Dallas: The Complete Third Season

 

 

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**NOTE - This review contains major spoilers**

Perhaps one of the most famous seasons of "Dallas" for no other reason but the cliff-hanger finale where viewers all over the world were left with the million-dollar question, "Who Shot J.R.?".

Before we get to that milestone episode however, the Ewings and their friends and enemies have plenty of drama to endure.

The season begins with Sue Ellen's baby being kidnapped from the hospital; shortly after Pam gets pregnant a second time but loses the baby AGAIN, only to learn later in the season she may never be able to give birth to a healthy child due to a genetic disease she's inherited from Digger. As a result, she becomes strongly attached to baby John, until the neglectful Sue Ellen begins taking an interest in the child. Later, as Digger lay dying Pam discovers her real father was a ranch hand who was murdered and buried on Southfork thirty years prior. All of these emotional events take their toll of Pam and Bobby's marriage, and he pleads with her to help hold their union together.

Miss Ellie undergoes a mastectomy and grows distant from Jock when she learns he had a wife before her, whom he's been keeping in a mental hospital for the past 40 years.

Sue Ellen begins an affair with drifting cowboy Dusty whom she meets at the annual Ewing Rodeo. She begins trying to beat J.R. at his own game but only ends up back on the bottle with J.R. determined to have her re-comitted.

J.R. further alienates the family by mortgaging Southfork for a risky business deal and gets Cliff Barnes to resign from the Office of Land Management by secretly funneling cash into a phony campaign to get him elected to the State Senate. He also bribes slimy young hotshot Alan Beam to woo Lucy and get her off Southfork for good.

I was sorry to see David Wayne (the original Digger Barnes) replaced by Keenan Wynn this year. Wayne had landed a full-time gig on the Wayne Rogers/Lynn Redgrave sitcom "House Calls" and was much better in the role, IMO. Wynn seemed better-suited to comedic parts and I didn't care for his portrayal. I can say the same for Francine Tacker who appears as Jenna Wade. Tacker had big shoes to fill because she seemed so plain compared to the glamorous Morgan Fairchild, whose persona was tailor-made for prime-time soaps.

The one cast switch I was thrilled with was the arrival of Mary Crosby as Sue Ellen's sister Kristen (taking over from Colleen Camp). Of course, Kristen has a very pivotal role this season--luring J.R. into bed, getting him to put her up in an expensive condo and hire her on as his temporary secretary. The devious Kristen makes short work of using J.R.'s shady business dealings as ammunition. Despite her backstabbing ways, Crosby imbues the character with a vulnerability and desperation at times that made you feel for and relate to the character. Though she wasn't the best actress on the show, her unique beauty and engaging style made her the most interesting to watch.

The writers cleverly plot the scripts in the final third of the season so that any number of characters are motivated to point the barrel at J.R. and pull the trigger: Is it Sue Ellen, Allan Beam, Cliff Barnes, Kristen, Donna, Vaughn Leland? Of course, you have to buy Season 4 to find out.

The stories are even more engrossing that those in the S1-2 boxset, the picture quality on the dual-sided discs varies, and the sound is rather low, but I still highly recommend this third season of "Dallas".

The season is excellent - there's no question about that, particularly the Jock on Trial, Dove Hunt and of course the House Divided (Who shot JR?) episodes.

As with the previous box set, there aren't a lot of extras, but that's probably because the show is 20 years old and there's not much footage available. There are a few comentaries and a "Who shot JR: A Dallas Phenomenon " Documentary on the last disc.

The only major problem I had with this box set (which stoped me from giving it 5 stars) is the DVD Packaging. The way they have packaged the DVD's caused damage to a couple of episodes (they've laid one DVD ontop of another, causing the bottom one to scratch). I'd be watching a scene and then it would suddenly skip to the next scene, most of the time mid sentence! It was annoying at times.

Overall a good buy and a must for any true TV fan.

Number one TV show in the world when originally broadcast, I am delighted that one of the best seasons of DALLAS is out on DVD.

Season 3 episodes are:

1) Whatever Happened to Baby John? (1)
Sue Ellen returns home from the hospital and the family worries she is sinking into depression by not caring about her new baby. The rest of the family take frequent trips into the hospital to visit John Ross who is still too weak to come home. J.R. and Sue Ellen learn from reporters that John Ross has been kidnapped!

2) Whatever Happened to Baby John? (2)
J.R thinks some of his thugs may have taken the child, whilst Bobby suspects Cliff.

3) The Silent Killer
None of the Ewings are excited when Sue Ellen's sister and mother visit Southfork. J.R starts to take a deeper look at Sue Ellen's younger sister.

4) Secrets
Valene returns to town, determined to have her daughter Lucy forgive her. It is not until Lucy overhears J.R try to railroad Valene out of town again before the mother and daughter finally come to terms with their past and make up.

5) The Kristin Affair
Pam tells Bobby about her pregnancy. But she says nothing about her disease. J.R. mortgages Southfork Ranch for his drilling in Asia. He's very interested in his sister-in-law Kristin (Mary Crosby).

6) The Dove Hunt
J.R. and Jock get wounded by sniper fire when two of Jock's enemies from the past catch up with them during a hunting trip to Louisiana.

7) The Lost Child
Sue Ellen is unhappy with her marriage to J.R. Pam has an accident and tells Bobby about her hereditary disease.

8) Rodeo
Sue Ellen meets cowboy Dusty Farlow during a Southfork rodeo event. He's the son of a rich oil tycoon. J.R. is jealous of Sue Ellen and he makes it very clear to Dusty.

