Dallas - The Complete Fifth Season DVD Review - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TJ · 07-31-2006, 08:42 PM

Another season, another explosive set of episodes. DALLAS was the hugely popular nighttime soap that ran on CBS from 1978 through 1991 is back on DVD in this 5 disc box set. The fifth season of the series stars, in alphabetical order, Barbara Bel Geddes, Patrick Duffy, Linda Gray, Larry Hagman, Susan Howard, Steve Kanaly, Ken Kercheval, Victoria Principal and Charlene Tilton.

This year, the Ewings face divorce, a custody battle, an adoption with a twist, financial ruin, murder, kidnapping and a couple of suicide attempts! It's just another day at Southfork!

Read our review here:
http://www.sitcomsonline.com/dallass...dvdreview.html

Post any questions or comments about this set.

Ireneparalegal · 07-31-2006, 08:45 PM

Going to buy it tomorrow!!!!!

Edster2973 · 08-06-2006, 10:24 AM

Got this DVD set the day it came out (August 1st) and I'm already on Disc 3 when, sadly, the family is coming to terms with Jock's death. I only came to be a regular viewer of the show around the time that Bobby was shot, so it's been a real trip buying these season sets and seeing how everything began.

I'm enjoying the debut of Katherine Wentworth and seeing the subtleties of how evil she became. You can definitely see the underpinings of it. Perhaps evil is an exaggeration. Crazyness perhaps? The only drawback to seeing her crazed persona unfold is knowing that, in order to so, we have to lose Priscilla Pointer's character, Rebecca. I really enjoy Rebecca and it's a pity that she wasn't able to stay on.

Half way through Season 5 already and rumor has it that Season 6 is scheduled for December 2006 in time for Christmas. Is this true? I hope the sets sell well enough so that we have ALL seasons eventually (or at least the years I'm familiar with, which is from Bobby's shooting to when Sue Ellen blackmails JR with a film about his life).

Hopefully the upcoming DALLAS film will be enough of a hit to help sustain healthy sales for the DVD sets. Judging from how many have posted about the release of Season 5, I must say I'm a little concerned. I remember before DALLAS was ever released, people couldn't shut up about getting it to DVD. Now that it has, practically nothing is discussed. I hope this doesn't mean people aren't buying the sets...

Keeping my fingers crossed...

Ed

Mr. Television · 08-06-2006, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edster2973

Got this DVD set the day it came out (August 1st) and I'm already on Disc 3 when, sadly, the family is coming to terms with Jock's death. I only came to be a regular viewer of the show around the time that Bobby was shot, so it's been a real trip buying these season sets and seeing how everything began.

I'm enjoying the debut of Katherine Wentworth and seeing the subtleties of how evil she became. You can definitely see the underpinings of it. Perhaps evil is an exaggeration. Crazyness perhaps? The only drawback to seeing her crazed persona unfold is knowing that, in order to so, we have to lose Priscilla Pointer's character, Rebecca. I really enjoy Rebecca and it's a pity that she wasn't able to stay on.

Half way through Season 5 already and rumor has it that Season 6 is scheduled for December 2006 in time for Christmas. Is this true? I hope the sets sell well enough so that we have ALL seasons eventually (or at least the years I'm familiar with, which is from Bobby's shooting to when Sue Ellen blackmails JR with a film about his life).

Hopefully the upcoming DALLAS film will be enough of a hit to help sustain healthy sales for the DVD sets. Judging from how many have posted about the release of Season 5, I must say I'm a little concerned. I remember before DALLAS was ever released, people couldn't shut up about getting it to DVD. Now that it has, practically nothing is discussed. I hope this doesn't mean people aren't buying the sets...

Keeping my fingers crossed...

Ed

I'm really worried about the DVD sales after we get to the dream season because that's the point where a lot of fans stop watching. I hope all the seasons plus the reunion movies are released on DVD.

Edster2973 · 08-06-2006, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by I Walk The Line

I'm really worried about the DVD sales after we get to the dream season because that's the point where a lot of fans stop watching. I hope all the seasons plus the reunion movies are released on DVD.

I concur. It wasn't the best time in DALLAS history, was it. Still, hopefully the movie by then will see release at around the same time that the dream season hits, thereby giving it a boost to help sales. Me, I actually like the dream season and would've preferred that they continue in that direction, even at the loss of Bobby. The downward spiral of the show by then meant the eventual loss of Pam, Donna, Jenna, Ray and eventually Miss Ellie. Too high a price to pay for one character and as much as I loved Bobby Ewing, even he wasn't worth that...

In any case, time will tell if we end up with the whole series on DVD. Keep hoping and keep buying!

