only one line in Ellie’s “Eye of the Beholder” speech gives me pause. After she tells Clayton about her mastectomy, she says, “It affects how I feel about myself, and I know it’s got to be harder for you.” This seems like another example of “Dallas’s” pervasive sexism — and maybe it is — but like it or not, I suspect this is how a lot of women from Ellie’s generation felt.

Regardless, I continue to marvel at “Dallas’s” acknowledgment that Ellie and Clayton, two characters who are supposed to be in their 60s or 70s, are capable of sexual intimacy. Besides “The Golden Girls,” which debuted a year after this episode aired, I can’t think of another show that did more more than “Dallas” to dispel the myth that people stop having sex with they get old. I also appreciate how sensitively “Dallas” handles this material. At the end of the scene, Clayton tells Ellie the mastectomy doesn’t matter to him and sweeps her into his arms. The final freeze frame shows him holding her tightly as Richard Lewis Warren’s soft piano music plays in the background. There’s no big cliffhanger, just two characters expressing their love and commitment to each other. What other prime-time soap opera from this era would be willing to end an episode on such a quiet, dignified note?

Above all, I love how Ellie and Clayton’s storyline mines “Dallas’s” history. “Eye of the Beholder” arrived four seasons after the show’s classic “Mastectomy” episodes, which broke ground by making Ellie one of the first major characters in prime time to get cancer. In “Eye of the Beholder,” the show doesn’t just mention her disease, it turns it into a major subplot and reveals Ellie is still struggling with the same feelings of inadequacy that she did in 1979. Her tearful scene with Clayton harkens to the memorable moment in “Mastectomy, Part 2,” when she comes home after her surgery and breaks down (“I’m deformed”) upon discovering her dresses no longer fit the way they once did.

The show’s history can also be felt in “Eye of the Beholder’s” third act, when Clayton tells Sue Ellen that Ellie has called off the wedding without telling him why. Sue Ellen gently quizzes Clayton and realizes he and Ellie haven’t been intimate with each other. “Don’t give up on her. I don’t think she’s told you everything,” Sue Ellen says. I love this scene for a lot of reasons, beginning with Linda Gray, whose expression lets the audience know that Sue Ellen has it all figured out. This also feels like a moment of growth for Gray’s character. Think back to “Mastectomy, Part 2,” when Sue Ellen reacts to Ellie’s cancer diagnosis by suggesting Jock will reject his wife after her surgery. Four years later, Sue Ellen is wiser, less cynical and more compassionate. When you think about it, if it wasn’t for Sue Ellen encouraging Clayton to not give up on Ellie, Ellie might not have opened up to him and given their relationship another chance. In many ways, Sue Ellen rescues this couple.

“Eye of the Beholder” contains several other nods to “Dallas’s” past, including the warm scene where Bobby and Pam share lunch at the Oil Baron’s Club and reminisce about their wedding. Besides showcasing Patrick Duffy and Victoria Principal’s sparkling chemistry, the scene fills in some blanks for “Dallas” diehards. For example, “Digger’s Daughter” opens with Bobby and Pam stopping at a gas station not long after their spur-of-the-moment wedding in New Orleans. I always wondered: Were the newlyweds coming straight from the chapel? It turns out they weren’t: In “Eye of the Beholder,” we learn the couple spent their wedding night in a motel while making their way back to Southfork. It’s also nice to know “When the Saints Go Marching In” was their wedding music. If that’s not a fitting theme for these two, I don’t know what is.

The other great scenes in “Eye of the Beholder” include Bobby forcing J.R. to sign the paperwork to buy Travis Boyd’s company, which ends with J.R. saying, “I don’t like doing business this way.” Bobby’s response: “Well, I’ll continue your delicate sensibilities some other time, all right?” I also like the scene that introduces Barry Jenner as Jerry Kenderson, Mark Graison’s doctor and confidante; Jenner and John Beck have an easy rapport, making the friendship between their characters feel believable. “Eye of the Beholder” also marks Bill Morey’s first appearance as Barnes-Wentworth’s longtime controller Leo Wakefield, whose weary demeanor makes him a worthy foil for Ken Kercheval’s hyperkinetic Cliff. (Morey previously popped up as a judge in the fifth-season episode “Gone But Not Forgotten.”)

Two more moments, both showcasing Larry Hagman’s comedic talents, deserve mentioning. In the first, J.R. enters the Southfork living room, where Sue Ellen is offering Peter a drink. J.R. accuses his wife of “trying to corrupt that young man,” until he finds out Peter has arrived to escort Lucy to a party. “Oh, in that case you’re going to need a drink,” J.R. says. In Hagman’s other great scene, J.R. takes Edgar Randolph to lunch, where he tells Edgar he wants him to reveal the high bidder in the offshore drilling auction so J.R. can beat the bid. Edgar resists, saying he doesn’t want to cheat the government, but J.R. points out the government will make more money under his scheme. “J.R., you have the amazing ability to make a crooked scheme sound noble,” Edgar says. J.R.’s response: “Edgar, that’s part of my charm.”