9) Mastectomy (1)
Miss Ellie discovers a medical problem with her breast. She doesn't tell Jock because in the past he left his first wife Amanda because of her disease. Sue Ellen meets Dusty again and again.

10) Mastectomy (2)
Miss Ellie's tumor is completely removed along with her breast. But she falls into a serious depression. She's afraid of losing Jock. J.R. keeps trying to get rid of Cliff and uses Alan Beam to do it.

11) The Heiress
To frustrate Cliff's plans against the Ewings, J.R. hires young lawyer Alan Beam as his spy. Lucy discovers the conspiracy but J.R. manages to turn things around again to make it look like he and Alan hate each other. Bobby hears about J.R.'s secret plans in Southeast Asia and about his secret mortgaging of Southfork Ranch.

12) Ellie Saves the Day
J.R.'s family is shocked to learn that J.R. mortgaged Southfork. The drilling in Asia runs into serious trouble because of a typhoon and the banks demand their loan back. Miss Ellie saves the situation and vows she may never forgive J.R.

13) Mother of the Year
J.R. thinks Sue Ellen is an unfit mother. She seeks psychiatric help. At the last minute, Ewing Oil succeeds in starting drilling in the Asian fields.

14) Return Engagements
Miss Ellie's sadness over Gary's birthday ends when she learns he and Valene are back in Dallas and plans to remarry.

15) Love and Marriage
Pam takes care of Sue Ellen's baby for a few weeks. Because she doesn't have a child of her own, she can't stand Sue Ellen's coming back to her baby. There's an argument with Bobby about his return to Ewing Oil. Ray Krebbs meets Donna Culver.

16) Power Play
Lucy secretly meets Alan Beam. But all he is interested in is her family's money and he proposes to Lucy. But this is just J.R.'s scheme to get rid of Lucy. Pam is promoted at her job once again and problems in her marriage are on the rise.

17) Paternity Suit
Digger tells a reporter that John Ross could be his grandchild. The Ewing's sue Digger Barnes for defamation. And Cliff goes to court as well - to determine the baby's paternity. A blood test finally determines the identity of the father.

18) Jenna's Return
Bobby's ex-girlfriend Jenna Wade returns and causes problems for Bobby and Pam.

19) Sue Ellen's Choice
Bobby wants to save his marriage and asks Pam for help. Pam feels guilty because she can't have a baby. Sue Ellen wants a divorce. J.R. says he will never allow her to take John Ross away from him. Because Sue Ellen knows she can't fight J.R. on this, she decides to leave Dusty.

20) Second Thoughts
J.R. keeps pressuring Alan Beam to marry Lucy very soon. J.R.'s scheming causes Cliff to resign from the OLM. Bobby feels sorry for Cliff and finds him a job. This provokes a furious reaction from J.R. Jock frustrates J.R.'s plans for Lucy and Alan. Now J.R. tries to stop the marriage because there's no longer anything in it for him.

21) Divorce - Ewing Style
J.R. tries to make Sue Ellen look like she's been drinking again. Sue Ellen hires a 'privacy eye' to prove J.R.'s infidelity to her but J.R. bribes the detective who alters the reports which now say nothing bad about J.R. This makes Sue Ellen, who physically attacks J.R., look paranoid and obsessive in front of the family.

22) Jock's Trial (1)
A skeleton is found on Southfork. Cliff runs the investigation into possible murder. Jock is arrested. Sue Ellen drinks again as she hears about Dusty's death in a plane crash.

23) Jock's Trial (2)
Jock is released on bail. Digger is dying. Pam learns that it was Hutch who was her real father. Digger dies but before that, he tells Pam that he has always cared for her, just like she was his own daughter.

24) The Wheeler Dealer
When J.R. learns of a possible revolution in Southeast Asia, he decides to sell off 75% of his oil well holdings there and cheats his friends. Kristin and Alan scheme to try and gather information to ruin J.R. When J.R. verbally attacks Pam in front of the family, Bobby punches J.R. and Jock has to intervene. Pam tries in vain to find information on her mother.

25) A House Divided
The cartel members are financially ruined after the nationalization of the Asian fields which J.R. had sold them. Seth Stone, one of the cartel members, kills himself. J.R. threatens to drive Kristin and Alan Beam out of town and he wants to put Sue Ellen back into the sanitarium. J.R. causes Pam and Bobby to leave Dallas. As the episode draws to a close, J.R. is shot in his office. But who dunnit?

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5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT!!!!
Got this quickly once I ordered it.. it was in good condition.. and most importantly it was a GREAT purchase. I loved watching this season. The finale was awesome!!!!

Published 8 months ago by Suzanne O'Shea

5.0 out of 5 stars Fan
Ok I must admit I was very young when this season aired but I watched it with my mom as i was growing up. I saw a few episodes online last year and I got hooked. Read more

Published on Nov 17 2009 by GeekyGirlReviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Dallas, third season
The dvd that you sent me recently is acting up again.
Discs 1 & 2 seems ok, but the 3rd and 4th disc keeps stuck and jumping scenes, I am thinking of returning them to you... Read more

Published on Aug 2 2009 by April King

5.0 out of 5 stars Dallas....worth it...
I am hooked on this series, I remember some episodes as a kid, but it's great to watch as an adult and understand what is going on, if it was done in this day and age, the plots... Read more

Published on April 13 2009 by Sit Spin

5.0 out of 5 stars ONE OF THE BEST SEASONS OF ONE THE BEST SOAPS
Dallas is hands-down the best soap ever on television. Desperate Housewives is a boring, bland show compared to the excitement Dallas offers viewers. Read more

Published on Aug 26 2005 by Nicole K.

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