Bobby ewing death dream6/3/2023 ![]() ![]() (The otherwise lamentable “War of the Ewings” reunion movie begins with Larry Hagman’s J.R. The it-was-all-a-dream resolution soon became one of television’s most reliable tropes, lampooned most memorably by the series finale of “Newhart” but also by “Dallas” itself, which embraced its instantly notorious cop-out with gusto. If fans wanted Duffy back as the character they knew and loved - and the show’s declining ratings suggested the audience missed Bobby dearly - the dream scenario offered the cleanest, quickest solution. Nevertheless, “Dallas” producer Leonard Katzman made no apologies for his decision to hit the reset button. Just as notably, this was the year that gave us Linda Gray’s most riveting performance as Sue Ellen triumphantly confronted her alcoholism after hitting rock bottom and winding up in a gutter. “Dallas” without Duffy was uneven, but Bobby’s death also produced some of the show’s greatest material, beginning with “Swan Song,” the exquisite episode in which the character sacrificed his life to save Pam’s. (Would he be an evil Bobby imposter? A long-lost twin?) It wasn’t until the September season premiere that we got our answer: “Dallas” had decided to write off Bobby’s demise and the 31 episodes that followed as Pam’s season-long dream.įans were miffed. Although CBS had announced Duffy’s return a few weeks before the shower scene, no one knew how he’d come back or whom he’d be playing. ![]() On this date in 1986, during the closing moments of “Dallas’s” ninth season, Bobby Ewing was shown cheerfully lathering up in the shower of his ex-wife and true love Pam - despite the fact that Patrick Duffy’s character had been killed off one year earlier when the actor chose to leave the show. Today brings another reminder of how “Dallas” helped shape our contemporary television culture. ![]() By demanding - and receiving - such devotion, “Dallas” became one of the first shows that didn’t have mere viewers. Its storylines continued from week to week, culminating in splashy season-ending cliffhangers designed to keep the audience hooked for months at a time. Before the series debuted in 1978, prime time was marked by episodic fare - stories told in weekly, self-contained chapters that had limited bearing on what happened before or after. Ewing gave rise to Tony Soprano, Frank Underwood and the myriad antiheroes who now dominate dramatic TV storytelling. In so many ways, “Dallas” is the show that invented modern television. ![]()
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