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Why Morgan Fairchild decided not to reprise her role as Jenna Wade
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Could it be that Morgan Fairchild is the star with the most threads here? I just checked: there are nine threads about her by now! It almost seems to be de rigueur for any user to start his own thread about Morgan Fairchild.
Whenever I see interviews with Morgan Fairchild, I get the feeling she mixes things up a bit; consequently, I’m never quite sure how accurate her statements are—such as the claim that she didn't want to join Dallas because the series had already been running for so long and was sure to be cancelled in a year or two. Instead, she wanted to co-produce her own series—but which series was that, exactly? It certainly wasn't Paper Dolls.
I think Morgan Fairchild and Morgan Brittany would have brought a similar vibe to Dallas (despite their different looks)—and that was precisely what the show didn't need in 1983 when Jenna returned. Perhaps they should have brought Morgan Fairchild back as Jenna in season 8 (after Katherine's departure) and let Holly be Bobby's love interest in season 7. It certainly would have been more interesting to see Morgan Fairchild mourning Bobby; however, they likely wouldn't have wanted to keep her on the show as compulsively as they did Priscilla Presley, and she would probably have been written out midway through season 10, just like Mandy and Jamie. That way, Ray and Donna could have stayed together. Besides, it’s questionable whether Steve Kanaly and Morgan Fairchild would have passed the chemistry test anyway.
Whenever I see interviews with Morgan Fairchild, I get the feeling she mixes things up a bit; consequently, I’m never quite sure how accurate her statements are—such as the claim that she didn't want to join Dallas because the series had already been running for so long and was sure to be cancelled in a year or two. Instead, she wanted to co-produce her own series—but which series was that, exactly? It certainly wasn't Paper Dolls.
I think Morgan Fairchild and Morgan Brittany would have brought a similar vibe to Dallas (despite their different looks)—and that was precisely what the show didn't need in 1983 when Jenna returned. Perhaps they should have brought Morgan Fairchild back as Jenna in season 8 (after Katherine's departure) and let Holly be Bobby's love interest in season 7. It certainly would have been more interesting to see Morgan Fairchild mourning Bobby; however, they likely wouldn't have wanted to keep her on the show as compulsively as they did Priscilla Presley, and she would probably have been written out midway through season 10, just like Mandy and Jamie. That way, Ray and Donna could have stayed together. Besides, it’s questionable whether Steve Kanaly and Morgan Fairchild would have passed the chemistry test anyway.
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Pam and Jenna had some sparks in that early episode Old Acquaintance… Morgan would have made things a *lot* more interesting than Priscilla, I’d have to think..
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The Francine version (aka Jenna #2) was the most put-together, but also didn’t align with the backstory/timeline at all..
Somehow she’d given birth to Charlie in Rome (and stayed there for at least a couple of years, you’d think), had an amicable divorce/separation from Naldo, then made it back to the US and managed to become quite established in a professional career.. all within a few years at most, as a single mother.
Jenna #1, a socialite who’d grown up wealthy, expecting to have a healthy “never have to work” trust fund, drops her even wealthier childhood sweetheart for a charming Italian con man, who portrayed himself as old-money nobility. She gets married and has a child in Italy, finds out the guy’s a con man, and ends up back in Dallas - a single mother with no family, no money, and no obvious career prospects.
Of course she’d cling to older wealthy men like Maynard Anderson and make a play for her childhood sweetheart (who thought he might be the father of her child) when he appeared in her life again..
Jenna #3 is at least plausible as an older Jenna #1, who has settled into a modest but self-sufficient independent life. No career training so she’s a waitress, but she’s making it now without depending on someone else’s money.
Somehow she’d given birth to Charlie in Rome (and stayed there for at least a couple of years, you’d think), had an amicable divorce/separation from Naldo, then made it back to the US and managed to become quite established in a professional career.. all within a few years at most, as a single mother.
Jenna #1, a socialite who’d grown up wealthy, expecting to have a healthy “never have to work” trust fund, drops her even wealthier childhood sweetheart for a charming Italian con man, who portrayed himself as old-money nobility. She gets married and has a child in Italy, finds out the guy’s a con man, and ends up back in Dallas - a single mother with no family, no money, and no obvious career prospects.
Of course she’d cling to older wealthy men like Maynard Anderson and make a play for her childhood sweetheart (who thought he might be the father of her child) when he appeared in her life again..
Jenna #3 is at least plausible as an older Jenna #1, who has settled into a modest but self-sufficient independent life. No career training so she’s a waitress, but she’s making it now without depending on someone else’s money.
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Which Jenna is young Bobby most likely to be attracted to and be very in love with at the time? I think it's Tacker's Jenna.
