Recap: Bobby is in his office at Ewing Oil, trying his best to get work done, while two contractors noisily install new shelving. Bobby heads over to the common area, hands off a bunch of files to his secretary, then tells JR that the shelf building is too noisy for him to concentrate and that he's going home to finish up his work. JR warns him that the ultra secret "red files" aren't supposed to leave the office, but Bobby argues that he can't concentrate in such a noisy environment, and reminds him that Daddy wants whatever information he's researching/compiling/whatever asap. He leaves, along with JR's secretary (actress Tina Louise), who's on her way out to buy JR some lunch. As Bobby and Tina Louise stroll along the street, he tells her he really likes being an executive and being married to Pam. He remarks that Pam would probably like it a lot better if JR were married to her instead of the blechy Sue Ellen...and Tina Louise sadly tells him it wasn't her decision to not marry his older brother. Bobby apologizes for his insensitivity, but she breezily says it's all water under the bridge. After Bobby heads off to drive home, Tina Louise runs into Cliff Barnes. He invites her to dinner so he can pry some juicy Ewing secrets out her, including names, dates, and places. Subtle, Cliff. Tina Louise says she can't/won't/doesn't want to violate her employer's trust, but Cliff gives her his unlisted phone number in case she changes her mind. Southfork. Jock is playing gin with one of his highly placed cronies, Senator Bill Orloff. As the two discuss the pain-in-the ass that is Cliff Barnes, Bill dismisses him as a minor nuisance who's desperate to dig up dirt on the Ewings. Jock smugly says he won't find anything, since every deal between the two of them has been done with a handshake (aka, no paper trail). The two men raise their glasses of Bourbon as a toast of their ability to skirt the law, and then play another game of gin. Later in the afternoon, Pam enters the den and finds Bobby still immersed in the red files. She remarks that he's been reading them for over two hours and urges him to take a break so they can check out their new house. Bobby agrees...and is unaware that one of the red files he was reading has slipped behind the couch he was sitting on. Uh oh.. Miss Ellie, Sue Ellen, and Lucy return home from a shopping trip. Pam remarks to Lucy that she and Bobby are heading over to their new house to check on the progress, and Lucy says she too is eager to see it, but neither Pam nor Bobby seem eager for her to join them. Miss Ellie asks Pam how the decorating is coming along, she says fine, and Miss Ellie says she's certain she'll do a lovely job. After Pam and Bobby head off, Lucy asks Sue Ellen why JR never comes home for lunch like Bobby does, and Sue Ellen brusquely says his work is a lot more demanding, then rushes off in the direction of her house. When she gets inside, she goes through her shopping bags and pulls out a sexy black negligee she just purchased and stares at it hopefully. When JR arrives home sooner than expected, Sue Ellen greets him - with just a towel wrapped around herself - and says, "This is a nice surprise." JR grumbles about all the noise the shelf-installing contractors are making at the office, then grunts disinterestedly at Sue Ellen as she tries to make small talk. He picks up the negligee she bought and stares at it with disdain, and she giggles and says she just wanted to buy something a little different. JR makes a blech face and snaps, "That's not you." Sue Ellen tells him she's planning to put it on for him tonight...then notices the look of disgust on JR's face and hastily says she'll take it back to the store tomorrow. JR grunts, "Good idea", then gives her a slap on the ass and says he's going to take a shower. Sue Ellen coquettishly asks him to delay his shower for a few minutes, then starts unbuttoning his shirt and sexily unpins the bun in her hair. JR complains that he's all sweaty, then prudishly snarks, "I don't know what's gotten into you. You're not acting like a lady at all!" and orders her to put some clothes on. She reminds him that they're married, then puts her sad face on and says, "Sometimes I think you forget about that." He tells her he finds the black negligee cheap and whorish and says it's probably all Pam's influence. Sue Ellen says her decision to buy the negligee had nothing at all to do with Pam, then wails, "JR! We have to talk! We don't make love anymore!" She attempts to caress his face, but he backs away from her and snaps, "All right, that tears it!" - LOL - then storms out...leaving Sue Ellen to cry, "J-ARRRRRR!!" Holy crap, that is one dysfunctional marriage.