Ed

Heidi Dawn · 08-08-2006, 06:12 PM

This was the best season of the early years of Dallas. There's a rumor going around the Oil Baron's forum on Ultimate Dallas that season 6 might be out in December.

Mr. Television · 08-08-2006, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heidi Dawn

This was the best season of the early years of Dallas. There's a rumor going around the Oil Baron's forum on Ultimate Dallas that season 6 might be out in December.

I hope so. That would be a great Christmas present.

I think the first 8 seasons were all great. The only downside was Donna Reed replacing BBG in season 8.

Ireneparalegal · 08-08-2006, 10:16 PM

I bought the DVD...

I slowly stopped watching DALLAS when Pam was "burned" in that horrible accident. Her leaving Bobby and her son so she could deal with her injuries was a very weak storyline. It wasn't something Pam would do. And it was annoying that a year after Bobby comes back we end up losing Pam, so what was the point of bringing Bobby back? I gave up on DALLAS at that point. Not to mention Bobby eventually marrying April...a woman who slept with J.R.; Bobby never wanted to deal with a woman who was with J.R., so seeing Bobby end up with her was so unrealistic.

TV Guy · 08-13-2006, 10:00 AM

I agree with Irene - losing Pam was the death knell for this show. J.R. was obviously the most important character on the show, but Bobby and Pam were almost as important - whenever one of them was absent, the show suffered. Without Pam, the original Romeo & Juliet premise was gone. The way Pam was written out was just silly - there's no way she would have abandoned her child, especially considering her background. I think they would have been better off recasting - they could have put her out of the way in a coma for a while, and gradually introduced a new actress. It would have been tough, but better than killing her off or burning her up.

I do hope they get to season nine (well, 10 if you go by WB's numbering scheme) - that was the last great season, with Bobby back and he and Pam remarried

I'm watching season four (well, five) right now and I have to say the early episodes are a little slow. The Sue Ellen/Southern Cross thing bores me, Pam's attempted suicide is completely out of character, and Jock's absence seems awkward and contrived (he's away on business in South America - please). I'm looking forward to the episodes where J.R. and Bobby and fighting for control of the company, per Jock's will.

Mr. Television · 08-13-2006, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TV Guy

I agree with Irene - losing Pam was the death knell for this show. J.R. was obviously the most important character on the show, but Bobby and Pam were almost as important - whenever one of them was absent, the show suffered. Without Pam, the original Romeo & Juliet premise was gone. The way Pam was written out was just silly - there's no way she would have abandoned her child, especially considering her background. I think they would have been better off recasting - they could have put her out of the way in a coma for a while, and gradually introduced a new actress. It would have been tough, but better than killing her off or burning her up.

I do hope they get to season nine (well, 10 if you go by WB's numbering scheme) - that was the last great season, with Bobby back and he and Pam remarried

I'm watching season four (well, five) right now and I have to say the early episodes are a little slow. The Sue Ellen/Southern Cross thing bores me, Pam's attempted suicide is completely out of character, and Jock's absence seems awkward and contrived (he's away on business in South America - please). I'm looking forward to the episodes where J.R. and Bobby and fighting for control of the company, per Jock's will.

The worst storyline of the later seasons was when Bobby started dating Jeanne the Pam look-a-like. Ugghh.

Their was some talk back then of Pamela Sue Martin replacing Victoria. I wish that would have happened.

Edster2973 · 08-13-2006, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by I Walk The Line

The worst storyline of the later seasons was when Bobby started dating Jeanne the Pam look-a-like. Ugghh.

Their was some talk back then of Pamela Sue Martin replacing Victoria. I wish that would have happened.

I don't remember this at all, but then again, I stopped watching right around the time Victoria left. Not due to disinterest but I was in jr.high/high school then and was going out more and working so Dallas wasn't a priority. I hope they get that far with the DVDs so I could watch this era. I don't expect it to compare with the earlier seasons but the completist in me wants ALL of the seasons, the good and the bad. For me I don't see the point in having an incomplete series. Hopefully sales will keep up during the later seasons of the show. I'd love to see how Susan Lucci and Sasha Mitchell entered the show. Again, I've never seen this era.

How close to looking like Pam was this Jeanne person? Who was the actress? And as far as Pamela Sue Martin replacing Victoria Principal, I think that could've worked IF Pam had reverted to her earlier tomboyish self. But I think by the time Victoria left, Pam was more mature and regal and more calm as a personality and I don't know if Pamela Sue Martin could've pulled that off. Who knows, perhaps she could've done the role justice. Anyone know why she never took over the role?

