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Episode 30: Whatever Happened to Baby John, Part 1
Bonehead dialogue of the day: [courtesy of Alett]
> Cliff three times and Bobby once: "Both of them - Sue Ellen and the baby." ( OK once for emphasis, but FOUR times!)
Pam Award: Pam's bouncy low-cut dress was DA BOMB.
Angelica Award: Ellie's theater usher outfit at the hospital.
Bobby Award: Cliff arguing with Bobby in front of the hospital. Use a comb, Cliff.
April Award: Nothing too bad.
Sue Ellen denial meter: 3. Denies she had a drinking problem; tells Bobby she doesn't know what he's talking about when he mentions her affair with Cliff; and tells Bobby she doesn't know what he means when Bobby accuses her of turtling.
- I'm sure I'm not the only one bothered by Sue Ellen's miraculous recovery. Surely the writers could have milked this angle for something more.
- Pam's hair is significantly longer than in the previous episode. Not impossible, but it certainly doesn't look like it could happen in a week or less.
- Why exactly does JR drive through the pastures before coming to the ranch house? Was it really this important for Bobby, Ray, and Jock to be able to wave to Sue Ellen? Or for Bobby to see how disturbed she is?
- It's tough for me to be hard on Connie because she looked awfully good today. But both she and Louella need to know their roles. There is no need to tell two ex-convicts all about what's happening to the Ewing family, especially the day they've been paroled. Do they not know these guys are nogoodnicks?
- And speaking of which, some hospital nurse needs to know her role too. There is no reason to tell "a friend" [as Cliff claims to be] the condition of the Ewing baby. For all they know, he's a reporter or a psychopath.
- Coincidentally, there's a Dr. Rogers in the neonate unit at Dallas Memorial, just as there was in the sanitarium. Couldn't the writers have come up with a different name?
- I don't know who that is dusting the livingroom and using that fake Mexican accent, but it ain't Theresa. Who has Raoul scammed into the country this week?
- JR calls Ellie "mother" towards the end of the episode.
- Does anyone else understand how JR convinces Sue Ellen to 'behave' like a Ewing wife? I've played their conversation back on my TV and in my mind over and over again and I just don't understand what he says or does to change her mind.
- When JR and Sue Ellen come to the hospital, all of the people thronged there conveniently leave the nearest parking spot available for them.
- ggeneric@aol.com submitted: Today they had Ray say "Here comes Ewing 3." [when JR and Sue Ellen drove up to the ranch]. Now any normal person would have said "Here comes JR & Sue Ellen." Now if it was one of the ranch trucks and they didn't have a clue who was driving the comment might be made to describe the vehicle instead of the driver, but not JR's Mercedes. That would be like my kids saying "Here comes the Buick" when their dad drives up instead of saying "Dad's home!" Absolutely right! I found this odd too, but then again, Ray said it, so you could spin it either way.
From Ewing99:
- I believe again, the arrangement on the ranch has changed. Probably because of John
Ross, they had a new room for him. But, the writings on his wall: "hophop",
"lion"- really printings? Bobby looked very silly, when he looked into this
room. Seemed that though he listened very loud to the melodies of the toys, he thought Sue
Ellen was not there until he saw her.
- Then on the day when John Ross was kidnapped, JR came to an very early morning to the
ranch. Probably he had worked only one hour, but I think I had recognized something around
9 or 10 AM. the later in the hospital it was 9:30. Nevertheless, everything seemed to
happen in only one hour.
AHN Val's corner:
- When Sue Ellen and JR come home from the hospital, it is way evident that she lost
all her baby weight all too quickly. Ok, so maybe she has a quick metabolism. Some women
lose weight quicker than others. I can live with that. But I am most bothered by her chest
size. She is WAY TOO SMALL for someone who just had a baby. About two days after a baby's
birth, the mother's milk comes in, causing her breasts to become engorged, overfilled,
rock-hard, and VERY painful. The producers should be giving us ladies a little more credit
here. They should have had the costumers put Linda Gray in a loose-fitting blouse with a
padded bra (D-cup, minimum). Sue Ellen should be so huge that she'd be making Pammy look
like a 12-year old boy.
AHN Jason's corner:
- BBG's new credits finally have a 3 face shot. Much better. Ken Kercheval has
finally gotten into the credits. Good, he did much more last season that Ray. Yup. And he will this season too.
- So how did Willie Joe get that new blonde perm in jail? Trading favors with Biff
or Tyrone in the courtyard?
- Sue Ellen has no purse when she goes with JR to the hospital to see the baby.
AHN Alett's corner:
- I just found it odd that JR is wearing his sunglasses in the hospital. So did Jason.
- That screw worm "epidemic" seemed a little superfluous. I know it
would have been over-kill ( no pun intended), but I was hoping for a "Hud" scene
where they have to herd all the cattle into a ditch and shoot them. This is so lame, especially since this storyline goes NOWHERE.
AHN Mike's corner:
- Bobby worked up a Clayton-type sweat in the front of his shirt for that cattleherding
scene. I'm sure this scene must have set the all-time TV record for using the word
"screw-worm".
- JR has a nasty habit of fixing a drink for people (in this case, his mother) by taking
the ice in his grubby hands and putting it in the glass, instead of using a utensil.
- Aw isn't that cute! Lucy has a little portable trainer bar at the pool where she can
serve soda to herself and friends. I'm sure you're
finding it tough to refrain from making more snide comments here.
- All right, the debut of Harve Smithfield. But JR, if he's been the Ewing Oil attorney
from the very beginning, how come we haven't seen or heard about him for a whole year? Jock mentioned him in Episode 21 - he said he was going
to see him. But we didn't see him.
- Larry Hagman appears to have added a new rug and several extra pounds. I believe this is
now the classic JR rug style that he wears for many succeeding seasons. Ken Kercheval
stopped dying his hair for season two.
- Why do JR and Jock sit four seats apart at the breakfast table when nobody else is
there?
- Is it me or does the road in front of Southfork seem much, much closer to the house when
someone is seen driving up to the house and driveway than it does when you see someone
leaving the driveway and turning onto the road. The difference in distance seems
four to five
times as far in the latter scenes. I've noticed
this too. It's bothered me for a while.
- And if the Ewings are so rich, why does Miss Ellie have to go downstairs to the foyer to
answer the phone? You mean there's no phones upstairs at all? Excellent call.
AHN Pam's corner:
- Empty Purse Meter 3: Pam and Lucy both had one when they arrived home from the
hospital. Sue Ellen carried one when she and J.R. arrived home from the hospital early in
the episode. Then she carried the same purse when she got out of the car at the
hospital near the end. But when she entered the hospital her purse was nowhere to be
found!
- Cliff got a Ewing parking place right outside of the government building he works in.
- Sue Ellen didn't have on her wedding ring when she was looking at the babies in the
first scene. This is understandable, she shouldn't have her diamond ring with her at
the hospital. But she's wearing it when she and and J.R. arrive at Southfork.
That's even more stupid. Unless J.R. brought it to her for appearance sake, she should
really have that rock on her all the time during her hospital stay.
- When Pam asked the nurse if she could give John Ross his bottle, she took her hand. That
was bizarre!
- I realize Cliff's whole reason for living at this point is to 'get the Ewings'.
But he is in public office. I would think he would be smart enough to realize that pouring
all of his time and energy in to going after the Ewings would become quite obvious to the
powers that be. He could at least work on a few other things to make it appear less
obvious. Apparently he has been up to this point.
- J.R. must have bought Sue Ellen some new luggage between the time of her
sanitarium visit and the time she left the hospital. When she left for the
sanitarium, she had a gray patterned cloth suitcase. When she arrived home from the
hospital J.R. carried a camel colored leather suitcase.
- When Sue Ellen was going to 'go up to change to go in to Dallas' she left nearly a full
plate of food. That's fairly typical, isn't it?
- A rare sight! Raoul was serving J.R. coffee and we saw Theresa, I guess, in the
background DUSTING!! That was NOT Theresa. No way.
This woman had long hair and she actually had body curves. Maybe they call her Theresa
because they have to, but this is some woman named Manuela that Raoul snuck across the
border this week.
- J.R. called Jock 'Dad' at the breakfast table.
- OK, this is pathetic! Sue Ellen is sunbathing, not a problem. The main
objective when sunbathing is to get a tan. So, why is Sue Ellen wearing panty hose
with her swimsuit? Someone else pointed this out.
My guess: Linda knows she has to go upstairs and get dressed so she got a head start. Or
perhaps she forgot to shave her legs.
- There isn't ONE hospital staff member waiting somewhere near the front entrance or
outside for J.R. and Sue Ellen to arrive, they're all hanging out at the nurse's station.
It's horrible that they would have to hear this kind of news from a reporter.
Episode 31: Whatever Happened to Baby John, Part 2
Bonehead dialogue of the day: [courtesy of Alett]
> JR: "She's JUST been in a terrible automobile accident. SEVERAL weeks ago."
Honorable mention: [courtesy of Bill Withrow]
> Pam to Bobby after hearing the radio bulletin about the kidnapping: "Is it true?"
Pam Award: SURPRISE! I'd have to say Pam looked kinda ordinary today. My vote goes to Lucy in that hot little black tube top and skirt.
Angelica Award: Mrs. Reeves's karate suit. JR for wearing a dark brown cowboy hat with a light blue suit, as Mike suggests, also bears mentioning.
Bobby Award: Mrs. Reeves again. Willie Joe's hair isn't too hot either.
April Award: Jeb for taking his hands off the briefcase full of money to go and get a drink.
- When the Ewings are watching the TV newscast about John Ross's kidnapping, the screen we see is obviously not what the cast is seeing, or else the image would be wavy and out of sync.
- Something Mr. Angelino...I mean Detective Roland says bothered me. He tells the family that a professional kidnapper would know that the Southfork phone is being tapped. Um, so why are you tapping the phone? Clearly he must figure that it's NOT a professional kidnapper, but this just seems like a really odd thing to say.
- I know I keep harping on this but it bugs the hell out of me! It's the parking thing again. Bobby goes to Cliff's office - a government office - and parks right in front of the main entrance. No other cars are along the street. Yeah, right.
- When Bobby leaves Cliff's office, he talks to himself and is badly dubbed. Then he pulls THE MOST illegal U-turn I've ever seen in my life.
- And the parking fairy follows Bobby all the way to the hospital, where he gets the nearest parking spot to the door. Cliff has to settle for the THIRD nearest spot. Poor Cliff.
