The BEST episodes of Dallas season 13

Every episode of Dallas season 13, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Dallas season 13!

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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Judgment Day
star
8.00
15 votes

#1 - 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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Unchain My Heart
star
7.80
15 votes

#2 - Unchain My Heart

Season 13 - Episode 15 - Aired 1/19/1990

Cliff gives a television interview following the committee's decision on the tanker collision. Bobby gives April an engagement ring but then they break up over three Ewing Oil fields which April bought behind Bobby's back and then unknowingly sold to Weststar. Cliff meets public relations expert Stephanie Rogers. J.R., Cally and John Ross travel to Pride, Texas to help Miss Ellie put the town back on the oil map. Clayton remains sceptical about the new Pride venture. James and Michelle make up. Bobby warms James against doing business out of Ewing Oil offices without his knowledge. Bobby thinks he saw Pamela.

Directors: Irving J. Moore
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I Dream of Jeannie
star
7.79
14 votes

#3 - I Dream of Jeannie

Season 13 - Episode 16 - Aired 2/2/1990

A mesmerized Bobby chases after Jeanne, the woman that could be his beloved ex-wife Pam. Cliff sends a private investigator to look into Stephanie Rogers' background. James tries to get investment for the restaurant project. April and Shelley do after a business venture. J.R. meets up with Blackie Callahan at a prison. Bobby takes Cliff to meet Jeanne. J.R does Blackie a favor and they go off to find oil.

Directors: Cliff Fenneman
Writer: Lisa Siedman
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The Southfork Wedding Jinx
star
7.65
17 votes

#4 - The Southfork Wedding Jinx

Season 13 - Episode 25 - Aired 4/27/1990

Cally plays her part to fool J.R. into trusting her, as does James. Bobby and Cliff meet with old friend Liz Adams, and Cliff's head is turned. Clayton puts the wheels in motion to get hold of the Weststar voting rights. J.R. tries to see Jessica in the sanitarium. Bobby and April enjoy themselves at their respective parties the night before their wedding. Most of the Southfork residents leave for holidays, leaving Cally alone. J.R tells Cally to get out, and checks into the sanitarium to find Jessica.

Directors: Irving J. Moore
Writer: Howard Lakin
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Paradise Lost
star
7.50
16 votes

#5 - Paradise Lost

Season 13 - Episode 20 - Aired 3/9/1990

Arlen Ward seems very happy with Hutch's death. James and Shelley discover their building can't be used for night-time entertainment. J.R. devises an ingenious plan to rid Cally from his life. Shelley makes a deal with Carter McKay. Bobby spends some time with April's family. Ellie and Clayton smell a rat with Arlen.

Directors: Patrick Duffy
Writer: Lisa Seidman
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Pride and Prejudice
star
7.50
14 votes

#6 - Pride and Prejudice

Season 13 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/20/1989

J.R. and Beaumont have a pretty rough first conversation but then they begin to get along fine as James is introduced into Dallas' social life, and makes quite an impression in the process. James dates Kendall, the receptionist at Ewing Oil, and asks her about the company. Bobby is concerned as Christopher goes out on his first date. Carter McKay makes a business deal with April. Alex questions Cally about her European honeymoon and he tries to exploit Vanessa's presence in Austria to his advantage. Cally asks Alex about his personal life. April pressures Bobby on marriage. Miss Ellie and Clayton keep traveling in search of the object that would fit the mysterious key. Vanessa surprises J.R. and Cally by showing up at Southfork to "collect her son".

Directors: Michael Preece
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Dear Hearts and Gentle People
star
7.50
14 votes

#7 - Dear Hearts and Gentle People

Season 13 - Episode 19 - Aired 2/23/1990

J.R. and Cally's marriage is in trouble as they keep fighting and he moves to a hotel. McKay accomplishes his mission with Inagaki and he makes Michelle happy but April leaves Dallas to visit her mother Amy in Ohio. Events continue to unfold in the wake of the mysterious death during the reading of Atticus Ward's will, as "Rabbit" Hutch gets arrested and then gets bailed out by Ellie and Clayton who later finds him dead. Cliff gets appointed chair of the Oil Regulatory Commission and J.R. realizes that he understimated Stephanie Rogers. Bobby goes to Ohio and tries to make things right again between him and April. Serena Ward reappears and makes J.R. happy again.