Ed

Mr. Television · 08-13-2006, 11:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edster2973

I don't remember this at all, but then again, I stopped watching right around the time Victoria left. Not due to disinterest but I was in jr.high/high school then and was going out more and working so Dallas wasn't a priority. I hope they get that far with the DVDs so I could watch this era. I don't expect it to compare with the earlier seasons but the completist in me wants ALL of the seasons, the good and the bad. For me I don't see the point in having an incomplete series. Hopefully sales will keep up during the later seasons of the show. I'd love to see how Susan Lucci and Sasha Mitchell entered the show. Again, I've never seen this era.

How close to looking like Pam was this Jeanne person? Who was the actress? And as far as Pamela Sue Martin replacing Victoria Principal, I think that could've worked IF Pam had reverted to her earlier tomboyish self. But I think by the time Victoria left, Pam was more mature and regal and more calm as a personality and I don't know if Pamela Sue Martin could've pulled that off. Who knows, perhaps she could've done the role justice. Anyone know why she never took over the role?

Ed

The actress who played her was named Margaret Michaels. I had never seen her before. I don't want to give anything away since you haven't seen these episodes but she did play Pam in one episode the season before. It was an attempt to give Pam some closure ( her and Bobby finally talked ), still I think it created more problems then it solved. When she played Pam they had the room that they were in very dark so she sort of resembled her but that's about it. She wasn't a very good actress. Also since Pam was severely burned I guess she wouldn't look like she used too. The Jeanne storyline was just strange. He stopped seeing April so he could go and chase ghosts.

As far as Pamela Sue...I really don't know. I think I heard she was tired of doing soaps and needed a break. I know the actress who replaced her on Dynasty wasn"t any good.

TV Guy · 08-13-2006, 10:07 PM

What was really odd was that when Bobby started dating Jeanne, the Pam "lookalike", Cliff saw her and said, "She looks just like Pam after her surgery". I guess that was the writers' way of explaining that Jeanne was a lookalike for post-surgery Pam, not Victoria Principal. Strange that they felt this comment was necessary, though. If we could believe that Donna Reed was Miss Ellie, then we could believe that Jeanne looked like Pam.

If you want to see Pam's final appearance on the show (when Michaels played the role), go to http://www.ultimatedallas.com/multimedia/ and select "Pam says goodbye" under Season 11. The quality isn't that great, but you at least can see how they handled the situation.

Pamela Sue Martin was never offered the role of Pam. I remember reading that rumor as well, but USA Today had an interesting short article at the time about Michaels when she appeared as Pam (I still have it clipped somewhere). It acknowledged the rumor about Martin, but said that Larry Hagman was adamently against anyone beside Principal playing Pam on an ongoing basis. Apparently, he didn't like how the Miss Ellie recast went over, and he didn't want any major character to be recast again.

07-31-2006, 08:42 PM	#1
TJ Site Owner Administrator Forum Star Join Date: Feb 03, 2000 Location: Marietta, GA Posts: 10,683	Dallas - The Complete Fifth Season DVD Review Another season, another explosive set of episodes. DALLAS was the hugely popular nighttime soap that ran on CBS from 1978 through 1991 is back on DVD in this 5 disc box set. The fifth season of the series stars, in alphabetical order, Barbara Bel Geddes, Patrick Duffy, Linda Gray, Larry Hagman, Susan Howard, Steve Kanaly, Ken Kercheval, Victoria Principal and Charlene Tilton. This year, the Ewings face divorce, a custody battle, an adoption with a twist, financial ruin, murder, kidnapping and a couple of suicide attempts! It's just another day at Southfork! Read our review here: http://www.sitcomsonline.com/dallass...dvdreview.html Post any questions or comments about this set.

07-31-2006, 08:45 PM	#2
Ireneparalegal LEGAL SPICE ;) Forum Legend Join Date: Jul 25, 2005 Location: OXNARD, CA - WHERE THE DALLAS COWBOYS TRAIN & PRACTICE Posts: 38,691	Going to buy it tomorrow!!!!!
	__________________ DALLAS COWBOYS ARE HERE AT TRAINING CAMP!!!

