Dallas (1978–1991): Season 12, Episode 9 - Counter Attack - full transcript

The range war violently erupts as Bobby vows revenge after Christopher is caught in the brutal cross-fire. J.R., Bobby, Clayton, Ray, and their mercenaries mount forces to destroy McKay and his men and save Southfork.

NARRATOR:
Last on Dallas:

McKAY:
I wanna end this fight.

You know, I offered to buy a portion
of Southfork from your wife.

CLAYTON:
It's still not for sale.

Section 40 and 50.

Section 40 sits on top
of the biggest pool of oil in Texas.

I saw his oil field.

The only two people with money
in Stevens-Denault Oil are you and me.

- Is this your ex-husband?
- No, he's my father.

I want that oil under Section 40
on Southfork.

Whatever you have to do to the Ewings
to get it, that's what you do.



BO AZ:
We ain't blind.

J. R:
Forget about this little thing.

[DOGS BARKING]

CAPTAIN:
And I am your only god.

You got 10 years...

...and you're gonna serve
every minute of it.

[DOGS BARKING]

SIMS: Get moving
if you expect me to help you. Come on.

[GUN COCKS]

JAPHET:
Thank you, cousin Sims.

Man, you gonna wish
you was back on that road gang.

[J.R. MO ANING]

He's mine now.

[GASPS]



It's J.R. Ewing here.

I don't give a damn what time it is.

I wanna see you first thing
in the morning.

No, I said first thing in the morning.

All right, I'll be there.

You told me those dreams would stop.
I get them every night.

They will stop once you come to grips
with what happened to you.

I don't have to come to grips with anything.
I'm home now.

They can't touch me anymore.

You're not afraid the authorities will come
and you'll go back to the road gang?

No, of course not. The police told me
that there haven't been any inquiries.

And even if there were,
they'd never make that trial stick.

How do you feel about that?

I'm not paying you $200 an hour
for you to ask me questions.

Is it the money, or are you afraid
to tell me what you really feel?

I told you I hate those damn dreams.

Why?

Because that was a very bad time for me.

But, as you say, it's over,
so why are you having those dreams?

Well, that's what you're supposed
to be telling me.

How did you feel
when you were a prisoner?

Like a damn slave.

And that bothered you.

Of course it bothered me.
Hell, I'm J.R. Ewing.

I got money and power.

I could buy that whole state.

And nobody cared.

Okay, come on.

How did that make you feel?

Well, like I wasn't special anymore.

You see, all my life,
I've known that I was invincible.

And then all of a sudden,
there I was in the hands of morons...

...and my name didn't mean anything.

You were helpless.

You were just like all the other prisoners.

For the first time, I felt I was...

Well, mortal.

I'd lost my invincibility.

I wasn't any better than anybody else.

And how do you feel about that?

Like there were a lot of things in my life
I took for granted.

Such as?

Such as being a big fish in a little pond
was enough to protect me from anything.

And now?

And I was wrong.

How?

I wasn't big enough.

And I guarantee you,
I'll never let that happen again.

I am gonna become so big...

...there won't be a hick town in this country
that won't know my name.

No, sir.

No more Mr. Nice Guy.

APRIL: I'm sorry I'm late.
CASEY: That's all right.

Oh, would you just look at this city?

Someday, we're gonna own it.

APRIL:
Not the way we're going.

CASEY:
What's that mean?

APRIL:
We're too small.

I talked to people
that know Dallas and the oil business.

- And you know what they say?
- Why don't you tell me.

Money talks.
And if anybody is gonna take us seriously...

...we're gonna have to put more
behind our company.

I don't see why.

To let them know we mean business.

I'm ready to put a million dollars
in the company today.

I think you should too.

We don't need that kind of money
in the bank till we make a deal.

Darling, you're the one that told me
that the oil business is all show.

Now, let's put the word out
that we're ready to deal...

...and we got the money
to back it, right?

Yeah, I reckon.

It might take me a couple of days
to get my money transferred.

No problem. Anytime this week.

[APRIL SIGHS]

You know something?
I think you're right.

One day, we are gonna own this town.