Directors: Irving J. Moore
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After Midnight
star
7.50
14 votes

#8 - After Midnight

Season 13 - Episode 17 - Aired 2/9/1990

Bobby's obsession with Pam look-alike Jeanne O'Brien continues, and he risks losing April over it. Michelle plans a business venture but Eugene Inagaki makes problems, so she asks Carter McKay for a favor. April wants to leave Dallas and starts fresh somewhere else. James meets Duke Carlisle and his imposing daughter Melinda. J.R. strikes oil in Pride with the help of Blackie Callahan. Jeanne has a seductive hold on a confused Bobby.

Directors: Ken Kercheval
Writer: Howard Lakin
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Three, Three, Three (2)
star
7.47
19 votes

#9 - Three, Three, Three (2)

Season 13 - Episode 27 - Aired 5/11/1990

James finds out where J.R. is and he and Cally form a a plan of action. Cliff asks Liz to stay with him temporarily. Carter McKay gets a call from an old friend, Johnny Dancer. Cally puts on an act with J.R.s lawyer in order to get his release papers. J.R. finally gets Jessica's signature, and feels its time to get out of the asylum, but James has other plans. He destroys the release papers and J.R. is trapped at the institution.

Directors: Leonard Katzman
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Phantom of the Oil Rig
star
7.44
16 votes

#10 - Phantom of the Oil Rig

Season 13 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/22/1989

Tension between Ewing Oil and Weststar rises in the aftermath of the European deal. April vows not to let the crank phone calls get to her. Tommy McKay returns to Dallas and shows up in Bobby's office with an apology. Miss Ellie and Clayton contine to try to resolve the mystery of the key for Jock. Bobby accuses Cliff of neglecting Ewing Oil business. Cliff goes to Charleston, South Carolina to search for Van Buren. April's sister Michelle Stevens appears and meets Bobby. Tommy plots a bomb attack.

Directors: Irving J. Moore
Writer: Howard Lakin
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Sunrise, Sunset
star
7.35
17 votes

#11 - Sunrise, Sunset

Season 13 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/13/1989

A storm in the Gulf spells trouble for J.R.s tanker. Cliff dates Michelle which provokes a cool reaction from April. Michelle resents April's attitude. April asks Cliff whether he sleeps with her sister. Alex gets Cally a studio for her painting and he wants her to drop "Ewing" from her name. J.R. is forced to make a move on Marilee's company but he manages to avoid it at the last minute. Tommy McKay gets accidentally killed in a confrontation with his father. Tracey shows up for the funeral but she finds Carter has turned coldhearted. Tracey blames April for her brother's tragedy. April proposes to Bobby. Vanessa Beaumont's son James shows up at J.R.'s office.

Directors: Dwight Adair
Writer: Howard Lakin
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Three, Three, Three (1)
star
7.32
19 votes

#12 - Three, Three, Three (1)

Season 13 - Episode 26 - Aired 5/4/1990

J.R,. after having secretly committed himself to an insane asylum in an effort to coerce Jessica into signing over to him her shares of Weststar stock, discovers the path to her is littered with bizarre and dangerous patients. Cliff continues to get close to Liz Adams, but when she meets Carter McKay, she thinks she's met him before. James and Cally continue their plans to get even with J.R., who is finding himself stalked by a lady in the asylum with designs on his body.

Directors: Leonard Katzman
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Black Tide
star
7.31
16 votes

#13 - Black Tide

Season 13 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/10/1989

Vanessa reassures J.R. that James is really his son. James' appearence puts a strain on Cally and J.R.'s marriage. Cally accuses Vanessa of plotting to take J.R. away from her. A tanker collision involving Ewing Oil and Weststar puts the two companies on opposite sides again, as a black tide of oil is heading toward the Texas coast. Tension rises between J.R. and Bobby when Bobby finds out about the Ewing tanker. Cliff leaves Ewing Oil, takes McKay's side, and forms a committee to investigate the tanker disaster. Michelle threatens J.R. because in her view, he didn't keep his word after she got Cliff out of Ewing Oil. Vanessa unsuccessfully tries to talk James into going to Europe with her. Vanessa leaves for Europe and James moves into Southfork.

Directors: Michael Preece
Writer: Howard Lakin
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Ka-Booooom!
star
7.31
16 votes

#14 - Ka-Booooom!

