Woman of the hour

Let’s get this out of the way first: “D.T.R.” stands for “define the relationship,” as Christopher’s new girlfriend Heather helpfully explains in the scene where they get to know each other better in the bar. I wasn’t familiar with the expression until recently and neither were a lot of “Dallas” fans, judging by the reactions I’m seeing on Twitter. But no matter. This episode is really about the “Dallas” characters trying to dominate their relationships. Everyone is vying for control of everyone else, demonstrating once again that the real commodity on this show is power, not oil.

At the center of it all is Sue Ellen, a woman who spent years struggling to take charge of her own life. Now she’s trying to reign in John Ross, not just because he’s beginning to remind her of J.R., but also because he’s beginning to remind her of herself. Sue Ellen sees her son becoming addicted to feeding his own ego, just like she’s hooked on the booze inside her flask. This point is underscored in the scene where she tells John Ross that he’s being “reckless” by cheating on Pamela. Sue Ellen might as well be describing the person she used to be, during her own self-destructive phase, before she became the much more functional alcoholic we see today.

John Ross ends this scene by accusing his mother of taking out on him her lingering anger toward J.R. “Guess what, Mama? I’m not J.R.,” he says. These are surprising words coming from a young man who struts around wearing Daddy’s wristwatch and belt buckle, but they show how John Ross has picked up another one of Sue Ellen’s old habits: her penchant for denying the truth. Indeed, what fascinates me most about John Ross and Sue Ellen’s relationship this season is how they’re both borrowing different pages from J.R.’s playbook in their quest for the upper hand in their relationship. In the previous episode, John Ross showed he could treat Sue Ellen as cruelly as J.R. once did; in “D.T.R.,” Sue Ellen blackmails McConaughey in a bid to undermine her son. J.R. Ewing lives on through the people he loved most.

But even without these allusions to our hero, Sue Ellen and John Ross’s storyline is absorbing and effective. Much of this has to do with Linda Gray and Josh Henderson, who do remarkable work in “D.T.R.” Gray enlivens every scene she’s in through the sheer force of her presence; it’s become cliché to say she lights up the screen each time she appears, but I can think of no better way to describe what she brings to this show. Henderson, in the meantime, is nothing less than outstanding: In his hands, John Ross has become dark and dangerous. It doesn’t hurt that both actors receive wonderful material from scriptwriter Aaron Allen, who helps make the characters feel real and knowable. Strip away all the references to “fracking” and the “Arctic play” and it’s easy to see this is the story of a mother trying to save her son from himself.

Allen — who also wrote “Let Me In,” the episode where Harris stifles Emma’s bid for independence — uses “D.T.R.” to return to the power struggles within the Ryland family too. As John Ross points out, Emma is supposed to control Judith, who is supposed to control Harris, although it’s hard to figure out who really runs the show. Here’s what I find most interesting about these characters: As deceptive as they are, they use the truth to emotionally bludgeon each other. In “D.T.R.,” when Ann declares her “role” at Southfork is to care for her loved ones, Emma reminds her mother that she “lied to her husband about my very existence.” It’s harsh, but is it inaccurate? Similarly, in the tense scene where Judith and Emma haggle over Harris’s files, is Judith wrong when she tells Emma that she “degrades” herself by sleeping around?

The Rylands always give us plenty to ponder, but there’s no questioning the quality of the actors’ performances. Judith Light makes it clear Judith loves her rebellious granddaughter, while Emma Bell never lets us forget her character has vulnerabilities, no matter how wicked she behaves. I also love Brenda Strong, who knocks me out in the scene where Ann angrily kicks Emma off Southfork, although she’s equally good when Ann warily welcomes her daughter home. It’s also nice to see Steven Weber take another turn as the slick Governor McConaughey, as well as Todd Terry, who returns as hapless State’s Attorney Peter Bedford, one of the last people to have the honor of being blackmailed by J.R. Ewing. Speaking of J.R.’s victims: The “D.T.R.” scene where Cliff calls Pamela and tries to mend fences with her restores a shred of humanity to the character, but I mostly love the scene because it allows Ken Kercheval to revive his mantra from the second season: “I did not kill J.R.!”

There’s much more to like about “D.T.R.,” especially where Patrick Duffy is concerned. I love how cinematographer Rodney Charters, who doubles as this episode’s director, gives us a shot of solemn, solitary Bobby on horseback watching the smug John Ross inspect the Southfork drill site. It makes Bobby’s end-of-the-episode speech about upholding the Southworth traditions that much more poignant. It’s also a kick to see Bobby and Sue Ellen in the back of the van, eavesdropping on McConaughey, as well as the big reveal at the press conference, when Bobby steps forward as the new railroad commissioner. (Between this scene and the one in “Playing Chicken” where Bobby steps out of Rhonda’s car, Duffy is becoming “Dallas’s” master of the grand entrance.)

“D.T.R.’s” use of the J.R. Ewing Bourbon bottle is also inspired: The revelation that the cork is bugged is the third season’s best twist yet, but I also love how the bottle practically becomes a stand-in for J.R. himself. Gray has a Hagman-esque twinkle in her eye when Sue Ellen gives the bourbon to McConaughey at the top of the hour and reminds him that “good blackmail never sours.” The twinkle is there at the end of the episode too, when Sue Ellen reveals the dirt on McConaughey and he slides the bottles across his desk toward her and says, “This is why politicians should never accept gifts — especially gifts with J.R.’s name on them.”

The only thing missing from this scene is seeing J.R.’s smile, although I must say: Sue Ellen’s sly grin is pretty wonderful too. Of course, that’s always been true, hasn’t it?

Grade: A

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The steward

‘D.T.R.’

Season 3, Episode 5

Telecast: March 24, 2014

Audience: 1.79 million viewers on March 24

Writers: Aaron Allen

Director: Rodney Charters

Synopsis: Sue Ellen blackmails McConaughey into removing Babcock from the Railroad Commission and replacing him with Bobby. Emma blackmails Judith into giving John Ross access to Ryland Transport’s ships and tells him she wants a piece of the Arctic drilling venture. Harris blackmails the CIA into giving his family extra protection. Cliff urges Elena and Nicolas to turns John Ross against Pamela, and when Nicolas examines photographs of J.R.’s autopsy, he notices an unusual incision on his chest. Christopher learns Heather is divorced from Bo and that they have a young son, Michael.

Cast: Amber Bartlett (Jill), Emma Bell (Emma Ryland), Donny Boaz (Bo McCabe), Jordana Brewster (Elena Ramos), Candice (Jude Demorest), Juan Pablo Di Pace (Nicolas Treviño), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Julie Gonzalo (Pamela Ewing), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Josh Henderson (John Ross Ewing), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), AnnaLynne McCord (Heather McCabe), Jesse Metcalfe (Christopher Ewing), Gino Anthony Pesi (George Tatangelo), Mitch Pileggi (Harris Ryland), Brenda Strong (Ann Ewing), Todd Terry (State’s Attorney Peter Bedford), Steven Weber (Governor Sam McConaughey)

“D.T.R.” is available at DallasTNT.com, Amazon.com and iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.

Pearls of wisdom

In “D.T.R.,” a third-season “Dallas” episode, Judith (Judith Light) enters a restaurant and sits at a table where Emma (Emma Bell) awaits her.

JUDITH: So you’re ready to come home?

EMMA: That’s not why I asked you here. I know someone who’s interested in leasing a fleet of our ships.

JUDITH: Really? Who’s the suitor?

EMMA: Ewing Global. Now there was a deal in place before, but Daddy killed it because he hates me. You wanted me to be involved in the family business … so I am.

JUDITH: So you are. We will not be doing business with the Ewings. Is that clear?

EMMA: I took these from Daddy’s safe when I took the rest of his files. [Slides an envelope across the table] You want to know what’s inside? It’s about your little side business. Copies of ledgers, client lists, girls. Your little black book. [Smiles] You want to trade? [Judith reaches for the envelope. Emma grabs it.] That’s half of what Daddy has on you. When I see a contract for those ships, you’ll get the rest.

JUDITH: [Slides the envelope to her side of the table] So now that you know about your grandmother’s little side business, let me teach you one of the very basics: Never let a man screw you for nothing. My girls play a very smart game. They allow a man to believe he’s in control. But my girls are always in control and because they are, they are richly rewarded. On the other hand, a whore who gives without receiving is not only a whore, but a fool. You think John Ross cares about you? Loves you? You think he’ll leave his wife for you? Why would he buy the cow when he gets the milk for free?

EMMA: John Ross does care about me.

JUDITH: John Ross degrades you. You think that’s love? Then you are a worthless creature. [Emma gets up. Judith grabs her arm.] Don’t let him manipulate you.

In control?

Here are the questions we’re pondering as we await tonight’s telecast of “Like Father, Like Son,” TNT’s latest “Dallas” episode:

• How will John Ross strike back against Sue Ellen and Bobby? In “D.T.R.,” last week’s episode, Sue Ellen (Linda Gray) blackmailed Governor McConaughey (Steven Weber) into replacing the corrupt railroad commissioner Stanley Babcock (Currie Graham) with a new appointee: Bobby (Patrick Duffy), who now has the power to revoke John Ross’s Southfork drilling permit. John Ross (Josh Henderson) was furious and vowed to “blow right past” any roadblock Bobby puts in his way. John Ross, realizing Sue Ellen’s role in putting Bobby on the commission, also left his mother a nasty voice mail message, saying, “Now I know I’ve got another enemy I’ve got to look out for. I ain’t going to forget this.” What will John Ross do?

• When will the Rylands strike back against John Ross? Emma (Emma Bell) used incriminating evidence from Harris’s files to blackmail Judith (Judith Light) into giving John Ross access to the Ryland ships for his Arctic drilling venture. Judith wasn’t happy and expressed her frustration to Harris (Mitch Pileggi), telling him it’s time to break up John Ross and Emma. Harris assured his mother that Candice (Jude Demorest), the prostitute posing as John Ross’s secretary, is still laying the groundwork to frame John Ross for a sex crime. Will this be the week Candice puts her plan in motion?

• What’s next for Emma — and her parents? When Ann (Brenda Strong) saw John Ross coming out of Emma’s bedroom, she got into a fight with Emma and kicked her off Southfork. Ann immediately regretted the decision and turned to Harris, who blackmailed CIA agent George Tatangelo (Gino Anthony Pesi) into giving his family extra protection. Eventually, Emma came home and assured Ann she had stopped seeing John Ross, but Ann told Harris she isn’t sure if she believes their daughter. How long can Emma continue to deceive Ann — and will Ann and Harris continue to soften toward each other?

