Once and again
I cringed when I saw J.R. and Bobby’s instant-messaging exchange in “Blame Game.” This episode was filmed after Larry Hagman’s death last fall, so I’m guessing the producers created the sequence using leftover footage of the actor. (J.R.’s presence during Ann’s sentencing appears to be recycled too.) I’m all for rescuing Hagman from the cutting room floor, but having J.R. send IMs to pester Bobby into watching an online video of a basketball-playing dog? That felt silly. It also reminded me of how the old show used one-sided telephone conversations to keep Jock around after Jim Davis died, which is one “Dallas” tradition I’d just as soon not continue.
By the end of “Blame Game,” though, I had a change of heart. I’m not sure why the show had Patrick Duffy shout Bobby’s responses to J.R.’s instant messages (even if J.R. was supposed to be down the hall, couldn’t Bobby have typed his answers?), but the revelation that the viral video was really a Trojan horse to erase Bobby’s notorious cloud drive was pretty nifty. J.R. pulled a fast one on Bobby, and “Dallas” pulled a fast one on its audience. I always fall for this show’s fake-outs, which either means I’m really gullible or the people who make the show are really clever. I’ll let you decide.
Overall, “Blame Game” is another solid hour of “Dallas.” The script comes from Gail Gilchriest, who also wrote last season’s “The Enemy of My Enemy,” the episode that brought Sue Ellen off the sidelines and got her involved in the Southfork oil saga. In “Blame Game,” Gilchriest once again demonstrates a knack for writing for “Dallas’s” first lady, giving Linda Gray some of her best material yet. I love the scene where Sue Ellen and Bobby lament the rivalry between their sons, as well the jailhouse pep talk Sue Ellen gives Ann. The friendship between these women has become one of my favorite relationships on the show. It feels believable, especially now that we know that Ann, like Sue Ellen, was once a less-than-perfect wife and mother. (As far as Ann’s release on probation: Yes, it’s a little convenient, but when has a Ewing ever gone to jail and stayed?)
I wish Sue Ellen hadn’t been so easily manipulated by John Ross into seizing Elena’s share of Ewing Energies, but I don’t really mind because it’s so much fun to see the return of the shrewd, bitchy Sue Ellen from the late ’80s. With J.R. exiting the stage, Sue Ellen is now poised to succeed him as John Ross’s mentor and the thorn in Bobby’s side. What a tantalizing prospect. Hopefully this will cement Gray’s place in the narrative for a long time to come. Likewise, I’m thrilled to see Pamela finally snag her piece of the company. Think about how entertaining the Ewing Energies’ board meetings will be once Sue Ellen and Pamela join the fray.
“Blame Game’s” other V.I.P.: Jesse Metcalfe, who has quietly become one of the new “Dallas’s” best performers. The actor has found the right balance between strength and sensitivity, much like Duffy did during the original series. I also like how Christopher has succeeded Bobby as “Dallas’s” resident action hero. In “Blame Game,” Christopher makes a valiant attempt to turn the tables on the thug holding him at gunpoint at Ewing Energies. Later, he shields Elena when Vicente points his gun at her. Jesse Bochco does a nice job directing both sequences, and he gets a big assist from “Dallas” composer Rob Cairns, whose score during the showdown with Vicente feels even more cinematic than usual.
It’s also nice to see Kuno Becker’s Drew Ramos take down Vicente, although the body count on this show is beginning to trouble me. During the past 10 hours of “Dallas,” Marta, Tommy, Frank and Vicente have died; Harris was gunned down but survived. On a lighter note, since Becker arrived a few episodes ago, I find myself looking forward each week to his scenes with Jordana Brewster. Drew brings out Elena’s feistiness in a way only a sibling could. Do I dare suggest these two are “Dallas’s” best brother/sister act since Victoria Principal and Ken Kercheval?
The rest of the “Blame Game” hostage crisis yields mixed feelings. In addition to the Sue Ellen/Bobby scene, I like the moment when Vicente realizes the Ewing cousins have traded romantic partners since his last encounter with them. (“You Ewing boys share after all! I love it!”) Likewise, it’s impossible to not cheer when John Ross and Christopher come together to overpower Vicente’s henchmen. As much fun as it is to see the Ewings squabble, it’s always more satisfying when they band together.
My gripes: The hostage sequences are too compressed. “Blame Game” invites comparisons to the classic “Winds of Vengeance,” an early “Dallas” episode where the Ewings are held hostage. (Fans of “Dallas” producer Cynthia Cidre’s previous series, “Cane,” will recall that show did a family-held-hostage episode too.) But the reason “Winds of Vengeance” succeeds is because the slower pace of 1970s television allowed the tension to build steadily. “Blame Game” squeezes its crisis into a roughly 15-minute period, and some of that time is taken up by Ann’s sentencing.
This is also one of those times I wish the new “Dallas’s” Southfork interiors more closely resembled those seen on the old show. The living room where the Ewings are held captive in “Blame Game” looks nothing like the one where the “Winds of Vengeance” hostage crisis unfolds. The only time you feel the history of this house is when you see it from the outside.
Of course, it’s not like I haven’t become attached to the new Southfork set too. The “Blame Game” scene where Bobby bursts into J.R.’s bedroom and finds it empty is surprisingly poignant. The brief glimpse of J.R.’s empty table is what moves me. This is where our hero glanced at Miss Ellie’s picture before signing over the Southfork deed to Bobby last season. It’s where he told John Ross to never take advantage of the family when they’re in the trouble, and where he learned to use his tablet. How sad to think we’ll never see him sit there again.
Grade: B
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V.I.P.
‘BLAME GAME’
Season 2, Episode 6
Telecast: February 25, 2013
Writer: Gail Gilchriest
Director: Jesse Bochco
Audience: 2.6 million viewers on February 25
Synopsis: During mediation, Christopher agrees to give 10 percent of Ewing Energies to Pamela, who refuses to share it with John Ross. J.R. erases Bobby’s cloud drive and leaves Southfork unannounced. When Vicente stages an ambush on Southfork and tries to kidnap Elena, Drew shoots and kills him. Sue Ellen uses the morals clause in Elena’s contract to seize her shares in the company.
Cast: Kuno Becker (Drew Ramos), Emma Bell (Emma Brown), Carlos Bernard (Vicente Cano), Pablo Bracho (consul general), Jordana Brewster (Elena Ramos), Jesse Campos (Jose), Vanessa Cedotal (District Attorney), Damon Dayoub (Vicente’s henchman), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Julie Gonzalo (Pamela Barnes), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Josh Henderson (John Ross Ewing), Jason Kravitz (Pamela’s lawyer), Judith Light (Judith Ryland), Jesse Metcalfe (Christopher Ewing), Glenn Morshower (Lou Bergen), Mitch Pileggi (Harris Ryland), Freddie Poole (Ramon), Krishna Smitha (Shireen Patel), Brenda Strong (Ann Ewing), Rebekah Turner (Jury Forman), Wilbur Fitzgerald (Judge Wallace Tate)
“Blame Game” is available at DallasTNT.com, Amazon.com and iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.