Season 13 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/6/1989

Cally feels she's not good enough for J.R. and she shares her concerns with Miss Ellie. April wants to put an end to her partnership with J.R. Michelle overhears a conversation between April and Bobby which concerns Cliff, and she tells Cliff about it. Cliff feels mistreated at Ewing Oil. Carter McKay's friend Rose Daniels returns but she is scared away by Tommy who acts to "protect" his father. John Ross goes to England to visit his mother. Miss Ellie and Clayton tell Bobby that they like April. Cally senses that Alex Barton's interest goes beyound just her paintings. Carter McKay gets a warning about Tommy's psychological problems in his role as "father protector" Tommy plants a bomb in Bobby's briefcase and April and Bobby narrowly escape death.

Directors: Michael Preece
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Hell's Fury
star
7.25
16 votes

#15 - Hell's Fury

Season 13 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/1/1989

Cater McKay plans to hurt Ewing Oil using the tanker disaster. Cliff and McKay collaborate against the Ewings. Bobby talks to the captain of the Ewing tanker. Christopher feels left out because James and John Ross socialize a lot. Kay Lloyd reappears in Bobby's office with an ominous warning from Washington. Cally thinks that J.R. has been sleeping with Michelle. Bobby and Christopher have a father-to-son talk about John Ross' situation and the increasing conflicts between the two boys. Michelle plots to break up Cally and J.R.'s marriage. Michelle sleeps with James. Cally pays Alex a late-night visit with words of revenge against J.R. on her lips.

Directors: Patrick Duffy
Writer: Lisa Siedman
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Family Plot
star
7.21
14 votes

#16 - Family Plot

Season 13 - Episode 24 - Aired 4/13/1990

Clayton escapes an attack from Jessica. Cliff sacks Stephanie after she continues to see J.R. James and April find a note from Shelley and discover J.R. was behind the plan to get rid of her. Jessica is arrested and reveals that Atticus Ward was Dusty Farlow's father. James reaches breaking point and leaves Southfork. Cally finds out about her fake marriage counselling sessions, and teams up with James to get revenge on J.R.

Directors: Patrick Duffy
Writer: Lisa Siedman
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Sex, Lies and Videotape
star
7.19
16 votes

#17 - Sex, Lies and Videotape

Season 13 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/15/1989

J.R. confronts Lucy about why she gave sleeping pills to Cally. J.R. and Cally make up after the incidents with Alex and Michelle. Diana Farrington accuses Cliff of waging a personal vendetta against the Ewings but Cliff vows to nail the guilty party. Bobby is forced to sell a Ewing Oil field to pay for the cleanup effort. Carter McKay finds Rose Daniels in Follett, Texas and brings her back to Dallas. Kay Lloyd asks Bobby about whether he'll marry April. J.R. tells Cally that she'll never see Alex again. James discovers that J.R. cheats on Cally and tells him that he's a lousy husband, even through J.R. tries to explain to him that it's "just for business". McKay uses Rose to videotape Cliff and her in bed, and then he blackmails Cliff with the tape. Lucy pressures Cally not to give up her artwork. Kay flies back to Washington. April is ecstatic when Bobby tells her it's time to get married.

Directors: Cliff Fenneman
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Cry Me a River of Oil
star
7.11
18 votes

#18 - Cry Me a River of Oil

Season 13 - Episode 3 - Aired 9/29/1989

J.R. meets AL Halliday who offers to sell him a tanker with an accident record. Cally learns about J.R.'s past romance with April and she confronts both of them about it. Michelle shows up for dinner with Cliff instead of April. Miss Ellie and Clayton ask Jordan Lee about early oil days in Texas and he tells them about a town called Pride where Jock Ewing had his first strike. Rolf Brundin falls victim of Tommy McKay's deadly vengeance. April's past romance with J.R. puts a strain on her friendship with Cally and she decides to move out of Southfork and go back to her place.

Directors: Dwight Adair
Writer: Lisa Siedman
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The Leopard's Spots
star
7.07
14 votes

#19 - The Leopard's Spots

Season 13 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/22/1989

In Charleston, South Carolina, Afton and Van Buren put on an act in front of Cliff regarding who Pamela Rebecca's father is. Michelle tells Bobby that she won't chase after him as long as April is his woman. Miss Ellie and Clayton go to New England to try to resolve the mystery of the key. Cally meets Alex Barton, a gallery owner. J.R. and Marilee Stone discuss the buying out of her company. Carter McKay wants everybody to believe that Tommy has really changed. J.R. meets Michelle Stevens.