- For the doctors at Dallas Memorial to allow Bobby [or anyone, for that matter] access to medical records without a search warrant is so egregious that I will refrain from further comment.
- And then when JR returns to Ewing Oil after getting the cash from Vaughn, he also parks in the cushy spot in front of the revolving doors.
- But now, wait a minute....where is JR going? He's walking into a building that says 'First International Building'...so does this mean Ewing Oil is NOT in the Ewing building? Yet?
- When Jeb Ames open the cash-laden briefcase, there are some pens in the holders...why? Is this just an extra gift from JR?
- Hey, Bobby, be nice. Priscilla agreed to return John Ross without a fuss. You could at least let her LOCK her own door as you leave her house.
AHN Jason's corner:
- Ray seems to have dyed his hair. It looks a lot darker. Well, I guess he
needs something to do aside from collecting Lucy Awards.
- Lucy seems to park right in front of her school in what looks to be the no parking zone.
- Does Sue Ellen ever sleep in night clothes? She seems to always pass out in bed in her
street clothes. Occasionally we see her in
lingerie. Not recently.
- There is a sharp continuity error when Pam stops walking when the baby bulletin is heard
on the radio. Her head is faced in a different direction.
AHN Alett's corner:
- Anyone else think Nurse Reeves was once an East German shot-putter or Larry
"Bud" Melman's sister? Yes! [In real
life, she's Jocelyn Brando - sister of Marlon].
- Interesting that Bobby's detective gene has been absorbed into Pam. She stands by and looks pretty most of the time. Today she actually
did most of the work!
- A minor hair problem - Lucy's locks are fairly straight at school, but when she arrives
back at Southfork, they're pretty curly.
- We don't know for sure when Mrs. Duncan's baby died, but shouldn't Pam have realized
something before the baby cries? Mrs. Duncan was at the hospital that morning and
tells Pam, "I was just visiting him," so shouldn't that be the tip-off? She
would have been visiting a dead baby. Perhaps they
didn't look closely enough at the records. It's possible he also died that morning. Bear
in mind that Pam may not have been at the hospital that morning [since she expected that
John Ross would be home that day] so she has no way of disproving whether or not she was
there.
AHN Mike's corner:
- I question the wisdom of giving an alcoholic drugs to calm her down. Shouldn't that
doctor have known better, having treated her in the hospital just days before? Or if he
didn't treat her, shouldn't he at least have checked her charts? He absolutely knows she
just recently had a premature baby. Well, it's been
about a week or so. There are certain tranquilizers which are safe for alcoholics to use
because they aren't "downers".
- The mystery of the driveway solved: the long driveway we see from the SF gate is the
road from the public road in front of SF to the house. To actually get to the driveway to
the house, you have to turn right off this road. That's a much shorter distance. It still doesn't seem quite right to me. Because I'm sure
quite a few times we see people start their cars, drive a very tiny distance and end up on
the road.
- What's up with those life-sized dog statues in the Ewing living room? In 13 seasons of
Dallas nobody in that family showed the slightest interest in dogs. They never even bought
one for the kids.
- How is Pam so firmly convinced that Cliff is telling the truth about not taking John
Ross? All she has is his word that he was in Austin and he's backstabbed and lied to her
in the past. Good old trusting Pam. Right you are.
AHN Sara's corner:
- I guess Jimmy didn't follow Lucy home after all. He
probably did but didn't feel the need to go to the ranch house itself. That would have
meant payday.
- Pam "had appointments" this afternoon...why don't I think that they're
work-related? Probably because they're not. Good
point.
- Bad dubbing when JR took Sue Ellen into the house
- Lucy had a "cheerleading seminar?" I thought they were called
practices... Maybe it's one of those theory
sessions. You know: "Pom-poms vs. tassels...the ongoing debate."
- Pam's "never seen Bobby this angry!" Gosh, I've seen him this angry in
just about every episode.
- I find it hard to believe that someone so obsessed with having a baby that she kidnapped
one would be sitting around reading a magazine instead of doting on it. She must
have read the Sue Ellen book of parenting. Now THAT
is an outstanding point. Unless perhaps the baby was sleeping...but even still, you're
right. Priscilla should be watching it like a hawk.
- And Priscilla didn't even cut the hospital bracelet that says John Ross's name on it off
the baby! Convenient. I'm not positive what to make
of that.
AHN Pam's corner:
- Empty Purse Meter: 1, Pam carried it the entire episode with her red dress.
- When Ellie is standing over the crib early in the episode, the bumpers in the crib are
solid green with tiny white polka dots. Later, when Sue Ellen entered the nursery,
the bumpers mysteriously changed to a plaid pattern. Maybe
there's more than one set of bumpers. These ARE the Ewings.
- The Dallas press must have very little else to talk about in the news. John Ross's
kidnapping seems to be the TOP story. Seems to be
the only story. I can see it now: "Jack? It's Bill. Look, we've got to delay this
huge merger that will affect the global economy for years to come...the Ewing baby has
been kidnapped!"
- I don't understand why Pam didn't take her own car when she Bobby and Cliff went to the
hospital. Eventually she'll have to drive back to Cliff's to pick it up. We didn't actually SEE her drive over there...that's a
tough call.
- The establishing shot of the outside of Cliff's apartment building is definitely that of
Julie Grey's from last season.
- Cliff said he was glad to see Pam and didn't care how she got in he was glad to see her.
I'd be pretty pissed off it I knew that my apartment manager could be bought off.
You never know WHO he'll let in for the right price. I'd get this guy FIRED,
I'm assuming he doesn't own the building. If so, I demand to break my lease! Under the circumstances, I suppose he'd let it slide. It
was either that or he gets his face smushed by Bobby.
Bonehead dialogue of the day: [courtesy of Sara]
> Cliff: "There was a girl between Pam and I. She
died right before she was a year old."
> Then later: "He could die within six months like my brother and sister?"
Not only was there incorrect grammar with the "between Pam and I" but Cliff was also unable to figure out how many months are in a year.
Pam Award: Because Pam is determined to be so annoying, she's precluded from winning this award by default. Kristin and her red dress win today. [But that brown dress was tough to ignore...]
Angelica Award: Jock's powder blue suit resurfaces. Sue Ellen's modified cowboy hat at the airport was bad too.
Bobby Award: Mrs. Reeves again, for lack of a better.
April Award: JR for leaving his bedroom door open while arguing with Sue Ellen. Pam telling Cliff where Sue Ellen was having lunch deserves mention.
- Nice plastic surgery jobs for Kristin and Digger. I'm really glad Kristin got the tooth gap filled.
- Jock talks about Kristin going into Engineering...wait a minute, wasn't it architecture she was interested in?
- Today Digger refers to the building in which Ewing Oil is presumably housed as "The Ewing Building". Just yesterday it was the First International Building. Was Jock so happy to have his grandson back that he decided to buy the place?
- Digger calls his son "Clifford". That's rare. As a side note, at least there's an explanation of how and why Cliff got a new apartment.
- When Pam's on the phone with Cliff, she's blatantly dubbed. Val points out that this is probably because she left John Ross in the car while calling him. Another page from the Sue Ellen school of parenting.
- Pam and Sue Ellen both carried empty purses today.
- When Cliff and Digger are about to help themselves to some pork fried rice, it's clear that some of their conversation was cut.
- Where is Mrs. Reeves at the end of this episode when John Ross is crying?
AHN Alett's corner:
- Cliff should have said, "Gee, Dad, you're so much taller and hairier than the last
time I saw you."
- Is Sue Ellen and JR's bedroom really right off the staircase? In later episodes,
it's way down the hall, so could Kristin really hear them from the bottom of the stairs? Well, they ARE practically yelling. What amazes me is
that Mrs. Reeves doesn't hear them.
- It bugs me how many times Pam beats around the bush when she has something important to
tell Bobby. Inevitably he becomes frustrated, so she's always accusing him of being
insensitive. Come on. She creates the situation every time. Absolutely, 100%, undeniably, unqualifiably, without a shadow of a
doubt, indubitably correct. Did I mention you were right?
- Also in Bobby and Pam's little fight, Bobby is wearing as much under-eye liner as she
is.
- So now TNN is even editing out opening scenes the give the writer and director's names. Yeah, I noticed that too! When I rewound my tape, I
wasn't sure where to stop.
AHN Jason's corner:
- Someone mentioned that Cliff was in THE apartment. I am not sure what this means
but this is NOT the one he had until the end of the show. The kitchen is in a totally
different part of the building. No, it's not the
one he had at the end of the series, but it's the one he's in until he finds his momma and
becomes successful.
- How old is John Ross? I thought he was 2 months premature. If so, would it be
normal to bring him home? I would have thought he would need to be in an incubator
or something. Not all premature babies need
incubators, and the length of time varies. The deciding factor is when the baby is
capable of breathing sufficiently on its own.
- The doctor tells Pam and Cliff that the neurological disease is an "inherited
genetic" disorder. Is that being redundant? (Not my specialty.) That's a good question. Depends on how you look at
really...I would say that in the strictest sense, this is actually NOT totally redundant.
A genetic disease is definitely inherited, but an inherited disease is not necessarily
genetic. A fetus can inherit HIV or malaria from its mother - that's not genetic.
- This is a hard one to nit per se. Cliff and Pam reveal that they had a brother and
sister. They reveal the brother's name was Tyler. I am sure that Newman had on
his site that the sister's name was Catherine. (Not Wentworth). Do you know when
they reveal this? As far as I remember, the
sister's name is never revealed [or I would have made it a trivia question]. In fact,
neither dead sibling is mentioned again.
- Both Lucy and Kristin talk about college like it is their first year, but isn't Kristin
like 21 now? She was 23 in 1981. She is about 2 years older than Lucy. Kristin may have taken some time off to go to a finishing
school or something like that.
AHN Sara's corner:
- Pam says that her job is just as as important to her now as it was before. My
question is, when was that job ever important to Pam? Well,
the job is important to her when she's not doing it. When she's at home, for instance, or
talking to Bobby, it's very important. When she's DOING it or is supposed to be doing it,
that's a different story.
- Pam did not support the baby's head when she picked it up in the beginning of the
episode. Someone must have said something to her about though because she held it
correctly at the end.
- Kristin said "gay" today. I guess that somewhere between season 1 and
season 2 that term became acceptable. I guess so.
Interesting.
AHN Mike's corner:
- Talk about irony: for the first time in his life, Digger is falling down SOBER!
- Mixed metaphor award: Cliff to Digger - "I've got Ewing Oil in a box and I'm
squeezing hard." I guess that would mean it's a squeezebox.