For once, he isn’t lying.

Grade: A

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On the march

‘EYE OF THE BEHOLDER’

Season 7, Episode 17

Airdate: January 27, 1984

Audience: 22 million homes, ranking 2nd in the weekly ratings

Writer: Arthur Bernard Lewis

Director: Leonard Katzman

Synopsis: Miss Ellie tells Clayton she doesn’t want to marry him because she had a mastectomy, but he tells her it doesn’t matter. Cliff agrees to sleep with Marilee if she’ll join his offshore drilling venture. J.R. tells Edgar he wants to see the offshore proposals so he can bid higher. Pam realizes Bobby and Jenna are sleeping together.

Cast: Denny Albee (Travis Boyd), Christopher Atkins (Peter Richards), John Beck (Mark Graison), Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Morgan Brittany (Katherine Wentworth), Martin E. Brooks (Edgar Randolph), Roseanna Christiansen (Teresa), Pat Colbért (Dora Mae), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Eric Farlow (Christopher Ewing), Fern Fitzgerald (Marilee Stone), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Susan Howard (Donna Krebbs), Barry Jenner (Dr. Jerry Kenderson), Sherril Lynn Katzman (Jackie Dugan), Howard Keel (Clayton Farlow), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Audrey Landers (Afton Cooper), Anne Lucas (Cassie), Kevin McBride (George), Bill Morey (Leo Wakefield), Priscilla Beaulieu Presley (Jenna Wade), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Debbie Rennard (Sly), Donegan Smith (Earl Johnson), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing)

“Eye of the Beholder” is available on DVD and at Amazon.com and iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.

Stumped?

How much do you remember about the second season of TNT’s “Dallas”? Jog your memory with this quiz. The correct answers appear at the end.

1. Which foursome controls Barnes Global?

a) Bobby, Christopher, Pamela and John Ross

b) Cliff, Christopher, Pamela and John Ross

c) Cliff, Pam, Pamela and Christopher

d) Cliff, Pam, Katherine and Jimmy

2. Which duo owns Southfork?

a) Bobby and Ann

b) Bobby and John Ross

c) Bobby and Christopher

d) Bobby and Gary

3. Match the judges in Column A with the courtroom proceedings they oversaw in Column B.

Column A

I) Judge Leonard Knox

II) Judge Barbara Hirsch

III) Judge Wallace Tate

IV) Judge John R. Testolin

Column B

a) Frank’s arraingment

b) Roy’s arraingment

c) Bobby’s arraingment

d) Ann’s trial

He done it?

4. Where was Cliff when J.R. was killed?

a) In Nuevo Laredo

b) In Cabo San Lucas

c) On his way to the Ewing building

d) Sleeping in his car

5. What did John Ross and Pamela plant in Cliff’s safe deposit box?

a) J.R.’s gun

b) J.R.’s hat

c) J.R.’s belt buckle

d) Jeannie’s bottle

6. Each of these memorable quotes is missing a word. Fill in the blank and state who delivered the line.

a) “Love is for (blank).”

b) “When they figure out how to run a car on (blank), you’ll have the real advantage.”

c) “Once a (blank), always a (blank).”

d) “I’m not a sick, sadistic (blank) like you are.”

7. Match the Ewing Energies executive in Column A with his or her secretary in Column B.

Column A

I) John Ross

II) Christopher

III) Bobby

IV) Sue Ellen

Column B

a) Jill

b) Lisa

c) Sally

d) Stacy

Arrested development

8. When Harris was arrested, what was the charge?

a) Kidnapping

b) Bribery

c) Elder abuse

d) Drug trafficking

9. Who claimed Cliff was in the club on the night J.R. was killed?

a) Rhonda Cummings

b) Rhonda Simmons

c) Rhonda Mason

d) Rhonda Shear

10. Christopher believed his mother was using what alias in Zurich?

a) Andrea Barrett

b) Patricia Barrett

c) Pamela Monahan

d) Jeanne O’Brien

11. What did Emma do to Bo McCabe?

a) She bought drugs from him

b) She kissed him

c) She bit him

d) All of the above

Tables turned

12. What did Sue Ellen use to blackmail Governor McConaughey?

a) Proof that Harris bribed him

b) Proof that he covered up toxic dumping

c) Proof that he covered up the cause of the rig explosion

d) Proof that he ran his brother’s airline into the ground

13. What did Elena learn at the end of the season?

a) J.R. ruined her father’s reputation

b) J.R. caused her father’s death

c) J.R. stole land from her father

d) J.R. had her father arrested

14. Who did Elena go to see in Mexico?

a) Joaquin

b) Heisenberg

c) Carlos del Sol

d) Carlos Danger

15. What were J.R.’s final words during his phone call with John Ross?

a) “You shouldn’t have to pay for my sins.”

b) “I’m proud of you.”

c) “You’re my son, from tip to tail.”

d) “Rosebud.”