Directors: Michael Preece
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Cally on a Hot Tin Roof
star
7.07
15 votes

#20 - Cally on a Hot Tin Roof

Season 13 - Episode 11 - Aired 12/8/1989

Kay Lloyd's appearance creates tension between Bobby and April and she senses a chemistry between the two. Cally angrily conforts J.R. about him and Michelle. J.R tries to get to Diana Farrington of the investigation committee .Bobby is worried about the Justice Department putting Ewing Oil on their "hit list" again. J.R. blackmails Alex Barton and drives him out of Texas. James learns about Cally's faithfulness to him and wants to undo the damage he did, but he finds her unconscious and he feels guilty.

Directors: Larry Hagman
Writer: Howard Lakin
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The Smiling Cobra
star
7.06
16 votes

#21 - The Smiling Cobra

Season 13 - Episode 22 - Aired 3/30/1990

J.R. is delighted with his spoils from the office raid. Bobby vows to discover who sabotaged April's development project. Cally and James pull closer together in an effort to fend off J.R.'s evil ways. Clayton is announced as the next in line in the Atticus Ward will, but out of the blue, Atticus turns up. Bobby finally announces his wedding date and Cally and April make up. There's another poisoning and this time its Atticus Ward. Cally reaches breaking point and packs her suitcase.

Directors: Cliff Fenneman
Writer: Howard Lakin
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Will Power
star
7.00
14 votes

#22 - Will Power

Season 13 - Episode 21 - Aired 3/16/1990

Arlen takes a lie detector test. Bobby returns to Dallas whilst April doubts their relationship. James and Shelley clash over the development. J.R. is forced to resort to desperate measures when Cally vows to make their marriage work. April surprises Bobby at the office. Lucy and Cally make TV appearances. J.R. goes safe-breaking. The Farlows make a shocking discovery at Arlen's house.

Directors: Larry Hagman
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Daddy Dearest
star
7.00
14 votes

#23 - Daddy Dearest

Season 13 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/17/1989

Lucy tells James what she thinks of J.R. John Ross returns from England to find an older brother. John Ross fears that James' presence will change everything. Bobby tries to do everything in his power to keep Cliff off the committee investigating the tanker disaster. April throws Michelle out so she moves in with Cliff. In the aftermath of the tanker disaster, Ewing Oil gets hate mail and McKay files a law suit. James gets Cliff's old office at Ewing Oil. J.R. tells James that his marriage vows to Cally are sacred to him. Bobby tells April it's time to think about marriage. Cally confides in Alex regarding the new family situation at Southfork. James meets Michelle and they hit it off immediately. Cliff plans to get the governor's seat. Just as J.R. is about to quit Ewing Oil because of the tanker crisis, he gets a morale booster in the form of a surprise letter from Jock.

Directors: Irving J. Moore
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Tale of Two Cities
star
7.00
13 votes

#24 - Tale of Two Cities

Season 13 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/5/1990

Cally puts on an art show at a gallery bought by Lucy. Bobby and J.R argue about Bobby's decision to rehire the tanker captain. James gets disillusioned about the way the oil business is done. Bobby and April plan their wedding. James gets Michelle an apartment. Michelle finds out about the videotape and tells Bobby who confronts Rose McKay about it, James gets caught in the middle, trying to protect Cally and J.R., and when he tries to tell the truth to Michelle, she throws him out. A coastguard officer's secret statement to Cliff sheds a new light on the Weststar-Ewing tanker collision.

Directors: Leonard Katzman
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Jessica Redux
star
7.00
16 votes

#25 - Jessica Redux

Season 13 - Episode 23 - Aired 4/6/1990

John Ross persuades J.R. to let Cally stay at Southfork. Clayton realises that the poisoned glass was intended for him. Bobby asks Cliff to be his best man. J.R continues to pursue Stephanie Rogers. James disappoints Shelley and suffers the consequences. Clayton discovers that Jessica has been released from the sanitarium. Inagaki offers Shelley a job overseas.

Directors: Irving J. Moore
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