- Not only is this Teresa at breakfast an imposter, but she is clearly not the curvy woman
with the waist-length hair we saw from behind yesterday. Raoul must be running female
wetbacks across the border one per day, calling them all "Teresa" and keeping
them as concubines in the servants quarters at SF. That's
my theory. Wait till the INS hears about this!
- Part of Alan Beam's burger dressing falls in his lap as JR approaches him.
- Cliff seems to be back to dying his hair and has it swept straight back for most of the
show, which makes him look older.
AHN Pam's corner:
- It was mentioned that Sue Ellen and Pam both carried empty purses in this episode.
It was not mentioned that at one point Pam and Sue Ellen carried the SAME empty
purse. Sue Ellen carried the bone colored purse with her peach dress when she went
to The Gardens. Then Pam carried the SAME bone colored purse with her brown sun
dress.
- Ellie was really lacking in the hospitality skills today. Patricia and Kristin
were staying at a hotel? Why not at Southfork? We know from Kristin's and Guzzler's
visits last season that SF has at least two extra bedrooms. So this made no sense.
This would be unheard of in the later seasons when EVERYONE stayed at Southfork, no
questions asked. I'm trying to remember whether a
good reason for this develops...none comes to mind. I'm also trying to think of a real
world explanation, and coming up blank.
- Patricia was also extremely rude. The Ewings had tickets to the theater and she
was supposed to attend and she chose to go out on a 'date' with some old friend?
Maybe they have a box and don't have to pay for their tickets, but nevertheless, she
should've scheduled her 'date' for the following evening. I guess they didn't want
to pay the actress for more than two scenes. And we
are ALL glad.
- WOW! Those Ewings sure know how to make a statement, arriving at the theater in a
STATION WAGON! Don't they OWN a limo? If not, certainly they could afford to RENT
one if they all wanted to ride together so badly. Except for J.R., Sue Ellen and Kristin
that is, they read the script and took J.R.'s Mercedes. Convenient, don't you think? I wondered about this too...why would they have taken the
wagon? But then I realized that certainly all five people couldn't fit in Bobby's car, or
in Pam's car. But come to think of it, where's Jock's Lincoln? That's a sweet car to
cruise around in.
- Sue Ellen did it again. She walked out of the bathroom with a towel around her and
pulled a nightgown out of the drawer to get ready to go to bed, but she still had her
panty hose on! I'm sure they'd feel great to sleep in, not to mention if she'd taken
a shower.
- In episode 28 J.R. told Sue Ellen that he had checked their bedroom thoroughly and had
ALL of the alcohol removed. I guess whoever removed it wasn't very thorough after
all. Sue Ellen took one from a shoe box in the closet immediately following that
speech and then today she found one in her lingerie drawer. Maybe next time J.R.
needs to enlist the assistance of super-sleuth Bobby or super-sleuth Ellie do his
detective work.
- Here's a great little nit. When J.R., Sue Ellen and Kristin arrived back at
Southfork before the rest of the family, the corner of the back end of a station wagon was
visible next to the Mercedes. Sue Ellen's car I assume. Then, two scenes later, the
family arrived home in the SAME station wagon! There was no SF on the door, so again
I would assume it's Sue Ellen's so why was it parked at home if the family wasn't home
yet? Also, there was no other station wagon parked in the driveway. Then, Bobby parked the
wagon in the same spot as J.R. parked the Mercedes. That's OK, J.R. and Kristin took his
car for a 'drive'. BUT, Bobby's red Mercedes was parked in the same spot as the
station wagon was when J.R., Sue Ellen and Kristin came home! The latter was shot
using the reverse angle, but it's EXACTLY the same area of the driveway and parking
spaces. I watched these two scenes SEVERAL times to make sure. It was BIZARRE!
- Digger was wearing a wedding ring. It was very noticeable when he was lying in
bed in Cliff's apartment.
- Real World Reference: Lucy mentioned she would've preferred and Elton John concert
over her evening at the theater.
Bonehead dialogue of the day: [courtesy of Alett]
> Pam: "If I don't display any of the
symptoms, how can I pass the disease on to my child?"
She should get a dictionary and look up the term GENETICS!
Pam Award: Pam by default. Dang...I
really didn't want it to happen this way. I almost felt like nominating Val, who looked
decent in that white dress.
Angelica Award: Bobby's plaid sports coat with the suede elbow patches. Nominated by Pam.
Bobby Award: Mrs. Reeves again, for lack of a better. Lucy's braids were unflattering.
April Award: My vote would have to go to Bobby for being way too patient with his wife.
- Not a nit, just a thought that I needed to get out: Pam asks Dr. Holliston whether he'd "like" to give her an examination. Who wouldn't like to examine Pam?
- Lucy gets a really nice parking spot at SMU. So does Val, but at least she stayed with her car.
- Everybody pointed out that Lucy had found out from her mother that she didn't take JR's money in Episode 7, so it doesn't make sense for her to accuse Val of this. We could chalk this up to the producers rewriting history in order to avoid a short show - but I think I have a better explanation. I think Lucy's just laying a guilt trip on her mother. I do it all the time. Now that she sees Valene face to face, all of the hurt and suffering she feels is coming to the surface. The main issue is the fact that Val left her without any explanation or even a goodbye; in order to make Val feel sorry about doing that, Lucy's adding to her list of imagined crimes. It's an outstanding tactic to use when someone really has done you wrong - I know from experience with my parents this past weekend.
- When Lucy opened her trunk, she made a motion like she's turning a key in the lock but her hands appear to be totally empty and she finds the keyhole in a split second. That's some lock!
- When Valene calls Ewing Oil, Louella tells Bobby that she's on Line 3....why? Who's on Line 1 or Line 2?
- Here's a good one. Valene has a picture of Lucy on the table next to her hotel bed. That's fine...but WHERE DID SHE GET IT? Did Lucy mail it to her during their correspondence? That's kind of an odd thing to do.
- Louella is wearing the same ugly purple dress she wore in Episode 30.
- Pam drove around all day instead of going to work. Career's important...yup. Sure. By the way, I'm saving my monstrous rant about Pam's horrendous mistreatment of her husband for the "I think" this week.
- I was seriously debating whether or not to call
this a nit, but Todd Saveland pointed it out too and I thought I should mention it. It is
awfully convenient for the writers to have JR appear at Lucy's cheerleading practice so he
can see Valene in Bobby's car and learn that she is in Dallas, Todd points out. I agree.
But it's not egregiously convenient, like the slip-up in Episode 28 where Ray
pretends he doesn't have a phone. That was ridiculous.
Here we have a situation where it seems very contrived; after all, JR doesn't really care
much for Lucy unless Jock and Ellie are around, so it's unlikely he would take the time
and watch one of her cheerleading practices. Todd pointed out that he definitely has an
eye for pretty girls, which does make sense, I guess. I think we should give the writers
the benefit of the doubt here and say that JR might have been meeting with a school
official or something like that.
- When Lucy and Val reconcile, she apologizes for all the things she said "that" morning. Zuh? Wouldn't that be YESTERDAY morning? This morning you had a cheerleading practice, Lucy dear.
AHN Jason's corner:
- Jock makes a comment about the stores not being open until 10 AM at the beginning of the
episode. Was this normal for 1979? I assume it was a weekday since Lucy was at
college.
- Pam and Lucy carry empty purses.
- During Lucy's first fight with Valene, they suddenly seem to get physically very close
to each other. I guess this is so Lucy can slap her hand away and run off.
- Just a note. There is a dog seen at Southfork when Lucy and Bobby talk near the
end of the episode. Looks like a pet rather than some sort of sheep herding dog. That was really odd. Since when are there pets at
Southfork? Julie noticed this too.
AHN Pam's corner:
- Val watched Pam pull out of the driveway under a clear blue sky. Then she watched
Lucy pull out of the driveway and the sky was completely overcast. Either Val waited
an awfully long time for Lucy to leave or there were some very strange weather patterns in
Texas.
- Lucy looked like she almost tripped on the curb when she ran away from Val. I
think it would've been great to see her fall flat on her face. I bet she did once and then they re-did the take.
- Here's some rarities. When J.R. met with Jock and Alan in his office he was eating a
sandwich on regular bread, not a kaiser roll or anything, but on regular white bread.
Also, J.R. had coffee in his coffee cup. Finally, Pam had a pocket phone book in
her purse.
- Bobby said that the only people he could ever talk to were Ellie and Gary. Didn't
he say something similar to this to Guzzler? Only Guzzler was the only person he
could talk to AFTER Gary left! Guzzler who? [Just
kidding. Clearly we're supposed to forget the first season ever happened.]
- At the end of Ellie and Bobby's talk Ellie told him to 'scoot', that was just strange.
Then she told him she had 'things' to do. Like what? Go shopping for a
new sack dress? Oh, let's see...gardening, playing
the piano, bossing Teresa around. And then AFTER lunch...
- Louella sure doesn't have much to do and apparently her bosses aren't too concerned
about it. She had travel brochures, magazines etc. spread across her desk during business
hours planning her wedding and honeymoon. Otherwise
she'd die of boredom. What DOES a Ewing Oil secretary do at this point? Especially one as
frumpy as Louella?
- Bobby used some incorrect grammar during his discussion with Ellie. He said
"That don't make it any easier."
- Bobby mentioned that it was 6:00 when Lucy was trying to sneak out of the house early in
the morning. The sun was much too high for 6:00 in the morning, even during the
summer. It looked like it was at least 9:00, maybe even 10:00 in the morning.
AHN Alett's corner:
- That "Jaws" music playing while Valene is parked outside Southfork is rather
weird. It makes her seem like a stalker.
- Alan Beam is just chewing on that goofy pipe. He might as well start wearing bow ties.
AHN Analise's corner:
- Was Val wearing the same pink uniform in the last scene as she did when
she worked all the way in Fort Worth? Clearly she does not work in the same place,
because she would need more than 30 minutes to get to Fort Worth from Dallas. Remember,
Lucy arrived at 3:30pm. No, she said she was
working in Dallas but Jason believes it's the same uniform.
- Look how Lucy dresses for college. Awfully dressy for a freshman (dress, high
heels). When I was in college, if I could throw on a pair of jeans or find a
miniskirt, I was lucky. I never wore high heels to class! You're not a Ewing.
AHN Mike's corner:
- Not only does Lucy find a convenient spot at SMU, she parks alongside a yellow curb -
clearly either reserved for Ewings or illegal to park at all.
- Don't know if anyone's pointed this out before, but JR and Bobby have the same picture
in their respective offices - an oil rig in either a golden sunrise or sunset. Perhaps that's the Nacogdoches field...or maybe it's the
Ewing Oil logo or something.
