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 create the space for the rediscovery of Hurston. Hurston first achieved a level of mainstream institutional support in the 1970s. Walker published an essay, "Looking for Zora," in "Ms." magazine in 1975. In that work, she described how the Black community's general rejection of Hurston was like "throwing away a genius". The National Endowment for the Humanities went on to award Robert Hemenway two grants for his work to write Hurston's biography. The 1977 biography was followed in 1978 by the re-issue of "Their Eyes Were Watching God". In 1975, the Modern Language Association held a special seminar focusing on