No More Mister Nice Guy Part One

Dallas

Season 4 Episode 1

Original Airdate:  November 7, 1980  

Recap:  A cleaning lady finds JR.  Cliff is in the crowd when the police and the EMT’s are bring JR to the ambulance.

   Miss Ellie is home alone at the dinner table.  Ray comes in and asks her if Jock is around, she tells him that he went to Fort Worth.  The phone rings and Ray answers it, it’s the police and they tell him about the shooting.  He asks how bad it is, they tell him they can’t say, they tell Ray where JR was taken.  Miss Ellie comes over to Ray and asks him where JR is and asks him to get one of the ranch hands to take her to the hospital.  She asks him to call Jock in Fort Worth and tell him to meet her at the hospital and try to find Lucy, Sue Ellen, Pam and Bobby.

   JR is taken into the emergency room, where the doctors check on his vitals and start trying to stabilize him.  The doctor calls for an x-ray to find where the bullets are.  The nurse tells the doctor that Jock and Ellie are in the waiting room.  When he goes out to them they are talking to the detective.  He tells them there is some internal bleeding and that he was shot two times, he hasn’t regained consciouses.  Miss Ellie asks if they can see him, but he tells her not yet, they are moving him into intensive care. 

   Ray calls Muriel’s house and asks her if she has seen Lucy, she tells that Lucy left with some friends, he tells her that if she sees her to have her call home.

   Jock and Miss Ellie go in to see JR, Ray tells Jock that the police haven’t found come up with anything yet (I don’t know if he is talking about JR’s shooting or if he means about finding the rest of the family).  Muriel calls and asks Ray if Lucy is home, he asks her if there is something he should know, she tells him Lucy went to a seminar, he asks where he can find the professor of the class.  Muriel tells him his address.

   The doctor tells them that JR has become more responsive, but hasn’t awaken yet.  Kristin comes over to them and tells them that she just heard the news, she asks where Sue Ellen is, and wants to know is there is anything she can do.  Miss Ellie tells her to go back to Southfork and wait for Sue Ellen and tell her what happened.

   Sue Ellen wakes up in her car at the airport, she looks at the bottle that was in her lap, she pulls out the of the parking spot and drives away.

   Ray pulls up to a house and knocks at the door, he asks the lady who answers it if Professor Forrester is there and tells her that he is looking for Lucy Ewing, she tells him that the professor is holding his seminar at the Sundowner Motel.

   When Sue Ellen gets back to Southfork she looks around for everyone, Kristin comes out and finds her in the entry way, and asks her where she’s been, and says that she can’t believe she would come back after what happened.  Sue Ellen tells her that she doesn’t know what she is talking about.  Kristin asks her if she remembers what happened last night.  Sue Ellen tells her no, and Kristin tells her that JR was shot.

   Ray goes to the motel and knocks at the door.  When the door is open he tells the professor to get lost, and tells Lucy to get dressed, that JR’s been shot.  He tells her that he thought she had more sense then getting involved with a married man.  Lucy is surprised by this.

   Kristin tells Sue Ellen that they have to talk, she tells her that she will stand by her no matter what happens.  Sue Ellen tells her that she doesn’t know what she is talking about.  Kristin asks her if she remembers anything about last night.  Sue Ellen tells her that after she left Dr. Elby’s office she went to get a drink, but after that she can’t remember anything.  She asks her if JR is alive, and Kristin tells her that he is but it’s very serious.  She asks Sue Ellen if she remembers going to the condo.  Kristin tells her that she was packing  when Sue Ellen came asking where JR is, she was waving a gun around.  Kristin tells her that he isn’t there, Sue Ellen looks around the condo as Kristin pours her a drink, she tells her to put the gun away.   Sue Ellen says that she is going to find JR and kill him, she won’t let him put her in that sanitarium again.    Kristin tells her that she was going to call the police, but she couldn’t do it.  Sue Ellen asks her if she is telling the truth, Kristin nods, and Sue Ellen says that she must have shot JR.  She goes to change and tells Kristin that they have to go to the hospital.

   Cliff gets home and turns on the news, they are talking about JR’s shooting, and he sees himself in the news footage, he gets up and turns the tv off.

   A helicopter flies over Pam and Bobby and call for them to pull over.  Bobby gets out and asks what is going on, the officer tells him that his family wants him home, that JR was shot.  Bobby and Pam get in to the helicopter and go back to Dallas.

