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Bonehead dialogue of the day: [courtesy of Alett]
> JR: "Sheriff, when you get rich, you'll find you
have an awful lot of poor relatives."
(Chances are slim to none that this sheriff will get rich unless JR is going to give him a
monster bribe.)
Pam Award: I like Sue Ellen's orange outfit at the Southern Cross. Pam's foldover is always nice. Jackie looked really nice too. But I'd have to give a special mention for Donna's thigh-baring blowy white dress with the really sexy lingerie underneath. Mrs. Krebbs...I had no idea.
Angelica Award: None.
Bobby Award: Phyllis in her first scene really needs a brush. But Bobby's fern hair wins it.
April Award: Nothing terrible.
- The security guards that were so prevalent around Southfork last episode are strangely missing in this episode. Maybe JR fired them all for their incompetence after they stupidly let Pam leave with John Ross?
- When Cliff turns Kristin over and discovers who she is, he whispers "Kristin" half to himself. This got me thinking - the only time Cliff ever met Kristin was in Episode 32, when Sue Ellen took her sister and mother to lunch and happened to bump into him. It's been a long time - Kristin must have made quite an impression on him!
- I checked my atlas because this really bothered me. Abilene is only about 175 miles from Dallas. San Angelo is only about 75 miles further. So why does Bobby decide to wait for a 7 AM flight to Abilene when he could drive for three hours and get there that much sooner and be with his beloved and emotionally needy Pamela?
- Lucy tells Ray that she's "going upstairs to her room". That's very interesting - in later seasons, we are told that Lucy's room is in the "other wing" of Southfork.
- Why does Bobby drive Pam's car after finding her in Abilene? Is it really that big a deal for him to drive? He did this before, in Episode 8, when he commandeered Jenna's car. I suppose he's planned in advance to get that nice spot right in front of the stairway to the restaurant at the rest stop where they continue their conversation.
- When JR calls Harry McSween from the Sheriff's office, he dials seven numbers. This would be normal except that I would have expected that one would need to dial nine in order to get an outside line.
- When leaving the police station after his rough night, Cliff is remarkably clean-shaven. Then he goes to Rebecca's place to crash and he is still clean-shaven. But then he asks for a razor. Well, go ahead, Cliff, but you won't take much off.
- JR is surprised to see Dusty at the Southern Cross and recognizes him as the cowboy who was interested in Sue Ellen in Season 2. But he was introduced to Dusty and knew his name at that point, in Episode 37. Odd that he would forget something like this. I would think that hearing the name "Farlow" would jog his memory.
- When Pam comes out of the motel with Bobby, she's
wearing the same dress she wore last episode. Don't get me wrong - I like that dress. This
is the seventh time we've seen it, but who's counting? I just found it strange that Pam
went to Southfork to get John Ross but didn't pick up another dress or something.
Obviously, since she told the security guards that he just taking John Ross for a 'ride',
she couldn't have packed a suitcase or anything. But couldn't she just put some clothes in
a bag? At least a change of underwear, I would hope.
That dress again.
- I really feel like I'm picking on Pam here, but
she seems to be in middle of all of these weird goings-on. Let me recap for those who
don't remember: Harry McSween tells JR that during the stake-out of the motel in Abilene,
his boys saw a car registered to Dusty Farlow pick up John Ross and drive away "that
morning". Presumably, they did not see Sue Ellen Ewing, or Harry would have mentioned
this, and JR would have immediately made the connection, instead of believing that the
Farlows just kidnapped his son. With me so far? Good.
Now, when Pam talks to Bobby, she mentions 'the look on Sue Ellen's face when (Pam) gave
John Ross to her last night'. From this information, we can glean that Pam most likely
physically placed John Ross in Sue Ellen's arms. Pam says she didn't see who Sue Ellen was
with, so we know that Sue Ellen was in the car. I think it's safe to assume that she most
likely got out of the car to get her baby, since she would have no idea she was being
watched. From the rest of the dialogue, we also learn that Pam doesn't know anything about
Dusty or the Southern Cross.
The two stories don't jive. I don't see why Pam would have reason to lie to Bobby;
moreover, it makes perfect sense for Sue Ellen to be there. My question is, why didn't
Harry's boys see Sue Ellen? If they did, why didn't he mention it? Or if Sue Ellen wasn't
there, what reason does Pam have to lie? And why, if Harry claims that the exchange
happened in the morning, does Pam claimed it happened "last night"?
- What is with Afton's song in this episode? It's not a song...it's a freaking novel!
- Capitol Cab has a new phone number. I have to check the files to see what the old one was, but now it has changed to 714-3298. Of course, the question of why there is a Capitol Cab in Dallas rather than in Austin has yet to be answered.
- Leigh Collins submitted: When Cliff first discovers the body in the Southfork pool, he runs over to the pool, jumps in, grabs the body, stands up, and then looks up at J.R. Wait a minute! He stands up. If you look closely he seems to be very close to that diving board and where I come from the diving board is at the deep end of the pool. It certainly should be. Good call.
- Tina Niblett submitted: When Donna rushes back to Dallas to see why Ray needed to withdraw $3 million out their account, there is a very revealing shot of her leg. As she walks toward the house with Ray, the wind blows up her dress, and her leg is revealed. She is wearing stockings--not pantyhose--and they are held up by a very sexy "Victoria's Secret" kind of garter. Check it out. l guess Ray wasn't kidding when he said he was glad to see her.
- Tina also asked: I have to wonder where Lucy was on the night that Kristin was killed. She apparently had left Mitch that day. She didn't take her clothes because she clearly stated that Raoul would come pick up her things. Yet, she doesn't spend the night at Southfork since she is shown the next day, bringing "her things" in herself. Did she spend the night with Muriel, and if she did, did she also borrow Muriel's clothes? At first I thought that it was Lucy's car in the driveway at Southfork when Cliff pulled up, but it couldn't have been (no Ewing plates). She must have taken the scenic approach back to Southfork because it obviously took her about 12 hours to return.
AHN Dave's corner:
- Doesn't Bobby need to provide more info than just
his name to make an airline reservation? He
most certainly should. It's not like he's a celebrity or something that people on the
other end of the line should automatically know who he is. At least he dialed seven
numbers to reach the airline. It's kind of funny to see Bobby do these nonsensical things
because you expect him to be smarter than this.
- Does the Dallas Press always have its papers available for free? Good one! They're just sitting on a stack outside the
sheriff's office, ripe for the taking.
- For the record, Rebecca Wentworth's number is: 859-7856. So it is. So why was Cliff dialing all sorts of weird numbers
in episodes past? See Episode 76 nits for details.
- Why does JR leave McSween alone in his office? I see they're friends, but it's
surprising that he would let someone in his office, with what I am sure is sensitive
information. He does this a lot. Howard
Barker, his lawyer, was waiting for him in his office too, and so was Kristin last episode
[though we never saw their conversation]. I think most of the really sensitive information
is under lock and key somewhere else, but it is strange that anybody and his brother can
just sit in JR's office and wait. Most offices have a few chairs sitting outside for
visitors.
-Why does Donna take a cab home? No one will pick her up from the airport? Donna herself mentions that she decided to come home
early...maybe she called while Ray was over at the ranch talking to Bobby and Lucy. It is
strange though.
- Sue Ellen says, "I'm suing you for divorce." I'm no expert in divorce law, but
does one "sue" for divorce? Shouldn't she say "sue for custody"? Yes. You FILE for divorce and then SUE for custody.
Exactly right.
- When Cliff is talking to Bobby on the phone, and they cut to Bobby, I thought the fern
behind his head was his hair for a second! So
did I! That was so scary!
- Phyllis is Bobby's secretary. When was the last time we saw Bobby at the Ewing Oil
offices? I thought about that too...I
figured she was just an extra secretary until she mentioned today that she would have to
talk over the possibility of working for JR with Bobby. That is very odd.
AHN Jason's corner:
- Empty purse meter- Pam at the hotel, Donna when she returns home.
- Not too bad for a new season. The curse of the new season hair do's isn't too bad.
Sue Ellen's looks a bit lighter. Afton's is lighter and a bit longer.
Donna and Pam look the same more or less.
- Pam's car seems different from before. She now has Ewing 6 and Lucy has Ewing 5.
- Speaking of cars, where is Sue Ellen's? It clearly was not in the Southern Cross
drive way as JR and company pulled up. He would have seen it and commented on it.
I didn't see it at Southfork either. I have
no idea. Certainly Sue Ellen did not drive to the Southern Cross - she probably left it at
the hotel where she met Dusty again.
- Afton's advice to Mitch confused me. How would money help him get back Lucy?
She liked him because he was not into money. What
Afton means [and she's quite right, too] is that Mitch should get some money so that a)
he'll be able to spend enough on Lucy to keep her happy and b) that he'll have enough on
his own so that he wont always be so uptight about the finances. THAT's the real problem.
- Plastic Surgery meter- We have a new Howard Barker. Why did they bother to
recast? Why not just make up a new character for JR's lawyer? There should be
hundreds of different lawyers in Dallas. Did Lorimar have a patent on the name
"Howard Barker" or something?
- Towards the beginning of the episode, JR meets McSween in his office in the morning.
It is clearly during work hours b/c Phyllis was there. Yet a day or two
later, JR asks her to send Louella in to work for him. Then Phyllis reminds him that
he fired her. Shouldn't he have realized she was gone and had new secretaries line
up before this point? I suppose so, but he's
preoccupied with getting John Ross back.
-You gotta love Phyllis. Smooth move on her part to avoid committing to being JR's
secretary. So far he has had 4... slept with 3 and 2 of them have died in falls.
Not a promising track record.
- Speaking of secretaries.... Phyllis says more or less that she is Bobby's
secretary (permanent apparently) even though she originally was a temp while Connie was
sick. I wonder if TNN cut out a scene where they said she died or something. I wonder this too. No clue. My guess: they didn't bother
and hoped we wouldn't notice.
- A new Raoul and Teresa. Maybe they brought a whole bunch more over the border
that night, hence the lights on all over Southfork at the beginning. Orientation. That explains it.
- In the first scene, it looks like they used the fake Southfork set. After that, they
seem to use the real Southfork. For good reason. The first scene's footage was shot last
season, along with the cliffhanger.
- At the police station, Fenton tells JR that "he has the right to an attorney
present." Shouldn't he have read JR the whole Miranda act? Not necessarily. Miranda is necessary when someone is
arrested; when someone is brought in for questioning in relation to a crime, they have the
right to an attorney and to remain silent if they so choose, but they're not necessarily
under arrest.
- Susan Howard's name is a bit larger than the rest of the mainline cast's credits.
Probably because hers is the only lettering they could not recycle from last season.
AHN Alett's corner:
- They don't really need all the lights and sirens going because Kristin is dead. It's probably stock footage.
- The balcony is a good 10 feet from the edge of the pool. Kristin would have to have
flown off the balcony to land in the pool without hitting her head. Pushed or fallen,
either way she should have had more injuries. I
noticed that too. She must have done a triple jump.
