page_title: Valene Ewing
section_title: Characterization and relationships
hierarchical_section_title: Valene Ewing / Development / Characterization and relationships
caption_attribution_description: Photo taken at the AIR AMERICA movie premiere 1990
context_page_description: Valene "Val" Ewing, portrayed by Joan Van Ark, is a fictional character in the CBS primetime soap opera Knots Landing, a spin-off from the long-running series Dallas, in which she also appeared. The character originated on Dallas in 1978 as the mother of Lucy Ewing and ex-wife of Gary Ewing. Van Ark made several guest appearances on Dallas before becoming one of the main stars of the spin-off Knots Landing in December 1979, though she continued to make small appearances in Dallas for the next several years. Van Ark played Valene in Knots Landing for thirteen of its fourteen seasons, which made her one of the show's longest running stars. The character made her last Knots Landing appearance in 1997, when she appeared in the reunion miniseries Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac. In 2013, Van Ark reprised her character for the new, updated version of Dallas.
  Valene's storyline in her first two episodes on Dallas focuses on the rebuilding of her relationship with estranged ex-husband Gary Ewing. When Valene arrives in Texas to find her daughter, Lucy Ewing, she is brought back into the drama of the Ewing family.
context_section_description: Throughout the course of the show, Val was often played up as the good girl character. When asked about whether Val was a weak character, Van Ark said: "God, no. No she wasn’t. For the very reason that she went through so much and landed on both feet. She was strong in a realistic kind of way. I do remember that TV Guide did a quote that the three of us can be compared to Earth, Wind and Fire. Michele was the Earth, I was the Wind and Donna was the Fire. I think that really captured it." Van Ark was later asked about who she saw Val as today. She said, "Of course the dysfunctional elements would come out. Why even bother otherwise? But of course they would persevere and still be together after all. I think Valene was headed to, and my sister’s like this, after years of doing everything for her husband and her children, Valene was going to further her achievements in the professional world. I think if you saw Valene today she’d be much more accomplished as a writer and would be very successful overall." The actress also said: 
  Since Valene, I’ve tried to do anything and everything but play a goody-two-shoes. I love Val, I adore her. But I spent a total of 15 years—if you count the first year I played her on Dallas. That was quite an investment for me as an actress. If you were playing a goody-two-shoes today, the tabloid media would be dying to catch you on a bad day.  Look at what they’ve done to Tiger Woods. Look at what they’ve done to that man. My feeling is his father—or the absence of his father in his life—is (the root of) what’s going on with Tiger and that marriage. But the media won’t leave him alone. No matter who you are, (the celebrity coverage) is obsessive and constant. It’s hurtful. For me, if they show my face in a bad photo, they latch into me hook, line and sinker. Even Entertainment Tonight now has blood on their hands. It's brutal. I wonder what they’ll do with Alec Baldwin now. He was my brother on Knots. They really threw him under a bus (when endlessly publicizing his infamous voice-mail rant against daughter Ireland, then 11, in 2007). He loves that child so much." 
  
  Valene's relationship with Gary is important to the understanding of her overall character. The Gary/Abby/Valene love triangle, which involved Gary cheating on Valene with Abby Cunningham – the show's main villain – was a monumental storyline for all three characters. Van Ark described the storyline:
  "There wasn’t really anything I could think of, but I will mention that Ted and I went in way early, whenever Donna Mills came on the show, and told David Jacobs that it made total sense that Gary would fall for Abby. I can’t believe I did that but it really provided me with some great stories. Because they were celebrating Donna Mills and she became the center but Gary and Val were supposed to be this enduring couple. Ted and I were saying Gary and Val should break up and Gary should go with Abby. It was a pretty big deal to break up the couple that the show began with. So (the producers) were going toward this, then they pulled away but eventually returned to it. David Jacobs was against it but we convinced him. And it was the longest running story on the show. It took a long time for them to get back together. Eight years."
  Ted Shackelford, who plays Gary, described the love story, "I can't complain. I mean, Gary spent six or seven years being led down the primrose path by one stupid broad after another. So with Val... You'd think after 13 years, at the age they are [Val is 45, Gary is 47] and the amount of bullshit they've been through, they would have learned something! They'd probably have a very comfortable life by now. But it makes for a dead story line."  When asked about working with Van Ark, he said: "I don't know how it could get any better.  She's remarkable, and I'm not blowing smoke up your ass. I'd tell you if I thought she was a pain in the ass, although sometimes she is a pain in the ass. But my best work is done with Joan." Van Ark also discussed Valene's relationship with her daughter, Lucy Ewing. She said, "The spine 
caption: Donna Mills as Abby Cunningham, the primary villain of the show, who seduces Gary Ewing from Val.
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