Do You Remember What Happened on the First Episode of ‘Dallas’?
On April 2, 1978, TV viewers were introduced to Dallas, a nighttime saga that told the tale of the Ewing family. The series — which was created by David Jacobs, who also created the show’s spinoff series Knots Landing — became famous for its plotlines full of back-stabbing schemes, double-crosses and scandalous behavior. But before all that, there was the first episode, “Digger’s Daughter.” How well do you remember it?
From Pam’s show to J.R.’s
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Dallas originally centered around Pamela Barnes Ewing (Victoria Principal), who married into the wealthy Ewing clan. Pamela’s dad, Willard “Digger” Barnes (David Wayne), had had a feud with John Ross “Jock” Ewing Sr. (Jim Davis) regarding oil rights that dated back to the 1930s — oil rights that made the Ewings extremely wealthy.
While Pam remained the show’s lead heroine, another character took off and became a household name: J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman). J.R., one of the most iconic villains in TV history, was part of the ensemble in the show’s premiere. However, he soon emerged as Dallas‘ main character. With rascally charm and a determined focus, J.R. set out to make Ewing Oil the most powerful independent oil company in the state of Texas. He’d cut shady deals, bribe officials and do away with his rivals, all in an effort to please his daddy.
Hagman’s wife Maj encouraged him to audition for the part of J.R. “You’ve gotta read this! You’ve gotta read it! … There isn’t one redeeming or nice character in the whole show — do it!” Maj told the actor, as reported in Dallas: The Complete Story of the World’s Favorite Prime Time Soap by Barbara A. Curran. “It’s got wealth, it’s got helicopters, it’s got a bunch of gorgeous broads, and it’s what television needs — a nighttime soap!”
A shot heard ’round the (TV) world
In its first few seasons, Dallas typically aired stand-alone episodes, in which a conflict would be introduced and resolved (mostly) by the end of the show. But by the end of Season 3, J.R. had done enough dirty deeds that a host of his enemies lined up to kill him!
Alone in his office one night, J.R. was shot twice by a mystery assailant — who was later revealed to be his sister-in-law Kristen (Mary Crosby). The reveal was one of TV’s highest-rated episodes, with over 83 million viewers tuning in. The show scored a 53.3 rating and earned a 76% share of the audience. The “Who Shot J.R.?” story landed the show the covers of Time and People magazines.
From here, the show pivoted to longer stories and offered a number of famous cliffhangers, including Cliff Barnes (Ken Kercheval) finding a body in the Ewing pool, Southfork ranch catching on fire, Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy) being shot, and Pam waking up from a horrible dream.
At the conclusion of Season 10, the series lost two key players — Principal and Susan Howard (Donna Culver Krebbs). The show suffered additional cast losses with the departures of Priscilla Beaulieu Presley (Jenna Wade Krebbs), Steve Kanaly (Ray), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen) and Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie).
Dallas ended in 1991 after 14 seasons. The series cliffhanger had J.R. reflecting on his life after seeing how his family would have fared had he never been born. A gunshot went off. Had J.R. offed himself?
We wouldn’t know the answer to that until 1996, when several cast members returned for a two-hour TV movie Dallas: J.R. Returns. (Spoiler alert: J.R. was alive!)
Two years later, Kanaly returned to Southfork in the less successful Dallas: War of the Ewings. There were talks of revivals and reboots. Finally, in 2012, Dallas, developed by Cynthia Cidre, returned as a weekly series on TNT.
Hagman, Duffy and Grey were regulars. Kanaly, Tilton and Landers made appearances on the show, as did Knots Landing stars Ted Shackelford (Gary) and Joan Van Ark (Valene), Lucy’s parents. Dallas concluded on Sept. 22, 2014, following the death of Hagman.
What happened in “Digger’s Daughter”?
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But before all that: What happened in the first episode? The story began with Bobby James Ewing and Pamela Jean Barnes celebrating their marriage, having eloped in New Orleans. Afterwards, they rode in Bobby’s convertible to meet his family at Southfork.
Even before they arrived at Bobby’s family home, Pam proved to be a thorn in J.R.’s side as she encouraged Bobby to take a more active role in Ewing Oil — beyond being the company’s “good will ambassador.”