Answers: 1) b. 2) b. 3) I. c., II. a., III. d., IV. b. 4) b. 5) c. 6) a. pussies, John Ross; b. bullshit, Ricky Rudd; c. bitch, Valene; d. prick, Ann 7) I. d., II. a., III. c., IV. b. 8) d. 9) b. 10) b. 11) d. 12) c. 13) c. 14) a. 15) c.

How did you do? Share your score in the comments section below and take last year’s quiz.

Ain’t over yet

It’s never too late to start watching “Dallas.” If you missed the original show and the first two seasons of TNT’s sequel series, fear not: This post will tell you everything you need to know before Season 3 begins on Monday, February 24. (*OK, this isn’t really everything that’s happened on “Dallas.” For that, you’ll have to keep reading Dallas Decoder every day.)

The Original Series (1978 to 1991)

In the beginning

Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy), the youngest son of a rich oil and cattle clan, marries Pam Barnes (Victoria Principal) and brings her home to Southfork, the Ewing ranch. This upsets everyone, especially Pam’s daddy Digger (David Wayne), who blames Bobby’s daddy Jock (Jim Davis) for stealing his sweetheart, Miss Ellie (Barbara Bel Geddes), and cheating him out of half of Ewing Oil. While Bobby’s devious brother J.R. (Larry Hagman) is building the family empire and catting around, J.R.’s neglected wife Sue Ellen (Linda Gray) becomes an alcoholic and has an affair with Cliff (Ken Kercheval), Pam’s vengeful brother. Later, J.R. and Sue Ellen have a son, John Ross, while Bobby and Pam adopt Christopher, the orphaned child of Sue Ellen’s sister Kristin Shepard (Mary Crosby) and sleazy Jeff Faraday (Art Hindle). Elsewhere, Ray Krebbs, Southfork’s foreman, discovers Jock is his daddy and marries savvy politico Donna Culver (Susan Howard), while Lucy (Charlene Tilton), the daughter of J.R. and Bobby’s middle brother Gary (Ted Shackelford) and his wife Valene (Joan Van Ark), gets engaged to everyone.

End of an era

More drama: Digger dies and so does Jock, leaving Ellie to hold the family together with help from second hubby Clayton Farlow (Howard Keel). Southfork burns down, but the Ewings rebuild it. Cliff hooks up with Afton Cooper (Audrey Landers), who gives birth to their daughter Pamela Rebecca, but Afton refuses to let Cliff near the child because of his fixation with destroying the Ewings. Cliff and Pam’s half-sister Katherine Wentworth (Morgan Brittany) arrives, becomes obsessed with Bobby and tries to kill him, then vanishes under a big hat. Sue Ellen beats the bottle and divorces J.R., while Pam has a bad dream, gets burned in a car crash and runs away. Bobby has an on-again, off-again romance with first love Jenna Wade (Priscilla Beaulieu Presley), who gives birth to their son Lucas and then marries newly divorced Ray. James (Sasha Mitchell), J.R.’s illegitimate son, shows up for a while and emulates the old man. Bobby marries April (Sheree J. Wilson), but she dies. J.R. marries Cally (Cathy Podewell), but she leaves. In the end, Cliff finally takes over Ewing Oil, leaving J.R. alone and suicidal.

Hurts so good

Best Episode: “Swan Song.” The eighth-season finale finds J.R. and Sue Ellen’s marriage on the rocks, unlike the vodka she’s secretly swilling in her bedroom.  Meanwhile, Bobby chooses Pam over Jenna, but crazy Katherine runs him over with her car. The episode ends with the Ewings bidding farewell to Bobby in a deathbed scene that’s so beautifully written and acted, you almost wish it wasn’t part of Pam’s dream. Almost.

Shot in the dark

J.R.’s Greatest Moment: Who shot J.R.? Sure, taking a couple of slugs to the gut is no fun for our hero, but at least he makes billions of dollars in a risky offshore oil deal before he’s gunned down. Oh, and in case you didn’t hear, J.R.’s assailant turns out to be Kristin, his sister-in-law/ex-secretary/ex-mistress, who’s revealed as the shooter in one of the most-watched broadcasts in television history. (Props to Sue Ellen, who figures it all out.)

TNT Season 1 (2012)

When cousins clash

J.R. emerges from a nursing home and tricks Bobby into selling him Southfork so he can tap the ocean of oil flowing beneath it. Like their fathers, John Ross and Christopher (Josh Henderson, Jesse Metcalfe) butt heads, except their rivalry has an added twist: John Ross has fallen for Elena Ramos (Jordana Brewster), who was Christopher’s childhood sweetheart. Christopher marries Rebecca Sutter (Julie Gonzalo), unaware that she’s the daughter of Cliff, who is now the gazillionaire owner of Barnes Global and still hell-bent on destroying the Ewings. Rebecca kills her lover Tommy Sutter (Callard Harris) in self-defense and has Cliff’s henchman Frank Ashkani (Faran Tahir) dispose of the body. Meanwhile, Sue Ellen runs for governor; Bobby’s new wife Ann (Brenda Strong) feels threatened by ex-husband Harris Ryland (Mitch Pileggi), who knows she’s harboring a dark secret; and John Ross, Christopher and Elena form a company, Ewing Energies, but the partnership is threatened when Elena breaks her engagement to John Ross and reunites with Christopher, who dumps the pregnant Rebecca.

