Episode Title: New Beginnings
Season 04, Episode 06
Episode 059 of 344
Written by Mann Rubin
Directed by Lorraine Senna
Original Airdate: Friday,
October 29th, 1982
The Plot (Courtesy of TV.Com): Gary goes to
Dallas for the reading of Jock's will, and Abby flies in to surprise him. Val
is at the same hotel on her book signing tour. Val and Abby are civil to each
other, but Val's very upset when she
sees Gary. Gary's money is left to him in trust, and he's very angry that, even
in death, Jock doesn't trust him. J.R. goes to Val's book signing and tells her
he hopes her book is a best-seller, because he owns the publishing company and
will profit from it. Diana and Mack don't get along. Chip and Bess have an
argument and she breaks up with him and fires him. Chip tells Lilimae that he
quit over policy differences and lost his lease, so Lilimae invites him to live
with her and Val. Chip hits on Diana.
Alright, welcome to part two of
our little Dallas/KL double feature experience. Where we last left off, in A Brief Dallas Interlude Part 10: Jock’s Will, the entire family had
gathered in the Southfork living room to hear what Jock had in store for them
as far as the will was concerned.
Basically, all the sons were given ten million dollars, but Gary had a
little “I don’t trust you” caveat added to his in which Jock declared that he
would have to live off the interest of ten million dollars for the first four
years.
Watching New Beginnings immediately after that Dallas Interlude proved to be a very interesting experience,
because directly after our little thirty second preview and the classic and majestic KL season four opening credits, we then
cut to footage of the Dallas buildings and skyscrapers, including that one cool
looking building that has, like, a glittery golf ball shape on top of it (what
is the actual name of this building, by the way?), all while a smidge of the Dallas theme song plays. I noticed this because it’s just a few
seconds of the theme and it’s not a version that we ever hear on Dallas, so far as I can remember. It’s a smidge slower, for one, and just has a
bit of a different sound to it. Again,
it only plays for a second while we see the cityscape; it’s not like they play
the entire opening credits theme song from the parent series. I did a bit of research and, yup, sure enough
Jerrold Immel is the composer for this episode, so leave it to him to give a
theme we’ve heard many times a bit of a new kick.
Okay, so before getting to the
episode plot and all that, I’m gonna do a quick mention of something I don’t
usually pay that much attention to, and that’s the episode credits. By this, I don’t mean the opening titles with
the scrolling squares, but rather the set of credits that play right after
that, like who’s guest starring and who directed and all that. In this case, I noticed that Larry Hagman
gets the top billing as a guest star, complete with the “as,” like it says “Larry Hagman as
J.R. Ewing,” you understand. Then the
rest of the general guest cast gets credited, right, and then if I remember
correctly, Patrick Duffy gets the last billing, and he doesn’t get an “As Bobby
Ewing” or anything cool like that, although he does get "special appearance." I
noted this and found it interesting because you would kinda assume that Hagman
and Duffy would be billed right around the same spot, as they are both
characters crossing over from the parent series. However, as I’ll discuss in a moment, it’s
actually pretty fitting since Bobby gets about five seconds worth of material
in the whole episode, and it’s all right within the start.
But anyway, the very first scene
of the ep is Abby walking into some fancy schmancy Texas hotel and asking for
the keys to Gary Ewing’s suite. In this
scene, we also see that, coincidentally enough, Val is staying at the same
hotel as part of the publicity tour for her book. Oh my, what will happen when/if these two
women bump into eachother while out and about doing their Texas thing? We’ll have to wait and find out.
From there, we hop right back to
Southfork, and that’s what I’m talking about with this episode really going
well with that previous Dallas ep. Last time I watched through the series, back
in college, I didn’t include any Dallas eps. I began with the KL Pilot and then I watched the whole series. In that viewing, I don’t remember this
episode striking me as feeling odd in any way, but now I’m wondering how I
could have not noticed it (I did drink a lot more back then). See, if you just jump from the last KL ep we discussed, Catharsis, and went straight into New Beginnings, you definitely get the sense that something is
missing. Catharsis ended with the gang all having a nice meal together at
Richard’s new restaurant, celebrating that the mobsters responsible for Sid
Fairgate’s death had finally been brought to justice, right? Then you hop into New Beginnings and one of the very first scenes is Bobby and Gary
at Southfork talking about how upset Gary is from the will. Viewed that way, it almost feels like you
missed an episode and, in a way, you kinda did.
So yes, it’s official, watching this particular Brief Dallas Interlude is actually rather
important to understanding the plot for this KL ep.