• What will Elena and Nicolas do with their clue? After Cliff (Ken Kercheval) called Pamela (Julie Gonzalo) and failed to mend fences with her, he urged Elena and Nicolas (Jordana Brewster, Juan Pablo Di Pace) to turn his daughter against John Ross. Meanwhile, Nicolas examined J.R.’s autopsy photos and noticed an unusual incision on his chest. Could this be a sign J.R. was receiving chemotherapy before he died, and if so, will Elena and Nicolas finally figure out he arranged his own “murder” and framed Cliff for the crime?

• What’s next for Christopher and Heather? As Christopher and Heather (Jesse Metcalfe, AnnaLynne McCord) grew closer, he learned her secret: She was once married to ranch-hand-turned-roughneck Bo (Donny Boaz) and the two of them have a young son, Michael. Christopher and the boy bonded over their mutual love of Transformers, but Bo didn’t seem very enthused about the idea that his ex-wife is dating a Ewing. Will he cause trouble for Christopher and Heather?

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

Back to the bottom

Here’s what happened in “Like Father, Like Son,” TNT’s latest “Dallas” episode:

• John Ross and Sue Ellen clashed. John Ross (Josh Henderson) confronted Sue Ellen (Linda Gray) over her scheme to shut down his Southfork drilling venture, but she was in no mood to hear his griping. “You’re trying so hard to fill J.R.’s shoes, you’ve become drunk on power,” she said. His response: “I may be drunk on power, but you, you’re just drunk.” Later, after John Ross’s childhood friend Hunter McKay (Fran Kranz) — Carter McKay’s grandson — gave John Ross the idea of taking Ewing Global public to raise the capital needed for the Arctic oil deal, John Ross turned to Pamela (Julie Gonzalo) and Sue Ellen for their support. Pamela readily agreed to vote with her husband, and so did Sue Ellen — but only after John Ross assured her that he was no longer cheating on Pamela. “I love my wife,” he said.

• … And so did Bobby and Nicolas. Now that Bobby (Patrick Duffy) is a railroad commissioner, he turned control of his shares in Ewing Global over to Christopher (Jesse Metcalfe). But Bobby wasn’t giving up his fight with Nicolas (Juan Pablo Di Pace), telling him that he’s going to use his new position to put the squeeze on the Trevino businesses in Texas. “Take your best shot, Mr. Ewing,” Nicolas said. Back at the ranch, Bobby’s son and wife were feeling a little more charitable: Christopher agreed to babysit little Michael when Bo (Donny Boaz) left Heather (AnnaLynne McCord) in a childcare lurch, while Ann (Brenda Strong) assured Emma (Emma Bell) that she loves her unconditionally. “With me, there are no strings. And for what it’s worth, in his own way, I know your father loves you very much,” Ann said.

• John Ross courted Nicolas. With Sue Ellen and Pamela on his side in his bid to take Ewing Global public, John Ross went to work on Nicolas. John Ross offered him a 3 percent royalty on all oil produced by the Arctic leases in exchange for Nicolas’s vote. Nicolas agreed, but he had his own plan up his sleeve: He told Elena (Jordana Brewster) that he’ll help John Ross take control of the company — and then he’ll work with Elena to steal it out from under him. Elena warned Nicolas that he was playing “a dangerous game,” and so she proceeded with her own plan to undermine John Ross by hiring a private eye to determine if he’s being faithful to Pamela. “If he’s cheating, we’ll find out,” the private eye said.

• Candace courted John Ross. When John Ross and Nicolas went out to a club to talk business, they ran into Candace (Jude Demorest), who flirted shamelessly with her boss. Later, while John Ross was working late at the office, Candace slipped into the dress Harris gave her and tried to seduce John Ross, but he turned her down. “Look, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but you’ve got to start taking ‘no’ for an answer. I’m a married man,” he said. As Candace slinked out of the office, adjusting her dress, she ran into Sue Ellen. “That son of yours is something else,” Candace said, leaving Sue Ellen looking crestfallen.

• Sue Ellen surprised John Ross (again). When John Ross convened the shareholders to present his proposal to take Ewing Global public, Bobby was aghast. Pamela and Nicolas backed John Ross while Christopher — and Sue Ellen — voted no, sending the plan down in flames. That night, John Ross arrived at Sue Ellen’s house and found her drinking. He shouted at her for stabbing him in the back once more, and then he picked up her liquor bottle and tearfully said, “Why are you doing this to yourself again? You’re so busy seeing the ghost of J.R. in me that you cannot stop to take a hard look in the damn mirror.” John Ross left his mother weeping and went to see Emma, telling her he wanted her file on “the judge.” Emma agreed to give it to him — but only after he satisfied her sexually. “Tonight, it’s about my needs,” she said.

• John Ross gained the upper hand. It turned out the file contained photos of Judge Henry Blackwell (Rick Herod) having sex with the prostitutes at Judith’s brothel, which John Ross used to blackmail the judge into signing an order to have Sue Ellen taken to rehab. Later, when the paramedics arrived at Sue Ellen’s house, they found her drunk and put her in the back of the ambulance as John Ross watched. “Get her some help,” he said as the doors closed on his confused mother. Elsewhere, Elena was stunned to receive surveillance video from her private eye that showed John Ross and Emma cavorting. But this was nothing compared to the shock Bobby received when he came home and found John Ross sitting alone in the darkened Southfork living room. John Ross told Bobby that he was forced to send Sue Ellen away — and then he said that now that he has his mother’s power of attorney, he’s voting to take Ewing Global public. “And there’s not a damn thing you can do about it,” John Ross said.

What did you think of “Like Father, Like Son”? Share your thoughts in the comments section below and look for Dallas Decoder’s critique later this week.

Higher, ladies!

“Dallas” continued to climb in the ratings this week: “Like Father, Like Son,” the most recent episode, debuted to 1.82 million viewers on March 31, up roughly 2 percent from one week ago. The March 31 audience included 559,000 adults between ages 18 and 49, a demographic many advertisers pay a premium to reach.

The previous episode, “D.T.R.,” debuted to 1.79 million viewers on March 24, including 577,000 adults between 18 and 49. However, when DVR users who recorded the episode and watched it a few days later are counted, the “D.T.R.” audience rose to 2.6 million viewers, including 1.2 million adults between ages 25 and 54, an audience TNT targets, and 940,000 adults between 18 and 49.

This is the second consecutive week “Dallas” has raised its ratings since March 17, when “Lifting the Veil” dipped to 1.78 million viewers, a series low.

“Dallas” is averaging 1.99 million viewers on Mondays at 9 p.m. this season, down from 2.7 million viewers in this time slot last year. However, when DVR users are included, “Dallas’s” weekly viewership rises to 2.7 million viewers, making it TNT’s fourth most-watched original drama this winter. The top three: “Major Crimes” (7.4 million viewers), “Rizzoli & Isles (5.6 million) and “Perception” (3.3 million).

TNT also continues to draw hundreds of thousands of viewers with its “Dallas” replays on Monday nights. On March 31, after “Like Father, Like Son” debuted at 9 p.m., TNT showed the episode again at 10 p.m., where it drew another 624,000 viewers.

Happy Anniversary, Darlins

“Dallas” debuted on April 2, 1978. Since then, almost 400 hours of “Dallas” have been produced, including 357 episodes of the original series, 31 episodes of the TNT show and a handful of reunion movies and other specials.

Today also marks Dallas Decoder’s second anniversary. I’m still having fun writing and editing this site, and I hope you’re enjoying reading it. Thanks for your continued support.

“Drill Bits,” a roundup of news about TNT’s “Dallas,” is published regularly. Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Revealed

Josh Henderson is a revelation in “Like Father, Like Son.” I’ve admired Henderson’s work on “Dallas” from the beginning, but I didn’t know he was capable of the kind of performance he delivers in this episode. In some scenes, I want to reach through my screen and break John Ross in two; in others, my heart breaks for him. This reminds me of the early days of the original series, when we were beginning to discover what J.R. Ewing and Larry Hagman were made of. John Ross is becoming as bad as J.R.; will we one day say Henderson is as good as Hagman? Time will tell, but what a thrilling prospect to consider.

The dramatic highpoint in “Like Father, Like Son” is the scene where John Ross confronts Sue Ellen over her betrayal. This is a two-minute emotional roller coaster, and Henderson brings us along for the whole gut-wrenching ride. We feel everything John Ross does: his rage when he storms into his mother’s house, his incredulity when she accuses him of cheating, his disappointment when he realizes how drunk she is. I especially love when John Ross holds up Sue Ellen’s bottle of booze and says, “Why are you doing this to yourself again, huh?” It’s one of the best lines in Julia Cohen’s taut script because it shows how much John Ross cares about Sue Ellen while inviting us to consider what it must have been like for him to grow up with an alcoholic mother. As much time as I’ve devoted to “Dallas” over the years, I’m not sure that’s something I’ve thought much about until now.

Of course, nothing gives me chills like the moment John Ross slams his hand on Sue Ellen’s kitchen counter and exclaims, “I am not my father!” Henderson delivers the line with such uncontrolled force, it feels like the most genuine thing John Ross has ever said. Indeed, his statement is very true: John Ross loves J.R. and takes pride in being his son, as evidenced by the fact that he runs around wearing Daddy’s wristwatch. But I believe John Ross sees himself as being a better man than J.R. We witnessed this in the first-season classic “Family Business,” when John Ross urged J.R. to return ownership of Southfork to the cancer-stricken Bobby, and we see it again in this episode, when John Ross rejects Candace’s overtures. (Would J.R. have turned down the advances of a comely secretary?) This is why Sue Ellen’s accusations sting her son more than we might have expected.

Yet no matter how much John Ross might want to think of himself as being “better” than J.R, he can’t resist all of his dark impulses: At the end of “Like Father, Like Son,” John Ross takes advantage of Sue Ellen’s relapse by blackmailing Judge Blackwell to send her to rehab against her will. (Blackwell: “You certainly are just like your father.” John Ross: “You hear that enough, eventually you start to believe it.”) Is John Ross doing this because it will help his mother, or because it will make it easier for him to take Ewing Global public and seize control of the company? Perhaps we’ll never know, and maybe in John Ross’s mind, there’s no difference. I’m not sure J.R. saw too many distinctions when he committed Sue Ellen to a sanitarium during the original “Dallas.” Yes, J.R. knew his wife needed help for her alcoholism, but he was also eager to get her out of the way before she spilled their marital secrets to the rest of the family.