Bad does good

Best Episode: “Family Business.” In one of Hagman’s most poignant performances, J.R. learns Bobby is secretly battling cancer and returns Southfork to him, ending the season-long war for the ranch. Later, in a chill-inducing musical montage (set to Johnny Cash’s “The Man Comes Around”), poor Bobby suffers a seizure and Rebecca shoots Tommy, splattering blood over her unborn twins’ stuffed animals. Hmmm. Foreshadow, much?

Pass the torch

J.R.’s Greatest Moment: Who loves J.R.? His son John Ross, who ends the season by gazing at the Dallas skyline with dear old dad and asking him to teach him “every dirty trick” he knows so he can push Christopher and Elena out of Ewing Energies. J.R. beams with pride and tells John Ross that he’s his son “from tip to tail.” Hey, J.R. may have given up the fight for Southfork, but he wasn’t giving up his devious ways — thank goodness.

TNT Season 2 (2013)

All about evil

Rebecca reveals she’s Pamela Rebecca Barnes and hooks up with John Ross. Ann shoots Harris after learning he kidnapped their daughter Emma when she was a baby and sent her to be raised by his control-freak mother, Judith (Judith Light). Ann gets probation, Harris recovers and Judith falls down the stairs. Frank takes the blame for Tommy’s death and kills himself at the request of Cliff, who causes Pamela’s miscarriage. When J.R. is murdered in Mexico, it appears Cliff is the killer, so Bobby, Christopher and newlyweds John Ross and Pamela plant evidence on Cliff to make sure he’s arrested. Oh, and Christopher also discovers Cliff covered up his mom’s death. Elsewhere, John Ross somehow inherits half of Southfork; Sue Ellen loses the election but continues to tangle with Governor McConaughey (Steven Weber); Emma (Emma Bell) sleeps with Elena’s ne’er-do-well brother Drew (Kuno Becker), becomes John Ross’s mistress and turns Harris in to the cops for drug trafficking; and when Christopher dumps Elena, jailbird Cliff asks her to become his proxy at Barnes Global, which the Ewings now control.

Mourning glory

Best Episode: “J.R.’s Masterpiece.” Our hero is laid to rest in an instant-classic hour that brings back several stars from the original series. The highlight: On the night before J.R.’s burial, Sue Ellen takes a heartbreaking tumble off the wagon, then delivers a mesmerizing eulogy for the man she calls “the love of my life.” Can someone please explain how Linda Gray didn’t win an Emmy for this performance?

Only you

J.R.’s Greatest Moment: Who killed J.R.? J.R. did, of course. It turns out he was dying of cancer and arranged his own death so Cliff could be framed for the crime, thus ending the Barnes-Ewing feud … for about 2 minutes, at least. Only a handful of people know the truth, including Bobby, J.R.’s loyal private eye Bum (Kevin Page), Christopher and John Ross, who gets it right when he says, “The only person who could take down J.R. … was J.R.”

What are your favorite “Dallas” memories? What do you want to see happen in Season 3? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Like his famous daddy, doesn’t John Ross Ewing deserve to have his cake and eat it too?

The “Dallas” fans at Dallas Decoder and Cook In/Dine Out think so. We’ve created a Valentine’s Day sundae that’s as deliciously messy as John Ross’s love life.

Like our previous “Dallas Desserts,” this one is rich with symbolism: the brownie represents John Ross’s wife Pamela (Julie Gonzalo), the blondie represents his mistress Emma (Emma Bell), and the chocolate sauce is dark and smooth, just like John Ross (Josh Henderson) himself.

The rest of the ingredients allude to John Ross’s other relatives: The vanilla ice cream is as wholesome as Uncle Bobby (Patrick Duffy), while the chopped peanuts honor his nutty father-in-law, Cliff (Ken Kercheval).

You’ll find the recipe for this treat at Cook In/Dine Out, which is the handiwork of the Valentine in my life, my husband Andrew. Visit his site regularly for other amazing food-related content, and be sure to follow Cook In/Dine Out on Facebook and Twitter.

We hope you’ll share this treat with the special “Dallas” fan in your life. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Fantasy gals

What would “Dallas’s” third season look like if the audience were in charge? Dallas Decoder asked four fans to pick up the storylines where Season 2 left off and describe their fantasy scenarios for the show. Here’s what they came up with.

Such a sneak!

Emma’s Switcheroo

By Chris Donovan

The Ewings celebrate the victory of Ewing Global, then discover they have inherited former Barnes Global enemies, including a dangerous Las Vegas casino family. Bobby employs J.R.’s mercenary (and killer), Bum, to mediate and more.

Elena and Joaquin disprove Cliff’s season-ending claim and Elena turns down the proxy. Instead, she insists on finding Drew and takes mother Carmen with her on her search, the family Ramos leaving in the season premiere.