Anyway, like I said, we’re at
Southfork, and we’re in baby Christopher’s room. Bobby is playing with him or putting him to
bed or whatever the hell you do with babies when Gary walks in. I want to note that I was impressed that we
get to see baby Christopher here and that he’s even played by the same baby as
over on Dallas, Eric Farlow, The
Elephant Baby (seriously, this is one disturbing looking baby boy). This provides a real linkage from one show to
the next, and I liked it. After all,
it’s not like it’s necessary to see baby Christopher in this KL ep, but why the hell not do it? He is Bobby’s son, so it makes sense that
Bobby would be taking care of him while talking to Gary.
So yeah, Gary is not pleased
with his inheritance, and he and Bobby have a quick scene together in the
nursery discussing it. I liked Bobby’s
reaction to this where he’s kinda joking and he’s like, “Yeah, ten million
dollars, how are you gonna live on that?
Maybe you should take a night job?”
He’s just teasing though, and he’s doing it in a loving way, and I found
myself realizing that this is the last time we ever see these two brothers
onscreen together. Think about it; this
is the last time Dallas characters
cross over into KL, and even though
we have two more Dallas Interludes
far into the future, Bobby and Gary don’t interact in either of them. In The
Family Ewing, Bobby is, you know, dead, so we don’t get to see him and Gary
together there, and then when Gary and Val pop up for their little appearance
in the Dallas series finale, Conundrum, we are seeing a sorta
parallel universe and so, again, no interaction between Bobby and Gary (we’ll
discuss that in, you know, about five years or so). So this is it, ladies and
gentlemen, this quick little scene is the last time we see these two brothers who
do really seem to love each other in a special way onscreen together (I understand they interacted in the TNT Dallas monstrosity, but I don't recognize any of those events as being a canon part of the story). Since I think Gary is the brother that Bobby
really loves and would rather have around, it’s kinda bittersweet to reflect on
this. This scene is also the only one
featuring Bobby in the episode, so say goodbye to him. He also showed up for little crossovers back
in Pilot and The Loudest Word, so this marks his third and final appearance in
the wonderful world of KL.
Make no mistake, this whole
episode does not take place in Texas, and from here we cut back to the
cul-de-sac to check in on what’s going on with our beloved friends in Seaview
Circle. We get a harbinger of events for
our next episode when we hear Mack and Karen discussing going on a camping trip
together. We also get Michael wearing a
pair of short shorts that need to be seen to be believed. Pat Petersen would be about 16 in this
episode, by my calculations, so you’ll have to wait another two years before I really start to perv
out and talk about his short shorts and his cutoff expose-the-bully-button
shirts that he likes to wear and all the pleasure I get from looking at him
wearing such wardrobe. Patience, gentle
reader, for we will reach that juncture soon and then we can all start to
worship at the altar of the one and only magnificent specimen of raw male
sexuality that is Pat Petersen.
What else is going on in this
scene besides Michael’s short shorts? Oh
yeah, we get the start of a little storyline involving Diana not liking
Mack. This is actually gonna span
several episodes, so let’s focus on it a bit, shall we? Since Diana is a stupid bitch, she doesn’t
like Mack. That’s about all there is to
it. I mean, come on, let’s take a look
at the two characters and decide who we’d rather hang out with. Would you rather spend time with someone
hilarious and charming and warm and caring like Mack or someone dour and
annoying and over-dramatic and whiny like Diana? Really, I think Diana is just not liking Mack
to be difficult; there’s nothing wrong with him and I’m sure she knows it, but
since he’s the new man in her mother’s life, she needs to make a drama out of
it.
This might be a good time to
mention that I’m really starting to hate Diana at this juncture in the
series. I think way back in season one I
might have said something about Claudia Lonow not being the greatest actress
(but a super nice person in real life!), but I don’t know how much I discussed
my distaste for Diana as a character. I
think that’s because in seasons one through three she was mostly merely annoying,
but it’s in this season that she starts to morph into a mega-bitch, just a
nasty, bratty, unpleasant little see-you-next-Tuesday who is always ready to go
with some nasty comment or putdown for her mother or for others around her. Yup, it’s really starting to display itself
at this point, and believe you me, it’s only gonna get worse and worse as we
move through season four and onward into season five. Diana is on the path towards turning into a
complete psycho, and the first display of that impending psychosis is the fact
that she doesn’t like Mack. Since Mack is a good person and
tries to be nice to people and do the right thing, he actually cares about what Diana thinks of him, so
they have a little chat in front of the Fairgate house and he’s like, “Your
mother thinks you don’t like me.” Then
Diana just gets right to it and is like, “I don’t like you cuz you’re arrogant
and conceited and rude and stupid,” and so on and so forth. Oh, poor Mack.
