Heir to the independent oil company Ewing Oil, John Ross Ewing Jnr., nicknamed J.R., is the bast*rds bast*rd: an amoral, narcissistic oil baron with almost sociopathic aspects to his personality, constantly scheming to make himself richer and his enemies (which pretty much count as everyone else in the show) poorer. And by poorer, we mean utterly devastated. J.R. doesnt simply steal or plunder: he wipes people out, never satisfied until their lives and/or careers are a burned out wasteland. Played with a cavalier cowboy swagger by the vastly underrated Larry Hagman, J.R. Ewing was simply the most repellent villain in primetime soap in the 1980s, the nastiest man on TV. More than that, though he was one of the most magnificent bast*rds in all of television. His plotting and duplicity knew no bounds hed have rivals arrested, deported, and outright murdered if necessary. J.R.s vindictive attitude would sometimes backfire on him, when ruining someone came to be more important than winning: however, he always seemed to come out on top in the end. After fourteen years of scheming, Machiavellian evil, the series finale saw his power appear crippled, his influence neutered but, true to form, when Dallas was resurrected so was he, cock of the walk once more.