- So Dusty is a white knight, riding a white horse, living in a 'white castle'. I
guess that means they'll be serving little square, greasy hamburgers for supper.
- A couple of continuity problems - In Lucy's conversation with Bobby, when the camera is
on her, her coiled ponytail is on her back. When the camera is on Bobby, the
ponytail is forward over her left shoulder. At the Southern Cross, when the camera
is on Sue Ellen and Dusty, she has her arm in his. When the camera is on JR, she
isn't holding his arm.
- The newspaper headline reads "Ewing Kin Dead" with the same size pictures of
JR, Kristin, and Cliff. It makes it looks like Cliff is Ewing kin, too. Yeah, that is sort of odd.
AHN Pam's corner:
- Cliff must have worn one of those wash and wear suits. It was barely wrinkled
after being submerged not only in water, but also chlorine. It should've been
positively disheveled.
- J.R. shaved in his office. The only other time I think he did this was in season
13.
- Pam's purse appeared to have a bulge in it when Bobby picked her up at the hotel.
- When Bobby pulled in to the driveway at the beginning of the episode, the night of
Kristin's death, he parked with the front end of the car facing the garage and the top was
off. He must have taken time to go out and turn the car around so the back end faced
the garage and he put the 100 plus pound top on. The car was this way the next morning
when he left for the airport.
- Bobby's flight was at 7 a.m. That would mean he'd need to leave for the airport no
later than 5:30 or 6:00 at the latest. It's supposed to be June or so, but even in
June it isn't this light at that hour. It looked like about 10:00 in the morning.
- Pam stayed at the Trail Dust Motel? I've never been to Abilene and have no idea
how large of a town it is, but I would have at least thought they'd have a Holiday Inn or
something. This place looked like the type of place one would go for a three hour
nap. I think this is to avoid suspicion - it's
probably so that no one will see what's going down there. Of course, I'm not sure why
anyone should be worried. Obviously Sue Ellen thinks she's got nothing to be afraid of.
- Did we miss something? Bobby said to Donna that he had talked to Pam about going
to see a psychiatrist. When? Also, how did he know she's been having 'mood
swings'? She only told him about the baby thing two episodes ago and supposedly he's
been in Austin since then. So when has he been around her? Maybe he got all of this during
their phone conversations?
AHN Mike's corner:
- How about that traitor Raoul serving coffee to Cliff while he's trying to pin Kristen's
murder on Raoul's employer?
- Re the newspaper headline: Technically, I don't believe a sister-in-law qualifies as
'kin". I think it has to be a blood relative. And who uses the word "kin"
anyhow, besides the Beverly Hillbillies and people from Halleyville? It's one of those subtly emotionally charged words like "tot" -
the kind of word that would be in a New York Post headline. Makes you interested. You're
right that "kin" should be blood relative or spouse.
- Donna was sporting some mighty cheap looking luggage and a chintzy gold necklace for
someone with $3M in the bank. She must have blown
it all at Victoria's Secret.
- JR gets off some good ones: He asks the San Angelo sheriff "Do you also mow his
lawn on your day off, sheriff?". And to Sue Ellen "Your boyfriend can come to
your rescue in one mighty hobble".
- Middleaged, short curly-haired Teresa is back - apparently for the sole purpose of Pam
not having to walk less than ten feet to re-fill her own coffee cup.
Episode 79: Gone but not Forgotten
Bonehead dialogue of the day: [courtesy of Alett]
> JR: "Sheriff, when you get rich, you'll find you
have an awful lot of poor relatives."
(Chances are slim to none that this sheriff will get rich unless JR is going to give him a
monster bribe.)
Pam Award: By executive order, I give this one to Sly.
Angelica Award: Not much here. I vote for Clayton's clashing tie at the courthouse, but Sue Ellen hanging out of her swimsuit got some mentions.
Bobby Award: Cliff's hair at Afton's place. Get a comb, bud.
April Award: Sue Ellen for traveling alone with John Ross.
- The Braddock County Courthouse has moved since last season. Ray and Donna were married there in Episode 71, and the building was very different - for instance, it was larger and featured a prominent street number on the door. Suddenly it's in a more compact building. Very odd.
- Speaking of the courthouse: why is there a jury present? This is just an inquest to determine what happened that fateful night at Southfork and whether there is enough evidence to hold JR or Cliff for trial. A JUDGE decides this, not a jury.
- Cliff says he arrived at Southfork at about 7 or 7:30 PM. Wait a minute...it's pitch dark! It's not explicitly stated what time of year it is, but we can make a good guess based on the recent senate hearing and the fact that Kristin just had her child. It's June, maybe July. Unless you're in Antarctica it's not dark at all!
- Clearly the producers wanted to spare viewers from a whole lot of gore. Yesterday Alett pointed out that Kristin should have had much more serious injuries after falling from the balcony, and I agreed but I wanted to wait until the coroner gave his evidence before I commented. The coroner says she hit her head on the ground before falling into the pool, which knocked her unconscious. But it also should have practically split her head open! There should be blood everywhere and the Southfork pool water should be a mild shade of crimson.
- Somebody should report this Assistant DA to a government watchdog or something. Why is he wasting the taxpayers' time by allowing JR and Cliff to speak at the inquest? The coroner already has enough evidence to make a determination of what happened. JR and Cliff should not even have to be there.
- Afton confirms to the world that Cliff's a loser and then gets into her car to go to work. Wait a minute - a car? Who bought her that car? I can't believe she makes enough money as a singer to buy a car. Certainly she couldn't get this kind of money from Mitch. Was this another "gift" from JR? This would be a really tough one to hide from her self-righteous brother.
- When Bobby arrives at the Southern Cross, Clayton speaks to him without introducing himself or asking Bobby who he is. Have they met formally elsewhere? I know they saw each other earlier at the courthouse, but they didn't speak at that point. This is really odd.
- When Bobby asks Pam why she left Dallas so suddenly, she says that she would have been home for dinner. How, exactly? It's a four-hour drive from Dallas to San Angelo. I don't specifically see her car, but that's no evidence that she chartered a plane or anything. So how did she go to work, tell Jackie she was going to San Angelo, go there, play with John Ross for a while, and then expect to be back for dinner?
- Scenes of Lucy and Mitch were clearly cut from this episode in favor of the thrilling and exciting footage of Sue Ellen's helicopter carefully landing at Love Field. I'm sure glad they didn't cut that part out. [Not that I really care about what Lucy and Mitch are doing, but you see my point.]
- Sue Ellen has an empty black purse, not to mention empty tan suitcase, at Love Field.
I had to watch this very carefully because I thought at first the purse had disappeared.
It didn't but there is a bit of a nit here. Follow me, if you will.
When Sue Ellen gets out of the plane, she holds the suitcase as well as her purse in her
left hand, and holds John Ross's hand in her right hand. She then walks into the airport
holding ONLY the suitcase in her left hand, and the purse is almost imperceptible under
her arm because it's the same color as her jet-black dress. Then JR's dudes grab John
Ross, and one of them puts his hand over Sue Ellen's mouth and drags her aside. Sue Ellen
drops the suitcase but somehow manages to keep the purse under her arm. How and why? When
you're struggling with someone, the natural thing to do is to use your arms to try and
hold off your opponent, so the purse should drop as a matter of course. The only reason
Sue Ellen has to be protective of her purse is if there's something exceedingly valuable
in it - but of course, we all know it's empty, so that can't be the case.
Douglas Wille submitted some interesting thoughts:
- Sue Ellen has probably never traveled alone. Although the Southern Cross pilot probably took her luggage to her plane, for her to carry a small suitcase (and her son) through the airport is a bit odd.
- So J.R.'s boys are gonna grab the kid out in the open? No one is gonna see them? You're probably right, but in the Dallas area, who would stop them? Certainly not the cops.
- Where are J.R's cops? Had his cops (like Harry McSween) been there, the Farlow hands would have never been able to get the kid back. Yes. JR underestimates Dusty big time, figuring he probably doesn't need much to strong-arm Sue Ellen out of the picture.
- Also, have you noted that Dusty doesn't even fake a limp anymore? When they came back from the coroner's inquest, Sue Ellen walked away toward the yard. Clayton told Dusty to leave her alone, but he walked about 30 feet over to her, practically swinging his crutches. Much like Larry Hagman, Jared Martin has a hard time walking like a crippled man. It's difficult to do.
- And, how 'bout that gas grill in the Farlow yard? Pretty small for a ranch that size. I guess they must not use it that often. After all, it's usually only Dusty and Clayton.
- AHN Dave Shardell submitted: Why does Clayton duck when he walks away from Sue Ellen's helicopter? Does he think he is going to lose his head? (Wouldn't that be an interesting storyline?!) Yes it would be...and there are very few interesting storylines involving Clayton. But actually this is quite a natural thing to do.
AHN Jason's corner:
- Jared Martin is not given an "As Dusty" like the other "Also Stars"
were given for the second half of last season. And
you know why.
- The same photos were used in today's newspaper that were done in yesterdays.
- The Southern Cross Ranch sign looks kinda cheesy for a big place like that. Any cheesier than the Southfork sign? Well, maybe
somewhat cheesier.
- The purses seemed to be behaving themselves today. The only noticeably one I saw
was Sue Ellen's when she was traveling. But I must add her suitcase looked very
small and rather light when Clayton was swinging it along.
AHN Alett's corner:
- It seems odd that under the headline declaring Kristin's death accidental, the paper
has switched the pictures to Cliff first, then Kristin and JR.
- Afton has some nerve complaining how she doesn't like being used after what she did to
Cliff. Since I'm sure that a lot of their scenes
were cut, I can't really be sure. I imagine this is to firmly establish her as a conniving
bitch. It works.
- At least this new John Ross gets to go swimming. It's a good thing he didn't stay
in his bedroom much longer because that wallpaper would have been detrimental to his
education. It's supposed to look like little kid drawings of zoo animals, but next
to the zebra it says "zeber", and instead of kangaroo it says
"hop-hop".
AHN Mike's corner:
- I enjoyed this episode mostly because everywhere Cliff went he got stepped on big time.
As he approaches Wendell's desk he sticks out his arm to shake hands and is ignored. Later
Wendell tells him "You seem to have missed my message, Mr. Barnes. Weststar Oil does
not reward losers." Later Afton tells Cliff "You're a loser." and he
doesn't even attempt to defend himself. How can you
defend something like this? He doesn't have any success to point out.
- JR is sporting a new cowboy hat with spiffy blue band this whole episode. Speaking of
hats, it obvious Jock was "out" when Ellie and JR spoke. His hat was not on the
table behind her to indicate he was "in".
- Obviously Southfork has cornered the market on maids named Teresa. The Southern Cross's
maid is named Maria. Yup. Jason pointed it out. The
ones Raoul & Co. sneak across the border are given identities to suit their employers.
And they're given the same names as their predecessors to make it easier on their
employers. All Mexicans look alike to white folks, right?
- Clayton seems to have a lot less hair and a lot more forehead than he has in later
seasons. And speaking of hair, Sly's is LONG! I like it. Also, Marilee has finally
lightened hers and what an improvement!
- No jokes about Donna and Ray and the saddles. That's way too easy!