Meanwhile, the other main
storyline on the cul-de-sac this week involves the manipulations of Chip
Roberts and the way he begins to slip insidiously into Val and Lilimae’s
world. See, in this ep we see that he is
sleeping with Bess Riker (who you’ll recall is that, like, cold bitch publicist
lady who is representing Val, or whatever) and is living at her place. But, when he shows up at her apartment to,
presumably, continue living there while having sex with her at the same time,
Bess is like, “Your penis is too small and your ass is too fat, so I’m throwing
you out.” Now Chip has to find a place
to live, and fast, so next thing we know, he’s knocking on Lilimae’s door (or
should I say Val’s door? Both womens'
door?) and asking if he can live with her.
It’s a testament to the skilled
writers of KL that this doesn’t come
off nearly as weird as it probably should.
After all, this is only Chip’s third episode of the show, and he barely
knows Val and Lilimae, and he told them a fib that he is a P.R. guy who is
going to represent Val and her book, yet here he shows up at their doorstep
looking for a place to live? But Chip is
Chip and we are already starting to see that he is a master manipulator and con
artist and, interestingly, that Lilimae has got a bit of a crush on him. Because of this, and of course the fact that
Val is off in Texas and not able to make decisions around the house for the
time being, Lilimae is like, “Come on in, Chip, and live here as long as you
like!” In fact, when Val does call from
Texas and invites Lilimae to come down and visit, maybe cash in on the last
opportunity to see characters from Dallas or see her granddaughter that she's never even met,
Lilimae is like, “No, I’ll just stay home,” but she doesn’t mention a thing to
Val about, you know, this strange man coming to live with them.
We see a quick display of Chip’s
true colors when Lilimae goes into his bedroom (the bedroom she has given him
to stay in while he freeloads off of her and Val, I should say) to show him a
picture of, um, something, something I can’t really remember. I think it’s an old relative of hers or
something and she is using the picture to show Chip that they have known each
other in a past life. But when Chip sees
her in the room and thinks she’s snooping, he kinda flips, and is like, “What
are you doing, snooping in my room?” He
raises his voice and gets real angry and scares Lilimae a bit, but then he does
a good job of quickly cooling down and acting like everything is chill. This little outburst of random anger goes
over Lilmae’s head, but we the audience note it and realize we should probably
keep an eye on Chip.
The last thing Chip related is a
scene that would probably be funny in another show but is actually kinda
touching here. Late in the episode,
Lilimae walks in on Chip and Diana dancing in the bedroom (oh yeah, Chip went
outside and hit on Diana pretty quickly upon arriving at the cul-de-sac). It’s pretty harmless dancing, really; it’s
not like there’s any grinding or anal sex or anything like that, but Lilimae is
sorta horrified to discover this and awkwardly rushes downstairs to be away
from them. Chip runs after her to
console her and tell her that he and Diana are just friends, and so on. The reason this could very easily come across
as funny is the fact that this 57 year old woman is crushing on this 27 year
old man and is so horrified to find him dancing with a girl who is relatively
close to his age. However, there’s
something about the way Julie Harris plays this that makes it work; she just
likes Chip and he is able to manipulate her in such a way that she feels good
about herself. She is starting to think
of him as her friend and she likes being around him, so she’s just sorta sad
and jealous to see his interests leaning towards the younger Diana.
That about does it for the
events and shenanigans over in Seaview Circle, so let’s move our attentions
back to Texas, where Gary, Abs, and Val are all spending a few days. Like I said, they are all staying at the same
hotel, Abs and Gary for the reading of Jock’s will and Val for the P.R. tour
and book signing of her novel, Capricorn
Crude, which is now officially out and available in hardcover at a
bookstore near you. Not only are they
staying at the same hotel, but on the same floor, nonetheless, and we have a
lot of sitcom shenanigans of Abs just narrowly avoiding seeing Val as she walks
down a hallway and what have you.
Gary and Abs are staying in a
palatial suite (which we learn is being paid for by J.R., or at least by the
Ewing Oil company), and early in the ep, he returns all angry from the reading
of Jock’s will. I enjoyed this scene
mostly because I would really like to inherit ten million dollars, and I don’t
care if I need to wait four years to get it in full. I find it funny that Gary is still going to get ten million dollars, but he and Abs
are so damn angry that he can’t have it right away. In the grand scope of things, four years is
not that long; he’ll have his money in full by 1986 and the show will go on for
another seven years after that. Abs is
especially angry about this development, displaying that much of her interests
lie in money and power and she wants it right away.