Cliff picks Pamela’s mother, Afton (a one-time owner of a record company), as the proxy replacement. She begrudgingly complies, hoping to work with her daughter.

Katherine Wentworth, prosecution-immune after 30 years, flies back to appear on a Dallas TV show. She apologizes to Bobby and donates $500,000 to the upcoming Clayton Farlow Charity Rodeo at Southfork. Katherine has it all together now, or does until a blond haired woman shows up at her condo….

The presumed-dead James Beaumont revs up to J.R.’s grave and talks with John Ross.  James has been living in New Zealand since the deaths of his wife and son.

Judith buys her way out of “rehab” and finds her long-lost son, Roscoe “Morrissey” Manley, in a plot to get Harris out of 50-year trafficking sentence. Will she succeed in an installment titled “Switched at Death”?

Ann becomes attracted to her probation worker, Devon Leeman. Will she add a love crime to her rap sheet?

Lucy’s gay twenty-something stepson, Henry Pattemore, is hired by Christopher for the ranch and then matched up by his boss with Sheriff Derrick.

Emma sabotages John Ross and Pamela’s pregnancy efforts by replacing fertility pills with birth control.

In the Sue Ellen stand-alone episode, “Come to Mickey,” Sue Ellen, after passing out at a restaurant playground, meets a 50-year-old Mickey Trotter in her car. Pushing her drunk past in her face (the pregnancy accident, his accident, her breakup with Don), he stops her from driving. She commits to rehab and AA, where she meets her new love interest: Lou, the Ewing attorney.

And Cliff redeems himself in the finale, giving his life for Afton: “Besides my daddy and my sister, you’re the only one I’ve ever loved!”

Donovan, a novelist, is the author of “AWOL.” 

Gettin’ lusty with Dusty

Oh, Annie!

By Andrew H.

The Ewings’ unity in the wake of J.R.’s “masterpiece” to take down Cliff becomes fractured following an environmental calamity on Southfork created by John Ross’s oil exploration. This infuriates Bobby, who sues his nephew.

Emma feels pulled in both directions — a predicament Harris and Judith are more than happy to exploit. Working as Cliff’s secret pawn, Elena unknowingly has a hand in the disaster, but this doesn’t become apparent to her until later, as she remains unaware of the depth to which Cliff is willing to sink the Ewings to achieve his revenge.

As the Ewings become caught up in the Bobby/John Ross legal battle, their romantic liaisons become entangled too. Sue Ellen, fleeing sobriety, begins an affair with Ken Richards, and Ann, feeling neglected by Bobby, finds comfort in the arms of one of Sue Ellen’s old flames: Dusty Farlow.

Distracted by the lawsuit and their affairs, the implementation of Cliff’s diabolical scheme to get even goes largely unnoticed until Pamela discovers it. Irritated by her philandering husband, she must weigh whether to remain loyal to the scattered Ewings or rebuild the Barnes legacy by becoming the final piece in her father’s plan to sabotage the Ewings’ financial holdings and destroy their good name forever.

Andrew, who blogs about food at Cook In/Dine Out, is the creator of the “Dallas Drinks” and “Dallas Desserts” series. He’s also married to Dallas Decoder.

Give ’em hell, honey

Call Her Madam Mayor

By Corina H.

Riddled with guilt, Bum tells Sue Ellen he accidentally sent her the wrong letter from J.R., one he penned before developing cancer, and only realized it when she read it at the burial. Bum reveals the truth about J.R.’s death and gives Sue Ellen the intended letter in which J.R. again professes his love and regret for squandering it, but also says goodbye and urges her to stay strong.

When Sue Ellen confronts the Ewing men about their deception, they dismiss her as emotional and John Ross cites her relapse as an example of how she can’t handle the truth. Heartbroken, Sue Ellen briefly flees Dallas and befriends Vanessa Ruiz (Shannen Doherty), a down-on-her-luck waitress with whom she develops a mother/daughter bond, leaving John Ross feeling threatened.

Back home, Sue Ellen voluntarily enters rehab, where she falls for fellow patient Royce Lee Caine (William Shatner), an eccentric cattle mogul who has J.R.’s power and charm but none of his dastardly ways. With Royce’s encouragement, Sue Ellen gets sober and is elected mayor — only to be challenged anew when Harris is released from jail and sabotages her efforts to aid her constituents after a major tornado.

Back at Southfork, the family takes in Lucy, who is newly divorced and broke. Ray also returns and — to Bobby’s dismay — rekindles his romance with his half-niece. The relationship is strong but challenged from all sides, prompting Lucy to use her Ewing Global shares like a weather vane depending on which family member is hassling her and Ray.

Meanwhile, when John Ross impregnates Emma, Ann is appalled but also secretly thrilled at a second chance at motherhood, which drives a wedge between her and Bobby. Feeling frustrated, Bobby seeks comfort from an old friend who, unbeknownst to him, is put in his path by Judith. Pamela is furious and issues an ultimatum: She’ll allow John Ross this one indiscretion if he ends the affair and Emma terminates the pregnancy. Looking for a distraction, John Ross develops a poker habit, defaults on markers and starts stealing Sue Ellen’s fortune.