- The porcelain dog is still MIA.
- Has anyone ever mentioned that JR's and Wendell's desk chairs are remarkably similar if
not exact looking? This is the first time. I didn't
notice.
- Dusty wears a real tie with his suit at the airport.
AHN Analise's corner:
- When Sue Ellen was freed, she didn't even grab John Ross in a hug. He could have
been kidnapped. All she does is touch his arm. How lame! What kind of
mother is she?
- If JR had been on the ground level and not on that overhead ramp, he could have taken
John Ross right from that guy and Dusty would not have been able to recover him. JR
seriously screwed up! I'll have to give this one a
little bit of thought. I don't think JR wanted to be directly involved in this - he just
wants John Ross back on Southfork. If he physically took him away, Sue Ellen might have a
case against him for something or other.
- Why was John Ross so quiet during all of this? Wouldn't he have yelled "Mommy"
or something? Does he already know his
abductor?
- Who wears 3-4 inch heels while traveling? One more thing. Sue Ellen
wore taupe colored shoes with a black dress. Wrong!!!! Sue Ellen really should
know that one must wear black shoes with a black dress. That life at the Southern Cross
far from a city is already affecting her fashion sense.
- Bobby swims after the hearing? Must be great to work for the government! Maybe the senate isn't in session. It certainly never
will be again for Bobby.
- Sue Ellen returns from the hearing in a brown dress but went to the hearing in a white
suit. She did not go overnight. Seems odd to change one's clothes after a
court hearing! Heck she changed her jewelry too!
- Sly did not interview with a purse. No wallet? No car keys? No bus
pass? No organizer? And she wants to be a secretary?
- Donna's "fancy saddle" is hardly a fine saddle. It makes way too much noise.
Good expensive saddles have soft quiet leather. Cheaper ones are bulky and
loud. I ride so I know!
- Do cowboy stores always have salesmen to help fit suits like the one who helped Punk?
Gee, could have been Brooks Brothers!
- John Ross comes out of the pool and goes into Pam's arms. Sue Ellen then requests
that Maria goes and feeds John Ross. When Pam wants to hold John Ross a bit more, we
see John Ross taking a bite out of an apple. Well I see that John Ross doesn't need
anyone to feed him. Where did he get that apple?
Episode 80: Showdown at San Angelo
Bonehead dialogue of the day: [courtesy of Alett]
> After being offered a drink from JR, Harry McSween
says, "Is this business or pleasure?"
(Come on, Harry. When has your relationship with JR ever been anything but
business?)
Pam Award: Bobby in the bathrobe.
Nominated by Analise and seconded by Pam.
Angelica Award: A tie between Pam and Rebecca's really bad pair of print dresses while talking outside The Store, and McSween's checkered suit. Sue Ellen's frilly blouse at the Southern Cross got some mentions.
Bobby Award: Rebecca.
April Award: Ellie for not realizing how JR was planning to sneak John Ross back to Southfork
- Sue Ellen has an empty tan purse when returning to the Southern Cross.
- Why the hell would that dumbass adoption lawyer tell Bobby that it would only take about a month to adopt? He must be married to that stupid lady with the coke-bottle glasses from Season 8. No lawyer would be that irresponsible.
- Why would Ellie exercise on her bike while wearing a skirt - even a loose one? Wouldn't a pair of track pants or slacks be more appropriate?
- And why in the world would Raoul or Theresa bring liquor outside the house near Ellie? So that JR can pick up a drink as soon as he gets home? Is it too unreasonable to ask these people to go inside to the liquor cabinet to get drunk?
- When Ellie dials the operator to find the number for the Southern Cross, she dials about six numbers. It's hard to tell whether she dials five or six, but it doesn't matter. I'm just thinking: what combination of five or six numbers would get you an operator, even a long-distance one?
Tina Niblett pointed out: When Clayton decides that it isn't a good idea for Dusty and Sue Ellen to go out for some entertainment after dinner, he says that it's because they usually get up very early in the morning at the Southern Cross. For what? Dusty isn't able to herd cattle, nor is he able to help in the stables. It would seem to me that Dusty would be eager to get out. Heck, it might even help him to recuperate a bit faster. I think Clayton is beginning to harbor thoughts about Sue Ellen already, and he doesn't want Dusty to spend any time with her. Boy, Dusty's impotence goes a lot deeper than his sexuality.
AHN Jason's corner:
- Empty purse meter: Sue Ellen when she returns from the funeral, Donna at the airport,
Ellie at the airport, Pam at the adoption agency (It looked like it, but hard to tell.)
- Cliff and Rebecca seem to have steak and spaghetti with red sauce in the same dish.
Weird combo.
- So how come Mitch's friend Jean wasn't at his graduation party? Excellent question. Maybe she couldn't make it. Typically, graduation
occurs in the middle of clinical rotations. Maybe it was Jean's shift.
- In 1978, Sue Ellen was told that she would have to wait 3 years to get a baby.. (at
least the adoption lady said that she was still filling 1975 quota's.) Now in 1981, with
all these "new issues" such as abortion, contraception, and single mothers
keeping their young, Bobby and Pam have to wait only 18 months. Not a real nit per
se, because the world population is increasing each year, so there very well may be more
infants available in 1981 than 1978 but it is worth noting.
- Pam seems to wear eye make up to bed.
- Ellie is making cocoa to go to sleep. I hope it is decaf. Well, bear in mind that caffeine takes about an hour and a half to get
into your system. If it calms her down, she'll probably get to sleep.
AHN Alett's corner:
- After Sue Ellen gets back from the funeral and she and Dusty start kissing, twice she
kisses the air rather than his cheek.
- Cliff's hair looks less gray. Maybe he's using "Just for Men", or in his
case, "Just for Losers."
- If Mitch and Jean are such close platonic buds, why isn't she at the little celebration
at the bar?
- Pam reacts to Bobby's news about adoption like it's a totally novel idea. Geez, if she'd
considered this long ago when not being able to have a baby first surfaced, they'd have a
kid by now. Quite right.
AHN Val's corner:
- Almost the WHOLE family meets Miss Ellie and Jock (they think) at the airport. I know
it's more of a nice welcoming gesture, but that could be best accomplished at home. I
would think they would have just sent her a limo. In my family, you're lucky if you can
get someone to pick you up outside the terminal. Well,
it's not like they have anything better to do.
- John Ross sure leads a charmed life at the Southern Cross. Again, he gets to leave his
room and participate in normal household activities. Today, Clayton let him eat with the
family in the FORMAL dining room. I guess Clayton's not afraid of getting mashed potatoes
ground into his carpet. I guess Maria actually does
some WORK around the house, so Clayton's not afraid of letting her take care of mishaps.
- Mitch graduated from med school. He must be in the accelerated program because just last
season, he was in his second or third year. At most, he should be JUST STARTING his fourth
year. Quite right. From experience, I know that
there is no accelerated program WITHIN med school, although I was in an accelerated
program to get in.
- Miss Ellie was able to get the Southern Cross phone number through directory assistance.
This seems odd considering that most well-known, high-profile folks like the Farlows
usually have unlisted addresses and phone numbers to eliminate, or at least minimize the
occurances of crank calls or calls from "long, lost relatives". I also
noticed this about a week ago when Cliff called information to get Rebecca's new phone
number. I would think that a rich widower like Rebecca would want that information kept
out of public record. It's possible - although I
suppose the Southern Cross would be listed as a business. Kind of iffy.
- The Southern Cross ranch hands acting as guards. Obviously, this is BILC. I mean,
really. It seems odd these guys actually work out in the fields, herding cattle and
feeding horses until they hear the approaching Southfork helicopter. At that point, they
drop their feedbags and branding irons, grab their rifles and take their places around the
landing chopper. Clayton has trained these boys well. Another
good point. It's POSSIBLE that they rotate on duty but it's kind of odd.
AHN Analise's corner:
- How was Kristin's death a shock to Bobby? Did he really care that much to be
shocked? Would he be darling Bobby if he didn't?
- Sue Ellen returns to the Southern Cross by limo. Why not by helicopter again? There's probably a reason for this but it escapes me for
the moment.
- Sue Ellen gives John Ross to Maria like she used to give John Ross to Teresa. Are
they all the same to her? She couldn't wait to get rid of him. Some things never change.
- John Ross was sitting on Sue Ellen's lap in the limo. Not safe at all! I noticed something there but I tuned that one out for
some reason.
- Why can't Dusty be passionate with Sue Ellen? So what if he is impotent.
There's more to do to show affection--heck ask Bill Clinton! Yeah, Mike pointed this out a week ago, I think. But is it really the
same? And Dusty's problem is just as much as psychological as physical.
- Seems odd that Miss Ellie did not stay in New York long enough to find out why the State
Department and Senator Culver were there to meet him. Isn't she curious? Not curious enough.
- Linda Gray was excellent in looking bored at dinner. Clayton was certainly an old fuddy
duddy by announcing the Southern Cross rules of no evening's entertainment. I really
felt bad for Sue Ellen. Not a nit, just a comment. Well, in fairness, what the hell did she do when she was at Southfork?
Was JR EVER home to go out in the evenings? EVER? No. So this is lame. The only reason Sue
Ellen ever left Southfork after dinner was to get her privates pumped.
- Nice placement...Mitch surrounds himself with the women at his graduation party and the
men are all together. Subtle? Or maybe the
women planned it that way.
- JR is in the same suit and tie when he talks to his mother as when he set up Sue Ellen
at Love Field. He was busy that day. It COULD be
the same day...or maybe a few days later, and JR has a lot of suits that color.
- Pam sleeps in full makeup.
- Didn't TNN cut the scene in which JR begs to go with Miss Ellie to the Southern Cross?
I remember it distinctly. I don't remember
it, frankly. But it's quite possible that they cut it.
- Clayton always refers to John Ross as the boy! Hey, Clayton, John Ross has a name.
Well, JR does this too. He always says "the
boy" must stay here and what not. At least Clayton refers to him, unlike his
grandmother who hardly spent time with him while he was in her home.
AHN Mike's corner:
- Are we to believe that Dusty and Clayton actually get dressed up in three piece suits
to have dinner at that huge table every night, even when Sue Ellen is not around? I doubt they're are crazy about this as the Ewings are.
- Speaking of dinner, who was that young butler serving dinner at SF? And speaking of
meals at SF, why is it Donna and Ray seem to be there for every meal these days? Of
course, I'm not complaining, as it just gives JR more people to piss off. I loved his
remark about the potential adopted baby being "another half-breed". It was funny but technically incorrect. After all, if
Bobby and Pam adopted a baby it wouldn't be a Ewing at all.
- Another totally unexpected and out of place flourish of sappy music occurred right in
the middle of Pam and Rebecca's conversation on the street. And speaking of Pam, she's
become such a dim bulb lately that she reacted to the suggestion of an adoption as though
it were some brilliant solution along the lines of e = mc squared. Hard to believe this
never occurred to her before. You know, for some
selfish women like Pam, it wouldn't matter. It wouldn't really be HER baby, right? So it
wouldn't solve the real problem. Bobby is fortunate that all Pam really needs is a
distraction until the next crisis. Most women would need to solve the real problem in
order to feel fulfilled.