A little later, we have a scene
of catharsis for Gary where he returns to the suite and tells Abs about how he
went out to the ranch and just looked at it (this calls back to a few of our
previous Brief Dallas Interludes; I’m
specifically thinking about when David Ackroyd Gary and Val both returned to
the ranch for the first time in years back in Reunion: Part Two and when Gary and Bobby both stopped outside the
gates to gaze at the place in No More Mister Nice Guy: Part Two). He says
how he was standing at the gates, staring at Southfork, and he saw some car
being taken away (“My Father always bought American,” he tells us; no wonder the car is being taken away, all dead and useless) and he had
this moment of release in which he realized that his daddy was officially dead
and no longer held any power over him and, “It’d be pretty stupid to have rage
against a dead man.” So now he’s
feeling, I suppose, some release because this daddy that he had such a
tumultuous relationship with is gone.
It’s hard to describe, because I’m probably making it sound like Gary is
delighted by the fact that his father died, and that’s not the case. He’s just describing his own feelings of
release now that he no longer has to worry about pleasing his father.
Just as Abs and Gary get all
excited and decide to have a shag, who should walk in but the one and only
J.R. Ewing? I like how this is played,
because Gary picks Abs up and is like, “I’m gonna put my penis in your vagina!”
and he’s all excited and then, when they turn around, J.R. is just sorta
there. No knocking or nothing; he just
seems to materialize out of thin air to say mean things and stir up
trouble. Basically, the gist of the
scene is that J.R. says how Miss Ellie is upset at Gary for running off right
after the reading of the will (he doesn’t say anything about how Lucy is
probably upset, too, being that she is
Gary’s daughter and we didn’t even see him interact with her at all during Jock’s Will; if my memories are correct, she did actually complain about this in the following week's Dallas ep) and then there’s some
exchange about the will and what have you.
What’s cool about this scene is that Gary seems to be developing more of
a spine, and he stands up to J.R. and says how he’s not impressed or threatened
by him and that “you can take your limo and your threats and get out of
here.” As J.R. walks to the door, he has
a cool, very J.R. backhanded compliment for Gary where he says, “I wish my
daddy had lived to see this, Gary with guts, finally.”
The next time we see J.R., he
and Abs are visiting together, doing some scheming. Once again, bittersweet feelings fill me as I
realize that we never get to see J.R. and Abs onscreen together again. I’ve expressed back in season two with A Family Matter and Designs how much I enjoyed the interactions between these two. Abs is basically the female J.R. (or at least she is well on her way to becoming that), so they get
along and seem to admire each other’s duplicitous ways. The chemistry onscreen between Hagman
and Donna is always so sizzling, something I really cherish, and I
reiterate one final time how much I would have loved to see Abby cross over
into Dallas and stir up some trouble
on the ranch, but alas, ‘twas not meant to be.
This scene also goes a long way
towards showing us what Abby’s true feelings are for Gary. Why, exactly, does she want him? Is it because he now has money and
power? Okay, it might seem that way,
since she’s so desperate to get that ten million as quickly as possible, but I
don’t believe so. Abs set her sights on
Gary right away with her very first appearance in Hitchhike: Part One, when she first moved into the cul-de-sac as a
newly single mother. Back then, Gary was
just working at Knots Landing Motors and hardly had much money at all. I believe that Abs sees the potential in Gary; she sees that with a
little work and effort, she can turn him into a man of power and wealth, but
even still, I can’t say that she is only interested in his money. I repeat again that I think Abs does love Gary. It’s a complex love and Abs is an inherently
duplicitous person who can’t resist being that way, just the same way J.R.
can’t stop himself from all enacting all of his Machiavellian plots, but deep
down Abs really loves Gary and she really wants to be his wife, and I do
believe she would feel that way even if he didn’t have any money.
