Having already chosen Cliff and Afton as Worst Love Story, you may have been expecting this triangle to receive a thorough bashing here. Actually, though, this triangle was a winner in my book. It gave RTS a jolt of adrenaline towards the end of its first season (at a time when, quite frankly, it really needed it).

Consider each character's life in the first few episodes of RTS. Lucy was fighting to save her disintegrating marriage to Mitch. (OK- not bad...) Cliff and Afton had married and settled down in suburban Dallas with Pamela Rebecca; Cliff's life consisted of starting up a new oil company with Carter McKay and playing overprotective father to Pamela Rebecca, while Afton was a happy homemaker. (Yawn... My apologies- I did just have turkey for lunch...)

Then came that fateful Ewing barbecue at which Lucy and Cliff- er, "connected". Lucy's hopes of saving her marriage were shattered when she was served with divorce papers by Mitch. Devastated, Lucy got drunk and ended up seducing Cliff. Afton, ready to go home after Pamela Rebecca's confrontation with Karen, went inside Southfork looking for Cliff- and found him in the afterglow with Lucy. Then the fun really began...

This triangle worked on several levels. Cliff ...well, he remained Cliff. Already a complex character in his own right, Cliff didn't require a personality change so much as a refocusing of his attention. While sometimes hard to follow (but then, when is love ever easy?), Cliff's struggle to reconcile his feelings between a blood Ewing, and the woman he had loved more than life itself- but who had shot him- made for compelling reading.

As fascinating as Cliff's plight was to read, though, his potential partners really benefited from the introduction of this story. Largely underused on the TV series, Lucy became the front-burner heroine she was always meant to be. She also acquired a formidable enemy in Afton, who herself was transformed into a credible, complex villianess. Their rivalry over Cliff generated gripping drama and hilarious dialogue over the next two seasons (their infamous manure fight remains a classic RTS moment).

Ultimately, things would not work out for either potential romantic pairing. Lucy and Afton moved on to separate lives after Cliff's presumed death in a Southfork explosion. Of course, he survived the explosion- but could not "resurrect" himself in time to save Afton from a crazy gunman (who turned out to be her own mother!) during a subsequent Ewing barbecue. After this- and his obvious worry over Afton after the shooting- it became clear that it was too late for Cliff and Lucy to pick up where they had left off before his "death". (Of course, just a few episodes later, Cliff almost married Sue Ellen- but that's Cliff for you...)

On the other hand, the Afton/Lucy rivalry has continued to shape events to this day. The proof: it was revealed that Afton had paid Neil to romance and wed Lucy, then dump her. (He, of course, had a change of heart, which ticked off Afton to no end...) Afton was still carrying a grudge against Lucy for what she had done to her- which means that this new devastation of Lucy's life was payback for one moment which took place four seasons ago. Not bad- not bad at all...

Best Triangle, Take Two: Bobby/Pam/Katherine

You may be wondering why I didn't just name these awards as "Best Love Triangle", "Best Love Quadrangle", etc. Granted, for the most part, a "polygon" story has romantic connotations to it. Here, however, we have a well-crafted exception to that rule- which is why it is Pam, and not Bobby, who is listed in the middle position for this award.

Katherine created havoc during her return to Dallas during the RTS run; among other things, she was responsible for Pam's exile from Dallas for eleven years, Jenna Wade's descent into madness, and torturing Pam and Bobby in general. (Among other things, she used her knowledge of Pam's marriage to Mark Graison- and the son she had with him, Alexander- during Pam's missing years, and also claimed that Pam was actually Digger's daughter- and therefore a carrier of the deadly Barnes disease.) When Mark chased Katherine around Paris, she ended up perishing in a car crash- or so we thought.

Actually, Katherine somehow survived the crash- but remembered nothing of her previous life, including her misdeeds against Pam. Though not entirely convinced that her amnesia was genuine, Pam was determined to smuggle her half-sister out of France and back to Dallas. She also decided to house Katherine at the Wentworth mansion to confirm her amnesia- and, once convinced, she was determined to keep the truth about her past away from Katherine. Unfortunately, this placed her in direct conflict with...her husband, Bobby, who wanted Katherine arrested for her crimes.

