WHO KILLED J.R. EWING? YOU JUST MAY BE SHOCKED AS TO WHO I THINK DID.

     Those of us who are die-hard fans of the original television series, Dallas, which aired on CBS from 1978 to 1991, know the answer to the biggest question ever asked in broadcasting history.  Who shot J.R.?  The answer, of course, was the scheming Kristin Shepard, played with style by Mary Crosby.

     On the March 4th, 2013 episode of the new Dallas series, airing on TNT every Monday night, we heard shots fired during a telephone conversation between J.R., brilliantly and magnificently portrayed by the late, great Larry Hagman - who unfortunately passed away on November 23rd, 2012 - and J.R.'s son, John Ross, played in awesome fashion by Josh Henderson.

     On the March 11th, 2013 episode, Kevin Page, who skillfully plays J.R.'s henchman, Bum, arrived at Southfork to bring items from J.R. to his brother, Bobby - wonderfully and superbly portrayed as always by Patrick Duffy - to John Ross, and to  Bobby's son, Christopher, played with excellence by Jesse Metcalfe.

     The Ewings are wanting and needing to find out how J.R. died and why the longtime oil tycoon was in Mexico, which is where J.R.'s body was discovered.  The Ewings had been told by police and other officials in America's southern neighbor that J.R. was a victim of a mugging, which Bum indicates is not correct.  Bum told Bobby, John Ross and Christopher that J.R. traveled to Mexico to find Christopher's "mother."  Christopher's mother?  Hmmm.  This is where the plot thickens and where I believe I may have figured out the answer to a new "Who Shot J.R.?" question - which really is - "Who Killed J.R.?

     Christopher's mother - the woman who, along with Bobby, adopted baby Christopher, and who raised him from infancy through early childhood - was Pamela Barnes Ewing, beautifully played by Victoria Principal.  Pam left Southfork and Victoria Principal left the Dallas series in 1987 after 9 seasons.  J.R. hated Pam because she was the sister of Cliff Barnes, impressively played by Ken Kercheval; and due to a longtime family feud between the Ewing and Barnes families, being a Barnes, J.R. never accepted Pam as part of the Ewing family.  Therefore, when Bum told Bobby, John Ross and Christopher that J.R. went to Mexico to find Christopher's "mother," did he mean his adopted mom, Pamela Barnes Ewing...or did he mean Christopher's biological mother, Kristin Shepard, who was Sue Ellen's sister?  Those of you who may not be one of the millions of Americans who have watched Dallas over the years may not know that Sue Ellen was at one time married to J.R. and she, perfectly and passionately portrayed by Linda Gray, is the mother of John Ross.

     Now it's always been assumed that Kristin died at the end of the fourth season of the original Dallas.  But let's all remember that this is television that we're talking about...and in Hollywood...anything can happen.  Dare we forget that an entire year's episodes was a dream of Pam's, when Bobby - who was thought to be dead - appeared alive and well and taking a shower. 

     True....there is no doubt that J.R. Ewing is dead because sadly, Larry Hagman has really passed on.  But allow me to take you back to early in the fourth season of the original Dallas.  Sue Ellen - who had been falsely accused of shooting J.R. - realized that her sister, Kristin was actually responsible for pulling the trigger.  The truth became known in a poolside conversation with Sue Ellen, Kristin and J.R.  But in a twist, Kristin revealed that she was pregnant with J.R.'s child.  Therefore, instead of pressing charges against Kristin for shooting him, J.R. ordered her out of Dallas and he agreed to send her money every month in order to live.

     At the end of Season 4, Kristin returned to Southfork, but was found drowned in the ranch swimming pool.  We...the audience... had been told that Kristin had overdosed on drugs and in her intoxicated stuper, she fell, hit her head and went over the balcony railing, thus landing in the pool below.  After Kristin's supposed death, it was revealed that the baby boy that had been born to her earlier was the adopted son of Bobby and Pam.  And, of course, that child...is Christopher.  But Kristin's husband, Jeff Faraday, played by Art Hindle, claimed that Kristin had told him that she had miscarried the child that she had conceived with J.R., and the child she gave birth to...was Jeff's.  But we never did learn the absolute truth about Kristin's baby - and in the spirit of Hollywood - if Christopher truly is the biological son of J.R. and Kristin then when Bum says to Christopher in the March 11th, 2013 episode of the new Dallas that J.R. went to Mexico to find his "mother," he could have been referring to Kristin and not Pam.  As far as Kristin actually drowing in the Southfork swimming pool, it is quite possible - as anything is possible in the world of television - that Kristin never died in that pool.  After all...this is show-biz!

     Now some of you are thinking that this is too complicated and too complex - even for Dallas - and I can hear many of you saying, "Gary, you've really flipped your lid this time, as this could never happen in real life.  You're nuts!"

     Hey gang...let me clue you in on something...this is NOT real life.  This is television.  And in television - anything can happen.  AN--Y--THING!!!

     At the funeral of J.R. - in the March 11th, 2013 episode - Christopher stated that he was not a "blood Ewing" since he had been adopted by Bobby and Pam.  And therefore, not being a REAL Ewing is something that John Ross has thrown in Christopher's face on more than one occasion in both the first and second seasons of the new Dallas.

     So why couldn't the truth finally come out in 2013 that Christopher Ewing's biological mother was really Kristin Shepard; and that his biological father was indeed...J.R. Ewing - which would make Christopher...a "blood Ewing."

     Suppose J.R. found Kristin in Mexico?  Suppose, after all these years, Kristin still hated J.R. enough to kill him?  She shot him in 1980, but - as we all know - J.R. survived the two bullets that pierced his body.  Suppose this time...Kristin shot J.R. again - and this time - she succeeded with her plan to put an end to the life of the man she despised so much?

     Yes, we all know who shot J.R. on March 21st, 1980.  But could that same character - Kristin Shepard - be the one who not only shot him 33 years ago...but shot him again on March 4th, 2013...and this time killing him?

     Of course, I don't know for certain how J.R. Ewing died - whether he was murdered...whether he was killed accidentally...or whether he committed suicide.  Yes, it's possible - that for whatever mysterious reason - J.R. took his own life.  But no matter how J.R. met his tragic death, I and the millions of other fans throughout the United States and around the world will miss J.R. Ewing and the terrific actor who brought this evil, but charming and loving character to the screen for more than three decades.

     All that being said, people everywhere on the planet Earth waited an entire spring and summer back in 1980 before learning on November 21st of that year that it was Kristin Shepard who shot J.R.  And now...the answer to the question - "Who killed J.R.?" - may just be the same.

     And that's The Controversy for today.

     I'm Gary B. Duglin.

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