Regardless of John Ross’s motivation, I admire Henderson’s willingness to take his character into such dark territory. I also have to hand it to Linda Gray, who fearlessly takes Sue Ellen back to her roots. In the confrontation with John Ross, Sue Ellen stands in her kitchen, drinking openly; there’s no more discreet nipping from the flask. This is not the confident, successful Sue Ellen we’ve come to know; this is the old-school, deeply vulnerable Sue Ellen. She lashes out at John Ross and blames him for her problems (“You did this to me!”), just like she used to do with J.R. I’ve gotten so used to seeing Gray play Sue Ellen as a functional alcoholic, it’s surprising to see the character lose control like this.

The most startling moment: John Ross denies he’s cheating and Sue Ellen screams, “Bullshit!” Did you ever dream you’d see Miss Texas use this kind of language? It’s shocking, and yet it makes perfect sense: The love of Sue Ellen’s life is dead, her relationship with her son is broken, and now she’s back on the bottle. Sue Ellen’s entire identity is slipping away; of course her sense of decorum would go with it. I also love Gray’s reaction shots during this sequence. As John Ross loses control and gets choked up, so does Sue Ellen. Just as our hearts break for John Ross, so does hers. It’s similar to what Gray did in “J.R.’s Masterpiece,” when she became the audience’s avatar and allowed us to express our grief through her. Will someone please give this woman an Emmy already?

Together, Sue Ellen’s relapse and John Ross’s descent into full-fledged J.R.-dom fit with the broader theme of “Like Father, Like Son,” which shows how the “Dallas” characters struggle to break old patterns. We also see this when Ann urges Emma to find a man who will love her and not use her for sex. The pained expression on Emma Bell’s face at the end of this scene suggests Ann’s words have sunk in, but of course Emma later has, ahem, relations with John Ross in exchange for the file he wants on the judge. (After he satisfies her — without ever undressing himself, notably — she tells him, “Now go home and kiss your wife.” This might be “Dallas’s” naughtiest moment ever.) Even Bobby gives in to his baser instincts, using his new position as the railroad commissioner to threaten Nicolas. I suppose I should chastise “Dallas” for once again taking a dim view of public service, but at least Bobby isn’t patronizing Judith’s brothel like most of the other political figures on this show.

There’s much more to like about “Like Father, Like Son,” especially the slow-motion sequence that director Steve Robin gives us at the end of the episode, when John Ross walks away from Bobby after telling him he’s going to use Sue Ellen’s power of attorney in his bid to take Ewing Global public. Unlike Patrick Duffy’s slow-mo walk during Season 2, which felt so triumphant, Henderson’s version is positively chilling. I also love Jesse Metcalfe’s adorable scenes with Dallas Clark (yes, that’s his name), the child actor who plays little Michael, as well as Metcalfe’s charming rapport with AnnaLynne McCord’s Heather. McCord has proven an especially welcome addition to this show. I know a lot of fans watch “Dallas” for escapism, but isn’t it nice to see Heather experience a real-life problem like finding last-minute child care?

This episode’s other highlight: The dueling boys’ and girls’ nights out on the town, although just once, I’d like to see television characters in these kinds of settings have to shout at each other over the sound of the music, the way people do in real-life nightclubs. As my husband Andrew pointed out, the sequence with the women brings a touch of “Sex and the City” to “Dallas,” except one of the ladies is cheating with the other’s husband, and a third is trying to prove it. By the way: Cynthia Addai-Robinson brings an undeniable sense of cool to her scenes as Jasper, Elena’s private eye. How much fun would it be to see her go toe to toe with Kevin Page’s Bum (who is sadly missing from this episode, along with Mitch Pileggi’s Harris)?

Meanwhile, some fans are wondering how Carter McKay, George Kennedy’s character from the original “Dallas’s” final seasons, has a grandson as old as Hunter, who is introduced in this episode as one of John Ross’s childhood friends. As far as we know, Tracey and Tommy, Carter’s children, didn’t have kids of their own. In light of this episode’s boardroom showdown, there’s also confusion in Fan Land about the ownership of Ewing Global and how it’s divided. I, too, wish the show handled these details better, so my only advice to fellow fans — and I know this won’t satisfy many of you — is to just go with it.

My other gripe has to do with Harris’s accordion file. It’s become a treasure trove for storyline purposes, so I wish the show had made it an updated version of J.R.’s infamous “red file” instead; it would have been another nifty way to keep Larry Hagman’s spirit alive. Then again, Josh Henderson is doing a pretty good job of doing that on his own.

Grade: A

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Slipping away

‘LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON’

Season 3, Episode 6

Telecast: March 31, 2014

Audience: 1.82 million viewers on March 31

Writer: Julie Cohen

Director: Steve Robin

Synopsis: Bobby gives control of his Ewing Global shares to Christopher and, in his new role as railroad commissioner, vows to scrutinize Nicolas’s Texas holdings. Elena hires a private eye to follow John Ross and discovers he’s cheating with Emma. John Ross’s childhood friend, Hunter McKay, gives him the idea of taking Ewing Global public. John Ross gets support from Nicolas, who aims to take control of the company once it goes public, and also Sue Ellen, but when she gets the impression John Ross is cheating with Candace, she votes against her son, incurring his wrath. John Ross blackmails a judge into having Sue Ellen committed to rehab against her will and tells Bobby he has her power of attorney, which gives him her vote to take the company public.

Cast: Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Jasper), Emma Bell (Emma Ryland), Donny Boaz (Bo McCabe), Jordana Brewster (Elena Ramos), Dallas Clark (Michael), Jude Demorest (Candace), Juan Pablo Di Pace (Nicolas Treviño), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Julie Gonzalo (Pamela Ewing), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Josh Henderson (John Ross Ewing), Rick Herod (Judge Blackwell), Fran Kranz (Hunter McKay), Jesse Metcalfe (Christopher Ewing), Bryan Pitts (paramedic), Brenda Strong (Ann Ewing), Kenneisha Thompson (police officer)

“Like Father, Like Son” is available at DallasTNT.com, Amazon.com and iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.

The people who make “Dallas” gave us lots of drama to “fanalyze” in “Like Father, Like Son,” this week’s episode, but don’t overlook all the great looks from superstar costume designer Rachel Sage Kunin.

Top honors go to Emma Bell, Jordana Brewster and Julie Gonzalo, who all looked runway ready when Emma, Elena and Pamela hit the town for their girls’ night out. We never got a good glimpse of their outfits on screen, so this week’s collage includes a publicity shot of Brewster and Gonzalo in their fun, flirty print dresses. (For a good picture of the slinky green number that Bell wore in this scene, check out the latest edition of my “Drill Bits” news column.)

I’m also mad for the plaid necktie Josh Henderson sported during John Ross’s boardroom showdown and his confrontation with Sue Ellen. The tie reminded me of the one John Ross wore to J.R.’s funeral, which is appropriate since his ghost loomed so large in Henderson’s big scene with Linda Gray. Speaking of the magnificent Ms. Gray: I love the big, bold necklace she wore when Sue Ellen and John Ross clashed in her office at the top of the hour. The necklace looks like a wreath of crystals and so I imagine it’s pretty hefty, although it’s probably nothing compared to the heavy emotional burden poor Sue Ellen is carrying these days.

This episode’s other great look: the sexy sweater with the shoulder cutouts that Brenda Strong wore when Ann and Bobby (Patrick Duffy) sat on their den sofa and drank wine. What’s that, you say? You don’t remember that scene? Apparently it was cut from the episode, but TNT helpfully distributed a publicity shot from Bobby and Ann’s conversation, so I’m including it here. Here’s hoping the scene is included on the third-season DVD; not only do I want to know what Mr. and Mrs. Ewing are talking about, I want to see more of that sweater!

What were your favorite looks in “Like Father, Like Son”? Share your thoughts in the comments section below and read more “Dallas Styles.”

“Dallas” delivers the most delicious dialogue on television. Here are the best sound bites from “Like Father, Like Son,” this week’s episode. 

What are your favorite lines from “Like Father, Like Son”? Share them in the comments section below and read more editions of “Say What?!”

Gone, darlin’, gone?

Here are the questions we’re pondering as we await tonight’s telecast of “Like a Bad Penny,” TNT’s latest “Dallas” episode:

• Where’s Sue Ellen? In “Like Father, Like Son,” last week’s episode, John Ross (Josh Henderson) blackmailed a judge into ordering Sue Ellen (Linda Gray) to have a mandatory psychiatric evaluation. The last time we saw our heroine, paramedics were placing her in the back of an ambulance while John Ross watched. Later, he told Bobby (Patrick Duffy), Ann (Brenda Strong) and Christopher (Jesse Metcalfe) that he was forced to call the police after having a huge fight with his mother. “What have you done, John Ross?” Bobby asked. Good question, Uncle Bobby, but a better one is this: Where is Sue Ellen, and will she get the help she needs?

• Will John Ross take Ewing Global public? John Ross and Sue Ellen’s fight began after she voted against his proposal to take Ewing Global public, an idea given to him by his childhood friend Hunter McKay (Fran Kranz). John Ross pitched the idea to the Ewing Global co-owners as a way to raise money for their Arctic drilling venture; Pamela and Nicolas (Julie Gonzalo, Juan Pablo Di Pace) supported John Ross, but Bobby and Christopher accused him of wanting to put everyone’s shares in play so he can buy up the controlling interest for himself. With Sue Ellen incapacitated, John Ross has control of her piece of the company, which means his plans for an “initial public offering” are probably back on. Will he succeed?

• Will Elena bust John Ross? To get Nicolas’s support for an IPO, John Ross offered him a 3 percent royalty on all oil produced by the Arctic leases. Nicolas agreed, but he had another plan in mind: He told Elena (Jordana Brewster) he was going to take control of the company before John Ross could. She told Nicolas he was playing “a dangerous game” and set off on her own scheme, hiring private eye Jasper (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) to follow John Ross and determine if he’s cheating. Elena’s plan worked all too well: With Jasper’s help, she watched surveillance video that showed John Ross having sex with Emma (Emma Bell). Will Elena tell Pamela what she saw?