Okay, let’s start to wrap this
episode up. As we inch closer to our
“Executive Producers” credit, we find Val busy signing books, only to be
horrified when J.R. steps up in the line and asks her to sign his copy. She is unhappy to see him, of course, and
asks him why he had to come and bother her on this special occasion, and then
J.R. tells her with delight how he now owns her publishing company (remember we
saw him making that purchase back in Daniel?),
which of course disgusts Val. Oh yeah,
the kicker of the scene is that after making some vague threats to Val, J.R.
starts to walk off, only to be stopped by a stranger who asks, with real awe in
her voice, “Are you J.R.?” He grins and
tells her that indeed he is, and then she gets all excited and asks him to sign
her book, which he is happy to do. Yup,
I definitely laughed at this, particularly that wicked good cheer J.R. displays
all while pissing in Valene’s face. My
only issue with this scene is that it doesn’t really go anywhere. Okay, so J.R. now owns Val’s publishing
company, but what becomes of that? I
don’t know that this is ever mentioned again or if it really has any negative
impact on Val, aside from knowing that someone she loathes is now profiting
from her own hard work. This also makes
me wonder if the writers knew this
would be the last crossover appearance or if they still thought J.R. would
continue making his little visits to KL for
the rest of time. Similar to the season
two story of J.R. and Sid’s engine, this one kinda just fizzles away into
nothingness, and I have to wonder if it’s an oversight on the writers’ part or
simply the result of Hagman not making any more guest appearances after this;
what do you think, my faithful
readers?
The last scene of the episode is
fabulous. Val is ready to check out of
the hotel at the exact same time as Gary and Abs. Gary goes up to the front desk to check out,
Abs starts to head outside to get a limo or whatever, and Val is walking that
way at the same time, all while some announcer over a P.A. system says, “Mrs.
Gary Ewing, paging Mrs. Gary Ewing.” As
the announcer finishes her spiel, the two women come upon each other and are
forced into a small, awkward interaction.
Val is like, “Oh, Abby, you’re looking well,” and Abs is like, “Oh, Val,
I hear your book is a big success.” Resentment
is boiling beneath the surface for both women, yet they keep their cool. When Gary materializes, he and Abs walk off
together to start their new life as people who have ten million dollars (more
or less) while Val walks off alone, but the big poster displaying her picture
and the blaring announcement that she is a new and exciting author looms right behind her. I think the message of this part is that Val
may be alone, at least for the time being, but she is on her way to success and
wealth just like Gary, and hers didn’t come from an inheritance but rather from
her own work and determination. With
that, the episode concludes.
Pretty solid, right? Not only is this just a fabulous KL episode in its own right and probably
one of the best of the nine crossover eps (which I’ll review one final time: We
had Pilot with Patrick Duffy, Community Spirit with Larry Hagman, Home Is For Healing with Charlene Tilton, Kristin with Mary Crosby, A Family Matter with Larry Hagman, The Loudest Word with Patrick Duffy, Designs with Larry Hagman, Daniel with Larry Hagman, and finally New Beginnings right here), but when you
watch this as it originally aired on CBS by pairing it with Jock’s Will, it really does enhance it
and make it better. Way back when I got
this blog started, I said that those four Dallas
eps (Reunion: Part One, Reunion: Part Two, Secrets, and Return Engagements) really ought to be watched before the KL Pilot to help provide context on the relationship between Gary
and Val, and I stand by that. However, I
don’t think any of the other Interludes since then have been terribly vital. They’ve been kind of interesting to see just
to provide some linkage from one series to the next, but they’re hardly
essential. Jock’s Will, however, really should be watched before New Beginnings to enhance the experience
and help the story flow better.
Pairing them together is also
just an inherently interesting experience, because you create this double
feature of the two shows seeming to really complement each other in a way we
haven’t seen before and never see again.
Having a scene taking place at Southfork with Bobby and baby Christopher
contained within a KL episode is just
interesting, you know? I also appreciate
the fact that there’s still plenty going on over in California with our main
cast and characters; it’s not like the writers just moved the entire episode to
Texas and spent the whole 48 minutes there.
Let’s also briefly discuss a
theory I have, one which I can’t prove at this moment in time. I would love
to see, like, a flow chart of the week to week ratings of this particular
season of KL. All I know as I watch the season is where it
finally finished up in the Nielsen ratings (at #20 for this season, I remind
you), but I’m willing to bet you a million dollars (hell, maybe even ten
million dollars, but you have to live off the interest for four years) that it
was this exact night that finally saw
KL beginning its rise in
popularity. By airing it as a double
feature right after the hugely popular Dallas
(which ranks #2 for this 1982-1983 season), featuring crossovers from show
to show, and making them form together as one big story, I’ll bet this was
it. Imagine you’re a loyal Dallas viewer in 1982 who has never seen
an ep of KL and you decide to watch
this two-hour experience on Friday night.