[KNOCKING ON DOOR]

Yeah. What do you want, Jenny?

- I wanna know if you're gonna join us.
- For what?

Phyllis' birthday.
I told you about it yesterday.

- We're taking her to lunch to celebrate.
- Yeah. When are you leaving?

- Now, if it it's all right.
- Sure.

But I'm a little bit busy here.
I'll get there if I can.

- Where are you going?
- The Riviera on Elmwood.

Oh, here. Wait a minute, hang on.

Here, in case I don't get there.
Party's on me.

- Are you sure?
- I'm sure.

Bring me the receipt, though.

- Tell her I say happy birthday.
- I will, thanks.

[CAR HORN HONKS]

JOHN ROSS:
Dad, Dad.

CHRISTOPHER: Hi, Uncle J.R.
J. R: Boys.

CHRISTOPHER:
Are we really going back to Southfork?

- That's what I'm here for.
- Great.

- Your bags packed?
- Yeah, we sure are.

- Go get them. Just throw them in the back.
- All right.

- Are you sure that it's safe out there?
- Sue Ellen, what's the matter with you?

Do you think I'd take the boys
back to Southfork if it wasn't safe?

You might be afraid that John Ross
is having too much fun with me.

We both know where he wants to live.

It's not with you.

- Come on, boys.
CHRISTOPHER: Thanks, Aunt Sue Ellen.

Put your safety belts on.

Ahem. Thanks for taking care of them,
Sue Ellen, temporarily.

Bye, Mom.

Hi, can I help you?

- Is this still Ewing Oil?
- Yeah.

Oh, all the girls are out
to a birthday party.

You looking for them?

- Actually, it's Bobby Ewing I'm looking for.
- No, he's not here, no.

But I'm Cliff Barnes, his partner,
so if it's business, why, maybe I can help.

I'm Tammy Miller.

And it isn't business.

- Lucky Bobby.
- The truth is, we're old friends.

I stopped by to find out
if he was free for lunch.

He's not here.

I'm about ready to go have lunch.
I'd be happy for company.

Oh, thank you, but no.

Fifteen good reasons why not, huh?
You gotta eat.

- I give great lunch.
- I bet you do.

So? Shall we?

- Well, why not?
- Oh, I love your enthusiasm.

Have you known Bobby a long time?

Yeah, a long time, practically all my life.

But I'm really the expert on J.R.

J. R:
All right, boys.

Look behind your seat there.
I got a surprise for you.

If you think those games Cliff Barnes
had were good, try those.

These are radical.

Oh, I'm gonna mop up
on you, Christopher.

- May I help you?
- There's some stuff in the back.

JOHN ROSS:
Check these out, man.

CHRISTOPHER:
Is my daddy home?

He's out in the river pasture
with Mr. Ray.

- Can you take these?
- Sure.

- I'm gonna ride out and see him.
- Okay.

[CATTLE MOOING]

Ray, let's go.

[GUNFIRE]

[GUNFIRE]

[GUNSHOTS]

[HORSE NEIGHS]

Christopher!

BOBBY:
Christopher!

- Bobby.
- Is he all right, Mr. Ewing?

He hasn't been shot. He's just out cold.

Ray, get an ambulance,
a medevac chopper, anything.

Operator.

Give me the Braddock Hospital.
This is an emergency. Quick.

So he must have showed up at your place
right after April told him about Pam.

I knew something
was really bothering him.

He seemed so sad.

Well, you know, if you really love someone,
then you find out...

...that they love someone else more,
that's tough.

Isn't it, though?

Don't tell me you love Bobby.

No. I just had this thing for him
for such a long time.

We all dream.

And then we wake up?

That's what I did.

So why did you come
to have lunch with him today?

I suppose to find out how he was doing.

- Could have done that on the telephone.
- You don't let go easy, do you?

I just wanna find out
how you feel about him.

- Why?
- Because I'm enjoying this.

And I'm thinking that Bobby might have
done me a favor by not being there.

But not if you're hung up on him.

What if I don't know how I feel?

Well, what if I ask you to dinner
to find out?