Episode 34: The Kristin Affair
Bonehead dialogue of the day: [courtesy of Alett]
Pam Award: Kristin is DA NEW BOMB, except for the outfit with the gaudy floral blouse and red slacks. Pam's bouncy red dress that looked like it was going to burst would ordinarily win but I can't stand her right now.
Angelica Award: JR's 3 piece brown suits.
Bobby Award: Patricia Shepard. Not necessarily for bad hair, but I have the need to say something bad about her.
April Award: Nothing horrendous.
- The real Theresa has definitely arrived, horrible hairdo and all. It's a good thing too, because she's just in time to whip out that extension to the dinner table so that it now seats nine.
- Kristin's decided to go to architectural school after all, after considering engineering two episodes ago.
- Bobby says that Dr. Crane called Pam. Dr. Crane? Does he mean Sue Ellen's doctor from last season, the one who delivered John Ross? Why would she call? Pam has been seeing Dr. Holliston, and once she went to that pediatrician in Fort Worth with John Ross. Dr. Crane? HUH?
- When Kristin takes up residence as JR's secretary at the office, shouldn't she say something to Connie? Like, "Hi, Connie. I'm Kristin"? It's very awkward how JR walks in with Kristin as Bobby is chatting with Connie, and then Bobby talks to Kristin and JR talks to Connie...but the two secretaries don't share any female banter. At least introduce yourselves.
- Several people on the newsgroup debated about
Pam's situation. So as not to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen what happens this
season, let me just say this for now: Digger has information that would make Pam's
decision much easier: it is almost impossible that her child would be afflicted by
neurofibromatosis. The newsgroup debate revolved around this fact: shouldn't Digger tell
her, seeing all the anguish Pam is going through? [For the reason why, click here]
I don't think so, for several reasons, the most important of which is that this
information is not something Digger would like to reveal unless he absolutely had to. But
I think the REAL reason is that the writers didn't even know at this point how they wanted
this storyline to play out. [It gets a lot better!]
- I'm hoping we can hold off excessive debate about this until I get word one way or
the other from our legal advisor, but I would really like to point out that I think Vaughn
Leland is absolutely incorrect that JR should be able to mortgage Southfork. Vaughn's
reasoning is that JR is the President of Ewing Enterprises, and Southfork is technically
and legally an asset of Ewing Enterprises. The only way I can make sense of this is that
for tax purposes or whatever, Jock Ewing created a company called Ewing Enterprises, which
is comprised of Southfork, Ewing Oil, and maybe some other minor companies.
I wouldn't have a problem with this except that it creates a major inconsistency with past
and future events. Last season, when Garrison Southworth returned to the ranch, Ellie
wanted to give him back his birthright. The implication at the time was that Jock and
Ellie could have made this decision jointly, because they own the ranch. But
wait...doesn't Ewing Enterprises own the ranch? And if so, would Ellie have any power
whatsoever to make this decision if Jock opposed it? I think not. Also, think about the
future, when Jock's will is read. Jock leaves all rights to Southfork to Ellie. No mention
is made of Ewing Enterprises or any such thing.
I'm not saying that what's happening here is impossible. I'm just saying that it seems
rather convoluted especially in light of the fact that Ewing Enterprises is not mentioned
before or after this season.
- While talking to Alan Beam, JR is looking at [rather recent] snapshots of the ranch house. Is he really that sentimental about the place? I find that very hard to believe.
- When JR calls the ranch, Sue Ellen answers the phone by saying "Yes?" A head-shaker.
From Kent Westmoreland: The car that Bobby gave Lucy on her birthday was a Fiat X-19 (Italian). The car she drives is subsequent episodes is a Triumph TR-7 (British). They're both silver-gray, though.
AHN Jason's corner:
- So are Kristin and Patty-cakes from Santa Fe? I thought they were
from California? There was some talk of Albuquerque
at one point. When they first came to Dallas last season, Sue Ellen mentioned they had
been living in Florida. I suspect that Patricia is on the run from state officials for
criminal homeliness and general irritation of the populus.
- After Kristin gets out of the pool and Sue Ellen comes out, she then jumps back in with
perfectly dry hair. Dry hair? In only a minute - must be powerful Texas sun.
- Sue Ellen makes a comment that Jock has a pit bull for a pet. So where is he? I guess Ray must be walking him. I guess so.
That's some long walk! It's been five episodes...
- Here's a thought on why Bobby got a call from Dr. Crane. It could be that Pam
wanted another opinion on the disease so she called her, since she knew her from Sue
Ellen's pregnancy. Maybe TNN cut out the scene where Pam visited or talked about
visiting her. But did Pam ever meet Dr. Crane?
Maybe briefly in the hospital.
- Digger is Maggie's brother, right? So shouldn't she and her offspring have
this disease too? It might be nice if they mention this to them, as it could affect
Jimmy's offspring too. Ah yes...aunt Maggie. Well,
let's see. Do we see her again...yes! Yes we do! Later this season. That's really odd.
Now, are we POSITIVE that Maggie is a blood sister to Digger? Do we have direct evidence
of this? I don't remember for sure.
AHN Analise's corner:
- Patricia called her daughter Kris. I think this is the only time we ever hear
Kristen referred to as this.
- Did Pam forget that Cliff's ex girlfriend died of an abortion? Yes it was illegal,
but how in the world can she expect him to support that idea? Do the writers expect
us to forget season 1? Not in this case. But I
expect that Pam does. You know how it is: it's DIFFERENT when it happens to Pam. She's
being a total bitch right now and frankly I'm beginning to wonder how I EVER felt sorry
for Pam for anything that ever happened to her. What she's doing to her husband is
unconscionable.
- When Bobby led Pam to his car to celebrate their great news of expecting
a child, you could see how hot it really was at Southfork that day. Pam had a giant
sweat stain on her back which clearly ruined that brown blouse she was wearing. See what I mean? I didn't notice this. That's how
disgusted I am at her.
- When JR coughed after hearing that Pam was pregnant, it seemed like he was reacting as
though HE were the father. I had to laugh. I'm
not too sure why JR is so concerned about this...you're right. My guess is that he's
afraid that because of her weirdness Sue Ellen might spill the beans about John Ross, and
so JR's "son" would lose his birthright, and JR would lose a lot of pride.
- When Kristin threw out the writing pads and Louella's name plate, there were things
already in the trash basket. The baskets should have been empty unless the cleaning crew
works only once per week. Outstanding. Can't
believe I missed that.
- How did Kristin know that the evening dresses in the closet were in different sizes?
She barely looked at them.
- Pam mentioned her little brother and sister who died of neurofibromatosis. I
thought Pam was the youngest out of all of them. Yes,
I noticed that too. I guess she meant "little" as in young or small, rather than
"younger than her".
- Real world mention: The Veggie Burger! I guess they were pretty gross back then.
They are good now!
AHN Mike's corner:
- JR's cowboy hat with the ugly feather band was back.
- I nominate Patricia Shepard for the most obnoxious character on Dallas. I'd like to lay
the smack down on her ass. You are not the only
one. She deserves to have the smackdown laid by the millions [and millions] of Dallas fans
all across the globe.
- My wife points out that the establishing shot of the building Pam's doctor is in was
used again for Vaughn Leland's building. Tell her
thank you.
- The JFK Museum got quite the free promo in that street conversation between Cliff and
Pam.
- Talk about people who should mind their own business! Imagine little
Miss Baby Fat, Lucy, advising Sue Ellen on how to lose a few pounds. She deserved that
verbal smackdown from Sue Ellen.
- Did Jock borrow the adoption lady's glasses for that breakfast scene? Were they that big? I didn't notice.
- Bobby needs a Texas geography lesson. In talking to JR about Austin he says that maybe
instead of being in Austin, he should be "down here" (Dallas). My map shows
Austin to be a couple a hundred miles direct due south of Dallas, clearly making Dallas
"up here". I missed that too. Perhaps he
was taking about the Ewing Oil office in relation to Southfork, but this is weird.
AHN Pam's corner:
- Sue Ellen must have gotten a deal on her one piece swimsuit. The red one she wore
today is EXACTLY the same as the purple suit she wore a few episodes ago.
- Last season it was mentioned that Kristin and Patricia came in to town from Santa Fe.
This season, didn't they mention that they had been in California? Now Kristin is
supposedly going back to Santa Fe? So where exactly do they live? Not in one place very long, thanks to that sourpuss Patricia.
- Pam's no better than Sue Ellen, she had wine with dinner and she's pregnant. She's
the only one in the family who knows and granted, refusing wine with dinner would've made
everyone at the table suspicious, but she should've found a reason to skip it anyway.
- When Bobby pulled in the driveway, right before finding out Pam was pregnant, we saw a
wide shot of the driveway. Jock's car and J.R.'s cars were both parked. Pam was home
but her car was nowhere to be found. Then when she and Bobby got in the car, her car
was parked directly behind Jock's car! Lucy's was next to it, behind the tree, so
this would've been difficult to see during the wide shot, but Pam's should have been
noticeable.
- Pam carried two empty purses during this episode. A black one during her walk with Cliff
and a tan one when she left for work in the sundress. Connie also carried an empty
tan purse in from lunch. If I'm not mistaken, it's the SAME tan purse that Sue Ellen
and Pam both carried a couple of episodes ago. I'm
sure you're not mistaken.
- Kristin went to work without a purse at all. She left Southfork without one,
showed up at the office without one and showed up at the condo without one. It's not like
she needed any money, J.R. would undoubtedly take care of everything, but she should still
carry it for ID if nothing else.
- J.R. told Kristin that her apartment was ready, all cleaned up and waiting. Well,
somebody missed a spot. When J.R. was helping Kristin with her blouse, I noticed several
fingerprints and or streaks at the top of the mirror near the light. Maybe they
should send over the dusting maid from a few episodes ago, at least she looked like she
was working.
- Pam and Bobby were dressing in their bedroom before they went down to breakfast to tell
the family their news. Their bed was made. Does Pam feel the need to go back
to her roots and make the bed or do they allow Theresa in to make it while they're
showering?
- If I were J.R., I'd be suspicious as to why Kristin was standing and seemed to be
waiting BEHIND my desk to drop off some papers for my signature. She could have
easily done this from in FRONT of the desk. Of course, right now he's so HOT for her I
suppose he just doesn't care. BTW, I guess security is lax even when purchasing
locks, Kristin got in to his drawer very easily. She
could have said she was just looking outside the window. I see your point.