When the KL ep begins, it
carries over right from where the Dallas ep
concluded, yet you also get a great taste of the main cast and stories of KL (although I did note that Richard and
Laura are both absent this week, and that made me pretty sad) and the building storylines going on
there. If it was me, I would be tuning
in next Thursday to see what would be happening in Seaview Circle that
week. Anyway, my theory is that the
ratings were probably still middling to low for the first five eps of this
season, and then they finally began to rise right here, with this cool double
feature experience.
The last thing I want to say is
that, after some thought, I’m glad that the Dallas
crossovers stop here. I think back
in season one (maybe in my Community Spirit writeup?), I said I wish they had gone on longer, that I would
have liked to see J.R. interact with Greg Sumner, but now I’ve sorta changed my
mind. While I loved seeing the
crossovers and especially loved all five of Hagman’s guest spots, since he always
brought his A-game and never phoned it in, I’m looking forward to seeing KL just be KL, in all its independent glory, no longer dependent upon its
parent series to boost ratings or give it recognition. This is really the perfect time for it to
just become its own show; if J.R. or Bobby continued to cross over season after
season until the end of time, I think it would just start to feel tacky. So here with are with episode 059 and our
last crossover, meaning we’ve got 285 more eps and the show just gets to be its
own thing, which I think is the right decision.
So that’s gonna do it for my
thoughts on New Beginnings as well as
this whole double-episode experience.
Tune in Sunday as plots thicken and we begin to witness Abby starting
to truly turn into the female J.R. with Investments.
I believe Abby loves Gary and would even if he was poor but probably wouldn't stay with him, but rather sacrifice her love for him and find someone else that has money.
ReplyDeleteDiana has the disposition and sex appeal of a freshly-neutered cat.
ReplyDeleteHa Ha...freshly-neutered cat. I love it and totally agree. She is my least favorite main cast member in the history of the show...I despise the Diana character even more than Kenny and Ginger. And she does get worse and worse as the show progresses until the wonderful day in season 6 when she leaves!
ReplyDeleteAs far as the fizzled out J.R. storylines, my theory is that Knots just didn't need them to continue because of the growing popularity. It was important that Val have a successful career so that the loss of Gary didn't break her. And if J.R. was always meddling, it would get in the way of Val's success. As good a theory as any I guess :)
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteDid ya ever think mabes one of the reasons Abby set her sights on Gary so early on is because deep down inside she actually is jealous of Val. Abs knows she is a troublemaker by nature and that she probably could never keep a man if it weren't for her scheming- or anatomy between her down theres... maybe she covets what Val has / had with Gary... That innocent (true) first love that later translates to an enduring loyalty, something Abby, despite her success in other realms, never really gets from Gary - or anyone.
ReplyDeleteIn the scene in the bookstore where the owner says they've almost sold out even though there are copies of the book everywhere you look on the screen, JR also toys with Val, telling her that as owner of the pub. company, he has first right of refusal on her next release. I suppose that's the looming threat/payoff of scene.
ReplyDeleteOne last comment about this episode. The timing of the will reading was likely forced by the Dallas crossover/ actual air date mentioned a few times on show. But there are some inconsistencies when considering other aspects of story line. In the previous episode when Gary goes to Val to ask if she would like to attend will reading, she sends him away. But does she not realize that her book tour will coincide within the next two days with a visit to Dallas itself? The coincidence is quite silly when you think about it. In the episode where she is on the talk show, Mike says that her book has not yet come out, but that it is also already a best-seller. (I guess because of pre-orders?) By the time the book tour is in Dallas, it has already been out long enough for one of the readers to get through it twice? Val is on the phone to Lillie Mae telling her how Chip has been giving her the Royal treatment. How many stops on the tour had there been before Dallas? Because the telegram for Gary to come to SouthFork came only a day or two before the actual event. Right? There would not have been enough time for Val to have had other stops on the tour to receive that Royal treatment. If Dallas was her first stop, wouldn't she have mentioned that at least to Lillie Mae in that scene where Gary asks Val to join him? And like, where was Lucy in the episode? Shouldn't she have at the very least had a book signed by her own mama visiting Dallas? Sigh.
ReplyDeleteI'm responding to this roughly a year and a half later because I hadn't seen this comment yet and I think it's brilliant and I love that you noticed all this stuff.
DeleteJust found this blog today and I love it. This was one of my favorite KL episodes. I completely agree about the interations with JR and Abby - so good! Thank you for posting all this great information!
ReplyDeleteCall out to Louise Sorel and Michael Sabatino being lovers here and aunt and nephew about a decade later on Days of Our Lives.
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