Elsewhere, Elena aligns with Cliff and appeals to Sue Ellen’s integrity to try and get Cliff released from jail on false charges, putting the freedom of all involved Ewings at stake. Later, Christopher’s chance encounter with June Leigh Taylor (Jennifer Love Hewitt), a.k.a. “June Bug,” a beautiful farm girl, leaves him wondering: Is it time to give up his stressful career at Ewing Global and start a new life?

Corina, also known as “Team Sue Ellen” on Twitter, writes about her favorite “Dallas” character at FanFiction.net.

Go see daddy

Don’t Forget Cliff!

By James Holmes

Mostly, I want the show to keep on surprising me the way it has done. However, these are things I’d be happy to see more of:

• Cliff in prison. I hope he gets a lot of visitors because I want to hear him talk — about how he ended up as the man he is today, how repentant he is or isn’t for his actions, or just to hear Ken Kercheval find more ways to say “I did not kill J.R.!” — the soap equivalent of Laurence Olivier’s “Is it safe?” mantra in “Marathon Man.”

• Joaquin! We haven’t seen him, we know nothing about him, but after his impressive non-entrance at the end of last season, he’s already my new favorite character.

• Multi-faceted Sue Ellen. We’d seen her be supportive, maternal, shrewd, aloof, devious and drunk before, but not until last year did it occur to anyone that she could be all of those things at the same time. I guess she’ll have to sober up sometime, but I’d love a drunken confrontation with John Ross first.

• I love the glimpses we’ve been given into the parallel “Dallas” that was happening at the same time as the original series — a dyslexic John Ross throwing toys at his mama’s head, the Ewing boys shooting hoops with the McKay brothers — but as well as playing fast and loose with the Ewing mythology, the new show has been able to honor and explain Pam’s convoluted departure in a way the original never could. In “New Dallas,” everything is up for grabs — the past as well as the future. I hope it continues to scramble my brain like this.

• Becky Sutter. I know Frank supposedly killed her off-screen, but is too much to hope she’s still out there somewhere — maybe holed up in a motel watching “Law & Order” reruns?

• Carmen needs to start stirring the mole or get off the pot. Either give her some scenes she can sink her teeth into or kill her off. This half-life is too cruel.

Holmes, also known as “James from London,” is a regular contributor to the SoapChat.net discussion board.

Whose ideas do you like best? Share your thoughts and your own fantasy scenarios in the comments section below.

Welcome back, darlins

Who misses J.R.? We all do, but the third season of TNT’s “Dallas” still manages to be fun, freewheeling television — even if our beloved Larry Hagman is no longer there to breathe life into his most famous character. Watching next week’s season premiere is a little like attending a family reunion after the loss of a favorite uncle. You can’t help but wish the old guy was still around, but isn’t it nice to see everyone else again?

Besides, it’s not like J.R. is gone altogether. His memory looms large in Season 3’s first two episodes. Some examples: John Ross inherits his daddy’s Southfork-sized belt buckle and hires contractors to renovate the house using blueprints J.R. commissioned before his death. Bobby, once again at odds with his ambitious nephew, growls that John Ross isn’t “half the man” J.R. was. Bum, the Ewings’ go-to private eye who now doubles as John Ross’s conscience, urges him to “grow into your father’s greatness, not his weakness.” There’s even a much-improved painting of J.R. hanging in the Ewing offices, allowing Hagman’s visage to peer over the shoulders of the other actors as they move around the set.

With so many verbal and visual references to J.R., isn’t the show just reminding us that this franchise has lost its marquee player? Yes, but since most of us can’t tune into “Dallas” without thinking about Hagman anyway, the producers might as well acknowledge the ghost in the room. Besides, when your franchise is built on a character as endlessly fascinating as J.R. Ewing, why not use him to pull everyone’s strings from the great beyond?

That’s why “The Return,” the third-season premiere, resets the “Dallas” chessboard, J.R.-style. The episode — penned by Cynthia Cidre and Robert Rovner and directed by Steve Robin — picks up 12 hours after last year’s finale, when we learned J.R. was dying of cancer and masterminded his own “murder” so archenemy Cliff Barnes could be framed for the crime, thus ending the Barnes/Ewing feud. (Ha!) The finale also positioned John Ross as J.R.’s heir in every way, and so at the beginning of “The Return,” we learn why the young newlywed went to that hotel room to cheat with Emma, who appears to have traded her pill habit for an addiction to risky encounters with John Ross.