The family’s wealth was emphasized via personalized license plates on their cars. Bobby’s read “EWING 4” while Jock’s (Jim Davis) read “EWING 1.” Jock asked Ray to make sure Lucy got to school on time each day, not knowing that Ray and Lucy had been fooling around in the hayloft. (This relationship was removed from continuity after the writers decided to make Ray the long-lost son of Jock.)
Lucy, aware of Ray’s feelings for Pam, asked him to call her by her name. Ray obliged.
Meanwhile, Bobby agreed to Pam’s idea that he get more involved in Ewing Oil. Lucy spied Bobby and Pam arriving at Southfork using binoculars, and figured out that they were married!
Miss Ellie, Bobby’s mama, was shocked that not only was her youngest son married, but also that his bride was Digger’s daughter. “I’m sorry,” Miss Ellie said. “I don’t know what to say.”
At Ewing Oil, Jock and J.R. were keeping an eye on televised hearings where Cliff was grilling Ewing loyalists. Miss Ellie called to let them know Bobby had taken a wife. J.R. wanted to know if she was anybody. (Was she ever!)
The writers established that Ray had been dating Pam prior to her becoming involved with Bobby — and that Pam’s brother Cliff was the attorney who was holding the Ewing’s feet to the fire in hearings about proper business dealings. The show introduced all these intricate dynamics subtly, without overwhelming viewers about the various backstories.
The family gathered to hear Bobby’s story about his elopement, which led Jock to demand to know when Pam’s brother was going to give up his crusade against the Ewings. Ray entered and Lucy coyly suggested Ray give the bride a kiss.
J.R. took Pam on a tour of the grounds and apologized to Pam for Jock’s demand. “Did your brother put you up to this, Miss Barnes?” J.R. casually asked, hoping to catch her off-guard. “Mrs. Ewing,” Pam shot back. J.R. offered to pay Pam off, threatening to drive her away with nothing if she didn’t comply. Bobby showed up to rescue his wife.
Fearing Bobby and Pam would give Jock his first male grandchild, J.R. devised another plan.
The next day, Pam shared uneasy reunions with both Cliff (Ken Kercheval) and Digger (David Wayne), as she picked up the rest of her clothes from her apartment. Meanwhile, Bobby was facing opposition in trying to read the elusive “red files” from J.R.’s secretary Julie Grey (Tina Louise of Gilligan’s Island fame) and J.R. at Ewing Oil.
Pam told Digger, drunk at a bar, that she’d married Bobby Ewing – Jock’s son. Once he absorbed that his daughter had married the son of his enemy, Digger froze. An emotional Pam left the bar as her eyes filled with tears.
Back at Southfork, Lucy told Pam her own backstory — how her alcoholic father Gary’s behavior prompted Valene, Lucy’s mom, and Lucy to leave town. J.R. tracked Valene down; his hired hands brought Lucy back to Southfork. Lucy told Pam she didn’t stand a chance if the Ewings didn’t want to welcome her.
Ray gave Pam a helicopter tour of Southfork, while J.R. drove Bobby to the airport for a business trip that he ordered his brother to take. Ray picked up Pam and jumped into the lake. They retreated to a nearby cabin, where Ray built a fire and Pam put on a blanket after getting out of her wet clothes.
Then, Pam spied J.R. driving Bobby to the cabin. Realizing she’d been set up, Pam ordered Ray to back up her claim that nothing happened between them — “If you don’t back me up, I’ll tell J.R. about you and Lucy,” Pam threatened. “Make it good.”
“Isn’t it nice J.R. knew exactly where we’d be?” Pam sweetly said, taking control of the seemingly compromising situation as Bobby and J.R. arrived. She ordered J.R. to “shut up!” And revealed that it was J.R.’s idea to have Ray show her the ranch. Bobby made it clear to Ray that Pam’s past was none of his business, but her future was. Pam then stopped Bobby from decking J.R.
“I underestimated the new Mrs. Ewing,” J.R. said, as Pam and Bobby drove off in his car. “Well, I surely won’t do that again.”
“The response to Dallas was extraordinary,” creator David Jacobs said. “The critics were both appalled and intrigued. [The show] caused a lot of talk because it was so audacious and so obviously sexy. And because the family was so clearly dysfunctional.”
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