The depiction of Pam's conflict between the wishes of her husband against the needs of her half-sister made for fascinating reading. Bobby and Pam fought at every turn as she continued to shield Katherine from the police, despite Bobby's attempts to have her arrested. At one point, Pam was ready to leave Bobby, and Dallas- and by then, she was over eight months pregnant with Bobby's child! Meanwhile, she was able to bond with the sister she'd really never gotten to know, even while attempting to shield Katherine from her past.

Ordinarily, an amnesia plot might come across as derivative- it is an overused plot device, after all. In Katherine's case, though, it was an essential equalizing ingredient to the success of this new triangle. While this story could have been told with Katherine faking her amnesia throughout the entire run of the triangle, the initial authenticity of her condition made it harder for the reader to decide how the story should play out- which is the point of a well-conceived triangle.

Ultimately, of course, Katherine got her memories back (courtesy of an unwitting J. R., who caused her to hit her head during that year's Oil Baron cruise)- and with them came her desire to destroy Pam once and for all. Not long after, Bobby- despite his promises to Pam- once again tipped off the police about Katherine's whereabouts. Pam decided she had no choice but to sneak her half-sister out of the country; she smuggled Katherine onto a waiting plane- where, to her horror, she realized that Katherine's memory- and her hatred of Pam- were intact.

Twelve years ago, this story probably would have continued for several more episodes, as Bobby would eventually figure out what had happened and rescue his beloved. However, RTS wisely chose not to go that route. Pam's years away from Dallas- and her recent delivery of a healthy baby daughter- provided her with the strength to refuse to yield to another period of imprisonment, which took Katherine completely by surprise. After a brief struggle, Pam seized a gun from Katherine- and shot her half-sister, several times. She then turned the gun on the pilot and ordered him to land the plane.

Bobby was waiting for Pam at the airport when she landed, along with the police. Pam ran towards her husband's waiting arms- then was forced to the ground by him, as Katherine exited the plane and retrieved the gun that Pam had thrown to the ground. It took ten gunshots from police before Katherine was finally pronounced dead at the scene. (Some people just won't take "NO" for an answer...)

Best Triangle, Take Three: Christopher/Karen/Eric

An automobile accident can be a terrible sight- yet it's a normal human reaction to be unable to keep yourself from staring at it. I felt the same way about this triangle; as much as I hated to see what I was reading, it held my full and undivided attention when doing so.

Not long after eloping with Karen, Christopher had a drunken one-night stand with Carla, a stripper. John Ross promised Chris that he would never reveal this secret to anyone- then almost immediately broke that promise. Worse, he shared the dirt with Eric Stone, who had found himself interested in Karen.

The son of Marilee Stone (and, as it would later be revealed, Cliff Barnes), Eric is an opportunist extraordinaire. Eric used this information in a bid to break up Chris and Karen's young marriage. He enlisted Carla's help in this endeavor; per his instructions, Carla interrupted the couple at dinner one night, accusing him of raping her and fathering her unborn child. While firmly denying the rape charge, Chris was forced to admit his indiscretion with Carla to Karen. Karen was understandably furious with him; the resulting distance between the married couple gave Eric the opportunity to get closer to Karen.

Time began to work its magic for the struggling couple, though. Slowly, Karen realized that regardless of what Chris had done, she still loved him, and was willing to forgive him and move on. Even a confrontation with Carla at a mall- orchestrated by Eric- could only delay the inevitable. (Worse for Eric, Todd Foster, a new friend whom Karen had recently met, witnessed Eric's whispered chat with Carla after the altercation. This would prove to be Eric's undoing. But back to the story...) Karen had a heart-to-heart talk with Chris; while still upset about his tryst with Carla- and while not ready to move back in with him- she still wanted to make her marriage to him work.

Unfortunately, Karen chose to share this news with her "friend", Eric, who set the final leg of his plan in motion. Per Eric's instructions, Carla demanded that Chris submit to a paternity test; Eric then blackmailed the doctor into listing Chris as the father of the unborn child. Carla confronted the newly reunited couple with the news, sending Karen crying out of the room- and straight into Eric Stone's bed.