We just finished lunch.

Tomorrow. I don't care. Whenever.

Can I think about it?

I'm not talking
about a major commitment.

I'm just saying it's better
than watching TV.

But I'm not Bobby.

And if he's what you want,
please just say no right now.

- Debbie.
- Yes, sir?

Coffee. You want coffee?

- I'll take some more coffee.
- Okay, right away, sir.

How would you like for me to tell you my
life story and how I came in to Ewing Oil?

I just might.

WOMAN [O VER PA]:
Dr. Flanagan, report to Emergency.

- Mr. Ewing.
- How is he?

He's fine, there's nothing broken,
but he does have a concussion.

We wanna keep him for 24 hours
for observation.

Are you sure he's all right?

He has bruises,
but I don't see any problem.

We've moved him
if you'd like to see him.

- Where is he?
- Right down the hall, number 32.

- Thank you.
RAY: I'll call the ranch.

- I'll tell everyone Christopher is all right.
- Thanks.

WOMAN [O VER PA]: X-ray technician
on call, please call the emergency room.

- Dad?
- How you feeling, champ?

Okay, I guess.

But I have a headache.

[CHUCKLES]

Well, that'll go away.

Do I have to stay here?

Yeah, you have to stay overnight.

They wanna keep checking on you
for a while.

Am I all right?

That's what they tell me.
We'll be out riding again in no time.

- Is my horse all right?
- Yeah, he's fine.

Was he shot?

No, he just spooked,
and then he threw you.

Who was that?
Why was he shooting at me?

He works for the man
who bought Uncle Ray's ranch.

They're trying to take Southfork
away from us.

They can't do that.

No, they can't.

I'll stop them.

Christopher, how did you get out
to the ranch today?

Uncle Cliff bring you there?

Uncle J.R. Picked up John Ross and me.

J.R. Took you to the ranch?

I don't think he liked Aunt Sue Ellen
taking care of us.

Well, I'm gonna speak to him about that.

Will you stay here with me?

Sure, I will.

But I'm only gonna stay
until you fall asleep, okay?

Then I'm gonna go talk to J.R.
And the man who was in that helicopter.

[DOORBELL RINGS]

TRACEY:
Just a minute.

[DOORBELL RINGS]

Bobby, you're way early.

Wait, just give me a minute. I'm not...

I'm sorry to bother you.

What do you want?

I'm not gonna be around anymore,
so you won't have to leave Dallas.

Why now?

Why are you letting go now?

I know I made a mess of our lives,
yours and Tommy's and mine.

I'm not even gonna try
and explain it again.

What happened?

What's changed?

How do you feel about Bobby Ewing?

That's none of your business.

- Are you in love with him?
- Why?

Why do you care?

Because I love you.

Whatever happens, I want you to know
I never meant to harm you...

...or cause you any problems.

And I did.

And I'm sorry.

And maybe someday
you'll find it in your heart to forgive me.

[INTERCOM BUZZES]

- Yes, Kelly?
KELLY: Jeremy Wendell is here.

Send him in.

- Sue Ellen.
SUE ELLEN: Jeremy.

May I get you anything?

WENDELL:
Not for me, thanks.

Well, tomorrow's a big day.

We break ground at the marina.

- Wanna go out there with me and watch?
- Thank you, Jeremy, but I don't think so.

This is our first venture together, Sue Ellen.
I should think you'd be more interested.

I'm not.

What's wrong?

You've never had children,
have you, Jeremy?

I've never been married, Sue Ellen.

You know that.

No nieces or nephews?

No. Why?

Do you know how long ago it was...

...that John Ross
was just a little baby in a crib?

It seems like only yesterday.

Now he's 10.

And I've lost him.

Sue Ellen, what are you talking about?

He loves me, but he doesn't want me.

He was so happy today
when J.R. Came to pick him up.

J.R. Has him back at Southfork?

Yes.

I can't believe
you did something that stupid.

- What?
- I had them on the run.

I had everything going just as I wanted.

Now you give J.R.
One less thing to worry about.

What do you mean,
you had them on the run?