• Will Bobby make Nicolas’s life miserable? After Bobby gave Christopher control of his Ewing Global shares, he settled into his new job as one of the state’s powerful railroad commissioners. First order of business: abusing his office. Bobby had a run-in with Nicolas and suggested he was going to use his newly obtained political muscle to put the squeeze on Treviño Industries’ Texas holdings. Nicolas wasn’t fazed, telling Bobby, “Take your best shot, Mr. Ewing.” Will Nicolas feel so cocky once he’s messed with badass Bobby?

• Will Christopher keep smiling? Ever since Heather (AnnaLynne McCord) entered his life, Christopher has been uncharacteristically chipper. In “Like Father, Like Son,” he even seemed to enjoy babysitting Heather’s son Michael (Dallas Clark) when Bo (Donny Boaz) left her in a childcare lurch. The good vibrations seem destined to end, especially since Drew (Kuno Becker) will appear in tonight’s episode. What will happen when Christopher sees him again?

• What’s next for Harris? Although Harris (Mitch Pileggi) didn’t appear in “Like Father, Like Son” (boo!), we saw Candace (Jude Demorest) receive a text from him, demanding to know why she hadn’t succeeded in seducing John Ross. The message prompted Candace to slip into the blue dress Harris gave her and try to seduce John Ross, but he rejected her, saying, “Look, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but you’ve got to start taking ‘no’ for an answer. I’m a married man. I’m sorry, but it ain’t ever going to happen.” Will Harris give up? If so, will Judith (Judith Light) let him?

What “Dallas Burning Questions” are on your mind? Share your thoughts in the comments section below and watch TNT’s “Dallas” tonight at 9, Eastern and Pacific time, and 8, Central time.

Welcome home, darlin’

Here’s what happened in “Like a Bad Penny,” TNT’s latest “Dallas” episode:

• Sue Ellen came home. Bobby and Ann (Patrick Duffy, Brenda Strong) found Sue Ellen (Linda Gray) in the sanitarium and tried to talk the physician in charge, Dr. Monkia Englert (Gail Cronauer), into releasing her into their custody. Englert reluctantly agreed to let Sue Ellen leave, but warned Bobby and Ann that “she needs to get her alcoholism under control. Otherwise, she will be a danger to herself.” When John Ross (Josh Henderson) ran into his mother at the ranch, he told her he acted in her best interest by having her committed, but she didn’t want to hear it, telling him, “You only did it to help yourself.”

• John Ross gambled … and lost. The final piece in John Ross’s plan to take Ewing Global public fell into place: He went to Las Vegas to meet Sheik Sharif Ali, with whom J.R. was planning to do business before he died. John Ross hoped to ask the sheik for money to finance his initial public offering in exchange for a piece of the Arctic lease deal; unfortunately, the sheik felt insulted because John Ross didn’t come to him sooner. To smooth things over, John Ross talked his way into the sheik’s high-stakes poker game and intentionally lost it, even though he bet his wristwatch and Pamela (Julie Gonzalo) put up her emerald earrings as collateral. After the game, Pamela asked her husband why he threw it. “Sometimes the only way to win is to show the other person you’re not afraid to lose,” John Ross said.

• Or did he? Not long after Mr. and Mrs. Ewing returned to Southfork, the sheik’s son, Nasir (Pej Vahdat), arrived and told John Ross his father was impressed by the way he handled his loss in Las Vegas. Nasir returned the wristwatch and agreed to supply John Ross with the money he needed for his IPO, explaining, “When you gambled the watch, my father saw J.R. in you. You were humble enough to know you were wrong and brave enough to risk something you care deeply about to prove it.” Meanwhile, Bobby tapped banker Cal Hanna, an old college buddy, to underwrite the IPO; John Ross, not wanting to delay the Arctic deal, reluctantly agreed to go along with Bobby’s choice. Later, Cal asked Bobby, “You really think John Ross is going to come after me?” Bobby’s response: “Oh, I’m sure of it. And when he does, make him think he’s got you.”

• Emma uncovered Harris’s scheme. After John Ross fired Candace (Jude Demorest), he told Bum (Kevin Page) to investigate her. Perhaps John Ross should’ve hired Emma (Emma Bell) for the job instead. When Harris (Mitch Pileggi) told Candace her services were no longer required, Emma began snooping into Candace’s life and discovered Harris was trying to get Candace to frame John Ross for a sex crime. Emma got her hands on Candace’s blue dress instead and posed with it in front of her mirror, not long after Harris chastised his daughter for getting involved with John Ross. “Are you deluded enough into thinking that he’s going to leave his wife for you, or are you just content in being his little piece on the side?” Harris asked.

• Drew returned to Southfork. Drew (Kuno Becker), wracked with guilt over the Ewing rig explosion, returned to Dallas and tried to apologize to Christopher (Jesse Metcalfe), who instead took out his rage on Drew and beat him up in a parking garage. After the fight, Christopher turned to Heather (AnnaLynne McCord), which infuriated Bo (Donny Boaz), while Drew retreated to Elena’s cottage on Southfork. While there, he stumbled across their father’s old land deed and angrily confronted Elena (Jordana Brewster), asking how long she had known J.R. switched the records. Elena told Drew she and Nicolas have a plan to take down the Ewings, but Drew was too upset by the discovery that J.R. had swindled their papi. “He wasted his life on a dream that was already taken from him — and I wasted mine, hating myself for not being able to save him. Everything that’s happened is because of J.R.’s betrayal. Their greed took everything from our family,” Drew said before running into the night.

• Nicolas got down to business, part 1. Nicolas (Juan Pablo Di Pace) assured Elena he would find Drew and protect him; little did she know her lover had his own business to take care of. Nicolas had a midnight meeting with two secret partners: Hunter McKay (Fran Kranz), Carter’s grandson, who wants to take down the Ewings; and Luis (Antonio Jaramillo), the Mexican drug dealer who cut a deal with Judith at the beginning of the season. Their scheme: Hunter is setting up a series of shell corporations to buy up the Ewing Global stock when it hits the market; Luis will then use the shares to gain a controlling interest in the company. As Nicolas told Luis, “By the time the Ewings and Cliff Barnes realize what happened, you’ll be in control of the company, free to launder billions of drug profits for years to come.”

• Nicolas got down to business, part 2. Luis threatened Nicolas’s children if their arrangement doesn’t pan out, but Nicolas didn’t seem fazed and even asked the drug lord for help with his next task: finding Drew. So much for keeping his promise to Elena to protect her brother, huh? But this wasn’t the first time Nicolas betrayed Elena in this episode. After she told him she couldn’t bring herself to show Pamela the video of John Ross and Emma, Nicolas got his hands on a copy of the video and forwarded it to Pamela’s phone, which was on her nightstand as she and John Ross made love.

What did you think of “Like a Bad Penny”? Share your thoughts in the comments section below and look for Dallas Decoder’s critique later this week.

I knew I’d found my look of the week the moment Pamela turned up in that black-and-white dress in “Like a Bad Penny,” “Dallas’s” latest episode. The dress was a brilliant choice for Julie Gonzalo’s character for many reasons, beginning with its symbolic value: Pamela increasingly reminds fans of her mother-in-law Sue Ellen, who long ago made black-and-white outfits one of her signature looks.

Pamela’s dress, a Stella McCartney design, is a work of art: It features a rounded neck, long sleeves and contrasting panels that create a sexy, hourglass illusion. I also love how Gonzalo moved in it: The first time we saw her wearing it, when Pamela and John Ross turned the corner and came down the hall in the Las Vegas hotel, notice how Gonzalo sashayed. She looked so striking, I’m surprised the show didn’t give her a bigger entrance; if ever a scene called for a dramatic, slow-motion walk, this was it.

The dress was costume designer Rachel Sage Kunin’s pièce de résistance in “Like a Bad Penny,” but let’s also hear it for hair stylist Charles Yusko, who once again showed off Pamela’s emerald earrings without putting her hair up. Instead, Gonzalo’s hair was swept back; it reminded me of one of Victoria Principal’s styles on the original “Dallas.” The dress may have been Sue Ellen, but the hair was Aunt Pam.

Not to be “out-blinged,” Josh Henderson sported a nifty tie tack and cuff links during the Las Vegas scenes, along with the much-loved J.R. wristwatch, which boomeranged back to him after he gambled it away. I also loved Emma Bell’s red, multi-zippered coat; it wasn’t a traditional trench coat, but it still made an ideal accessory for Emma, who went Nancy Drew on us and started snooping into her father’s scheme against John Ross. I also want to give one more nod to Jesse Metcalfe’s beard, which is slated to go away during next week’s midseason finale. Sigh.

Finally, a few thoughts on the sanitarium stylings of Sue Ellen Ewing. She spent much of this episode in a gray T-shirt and seemed to wear very little makeup, which allowed us to focus on Linda Gray’s moving, heartfelt performance. And yet Sue Ellen remained beautiful nonetheless. If there’s a lesson here, it’s this: Even when she’s wearing nothing more than a simple tee, Linda Gray still looks amazing.

What were your favorite looks in “Like a Bad Penny”? Share your thoughts in the comments section below and read more “Dallas Styles.”

Hold on, darlins

Here are the questions we’re pondering as we await tonight’s telecast of “Where There’s Smoke,” TNT’s latest “Dallas” episode:

• How will the Southfork fire start? It’s no secret there’ll be another Ewing inferno in “Where There’s Smoke” — TNT’s promos for the episode show Southfork engulfed in flames. The question is: How does the blaze begin? There are lots of people living on the ranch these days, including Bobby and Ann (Patrick Duffy, Brenda Strong) and John Ross and Pamela (Josh Henderson, Julie Gonzalo), along with Sue Ellen (Linda Gray), Christopher (Jesse Metcalfe), Emma (Emma Bell), Elena (Jordana Brewster) and Carmen (Marlene Forte). Does one of these characters start the fire through some act of household carelessness? Or could the fire be an act of revenge by one of the many enemies who have the Ewings in their crosshairs?

• What will Pamela do? “Like a Bad Penny,” the previous episode, ended with Nicolas (Juan Pablo Di Pace) sending Pamela the video of John Ross having sex with Emma. We didn’t see Pamela receive Nicolas’s message, but TNT’s promo shows her walking in on John Ross and Emma together in bed, so the truth is going to come out, one way or another. The question is: How will Pamela respond? She has a mixed record of dealing with bad news: When Christopher dumped her at the end of Season 1, she vowed revenge and turned into a bitch-on-wheels, but when she lost her twins during Season 2, she went into an emotional tailspin. Which Pamela will we see tonight?