Bonehead dialogue of the day: [courtesy of me]
[After crying is heard upstairs]
> Pam: "That's Baby John."
Pam Award: Pam in that very curvy white dress. Sweeeeet.
Angelica Award: Sue Ellen's white frilly robe.
Bobby Award: Bobby by default.
April Award: The rube who left his keys in his truck so Batman and Robin could steal it.
From Tina Niblett: Why are there shadows of the trees on the ground in the woods in the middle of the night? I thought that the shadows came from the sun. Also, I noticed that the lake seems to be awfully bright for a night scene, and the shot of the clearing to the side of the Ewing campsite is clearly lit by the sun. What gives here? Did they think we wouldn't know that they had used a filter to make it look like night? And if we could hear all of those bird and bug noises in the woods, it would seem to me that we could hear the sound of those waves breaking on the shore. That lake looked like it had whitecaps! I get the feeling that the producers want us to think it's early morning, rather than night.
- This could be a nit.. It looks like to me that Bobby and possible Ray jump out of their sleeping bags and start to shoot without ever putting on their boots!! Did they sleep with them on? Good question.
- There seems to be a sharp cut at the dinner scene. Bobby talks to JR about Alan
Beam then Jock and Ellie exchange dialogue. Not sure if this is a TNN or CBS cut.
- Jock and crew talk about the fun times they had in Landowne but what about Haileyville?
Shouldn't they have used this same town or at least the name when they had the 11th
season plot with Cally and her brothers? Good
point.
AHN Alett's corner:
- How sweet. Jock is now "Uncle Jock" to Kristin. I have
brothers-in-law, but I've never called any of their fathers "Uncle". Are they as rich as Jock? Somehow, I think Jock's money
endears Kristin to him.
- JR wonders why they have to bring Ray along. How about he's the only one who can
pilot the helicopter. Complaining that he's being treated too much like family is
nice foreshadowing for later though.
- We continue to get the obligatory Sue Ellen still doesn't care for her baby stuff, so
why isn't Pam's inner turmoil suggested. All we know is that she isn't at dinner.
She seems much too perky through the whole episode. I have the reason for this. I'm almost certain that this episode was
shot out of sequence. If it weren't for this one scene, it would be totally out of sync
with the rest of what's going on.
- It seems unlikely no one would hear Bobby and Ray pull up in the truck.
AHN Pam's corner:
- I'm not a doctor, so I could be wrong about this. Jock sustained a gun shot wound.
Bobby and Ray moved him to the cot. Is this safe, or should they have left
him where he was? They're not trained professionals. I'm not 100% sure about this either but I'm fairly certain that the
only time it's dangerous to move someone is when they may have sustained neurological
damage. In Jock's case, he's just bleeding heavily. So the first thing to do is to contain
the bleeding and then make him comfortable.
- I don't hunt either, so I have to ask. Is it really a smart idea to wear
jewellery? Bobby and Jock both had on bracelets.
- Owens mentioned that 'the younger ones were gone' when he and his sons were planning
their next attack. Bobby looks young, so this I understand. But Ray? Come on, he
looks about as old as J.R. How can he possibly tell that Ray is 'younger'? Outstanding point. He's never seen them before, so
there's no way he could know.
- Ray said that Jock got him up at the crack of dawn while they were loading the
helicopter. It must have taken them a long time to pack. It's much too light to be
the crack of dawn. Maybe they had a long breakfast.
- I wish the writers would do something about Bobby's grammar. While mentioning that
Ray should pick up a shovel, Bobby said "that one out there don't look so good".
Then later, Ray said that he and Bobby should get back to Jock and J.R. Bobby
turned around and said "Jock and J.R. ain't going no place". I swear,
lately Ray sounds more educated than Bobby. It's
going back to the down home roots, I guess. My suspicion: this episode was shot last
season, and the Southfork scenes were added later.
- There was some horrible dubbing while the men were riding in the truck. They
sounded like they were in an echo chamber. BTW, where would one rent a truck in a
town like that? I seriously doubt there's a Hertz anywhere near there.
- Again, I'm no hunter, but isn't best to hunt in the very early morning? When the
men were sleeping, it looked as though the sun were already up. Shouldn't they be out
hunting already, or do they hunt on Ewing hours? I'm
not a hunter either so I have no idea.
AHN Sara's corner:
- Why did Ray feel compelled to tell the grocery store guy everything he wanted and then
give him the list? Wouldn't it be easier for to just give him the list in the first place?
Yes, I suppose it would. But that wouldn't be Ray.
- Really fake backdrop at the Ewing camp.
- Everybody slept in their clothes, which is uncomfortable yet convenient. Maybe they didn't bring pajamas or something. It is kind of disgusting, though.
AHN Analise's corner:
- Nice breakable glass JR used to hit that guy. It practically disintegrates.
Why doesn't that guy have any cuts from that glass? Doesn't broken glass,
even in Texas, has sharp edges. When we see them later on in the episode, it looks
like nothing happened.
- For someone who is supposed to be a natural out of doors, what was Jock thinking when he
threw the cigar to the ground?
AHN Mike's corner:
- "Uncle Jock" and Kristen are even close than another AHN indicated. When he
arrives at Ewing Oil, Jock's suit and Kristen's sash and skirt are a perfect complementary
color match. Also, when Jock returns to SF for dinner, he's wearing a different suit.
- And speaking of dinner, did Jock really think that if something was bothering Miss Ellie
that she was hiding from him that she was gonna blurt it out in front of the family at
dinner just because he asked? He expects everyone
else to spill their guts if asked. HE certainly has no problem speaking his mind.
- Jock took a couple of big punches and came back swinging, a remarkable feat for someone
who had a major heart attack and was on restricted activity. I guess Jim Davis just loved
the idea of being in a bar brawl. I'm pretty sure he did most of his own stunts when he
played the heavy in countless westerns in the 40', 50's and 60's. He was one of my
favorite bad guys when I was growing up and it seemed like he was in every western movie
or TV show ever made. He's DA MAN. No question.
- How dumb is Bobby? He just gets fired at and nearly hit. And after ducking into the
brush, he gets up and gives the guy a chance at a clear shot. - Once again we see why
Bobby needs anger management counseling. He threatens Owens and his boys saying
"We'll blow you away." Later he correctly proclaims "There's no law in
Landowne" after having unequivocably proved it by participating in a bar room brawl,
assaulting the guy with the broom with no reason and without provocation and then boosting
a truck with his juvenile delinquent half-breed brother.
Bonehead dialogue of the day: [courtesy of Analise]
> Jock declares his love for Ellie. What does she
say? "I haven't always liked you, but I've always loved you." How
lame!
Pam Award: Tough choice today, but
I'll go with Lucy in her bouncy blue dress at the end.
Angelica Award: Bobby's "I found this in my wife's closet" straw cowboy hat. Cliff for wearing a brown tie with a grey suit.
Bobby Award: Dr. Elby. For now, forever.
April Award: Pam for practicing steeplechase while pregnant.
- Oh, boy. I hate having to do this, because I always feel
like I'm spoiling everybody's fun and people think I'm taking this stuff too seriously.
And I hate to be the bearer of bad news but THIS WHOLE EPISODE IS BASED ON A BOGUS
PREMISE.
I happen to be fascinated by reptiles. Probably because they eat rodents, which are
the vilest form of life on this planet. As such, I happen to know that rattlesnakes, as
cold-blooded creatures, are NOT driven out into the open by heat. The opposite is true! A
rattler would shrivel up and die if it were out in the hot sun too long because it has no
mechanism to disperse excess heat! During the hot summertimes of the American desert,
rattlesnakes only come out at night to hunt. There is no way in hell anyone, even someone
as unlucky and silly as Pam, would encounter a rattler in the middle of a hot sweltering
summer day. During spring or autumn this would be quite possible, but NEVER in summer.
This is without question the cheeziest episode to date. Here are just a few things I would like to point out:
- Last year, I declared that the meeting with the ranch hands was totally egregious because nothing was accomplished except that Bobby met Luke. Now that I actually brought myself to pay attention to the dialogue, I see that Bobby and Ray are looking for NEW ranch hands and so there's a reason for this interlude. That lifts this scene from superweak to just weak.
- When JR asks Kristin to find Cal McBride, she responds "The private detective?", in surprise. She's only been working at Ewing Oil for a week or two...she knows some of JR's cronies already? That's one smart girl.
- McBride tells JR that Sue Ellen had her hair done....zuh? Looks the same to me. Alejandro is robbing that woman blind.
- The ranch background kind of bothered me. At times it looked like the real Southfork, but occasionally the clouds struck me as paper. Can anyone confirm either way?
From Julie Soskins: One of the things I
noticed was weird was that Bobby brought Pam roses to the hospital and they were light
colored (pink or white or some combination) but later when Digger and Cliff are visiting
her, there is a vase of red roses next to her and Bobby's are not there. I would
find it hard to believe that Cliff would shell out the money for any flowers, much less
roses, so did these roses magically change color? Just something I noticed. And an excellent point at that.
AHN Jason's corner:
- Did JR get a new car? It looks different from what I saw him in before... could be
wrong...
- I kinda laughed when Bobby and Luke rushed over to Pam and basically sat down in the
grass with a rattler right near them. I was half expecting it to bite them in the
ass.
- Oh my... someone actually goes to BRADDOCK Hospital. Can
you say cost-cutting?
- Ellie doesn't stop Jock from drinking. I guess
he's off the regimen. But she's fussing over the wheelchair thing now.
AHN Analise's corner:
- How did Ray call for an ambulance? Cell phones in '79? Nope. Yeah, that's a good question. Of course, he could have
sent some other guy on a horse to go and call for help, which he could sum up in the word
"call".
- Even in 1979, it is illegal to keep a child from going to school even if the parent
moves around a lot. Did the writers think we are stupid? It's possible that it's summertime now [given the heat] and Luke isn't
supposed to be in school.
- Sue Ellen is a fool for not opening up to JR and telling him where she was.
Doesn't she know that he hires private investigators? It's
the game they play. Neither one wants to admit anything unless forced to.
- Pam sleeps with full makeup? Now as the owner of the Principal Secret skin care
line, she should know better!
- Who is staying in the bunk house with Luke? He is a minor and cannot stay without a
legal guardian. Those other cowboys won't do. Perhaps
he's in Ray's bunkhouse. Hard to say.
- I grew up horseback riding. There is no way, even when a horse is spooked by a
rattle snake, that Pam could be knocked unconscious unless she hit her head on a rock.
