Conundrum (3 May 1991)

J.R. is drunk and dejected; he has lost his business to Cliff Barnes, his son has moved to England, and the ownership of his beloved home was given to Bobby. He wants to end it all, when an... See full summary »

Writer:

David Jacobs (creator)

Stars:

Patrick Duffy, Larry Hagman, George Kennedy

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Patrick Duffy	...	Bobby Ewing
Larry Hagman	...	J.R. Ewing
George Kennedy	...	Carter McKay
Ken Kercheval	...	Cliff Barnes
Cathy Podewell	...	Cally Ewing
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Anthony Addabbo	...	Jeff Peters
Rosalind Allen	...	Annie Ewing
Tony Auer	...	Ted
Leslie Bevis	...	Jeanne Lawrence
Sylvia Brooks	...	Carol May
James T. Callahan	...	Mr. Smith
Katherine Cannon	...	Beth Krebbs
Wayne Chou	...	Houseboy
Mary Crosby	...	Kristin Shepard
Kim Delgado	...	Stage manager

Storyline

J.R. is drunk and dejected; he has lost his business to Cliff Barnes, his son has moved to England, and the ownership of his beloved home was given to Bobby. He wants to end it all, when an otherworldly creature calling himself "Adam" offers to show him what a world where J.R. Ewing was never born would be like. In this alternate reality, Gary would be the first son and would run Ewing Oil -- into the ground but become a successful lawyer. Jock would kill himself over it, leading to Miss Ellie's death "from a broken heart" two years later. Sue Ellen would be a successful soap opera actress married to Nicholas Pearce. Kristin Shepard would be a con artist, while Bobby would be a divorced deadbeat dad with a gambling addiction. There would be a third Ewing son named Jason, a conniving, manipulative real estate broker who got into the business by selling off Southfork. J.R. sees more of what a world where he was never born would be like: Ray Krebbs does not know that Jock is his real ...

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 May 1991 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lorimar Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Last show of the series.

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Quotes

[observing Sue Ellen telling off her slimy agent]
J.R. Ewing: Go on, Sue Ellen. Tell that scumbag off.

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Connections

Spoofs It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

User Reviews

Great soap,bad ending

I have ticked the spoiler but i guess it's that old now that everyone will have seen it that cares. What an absolutely dreadful ending to what was my favourite soap.In it's heyday Dallas walked all over Dynasty without ever really needing to try to hard, but for the devil to visit JR Ewing and show him what life would be like in a world without him was bizarre to say the least,was it a dream? Was it a psychosis induced hallucination? I don't know but what i do know is i wanted to see him getting the better of all his enemies one last time,to stitch up all those who crossed him was a must.JR needed to go out in a bang of glory not an episode that looked and felt pointless. For those who haven't seen it,stay away.As i said JR is visited by the devil when drunk alone on the ranch one night after saying everyone would be happier if he's never been born.Sure enough the devil gives him an insight into what this would be like,sure enough everyone is different and no one is happier.At the end of this the devil encourages JR to kill himself,at this time Bobby Ewing returns to hear a gun shot and when he bursts into JR's room his face has that look of anguish we've seen before on Dallas.But is JR dead. Well in 1996 JR returned came out,so there's your answer.