The cliffhanger that started them all. When J.R. Ewing took a bullet in the season finale, nobody in America could stand the wait. The question 'Who shot J.R.?' became a national obsession that summer, plastered on T-shirts, buttons, and bumper stickers from coast to coast. When the reveal episode finally aired, an estimated 83 million viewers tuned in, setting a record for the most-watched television episode in history. The answer was Kristin Shepard, Sue Ellen's sister and J.R.'s mistress. Larry Hagman knew so far in advance that he refused to film until they renegotiated his contract.