• Will Sue Ellen stop drinking? After Bobby and Ann sprang Sue Ellen from the sanitarium, they brought her home to Southfork, where she rankled John Ross by supporting Bobby’s decision to hire his old college buddy, banker Cal Hanna (Jonathan Adams), to shepherd Ewing Global through its initial public offering. Of course, business is probably the last thing on Sue Ellen’s mind. Her doctor warned Bobby and Ann that Sue Ellen will be “a danger to herself” if she doesn’t get her drinking under control. In that light, it’s probably worth pointing out that in the “Where There’s Smoke” publicity photo above, Sue Ellen is standing next to a liquor decanter. What, if anything, should we make of that?

• What’s up with the Rylands? Everyone and their mother are out to get the Ewings these days. In the case of the Rylands, that’s literally true: Although Harris (Mitch Pileggi) has been growing closer to Ann, he’s also been trying to frame John Ross for a sex crime with help from his bordello-running mama, Judith (Judith Light), and one of her prostitutes, Candace (Jude Demorest). But Harris’s plan suffered a setback: When he fired Candace, she blabbed about the scheme to Emma, who somehow nabbed the dress Candace was planning to use to incriminate John Ross. What’s Emma going to do with the dress? And what will Ann, Harris and Judith have to say about it?

• What’s up with the cartel? When Drew (Kuno Becker) returned to Dallas, he discovered J.R. swindled the Ramoses out of their land, vowed to make the whole Ewing family pay for J.R.’s greed and then disappeared into the night. Nicolas promised Elena he would use “every resource” at his disposal to find Drew and, true to his word, he sought help from his secret business partner: the Mexican gangster Luis (Antonio Jaramillo), who is in cahoots with Nicolas and Hunter McKay (Fran Kranz) in a secret plot to seize control of Ewing Global and use the company to launder the Mendez-Ochoa cartel’s drug money. If Luis finds Drew, what will he do with him? Also, does Nicolas’s connection to Luis mean the cartel is the Treviño benefactor that Lucia (Angélica Celaya) referred to a few episodes ago?

• What unexpected twists will occur? It’s also unclear where Christopher’s relationship with Heather (AnnaLynne McCord) is headed, especially now that we know her hard-drinking ex-husband, Bo (Donny Boaz), wants to reconcile with her. But this isn’t the only “x” factor to watch out for tonight. Entertainment Weekly’s latest issue teases “Where There’s Smoke” will include “adultery, a diaphragm sabotaged by a pin and a super-graphic threesome that would make Caligula blush.” Also, according to EW, the hour will end with “at least” four characters’ lives in danger. Who will they be? More importantly: What will we all do with ourselves until “Dallas’s” third season resumes in August?

What “Dallas Burning Questions” are on your mind? Share your thoughts in the comments section below and watch TNT’s “Dallas” tonight at 9, Eastern and Pacific time, and 8, Central time.

Devil may call

Here’s what happened in “Where There’s Smoke,” TNT’s latest “Dallas” episode:

• Pamela learned the truth about John Ross and Emma. While John Ross (Josh Henderson) met with contractors to discuss adding a “master suite” for him and Pamela (Julie Gonzalo) at Southfork, she checked her phone and discovered the video that showed him having sex with Emma. Pamela told Sue Ellen and Ann (Linda Gray, Brenda Strong) about the video and was stunned to discover they already knew about the affair, so she angrily ordered them out of the room. But this was nothing compared to the reaction from Bobby (Patrick Duffy), who went ballistic when he discovered his wife had withheld the truth about John Ross and Emma’s fling. “What is it that’s so hardwired in you that you keep the most important events in your life secret from your husband?” Bobby shouted. He also told Ann that Emma was no longer welcome at Southfork. “Please tell your ex-husband he’s responsible for her safety from now on,” Bobby said.

• John Ross tangled with Judith. After Bum (Kevin Page) told John Ross that Candace (Jude Demorest) was a prostitute, John Ross realized Harris had been trying to use her to frame him. John Ross went to the brothel and told Judith (Judith Light) to call off her son. “I will do anything to protect my family,” John Ross said. As soon as he departed, Emma (Emma Bell) emerged from a secret passage in Judith’s office, where Judith warned her eavesdropping granddaughter that John Ross is only interested in Ryland Transport, not in Emma. Judith urged Emma to get revenge against her lover. “You have the pictures of John Ross with the 16-year-old — and you have the dress. Use them,” Judith said.

• Nicolas deceived Elena. Nicolas (Juan Pablo Di Pace) received a surprise visit from Drew (Kuno Becker), who asked for his help in striking back against the Ewings. Nicolas told Drew to be patient and allow his scheme with Elena to play out, but Drew didn’t want to hear it. “This is a blood feud that can only be settled with blood,” he said before running away. Nicolas called Luis (Antonio Jaramillo) and told him to find Drew before he ruined their plans. “I know I’m the one in debt, but it is the Ewing deal that puts the cartel much closer to overthrowing the Mexican government,” Nicolas said. He then went home to Elena (Jordana Brewster), who was beginning to realize her conspiracy against the Ewings was misguided. “Christopher never hurt my father. J.R. did. He’s dead,” Elena said. Nicolas assured her that they aren’t wrong to seek revenge — and when Elena wasn’t looking, he punctured holes in her diaphragm before they had sex.

• Ann and Harris grew closer. After incurring Bobby’s wrath, Ann showed up on Harris’s doorstep to let him know Emma will no longer be living at Southfork. Harris (Mitch Pileggi) and Ann reminisced about their marriage, and he told her he was sorry he let his mother come between them. Said Harris: “I loved you. I just think we never had a chance. We should never have remained in this house. Not with that woman living here. She destroys everything she ever touches. She destroyed the most important part of my life: you.” Harris then kissed Ann, but she turned and walked away — as a seething Judith watched them from an upstairs window.

• Christopher came to Heather’s rescue. After shaving off his beard, Christopher (Jesse Metcalfe) told Heather (AnnaLynne McCord) he’d like to get serious with her — and then she found out Bo had taken Michael and disappeared. With help from Sheriff Derrick (Akai Draco), Bobby, Christopher and Heather found Michael (Dallas Clark) with Bo’s brother Reece (Steven Walters), who told them that Bo blames the Ewings for all his problems. “Bo’s headed back to Dallas. He’s coming for everyone at Southfork,” Reece said.

• Things got hot. While Emma summoned John Ross to a hotel room, Sue Ellen approached Pamela at Southfork and explained that she was only trying to protect her daughter-in-law from the kind of pain she suffered at J.R.’s hands. “I’m not you. I’m not a weak, sniveling drunk like you,” Pamela said. She then used her phone’s GPS capabilities to track down John Ross at the hotel, where she walked in on him and Emma, who was clad in the green corset. “Love what you’re wearing,” Pamela said before removing her raincoat and revealing that she was wearing her green corset too. To the surprise of John Ross, Emma and the audience, Pamela then said, “May I join you?” The three of them began making out — and then Pamela started convulsing. As Emma dialed 911, John Ross discovered a bottle of pills in Pamela’s coat pocket and tried furiously to revive his wife. “Wake up, baby, wake up!” he pleaded.

• … And then things got hotter. Back at the ranch, a drunk Sue Ellen slipped into John Ross and Pamela’s bedroom and knocked back some of their liquor before passing out. Outside, Bo (Donny Boaz) approached Southfork with a cigarette in his mouth; moments later, when a fire mysteriously began inside the house, Bo could be seen watching the flames sweep through a room. Finally, Bobby and Christopher arrived and raced into Southfork. Bobby called out for Sue Ellen and Ann — until part of the ceiling appeared to cave in on him and Christopher and the words “To Be Continued” flashed onto the screen.

What did you think of “Where There’s Smoke”? Share your thoughts in the comments section below and look for Dallas Decoder’s critique later this week.

What’s she thinking?

Southfork catches fire again in “Where There’s Smoke,” although much of the heat in this episode comes from Pamela’s ménage a trois with John Ross and Emma. It’s shocking to see her make out with her husband and his mistress, although Pamela’s sudden seizure at the end of the scene proves an even bigger surprise. When I watched this cliffhanger for the first time the other night, I was left with a slew of questions: Is this an accident, or does the pill bottle in Pamela’s pocket mean she intentionally overdosed? Is she trying to kill herself, or does she merely want to scare John Ross and Emma? Could she be faking it?

It turns out we don’t have to wait until August, when “Dallas’s” third season will resume, for the answers to most of these questions: Yesterday, showrunner Cynthia Cidre told TV Line that Pamela was out to “punish” John Ross and Emma. “She wanted them to never be able to have sex again without thinking of her vomiting on them,” Cidre said. Well, OK then.

This still leaves open the question of whether or not Pamela is like Sue Ellen, which is probably the most interesting point to debate anyway. Earlier in the episode, Pamela puts down her mother-in-law, telling her she isn’t “weak” and “sniveling” like her. (Linda Gray’s reaction shots in this scene are heartbreaking.) By taking revenge against John Ross and Emma instead of hitting the bottle like Sue Ellen, Pamela seems to prove her point. On the other hand, if vengeance involves swallowing pills, is Pamela really all that different from Sue Ellen? Perhaps this storyline is meant to fit with one of this season’s broader themes, which is how “Dallas’s” younger generation is doomed to repeat the old guard’s mistakes.

But no matter how this cliffhanger is resolved, there’s no doubt the big sex scene has raised a ruckus among “Dallas” fans. Some say the series went too far by showing a three-way; others love the unexpected twist. I’m in the latter camp. Without question, the show is going out of its way to be provocative, but let’s face it: Sex has always been part of “Dallas’s” DNA. Isn’t this is the show that began with a teenage girl rolling around in the hay with a silver-haired cowboy? Besides, I don’t find John Ross, Pamela and Emma kissing and fondling each other as distasteful as seeing J.R. force Holly Harwood to have sex with him against her will, which is what happened in a 1983 episode. Now that was disturbing.