   The doctor is talking to Jock and Miss Ellie when the nurse calls him, JR’s not doing well, they take him into the ER to operate.  Sue Ellen joins Jock and Ellie, they tells her that they were worried about her.  Miss Ellie tells her about JR.  Jock asks her if she even cares about him.   Sue Ellen says that it doesn’t matter now, Kristin tells them that Sue Ellen was sick.  Jock says that she was drunk, and Sue Ellen says that she was.  The nurse comes over and tells them that the doctor will be right with them.  Miss Ellie tells Sue Ellen that she doesn’t need to run away, she’ll help her figure something out.  Ray and Lucy arrive at the hospital, and a candy striper tells Miss Ellie she has a phone call, Lucy goes with her.  Gary is calling, he tells Miss Ellie that Val heard the news on the radio.  Miss Ellie gets upset and Lucy takes the phone she tells him about Pam and Bobby leaving.  She tells him that Miss Ellie needs him.  He tells her that he will come on the next flight.  After he hangs up he tells Val about Bobby and Pam leaving, she says that JR finally drove them off too, she tells him that if JR dies she won’t be able to mourn him.  Gary tells her that it’s his family and that they need him.

   Bobby and Pam get to the hospital, Jock is talking to Detective Horton, he wants a list of any of JR’s enemies.  Bobby says he will help him anyway he can.  They tells him about Vaughn Leland, the detective says that he is going to be talking to Seth Stone’s wife, and Jock tells him that he should talk to Cliff Barnes.   Pam leaves the hospital and Bobby goes after her, he tells her that Cliff would be a suspect even if Jock hadn’t given his name.  She tells Bobby that she is going to talk to Cliff to get his side of the story.

   The doctor tells them that JR made it through the surgery, and they were able to remove one of the bullets, but they had to remove his spleen.  He tells them that the other bullet is lodged in the spinal canal, and they don’t know yet what kind of damage it’s done.  Bobby tells Jock that he should take Miss Ellie back home to get some rest, but Miss Ellie doesn’t want to be that far from JR, so they go to a hotel.  Sue Ellen tells them that she is going to stay at the hospital.  On the way to the hotel, Miss Ellie tells Jock that now that Bobby is back he has to find away to keep him there.  She tells him that Ewing Oil isn’t worth her family, and she wants him back home.

   Pam finds Cliff at a restaurant, she asks why he is drinking in the afternoon, and if it has to do with JR.  He tells her that it seems like everything in his life has to do with JR.  She tells him that she and Bobby were going to California because Bobby couldn’t take JR’s lies and deceit anymore.  She tells him that Jock named him as a suspect.  He tells her that he told his boss the same thing.  He asks her if she thinks he is a killer.

   Bobby goes into JR’s room and asks Miss Ellie how he is doing.  Miss Ellie talks to JR, who opens his eyes.  The detective asks JR if he saw who shot him.  Bobby says that he thinks it can wait, but the detective wants to know and asks JR again.  JR looks from the detective to Bobby to his mother and finally at Sue Ellen.

Final Thoughts:  I thought since this was a whodunit in a way I would play detective and go through the list of suspects.

Miss Ellie- I can’t imagine her doing it, even if she was upset with JR for all that he has done, from driving Bobby away to almost losing Southfork.  She loves him too much to do it.

Jock- According to Miss Ellie he was in Fort Worth, but was he?  He could have only told her that and went into Dallas, thinking he was doing it for her, but I don’t think he is a likely suspect either, as much as he might not like what JR does, he loves him.

Bobby/Pam- He was leaving Dallas, I’m not sure how far he was away when the police picked them up to tell them about the shooting, but from the way they reacted when they got the news I don’t think either of them is a suspect.

Cliff- Finally a person with a motive, he has always hated JR and now that his father is dead, and JR just closed the oil field that was partly his, he wants revenge.

Lucy- She has always seemed to hate JR, but right now she has no motive to kill him.

Alan- JR took everything from him, and he swore revenge.

Ray- JR has done a lot to Ray, the latest is breaking him and Donna up. 

Donna- She told JR she was going to get him, but she was talking about politically.  I don’t think she would have shot him.

Sue Ellen- She has a motive, he was threatening to put her back into the sanitarium, and made everyone think she was drinking again.  She blacked out and can’t remember anything.  It is possible that she did do it.

Vaughn Leland- JR cheated him, and he has been missing for awhile, he could have come back and got him when JR was alone.

Seth Stone’s wife- Her husband was cheated by JR and killed himself, and the police seem think that she might have done it.  We haven’t seen her in awhile so I don’t know if she could really be a suspect.

Kristin- She hates JR right now, he made it clear he doesn’t want her around anymore, and she knows too much about what he was doing all this time.  She said to Alan that she was going to kill him and he told her to get in line.

My list of likely suspects

1. Cliff Barnes
2. Sue Ellen Ewing
3. Vaughn Leland
4. Seth Stone’s widow
5. Kristin Shepard 

Guest Star: Peter Donat- He played Mulder's father in The X-Files, so now we've had parents of Mulder and Scully on Dallas.