Desperate, Chris reached out to Todd, imploring him to help find a way to win Karen back. Having long suspected that the pregnancy was a scam- and, admittedly, seeing the financial possibilities in helping Chris out- Todd agreed to look into the matter. An opportunity came along almost immediately; Todd encountered Carla in a bar not long after she had an argument with Eric. By taping his conversation with her and, later, searching her apartment after seducing his way in (I did compare this to an automobile wreck, didn't I?), Todd obtained the proof he needed to present to Chris and Karen: Eric had fathered Carla's child.

Todd invited Chris, Karen and Eric over to his newly purchased home for a dinner party- where the incriminating evidence against Eric was the guest of honor. The evening- and the triangle- ended with yet another slap heard around the world. (It seems to happen a lot in Dallas, doesn't it? Maybe there's something in the water...) Karen told Eric she never wanted to see him again, then immediately reconciled with Chris.

This triangle held my attention from start to finish. Actually, though, the story doesn't quite end there. Eric returned to town after being shot at a Ewing barbecue and slowly rebuilt a friendship with Karen- which was sorely tested after she enlisted him to help her kidnap the son she had given up for adoption- but again, that's another article...

Worst Triangle, Take One: Afton/Cliff/Jamie

Let's review: Cliff found himself torn between Afton, the love of his life, and a blood Ewing. No, I don't mean Lucy- but I understand your confusion, since RTS tackled a similar triangle in the first few seasons of the series. This time, the previously dead (I'm sorry- I meant "previously thought dead") Jamie Ewing Barnes was the third member of this triangle.

There are many similarities between this triangle and the one involving Lucy, which was part of the problem: this triangle brought back a strong sense of deja vu for longtime readers. Once again, Afton found a formidable opponent in a Ewing woman- this time, Jamie. As before, Afton managed to start catfights with her new rival whenever the opportunity presented itself (including one in a public rest room which reduced both women to elementary school status- and completely grossed me out in the process).

The biggest issue in this triangle, though, was rooting value. While a well-developed villianess, Afton quickly became obnoxious to the point where I couldn't have cared less about her. Worse than that, however, were my thoughts on Cliff, the "prize" in this triangle. While I must commend him for handling Jamie's resurrection as diplomatically as was possible under the circumstances, it quickly became clear that he was no more in love with Jamie now than he had been when marrying her over a decade ago. I lost all sympathy for him after his shabby treatment of Jamie in the later stages of the triangle. That left Jamie as the only figure in this triangle with any real rooting value- and I quickly found myself hoping she would get away from both of these loons.

The end of this triangle provided the only real dignity to this story. Cliff and Jamie had an honest conversation in which Cliff admitted he was still in love with Afton. Never a spiteful woman, Jamie agreed to release Cliff from their marriage; in return, Cliff arranged to provide for Jamie's financial needs. Jamie also stopped to speak with Afton before leaving town; she implored her to dump Rex (Afton had moved into his penthouse after her falling out with Cliff) and to seek reconciliation with Cliff, who was still in love with Afton. She also warned Afton not to hurt Cliff again. (Afton has yet to listen, of course- but given her behavior throughout the rest of this triangle, did we really expect her to?)

Unfortunately, when you combine the Worst Love Story (Cliff/Afton) with the Most Boring Couple (Cliff and Jamie), you're bound to get a triangle which doesn't work. (Glad to see my math skills are still intact...)

Worst Triangle, Take Two: Pam/Bobby/Jenna

Remember what I just said about rooting value in a triangle earlier? That same logic applies here. For that reason- plus a blatant case of character assassination- this triangle never stood a chance.

Jenna and Bobby declared their love for each other- and kissed- after their plane crashed in Switzerland. (Jenna had flown over to verify Charlie's safety, and Bobby had gone with her.) Unfortunately for Jenna, by the time she, Bobby and Ray made their way back to Dallas, Christopher had located his mother, Pam- Bobby's soul mate.

One might have expected Bobby to agonize over his dilemma; after all, he had pledged his love to Jenna before learning that Pam was still alive. The instant that he locked gazes with Pam, though, it was clear that he had made his choice. Along with that instant decision went any interest I might have had in a romantic triangle for these three.