I rewound my tape twice. Guess what? No rock! Also, this should
be a PSA for wearing riding helmets! Well,
any fall seems to be traumatic for Pam. First it was the two-foot fall in the hayloft, now
this.
- When JR came out of his car and went to the porch to see Sue Ellen, JR got out of the
car perfectly and even tossed his cane from one hand to the other. What's the point
of a cane? He forgot to walk with a limp. I'm sure
Larry Hagman HATES having to walk with a limp and just said "Screw it."
- Pam must have asked one of the hands to bring multiple shades of lipstick to the
hospital. She wore a reddish color to see Bobby and a beige one when to see her
father and brother. She must have a lot of room in
that little suitcase.
AHN Alett's corner:
- Ah, a classic. A fixed boom is very obvious to the left side of the
breakfast table scene. I've got to look at this
again. I can't believe I keep missing these boom mikes.
- Hair problems. At the psychiatrist's office Sue Ellen's hair is flat then full,
and Pam's hair is curlier after she gets home from talking with Cliff.
- It's ironic that Bobby's infatuated with a kid named Luke, and Jenna will later name
his child Lucas. It's more ironic that a guy named
Bo has a son named Luke.
- It's rather odd that Bo Middens, a migrant worker, has great teeth, but a future,
annoying wealthy British women will be dentally challenged.
- It's pretty obvious that is a stunt woman and not Victoria. When she falls, she's on her
side with her head facing to the left part of the scene. Pam is on her back with her head
to the right part of the scene. I thought so but
was unable to find evidence. Thanks.
- How does Brad(d)ock expect their children to learn to spell? The high school has
one D, but the hospital has two.
- Bobby really loves that blue plaid shirt. He wears it to the hospital and is
wearing the same shirt the next day.
AHN Sara's corner:
- Either Dr. Elby is seven feet tall or he's got really tiny office furniture and a low
ceiling. I suspect the latter.
- Pam parked directly underneath the Southfork Basketball Hoop, effectively stopping any
possible basketball games. But that's just the kind of thing I would expect her to
do, judging by the way she was acting in the first half of the episode.
- Pam's doctor checked her pulse by placing his hand on her arm, which is just horrible. He did? How did I miss that? I'll take another look.
- Since when did Pam call her father "Digger?" I thought she called him
"Dad" or "Daddy" like everyone else. She starts to now, but in the past everyone including his children
called him "Digger". He called HIMSELF Digger.
AHN Pam's corner:
- Sue Ellen carried two empty purses today.One was the SAME tan that's been carried by SE,
Pam and Connie over the past few episodes. The other was a camel colored purse, with
a strap, what a rarity, while talking to Pam and Bobby in the driveway. Pam also
carried an empty camel colored purse in that same scene.
- J.R. called Jock 'Dad' during their conversation on the patio.
- Pam and Cliff seem to take an awful lot of walks lately. Why don't they sit down
for lunch? BTW, Pam did not have a purse during their walk in this episode. There
were no pockets in that outfit, where does she keep her keys?
- J.R. mentioned how hot the weather was when he was talking to Jock on the patio.
It must have been, he had a Clayton size sweat stain on the back of his shirt!
The funny thing is, after sitting and talking to Jock, J.R. got up to go inside and
the stain was gone! That must have been some cold drink. Was it gone? I totally missed that. I might have been fooled because
all of a sudden he was in the shade.
- Sue Ellen must have dipped in to the Bobby shirt collection. In the last scene her
shirt was half unbuttoned.
- When J.R. arrived at SF, the only cars parked in the driveway were his Mercedes and
Jock's Lincoln. Lucy may have been out and Bobby was at the hospital, this explains the
absence of their cars. But Sue Ellen was home, where was her car? Pam was in
the hospital, so where was her car? Did we see the
entire driveway? Maybe they're off to the side.
- This is in reference to Pam's extensive wardrobe at the hospital. First, she had
that really pretty lingerie when Bobby and Cliff and Digger visited. Then when she was
leaving, she packed an entire suitcase! She was there maybe a day or two? I
can't believe she would wear that silk skirt and blouse home from the hospital. Not
to mention, high heels, panty hose, a gold chain and a bracelet! Who goes home like
this? Why not a pair of jeans? Also, she was using the same suitcase that J.R.
was carrying when he brought Sue Ellen home from the hospital a few episodes ago. Is
this the 'official' Ewing hospital stay suitcase? I
imagine it is the official suitcase...clearly Bobby wanted her to go home feeling stylish.
- Pam's hair was strange in this episode. I think the last scene must have been shot
before Bobby picked Pam up at the hospital. Pam's hair looks much shorter in the
hospital than it did in the last scene at the ranch. Yes,
I think you're quite right.
- Pam and Bobby were talking in their bedroom and Bobby was sitting on the bed as Pam
walked in to the dressing area. There was a high boy chest in front of Bobby and the
phone was on the night stand near the entry of the dressing area. This is usually
the side of the bed we see Pam sleep on. The next morning when Pam woke up alone on
the opposite side of the bed, the phone was next to her. We were not looking through
a mirror here, because when Pam got out of bed there was a door next to the night stand, a
closet I would assume. Also, the triple dresser with the flower arrangement was
visible and it was in the correct place. It's strange that someone would have moved
the phone. It's also rather strange that Pam would sleep
on the opposite side of the bed, married people generally don't do this.
- Pam's fall was very strange. When she came around the corner, she was riding
towards Bobby and Luke. When she fell she fell towards a tree, a small shadow was
visible when she hit the ground. The way she fell, the side of her body would've
been facing Bobby and Luke. Yet when Bobby and Luke reach her, her head is facing
the direction from where they came, the direction she was riding. Also, her body was perfectly straight, I would think at least a
leg or an arm would be bent. This is impossible considering the way direction she
was riding and the way she fell. She would've had to have flown over the horse's
head to possibly land this way.
AHN Mike's corner:
- Bobby and Ray sure love to play dress-up in their chaps. Bobby even sits down at the
breakfast table in them with Jock and Ellie.
- Sue Ellen goes shopping for hours every day and yet she only owns one bathing suit?
We've seen her in that same blue one multiple times now. Actually she had a red one the other day and a purple one before.
They're all the same style, though. Guess she got them on sale.
AHN Val's corner:
- JR drives up, gets out of his car, and comments to his dad about the heat. He is also
covered in sweat--front, back, and under both arms. Jason pointed out that JR appears to
have a new car. So my question is this: Can't that boy afford AIR CONDITIONING!!???!?!?!
Car air conditioning is one thing us desert folk wouldn't do without. When buying a car,
you may have to give up a radio, power door locks, or automatic transmission in order to
afford it, but you DO spring for air conditioning. I would think JR would be able to buy
his cars fully loaded.
Bonehead dialogue of the day: [courtesy of Alett and me]
> When a hand isn't sure where to put the tables, Jock replies: "I'll tell you what. Put 'em right over there where we put 'em every year." (said like this good idea just came to him)
Pam Award: I'd say that Sue Ellen looked very striking at the rodeo from the neck up.
Angelica Award: A lot today. Jock's powder blue vest-like shirt which makes him look really fat and un-DA MAN-like. Alan's ridiculous cowboy shirt. Pam and Bobby's outfits that make them look like mismatched twins.
Bobby Award: Alan Beam, I guess, but Lucy's braids should get a mention.
April Award: Bobby for practically taunting Digger in the nursery to blow his stack. If Digger had exploded and said the wrong thing, the Boboski would be really cold at night for a long time.
- At the beginning of this episode, some workers are putting up that big Ewing Rodeo banner, but when Bobby pulls out of Southfork later, it's gone.
- After buying all of those things in Braddock, wouldn't Sue Ellen get some bags to carry those boxes around? Of course, it's convenient for her to drop them and run into Dusty, but it looks really stupid.
- That's some pretty pathetic dubbing over Jock's introductory speech at the rodeo. Worst so far.
- Just a note: it looks like Jared Martin did his own stunts at the rodeo. But Patrick Duffy did not. Neither did Steve Kanaly.
- Just another note: at the rodeo, when Ellie first appears to talk to Pam, did anyone else think that she looked kind of like the female Changeling from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine? I almost expected Pam to be carted away by Weyoun and a Breen commander!
- There's a very abrupt cut during Ellie and Digger's talk. Ellie is smiling and then suddenly there's a close-up and she's very serious.
- Oh, boy, this is a tough one. Several people on
the newsgroup have tossed around ideas about Sue Ellen's comment, "I thought the
Wayne family owned the Southern Cross ranch." Dusty replies, "My mother's name
is Farlow. I'm Dusty Farlow."
First of all, let's get this much straight. One of the executives in charge of something
or other for Dallas is named Wayne A. Farlow - you can see it in the closing credits. This
is what the writers had in mind, kind of a tribute to the man.
The issue seems to be that Dusty claims that the Farlow family has ownership to the
Southern Cross because of his mother. But this is kind of nonsensical because his mother
Amy married Clayton Farlow. [Yes, yes, I know that Amy's not his *real* mother, but you
know what I mean]
So the Farlows really own the Southern Cross because of Clayton Farlow. It's my belief
that the writers hadn't figured Clayton Farlow into the Dallas 'bible' yet - maybe they
were throwing around introducing Amy as a character - and that's why they have this
cryptic reference. Marc suggested that Amy's maiden name was Wayne, and then she changed it when she got
married. He may be right but Dusty probably should have said something to this effect. The
verdict? Well, I say either Marc's right or Sue Ellen just made a mistake.
Rob Trimble pointed out: Kristin appeared to be wearing a large diamond wedding ring in the scene with Alan Beam. Watch for it when JR is consoling her. It was just for a second or so.
- AHN Todd pointed out to me that Ellie calls Digger 'Digger' and continues to do so from now on.
AHN Jason's corner:
- Part of Ellie's lines in the Nursery also are dubbed.
- Ray gets mail at the same mailbox as the Ewing Family. Who does he think he is?
Part of the clan? Also it seems to be maybe noon or so when he gets the mail
but usually it arrives at breakfast time (#2, #225). It is possible it has
been sitting in there all morning but I thought it was worth noting. It's sometimes tough to say with the sun in hot locales like Texas.
Since the mail was addressed to "Southfork", this might not be so bad but there
really should be another mailbox for "general" mail for the hands, unless they
don't mind having the Ewings see who they're receiving mail from.
- Donna has been writing Ray lots of letters that he never responded to. So why
continue to write? Why not call or, better yet, visit him in person to convey her
feelings? I have no idea. She probably doesn't want
to risk hurting Sam by having him overhear a call or something like that.
