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
And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks at last. Penguin Books published the novel in November 2008. An American edition was published by Grove Press. Ian Pindar, writing for "The Guardian", agreed with Burroughs' assessment about the book but claimed "Neither Burroughs nor Kerouac is at his best here, but Hippos has value as a testament to their latent talent." "The New York Times", in a review panning the novel, called the book "flimsy" "repetitious" and "flat-footed". The review claimed "The best thing about this collaboration between Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs is its gruesomely comic title". A positive review in "The Independent" stated that the