The BEST episodes of Dallas

Every episode of Dallas ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Dallas!

The world's first mega-soap, and one of the most popular ever produced, Dallas had it all. Beautiful women, expensive cars, and men playing Monopoly with real buildings. Famous for one of the best cliffhangers in TV history, as the world asked "Who shot J.R.?" A slow-burner to begin with, Dallas hit its stride in the 2nd season, with long storylines and expert character development. Dallas ruled the airwaves in the 1980's.

Last Updated: 2/26/2024Network: CBSStatus: Ended
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Who Done It?
star
8.88
68 votes

#1 - Who Done It?

Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 11/21/1980

Sue Ellen's fingerprints are identified on the gun that was used to shoot J.R. and she is arrested. Feeling abandoned by the family, her bail is posted by an unknown source and she seeks solace from Kristin. Bobby continues to find obstacles to him doing business. Dr Ellby puts Sue Ellen under hypnosis to try and remember what happened the night J.R. was shot. What she remembers solves the mystery of "Who Shot J.R."

Directors: Leonard Katzman
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A House Divided
star
8.41
103 votes

#2 - A House Divided

Season 3 - Episode 25 - Aired 3/21/1980

The cartel members and J.R.'s banker are financially ruined after the nationalization of the Asian fields. Seth Stone, one of the cartel members, kills himself. J.R. moves to drive Kristin and Alan Beam out of town and he wants to put Sue Ellen back into the sanitarium. Pam and Bobby leave Dallas when Bobby learns that J.R. shut down an oil field to stop Cliff from having his portion of revenge based on an agreement between Digger and Jock which Cliff has found among Digger's papers. An unknown visitor calls on J.R. late at the office...

Directors: Irving J. Moore
Writer: Rena Down
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Whatever Happened to Baby John? (2)
star
8.33
46 votes

#3 - Whatever Happened to Baby John? (2)

Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/28/1979

Jock is set up by a hoaxer, Bobby thinks Cliff may have taken John Ross, and hunts him down. J.R gets a call from Ames and Garr claiming they have the child and demand a ransom. Pamela, Bobby and Cliff work together to find the baby, leading them to a bereaved mother.

Directors: Leonard Katzman
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The Sting
star
8.16
19 votes

#4 - The Sting

Season 12 - Episode 10 - Aired 1/20/1989

After Miss Ellie's decision to sell Section 40 to McKay. Wendell decides to sell most of his Weststar stock to make the purchase. McKay pressures Wendell to have his son Tommy released from prison. Ray leaves Southfork and goes back to Europe. Bobby tells Tracey that problems with her dad are separate from their relationship. The sheriff from Haleyville shows up at Ewing Oil and warns J.R. Sue Ellen tells Wendell off when he proposes to her. April and Lucy uncover Casey's con game. McKay gets a phone call from Tommy. J.R. wants to be oil partners with April. Tammy questions Cliff about Jamie. McKay makes up with Tracey as they anticipate Tommy's return. Kimberly Cryder tells McKay that she's got controlling interest in Weststar. Cally shows up at Southfork and announces she's J.R.'s wife.

Directors: Irving J. Moore
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Blast from the Past
star
8.13
23 votes

#5 - Blast from the Past

Season 9 - Episode 31 - Aired 5/16/1986

Angelica offers J.R. a deal. Sue Ellen worries over J.R.'s safety in his dealings with Angelica, a woman who's wanted for murder. Jack pulls out of the horse venture despite Clayton and Ray's disappointmeant. Tony calls Ray "dad" for the first time. J.R. sends Sue Ellen flowers and buys her a ring. Mark and Pam get married. J.R. tries to outmanoeuvre Angelica but tragedy strikes as Angelica plants bombs at Ewing Oil and in Jack's car. Meanwhile, Pam get a shock in the shower.

Directors: Michael Preece
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Ellie Saves the Day
star
8.13
47 votes

#6 - Ellie Saves the Day

Season 3 - Episode 12 - Aired 11/30/1979

The drilling in Asia run into serious trouble because of a typhoon and the banks demand their loan back. The Ewings are shocked to learn J.R. has mortgaged Southfork. However, the ranch has substantial oil reserves below. Will Miss Ellie allow drilling on Southfork to save Ewing Oil?