- When the helicopter first approached the SC Ranch, Sue Ellen keeps telling John Ross to
look at the helicopter but instead he stares at the ground. That's typical. I used to do this all the time.
- JR is really not functioning well. He could have succeeded if he had simply taken the
baby to the coptor himself when it was revving up, then take off, leaving Ellie behind.
The guards wouldn't have shot while he was holding the baby. This would have clearly
established that Ellie was not part of the plot to SE and the Farlows. But even if they
thought she was, it isn't as if they were going to hold her there against her will or as
ransom for the return of the baby. Maybe not, but I
dare say that some of those ranch hands are crack shots. They could at least have put some
nasty holes in that chopper.
- This whole Ray-Donna thing is really annoying. Donna absolutely won't give him credit
for anything other than being a "cowboy". Maybe it's because everybody else
annoying keeps telling her what a "businessman" he's become. Seems to me like
Punk and the others did all the real work and kind of tolerated Ray because of the Ewing
money at first and then investing Donna's money later. That's
quite possible I suppose but I think Donna just likes her men in a position where they
need her.
AHN Pam's corner:
- Mitch is really ungrateful but seems to know Afton VERY well. Milton sent over
a bottle of champagne to Mitch and his friends in honor of his graduation. This was a nice
gesture and Mitch just can't accept that. Is there no end to this macho pride thing?
But the fact that he thought Milton did it only because he was screwing Afton was
hillarious!! I missed that nuance of their
conversation. Probably because I still had my ears covered from Afton's song.
- The Southfork kitchen has been remodeled! The last time we saw it in season 1 it
looked like something straight out of "I Love Lucy". Now it looks like
they've jumped in to the 1980's. It also seems to be much bigger than in the past. It's a different room. The kitchen used to be on the
opposite side of the main foyer, now it's next to the dining room.
- Rebecca said that Cliff would know good business when he sees it. I have to
question what Cliff knows. It's stated several times over the next several seasons
what a large company Wentworth Industries is and how well known it is in Texas.
Cliff knows that Rebecca's last name is Wentworth. Now she has a company for him to
run? Doesn't this guy at least have an inkling that this Rebecca Wentworth who is
his mother could possibly be part of THE Wentworths? It takes him until today when
he does some research on Tool & Die to discover this. If nothing else, you'd
think he'd recognize this name from his association to Dave Culver. The Wentworths
contributed to Dave's campaign at the dinner Cliff spoke at for Dave last season. He
was also Dave's right hand man and standing in the receiving line. The Ewings went
through the line I would assume the Wentworths did too. Cliff should get a clue. Maybe Rebecca conveniently distracted herself away from
introductions. I do this a lot.
- I see where J.R. and Bobby learned their manners when it comes to offering people
drinks......from Ellie. When Bobby and Ellie were in the kitchen, she said she was
making cocoa to help her sleep. She never asked Bobby if he'd like any. Maybe she knows Bobby doesn't like cocoa.
- I had to laugh when Cliff told Rebecca that Pam is a 'strong lady'. Oh yeah, sure
Cliff, what you said. The first sign of trouble this girl either walks out on her
husband or retreats in to her own little cocoon and treats him like crap, then she hates
the whole world for awhile. When has she EVER really confronted one of her problems?
Never. Yeah, she's real strong! I must
have been asleep because I missed that completely.
- The brown and beige placemats made a return appearance. They've been spotted at
the Cattleman's Club, Ray and Donna's house and now Cliff has his own set. He used
them when he and Rebecca had their omelettes. BTW, how many bachelors would really
own let alone use placemats?
Bonehead dialogue of the day: [courtesy of Alett]
> Jackie: "Is Pam with you by any chance?"
> Bobby: "She's at work, isn't she?"
( Gee, Bob, I guess she's NOT at work if Jackie's calling you.)
Pam Award: Donna's blue dress ties with Sue Ellen's black and white Alexis Carrington outfit.
Angelica Award: I didn't care for Pam's purple print dresses, straight from the Louella collection.
Bobby Award: Arthur's mushroom cut.
April Award: Bobby for calling Dr. Danvers rather than 911 when he finds Pam in a trance.
- This one is questionable but I thought I'd point it out. When JR and Ellie got into the chopper at the end of last episode, Ellie got in first, from the left side, and then JR got in. Today, when we see them exiting the chopper, JR gets out first, from the right side, and then Ellie. My question is this: since Ellie got in first, from the left side, shouldn't she have taken the seat on the RIGHT side, so that it would be easier for JR to get in? Was Ellie so upset that she didn't even realize that JR would have to squeeze past her legs in order to get to the right side of the helicopter? I'm not saying it's impossible for this to make sense: I'm just saying that it's very odd.
- Also, JR's cabbageing at the beginning of this episode is really painful. "You haven't said anything since we left the Southern Cross ranch." I think Ellie knows where she's been, JR.
- Cliff is really getting the hang of this phone thing. When he calls Rebecca, he dials seven numbers. But shouldn't he have to dial nine to get an outside line from his office?
- After chatting with Arthur, Dusty picks up the awfully quiet Southern Cross phone and says "Hello...Tom?" This is rather odd. I suppose he could have had the ringer volume down because he didn't want to disturb the powwow that was going on, but why would he answer the phone like he knew who was going to be at the other end?
- And as Sue Ellen watches Arthur's car pull away, she experiences flying-arm syndrome. At first, she had her hands on her hips, as if she's about to put them in her pockets; then there's a cut and she has them together in front of her.
- What is the fabulously wealthy Beverly Waring doing in
Afton's trashy bar? I realize that this is a gimmick the writers have dreamed up to get
Mitch some air time, but this is egregious. There is absolutely no plausible reason that a
rich woman like Beverly and her friends would be hanging out at the Starlight except that
it's convenient for the writers. [And DON'T say it's because of Afton's singing, or I'll
slap you.]
As a follow-up, NIS pointed out: Mitch saves Beverly Waring's life and yet she never says a word. When
Mitch went to their house, she just smiles. What's up with that. Was she a mute? I thought so but then I reviewed the tape and realized
that she told Afton that she liked her singing. Maybe she was struck mute because of this
transgression.
- I'm having a hard time understanding how Pam brought herself into a semi-conscious state. This is almost impossible to do, even when you're concentrating intensely. I personally think she might have found some of Kristin's hidden stash of PCP.
- When Howard calls Southfork, JR answers the phone by saying "Yeah". Why do these people do this all the time?
AHN NIS asked: Bobby actually knows Dr. Danvers' home phone number without looking it up? I guess so. Good point.
AHN Jason's corner:
- It's just a hunch, but I think they used the "real" Southfork today.
- Empty purse meter- Afton with JR; Pam at S.F. with Bobby; Rebecca at Cliff's office;
Rebecca and Katherine with Cliff; Donna with Ray and Punk
- There is a basketball hoop at Southern Cross so Sue Ellen can practice that jump shot
she must have done with the SF B-ball hoop. Perhaps
she's moved on to the tomahawk dunks.
- Afton puts her purse in her lap at the restaurant and not on the table.
- Don't choking victims almost always hold their throats when they are choking and can't
breathe? Mrs. Waring just clenches her fists together.
- Why does Dr. Waring assume that Mitch just didn't take a CPR class? He seems to
think that only a doctor would know how to handle a choking victim. Maybe it was the way he did it efficiently and without panicking. I see
your point.
- Is Mrs. Waring mute? Or did Lorimar not want to pay for her to speak? I thought so too at first - but before this she told
Afton she liked her singing. Perhaps she was struck mute by Nemesis.
- I had to laugh when Dr. Danvers advises Bobby to try to get Pam interested in her work
again (since she is not right now.) SURE. I
laughed too. I laughed harder when Pam said she was going to make up for all the slacking
off she did. That would take decades.
- Bobby gets a buzz and is told "line one (?)". I had assumed that this was
Phyllis but she was not credited so it must have been Sly so the producers could save some
money. It sounded like Phyllis, probably
off-screen. This wouldn't be so bad for the producers - Phyllis could be paid as an
ordinary extra because she just has to say a normal line.
- Just a note... Sue Ellen's lawyer claimed that she has been at the Southern Cross for
a month now. It has been four episodes, which would be a month in viewing these on
CBS but the events don't seem to have taken up that much time.
- I am rather surprised to see Donna and Ellie sitting right behind JR in the courtroom.
Ellie, I guess, would show support of her son (although her earlier speech seemed to imply
she didn't want him to win) but Donna even goes as far as trying to reassure her dear
brother in law about his case. I thought that was pushing it. She can't stand him. I guess Ellie is thinking that if JR wins, Sue Ellen
might come back on her own.
AHN Alett's corner:
- Gross. Mitch is dabbing Mrs. Waring's face with the same napkin she just spit that
chicken bone into. Her friend at least tried to fold it up, but Mitch undoes it and
just starts wiping it on her. Outside of this, I do have to say Mitch has a good
"bedside" manner. I think Mrs. Waring has a little crush on him. Don't all you ladies? :)
- Bobby doesn't know what's wrong with Pam. I would think he'd call an ambulance
rather than Dr. Danvers. I see your point. Good
thing it's NOT something physical.
- Another Dallas truth. No Ewing will ever finish his or her breakfast, and they
always load up their plates. Don't they know people are starving in Fort Worth?
- Phyllis just tells Bobby it's line 1. Jackie should have identified herself and/or
Phyllis should ask who it is. I think Jackie didn't
identify herself. She's already well on her way to becoming an incompetent secretary.
AHN Analise's corner:
- Sweat stains on Sue Ellen's back in San Angelo. Must have filmed in the summer?
Yuck!
- A depressing song like "Send in the Clowns" is on a child's toy? How
odd! Is that what it was? I couldn't tell.
- I guess carafes of whisky are part of being CEO of Wentworth Tool and Dye? Cliff
looks like he is examining a brand new toy and not the responsibility of being CEO.
- Bobby should have said to Pam, when recommending seeing a psychiatrist, that while a
shrink cannot change the fact that they may not be able to have a child, a shrink can help
deal with Pam's reaction to it and help her face reality. She will never see it that way, but I agree it's Bobby's duty to try and
shake her up.
- Mitch is asked what field he wants to go into. He just says research. Well,
that seems strange. Shouldn't he say, oh I don't know, cancer research or something?
Is research as a generic response typical? Sometimes.
Nowadays one would say cancer research or AIDS research, but Mitch might not have found an
interesting project just yet.
AHN Val's corner:
- In the opening scene where the chopper was circling the ranch house, Jock's Lincoln was
seen parked in front of the garage. It wasn't there before. I'm not sure where he left it
before his trip, but it was parked under the basketball hoop the morning after Kristin was
found dead. So who's been driving it? I'm told by
people who live down in Texas that the reason people leave their keys in the car a lot,
especially on farms, is so cars can be moved when necessary. Maybe this explains it.
- When Jackie finds Bobby in Pam's office, she calls him "Mr. Ewing". She always
called him "Bobby" in the past. In fact, she uses his first name later in the
episode when she calls to inform him that Pam's missing.