Best Outfit:  There is nothing wrong with the dress or the boots for that matter, but the two of them together is just wrong.

A House Divided

Dallas

Season 3 Episode 25 

Original Airdate:   March 21, 1980

Recap:  Reporters are asking Jock and JR about the nationalized wells and what Ewing Oil lost.  JR tells them that he can’t talk about the deal they got in on, but that they are still in business.  Bobby comes in and asks what’s going on, JR tells him that he sold the leases and got in on a deal with a gas company that he and Jock had been talking about for awhile.  Bobby asks who bought the leases, JR tells him that the cartel and Vaughn Leland.  Bobby demands to know why they weren’t told, JR tells him that they were both in Colorado, and he had to move fast.  Jordan Lee comes into the office, he isn’t happy, he knows that JR knew what was going to happen in Southeast Asia, Jock tells him that JR didn’t know anything, but Jordan doesn’t buy that, JR points out that they lost a lot of money too, about 25 million, plus all the royalties from the leases that everyone bought from them.  Jordan tell them that Seth Stone killed himself that morning. 

   Sue Ellen is watching the news in bed, she hears about Ewing Oil and Seth’s death.

   Vaughn bursts into the office, he tells them that he wants answers, he wants and apology and compensation.  Jock tells him no, they won’t give him his money back.  Vaughn tells them all that JR knew that this was going to happen, he tells them that he borrowed money from a bank in Fort Worth and used his shares as collateral and now he is wiped out.  Vaughn tells Jock that he needs to help him, but Jock reminds him about when they came to him for help with Southfork and did nothing.  Vaughn say that JR will regret this, and JR asks if that is a threat.   Vaughn says that it’s a promise, Jock tells him to get out.  Once he is gone Bobby asks JR if he knew, and that he thinks Vaughn is right.  Jock tells JR that he is only going to ask once, he wants to know if he knew about the nationalization of the oil wells in Southeast Asia.  JR says he didn’t.  Bobby leaves the office in disgust.

   Lucy and her Lit professor are talking a walk, she asks if they have a problem because all they do is walk and have lunch together.  He tells her that she is his student, she asks him if that all she is to him.  He says no and kisses her.

   Alan comes over to see Kristin, he says it’s quite a story, and she tells him that its old news.  She tells him that JR sold the leases days ago.  She plays him a tape of Jordan Lee telling her about the deal JR offered him and the cartel.  Alan says that JR must have known what was going to happen.  Kristin mentions Hank Johnson, and say that he must have told JR, Alan asks who that is and she tells him that he’s JR’s man in Southeast Asia.  He asks her who JR sold the leases to, Kristin tells him, Alan says that they probably would be interested to know that JR knew all along.  Alan tells her that he thinks that JR would pay to keep them quite.  She tells him that JR is too smart to leave a trail back to himself, he asks her to try.  Kristin calls Hank.

   Miss Ellie tells Bobby that Pam left for Corpus Christie, he tells her that he is concerned about Pam rushing off to search for clues about her mother so soon after the shock she got that Digger isn’t her father.  Sue Ellen comes downstairs, and Bobby asks her how she is feeling.  She tells him that she feels embarrassed, and that she can’t remember anything that happened last night.  She tells Bobby that JR has enough to put her away now, Bobby tells her that he will help her, she just needs to stop drinking.  Sue Ellen tells him that she hadn’t been drinking before when she told him, but she got a shock and started again, but she tells him that she won’t take another drink.  Bobby tells her that he hopes she’s right.  He suggests that she go talk with Miss Ellie.

   JR gets a phone call from Hank, he asks him what he is doing telling Kristin.  JR tells him he didn’t say anything to her.  Hank tells him that Kristin called telling to send all the paper work to the condo so it can be destroyed.  JR tells him to destroy them himself and that he did the right thing to call.  JR hangs up and leaves the office.

   Sue Ellen tells Dr. Elby that she isn't going to drink again and that Bobby is going to help her.  He tells her that she is relying on someone else again, putting her welfare in Bobby’s hands.  She tells him that she trusts Bobby, he asks her if she trusts him more than herself.  She says yes.

   Pam gets out of a cab in Corpus Christie, she stops an old lady and asks her if is remembers anything about her mother.  The lady says she sees a resemblance, and says that she remembers her with a little boy and being pregnant, she tells Pam that after she came back from visiting her brother, that Pam’s family was gone and no one knew anything.

   JR walks into the condo and tells Kristin he wants some answers.  She tells him that Alan made her do it.  JR tells her that they are out of their league.  Kristin tells JR that he can’t scare her, he gives her a handful of cash and tells her to leave town.  She gives him back the money and tells him that he can’t buy her off.  He says we’ll see and leaves the condo.

   Pam has been looking through all the death certificates at the Corpus Christi hall of records and can’t find anything on her mother.

