Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)"Dallas's" place in television history is cemented and Larry Hagman's "J.R. Ewing" ranks as one of the medium's most despicable yet captivating characters. That said, the third season (actually the SECOND full one) has more to tout than Mary Martin's son and the cliffhanger-to-end-all-cliffhangers, "A House Divided".
This is the season that introduced Mary Crosby's wickedly alluring "Kristen Sheppard". The role had been originated by Coleen Camp in two earlier episodes but Bing's daughter made it her own, assuring her place in the annuls of television crime with an episode that would premiere in the following season. Also on hand is Martha Stewart as Sue Ellen's mother. Stewart had a lengthy Hollywood career and is best remembered for her motherly roles, having played Charlton Heston's mom twice in both The Ten Commandments and Ben-Hur.
This is also the year that Gary Shackleford took over as "Gary Ewing," the estranged son that would later be the star of the "Dallas" spinoff "Knots Landing," also starring Joan Van Ark ("Valene Ewing").
"Dallas" also featured a variety of supporting players, culled from some longstanding character actors, that added to the success of the series. Dennis Patrick ("Vaughn Leland"), George Petrie ("Harve Smithfield"), veteran Morgan Woodard ("Punk Anderson"), movie legend Keenan Wynn ("Digger Barnes") and even Marlon Brando's sister Jocelyn ("Mrs. Reeves") are colorful additions to the "Dallas" gallery.
In addition, season three introduced Jared Martin as "Dusty Farlow," the true love of Sue Ellen's life, as well as the fictional son of future cast member Howard Keel.
"Dallas" also continued its occasional jab at contemporary and provocative issues, especially with the two-parter "Mastectomy," featuring bravura work from Barbara Bel Geddes, as "Miss Ellie" copes with the emotional and physical aftermath of the surgery, and Jim Davis's "Jock Ewing" having to make his wife feel that she is still the woman that he fell for forty years earlier.
But, more than anything, this is the season wherein Linda Gray ("Sue Ellen") emerged as one of television's best actresses. She ran the gamut of emotions as the much-maligned wife of the lecherous J.R., showing both supreme strength and extreme vulnerability.
It is a shame that neither she or Hagman ever received the coveted Emmy for their efforts.
The DVD compilitation features two episodes with interesting commentary by Duffy and Gray.
The only downside is the double-sided disc format. This seems like episodes "on the cheap" and a show of this stature deserves better.
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The series that invented the season cliffhanger and left the world guessing "Who Shot JR?", is now available in this special 5-disc collector's set. Relive the drama, intrigue and deception of TV's most watched event of the 80's, complete with all 25 season three episodes and never-before-seen special features. Dallas recounts the tale of Texas sons and daughters whose lives revolve around oil, family and power. And Larry Hagman portrays petroleum magnate J.R. Ewing, whose pursuit of, in no particular order, money and clout knows no limits.DVD Features:Audio CommentaryDocumentary
Click here for more information about Dallas: The Complete Third Season (1978)
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