- At lunch with Afton and Judge Packer, the waiter brings JR a phone. A CORDED phone. Are
we really to believe that they strung a 20+ foot cord through a restaurant full of patrons
just so JR could take a call? I just hope no one tripped over that cord. That's something I've never really understood. Maybe they
have outlets all over the restaurant and all they have to do is plug a phone into one of
them, but it is odd.
- Rebecca prepares dinner in her carpeted kitchen. I just hope she's careful...or at least
keeps a Bissell Steam Vac in the hall closet.
- John Ross was not stolen in the "dead of night" as Mr. Barker claimed. Pam
left with him in the middle of the day. Yeah, I see
your point. But it was the proverbial dead of night.
AHN Sara's corner:
- What happened to all that Southern Cross security? There wasn't anybody around
when Sue Ellen's lawyer drove up. I guess they're
more worried about helicopters. Or they know his car.
- The choking scene was pretty unrealistic, but at least they didn't have the choking
victim coughing like I've seen on other shows.
AHN Mike's corner:
- My wife commented that the Dallas wardrobe people must have gotten a discount on rugs
for this episode. Every non-core male cast member seemed to be wearing one.
- The comptroller of Rebecca's company, Forrest, sounded like a Maine farmer with that
accent of his. A $10M company? I managed a PR department budget larger than that around
the time this episode was filmed. And he expects us to be impressed that the company has
revenue of $10M? Go back to Maine, you hick!
- The porcelain dog and and its puppy seem to have migrated permanently to the bookshelf
next to the family room door.
- Who were all those people playing tennis in the background of Dr. Waring's backyard?
Does he live on a public tennis court?
- Middle-aged, curly-haired Teresa is back again.
- Earth to Rebecca: Katherine is not Cliff's "sister". She's his
"HALF-sister". But they're all one big
happy family right? I guess Rebecca just doesn't want to draw attention to the fact that
she was a tramp.
AHN Pam's corner:
- Fashion offender: Katherine. A black skirt and satin navy blouse is very
attractive, but not with COPPER pumps! Black pumps would be much more appropriate
with this conservative outfit.
- Rebecca told Cliff she had an appointment downtown, to do what? Go shopping?
- Pam has a very strange engine in that Porsche. When she started the car, we didn't
even hear the engine turn over, it sounded more like she just barely hit the gas and
revved the engine.
- When Cliff called Rebecca from his office, he dialed, but I don't think the phone even
had a chance to ring on her end before he started speaking to her.
- Ray and Donna had a $3 million dollar check to deposit. First, Donna pulled a
deposit slip from the bank's stash, I think for that amount of money, I'd want to make
sure I had one of my own PRINTED deposit slips with my PRINTED name and account number on
it. Also, Punk handed Ray the check, so shouldn't Ray have had to SIGN it before they
deposited it? Donna had the pen in hand, he could've done it right there.
- When Bobby found Pam in the baby department, she was holding the music box and it was
still playing. When Bobby took it away from her the music stopped. When they walked away,
the music began playing again. Music boxes need to be wound to play. When the music
stopped, it would suggest that it had run down and needed to be wound again.
Bobby never wound it, so how did the music start playing again?
Episode 82: The Sweet Smell of Revenge
Bonehead dialogue of the day: [courtesy of Alett]
> Farraday: "I want to talk to you about Kristin and
her baby."
> Bobby: "HER Baby?"
Whose baby did you think, Bob?
Pam Award: Sweet unassuming Sly. She's sort of like the Betty Cooper of Dallas.
Angelica Award: A tie between Jackie's ugly sweater and Phyllis's blue polkadot dress.
Bobby Award: Phyllis's bun. Everyone knows I like Phyllis but frankly Sly makes her look like a toad. Walter Shear isn't too hot either.
April Award: Pam for not remembering what triggered her depression.
- Great. Just what we needed. More psychobabble from
some know-it-all psychiatrist. This had better be over soon. My nit is as follows: Pam
says she has no idea why she has these feelings of emptiness, anger, and depression. Let's
see...emptiness, anger, depression...that's a tough one. Real tough one. I'll have to
think about this for a minute...hey, wait. You don't think this could have something to do
with that whole 'I can't have a baby' thing, do you? No, couldn't be.
Give me a break. I realize Pam's supposed to be emotionally unstable, but she sure as hell
doesn't have amnesia. She knows full well what triggered her depression. This is stupid.
- And while we're on the subject: why does Pam get mad at Bobby for wanting her to stay at Brooktree? She says he's only interested in making sure she doesn't try to commit suicide again. Well, sorry, Pam, but maybe he actually cares about you and loves you and doesn't want you to die! I guess that would make him a bad person?!
- I consider at very un-DA MAN-like for Jock to agree with JR's sentiment of "get John Ross back and whatever happens to Sue Ellen happens". I've always liked to think that Jock cares about Sue Ellen in his own way. The only way this makes sense is if JR has lied to him about the circumstances of her departure and Ellie hasn't been backing her up, which I suppose is possible.
- Bobby has his own secretary in his senate office. So what exactly does Phyllis do?
- When Bobby calls, Ellie has to walk all the way across the kitchen to get the phone herself. As JR says in later seasons, can't the help get the phone once in a while?
- Ellie calls Rebecca and says she's going to come by and pick her up. So Ellie knows where Rebecca lives? When did they meet? Certainly when Rebecca says "it's been a long time", I don't think she's referring to the thirty-odd years since she last lived in Dallas.
- I'm glad to see that Linda Gray found a better-fitting swimsuit than she had the other day. At least she's not all over the place in it.
- Katherine suddenly looks MUCH older in this episode. Yesterday she barely looked nineteen. But she still needs to go out and buy some decent dresses.
- When Pam is lying down and wondering why her husband cares for her, she's wearing WAY too much eye makeup. It's possible that when she came home she didn't take it off but she's clearly dressed in a pink nightie or something, so it's evident she spent a little bit of time in the bathroom.
- I want to know who Dusty's cameraman is. How was he able to take close-ups of Dusty at the Ewing rodeo like we see? It almost looks like Dusty got his films from...the DALLAS producers.
AHN Jason's corner:
- The reporters call Bobby "Mr. Ewing". Isn't he Senator Ewing? You'd
think that they would know this.
- If Pam is so depressed, how come she put on make-up in the morning at the hospital?
- Empty purse meter: Sue Ellen at Southern Cross. Rebecca and Ellie at the park
(questionable). Lucy at SF. Katherine and Rebecca at Rebecca's. Pam at Southfork and
Brooktree.
- Empty Suitcase meter- Bobby with Pam's at SF; Bobby with Pam's at Brooktree
AHN Alett's corner:
- Continuity problems - When Jackie called Bobby, she was wearing a blue sweater.
When he arrives at the store, she's now wearing a beige, flowered blouse. Dr.
Conrad's hair changes from flatter and pulled back on one side when she's with Pam, but
fuller with slightly different curls when she talks with Bobby.
- When Sue Ellen grabs John Ross, he doesn't seem too thrilled about it- probably because
she's giving him a diaper wedgie. That must really
suck for babies.
- What a short memory Ellie has. She tells Lucy that two people ought to be able to
work out their problems together. She let Jock move out of the house without trying
to work things out together.
- Somebody needs to make sure the oven is level. Ellie's cake looks like the
"Leaning Tower of Pisa".
- With Clayton right beside Dusty, why do they need a servant to open the sliding glass
door for them? Well, at least THESE servants aren't
lazybones like Raul and Theresa. I bet they even...horrors...answer the PHONE sometimes.
- The sign for "Brooktree Hospital" looks darker and a little more
substantial when we first see it. When Bobby arrives with Pam, it looks more like a
banner stuck on two poles and in a different place than before. Maybe it's a different side of the hospital.
- Farraday is pretty confident in the mail. He knows exactly when the letter will
arrive, and it just says he'll call at noon without giving the day. He might have dropped it in the mail slot himself. It's worth pointing
out.
AHN Mike's corner:
- Where did professional poor boy Mitch get the money for that new Mustang he drove to Dr. Waring's yesterday? Waring's office, by the way, looks very familiar but I can't quite place where we've seen it before.
- Let me see if have this right: By virtue of performing the Heimlich maneuver and
turning down a $5000 check, Mitch is suddenly a prime plastic surgery intern candidate?
Doesn't this job require some other skills, like acute manual dexterity, for example? You know, you'd be surprised. You can be a total doofus
and still get a surgical residency. Generally speaking, surgeons have the belief that
nothing they learned in medical school matters - it's what you learn in the five years
AFTER med school that makes you a good surgeon. I happened to be a relative klutz but in
Gross Anatomy I learned very quickly how to handle a pair of scissors delicately - took me
two weeks.
- Once again a family member winds up at Dallas Memorial in dire straits and Sue Ellen is
nowhere to be found.
- And if "nothing matters" to Pam, why did she take the time and effort the
morning after her suicide attempt to put on purple eyeshadow, lipstick and make sure not a
hair on her head was out of place?
- Did you catch that close to obscene outfit on the cocktail waitress at the Cattleman's
Club? Yes I did. No wonder people like eating
there. Makes me wonder whether it's more than just a dining establishment..
- I noticed Pam's fee for Brooktree also includes a prime reserved parking spot right in
front for the Ewings.
- If Dr. Conrad's task is to "find the healthy part' of Pam, it won't be too
difficult. I'd start just south of Pam's chin. You
got it. I totally agree.
AHN Pam's corner:
- The hospital must have been very concerned about Pam's appearance. She was wearing
more makeup while sleeping than she was wearing on top of the building when she was
supposedly dressed for work. Bobby also wanted to make sure Pam was stylin' when she went
home from the hospital. He brought her a fairly dressy outfit with those white pants
and black and white striped blouse, not to mention heels and a black empty purse.
This was a lot of effort just to go home and go back to bed.
- Disgusting! Lucy stuck her finger in the bowl to lick the frosting and then put
the same finger on the cake to lick more frosting. Gross! Besides, does Lucy
REALLY think she should be eating frosting? I mean, shouldn't she be watching her
'figure' (snicker)? I guess she's no longer Miss
Physical Fitness.
- I can accept the fact that Ellie would know where Rebecca lived without asking her.
She probably got her number from Pam and Bobby's address book and it was listed.
What I can't believe is exactly how well informed she was about Dr. Conrad and
Brooktree. By all accounts she only had the one brief conversation about Brooktree
and Dr. Conrad with Bobby in the hospital. So how does she know of her reputation
and that of Brooktree and that it's more like a home than a hospital? Did she run a
check? An excellent question.
- Pam's car was parked in the lot at The Store when she decided to climb on top of the
building. When she and Bobby arrived home from the hospital, her car was parked in
the driveway. Did Bobby 'send one of the hands' in to Dallas to pick it up? I know that in the next episode Jason mentions that it's
not at Southfork, and I know that in the episode after that it WILL be at Southfork,
because I had it taped and just watched it.