Just building a stupid marina
doesn't mean anything.

I'm talking about a total commitment
on your part, not the damn marina.

If revenge against J.R. Means bringing down
the people around him, then so be it.

I thought that's what you wanted.
Obviously, you don't.

I certainly don't want it your way.

I may hate J.R., but I'm not gonna hurt
anyone else to get at him.

- Well, you may have to.
- No.

Now, you get out of my office, Jeremy.

The one stupid thing I have done...

...was to think that I could have
done business with you.

Now, don't be hasty, Sue Ellen.

I'll get my revenge,
but it'll be my way, not yours.

And I don't need you to help me.

You know, in a way,
I feel very sorry for you.

Just remember one thing, Sue Ellen.

You're either my friend or my enemy.

What a simple choice, Jeremy.

Goodbye.

[TIRES SCREECH]

How is Christopher?
Ray says he's all right.

He's fine, Mama, he's sleeping.
Where's J. R?

He's upstairs.

Bobby, how's Christopher?
I just feel sick...

Stupid. How could you bring
the boys back to the ranch?

I thought the rough stuff was over.

I'd never have brought the boys
if they were gonna be in danger.

To get him away from Sue Ellen,
you'd do anything.

CLAYTON: Bobby.
- I love Christopher like he's my own son.

- Now, please believe me.
BOBBY: It's a stupid thing to do.

- Bobby, I thought the trouble was over.
ELLIE: It's going to be.

I'm calling the governor.

If Burnside can't handle this,
I'm gonna get the people that can.

No, Mama, don't call anybody.
I'm gonna take care of this myself.

- I want in on this, Bob.
- Fine.

But McKay is mine.

[HELICOPTER WHIRRING]

Is all this stuff really necessary?

The less visible you are at night,
the safer you're gonna be.

All right.

Now, everybody,
timing is gonna be important.

We're gonna be hung out to dry unless
everybody is where they're supposed to be.

Don't worry about us. We'll do our job.

All right. Let's go.

ROSE:
Mac?

Mac, what are you doing with that gun?

- Loading it.
- Why?

An empty gun is no good to anyone.

Boy, I don't understand
anything going on here.

I didn't figure on any war
when I moved in with you.

That's two of us
that never figured it'd go this far.

I think it's time for me to leave.

Yep.

I guess it is.

I'd stay if I thought you needed me.

If you asked me to.

There's going to be nothing left
to stay around for.

Mac, you're scaring me.

You were real good to me, Rose.

Maybe I never told you,
but you made my life a little better.

Mac.

Don't make it sound so final.

Hope that'll get you started somewhere.

[ROSE SOBBING]

You take care of yourself.

You'll do better the next time.

Mac.

I'll have one of the boys
run you into town.

You go on now. You've got five minutes.

MAN 1:
Hey, is that our chopper?

MAN 2:
No.

Look... Look out!

MAN 1:
Watch it.

Anyone see him?

MAN 2:
There he is.

[GUNFIRE]

MAN 1:
Hold your fire. We've lost him.

[GUNS COCKING]

Yeah, go.

What the hell is going on?

I don't know.
He just swung over and headed away.

All right, well, get back inside.
And get dressed.

Something is coming.

All right, move it.

Leave it. Nobody move a muscle.

Back up.

Which one of you bastards
shot at my son?

Hughes.

Hughes.

All right,
how many more of you are there?

Just one vehicle that's always on patrol.

Plus the guards at the gate.

Good, good.

I want you to buckle all your buddies
to that post.

Get over there. You too.

ELLIE:
Is Bobby all right?

RAY:
So far, so good.

- Well, be careful.
- We will.

All right.

Don't say a word.

All right, gentlemen,
you are officially out of this fight.

Just in case.

If I hear one word...

...I push this button.

[JEEP HORN HONKS]

[JEEP HORN HONKING]

[GUNSHOT]

[GUNFIRE]

[GUNSHOT]

[GUNFIRE]

All right, boys,
dump those weapons on the ground.

- Mason.
MASON: Yes, Mr. Ewing.

J. R:
Take this trash into Braddock.

Tell Burnside to book them on attempted
murder and then get out to McKay Ranch.