   JR tells Sue Ellen that she is headed for a breakdown.  She tells him that she is fine and that Bobby is going to stop him.  As he leaves she asks him which slut he’ll be staying with tonight.  He tells her that it doesn’t matter since any of them would be more interesting than the slut before him.  She starts throwing things, just like any sane person would, she stops when she finds the gun in her drawer.

   Cliff bursts into the office and hands JR a copy of the deed.  JR says that it’s a forgery, but Cliff tells him it isn’t he makes JR read it out loud.  JR tells Bobby that he just made his brother-in-law a wealthy man.  Cliff is gloating, and JR gets up to get them a drink, Bobby leaves them and JR tells Cliff that he admires a man who gets what he wants, he makes a call and asks for a report on the oil field.  Then he tells them to close the field down.  Cliff wasn’t expecting this at all.

   Pam tells Bobby what she found out about her mother, and that she thinks her mother my still be alive.  She tells him that she is going to quit her job and find more about her mother.  He tells her that she needs to take some time.

   Lucy goes into the professors office and is upset when he tells her that he has to break their date to grade papers, she tells him that she thinks they should break things off, but he tells her that he still wants to see her.  She tells him she will see him later, after she leaves he makes a phone call to his wife.

   JR has Alan brought to his office by Detective Harry McSween , he asks him what he and Kristin are planning.  He tells Alan he better get out of Dallas, but Alan tells him that he can’t do anything to him.  JR asks Harry what the penalty is for rape, Alan asks him what he is talking about, and JR makes it pretty clear that he will set him up on rape charges.  Alan tells JR that he messed with the wrong man.

   Bobby comes in and shows Jock and JR the newspaper, the headline is about the disappearance of Vaughn Leland.  Bobby asks JR if he told Jock about the paper Cliff brought in.  He tells Jock about he deed he wrote up with Digger, and JR lets them both know that he closed up the oil field.  Bobby tells JR that Cliff has a legal right.  Jock tells Bobby that he would have done the same thing.  Bobby tells him that he was afraid he would say that.  After Bobby leaves JR tells Jock that Bobby is getting weak.

   At home Bobby tells Pam about what JR did, and that Jock approved of it.  He tells her that they are going to leave Southfork.  She tells him that he just can’t run away.  But Bobby tells her that he can’t deal with all the wheeling and dealing and the backstabbing. 

   The next morning he makes her go to the car, and he goes into the dinning room and tells his mother that he and Pam are leaving, that he can’t stay in the same house as JR anymore.  Miss Ellie is crying begging him not to go,but he tells her he can’t, he is sorry and he tried his best.  She asks him where he is going to go, Bobby tells her as far away as he can get.  Sue Ellen watches Bobby leave from the stairs.  She follows JR into the dining room.  JR notices that Miss Ellie is crying and asks her what’s wrong.  Sue Ellen tells him that he drove Gary away and now Bobby.  She says that he has cheated his friends and did everything in his power to get what he wanted, and now he got it, he is the only son.  JR tells Miss Ellie that he never wanted Bobby to leave, Miss Ellie tells him that all she knows is that he is gone.  JR tells Sue Ellen she’s got no right to talk to him like that in front of his parents.  He tells her that he is going to call the doctor and have her put away for good.

   The police knock at the door and Kristin answers it.  Alan tells Detective McSween that this is harassment.  The detective tells Kristin that he's got a warrant for her arrest, she asks him what it is for.  He tells her it's for prostitution, he asks Alan if she is any good.  He tells her that he is going to hold the warrant for 24 hours to give her some time to get out of town.  After the detective leaves Kristin tells Alan that she is going to kill JR, he tells her to take a number.

   JR is talking to the doctor, he tells him that he needs to come and get Sue Ellen tonight, he tells him that she needs help. Vaughn calls JR and tells him to give him his money back.  He gives him one more chance.

   Sue Ellen looks at the gun lying on the bed, she grabs it and puts it in her purse.  

   Cliff is at Digger's grave and he is telling him that JR got him, just like Jock got Digger.  He promises him that he will stop him.

   Sue Ellen tells Dr. Elby that JR's got to be stopped, she tells him that JR doesn't care, he will always get what he wants.  Sue Ellen looks in her purse and looks at the gun, she tells him that he was right, that she can't rely on anyone else to do what she has to do and she leaves the office.

   JR is alone in his office, he goes out and gets a cup of coffee and goes back into his office.  The door to the office opens and someone walks in, we are seeing everything from their perspective.  JR calls out to see who is there, he goes to the door and is shot, he falls to the ground.

Final Thoughts:   Best cliffhanger ever, there are so many suspects.  What a great way to end the season.

Best Outfit:  I actually like this outfit, it doesn't look dated except for her purse.