To me, the threesome feels like a fitting climax to a storyline that’s been building since the end of the previous season, when John Ross and Emma first cavorted in an Omni hotel room. I especially like how Cidre and Robert Rovner, who co-wrote this episode, bring everything full circle by bringing back Pamela and Emma’s green corsets. You also have to hand it to the actors: Josh Henderson does a nice job conveying John Ross’s hesitation about joining Pamela and Emma in bed — you can feel the character’s bewilderment — while Emma Bell always makes her character seem like she’s up for anything. Of course, the standout is Julie Gonzalo. Pamela hasn’t had much to do lately except gaze adoringly at John Ross, but “Where There’s Smoke” makes up for it. During the course of a single day, Pamela goes from feeling stunned to hurt to angry to aroused, and Gonzalo nails every scene. She’s become one of “Dallas’s” most reliable performers.

Surprisingly, I find the Pamela/John Ross/Emma cliffhanger more compelling than the Southfork fire, which lacks suspense. Is there any doubt Sue Ellen, Bobby and Christopher will all survive? A bigger problem: This fire seems like it comes from out of nowhere, unlike the 1983 version, when the inferno felt like the perfect way to end a season in which everything went to hell for the Ewings. Nevertheless, the “Where There’s Smoke” fire is a technical marvel. The special effects are superb, and whether or not it’s intentional, director Michael M. Robin and cinematographer Rodney Charters mimic some of the shots from the original fire. (You can see a side-by-side comparison on my Facebook page.)

More “Where There’s Smoke” highlights: Patrick Duffy is terrific in the scene where Bobby blows up at Ann, although as one Dallas Decoder reader pointed out on Twitter, Bobby is being a bit of a hypocrite. Yes, Ann probably should’ve told her husband about John Ross and Emma’s affair, but has Bobby gotten around to telling his wife that he framed Cliff for J.R.’s “murder?” Meanwhile, Ann and Harris’s kiss is surprisingly moving. This scene works not just because Brenda Strong and Mitch Pileggi are so good in their roles, but also because the show has taken its time telling their story, slowly revealing Ann’s vulnerability and Harris’s humanity.

I also like seeing Christopher and Heather grow closer — the ever-expanding McCabe clan is quickly surpassing the Ramoses as the show’s most believably down-to-earth family — and I’m glad this episode keeps the Mexican cartel and brothel business to a merciful minimum. It’s also good to see Elena acknowledge that J.R. — not Christopher — hurt her father; isn’t this what fans have been screaming at their TVs all season? The next scene, where Nicolas pokes holes in Elena’s diaphragm, is puzzling: By impregnating her, does he hope to control her? On the other hand, if this is the reason the Doors’ “Break On Through (To the Other Side)” was chosen for the episode-ending montage, I’m all for it.

Finally, like a lot of fans, I’m not sure what to make of the fact “North By Northwest” is playing on Sue Ellen’s TV when she gets drunk before the fire starts. In the movie, Cary Grant plays a man who unwittingly falls into a spy game but ultimately turns the tables on his enemies and takes control of the situation. Could this be a signal that Gray’s character is about to get back on track? Or is the film’s appearance nothing more than a sly plug for Turner Classic Movies, one of TNT’s sister channels?

I hope it’s the former. I’ve been patient while “Dallas” allows Sue Ellen’s relapse to play out, but now that she’s back where her fall from the wagon began — in the bedroom where J.R. once slept — it feels like this storyline has come full circle too. Is this where our beloved heroine begins the road back to sobriety? That’s the real cliffhanger, isn’t it?

Grade: B

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Full circle?

‘WHERE THERE’S SMOKE’

Season 3, Episode 8

Telecast: April 14, 2014

Audience: 2.1 million viewers on April 14

Writers: Cynthia Cidre and Robert Rovner

Director: Michael M. Robin

Synopsis: Pamela sees the video of John Ross and Emma and lashes out at Sue Ellen and Ann when she realizes they knew about the affair. Bobby becomes angry at Ann for keeping the secret from him, which prompts her to turn to Harris, who kisses her. John Ross figures out Harris has been trying to frame him and tells Judith to call off her son, while Judith urges Emma to turn on John Ross. Drew tells Nicolas he wants to settle the feud with the Ewings “with blood,” while Nicolas sabotages Elena’s birth control when she begins getting cold feet about their revenge scheme. Pamela finds John Ross and Emma in a hotel room and has a threesome with them, only to begin convulsing after an apparent overdose. Bobby and Christopher learn Bo blames the Ewings for his troubles and come home to Southfork to find the house in flames with Sue Ellen passed out inside.

Cast: Kuno Becker (Drew Ramos), Emma Bell (Emma Ryland), Donny Boaz (Bo McCabe), Jordana Brewster (Elena Ramos), Dallas Clark (Michael McCabe), Jude Demorest (Candace), Juan Pablo Di Pace (Nicolas Treviño), Akai Draco (Sheriff Derrick), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Julie Gonzalo (Pamela Ewing), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Josh Henderson (John Ross Ewing), Antonio Jaramillo (Luis), Judith Light (Judith Ryland), AnnaLynne McCord (Heather McCabe), Jesse Metcalfe (Christopher Ewing), Kevin Page (Bum), Mitch Pileggi (Harris Ryland), Brenda Strong (Ann Ewing), Steven Walters (Reece)

“Where There’s Smoke” is available at DallasTNT.com, Amazon.com and iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.

Julie Gonzalo and Emma Bell donned Pamela and Emma’s green corsets again in “Dallas’s” midyear cliffhanger, but this time around, the question isn’t who wore it better — it’s who used the lingerie more effectively?

The corsets debuted earlier this season, when Pamela wore the sexy undergarment for John Ross on the night before their wedding. Little did she know Emma had worn an identical corset for him the previous evening, knowing it would spoil Pamela’s surprise. In “Where There’s Smoke,” this week’s episode, Pamela finally discovered John Ross and Emma’s affair and went to the Omni to interrupt their latest tryst. Emma had her corset on again, and as we soon discovered, Pamela was also wearing hers — part of a twisted plot to lure her husband and his mistress into a threesome before going into an overdose-fueled seizure on them.

Some fans feel the three-way sex scene was too graphic, but I was too busy pondering the symbolic value of the costumes: In the earlier episode, Emma wore her corset in a scheme to undermine John Ross and Pamela’s marriage; in “Where There’s Smoke,” Pamela wore hers in a scheme to ruin John Ross and Emma’s affair. Like J.R.’s wristwatch and Candace’s blue dress, it’s another example of how costumes play an important role in “Dallas’s” storytelling.

Two more looks in “Where There’s Smoke” caught my eye. Costume designer Rachel Sage Kunin smartly dressed Josh Henderson in another three-piece suit, which helped project John Ross’s sense of confidence when he finally met Judith Ryland. And even though many of us were heartbroken when Christopher shaved off his beard, the loss was eased a bit by seeing Jesse Metcalfe sport that nifty brown varsity jacket. Not only is the jacket stylish — the lettermen look is big in menswear this spring — but what could be a better accessory for all-American Christopher?

Let’s just hope the Ewings know a good dry cleaner; that jacket is going to be full of soot come August.

What were your favorite looks in “Where There’s Smoke”? Share your thoughts in the comments section below and read more “Dallas Styles.”

Three’s company

You’re invited to join Dallas Decoder’s next #DallasChat on Twitter, which I’ll hold Monday, April 21, from 9 to 10 p.m. Eastern time. We’ll continue last week’s conversation about the Season 3 midyear cliffhanger — and discuss any other topics that might come up — so our theme will be: “Three for All.”

Leave your suggested questions in the comments section below, tweet them to me @DallasDecoder or post them to my Facebook page. I’ll choose one or more questions and ask them during our discussion.

If you’re new to #DallasChat, here’s how it works: For one hour, I tweet a series of questions to my fellow “Dallas” fans. Each question is numbered and includes the hashtag #DallasChat, so your answers should do the same. Please include the show’s official hashtag, #DallasTNT, in your tweets too.

Here’s a sample exchange:

Q1. What do you think will happen when Pamela recovers from her overdose? #DallasTNT #DallasChat

A1. All I’ll say is this: The Barnes-Ewing feud is back on! #DallasTNT #DallasChat

Here are two tips:

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

• Be sure to include #DallasChat in your tweets. This allows the other participants to see your contributions to the conversation.

No one will be left out of tonight’s discussion. Please join in!

Give it to us straight, Uncle Bobby

“Dallas” fans have questions about the show’s future. Dallas Decoder has answers.

1. “Dallas’s” third season has reached its midpoint. How’s the show doing?

Creatively, “Dallas” has never been better. The performances are top-notch, the writing is strong and the pacing has slowed down. The show no longer moves at the speed at light, making it easier for the audience to keep up with the stories.

Unfortunately, fewer people are watching “Dallas” this year. The series is averaging 1.9 million viewers on Mondays at 9 p.m., down from the 2.7 million who watched on Monday nights last year. However, when you count DVR users who record the episodes and watch them within three days of their debut, “Dallas’s” audience grows to 2.8 million viewers.

Last year, “Dallas” averaged 3.5 million viewers with three-day DVR playback added in. But don’t overlook this fact: Even though “Dallas’s” audience is down overall, the show is adding roughly 800,000 viewers through DVR usage each week — essentially the same number it added each week last year. In other words: DVR users are true-blue “Dallas” loyalists.

Watch them Ewings

2. OK, so the DVR numbers are encouraging. Do they really matter?

Yes, they matter. Remember: Television is a business, and the purpose of ratings is to let advertisers know how many people see their commercials.

Studies show DVR users don’t skip every ad, and so TV networks now sell commercial time based on several factors, including: 1) the number of people who watch shows when they air, and 2) the number of people who record shows and watch them a few days later.

3. How does “Dallas’s” ratings compare to other shows?

It depends on which shows you’re referring to. The most popular show on broadcast television last week was CBS’s “NCIS,” which grabbed 17.1 million viewers; on cable, the top show was HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” which snagged 6.6 million viewers.

It’s probably fairer to compare “Dallas” to the other shows in TNT’s lineup. Since the beginning of the year, the cable channel has shown four original dramas: “Major Crimes,” which averages 7.4 million viewers, including the people it picks up through DVR playback; “Rizzoli & Isles” (5.6 million); “Perception” (3.3 million); and “Dallas” (2.8 million).

4. Are ratings the only numbers that matter?

No. Ratings are important, but other factors contribute to a show’s bottom line. For example, studios can also make money by selling their shows overseas, and the 36-year-old “Dallas” brand retains a lot of international appeal.