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Swan Song
star
8.09
34 votes

#7 - Swan Song

Season 8 - Episode 30 - Aired 5/17/1985

Sue Ellen gets drunk at the Ewing victory party. Donna tells Ray about her pregnancy. J.R. reassures Mandy Winger that the problem with Sue Ellen will be resolved. Jenna can't wait to get married and Bobby is confused about who he should marry. Sue Ellen assures Clayton and Miss Ellie that she stopped drinking. Mitch and Lucy remarry. Cliff considers an annulment of his marriage to Jamie. Dusty reappears. Pam tells Bobby he has to marry Jenna. J.R. asks Sue Ellen to agree to end their marriage. Bobby proposes to Pam. Jamie surprises Cliff during their conversation about annulment. Then as Bobby leaves Pams house, a car drives straight towards Pamela, Bobby pushes Pam out of the way and the car hits him. The crashes and the driver is revealed to be Katherine Wentoworth who is dead. Bobby is rushed to hospital where he dies of massive internal injuries.

Directors: Leonard Katzman
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Return Engagements
star
8.07
44 votes

#8 - Return Engagements

Season 3 - Episode 14 - Aired 12/20/1979

It's Gary's birthday, and Miss Ellie is missing him terribly. She begs Lucy to find Gary through Valene. J.R. takes Kristin off for another "business trip", which doesn't go quite as planned. Meanwhile Gary shows up in Bobby's office and agrees to meet Miss Ellie, who is overjoyed.

Writer: David Jacobs
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The Lost Child
star
8.05
37 votes

#9 - The Lost Child

Season 3 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/2/1979

Sue Ellen is unhappy with her marriage to J.R. and she looks for psychiatric help. J.R. is stalling over Jock's request about Amanda. Pam has an accident- she falls down from her horse and loses her baby again. She finally tells Bobby about her hereditary disease

Directors: Irving J. Moore
Writer: Rena Down
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Judgment Day
star
8.00
15 votes

#10 - Judgment Day

Season 13 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/12/1990

Cliff has a battle of conscience at Digger's grave before the committee's final decision on the tanker collision. The captain of the Ewing tanker commits suicide. Michelle tells J.R that she wants to retire from the spy business, and she tells Cliff that she's been spying on him. Rose tells her husband Carter Mckay that he makes her feel lika a whore. Bobby rebuffs Mckay's offer to buy Ewing Oil. Bobby appeals to Cliff's conscience on the tanker collision. Mckay burns the videotape of Rose and Cliff in bed. J.R. tells Bobby that he takes full responsibility for Ewing Oil's seemingly inevitable fall. The committee reaches a final decision:The tanker collision was an accident.

Directors: Patrick Duffy
Writer: Amy Tebo
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Ewing-Gate
star
8.00
33 votes

#11 - Ewing-Gate

Season 4 - Episode 23 - Aired 5/1/1981

The pressure on J.R. and Ewing Oil increases. Sue Ellen and the Farlows make plans for her escape. Kristin demands more from J.R. Ray is offered a big deal by Punk, and makes a rash move. Leslie makes her move against J.R. with Westar. The committee make their judgement over Ewing Oil. Cliff makes a shock discovery at Southfork.

Directors: Leonard Katzman
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The Wheeler Dealer
star
7.96
89 votes

#12 - The Wheeler Dealer

Season 3 - Episode 24 - Aired 3/14/1980

J.R.'s Asian fields mature and the bank loans are paid off, but there's danger on the horizon. Sue Ellen is lost in an alcoholic haze. Pam is confused and needs to find out about her past. Kristin reaches the end of her tether and contacts Alan Beam. Whilst Pam, Bobby, Jock and Ellie go to see Amanda, J.R. makes a bold, dangerous move to protect his assets.

Directors: Alexander Singer
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The Kristin Affair
star
7.95
44 votes

#13 - The Kristin Affair

Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/19/1979

J.R can't keep his eyes off Sue-Ellen's sister, Kristin, so he gives her a job at Ewing Oil, and moves her into the Ewing condo. Pam tells Bobby about her pregnancy, but says nothing about her disease. J.R. continues to secretly finance Cliff Barnes' election campaign, and also mortgages the Southfork Ranch for his drilling project in southeast Asia.

Directors: Irving J. Moore
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The Dove Hunt
star
7.95
40 votes

#14 - The Dove Hunt

Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/26/1979

J.R. and Jock get wounded by sniper fire when three of Jock's enemies from the past catch up with him during a hunting trip to Louisiana. In his pain, Jock reveals a secret about his past. Miss Ellie pays a worrying visit to the hospital.

