J. R. Ewing subterfuges to plunder his foes' wealth. The original series concept was a blend of "Bonanza" with a rich, western patriarch and his three dissimilar sons, "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" with its rival brothers, and their scheming wives, and "Romeo and Juliet" with two star-crossed lovers whose families are sworn enemies. The focus of the series was initially the feuding families, with J.R. just a supporting character, but his popularity grew and the producers acknowledged he became the breakout character. Two highly rated 1980 episodes became part of a cultural phenomenon that year known as "Who shot J.R.?". In
Their Eyes Were Watching God the Uplift agenda, the magazine also included homoerotic work as well as portrayals of prostitution. Foreshadowing the African-American community's response to "Their Eyes Were Watching God", "FIRE!!" sold very poorly and was condemned as maligning the image of the community. A "Baltimore Afro-American" reviewer wrote that he "just tossed the first issue of "FIRE!!" into the fire". The main character Janie Crawford, an African-American woman in her early forties, tells the story of her life to her best friend Pheoby Watson through an extended flashback. Readers receive the story of her life in three major periods corresponding to her marriages