- Since when is Bobby into birds? There was a brass one on his desk in his 'senate' office. The first time he spoke to Farraday it was in the middle of his desk. Strange place for a statue. Later when he talked to Farraday it was in it's proper place on the edge next to his pen and pencil set.
Bonehead dialogue of the day: [courtesy of Alett]
> Lucy: "Is this a special occasion? Should I
have brought a present?"
(So, Lucy just accepts invitations without having a clue what the party is for?)
Pam Award: The wardrobe guys for
outfitting Sly, Katherine, and Afton in really nice dresses.
Angelica Award: Ellie's ugly purple dress with the funky collars. Afton's copper belt with the aqua silk outfit.
Bobby Award: Beth's flowered look ties with Dr. Conrad.
April Award: Pam for thinking that Dagmara is a pretty name.
- Yet again, Ray and Donna come to Southfork to do...nothing. Except mooch some of the Ewings' coffee and make small talk with Bobby and Ellie.
- I'm trying to decide which is more annoying to my ears: Afton singing; Pam's theme; or fingernails screeching along a chalkboard.
- That Sly is one dedicated secretary. Twice, Vaughn Leland shows up very late at night and both nights she's there. She must really like her job. [And we always wondered whether Phyllis ever went home.]
- Bobby has a different Senate secretary today - a pretty young blonde. What happened to the older lady we saw last week?
- Bobby's secretary tells him that 'Farraday' is calling. Farraday has never identified himself to Bobby before, yet he seems to have a feeling of who it is before he picks up the phone. Spooky.
AHN Veronica's corner:
- Pam, Pam, Pam, PAM, you are so stupid, [I already like the sound of this] today you told your psychiatrist that you felt like it was a mistake for coming to Brooktree. But then you turned around and said that without a baby there was no use in living! Honey wise up, you just tried to jump off a building day before yesterday and now you don't want to live.... You need HELP. Stay there, let them work out your problems. [Amen.]
- And finally, When Bobby calls that unidentified
office in the next to last scene the camera pans out to have a look at the check that he
is holding. ( Remember this is the information that he got from Farraday concerning
Kristin.) In the bottom left hand corner of that copied Check it says Jordan Lee,
then it gives his full address, and phone number. Hmmmm that's odd... on all my
checks in the bottom left hand corner is the little word "memo" and a line after
it and then then all those bank code numbers...... I don't know maybe Jordan Lee gets
special "cartel" checks or something.
NIS added: Another point on the copy of the check Bobby had at the end of the
episode. The check number was hand-written. Aren't they usually pre-printed?
I can't believe I missed
this. Something struck me as odd, but I passed over it. Good call!
AHN Alett's corner:
- I'm sure everyone noticed the boom problems at breakfast. First it appears in the
shot with Ellie, Ray, and Donna. Later it's clearly over Ellie's head. Hey, I think I see it this time. Wow.
- It just seems odd that since Jock wanted to see all his boys, it's never made clear that
he did get to see Ray and Bobby.
- It's a good thing Jock was the one to give John Ross a car. If it had been JR, it
would have been a little Mercedes. Or some other
foreign job.
AHN Jason's corner:
- I am confused by Ray. It seems (surprise!) hypercritical of him to tell Donna that
he doesn't want to use her money or have her as a partner yet he did that exact thing in
#77. And it is nice to see Donna support Ray in his endeavors. I think I'm going to tote the number of times someone e-mails and says
"I'm confused by Ray" or "I'm confused by Donna". Everything they do
is confusing.
- Just a note: JR and Vaughn discuss how he is gambling with Ewing assets again, but
there is no mention of Southfork being jeopardized. Isn't it still a Ewing Oil asset until
Jock leaves it to Ellie in the will? Depends on
whether it was a Ewing Oil asset in the first place - let's not get into that, though.
Things are very different now. Remember that Ewing Oil is a MUCH bigger company because of
the Asian deal. I think I remember doing the math a while ago - I thought that they jumped
from being a 100 million dollar company to roughly a billion.
- Here's an interesting note.... Jeff shows Bobby the checks that Jordan presumably
mailed to Kristin in LA. When Bobby looks at them, they are clearly placed 3 or so
to a page. I could understand Kristin copying each check as they came in, but I
couldn't see a desperate drug addict waiting weeks or months to collect 3 checks just so
she can put all of them on one piece of paper. Kristin didn't strike me as the
environmental type. Maybe Kristin didn't...maybe
Farraday did. I don't remember whether Farraday said that she made copies or not. But even
if she did make copies, maybe he made copies of the copies. I see your point, though.
AHN Pam's corner:
- WOW!! Those beige and brown placemats are showing up EVERYWHERE!!!! Let's
recap, first we saw them last season at the Cattleman's Club and in Ray and Donna's house.
This season they showed up in Cliff's apartment. Now they're using them
outside for breakfast at Southfork. They were on the table when Bobby poured his
coffee during the opening scene.
- Speaking of restaurants, Vaughn and that guy met at one too. The establishing shot was
of the restaurant that his lunch and supper written above the windows, the same one that
Pam and Rebecca ate at last season that had 'the most wonderful Caesar salad'. Only
the interior was definitely NOT the same restaurant they ate in.
- The Ewings really are formal. In the opening scene, Bobby poured his coffee
from a silver coffee pot in to a china cup with a saucer. What's wrong with a thermal pot
and regular coffee cups? This is a bit much especially considereing there's NO ONE
else around for breakfast. Oh wait, it's a good thing it was t there since Donna and
Ray showed up for their daily meal mooch. I didn't
notice the silver service. Good one.
- Pam sat in bed fully clothed with makeup during her visit with Bobby, but then she
allowed the maid in to make the bed and just sat there staring in to space before
Katherine's visit.
- I believe Lucy said that Dr. Waring's daughter was a friend of hers. Apparently
the whole family are not friends of the Ewings. Otherwise Dr. Waring should've known
that Mitch was "THAT" Mr. Cooper. I guess
they met at school or something. Her name is Sandy, and she wasn't one of the Janine
Turner crowd.
- Ellie stepped off the helicopter and Clayton told her to come up and have a cold drink.
Ellie sat down and her drink was already poured. I didn't see any of
Clayton's staff around, so I wonder how long it'd been sitting there.
- Empty Purse Meter: Katherine during her visit with Pam, Ellie when she was at the
Southern Cross.
- I can't believe Lucy brought a 'date' to the Waring's party. Even if she didn't
know Mitch was going to be there, it's still completely inappropriate, she's still
MARRIED. I'm not sure she considered him to be a date or just a friend. But
the guy certainly thought he was her date, he was curious as to why he was there if her
husband was there and went off with her friend Beth. BTW, Lucy's dress was the color
of Pepto Bismol, very unattractive.
AHN Mike's corner:
- Poor Bobby has to pour his own out on the veranda. No Teresas of any kind in sight.
- Donna and Ray are starting to dress alike now as Donna has shifted into Krebbs
Collection work shirts and jeans.
- Had to laugh when JR's banker's were balking at lending him money at 12% as being not
high enough. I can remember a time when interest rates on mortgages were as high as 16%,
right around the time this was filmed. Man, that must have been a great time to have had
money to invest! That's confusing a lot of people
right now, because rates are so low. But I also remember things being really high in the
early 80s.
- Now even Katherine is deluded into calling Pam her "sister" instead of
half-sister. Let's see how long that lasts.
- Ray and Donna just don't get it. The idea of having partners on these big money deals is
to spread the risk and keep investment of your own funds to a minimum. You don't partner
with your wife and her money. They don't get
ANYTHING. Quite right.
Bonehead dialogue of the day: [courtesy of Jason]
> Pam: "I guess it was foolish what I did on top of that building, but I am not suicidal."
Pam Award: Sue Ellen's pink outfit at Ewing Oil. Dusty's tight pants look got a mention from Val.
Angelica Award: Donna's garish blue hat.
Bobby Award: Walter Shear and Cliff's date.
April Award: Ray for not running a soil report on his new land.
- Williamson tells JR that as soon as he receives his check, he's off to the Virgin Islands for a vacation to avoid the Farlows. But wait - didn't Dusty say just last episode that Williamson was already on his vacation? His secretary must be a really good liar.
- When Sue Ellen arrives at JR's office, she just barges in without a word. Why didn't one of the secretaries buzz JR and tell her she was here? Or, if she didn't give them the chance, why isn't Sly or Phyllis following her and trying to stop her?
- Another Ray and Donna Southfork breakfast-crashing episode. They said they had a plane to catch - so why did they waste time driving all the way to Southfork and drinking coffee? This time at least they jaw with JR a little bit.
NIS pointed out: Where did Jordan Lee get Kristin's and the baby's blood type. Is that part of the birth record? Perhaps the baby's blood type is in the report. I would assume that someone as rich as Jordan would be able to find out this information if he wanted...I wonder whether it could happen this quickly, though.
NIS also added: I see a basketball hoop at the Southern Cross Ranch. Not sure who uses it, maybe Dusty wanted it to use in between rodeo events. There's also a hoop at Southfork, which I assume Bobby uses. As I pointed out in the nits for Episode 11, and seems quite likely thanks to this new information, Sue Ellen might have a pretty good jump shot. Maybe the Dallas Mavericks could use her outside game.
AHN Jason's corner:
- Dusty says that Sue Ellen took "a car" into town. This suggests that
she still doesn't have HER car from wherever she left it last season. Apparently not.
- There is a weird time line vibe in this episode: In the beginning, Dusty and Clayton
find out about their oil problems. Clayton makes a comment that he may have to shut down
production. Sue Ellen goes to JR and demands his terms. There is a quick cut to Dusty and
Clayton talking about laying people off a week ago. Sue Ellen returns in the same dress.
- How come the architect guy didn't have any equipment to survey the land? He just
sort of plays with the dirt. I'm not too sure. I
bet he can make some guesses just by playing with the dirt, but he would probably need
some equipment to be sure.
- We have a new Raoul.
- Empty purse meter- Donna at Cattlemen's club. Lucy with Mitch. Sue Ellen at JR's
office. Rebecca at Brooktree.
AHN Val's corner:
- Ray's gonna name the new development Krebbs Park Villas. Good grief. That guy really
needs his ego deflated. NO housing tract I have ever known is named after the developer!
They are all given names that correspond with the area landscape (Palm Villas), geography
(Braddock Estates) or even a nearby street (Central Square). But for Ray to name the
development after HIMSELF....what's that guy smoking???? I suppose with a name like Krebbs, no one would really notice. But I see
your point.
- Toward the end of her scene with JR, Sue Ellen's hair changed. It sort of fell off the
top of her head (where it looked like a cone) onto her forehead where it looked flatter.
- Sue Ellen used one of the ranch cars--a big brown station wagon with SC on the doors. Is
Sue Ellen such a bad driver that Dusty won't loan her the Rolls? Quite possibly. Or maybe, as at Southfork, she's just at home in her
wagon.
- The brown and beige placemats resurfaced at the Southfork patio table today. They really get around.