Yes, sir. All right, get out of there.

What does your watch say, Ray?

Right on time.

[CAR APPRO ACHING]

- What do you want?
CLAYTON: I wanna see McKay.

GUARD: No way.
- I said I wanna see McKay.

Out of the car now.

CLAYTON: All right, weapons down.
RAY: Down.

Drop them.

I'm going after Hughes.

Now move over there. Come on.

Turn around.

Keep your hands up.

McKay.

McKay, get out here.

McKay, it's over.

Come out here.

McKay.

What the hell are you doing here?

I live here.

You're McKay?

Kind of an irony, isn't it?

For what it's worth,
Tracey doesn't know what I've done.

[GUNSHOT]

Drop it.

Drop it.

[GUN CLATTERS]

You wanna do us both a favor,
Bobby Ewing?

Pull that trigger.

It's gonna take me a while
to get this sorted out.

The sooner you can make a statement,
the better.

We'll follow you over there.

We wanna get this thing
over and done with.

What about McKay?

He's got a lot to answer for...

...but it looks like he shot Hughes
to save Bobby.

Has he said anything
about his side of this?

No, but he's sure going to.
I'll be right back.

- Mr. McKay?
McKAY: Yeah.

I need you and Mr. Ewing
to come to my office...

...and make statements
about what went on here.

Am I under arrest, sheriff?

Not at the moment, but that depends
on who brings charges against who.

I'd like to have a few minutes to talk
to Bobby, if you don't mind.

We'll be in this afternoon.

- I'll be there.
BURNSIDE: All right.

I expect you both.

Take a walk with me, will you, Bobby?

I got a lot to tell you.

CASEY:
Now, are those offices or what?

LUC Y: They're pretty impressive.
CASEY: My partner wanted bigger ones...

...but I thought we should leave ourselves
some room to move up.

LUC Y:
You really do have big plans, don't you?

CASEY:
In more ways than one.

I know I'm gonna do well in business,
but what's really important is you.

LUC Y:
Heh. Oh?

CASEY:
Yes, sir.

I'm gonna come to you with the world
in my pocket when I ask you to marry me.

Well, it doesn't sound
like that's gonna happen too soon.

Well, it will. You just gotta believe in me.

Now, listen,
I know how much Southfork means to you.

If you want,
we can live there after we're married.

But J.R. Is there.
I thought you hated him.

Well, I do.

But I love you enough to overlook him.

[CASEY CHUCKLES]

I can't believe
everything is going my way.

Yesterday, a fella came in with some
of the most prime drilling properties...

...l've ever seen.

Only wanted a couple million
for the leases.

Did you take them?

No. Most of my capital
is tied up in Oklahoma.

And he wanted the action right now.

Couldn't your partner do it?

My partner put in half...

...but I just can't get my money
in there that soon.

Unless...

Unless what?

Well, you're already an investor
in Denault Inc.

What if you came up with the million?
Put it in there.

I'd use that to cover my half...

...and get your money back to you
in a couple weeks.

A million dollars. That's a lot of money.
Let me think about it.

Honey, just look at it
as an investment in our future.

I mean, after we're married,
it's all gonna belong to both of us anyway.

I guess that's true enough.

It's not like I don't have
all the confidence in the world in you.

Give me a few days
to think about it, all right?

Why, sure.

I know you'll see it my way.

[CATTLE MOOING]

I guess Tracey has told you
all the horror stories.

The drinking and the cheating
and the being away from home.

Can you blame her?

Well, no.

Only for never listening to my side of it.

Yeah, I was away from home a lot.

That was the only way I could pay
for the schools...

...and the houses and the clothes.

And I was a drinker.

But in all my life,
I never cheated on their mother.

I loved her.

Thing was that she always felt
that she could have married better.

Like the president of a company
instead of a troubleshooter.

You know where she was going
on the night she was killed?

She was going to meet her lover.

I found out a lot after she died.

All of the things
that she'd accused me of doing...

...was what she was doing
while I was away.

She turned the kids against me
pretty good.