Jenna was from a pretty well off family, despite Lucas Wade blowing a lot of it. You can imagine a daughter from such a family ending up like any of the 3 Jennas, to be fair. It would depend on the personality. One gets a superiority complex, becomes clingy and a minx (#1), another gets very self-determined and strong, and takes control (#2), and the other is a mixture that mostly became self-determined by herself to some extent but then gradually fell back from it, before it then becomes more complex (#3). #3 seems the most tired of the 3 Jennas. Of course, we got to see a lot more of Jenna #3.
Jenna was from a pretty well off family, despite Lucas Wade blowing a lot of it. You can imagine a daughter from such a family ending up like any of the 3 Jennas, to be fair. It would depend on the personality. One gets a superiority complex, becomes clingy and a minx (#1), another gets very self-determined and strong, and takes control (#2), and the other is a mixture that mostly became self-determined by herself to some extent but then gradually fell back from it, before it then becomes more complex (#3). #3 seems the most tired of the 3 Jennas. Of course, we got to see a lot more of Jenna #3.
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yep, I agree with this - my objection with #2 is that that version of Jenna seemed more like mid-30s than late 20s. Given the tumultuous backstory, she wouldn’t have had time to be such an established career woman by then — as in “oh, I’ve worked with Liz Craig many times”, or whatever she said.
The actress was a bit older than Duffy (born 1946 vs 1949) and it came across as at least that much of a difference, probably more.
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As I've said before, I think it would have been more interesting to have Jenna either played by Morgan, or in the style of Morgan.
I almost look at the 2nd Jenna as a different girlfriend, even though I know she obviously was not. There was just too much about that encounter that didn't make sense, or fit with the timeline/story-line. I didn't mind the actress, ..she seems like she could have oozed more warmth than Jenna #3 ever did, but.. I'm just not sure because...if the writing was going to be the same..no matter who played her. I'm not sure she would have made enough of a difference.
As I've also said before.. I've never been 100% if my problem with PP's Jenna was the actress or the writing. As someone else pointed out, Mark and Jenna were more just used as temporary lovers while Bobby and Pam were apart..so the writing wasn't the best for either one, but half tempted to say it was a little better for Mark. I just don't think the writers were fully invested in either character because they were a means to an end.. even though Jenna was there for 5 frickin' years. I guess to a certain extent, they did 'kinda' develop Jenna a little more after Bobby and Pam reunited, but I didn't find what she was developed into any more interesting.
I almost look at the 2nd Jenna as a different girlfriend, even though I know she obviously was not. There was just too much about that encounter that didn't make sense, or fit with the timeline/story-line. I didn't mind the actress, ..she seems like she could have oozed more warmth than Jenna #3 ever did, but.. I'm just not sure because...if the writing was going to be the same..no matter who played her. I'm not sure she would have made enough of a difference.
As I've also said before.. I've never been 100% if my problem with PP's Jenna was the actress or the writing. As someone else pointed out, Mark and Jenna were more just used as temporary lovers while Bobby and Pam were apart..so the writing wasn't the best for either one, but half tempted to say it was a little better for Mark. I just don't think the writers were fully invested in either character because they were a means to an end.. even though Jenna was there for 5 frickin' years. I guess to a certain extent, they did 'kinda' develop Jenna a little more after Bobby and Pam reunited, but I didn't find what she was developed into any more interesting.
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My opinion is that the problem was deeper. It didn't matter which actress played Jenna or how she was portrayed -- she was a deadend character.
Pick any of the three actresses and the character personality; now what? After being a rival for Pam or Katherine, what storylines does Jenna open? The Ewings, including JR, liked her; no family drama there. Cliff had no reason to care about her one way or the other. She wasn't involved in the oil industry or even ranching. Did anyone really want to watch Jenna running a boutique? An heiress struggling to make it on her own might have been an interesting story, but the writers couldn't even pull that off with Lucy.
None of the Jennas should have been more than guest appearances. I'd go so far as to say I think bumping Jenna to main cast was one of the show's first major blunders.
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Oh, but surely they could have had her somehow start an oil company..imagine the complex that would have given poor Ray. LOL
I'm with you on most of this..I think those are some good points. There was nothing other than really Bobby/Charlie, or Ray to bring her into the story, and those latter 2..interesting isn't really the word that springs to mind.
I think had Jenna been developed in a different way she could have been a main character, but as it stands..yes...the season 8 into with her is really about where my interest waned..at least for two seasons, but it never really was the same again, was it? Not just because of her, but my gosh..that Naldo murder story-line. Just put me out of my misery.
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It would have been interesting had Morgan Fairchild became the only Jenna.
This version of Jenna was more in line with Abby from Knots Landing than the Jenna we got with Priscilla Presley, this Jenna would have probably married JR had Morgan Fairchild continued playing her, by 1980, we had a minx character in the form of Kristen and by 1983 we had Kath
This version of Jenna was more in line with Abby from Knots Landing than the Jenna we got with Priscilla Presley, this Jenna would have probably married JR had Morgan Fairchild continued playing her, by 1980, we had a minx character in the form of Kristen and by 1983 we had Kath