Love to love them
“Dallas” debuted 37 years ago today. Here’s why we still love the Ewings.
Drive us crazy
37. “Digger’s Daughter.” Bobby marries Pam, Lucy and Ray take a roll in the hay and Jock calls J.R. a jackass. Could this show have gotten off to a better start?
Big house on the prairie
36. Southfork. To a lot of us, the white house on Braddock Road is more revered than the one on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Is blood thicker than liquor?
35. Bourbon and branch. Forget oil. This is what really fueled the Ewing empire.
Can’t touch this
34. Every time Jock asks for “a touch” of bourbon. Spoiler: It was always more than a touch.
Stop or mom will shoot
33. “Ray, get me the shotgun out of the hall closet.” The quintessential Miss Ellie moment.
Long walk
32. Pam’s middle screen during the opening credits. It never changed! For almost a decade, she never stopped crossing the Southfork lawn.
Fishy
31. J.R.’s first visit to “Knots Landing.” J.R.: Hey, that is good. What do you call this? Valene: Tuna fish.
Smirky
30. Kristin Shepard. So much more than the answer to a trivia question.
About face
29. Sue Ellen’s 180s. No one does the slow, dramatic turn better.
Clean scream
28. The cleaning lady who found J.R. Her reaction alone made it worth waiting eight months to find out who shot him.
Moment of truth
27. “It was you, Kristin, who shot J.R.” The most famous line in “Dallas” history.
Daddy’s decree
26. “Real power is something you take.” Or maybe this is the show’s most famous line. Six words that encapsulate the Ewing creed.
He sizzles
25. Breakfast on the patio. Would you like some insults with your bacon?
Them pipes!
24. The musical stylings of Miss Afton Cooper. She can steal us away anytime she wants.
Bleeds it leads
23. Headlines like these. The editors of The Dallas Press: The only people more obsessed with the Ewings than we are.
Snake in the grass
22. “Hey, Ray. … You getting good mileage on Donna’s car?” So nice of him to be concerned, isn’t it?
Wind ’em up
21. Donna vs. Bonnie. “Dallas’s” best barroom brawl.
Will power
20. Daddy’s will. Pitting your hyper-competitive sons against each other in a yearlong battle for control of the family empire? Sounds like a plan!
Watch out, wallpaper
19. “I’m going to drink myself into oblivion.” And she damn near did.
Paging KITT
18. The synthesized seventh-season theme music. We half expect Knight Rider to come roaring into the credits.
Oh, that lighting!
17. Bradford May’s cinematography. The Ewings never looked as gorgeous as they did from 1983 to 1984.
J.R. Ewing here
16. The phone at the Oil Baron’s Club. Be careful with that thing or you’ll poke out Dora Mae’s eye!
Yes, sparklers
15. Lucy’s modeling career. There’s nothing about this picture I don’t love.
Hat attack
14. Katherine Wentworth. How can you blame a gal for going a little nuts over Bobby Ewing? Also: the hats!
Turban renewal
13. When Sue Ellen changed into this outfit to go to the movies. What, you mean you didn’t wear something similar when you saw “Porky’s II” in 1984?
The best loser
12. Cliff Barnes. As essential to the “Dallas” mythology as any Ewing. Ken Kercheval is brilliant.
Drip drop
11. “Marilee, you all right, honey? Did it go up your nose?” Best pool dunking ever.
Buzz kill
10. When Bobby flat lines, jolting Pam. Gets us every time.
Who says cowboys don’t cry?
9. … And then when Ray loses it. Few things move me more than this moment.
What a dream
8. The The dream season. Look, we love Bobby as much as anyone, but this is one of “Dallas’s” best years — especially where the leading ladies are concerned.
Mr. Clean
7. Bobby’s return. Was the dream explanation a cop-out? Sure, but who’s going to complain about seeing Patrick Duffy in the shower?
The long goodbye
6. Pam. Give the lady her due: Fans spent twice as long clamoring for her return as she spent on the show.
Word
5. “John Ross, this is Ewing Oil.” Chills.
A star is born
4. Brad Pitt’s hair. Also: “Randy”!
Woman of the hour
3. “J.R.’s Masterpiece.” Linda Gray’s tour de force. If you can watch this episode without bawling like a baby, you’re stronger than me.
Another star is born
2. “I am not my father!” Chills again!
Forever our hero
1. Larry Hagman. How we loved this man. What an actor! What a guy! We’ll never stop missing him, and we’ll always be grateful he shared his gift with the world.
Why do you love “Dallas”? Share your comments below and read more “Dal-Lists.”