- Jock's car has moved again. Today, it's not even in the driveway! Perhaps Raoul is
borrowing it for boarder duty. You can fit a lot of people in a 78 Lincoln Continental! I know. Then again, perhaps this isn't a nit - as I think
I might have mentioned, people in Texas tell me that on farms and ranches cars get moved
around a lot because you always have to make room for this or that. That's why people
leave their keys in the ignition. Remember when you could work on the honor system?
AHN Pam's corner:
- Jordan must have been waiting with his hand on the knob of the door to Bobby's
office, he opened it immediately following Bobby hanging up the intercom after talking to
his secretary. Maybe it was a really short walk.
- Ellie was right, Brooktree really IS more like a home than a sanitarium. There was
a full china coffee service for Pam's regular therapy session. I guess it's sort of like Betty Ford.
- Bobby's really jumping the gun by thinking that Pam will never get well. Dr.
Conrad dished out some more psycho babble to him and said she wasn't sure, probably to
cover up for her own incompetence. But as Ellie said, it hasn't been very long.
She's been there what a week, maybe two? She's right, he really should give
it some more time. I agree. All psychiatry is based
on finding an explanation, no matter how lame. In fact, the lamer the better. So you can
never really tell if a shrink is incompetent because everything can be explained by
something.
- J.R. ripped on Sue Ellen about how she used to belt down a drink before breakfast.
He's not a great one to talk, he sucked one down and offered Clayton 'an
eye-opener' at 10:00 in the morning! Yeah, but he
can hold his liquor.
- J.R. really should find a better catering service to set up tables for his meetings.
This one couldn't even manage to get the candles straight in the centerpiece on the
table, they were crooked. Well, in his defense,
Clayton suggested the hotel.
AHN Mike's corner:
- This episode makes it clear that JR set up the whole Afton-Cliff romance from the very
beginning. Yes, it does.
- Wow, did you catch the orange/black Fredrick's of Hollywood outfit on the waitress at
Ray's favorite restaurant? Slee-zeee! I caught it
all right.
- Why is Miss Young Dallas making 'personal appearances" in Houston? It's one thing
to visit Alex's corporate HQ there but nobody in Houston is going to book a Miss Dallas
for any kind of an appearance. Good point. Haven't
considered that.
- Does Clayton have an office? He seems to run the refineries from the ranch. Everybody
goes there to talk to him. No, I figure he doesn't
have an office. He has managers who probably run it all - sort of like Jock would if he
had an active role in Ewing Oil.
- Raoul has lost several pounds and gotten a face lift to look 20 years younger. Keeping
all those Teresa's happy must be a demanding and strenuous job.
- Once again, Dr. Conrad out-scarfs dusty. Hers was bigger and pouffier.
- Kristin and Jeff definitely like $2000 as their favorite number. Kristin was getting
checks in that amount form Jordan and her "trust fund". Jeff keeps asking Bobby
for that amount for information. I guess it's easy
to remember.
Bonehead dialogue of the day: [courtesy of Alett]
> Lucy: "Hi Grandma. I'm back."
Pam Award: Afton at Cliff's office.
Angelica Award: Ellie's purple dress from the Louella collection.
Bobby Award: Walter Shear again.
April Award: Ray for trying to get a loan on his practically nonexistent reputation.
- I've always wondered why Ray and Donna are fixtures at the Southfork breakfast table. Can't Donna bring it on herself to whip up a few eggs in the morning? But today is really stupid. They arrive for about two minutes, chide JR about falling oil prices, and then leave for the appointment with their decorator. Come on.
- When Vaughn Leland leaves Ewing Oil after his first meeting with JR he has no briefcase or anything. So he just came to talk with JR? That doesn't seem right. When I visit my clients, I make sure I take a bag with SOMETHING in it so it looks like I was prepared for some eventuality.
- When Ellie picks up the mail, she opens Jock's large package last. Why? It's the biggest! Wouldn't the natural thing to do be to open the biggest one first?
- Lucy asks Ellie if there is any mail for her. Wait a minute - has she moved back to Southfork permanently, or even planned to do so? Did she fill out a change of address form?
- I'm sure everyone recognized Heather Wilson as Liz Adams from the final two seasons.
- The establishing shot of what is supposed to be the Stardrift looks a lot like the restaurant that Pam and Rebecca went to the other day.
- When Ellie reads the legal document that Jock has prepared, she says that 'Ray Krebbs Ewing' gets 10 voting shares in Ewing Oil. Why does Jock say Ray Krebbs Ewing? He knows that Ray hasn't changed his name to Ewing. Ray doesn't even say anything. If I was JR, I would take the document to court and claim that the person mentioned doesn't exist!
- And I would be remiss if I didn't point out that Harve Smithfield should be the one reading Jock's document to the family, not Ellie. Apparently George Petrie wasn't available for filming this episode.
- And finally, as the document is being read, Jock says that if John Ross Ewing III is at Southfork, "JR Ewing" shall control his shares, but if not, "Eleanor Southworth Ewing" will control them. Why is JR's common name used in this case when he was previously referred to as John Ross Ewing the Second?
- And probably thanks to Donna, Ray got a new mailbox, which proportionally sized and spaced letters.
AHN NIS's corner:
- Ray's banker presses four keys on his computer to look at the Krebbs bank account. Not
bad. The screen doesn't seem to display much either. Yeah, those old 30 pound Compaq machines really got a lot of mileage,
didn't they? Good point.
- Cliff's office phone is different. Maybe it's one he can figure out. He could have had
it changed.
- The Ewing Oil offices are different-there is a new office door next to JR's that says
'B. Ewing'. I thought Bobby's office was at the end of the hall. It was. They moved it because the writers knew that Jock
wasn't coming back.
- The Cotton Bowl has 68,000+ seats not 72,000 seats as JR states (although it could have
changed since 1981). I have no evidence
either way. Does anybody from Dallas know what the scoop is about this?
AHN Alett's corner:
- It's never said who is using a decorator, Donna or Miss Ellie. I can't imagine it
would be Donna since Ray has done such an excellent job on the house! As to Donna's
observation, 'Decorators don't like to be kept waiting,' all I can say is who does like to
be kept waiting besides taxi drivers with the meter running.
- I found it interesting that among Pam's list of things a baby of hers could count on is
knowing 'that I would never leave it.' This seems to be a case of never say never
since she will repeat her mother's history in a few years with possibly worse results
since she was really too young to remember her mother, but her child will know her. I also found that very interesting, and I'm sure everyone
else will too. I remember saying back in Season 10 how unconscionable it was for the
writers to turn the Pam character into a monster.
- Maybe Donna's book could be a national bestseller, but it seems to me only Texans would
be that interested in Sam Culver. That's the
impression we've gotten, but who knows?
- There's a lot of humidity today in Dallas. When Afton arrives at Cliff's office
her hair is so high, she's 3 inches taller. By the time they reach the restaurant,
it's matted down and looks like she slept on it.
AHN Jason's corner:
- Liz Adams appears to be undercover as "Heather, the Bahamas Rep." I think this
is the most we ever see Barbara Stock smile during the course of the show. Shame she
is wearing a dress from the Louella collection, including the red belt. I didn't think it was THAT bad but then I took another
look. It's the same dress. At least Barbara fills it in the right places.
- There is a sharp cut when Gary hugs Val. He seems to move about two feet in a
second.
- Just an ongoing nit.... why or why doesn't ANYONE ever wait in the lobby for JR?
Kristin, Marilee, and now Vaughn Leland have all been given free access to his office
while he is not there. Can't understand it. Unless
maybe the secretaries don't want to have to look at his face.
AHN Mike's corner:
- The wardrobe department must have gotten a volume discount on cowboy hats with fancy
bands. JR sports at least two new ones in today's episode in addition to the one from
yesterday's.
- Whoa. That thing about Donna's book came out of nowhere! Unless I missed it, every
reference to this subplot was cut from previous episodes and then last night TNN suddenly
dropped it in after the book had been written and picked up by a printer. Fortunately,
I've seen these episodes before and knew about it, but for first timers, they must be
totally confused. I remember this being the first
reference to it as well. Not that anyone cares, really...
- In a surprise departure from his recent fashion statement, Bobby's top button is
buttoned and the tie is pulled tight. And speaking of ties, Ray's architect has been
dipping into the Punk Anderson Collection of garish string ties.
- Lucy's scene with Ellie produced two laughs. First, a very unsteady on a bicycle BBG is
almost wiped out as she passes Lucy's car as Lucy just misses opening the door right
into the bike in motion. Second, Ellie proclaims the package is from Jock and Lucy replies
"From grand-daddy?" Duh! Good one. I
think this is a better Bonehead Dialogue.
- Shame on Dusty for drinking alcohol in front of Sue Ellen. She probably insists that he not give up drinking on her account. After
all, she hasn't given up riding.
- Donna looked good in that white sweater and short shorts. Yes she did.
- Bobby pulls a Ken Griffey Jr. and says he doesn't want to be a senator anymore so he can
spend more time with his family. The difference here is Bobby is sincere. Quite right. This whole season is just Bobby taking care
of the family.
- Credits quirk: I noticed that the very girlish Sly is credited as Debbie Rennard and not
Deborah. One day she probably grew up and decided
she wanted to be Deborah. Frankly, I don't care as long as she's on my TV screen in those
nice dresses.
AHN Pam's corner:
- The brown and beige placemats seem to have found a permanent home at the Sourthfork
breakfast table. They made another appearance during the first scene.
- Lucy seemed to be carrying an empty tote bag when she arrived at Southfork. Afton
carried an empty purse when she and Cliff went to the restaurant.
- The silver coffee pot and china cups made another appearance at the breakfast table in
the first scene. Apparently, Pam's usual therapy session wasn't worthy of the full china
coffee service. Today she was reduced to a plain thermal water pitcher and plain
glasses.
- Lucy's hair seemed to change styles on it's own during the reading of Jock's letter.
When she was first shown telling J.R. to hurry up and pour his drink, her hair was
parted on the side and the front is brushed over to one side. Later, when Ellie read
that Gary had received 10 shares, Lucy's hair was suddenly brushed straight back from the
middle.
- Lucy's an idiot! Why the hell would she think Mitch would have called while she
was in Houston when she TOLD him she would be gone! If she was really interested in
whether or not he'd chase after her, she should've given him the number to her hotel. This was SO lame. Quite right on all counts.
- It must have been really hot during filming. While Ray and Donna were outside talking,
Ray put his arm over the back of the chair and there was a sweat stain under his arm.
EEEEEWWWWW!!!! Since it was so hot, and Donna was wearing shorts, why was she
wearing that white sweater? It looked like a cotton sweater, but I'm sure it was
much too warm for the obviously hot weather. I
don't know but she looked mighty fine. I don't know who told Susan Howard she wasn't sexy
and should dress in more conservative outfits like she does in later seasons.
- In Jock's document, Ray should be referred to as RAYMOND his given and legal name
throughout this document. I would say his shares could be challenged by any one of the
family members. Though the only one who'd really be upset about this is J.R.
Also, it's always struck me as very strange that J.R. is John, Gary is Garrison, Ellie is
Eleanor, but Bobby is just Bobby (although the reporter referred to him as Robert in the
first season) and Lucy is just Lucy and not Lucille. Bobby
and Lucy are probably the names that appear on the respective people's passports, so I
think this is okay.
