Dallas departee: Patrick Duffy

Hello my fellow fans,

This time I'd like to take you all back to 1985. Dallas was at its peak in Finland, so it was shocking to learn that Patrick Duffy and Charlene Tilton were leaving the show. Whaat? Why would anyone leave Dallas? Where would PD and CT even live if not in Southfork? Madness.

Even in the 80s, the time before internet and mobile media, the Finnish press generously printed this piece of news long before it happened on our television screens. At the time, Finland was about one year, or a year and a half behind in showing Dallas, so when The Swan Song finally aired here, we'd had a long time to prepare.

Apu magazine printed this wonderful article in 1985 about Bobby dying. It is titled "Will Bobby be unemployed?" It came out during the time when Bobby was shot, so it kind of gave mixed signals on how he was going to leave the show.

I remember swooning over this next picture of Patrick in his jeans (according the caption, the writer of this article may've done the same thing: "In one week Bobby gets a thousand fan letters, including roughly a couple of hundred marriage proposals. No wonder though, as he is such a Mr. Longlegs and Sugarbums." Teehehee! He surely is!

Next page has this funny cartoon of the cast. I remember wondering why anyone would draw Cliff as a muscular hunk and Bobby as a mousey elderly person. Oh, well.

As I said earlier, this article is about Bobby's shooting, although it also informs us about PD leaving the show year later. Title screams: "Bobby's shooting was an accident?"

Final page dives into Dynasty, as well. It states rather whimsically that "Even Bobby's dog had a motive", "Donna Reed is the new Ellie" and "Lucy becomes a waitress". Of course one of these was merely a joke.

Random tidbits of the text:

* "Charlene Tilton leaves the show alongside Patrick Duffy, although not quite as voluntarily. She is rather surly, because of the treatment she is getting - to put it mildly."

* "Oh Bobby, why do you have to sit in JR's chair? The bullets meant for JR sink into your pretty head."

* "This time, Bobby survives the attack. Wearing dark glasses (maybe imitating Dynasty's Blake?) we will see him next fall when Bobby's final season starts in Finland."  

* Patrick is a sensible guy and has no grand delusions of himself, which would be quite common in Hollywood. He says "All I want is a more challenging role. In a tv series? Why not, since I already have a familiar audience there."  

Of course we all know that Patrick came back to Dallas after a year. I was happy. However, during that year I was thrilled to see Patrick starring in a tv movie Strong Medicine alongside Dynasty's Fallon, Pamela Sue Martin. It was like Bobby and Pamela back together again, in an alternative universe. :)

Dallas vs. Dynasty

The most famous cold war in the 80s was not the one between the Soviet Union and the United States. It was between Dallas and Dynasty. Everybody was talking about it. 

Well, maybe not everybody, but, you know… me.

Dynasty began in 1984 in Finland, and the press wasted no time creating headlines about the bitter rivalry between the two super soaps. I personally preferred Dallas, of course. However, Dynasty was also one of my favorites at the time.

Here’s a bold article from 1984 ”Apu”-magazine about the rivalry. ”Which Pamela do you watch?” and (loosely translated) ”Battle of the breast size: Dallas vs. Dynasty”. Oh my. 

I remember being totally in shock after seeing this cover. It wasn't usual to a family-oriented magazine such as Apu to have bare-chested women on the cover, let alone mega-stars like Pamela Bellwood. Wow!

”Dallas leads over Dynasty! Two shows are fighting for the viewers wearing less and less clothes.”

Dynasty’s Pamela Bellwood (Claudia) is the one who has showcased her talents the most generously of them all. These pictures have been taken by her husband in Kenya. 

”First they were fighting over the best clothes. Now they are fighting without them. Priscilla Presley is pursuing a career as an actress quite diligently. She is the new attraction of Dallas. "

"Victoria Principal is following Jane Fonda’s footsteps. Sue Ellen (Linda Gray) gets a young lover on Dallas, while Alexis and Krystle (Joan Collins and Linda Evans) keep on fighting on Dynasty, although they are best friends in real life."(ß Really?)

"Originally Audrey Landers had only a small part in Dallas, but as her role grew, so did her singing career. Charlene Tilton has been having troubles in her personal life."

"JR wanted to have her own mother Mary Martin to play Miss Ellie after Barbara Bel Geddes left the show. Doris Day was also interested in the part. However, Donna Reed got it eventually. "