Additionally, there’s money to be made from DVD sales and licensing products based on a show — hello, J.R. Ewing Bourbon! — and it’s worth pointing out that Dallas the city gives “Dallas” the TV show tax breaks to film there.

Does any of this make the show a financial success? Who knows? TV networks rarely discuss a show’s finances (or its ratings or the network’s programming deliberations) publicly. Nevertheless, “Dallas’s” other potential revenue streams could be part of the calculus that goes into deciding the show’s future.

5. TNT pulled “Dallas” off its schedule after last week’s episode. Isn’t that cause for concern?

Nope. “Dallas’s” third season will consist of 15 episodes; TNT always planned to divide the season into halves — eight episodes in the winter and spring and seven episodes in the summer. TNT does this with its other shows, and so do other cable channels; AMC routinely splits “The Walking Dead’s” seasons, for example.

Summer lovin’

6. But TNT won’t start showing the second half of “Dallas’s” third season until August 18! What’s up with that?

Yeah, that news was kind of unexpected. Fans like me were hoping “Dallas” would return in June or July and regain some of the glory from its first season during the summer of 2012, when the show averaged 4.2 million viewers on Wednesday nights.

By holding the show’s return until mid-August, it might be harder for “Dallas” to stand out. If TNT runs one episode a week for seven weeks beginning August 18, “Dallas” will spill over into the fall TV season, when the competition is much tougher.

On the other hand, if “Dallas” shows its third-season finale in September and begins televising Season 4 in January or February 2015, that’ll amount to a four- or five-month hiatus — which is a lot better than the 10-month wait we had to endure between the second and third seasons.

7. What’s the deadline for TNT to decide if it wants to renew “Dallas” for a fourth season?

This isn’t clear. TNT announced “Dallas’s” third-season renewal on April 30, 2013, about two weeks after the second-season finale. The show traditionally begins production on each new season in September or October and wraps up filming six months later, and so if TNT wants to stick to a fall-to-spring production schedule, it probably needs to decide whether to renew “Dallas” soon so scripts can be written, sets can be built, costumes can be created, et cetera.

One date to watch: Wednesday, May 14. This is when TNT and sister channel TBS will hold their “upfronts,” the annual presentations where they pitch next season’s shows to advertisers. If TNT decides to renew “Dallas,” this could be a good place to announce it.

8. So will TNT renew the show?

Golly, I hope so. But I’m hardly an unbiased observer, so I took this question to one of the smartest guys I know: Marc Berman, editor in chief of TV Media Insights, a top industry news site. Berman is a “Dallas” fan too, but he promised to give us his honest viewpoint.

His prediction: Yes, TNT will give “Dallas” a fourth season. The fact that the show adds almost 1 million viewers through DVR playback is a plus, and so is “Dallas’s” status as a recognizable commodity in an increasingly cluttered media environment, Berman said.

9. OK, you seem to have a lot of answers, Dallas Decoder. So what’s going to happen to Pamela after her overdose in the midseason cliffhanger?

Beats the heck out of me, but I can’t wait to find out.

What did I miss? Share your questions or concerns about the future of TNT’s “Dallas” in the comments section below and read more Dallas Decoder news coverage. 

Never turn your back on a Ewing

We’ll find out who survived the Southfork fire when “Dallas’s” third season resumes on Monday, August 18, but there’s an even bigger cliffhanger afoot: Will TNT give the series a fourth season? To ensure the cable channel’s executives make the right decision, here are 10 reasons TNT should renew “Dallas” again.

Watch like you mean it

10. “Dallas” is TNT’s most-watched show (right now). “Dallas’s” midseason cliffhanger episode clocked 2.1 million viewers on April 14, making it TNT’s most-watched regularly scheduled show last week. Only the cable channel’s NBA coverage performed better. One week earlier, “Dallas” finished first overall, besting basketball and the ever popular “Law & Order” reruns. TNT, surely you wouldn’t drop your top show at the moment!

Audiences grow back too!

9. “Dallas’s” ratings are growing. Yes, we all know “Dallas’s” numbers dipped this year, but they’re bouncing back. Since March 17, when the show hit a series low of 1.78 million viewers, “Dallas’s” audience on Mondays at 9 p.m. has grown 15 percent, with that cliffhanger episode hitting 2.1 million viewers. This means for the past five consecutive weeks, the show’s numbers went up.  This is what’s known as “momentum,” TNT.

Not that kind of hit, dude

8. “Dallas” is a DVR hit. Last season, roughly 800,000 DVR users recorded “Dallas” each Monday night and watched it within the next three days. This number has pretty much held steady this year, lifting “Dallas’s” Monday night average of 1.9 million viewers to 2.8 million viewers overall. This means “Dallas” has one of the most reliable DVR audiences in prime-time cable television. That’s nothing to skip over, TNT.

Real. Love.

7. Adults love “Dallas.” This might be the most important number of all: “Dallas” is averaging 1.2 million adults between ages 25 and 54 (including DVR users). Why should you care? First, TNT targets 25-to-54-year-olds, so these are the viewers the channel cares about most. Second, last year, “Dallas” averaged 1.5 million 25-to-54-year-olds, so even though the show has declined overall, it’s held fairly steady with TNT’s favorite viewers.

Who knew?

6. “Dallas” is TNT’s biggest show on social media. “Dallas” has 1.6 million Facebook “likes” and 88,800 Twitter followers — more than any other TNT series. In fact, TNT’s biggest hit, “Major Crimes,” has only 488,000 Facebook likes and 12,500 Twitter followers. That’s right: “Dallas” is three times as big as “Major Crimes” on Facebook and seven times as big on Twitter. Suck on that, “Major Crimes”! (Sorry, “Major Crimes.” Couldn’t resist.)

Feel the heat

5. “Dallas” has buzz. “Dallas” raised a ruckus with that notorious three-way in the midseason cliffhanger, but the show has made its mark in other areas too. Entertainment Weekly went gaga over Judith Ryland’s coke-snorting scene, and on separate occasions, Judith and Sue Ellen each wound up near the center in EW’s weekly “Bullseye” feature. You know what show hasn’t hit EW’s “Bullseye” this year? “Major Crimes.” Just sayin’.

Love. Really?

4. Metacritic loves “Dallas.” From a creative standpoint, “Dallas” has never been better, but don’t take my word for it: Users at Metacritic, the online review aggregator, currently give the show’s third season a score of 8.6 (out of 10), up from a 6.7 for Season 2 and a 7.3 for Season 1. This means “Dallas” outranks the current cycles of “Scandal” (7.4), “The Walking Dead” (7.4), “Downton Abbey” (7.3) and, yes, “Major Crimes” (5.5).

A star is born

3. Two words: “Josh Henderson.” “Dallas” is blessed with one of the strongest acting ensembles on television, but this season, Henderson has emerged as first among equals. He’s delivering a remarkably complex performance, alternately making John Ross a source of scorn and sympathy. (Remind you of someone else we once knew?) Trust me: Henderson is going to be a big star someday. Hold on to him as long as you can, TNT.

Always our darlin’

2. Two more words: “Linda Gray.” As much as we love everyone on “Dallas” — and we adore them all! — Gray is special. Our admiration for her knows no limits. Dare I suggest she’s the main reason most of us watch, DVR, tweet and Facebook the show? No one does a better job evoking the old Hagman magic, and if there’s any justice in the world, TNT will renew “Dallas” and campaign like hell to get Gray the Emmy she deserves.

Grrr

1. If you don’t renew “Dallas,” Bobby Ewing will be pissed. And take our word for it: You don’t want him mad at you. Just ask Ann.

Why do you think TNT should renew “Dallas”? Share your thoughts in the comments section below and read more Dal-Lists.

Julie Gonzalo (Courtesy Regard Magazine)

It’s no secret your Dallas Decoder is a big fan of Julie Gonzalo — a.k.a. Pamela Rebecca Barnes Ewing Ewing on TNT’s “Dallas” — so I was hugely excited to speak to her recently. Gonzalo was gracious, insightful, down-to-earth and generally awesome. She discussed Pamela’s many ups and downs — and offered a hint of what we’ll see when “Dallas” resumes its third season on Monday, August 18.

Pamela has probably evolved more than any other “Dallas” character during the past two-and-a-half seasons. Do you agree?

Yeah, I think so. It’s definitely one of those roles where every season, we see a different side of her. It’s very exciting as an actor to be able to rediscover her every year and to find something new to play around with.

That’s what’s so impressive about you: You do it all so well! You can be really sweet, but you can also be a bitch on wheels.

Well, thank you! [Laughs]

I mean that as a compliment, I hope you know.

I’m taking it as a huge compliment! [Laughs] That’s the idea, especially on a show like this, where you need to sell vengeance and you need to sell sweetness, sometimes in the same scene.

Good girl gone bad

So which side do you like to play best?

Oh, the naughty side. There’s something so fun about doing things you don’t do in your normal life. And on “Dallas,” the villains are usually the most memorable characters — everybody wants to see what they’ll be doing next. When we were working on Season 2 [when Pamela was out for revenge], I was having a blast. I really loved being conniving and backstabbing.

What’s really striking to me is just how popular Pamela is. I hear it all the time from my fellow fans. They love her.

To hear that makes me so, so happy.

Oh, my goodness. I hope you’re aware of how devoted people are to Pamela. It doesn’t matter what she does, the fans root for her.

That’s amazing, because sometimes I feel like, “Which Pamela are they talking about?” The fans love the original Pamela [Victoria Principal’s character], so sometimes I’m not sure if they’re talking about my character or hers.

Well, she has a loyal and passionate following, but you do too.

That’s just incredible. I have so much fun playing Pamela and I hope that translates [on screen]. I think there are so many beautiful, fully formed characters on the show, so I’m very flattered to hear fans like her.

I think a real turning point in the character’s evolution came last season, when Pamela lost her babies.

Yeah, absolutely. I think everything changed for her in that moment. That probably was one of my most challenging episodes. The grieving period was so difficult. I’m not a parent — and I never want to know what it feels like to lose a child — so it’s hard to go into an emotion like that. And it was really tough to maintain yourself in a really sad moment. You go home and you’re asking yourself, “Why am I so sad?” You never want to bring your work home, but there are points where it overtakes your life a little bit, and that was one of those times.

It was a courageous performance for a lot reasons, and one of them is that Pamela didn’t look her best in that episode — and you’re very beautiful.

