<P> "Who Done It?" was, at the time, the highest - rated television episode in U.S. history . It had a Nielsen rating of 53.3 and a 76% share, and it was estimated that 83 million people watched the episode, more than the number of voters in that year's presidential election . The previous record for a TV episode had been the 1967 finale for The Fugitive . "Who Done It?" now sits second on the list, beaten in 1983 by the final episode of M * A * S * H. In 2011, Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly named "A House Divided" number one of the seven most "Unforgettable Cliff - Hangers" of prime time dramatic television . The episode was also very popular outside the United States; a session of the Turkish parliament was suspended to allow legislators a chance to get home in time to view the conclusion of the cliffhanger . </P> <P> The great success of this 1980 stunt helped popularize in the United States the practice of ending a television season with a cliffhanger . The episode also inspired a novelty record by radio personality Gary Burbank which hit the Billboard Top 100 in 1980 . In addition, the episode is credited with helping CNN, which began airing in June 1980, to get off the ground . </P> <P> The "Who shot J.R.?" storyline was spoofed in the February 21, 1981, episode of Saturday Night Live, which was guest - hosted by Dallas star Charlene Tilton . The episode, sometimes referred to as "Who Shot C.R.?", provided several cast members with various motivations to hate co-star Charles Rocket, who is shot in the episode . At the end of the episode, Rocket made the notorious ad - libbed comment "I'd like to know who the fuck did it", for which he was subsequently fired . </P> <P> It was spoofed in an episodes of The Jeffersons ("As Florence Turns"), when Florence writes a soap opera based on caricatures of The Jeffersons characters . </P>

Who shot jr in the 1980 dallas cliffhanger