Who shot J.R.?
Every now and again a catch phrase catches the imagination of the publication and seems to take on a life of its own.
Back in 1980, one such phrase was: “Who shot J.R.?” … and the corollary, seen on T-shirts all over the world, “I shot J.R.” J.R. was a character in the hit TV series “Dallas”. The show was ostensibly about a cut-throat, scheming oil tycoon and his family living on the luxurious South Fork Rank in Dallas: John Ross Ewing, but known to everyone simply as J.R. He was ruthless and despicable … framing people for murder, having affairs, Even so, he managed to attract followers in the same way that Mafia boss Tony Soprano was to do, later on.
The Sopranos was listed by one critic as one of the most influential TV series of all time because it was the first time that the central character that garnered the sympathy of audience had been an essentially our and out villain – not like Raffles or other “gentlemanly” rascals and rogues that had been portrayed up until that time. Although I see his point, I am not sure that I would agree wholeheartedly with this judgment. JR may have appeared as a bit of a wimp compared to Tony Soprano, but I think he might well have been able to hold his own in a popularity contest. There was something appealing about his ruthlessness.
What is more, J.R. wasn’t the first such character. There was John Wilder, (portrayed by Patrick Wymark), in the Plane Makers and The Power Game, back in the 1960′s. People liked to watch to see if he would get his comeuppance. At the same time, however, they were filled with admiration and there were even complaints that people didn’t like going in to work on Tuesdays, (The Plane Makers and The Power Game were shown on Monday evenings), because so many people were trying to emulate what they seen on the TV the night before. Everyone was trying to be John Wilder.
So, when “A House Divided”, (the final episode of the second series in 1980 – screened on March 21st … that is, 32 years ago today), ended with a “shot”, (pun intended), of the erstwhile J.R. being shot by an unknown assailant, it caught the public imagination. So much so that, apparently, the Turkish Parliament actually stopped business early so that deputies to get home in time to watch the episode. According to one newspaper headline, it was a shot that “was heard around the world”.
The fact that people would have several months until the secret would be revealed in the new series created a cliff hanger that, (in my opinion), can only be rivaled by the ending of the film, “The Italian Job” … now that was a real cliff hanger. (in fact, Dallas is credited with creating the cliff hanger for TV series.)
As it happens, I didn’t really watch Dallas. In fact, I don’t think I ever saw an episode all the way through. So, you might have expected all this to have passed me by. No such luck. There was no escaping it. Over that summer, Newspaper headlines speculated about who was the guilt party. In the US Presidential race, the Republicans sported badges asserting that it was a Democrat that shot J.R. Those T-shirts with the slogan “I shot J.R.” appeared on beaches all over Europe. Larry Hagman, the actor who played J.R. reveled in his notoriety and used the opportunity to renegotiate his deal with the studio.
Everyone seemed to be on tenterhooks wondering if J.R. would survive … and which of his many enemies was the guilty party that fired the shot. In fact, in America, the fans had to wait even longer for the secret to be revealed … an extra eight weeks as a strike took programmes off the air. We didn’t have the same problem in the UK, but schedules were several weeks behind those in the States anyway.
We got to see the episode before Sweden, however. I remember being in a bar in Gothenberg with the TV showing the crucial episode, “Who Done IT?”, in which the secret was revealed, I commented to someone that I knew who it was … and was told to keep it to myself, (which I duly did). It’s has now passed in to folk history and it’s hard to explain to people here – especially to the kids.
I doubt if it will be as big a phenomena as “Who shot J.R.?”, but this year, here in Kyrgyzstan, we have seen a similar case of a slogan attracting huge interest, something approaching a cult following … and becoming a catchphrase: “Zima ne budet“, (There’ll be no winter).
Last December, Arstanbek Abdylbaev, (a politician and former Presidential Candidate) held a press conference and made a number of statements about the nature of the world … how Europe would sing under floods … and so on. The journalists were trying to feign interest, a little embarrassed at what they were hearing.
That embarrassment disappeared as the now infamous prediction was uttered. In response to the journalist’s titters, he cried: “You wait, you’ll see.”
A clip of the press conference was posted on several video sharing websites and went viral – at least in Kyrgyz terms.
Well, we waited … and we saw … One person commented on Twitter how her husband stood at the window of their apartment, looking at the freshly fallen snow, muttering “Zima ne budet” … and snow kept falling. The temperature kept falling.
Not deterred, however, another press conference was called in which we were told that people had misunderstood his remarks – they should be considered in a global context and not a local, Kyrgyz, one – and that later people would look back and understand that, indeed, “there had been no winter”.
Another Press conference attracted even more notoriety, as he turned his attention onto Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who was described as a “bio-robot”. That clip was picked up by a Russian comedian who posted his commentary onto youtube, and that too went viral.
He’s actually surpassed himself in a recent press conference by announcing “Konyetz sveta ne budet“, (There’ll be no end of the world.” Well, we are all hoping that this time, at least, hell be proved right.
Back in the UK, today, (March 21st) is considered to be the first day of spring. Here, however, March 1st is considered the first day of Spring, so we are already three weeks into the season … and we are still experiencing minus temperatures and snow is still lying on the ground, (although it is beginning to melt, at long last).
People are asking themselves: “Zima ne budet?” They are asking each other “Vesnya ne budet?“, (There’ll be no spring?). In fact, people are using the phrase “ne budet” in all sorts of contexts … “Zavtra ne budet“, (They’ll be no tomorrow); “Tort ne budet“, (there’ll be no cake); “Luchshe ne budet“, (There’ll be no better); “Devochki ne budet“, (There’ll be no girls) … and so on.
There are also several videos on youtube on the theme; many of them showing scenes of snow falling, (which in other circumstances might have been attractive winter scenes), and some enterprising businessmen have also produced T-shirts portraying the slogan.
Bishkek