JR makes a beeline over to Tina Louise's apartment for some extramarital comfort. She urges him to go back home and perform his husbandly duties with his wife, but JR makes a yeech face and says he has absolutely no desire to doink Sue Ellen. She asks him why in the hell he married her then, and remarks that she was once Miss Texas and probably figured she'd be a credit to his family. JR gives her an intense stare and says, "You're the only one who ever turned me on. The only one who ever knew how." She points out that that's only 'cause he supplied her with pointers about exactly how he liked his dip wicked, then suggests he share that information with Sue Ellen. JR says he doesn't want to talk about Sue Ellen anymore and leans in for a kiss. Tina Louise starts nattering about how she loved him long before Sue Ellen came into the picture - but knew he'd never marry her. She chides him for dropping in on her whenever he's in the mood for a booty call, and wails, "Every mornin' I have breakfast alone!" She begs him to let her move on, but he gruffly insists, "I need you now" and intensifies his smooching. Post-coitus, JR gets dressed and notices a birthday card sitting on Tina Louise's dresser. He asks her when her birthday was, and when she tells him it was the day before yesterday, he mutters, "Damn, I forgot." She assures him it doesn't matter, then urges him to sleep over so she can cook him breakfast in the morning - but he declines and pulls out a wad of cash, leaves her a hundred dollar bill on the pillow, and says, "Go out and buy yourself somethin' real naace." LOL. After JR beats a hasty retreat, Tina Louise puts her bathrobe on and stomps around her apartment, clearly upset. She calls Cliff and says she'd like to go to dinner with him after all, and says it'll be her treat...and while she's saying that, the camera pans over to the hundred dollar bill JR left her as though she were a hooker. Ewing Oil. Tina Louise serves coffee to Jock, JR, and Bobby as they discuss the Senator Orloff Situation. JR says there's nothing in their files that can connect them to the senator - except for a trust deed for $50,000 that Orloff used to purchase his house. JR calls it "legal, but unrecorded" and says there's only one copy of that note, and that it's in their possession - specifically, in one of the red files. Bobby fishes around his attache case for the deed, but can't find it. He says he must have left it at home, then rushes over to the nearest phone to call Pam. JR is irked by the lapse and complains to Daddy that this is precisely why the red files are not supposed to leave the office. Bobby calls Pam and asks her to look around the den for a file labelled Orloff. She quickly locates it behind the couch, then agrees to deliver it to Ewing Oil asap. In the next scene, Pam arrives at Ewing Oil and hands over the Orloff file to Tina Louise. When Pam ambles off to find Bobby, Tina Louise studies the contents of the file and glances around shiftily. After their dinner date, Cliff brings Tina Louise back to his shitty little apartment. He tells her he's thrilled that she took him up on his dinner invitation...and then the two start kissing and getting it on. Hours later, post-coitus, Tina Louise pulls out a copy of Orloff's trustee deed from her purse, then spoons Cliff and slips the piece of paper to him. He sleepily murmurs, "What's this?" and she replies, "A bonus."
The following day, Cliff announces to the media that he's in possession of a document that proves the Ewings have been bribing Senator Orloff. He accuses Orloff of consistently voting in the interests of Ewing Oil and not his constituents, then says he's going to turn over the document to the committee that has been investigating the Ewings. A Ewing operative, who's onsite and within earshot of Cliff's rant, hustles over to the nearest pay phone to call JR and inform him, "I think we've got a big problem down here." Southfork. During family dinnertime, JR announces that Cliff Barnes is currently holding a press conference after somehow obtaining a copy of Orloff's trust deed - a document that came straight out of a file folder Bobby neglected to put in his attache case yesterday. He then shoots Pam the stink-eye and adds, "The file his lovely wife brought to the office." His stink-eye gets even more narrowed as he grimly pronounces, "There's a spy in the house" and everyone stares over at Pam with looks of shock and horror...except Lucy, who's smirking with amusement. Pam glances around the table, dismayed by the lack of support among her in-laws, and abruptly leaves the table.