They thought she was a queen
on a throne.

I never could bring myself
to tell Tracey and Tom the truth about her.

It would hurt them too much, and they
never would have believed me anyway.

They both left right after she was buried.

Tracey just ran,
blaming me for everything.

Tommy got into drugs real heavy.

He's in a jail in South America right now
on a smuggling charge.

Tracey said that you came after her once.

Yeah, once, but she wouldn't listen.

And after that, I hit the skids real bad.

I sold everything I owned,
and I started drinking.

I tried to drink myself to death,
and I damn near did.

So, what stopped you?

A man I once worked for contacted me.

This was a very highly placed man.

And he said he had the power
to get Tommy out of prison.

He could get me to where Tracey was.

He gave me the money
to buy the Krebbs place.

And all he wanted was a little favor.

I was to cause you enough trouble
so that you'd sell me those two sections.

He even gave me that nut Hughes
to do all of his dirty work.

You know, I almost thought I could do it
until I saw you with Tracey.

And I knew I was about to do it
to her again. Can you imagine?

My daughter is in love with the son
of the family I'm at war with.

Well, that happened to me once before.

With my first wife.

You and Tracey
aren't gonna have to worry about me.

If I don't end up in jail,
I'm going to hit the road again.

I have caused enough damage
to everybody.

No, I'm afraid
it's not that simple, McKay.

As far as I'm concerned,
this isn't over yet.

I told you I guarantee satisfaction, J.R.

J. R: Yeah, you and your men
did a great job. You saved Southfork.

Here's a little token of my esteem.

I want you to have that. I don't think
I'd be needing your services any longer.

Fair enough.

You know how to reach me
in case you need us for anything else.

Well, I can't think of anything right now,
but you never know.

All right, men, let's move it out.

[INTERCOM BUZZES]

- Yes.
WOMAN: Mr. Carter McKay is here.

Send him in.

Well, I lost everything because of you.

Hughes is dead, the men are arrested.

You know what you've done?
You signed your son's death warrant.

He's gonna rot in that jail.

And before I'm through,
you're gonna wish you were there with him.

Shut up, Jeremy.

- What?
- You heard me. Shut your face.

I told you before,
we couldn't do it your way.

But all is not lost yet.

All of these years
that you've been taking the bows...

...and I've been the brains behind you,
nothing's changed.

I know everything is lost.

Not if we do it my way.

I told Bobby Ewing
one of the world's greatest sob stories...

...and he fell for it.

And he thinks it's over too.

The Ewings have let go
all of their mercenaries...

...and they're vulnerable.

I'm going to hire some more men,
but my men this time.

And I'm going to put the pressure on.

And I'm gonna get Section 40 for us...

...if I have to kill every one
of the damn Ewings to do it.

J. R: You just keep
that bubbly coming, Debbie.

DEBBIE:
Yes, sir.

- I hope I'm not too late.
- Here you go, Bobby.

- Hey.
- How's Christopher?

- Is he coming home tomorrow?
- Yes.

- He can't wait to get back on his horse.
- He's a great boy, Bob.

I'd like to propose a toast.

To the end of our troubles.

And to Southfork.

And to Section 40.

And living happily ever after.

That's kind of a premature celebration.

What are you talking about?

You think this is over?

I've got more men coming in.

And whatever it takes,
I'm gonna drive you off of Southfork.

- Well, you lying son of...
CLAYTON: Not here, Bob.

Yeah, save it for the real war.

No more. I don't want any more of this.

I want my family to live in peace.

- Ellie.
- No, I don't wanna fight anymore.

I'll do what you want.

I'll sell you Section 40.

NARRATOR:
Next on Dallas:

I'm very sympathetic
to what's been happening...

...but two sections of Southfork?

I want it over and done with.

SUE ELLEN:
Section 40? No wonder you're so upset.

You thought
you were gonna be able to drill.

McKAY: Now I'd like to introduce you
to my investor.

- Wendell.
- I'm his partner.

- So am I.
- I can explain all this.

Tommy? I love you, son.

Long time no see, Mr. Ewing.

[ENGLISH SDH]