Directors: Leonard Katzman
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The Fourth Son
star
7.92
93 votes

#15 - The Fourth Son

Season 4 - Episode 7 - Aired 12/12/1980

Bobby's oil tanker sinks with over 600,000 barrels and is not insured. Cliff is seeing Donna with a view to working for Dave's campaign. Bobby does some detective work and finds out how devious J.R.'s plan really is. Amos Krebbs, whom Ray hasn't seen or heard from since he was three, shows up at Southfork with some very disturbing news for the entire Ewing family.

Directors: Irving J. Moore
Writer: Howard Lakin
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Digger's Daughter
star
7.92
168 votes

#16 - Digger's Daughter

Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 4/2/1978

Dallas begins with a Romeo and Juliet theme. Bobby James Ewing, the youngest of the Ewing sons, marrying Pamela Barnes. Pamela (Pam) is the daughter of Digger Barnes who just happens to be the enemy of the the head of the Ewing Family, Jock Ewing. Digger also shared a romantic past with Jock's wife Ellie. The marriage does not sit well with any of the Ewings. Sue Ellen resents the newcomer, Lucy tries to intimidate her from the beginning, and Jock is furious. J.R reacts the most strongly, trying to break up the couple by using Ray Krebbs, the ranch foreman of Southfork, to break the couple up. Ray had a brief fling with Pamela Barnes, and J.R hopes this will end the marriage.

Directors: Robert Day
Writer: David Jacobs
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End Game
star
7.91
32 votes

#17 - End Game

Season 7 - Episode 30 - Aired 5/18/1984

Tension rises at the Ewing residence as the search for Miss Ellie and Jessica continues. Clayton and J.R. have a fight over Clayton's mentally unstable sister. Bobby confronts J.R. over his plotting with Jessica to stop the wedding. Cliff seeks Jordan Lee's help in getting another crew for his offshore drilling. Ellie is rescued from Jessica's clutches. Sue Ellen feels sorry for Pamela after Mark's death. Clayton and Ellie decide not to postpone the wedding, despite the recent events. Clayton tries to figure out Jessica's mental state and her motive for kidnapping Ellie. Pam learns that Jenna Wade and Bobby will be getting married. Clayton and Miss Ellie get married. Cliff is mad to learn that Pam left Dallas without saying where she's going. Ellie and Clayton go on a cruise to the Mediterranean. Katherine makes a scene during an angry exchange with Bobby. J.R. reveals the setup on the offshore drilling to a completely stunned Cliff. Edgar Randolph reappears in Dallas vowing revenge on J.R

Directors: Leonard Katzman
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Country Girl
star
7.89
18 votes

#18 - Country Girl

Season 12 - Episode 15 - Aired 2/24/1989

Miss Ellie and Clayton return from Europe and are greeted at the airport by J.R., Bobby, and Lucy. Sue Ellen shows Don her diaries and she reminisces about her sister Kristin. April warns Cliff against continuing to work at Ewing Oil. Cally complains to Miss Ellie about being mistreated by J.R. Miss Ellie takes Cally to a meeting of the Daughters of the Alamo. April tells J.R. that she doesn't want to double-cross Cliff and Bobby. Cally is happy because she reaches a truce with John Ross. Tommy McKay is interested in Cally but he gets a cold shower when he learns that she's married. John Ross tells J.R. that Cally saved his life. Tommy courts April. Miss Ellie pressures J.R. to either re-marry Cally or divorce her. Bobby senses something strange about Tommy McKay. Don Lockwood fears he knows too much about Sue Ellen to stay objective in his job. Cally tells J.R. she's pregnant. J.R. decides to marry Cally at Southfork.

Directors: Patrick Duffy
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Deliverance
star
7.88
26 votes

#19 - Deliverance

Season 8 - Episode 29 - Aired 5/10/1985

John Ross recovers after the surgery. Miss Ellie tells J.R. he should show Cliff the new evidence in the lawsuit. Police question the suspect in Jenna's case. J.R. asks Cliff to drop the lawsuit. Bobby and Pam vow love for one another. Ray gets excited about nailing Cliff in court and Donna doesn't like it. Donna conceals her pregnancy from Ray. The suspect confesses to having murdered Marchetta. Mitch asks Lucy to move in with him. The Ewings win the case against Cliff and Jamie. J.R. promises Mandy Winger to put Sue Ellen away into "the hands of professional medical help." Jenna is released and the Ewings throw a big victory party.