Bobby angrily tells JR he has no right to make such wild accusations, but JR holds firm and says he'd be an idiot to think Pam wasn't a spy. Bobby denies that Pam was the leak, so JR barks, "Then who did?!" and reminds Bobby that the only time the file was out of their hands was when Pam had possession of it. Bobby turns to his father and implores him to believe that Pam would never commit such a heinous act. He then looks around the table and asks someone...anyone to speak up in defense of Pam, but everyone just stares back at him mutely, while Lucy continues to smirk. Bobby says, "She's my wife. Isn't anyone going to defend her?" and when no one retorts, he mutters, "Don't ask me to make a choice" then storms out of the house. Bobby tells Pam to pack her bags 'cause they're moving to a hotel until such time as Orloff-gate blows over. She assures him she didn't do what JR is accusing her of, and he says he's confident she didn't...but then asks her if she stopped off anywhere while driving to Ewing Oil. She looks dismayed and mutters, "Oh Bobby" then announces that she's going to grill Cliff about where/how he got that file. Pam goes over to Cliff's apartment and begs him to tell her how he got the copy of the trust deed...but Cliff just rants about how Orloff has blocked every piece of creative legislation he's been involved in, and that "it suddenly makes perfect sense now". Pam angrily reminds him that she's taking the rap for leaking the trust deed, but he dismissively replies, "You knew what you were getting into when you married a Ewing." A few seconds later, Tina Louise telephones Cliff, annoyed that he's been running all over town, broadcasting the details of Orloff's trust deed. He covertly tells her they can talk about this tonight, and she reluctantly agrees to meet up with him later. An adviser tells Jock, JR, and Bobby that since Senator Orloff hasn't made any payments on the trust deed, suddenly demanding full payment will get them off the hook for any bribery charges. [Right - 'cause that wouldn't look suspicious at all.] Bobby says that Orloff will lose his house if they do that, and JR shrugs and says, "He knew the risk when he took the money." Bobby wrings his hands and says there has to be another way [how about just asking Orloff to start making small payments every month?], and Jock says it's always hard to come down on an old friend. Bobby meets with Orloff for an outdoor stroll...and while they're strolling along, Orloff natters about how much he and the little woman looove their house. Bobby responds by blurting out, "We're calling in your loan today" and Orloff is all, "Wha-a?!" and says he doesn't have the money. Bobby offers, "We'll give it to you tomorrow" but Orloff points out that if he accepts it, the press is going to wonder where he got it. Bobby says there's nothing illegal about the Ewings lending him another $50,000, but agrees it would look like another bribe. Orloff sadly deduces that he has no choice but to resign from the Senate and, from this point on, live a pitiful life of shame and misery.
Pam tells Bobby that Cliff refuses to tell her who supplied him with the trust deed, then racks her brain thinking about everyone who had access to the Orloff file. She suddenly asks, "What about Tina Louise? She was the last one with the file" but Bobby rejects the notion that JR's long-serving secretary would betray the company like that. Pam suggests they sneak into Ewing Oil early tomorrow morning and poke around in order to try to piece together what happened. She assures Bobby they're going to wrap up this tedious storyline asap, return to the ranch, and receive an apology from JR by the time the credits roll. Julie and Cliff are out together, enjoying an evening walk. She tells him she freaked out when she heard about his press conference and thought he was just going to confront Orloff privately. Cliff explains that Orloff would simply have called Jock, and the Ewings would have cooked up something up to evade charges. This way, everything's in the limelight and less likely to be swept under the rug. Early the next morning, Pam tells Bobby it's entirely possible that Tina Louise xeroxed the trust deed and gave it to Cliff. Bobby still can't get his brain around that possibility...but then acknowledges that Tina Louise and JR have had a "thing" going on for years, and that she'd "make him feel good when he was down". Pam starts rifling through Tina Louise's Rolodex and finds the smoking gun: an entry with Cliff's name and his unlisted phone number. Pam's