- Bobby had a wooden cannon with wheels on it sitting on the right side of his desk, where
the brass bird was sitting, when he was facing the senators. He must have taken it from
J.R. because I noticed it on HIS desk in episode 84. Since when are either of them in to
wooden cannons with wheels? Apparently, one of the senators was also likes wooden cannons
with wheels. When the senators got up to leave, the cannon with wheels was gone.
Also, the brass bird was still on Bobby's desk, he walked over to the other side.
- The staff at the Southern Cross must be taking lessons from Teresa and Raoul in how to
avoid doing your job. Dusty was forced to answer the phone himself while reviewing
reruns of his rodeo days. Convenient.
- When Ellie took Jock's letter and document out of the envelope in the driveway, none of the pages were folded. Yet when Ellie read the document later, it had been folded in a tri-fold business fold. Why would she go to the trouble of folding it? Did she stuff it in her pocket or something?
Episode 86: Five Dollars a Barrel
Bonehead dialogue of the day: [courtesy of Alett and I]
> Gary: "Old place never changes, does it?"
> Ellie: "Well, It always looks the same, anyway."
So that would mean it never changes? I'm confused.
> Ellie to Pam: "I hope you like the colors. I know they're your favorite."
Pam Award: Sly and Phyllis in their matching dresses towards the end of the episode. Memo to the wardrobe guys: stock up on these. NOW. Val nominates Gary from the mens' side.
Angelica Award: Martin Porter's tie was really an eyesore. So was Dr. Conrad's dress. Mike nominates Lucy's puffy pants.
Bobby Award: Good ol' Dr. Conrad. For the record, I have NEVER met a psychiatrist with decent hair, and I've met quite a few.
April Award: Ray's banker for going to see JR without permission.
- There's some pretty brutal cabbageing by Gary to open this episode as he proceeds to enlist all of the reasons Ellie feels stressed out. Thanks for clueing us in, pal.
- I found it really lame of Gary to want to get some "fresh Texas air" upon getting out of the limo at Southfork. Who does this? When you go to someone's place for a visit, especially your family, the first thing you do is go INSIDE the house and meet whoever's there. Then if you want some fresh air, go right ahead.
- ANDY BRADLEY SPEAKS! I was almost afraid he wouldn't.
- Here's a really grungy one. In Phyllis's first scene, she tilts her head to a very severe angle as she listens to Bobby talk. Then there's a close-up of her and her head straightens out instantaneously.
- When Bobby asks Phyllis to look for any correspondence to Mr. Greer, Phyllis turns around and looks in HER filing cabinet. Wait a minute - shouldn't such correspondence be in JR's files, which should be in Sly's filing cabinets? Perhaps this one is in - dare I say it - the RED files? Remember those? What happened to them, anyway?
- Donna says she has her plane tickets in her purse but it sure looks empty. Pam also had an empty purse on her return to Southfork.
- When Cliff barges into JR's office, Sly is tailing him as she should be - but she's smiling! Practically laughing! Why is she happy that she allows JR's worst enemy to enter his office against his express wishes?
- And I really feel like I'm picking on Phyllis, but...when she tells Bobby that Farraday called, she's clearly dubbed.
- And I'm not done! Twice in this episode, Bobby calls Phyllis into his office and asks her to bring her notepad. The first time, he gets distracted by Dr.Conrad's call and the thought of holding his wife in his arms as they drift off to sleep in their new king-sized Southfork bed, so that's understandable. But the second time, all he wants to know about is the letter that Phyllis just discovered. He clearly has no intention of dictating anything, even though he says so. Why say that? For Sly's benefit, to avoid arousing suspicion? Rob Youngman points out that Bobby doesn't even bother to close his office door, so this is unlikely. Even more unlikely would be the fact that he let Phyllis leave his office about thirty seconds later - wouldn't this arouse MORE suspicion on Sly's part?
- I was really disappointed to see that the copy of JR's cashier's check to Greer has no date on it. That information could have been really useful in about two weeks...but what check has no date on it? Not a legal one, that's for sure.
- This was pointed out by Val in Season 10, when Bobby has a flashback about this episode, but it's worth mentioning again here. When Bobby arrives at Reunion Arena, he QUADRUPLE-PARKS. He parks over FOUR parking spaces. I suppose the next time, he'll park against the lines and maybe with that convertible he might manage to ruin SIX spaces. Or why not take Jock's Lincoln out for a spin? That way he might be able to snag eight or even ten.
- Jeff Farraday says something odd in his conversation with Bobby. He says that if no progress is made, "he'll take the kid and go back to California". Wait a minute - I thought the kid was IN California, with friends. At least that's what Farraday said a few episodes ago.
From McAwesome: In the final scene, JR goes to Cliff's office in somber mood to accept the ten day extension. Cliff has already had papers drawn up for both the extension and for transfer of the Ewing 6 field. JR, standing in his worst enemy's office, the man who has repeatedly vowed to destroy him, proceeds to sign both of these complicated, lengthy legal documents without even reading them!
From AHN NIS: Bobby still occupies the end office. Yeah, he does occupy the end office. What's up with that? Yesterday, we saw his name on the middle office, next to JR's. Maybe he has both for some reason?
AHN Val's corner:
- When Gary was standing out by the pool, the deck was wet. How? Nobody was swimming. My
guess is that Gary hosed it down in an attempt to earn his keep.
- Ray commented that Donna packed enough clothes for six months. How's that possible? Her
suitcase was barely an overnight bag. Certainly
he's just kidding. The irony here is that the suitcase is actually probably empty.
- CRUDE PRICES CONTINUE TO DECLINE made the front page news. Must be a slow news day. The
only people who would be interested in that information are those in the oil industry. Occasionally stuff like that makes the front page around
here when it affects a major company, but not a huge paper-wide headline. Quite right.
- Cliff wants the Ewing 6 oil field back in the Barnes family, as he claims it's
rightfully theirs. I detect some symbolism here. EWING 6 is also Pam's license plate
number. Well, it is today. Tomorrow, who knows?...
Good point.
- On the letter to his California lawyer, JR's signature takes up nearly half the page. Yeah, I never really figured JR for having one of those
monstro signatures.
AHN Alett's corner:
- How convenient that Bobby identifies himself on the phone to the California lawyer only
as Mr. Ewing. Any other time he would use his full name.
- Geez, this is the third time we've seen Dusty drinking and moping while watching old
films and Sue Ellen just standing there. I think
it's stock footage by now. But today Sue Ellen had a REALLY SWEET hairdo while watching. I
liked it a lot.
- Well, now we know why Donna and Miss Ellie were rushing off to the decorator who didn't
like to be kept waiting. Frankly, I liked the look of the bedroom better before the
change. That big blue bed overwhelms the room.
- Takapa was going to be built on swamp land, so I'm sure the architect would have needed
expensive, extra supports even more so than what's needed on this land for Ray's project.
Even if Ray wasn't in on Takapa from the very beginning, Punk was. It seems
unrealistic that Punk, at least, never brings up the issue of the condition of the land.
Besides this, Ray was in on the Lubbock deal from the beginning. Why wouldn't he know about checking out the
land first? He probably just relied on assurances
from Walter Shear that everything was okay. Punk, had he been around, certainly would have
had it checked out. I suppose we can give Punk the benefit of the doubt and say he maybe
left the day before he would have done this.
AHN Pam's corner:
- Empty purse meter: Donna's suitcase, her tote bag was definitely empty, her purse
was empty, except for the plane ticket she told Ray she had put in it, Pam at Southfork,
Lucy when she returned from dinner with Gary, Bobby carried Pam's empty suitcase and tote
in to Southfork and Ellie didn't have a purse when she got out of the limo when she
arrived with Gary.
- The cannon with wheels was on the move again today. When Bobby was at his senate
office, it was gone. A few scenes later it showed up on J.R.'s desk. Then when Bobby
was talking to to Phyillis it was on HIS desk.
- The brass bird has walked back over to the other side of Bobby's desk in his senate
office. Everyone else seems to be in to brass birds lately or the prop department
found a sale. There were a pair of larger brass birds on the fireplace in the
Southfork living room behind J.R. while Gary was talking. Porter, the banker, also
had a pair of brass birds on his credenza. I think they were the SAME birds that
were at Southfork.
- Ellie said told Gary that she was going to fix him some lunch. Why? When she
was talking to J.R. by the staircase the clock behind her read 10:10. That's much
too early for lunch, especially for Gary who is still on California time which is two
hours BEHIND Dallas time. His body must be thinking it's only 8:10 in the morning.
Ellie should have fixed him breakfast, not lunch.
- When Ellie and Gary got out of the limo and walked toward the house, the sun was high
over head like it was noon and Ellie said she was going to fix Gary lunch. When J.R.
walked back outside to harass Gary, the sun was casting long shadows and was much lower in
the sky, like it was early in the morning.
- Pam made a remarkable recovery....or Dr. Conrad is just that incompetent. Two
episodes ago she told Bobby that Pam was critical and that she wasn't sure when or if she
was going to recover. Now Pam is ready to go home for a visit? Seems awfully
fast to me. Dr. Conrad is THAT incompetent. Trust
me.
- Sly had a really LOUD typewriter. The sound of her typing was heard very clearly
all the way in Bobby's office. That could get very annoying around the office.
Poor Phyllis, it must be deafening to sit by it all day. I guess it was necessary. Since Bobby left the door open, we needed to
have some indication that Sly couldn't hear him talking to Phyllis.
- Phyllis should learn to pay closer attention to Bobby's instructions.When he left the
office to pick up Pam he specifically told her that if Farraday called he needed to talk
to him and that he could be reached at the ranch. The next day Phyllis told Bobby
that Farraday called and she told him where they were going to meet and Bobby said OK.
Wait a minute? Wasn't Phyllis supposed to CALL BOBBY AT THE RANCH IF FARRADAY
CALLED? He didn't even ask her about it. I don't know if the phone systems were
sophisticated enough in 1981 for Phyllis to call Bobby while Farraday was on the line and
then connect the two of them. Farraday's a jerk and may not have wanted to wait for
her to do that anyway and just gave her a message and hung up. But, she still
should've called Bobby anyway per his instructions. Of course he probably didn't
care because no doubt he just woke up from a hot night of christening his and Pam's new
bed. I distinctly hope so, for his sake. While I
haven't been there yet, I can just imagine how much it has got to suck to have someone
like Pam in your bed regularly and then be deprived of it. But this is the mother of all
nits for this episode and I missed itand I can't believe it.
- Pam's car was moved. In yesterday's episode it was facing the garage in today's it
was parked next to Bobby's and facing the bushes. It also looked like someone had
been driving it. The seats were pushed forward like someone had taken something out
of the back seat.
- J.R. said it wasn't like Gary to miss dinner his first night home.
It seemed like it was his ONLY night home. We never saw him again after that
scene, unless the rest of his scenes were cut. Did he make one of his usual one-day
trips home to Dallas? Apparently so.
- Ellie told J.R. that Val didn't come with Gary because she was busy in California.