Directors: Nick Havinga
Writer: Peter Dunne
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Reunion (2)
star
7.86
56 votes

#20 - Reunion (2)

Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/30/1978

J.R's efforts to rid the family of Gary...again, begin to work. J.R pretends to help his younger brother, by including him in some Ewing business. The venture, however, is with a company doomed for failure, and Gary begins to feel the stress. Valene realizes what J.R is up to, but is unable to stop it. Pam has trouble of her own. A drunken Digger showed up at Southfork, while recovering from his binge, he tell Pamela he will no longer acknowledge her as his daughter because she is married to a Ewing.

Directors: Irving J. Moore
Writer: David Jacobs
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Goodbye, Cliff Barnes
star
7.83
35 votes

#21 - Goodbye, Cliff Barnes

Season 5 - Episode 26 - Aired 4/9/1982

Miss Ellie has accepted Jock's death. Marilee Stone tells Cliff that J.R. used her to get Sue Ellen back. Bobby tells Pam the truth about Christopher. They fly to Los Angeles and learn that Kristin miscarried J.R.'s baby, that Farraday and Kristin were married, and that Farraday is Christopher father. Clayton comes back from vacation. J.R. and Sue Ellen plan to marry and break the news to the family. Lucy tells Muriel she was raped by Roger. Cliff feels devastated when Sue Ellen tells him she's marrying J.R. He tries to kill himself. Rebecca shows up at Southfork and tells Miss Ellie that the Ewing-Barnes feud will continue. Sue Ellen feels guilty about Cliff's suicide attempt and tells J.R. she may not be able to marry him if Cliff dies.

Directors: Irving J. Moore
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Jock's Trial (1)
star
7.83
29 votes

#22 - Jock's Trial (1)

Season 3 - Episode 22 - Aired 2/22/1980

Cliff is put in charge of the investigation into the possible murder on Southfork and pursues the Ewings. Miss Ellie continues to fight the park development. Digger's back, and drinking again - he's found unconscious at Cliff's. Sue Ellen turns to Bobby as she becomes further embroiled in J.R.s plan. Then she hears some devastating news.

Directors: Irving J. Moore
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Jock's Trial (2)
star
7.82
95 votes

#23 - Jock's Trial (2)

Season 3 - Episode 23 - Aired 2/29/1980

Jock is bailed over the charges, and they hire a top trial lawyer. Miss Ellie makes her position clear with Matt. Sue Ellen falls apart after the news of Dusty's death, and hits the bottle again. J.R.s evidence at the trial is damning. Digger is slipping fast but makes a startling confession on his deathbed.

Directors: Irving J. Moore
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Battle Lines
star
7.82
33 votes

#24 - Battle Lines

Season 8 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/5/1984

J.R. suspects Cliff Barnes in the shooting of Bobby and he pressures the police to find answers fast. Vaughn Leland tries to patronize Cliff but he threatens to file a complaint against Vaughn about unfair banking. Pam questions Cliff about his marrying Afton. Bobby asks Ray and Donna to check the office phones for bugs. Bobby tells Jenna they can't get married until he regains his sight. Sue Ellen is touched by J.R.'s brotherly loyalty during Bobby's incapacitation. Cliff and Sly have an honest exchange about J.R.'s setup. Bobby fears J.R. will take advantage of his absence at Ewing Oil and he asks Donna to watch over things for him at the office. J.R. asks Sue Ellen whether it was her who tried to kill him. Sue Ellen reveals to J.R. that there was no "affair" with Peter Richards. Pam tells Bobby about Katherine's devious trick in writing the letter which led to their divorce. Donna and J.R. draw their battle lines, as do Pamela and Jenna. Cliff celebrates his offshore strike with Jordan Lee.

Directors: Nick Havinga
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Royal Marriage
star
7.81
32 votes

#25 - Royal Marriage

Season 2 - Episode 21 - Aired 3/9/1979

J.R is thrilled when Lucy becomes engaged to Kit Mainwaring. It will mean a potential business merger with Mainwaring Oil, which would be beneficial to Ewing Oil, and J.R. Unfortunately, Kit Mainwaring is gay. He eventually confesses this to Bobby, and then to Lucy. Lucy is heartbroken, but stands by Kit, and holds the secret. Only she and Bobby know the truth. But, of course, J.R. knew all along.

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