all, "A-ha!" and points out that Cliff's unlisted number is only a few weeks old. Pam dials the number and informs her brother that she's on her way to his place for a girl-on-girl showdown. Over at Casa Barnes, Tina Louise tells Cliff she should beat a hasty retreat before Pam arrives...but then heads to the bathroom to slowly get dressed and just as slowly apply makeup so that there's no chance she won't run into Pam. Cliff suddenly hears someone announce on the radio that Senator Orloff has resigned from the Senate. He looks dismayed, and when Tina Louise asks him why he's not overjoyed by the news, he explains that Orloff was the key to opening up the whole can of worms that would help him nail the corrupt Ewings. Tina Louise angrily accuses him of just using her to get the Ewings and says he doesn't give a crap about ethical government, the way he's always pretending. Cliff argues that he was never not straightforward with her about his desire for juicy intel from her about the Ewings, which I guess is true enough. Pam arrives at Cliff's apartment complex and stakes out the front entrance. Inside the apartment, Tina Louise is carefully applying her lipstick, because...why rush? When she finally heads out, she encounters Pam, who accuses her of supplying Cliff with a copy of Orloff's trust deed, then indignantly informs her that she was the one who has been treated by the Ewings as a spy. Tina Louise looks unimpressed and says, "I can't help you if you can't hold your own with the Ewings." Pam smugly accuses her of being jealous that she married Bobby...while she, on the other hand, has lost her self respect settling for whatever romantic scraps JR was willing to throw her. This clearly hits a nerve, and Tina Louise barks, "Leave me alone!" and struts off. Bobby informs JR that Tina Louise was the one who gave Cliff the copy of the trust deed, but JR just laughs and says it's the most ridiculous thing he's ever heard. Bobby insists he has proof that Tina Louise knows Cliff, and that when Pam delivered the file to the office, she had plenty of time to make a copy of the trust deed and give it to Cliff. JR remains unconvinced and says that Tina Louise has worked for Ewing Oil long enough to deserve the benefit of the doubt - while Pam, on the other hand, has done nothing to earn it. Bobby threatens to tell the family he has a new spy suspect, and that JR won't like that 'cause it'll blow the whistle on his affair with Tina Louise. JR says, "You wouldn't dare" then reminds him that they're brothers and that he has a wife. Bobby shoots back, "So do I!"...but then assures him he's not going to blow the whistle and slinks out of his office. That was completely nonsensical. Tina Louise arrives at Ewing Oil, storms over to her workstation, and starts cleaning out her drawers. She tells JR she's quitting, then comes right out and admits to being the one who gave Cliff the copy of the trust deed. JR's like, "The fuck?!" and asks her why, so she says, "I like the way he made love. I thought he deserved a reward." LOL. JR looks icked out by that visual and asks her if she loves Cliff, but she just stares back at him coldly and says, "I don't love anybody." She then gets up and heads for the door, and runs into Pam on her way out. She tells her she just confessed her misdeed to JR...and Bobby, who's lurking nearby, shoots JR a smug, I told you so expression.
Southfork. Bobby is lecturing the family about how not one of them came to Pam's defense when unfounded accusations were being hurled against her. Pam wearily says, "It's OK, Bobby" but he insists there's no excuse for it. Lucy chirps, "Of course there is. We all thought she was guilty" and Pam starts laughing heartily...and soon everyone else joins in. Pam says she totally gets why they would suspect her, and Sue Ellen nods approvingly and says, "That's generous of you." JR formally apologizes to Pam, and she accepts his apology. Lucy suddenly springs up and orders JR and Pam to kiss and make up. And instead of telling his stumpy, impertinent niece to go pee up a rope, JR glances over at Bobby for permission, and when he curtly nods, JR awkwardly leans down and smacks a chaste kiss on Pam's cheek. Thanks for reading! If you are enjoying TVofYore's recaps, consider thanking me by buying me a "coffee"!
1 Comment
Kristina
11/16/2023 08:45:57 pm
I forgot that in these first episodes the married couples had their own little houses on the property. It was a different property too. Leave a Reply. |
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