Well, thank you. But no, I loved that. I sometimes have problems when we’re doing a morning scene and everyone’s hair and makeup are perfect. I think, “No, this isn’t how it happens in real life!” [Laughs] Even if you have all the money in the world, you don’t wake up looking amazing. You just don’t. But in that episode, I wanted her to look bad because it was a bad moment.

Pushing the envelope

Let’s shift gears and talk about another one of Pamela’s memorable moments: the threesome scene from the midseason cliffhanger. What can you tell me about that?

Well, what do you want to know? [Laughs]

I want to know it all!

I’m sure you do! The funny part is how I found out about it. Cynthia [Cidre, the co-executive producer] said it so nonchalantly: “Yeah, you’re going to come into the room, and you’re going to catch [John Ross and Emma] together, and then you’re going to join them.” She said it like it was no big deal. So I thought, “Oh, OK. It’s no big deal.” But I also thought, “Why not? Let’s push the envelope a little.” I mean, “Dallas” is known for that.

Absolutely.

I didn’t realize people were going to see it and say, “What the. … ” [Laughs] But I still don’t see it as a big deal. There are things out there that are much more explicit.

Still, it’s got to be weird to have the crew around while you’re making out with two other people.

Totally, but it’s also a very respectful atmosphere and a very respectful crew. And we’re all so comfortable with each other. By that point, Josh [Henderson] and I had become really good friends and Emma [Bell] and I had been hanging out a lot, so it was one of those things that was like, “OK, it’s another day at work.” [Laughs]

So what do you think was going through Pamela’s mind when she walked into that hotel room and saw John Ross and Emma?

At that moment, she had already downed a bottle of pills. [Joining them] wasn’t the approach that people expected from her, being the strong woman that she is. But I also like the fact that nobody could predict that. I like the idea that even strong characters have weak moments, especially when they’re being hurt. She really believed John Ross was made for her. They’re very similar creatures. So once she realized he wasn’t the man she thought he was, she went a little crazy. Anybody would, I think.

And tell me about the famous green corsets you and Emma wore this season. How did you feel about having to spend so much time in that thing?

It’s one of those things that you can’t really take deep breaths in. [Laughs] As any actress will tell you, when you’ve got to wear a costume like that, you’re thinking, “Oh, God. I can’t eat this or I can’t eat that. I have to drink a lot of water and I have to go to the gym.” Because you’re not just putting it on for the people in front of you — you’re putting it on for a TV show that will be watched over and over again for years to come. But to me, it was a beautiful costume. I thought both characters looked great.

Dressed to thrill

I agree, although my favorite outfit of the season was Pamela’s black-and-white dress.

Wasn’t it beautiful? The moment I put it on with Rachel [Sage Kunin, the costume designer], I said, “Yep, this is it.” And the tag said it was a Stella McCartney and I said, “Of course, it’s a Stella McCartney.” I’m a huge fan of hers. Huge fan of her dad too.

Is it fun to have an episode like that, where you get to kick it up a notch?

Yeah, you look forward to those episodes. Rachel’s so great at picking out beautiful clothing. I always say, “Ooh, I want to wear this!” And Rachel will say, “No, it’s not appropriate for this scene,” and I’m like, “Dammit!” So when your character gets to go to Vegas and do the hair and wardrobe differently, that’s always very exciting.

I think that outfit is going to be remembered as one of the iconic “Dallas” looks.

Really?

Oh, absolutely. It was kind of a tribute to Sue Ellen, who had so many memorable black-and-white costumes.

Yeah, and I think we played up a lot of similarities between Pamela and Sue Ellen — and I love that. During the second half of the season, there are a lot of moments between our characters. I really enjoy working with [Linda Gray]. I’m always telling her, “You know, it would be my honor to be half the woman you are.”

She’s so cool, and I’m thrilled to hear you two are going to have more scenes together. Pamela was pretty mean to her in the midseason cliffhanger.

Well, she had her reasons. [Laughs]

Buddies

Overall, it seems like the cast is a pretty tight-knit group.

Totally. Josh has become one of my closest buddies at work. He’s the one I work with most, and we really have a great time working together. And I was just on the phone with Jordana [Brewster] the other day. We’re trying to see each other [during the hiatus]. I really appreciate these people, and I really like these people. I mean, if the show were to end tomorrow, I know I’ll still have a friendship with most of them.

That’s not unlike what happened on the original show.

Right. You look at Linda and Larry and Patrick [Duffy]. You see the love they have for one another and how beautiful their friendship is, and it’s all because of the show. I hope that can be us one day.

You touched on this a few moments ago, but how do you prepare for your scenes? How do you “become” Pamela? Linda told me she doesn’t feel like her character unless she has Sue Ellen’s heels on.

It definitely helps me to be in costume. I don’t think I look anything like Pamela unless I’m in her wardrobe. Energy-wise, I don’t feel like her. When I’m working with my coach, I’m Pamela, but I don’t fully become her until my hair is done and my makeup is done. I look in the mirror and I say, “Oh, there she is.”

Working with a coach — that’s a part of the process I think a lot of fans aren’t aware of or tend to overlook.

A lot of us have coaches. I always work with a coach because I never want to feel like I know everything. As an actor, I never want to stop learning. The more I work, the more I want to learn. If I ever start to think, “No, it’s cool, I got this, I can wing it,” then I don’t want to be an actor anymore. I just did an acting workshop last weekend that focused on voice and movement and all these different things. You just never want to stop learning.

I have such admiration for people like you, who can get up and perform in front of an audience or a camera.

I was just in New York and I was lucky enough to see “All the Way” with Bryan Cranston and my mouth was on the floor. He’s phenomenal. And I bet he doesn’t feel like he knows everything, although to me he’s perfect. It’s like, “You’re cooked. You’re done. You’re good.” [Laughs] But again, you just want to keep advancing yourself and surrounding yourself with people you know you can learn from.

Well, speaking of great actors, tell me about working with Mr. Hagman.

Ah, what a class act. He was divine. He really was such a beautiful energy to be around, as he would say. He said we’re all energies. I did one scene with him, and it’s funny because I don’t really keep any of my scripts, but I did save those pages. It’s the scene where Pamela is talking to Frank in her office, and J.R. walks in. And Larry was wonderful, absolutely wonderful. He was such a flirt too. [Imitating him] “You should keep those pants. Those pants belong to you.” And I’m like, “Well, thank you. I can only wonder what you’re checking out.” I was very lucky to have that scene with him.

It’s one of my favorite scenes from the new series.

Really?

Oh, absolutely. It’s another scene that honors the past. It evokes all the great confrontations he had with Victoria Principal. And it’s great because you really held your own against him.

I tried, I tried! You know, when we were rehearsing the scene, I just wanted to do it with a smile. I thought, she’s so giddy because J.R. Ewing is in her office. He’s here to talk to her. I remember the director saying, “I didn’t see it with a smile, but it works.”

And how do you enjoy working with your TV parents, Ken Kercheval and Audrey Landers?

Oh, Daddy and Mommy. He’s such a trip. He’s great, and she’s so sweet. Pamela and Afton don’t really get along, so it’s hard to roll your eyes at your mother. I tell her, “Oh, you’re so nice.” It was really lovely to have her at the wedding.

Always a bride

The wedding! That was a fun episode too.

It was! I’m just so bummed they had to cut a lot of it out.

My mom was furious we never got to see the vows.

The vows were really cute. They were really meaningful. There was so much subtext. And then there was a scene of them dancing, and John Ross is singing to her.

Aww.

I know. I really hope they put it on DVD because it’s really beautiful. And Josh sings really well. I was laying my head on his shoulder and he’s singing a Blake Shelton song. There’s a cute little interaction between them, and then you kind of start to see a little doubt in her. It was a tiny little hint in there. When they cut it, I was like, “Dammit, no!” [Laughs]

So what can you tell us about the second half of Season 3?

The second half, in my opinion, is even better than the first, at least for my character. There’s a lot more Pamela that we’ll get to discover. There’s so much that, I think, is going to take people by surprise. There’s definitely a stronger Pamela coming.

That makes us fans happy. We love the strong Pamela best.

Me too. She’s so much fun. I love when she has the upper hand. She walks into a room and owns it. It’s funny because playing someone so confident — so comfortable with who they are — has made me more confident. So I definitely owe that to her.

Share your comments below and read more Dallas Decoder interviews.

Contenders

Will “Dallas” receive Primetime Emmy nominations this year? The conventional wisdom says no, although at this early stage, the TNT drama is a contender — along with more than 100 other shows.

The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences released the preliminary ballots this week. Academy members are asked to vote for their favorites in each category through June 20; the final nominations will be announced July 10.

The preliminary ballots list hundreds of shows and individuals. Most submissions come from networks and production companies, although anyone can pay the entry fee and submit themselves for consideration.

In the dramatic series categories, the preliminary ballots list Patrick Duffy and Josh Henderson as lead actor contenders, while Linda Gray is the show’s sole candidate for a lead actress nomination.

The other “Dallas” cast members — Emma Bell, Jordana Brewster, Juan Pablo Di Pace, Julie Gonzalo, Jesse Metcalfe, Mitch Pileggi and Brenda Strong — are listed in the supporting categories. The ballots also list two guest stars: Judith Light and AnnaLynne McCord.

“Dallas” is also one of 108 shows on the ballot for best dramatic series, while director Steve Robin is up for a nomination for helming “Like Father, Like Son,” the episode where John Ross confronts Sue Ellen over her drinking.

It may be heartening to see “Dallas” listed in these races, but don’t get your hopes up, fellow fans. Each category has only a handful of available slots for nominations, which are expected to go to critical darlings such as “Breaking Bad,” “Game of Thrones” and the resurgent “The Good Wife.”

It’s also worth remembering “Dallas’s” tortured history with the Emmys: Although Barbara Bel Geddes won the lead dramatic actress race in 1980, the series picked up only a handful of nominations during its heyday. The tradition continued last year, when the academy snubbed Larry Hagman in the supporting actor race and shamefully omitted him from the special tributes during the Emmy broadcast.

The 2014 ballots also contain a few oddities where “Dallas” is concerned: The “D” in Di Pace’s name isn’t capitalized, Gonzalo’s character is listed as “Rebecca Sutter” and voters are asked to consider Light’s work in “Venomous Creatures,” a second-season episode that falls outside this year’s eligibility time frame.

Do you think “Dallas” deserves Emmy nominations this year? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.