We’ll also hear how John Ross justifies the fling to Kevin Page’s Bum; his excuse will sound familiar to longtime “Dallas” fans who remember how J.R. used to rationalize his cheating on Sue Ellen. This storyline has upset a lot of fans of the John Ross/Pamela pairing, but it allows Josh Henderson to display the sly charisma that makes him almost as much fun to watch as Hagman was in his heyday. And even though John Ross is a cheat, we can’t help but feel charmed by his relationship with Julie Gonzalo’s Pamela, whose smoldering gaze makes her the ideal match for the oh-so-suave Henderson. Let’s acknowledge something else too: As much as we despise Emma, there’s no denying that Emma Bell is terrific in this role. Not since Mary Crosby’s Kristin have “Dallas” viewers had a vixen who’s so much fun to hate.

During last year’s execution of the Ewings’ “master plan” against Cliff, almost all of the characters got in touch with their inner J.R., but Season 3 finds the good guys returning to familiar terrain. Patrick Duffy’s Bobby slides back into his role as the heroic guardian of Southfork traditions, while Jesse Metcalfe’s Christopher gets a refreshingly angst-free romance with Heather, a new ranch hand. This role is played with equal parts spunk and sex appeal by AnnaLynne McCord, who was the best part of the CW’s “90210” and makes a welcome addition to “Dallas,” a far better revival.

(Oh, and even though “The Return” begins 12 hours after Season 2 ended, Christopher now sports a face full of scruff. How did he grow a thick beard in a half-day? It’s probably better not to ask. Let’s consider it this era’s version of Sue Ellen’s hair, which magically shortened itself between seasons in the early 1980s, even though mere minutes had passed on screen.)

“The Return” also recasts Elena, once this show’s romantic heroine, into a shrewd schemer out for revenge — or as she calls it, “justice” — after Cliff revealed J.R. once stole oil-rich land from her father, just like Jock supposedly cheated Digger out of half the Ewing fortune. This might seem like a thin premise to extend the Barnes/Ewing feud, but it gives the underappreciated Jordana Brewster something to do besides moon over Henderson and Metcalfe’s characters. Cliff and Elena’s unlikely alliance also includes Nicolas Treviño, a dashing young billionaire played by Juan Pablo Di Pace, another strong addition to this ensemble.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: What about Sue Ellen? It’s no secret Linda Gray’s character is once again headed for rock bottom this season, although she goes nowhere near a drop of booze in “The Return.” Some fans hate to see Sue Ellen drinking again; I’m not wild about the idea either, but I have no doubt Gray will deliver another knockout performance, just like she did last year. She’s Hagman’s truest heir in a lot of ways, including this one: Like him, Gray can say more with an arched eyebrow or a wry smile than most actors can with a script full of dialogue. She exudes Old Hollywood star power, and whether Sue Ellen is drunk or sober, Gray always delivers riveting television.

“Dallas” fans also want to know about a couple of other favorites, including Brenda Strong’s Ann and her dastardly ex-husband Harris, played to menacing perfection by Mitch Pileggi. Regarding them, I’ll only say this: Just because you haven’t read much about their characters in “Dallas’s” pre-premiere publicity doesn’t mean they have nothing to do in the first two episodes. I also don’t want to give anything away about Judith Light’s character Judith Ryland, except to say her return in the season’s second hour, “Trust Me,” is a hoot.

That episode, written by Bruce Rasmussen and directed by Millicent Shelton, features a Ewing family gathering that showcases the brilliance of costume designer Rachel Sage Kunin, who never fails to impress, and hairdresser Charles Yusko, whose contributions to the success of this series shouldn’t be overlooked. You’ll also want to watch “Trust Me” to see the long-awaited reunion between two characters who had a charming scene last year, along with one of the most audacious moments I’ve ever seen on “Dallas” — or any other show, for that matter.

Most importantly, the episode ends with a shock that rocks two characters and will make you reconsider everything you think you know about a third. It’s a twist you’ll never see coming — and another reason this show remains so much fun, even without the man who got the party started.

“Dallas’s” third season begins Monday, February 24, at 9 p.m. Eastern on TNT. Are you excited? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Moving on

Here are the questions we’re pondering as we await tonight’s telecast of “The Return,” TNT’s third-season “Dallas” premiere:

• What’s John Ross up to? “Legacies,” the second-season finale, ended with John Ross (Josh Henderson) on top of the world: After marrying Pamela (Julie Gonzalo), he helped his family defeat Cliff (Ken Kercheval) and take over his company, Barnes Global. In the final scene, John Ross went to a posh hotel room, where Emma (Emma Bell) was waiting for him with an accordion folder full of documents. John Ross told Emma he was willing to “pay the price” for the folder as they began to undress each other. What’s John Ross after — and why is he willing to cheat on Pamela to get it?

• Will Elena accept Cliff’s offer? Also in the season finale, Cliff summoned Elena (Jordana Brewster) to Mexico, where he was jailed after the police arrested him for J.R.’s murder. Cliff showed Elena documents that suggested J.R. stole oil-rich land from her late father and invited her to become his proxy for the one-third of Barnes Global he still owns. Elena, who was nursing a broken heart after Christopher (Jesse Metcalfe) discovered she covered up Drew’s role in the Ewing Energies rig explosion and dumped her, seemed tempted by Cliff’s offer. Will she accept?