- The banner says "WELCOME -- EWING RODEO". I think a "to the" might
fit in there to make that flow.
- Ray leaves his door unlocked. Not scared of thieves at the Rodeo? Guess not.
- Jackie is in the credits. Was she at the Rodeo? I can't see how they would
manage to add a "Store" scene in this episode. Yes, I think you're right. She must have been at the Rodeo but was
cut.
- There is a new publicity shot... oops, I mean "family portrait" on the wall in
the den. And now it is the family portrait on the
site!
AHN Alett's corner:
- First I thought the sign for the rodeo was too small and too far away from the road
for anyone to see, but Digger was right. Braddock IS plastered with them. OK
it's annual, but there's no date or time on any of them. I guess people are just supposed to know when to show up.
- A string of annoyances - Donna includes her Dallas zip code but not Braddock's.
She has no comma between the cities and the state. Ray said he read
about the reconciliation LAST WEEK, but it looks like there are at least 8 letters in the
drawer. She's writing every day? RAY HAS A PHONE - CALL HIM. Unless Donna just
repeats herself, Lucy had the foresight to pick out the one critical letter and save the day.
- Ray's stunt double doesn't have gray hair, and not Ray but Bobby should have been riding
"Old Digger".
- That rodeo ring is cement and steel. I don't think even that much hammering could
produce such a structure that we haven't seen before on the ranch. That's some quick work all right.
- Let's see if I've got this right. Ray came to the ranch when he was 15. Jock says
they've held the rodeo for 14 years. The announcer says they first saw Ray ride when
he was only 15 years old. Does that mean Ray is only 29? That's some good detective work...I missed that. Certainly there's no
way in hell the producers can make us believe that Ray is 29 because I believe everyone
knows he's older than Bobby. The announcer might mean that they saw him in other events
back then.
- Bobby came into the restaurant after Dusty told Sue Ellen he was from Odessa, and I
doubt she would mention this fact, but later Bobby tells Jock about Odessa.
AHN Analise's corner:
- Is the rodeo opened to the public? Seems like it with the posters on telephone
poles. Well heck, since there is no security why not? How will they know how
much food to serve? It was the eighties. They went
all out and said, the more the merrier.
- That picture of Donna and Sam in the paper looks like it was taken in the Ewing living
room. Didn't know the Dallas press was there too? Donna was wearing the same
clothes.
- Pam just fell off a horse. How can she bend down? It's got to hurt. I don't know...this whole thing is ridiculous.
- Seems like those shopping boxes are empty anyway! I knew they didn't sell anything
there. I know they're empty because of the way they fall when Sue Ellen walks into the
store. They practically bounce as they fall to the ground. And nothing came
out of them when they fell probably because they were taped shut.
- The 14th annual Ewing rodeo? When was the 13th? We certainly didn't see it. And we won't see the 15th until Pam dreams about it.
- Bobby is one of the best cowboys in the country? The announcer I guess has to say
it--his Daddy pays his salary!
- Notice how Sue Ellen turned her diamond ring to the inside of her hand when she was
flirting with Dusty? Gotta love it!
- The lame slap of JR sounded like the slap that Kristin gave Alan. Bad sound
effects.
AHN Sara's corner:
- Pam called Digger "Daddy" today. Yes,
it's a new trend. It used to be that Ellie called Digger "Willard" and everyone
else in the world, including Digger himself, called him "Digger". Now Ellie
calls him Digger and his kids call him "Daddy". Bizarre.
- Dusty closed the door of that restaurant, but it sprang back open as he walked to Sue
Ellen's table.
- The rodeo announcer was ridiculous! He called just about every contestant "the best
cowboy around" or "as good a cowboy as there is." Even Bobby was
"the best cowboy in the county." Oh please. He may ride around
Southfork once in a while, but he couldn't even lasso Luke in yesterday's epsiode.
Calling Bobby the best cowboy in the country is like calling Larry Hagman the best
limp-faker in the county. He told the crowd the function of the clowns at the end of
the rodeo. He was all-around boring and unhelpful. He
was to the crowd, certainly. But I'm sure a 1980 audience needed this kind of cabbageing
and prompting.
- Sue Ellen bad grammar alert: called Dusty a "real good" rider.
- I'm a little disappointed that JR didn't throw Alan into the pool. That would have been cool. But then we wouldn't have been able to get
more shots of Alan's awesome shirt. [Kidding. It was awful.]
- Dusty, Ray, and Bobby all ended up on their backs in the dirt during the rodeo.
And yet, their clothes managed to stay perfectly clean. Maybe they're wearing
special rodeo outfits that are covered in teflon. I don't know very much about rodeo
attire. This is a good point. They sure cleaned up
quick.
AHN Rob's corner:
- I don't know if anyone's noticed, but that huge picture of the Ewing clan hanging in the
den was taken in front of the original ranch house. No
one's noticed yet. Good one.
- Question: Why would Dusty carry around half of a rodeo flyer? Most of the artwork and
the prize info were torn away. It's probably been
in his grubby pocket for a day and a half.
- Doesn't allowing Ewings to compete in the rodeo present a conflict of interest? Good question. At this point, only one Ewing is
competing...perhaps Bobby's just competing for fun is and probably disqualified from
winning any prize money. That would be kind of stupid otherwise.
AHN Mike's corner:
- The drug store in BraDDock also bought a consonant from Vanna and has the prerequisite
Ewing reserved parking spot for Bobby and Sue Ellen right in front.
- I thought Lucy's tube top and slacks outfit in one of the early scenes was very
flattering. Too bad she was back in pigtails and reading people's mail later. And what a
pre-saging of how Ray's character is going to wind up. How bullheaded and self-pitying was
not reading any of Donna's letters? Jeez, why not just crawl up in a corner and die, Ray?
Can you spell L-O-S-E-R?
- Yes, that was Jackie at the rodeo. I spotted her twice as an extra near JR in scenes at
the rodeo. I didn't watch for her in the credits because I figured she'd never get listed
as an extra with no lines. But I guess having dad a big wheel on the show has it's perks
becuase another AHN spotted her name in the credits.
- Wow, I guess things between JR and Sue Ellen ARE really bad. Imagine JR getting her into
position for a little of his favorite forced sex action and then getting so disgusted he
backs off! The irony of this struck me too. I'm not
too sure why JR would be cowed just because Sue Ellen knows about him and Kristin.
- Anybody that knows what a non-physical, cowardly wuss JR is would have immediately
suspected a setup when he slapped the much younger and physically imposing Alan Beam. Anybody who thought seriously about it. Good thing none
of the family was around except silly old Lucy.
AHN Pam's corner:
- Jock was out overseeing the construction for the rodeo the following day and Ellie
asked him if he was working too hard. Working? All it looked like he was doing
to me was standing around handing out orders. This was hardly strenuous work. Of
course Ellie mentioned that she too had work to do and it looked like she was just hanging
out in the study doing whatever it is Ellie does and chatting to Bobby. I guess your point is that they have a really strained definition of
"work". I concur.
- Ray was also a big slob in this episode. He got mad and threw the newspaper
clipping on the floor, right after putting Donnna's letter in the drawer. This was the day
before the rodeo. When Lucy walked in to Ray's the next day, she picked the clipping
off of the floor. Of course, it needed to be there for Lucy to find it and realize
it was Donna Culver Ray was referring to, but in any event, Ray's not too in to the
cleaning up thing. Besides, Lucy could've figured it out from say, reading the
letters, or checking the return address. True
enough, but it looks cooler this way.
- Lucy must have been bored at the rodeo, she had time to change her nail polish. When she
was looking through Donna's letters, the closeup shot of her hand showed red nails, so did
the long shot while she was reading the letter. Later, when she found Ray at the
shoot before his last ride, she hugged him and it was very clear, her nails were pale
pink! Excellent catch! I was looking at her nails
when she wa in the house to confirm they were red, which they were, but I missed this.
Episode 38: Mastectomy, Part I
Bonehead dialogue of the day: [courtesy of Alett]
> Bobby (after Pam told him about Miss Ellie): We'll get
another opinion.
> Pam: They've run all the tests they can!
(He didn't say another test, Pam, he said another opinion.)
Pam Award: Pam may be dumb but she sure brightens up a room.
Angelica Award: Jock's blindingly bright blue suit.
Bobby Award: The Elby-man.
April Award: Pam for telling the whole family [and God knows who else] about Ellie's surgery.
Sue Ellen's "I'm not ready" meter: Tells Dusty she's not ready to leave JR.
- RANTING: When Ellie tells Pam about her fears of Jock leaving her after the surgery, Pam talks about how honesty in a relationship is so important. God bless Victoria Principal, but I wanted to slap Pam so bad after her long-winded hypocritical speech. Give me a break! How 'honest' was she with Bobby about the neurofibromatosis? This wishy-washiness on Pam's part about every little thing is really starting to bother me. Thank God they got rid of that annoying music that served as 'Pam's theme' in the first season...if I hear it again I'll puke.
[Now that that's out of the way, on to the nits...]
- When JR wakes up in Kristin's room, he's wearing pajamas. I wouldn't expect JR to wake up fully clothed after spending the night with Kristin. Frankly, I'm kind of surprised he keeps a pair of pajamas there - he must really feel committed to her!
- Does the hired help EVER pick up the phone? Today, Ellie has to pick up when Harland calls.
- Pam tells Ellie she took the day off from work. Even someone as pathetic as Liz Craig should probably have asked her, "Do you still work here?"
- Pam had a quarter to call Bobby in her otherwise empty purse.
- Watch carefully when Ellie learns about her surgical options. When the camera faces the surgeon, his arms are folded, but when the camera faces Ellie his arms are at his sides.
AHN Todd's corner:
- Jock must have a knack for changing outfits pretty quick. When he tells Ellie about Amanda, he's wearing his powdery blue country outfit. Suddenly, after the commercial, he's talking to Bobby and wearing a gray suit. Though it's unclear how much time elapses between the two events, I find it unlikely that Jock would go upstairs to his room to change - especially since Pam indicates to Bobby that Ellie went there first.
- Dusty, that expert rodeo cowboy, ties his horse to a tree branch, which is not a very good idea because a horse is usually capable of pulling hard enough to break a branch if it wants too. Sue Ellen does a much better job, using the tree's trunk rather than a branch.
AHN Sara's corner:
- What is up with that announcer in the beginning of the show? He could barely
contain his hatred for JR and kept making all these snide comments about him and the way
he treated Sue Ellen. I thought announcers were supposed to be kind of neutral...