Unfortunately, Jenna never really got the message. Indeed, I barely recognized the Jenna Wade that emerged after Pam and Bobby were reunited. She lost all touch with reality as she continued to confront Pam about Bobby's impending dumping of Pam for Jenna- long after Bobby told her it was over. Worse, Jenna found herself in agreement with J. R. on the matter. (Hardly a good sign, having J. R.'s endorsement, don't you think?) Her harassment of Pam- and Christopher- reached the point where Ellie actually kicked her off of Southfork because of it.

Aside from her sudden catty behavior toward Pam and Chris, we had to endure her shoddy treatment of her husband, Ray, whom she had really grown to love- and who certainly deserved better. (Indeed, Jenna's indifference towards Ray was so strong that he really didn't factor into this story- which is why I have listed it as a triangle, rather than a quadrangle.)

Of course, Jenna didn't get the guy- and lost the one she already had as well. Ray started divorce proceedings after he overheard her delusional plans for a life with Bobby. Not long after, it was revealed that the Oil Baron's cruise fire- which had almost killed J. R., did end up killing two people, and for which Pam had been arrested- had actually been set by Jenna. Furthermore, it was Jenna who had worked with Katherine Wentworth- not J. R.- to engineer Pam's exile for eleven years. Pam and Bobby never had the chance to confront Jenna about these issues, however; upon realizing that her role in the fire had been discovered, Jenna hanged herself rather than go to jail.

This triangle- while entertaining in parts- relied too heavily on Jenna's sudden personality change as its focus. (Again, plot at the expense of character...) The story might have been more engaging had Jenna retained her basic good persona; that would have made Bobby's choice- and ours- much harder. As it was, Bobby showed absolutely no interest in Jenna after reuniting with Pam- which made this triangle a hard sell at best.

Best Quadrangle: John Ross/Karen/Christopher/Pamela Rebecca

This quartet provided some of the strongest story for RTS during its first two seasons. (Let's be honest- for most of the first season, they were the story...)

In the beginning, life was simple. John Ross was engaged to Karen; Pamela Rebecca was interested in Christopher. Smooth sailing, right? Sure- until Alan Beam, Karen's daughter, revealed Pamela Rebecca's pregnancy by John Ross (during his wedding to Karen, no less!). Needless to say, the wedding did not continue...

Since that day, watching these four to see which configuration, if any, would take hold made for compelling reading. Brokenhearted, Chris washed his hands of Pamela Rebecca, leaving her and Karen to duke it out over John Ross. Pamela Rebecca used her pregnancy in a bid to alienate John Ross from Karen; despite her best efforts, though, Karen eventually made up with John Ross.

Then a car crash changed the complexion of this quadrangle again. John Ross and Karen made arrangements for a date in a hotel- but Pamela Rebecca was able to delay Karen, and met John Ross there instead. She drugged him and got into bed with him, then waited for Karen to discover them together. Karen did find them together, and was devastated. What Pamela Rebecca didn't count on was John Ross regaining enough of his senses to be horrified by what he believed to have occurred between them; he fled from the scene- in Karen's car (his own car was inaccessible when he tried to leave). However, J. R. and Pamela Rebecca had joined forces to break up John Ross and Karen; with J. R.'s help, Pamela Rebecca had paid someone to slow down Karen's car. Unfortunately, the mechanic had tampered with the breaks in the car instead- which led John Ross straight into a head-on collision with another driver.

As a result of the accident, John Ross spent months in a coma. At this point, Chris chose to reenter the fray again- only this time with Karen as his partner. I was fascinated by Christopher's pursuit of Karen, Karen's conflicting feelings for Chris and John Ross, and Chris' reentry into Pamela Rebecca's life at Karen's request (to find out what her plans for them might be).

For her part, Pamela Rebecca was thrilled to have another chance with Chris- if only because John Ross wasn't available. (A real heart of gold, this one has...) Chris never did learn what Pamela Rebecca was up to on the cruise, though; he took a dive in a game of pool with a mystery man (who turned out to be Eric Stone) in which dinner with Pamela Rebecca was the prize. He didn't seem fazed by this, however, as he and Karen made love for the first time during the cruise. Karen, on the other hand, was seriously ticked off when Chris revealed J. R.'s role in the interruption of her wedding to John Ross.