• Did Bobby tie up all the loose ends in J.R.’s “masterpiece”? When evidence emerged that Cliff killed J.R. (Larry Hagman), Pamela helped the Ewings plant evidence on her father to make sure he wouldn’t get away with murder. Later, Bobby (Patrick Duffy) revealed the truth to John Ross and Christopher: J.R. was dying of cancer and arranged for Bum (Kevin Page) to shoot him so Cliff could be framed, thus bringing an end to the Barnes-Ewing feud. How flawless is J.R.’s masterpiece?

• How’s Sue Ellen coping? It’s no secret Sue Ellen (Linda Gray) will still be drinking when Season 3 begins. Will her problem get worse before it gets better?

• What will happen to Harris? Before Emma swiped the accordion folder and shared it with John Ross, she blew the whistle on her father, who was arrested for drug trafficking. How is Harris (Mitch Pileggi) getting along in jail? What will happen to his drug trafficking operation without him? And while we’re on the subject of the Rylands, whatever became of Judith (Judith Light), whom Harris sent to “rehab” after she threatened to take control of their family’s company, Ryland Transport, before tumbling down the stairs?

• Who is Joaquin? After the Ewings discovered Cliff and Harris blackmailed Drew (Kuno Becker) into blowing up the rig, he went on the run. Elena eventually caught up with her brother and gave him money and a cell phone, telling him to “call Joaquin” as soon as he got to Mexico. The last time we saw Drew, he was speeding away on his motorcycle. Later, after Cliff’s conversation with Elena, she took off too and wound up at a Mexican compound, where she told the guards she was there to see Joaquin. Who is this mystery man — and what’s his connection to the Ramoses?

• Who are the newcomers? “The Return” will introduce two new characters: Nicolas Treviño (Juan Pablo Di Pace), a suave billionaire who’ll spar with the Ewings, and Heather (AnnaLynne McCord), a ranch hand at Southfork. How will they figure into this season’s storylines?

• How’s life at Southfork? After J.R.’s death, John Ross inherited half of Southfork and moved in, putting him and Pamela under the same roof as Bobby, Ann (Brenda Strong) and Christopher. How’s the brood getting along? And how long until someone gets pushed into the swimming pool?

What “Dallas Burning Questions” are on your mind? Share your thoughts in the comments section below and watch “Dallas” tonight at 9 on TNT.

Welcome to the club, honey

Say what you will about Cliff Barnes (Ken Kercheval), but the man knows how to get women to spy on the Ewings for him. In “The Return,” TNT’s third-season “Dallas” opener, Elena Ramos (Jordana Brewster) becomes the latest gal to go undercover on Cliff’s behalf. Here’s a look at five others.

His kind of traitor

5. Julie Grey. When J.R. began taking his secretary/mistress Julie (Tina Louise) for granted, she got even by sneaking Cliff documents that proved the Ewings had bribed a state senator. Cliff exposed the Ewings and Julie left town, but she came back and pretty much did the same thing all over again — feeding J.R.’s secrets to Cliff. This time around, Julie wound up dead and Cliff wound up in jail, framed for her murder — courtesy of J.R., natch.

Reflections of a rat

4. Sly Lovegren. In an attempt to beat the Ewings at their own game, Cliff blackmailed Sly (Deborah Rennard), J.R.’s loyal secretary, into leaking him Ewing Oil secrets by threatening to have her brother’s parole denied if she didn’t cooperate. Sly reluctantly went along with the scheme — until J.R. caught wind and turned Sly into a double agent, using her to feed Cliff bad information that brought his company to the brink of disaster.

The shadow knows

3. Mandy Winger. Here we go again. When J.R.’s mistress Mandy (Deborah Shelton) suspected he was cheating on her — how could he! — she tried to get revenge by getting him to divulge Ewing Oil secrets, which she gave to Cliff. J.R. was wise to Mandy’s game, though, and turned the tables on her and Cliff. But poor J.R.: He seemed genuinely hurt by Mandy’s betrayal — which should’ve been our first clue this was all a dream.

Double spy

2. Pam Ewing. By the time Pam (Victoria Principal) remarried Bobby, she had become Cliff’s business partner. This put her in competition with J.R. and Bobby and made her life hell. Cliff didn’t help matters when he asked Pam to divulge which companies the Ewings wanted to acquire — and she did! J.R. would’ve been mad, except he used Pam to find out which companies Cliff wanted. Who knew she could be so valuable?

Daddy’s girl

1. Pamela Barnes. To destroy the Ewings once and for all, Cliff sent his daughter Pamela (Julie Gonzalo) to infiltrate the family by posing as “Rebecca Sutter.” She married Christopher — her own cousin! — and dutifully did Daddy’s bidding, eventually helping him gain control of Ewing Energies. And how did he repay her? By blowing up the Ewing Energies rig, causing her to lose her unborn babies. We can’t help but wonder: Elena, are you sure you want to do business with this guy?

What’s your favorite “Dallas” spy story? Share your thoughts in the comments section below and read more Dal-Lists.