- My mornings would be so much simpler and I would get so much more sleep if only I could
shower, dry my hair, and get dressed as quickly as JR did after his night with Kristen. Oh, to be a guy. In college, I had this down to a
science. Down the stairs in five minutes.
- Everyone in Southfork was talking about Miss Ellie's "explosion" during her
fight with Jock. Did they cut it or something? All I saw was Miss Ellie raise
her voice slightly and leave the room. Not quite an explosion. I think some of it may have been cut.
- The coffee shop where Dusty and Sue Ellen met scrambled six eggs faster then JR
showered.
- I find it strange that of all the talk of Alan being a great lawyer we've heard that
we've never seen him actually working. Usually bright young lawyers work all the
time. I guess he got his job on reputation. This is
a great point.
- Pam is angry about Miss Ellie worrying Jock by staying in the hospital overnight because
Pam is a stupid hypocrite. Like she ever considers Bobby's feelings or how worried
he is about her. The scene was saved, though, when Miss Ellie laid the smackdown on
her and kicked her out of the room. Most
definitely. I ranted about this last year. I wish Ellie had asked her if she liked
pancakes, like The Rock would.
- We didn't get to see Bobby park in front of the hospital today, but you know he did.
AHN Jason's corner:
- Pam and I think Ellie have empty purses. Kristin just arrives at
Ewing Oil with no purse at all. Did she walk? Take a cab? Shouldn't she
have a place for money and keys? I'll bet the Ewing
condo is just down the street from the office, but this is still odd.
- Not a nit, but funny as hell. JR's whole comment to Connie to see if she had
made the coffee that morning after he downed the sludge Kristin made. I also loved
Connie's facial expressions when Kristin pulls the "Is JR in yet?" act.
You ain't fooling no one, Kris. I was laughing out
loud too.
AHN Alett's corner:
- I guess they didn't want to reshoot Kristin's scene. She misses one button so her
blouse is crooked. It is all straight by the time she reaches the office though.
AHN Mike's corner:
- Dusty must have sent all his kerchiefs out to the dry cleaners. His neck is naked
throughout this show. Has anybody ever mentioned what a strange way of standing (almost
effeminate) Jared Martin strikes in scenes where he's a distance away from Sue Ellen and
listening to her talk? No one's pointed it out, but
you're right.
- What was up with Mitzi the waitress getting all that screen time, dialogue and long
closeup? Was she releated to Katzman or or of the cast? I
don't know. That is odd, come to think.
AHN Pam's corner:
- Nice use of technique by Dr. Elby when he made Sue Ellen get her own glass of water.
He was making her be dependent on herself rather than others. Even something
as simple as getting her own water is a step in the right direction for Sue Ellen, now
maybe she can learn to be more self reliant in making real decisions in her life. Of
course, we already know she does this eventually, but that's beside the point.
- The OLM and the DA's office are in the same building. The same establishing shot
of the building was the same today, while Cliff was still with the OLM as it was the other
day when he was with the DA's office. This is not impossible, just something
interesting to note. I guess it's easier for Cliff
- that way we he goes to the same place no matter what his job is.
- Ellie carried the official Ewing Hospital Stay suitcase for her trip to the hospital.
- Bobby should start paying Connie a better salary so she can buy some more clothes.
The poor girl had to wear the same royal blue blouse and tan sweater vest I've seen
her in during at least four or five different episodes. Yeah,
and you know what? Louella has worn that butt-ugly purple dress twice already and many
more times next season. Connie deserves better than this, at least.
- Sue Ellen is frequenting that coffee shop every morning looking for Dusty? How
long has it been since the rodeo? A few days? A few weeks? The waitress
asked Sue Ellen if she were going to just have coffee or if she were going to have
the 'usual'. Prior to the rodeo, Sue Ellen always ate breakfast at the ranch, with
the family. It also seemed like Sue Ellen and Dusty hadn't seen each other since the
rodeo, but she knew he was working at the other ranch. If they have seen each other
since then, why is she scoping out the diner every morning like a lovesick teenager? If
she hasn't seen him, don't scope the place out, CALL HIM!!! I'm sure he called her and
gave her a number. The rodeo was in Episode 37 -
the one just previous to this in the normal regimen. So maybe this isn't too bad. I'm nor
sure what purpose is served by having Sue Ellen chase after him like this, though.
- Dr. Danvers went to check on Ellie after surgery and he was still wearing his surgical
outfit, sweat stain on his forehead and all. Don't surgeons usually change following
surgery while the patient is going to recovery? We'll give him the benefit of the
doubt here, because he's concerned about Ellie who has been a patient for years.
Shouldn't Ellie have been in recovery following surgery? If so, shouldn't she also
have had some sort of monitors on her, for her heart or something? If she was in
recovery, could Jock have just walked in like that? If this was supposed to have
been a couple of hours after surgery and Ellie was already in a private room, shouldn't
Dr. Danvers definitely have been back in his regular clothes? Even if he were still in his
surgical outfit, shouldn't the sweat stain at least been dry? Tough call. Dr. Danvers would not have done the actual surgery, of
course, but he would have been present and probably would have helped out to whatever
extent he could. It gets hot in those places. Maybe he just hasn't had time to change yet
- or maybe he thinks it's possible that for whatever reason Ellie might have to be wheeled
back in or something like that.
As far as Ellie being in "recovery" - that's a really great question. My mother
says that after her procedure, she was recuperating in a hospital bed after a few hours.
Normally no one needs special attention after a mastectomy unless there are surgical
complications.
Episode 39: Mastectomy, Part II
Bonehead dialogue of the day: [courtesy of Pam]
> Cliff to Pam: "Ellie Ewing was very special
to him (Digger). She was his first love, he lost her."
Ummmm......yeah Cliff, we know, we've heard the story several times. Can you smell
the cabbage?
Pam Award: Pam in her rather
appropriate [for this episode] breast-accentuating sundress.
Angelica Award: Bobby's very cool tan sport shirt with button pockets when Ellie arrived home.
Bobby Award: Lucy with the flat do and ribbon.
April Award: Digger
for thinking he and Ellie have a chance at starting over.
Sue Ellen's denial meter: 1. Tells
Pam she doesn't what she's talking about when Pam says she's unable to confront the issue
of the day.
Sue Ellen's "I'm not ready" meter: Tells Dusty she's still not ready to leave Southfork.
- This is a rather gratuitous one, but I felt it was odd, and several folks on the newsgroup have echoed the sentiment: when Ellie goes through her wardrobe after her surgery, she finds a lot of summer dresses and other outfits designed to show off the figure. Where are all her sack dresses? We never see her actually wearing any outfits like the ones she rummages through. Very odd.
- I don't need to repeat the fact that Barbara Bel Geddes was outstanding in this episode, but I will - except for one small thing. When she meets Digger in the park, her left arm is suddenly very mobile! Then she returns to Southfork and it's stiff again, as it should be.
AHN Todd's corner:
- When Sue Ellen is lying in bed talking to JR, she's drinking out of an empty coffee cup.
- When Sue Ellen calls Dusty late in this
episode, he answers the phone by saying "Hello there", as if he knew it was Sue
Ellen. But she replies, "I'm glad that you answered," which would lead one to
suspect that he shouldn't know it was her. Does Dusty have some psychic power or perhaps
an advanced form of Caller ID on the rotary phone he is using? Bizarre.
Jason responds: I have a theory on why
Dusty answers the phone "Hello". Sue Ellen calls him at the hospital and
probably arranged a time to call him later, since we see her call him when she arrives
back at Southfork. Dusty probably gave her the number to the stables at Southern
Cross or wherever he was staying. You can see he is in a barn, not a house, when she
calls him the second time and he gives this familiar greeting. I bet they set up a
time for her to call him and he expected it to be her.
AHN Jason's corner:
- Empty Purse meter- Sue Ellen at the hospital and Ellie when she confronts Lucy at
the end. Well, Sue Ellen at least had a quarter to
call Dusty.
- So did they bandage down BBG's breast to make her look lop-sided for this episode?
I wondered that. I think so. Something along
those lines. That must have been rough.
AHN Alett's corner:
- Yesterday Harlan said Jock would have to be the one to tell Ellie about the surgery,
but today it's revealed that Harlan told her. I
guess DA MAN didn't quite have the heart.
- Pam has her usual hair problems. Today it shifts 3 or 4 times when she's talking
with Sue Ellen.
- When Ellie meets with Digger, she's wearing clunky, beige pumps. By the time she
gets home, her fashion sense takes over, and she has on trim, taupe heels.
AHN Pam's corner:
- This episode began the morning after Ellie's surgery. We know this because Pam
told Digger and Cliff that her surgery was the day before yesterday. So why did Jock
arrive home wearing a tan sports coat and dark pants when he was wearing his powder blue
suit after Ellie's surgery, the day before and he had been there all night? Excellent call. I had a feeling there was a clothes nit
here somewhere.
- It was broad day light when Jock arrived home from the hospital. Then there was a
cut to an establishing shot of the hospital where it looked very dark, like either very
early morning or dusk. Then there was a cut back to J.R. and Sue Ellen in their
bedroom and it was broad day light again outside of their window.
- Sue Ellen called Dusty from the hospital. When did he give her his phone number?
He didn't do it in the coffee shop. If she had it before their breakfast in
the coffee shop, I have to ask the question again, WHY DID SHE SCOPE OUT THE COFFEE SHOP,
WHY DIDN'T SHE JUST CALL HIM IN THE FIRST PLACE?? She didn't seem to have a problem
with it today. She called him twice, once from the hospital and then again from
Southfork. They might have exchanged the numbers
off-screen or it may have been cut.
- Did Dr. Danvers wait until the entire family was there before telling them about Ellie's
condition? If not, Pam had perfect timing, she walked in just as he walked over to
speak to them and it seemed like they had all been there awhile.
- Digger left half a plate of food when he got up from the table with Pam and Cliff.
BTW, someone really should tell Digger to remove his wedding ring. I've noticed
during several episodes. Maybe Digger's kept it on
for old time's sake.
- Pam took off work the day of Ellie's surgery, and apparently the day after. I
doubt this was a weekend, J.R. said he was going back to the office. She was also
home the day Ellie came back home. If this wasn't a weekend, that would mean once
again she was a no show at work. Did she take off only these days, or the whole two
weeks Ellie was gone. Never mind, I'm sure she took the whole two weeks. I'm sure she did too.
- The oak wood armoire in Jock and Ellie's bedroom didn't go very well with the mahogany
bed, they were completely different woods and styles.
- The porcelain dog c