Chris and Karen made plans to elope not long after returning to Dallas- but John Ross emerged from his coma before they could get away. His memory was more than a little fuzzy in certain details of his life, however. John Ross asked Karen to marry him again- and asked Chris to be his best man! Both reluctantly accepted; Karen didn't feel he was ready to learn the truth about her relationship with Chris.

The quadrangle finally started to wind down towards the end of the second season. Pamela Rebecca's attempt to "refresh" John Ross's memory was thwarted by Karen, who finally told him the entire story of J. R.'s role in the breakup of their wedding, and her love for Chris- as well as Pamela Rebecca's machinations. For her part, Pamela Rebecca came clean about all of her lies, and divulged a shocking secret: J. R. had been responsible for sabotaging Karen's car, which had led to John Ross's coma.

Rather than creating a closure of storyline, the end of this quadrangle created a "ripple" effect across the RTS landscape. Chris and Karen emerged as a strong RTS supercouple, with all the trials and tribulations that come with that (interlopers such as Eric Stone, Karen's drug addiction, Christopher's alcoholism, etc.). John Ross moved on to fatherhood with Pamela Rebecca- and a steamy affair with Melissa McSween. (What can I say? He is his father's son...) Best of all, however, was the effect that the revelation of J. R.'s role in his son's accident had on Sue Ellen. She made it her life's mission to steal Ewing Oil away from J. R., in return for the pain he had caused. Two seasons later, she was his equal partner in the business- and then she started to fall back in love with him... (Yikes!)

Worst Quadrangle: Jack/Sue Ellen/J. R./Iris

Sue Ellen and J. R. have a strong connection which goes beyond the fact that they share a son. For that reason, relationships with other partners only work when they manage to stay out of each other's way- and any romantic entanglement where this is impossible can have only one real ending.

Consider this foursome. Jack and Sue Ellen connected not long after her aborted wedding to Cliff. While they hit a major speed bump in the course of their relationship (see Worst Breakup for details), Sue Ellen eventually tried to give her relationship with Jack another try.

J. R., meanwhile, had been involved with Iris during his years away from Dallas. Her marriage to Rex Wentworth, however, had prevented their relationship from proceeding to the next level. Soon after arriving in Dallas, Iris made arrangements to divorce Rex so that she could explore a true relationship with J. R.

Each of these pairings might have worked out if only Sue Ellen and J. R. had been able to avoid each other. Unfortunately, it was about at this time that Sue Ellen was successful in acquiring half of Ewing Oil, which made her J. R.'s unwilling business partner. Once that came to pass, all bets were off on each of these relationships.

As Sue Ellen spent more and more time around J. R., her relationship with Jack seemed to become a distant memory, to the point where she- and we- couldn't even remember they had ever been involved. Although she tried to fight her feelings for J. R.- and attempted to rekindle her relationship with Jack- her heart was no longer in it. She was falling back in love with J. R., yet again.

As for J. R., he eventually recognized that he still had feelings for Sue Ellen. This realization came not long after seeing characteristics in Iris that he'd never been aware of before. Iris's personality was the other main casualty in this attempt at a quadrangle. Before J. R.'s eyes, Iris would transform from the woman with a heart of gold he had met in Europe to a jealous harpy whenever Sue Ellen was in the conversation- or in the same room.

Once, this foursome ended up dining in the same restaurant together. Jack, at least, was man enough to stand up to J. R.'s barbs towards himself and Sue Ellen with some dignity- and without being adversely affected by the experience. Iris, however, was inexplicably jealous of even this negative attention J. R. lavished on Sue Ellen- which pretty much killed any chance she might have had of making a relationship with J. R. work.

Eventually, the natural conclusion to this scenario came about. After kissing J. R. during a business trip, Sue Ellen finally understood that she had some sort of feelings for J. R.- and that a relationship with Jack was not going to work out. She released Jack from the relationship, and he went out to visit his sister, Jamie, in Arizona. Iris, on the other hand, was forcibly ejected from J. R.'s life; when J. R. got wind that Iris was responsible for sabotaging his investigation of Rex (who had threatened Iris with killing John Ross- and Jack, which would leave Sue Ellen free for J. R.), he told her he never wanted to see her again.

With Jack and Iris out of the way, the path is now clear for Sue Ellen and J. R. to get back together- which is really what we wanted all along...