08-06-2006, 10:24 AM	#3
Edster2973 Member Forum Regular Join Date: Mar 19, 2003 Location: Somerset, Massachusetts, USA Posts: 951	Got this DVD set the day it came out (August 1st) and I'm already on Disc 3 when, sadly, the family is coming to terms with Jock's death. I only came to be a regular viewer of the show around the time that Bobby was shot, so it's been a real trip buying these season sets and seeing how everything began. I'm enjoying the debut of Katherine Wentworth and seeing the subtleties of how evil she became. You can definitely see the underpinings of it. Perhaps evil is an exaggeration. Crazyness perhaps? The only drawback to seeing her crazed persona unfold is knowing that, in order to so, we have to lose Priscilla Pointer's character, Rebecca. I really enjoy Rebecca and it's a pity that she wasn't able to stay on. Half way through Season 5 already and rumor has it that Season 6 is scheduled for December 2006 in time for Christmas. Is this true? I hope the sets sell well enough so that we have ALL seasons eventually (or at least the years I'm familiar with, which is from Bobby's shooting to when Sue Ellen blackmails JR with a film about his life). Hopefully the upcoming *DALLAS* film will be enough of a hit to help sustain healthy sales for the DVD sets. Judging from how many have posted about the release of Season 5, I must say I'm a little concerned. I remember before *DALLAS* was ever released, people couldn't shut up about getting it to DVD. Now that it has, practically nothing is discussed. I hope this doesn't mean people aren't buying the sets... Keeping my fingers crossed... Ed
	__________________ save water... shower with a friend...

08-08-2006, 06:12 PM	#6
Heidi Dawn Muppets Forum Regular Join Date: Jan 01, 2003 Location: Canada Posts: 883	This was the best season of the early years of Dallas. There's a rumor going around the Oil Baron's forum on Ultimate Dallas that season 6 might be out in December.
	__________________ Complete Series Box Sets I own: MASH, Three's Company, Gilligan's Island, The Dukes Of Hazzard, The Golden Girls, The Monkees, The Brady Bunch, Full House, I Dream Of Jeannie, Bewitched, Taxi, Gimme A Break, Dallas, Charlie's Angels, Joanie Loves Chachi, Laverne & Shirley, Mork & Mindy, The Cosby Show, The Facts of Life, Family Ties, Diff'rent Strokes, Green Acres.

08-08-2006, 10:16 PM	#8
Ireneparalegal LEGAL SPICE ;) Forum Legend Join Date: Jul 25, 2005 Location: OXNARD, CA - WHERE THE DALLAS COWBOYS TRAIN & PRACTICE Posts: 38,691	I bought the DVD... I slowly stopped watching DALLAS when Pam was "burned" in that horrible accident. Her leaving Bobby and her son so she could deal with her injuries was a very weak storyline. It wasn't something Pam would do. And it was annoying that a year after Bobby comes back we end up losing Pam, so what was the point of bringing Bobby back? I gave up on DALLAS at that point. Not to mention Bobby eventually marrying April...a woman who slept with J.R.; Bobby never wanted to deal with a woman who was with J.R., so seeing Bobby end up with her was so unrealistic.

08-13-2006, 10:00 AM	#9
TV Guy Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Jun 25, 2001 Location: Boston, MA, USA Posts: 3,419	I agree with Irene - losing Pam was the death knell for this show. J.R. was obviously the most important character on the show, but Bobby and Pam were almost as important - whenever one of them was absent, the show suffered. Without Pam, the original Romeo & Juliet premise was gone. The way Pam was written out was just silly - there's no way she would have abandoned her child, especially considering her background. I think they would have been better off recasting - they could have put her out of the way in a coma for a while, and gradually introduced a new actress. It would have been tough, but better than killing her off or burning her up. I do hope they get to season nine (well, 10 if you go by WB's numbering scheme) - that was the last great season, with Bobby back and he and Pam remarried I'm watching season four (well, five) right now and I have to say the early episodes are a little slow. The Sue Ellen/Southern Cross thing bores me, Pam's attempted suicide is completely out of character, and Jock's absence seems awkward and contrived (he's away on business in South America - please). I'm looking forward to the episodes where J.R. and Bobby and fighting for control of the company, per Jock's will.

08-13-2006, 10:07 PM	#13
TV Guy Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Jun 25, 2001 Location: Boston, MA, USA Posts: 3,419	What was really odd was that when Bobby started dating Jeanne, the Pam "lookalike", Cliff saw her and said, "She looks just like Pam after her surgery". I guess that was the writers' way of explaining that Jeanne was a lookalike for post-surgery Pam, not Victoria Principal. Strange that they felt this comment was necessary, though. If we could believe that Donna Reed was Miss Ellie, then we could believe that Jeanne looked like Pam. If you want to see Pam's final appearance on the show (when Michaels played the role), go to http://www.ultimatedallas.com/multimedia/ and select "Pam says goodbye" under Season 11. The quality isn't that great, but you at least can see how they handled the situation. Pamela Sue Martin was never offered the role of Pam. I remember reading that rumor as well, but USA Today had an interesting short article at the time about Michaels when she appeared as Pam (I still have it clipped somewhere). It acknowledged the rumor about Martin, but said that Larry Hagman was adamently against anyone beside Principal playing Pam on an ongoing basis. Apparently, he didn't like how the Miss Ellie recast went over, and he didn't want any major character to be recast again.