Original series Christopher is born to Kristin Shepard and Jeff Farraday in Los Angeles, California. Kristin returns to Dallas claiming Christopher is J.R.'s son and tries to extort money from him. She also blackmails Dallas oilman Jordan Lee for money claiming Christopher is his son. When Kristin drowns in the Southfork pool, Jeff Farraday contacts
Bobby Ewing, who secretly purchases Christopher for $25,000. Bobby's wife,
Pamela, is thrilled they finally have a child to adopt. Jeff later returns with additional documentation for Bobby concerning Kristin and Christopher. J.R. discovers that Christopher is Kristin's child and believes that he is the father and blackmails Bobby with this information. After Bobby finds Jeff murdered, he and Pam travel to California to investigate the details of Kristin's life before returning to Dallas. It is determined that the documents provided by Jeff to Bobby prove that Kristin miscarried J.R.'s baby. She then married Jeff, who fathered a prematurely-born Christopher. In 1983, Pamela's mother Rebecca dies, leaving a large trust fund for Christopher. His parents divorce that year and during that time, Christopher lives with Pamela. Christopher is overjoyed when his parents remarry in 1986 and move back to
Southfork Ranch, where he is reunited with his cousin,
John Ross. In 1987, Christopher and John Ross have a mock gunfight, and Sue Ellen sends them to play outside. Unable to find a toy gun, Christopher takes Bobby's revolver and after some "
hide and seek", he takes a shot at John Ross; he misses, only shattering a screen door. in 1983. In May 1987, Christopher is devastated when he accidentally overhears a conversation between Miss Ellie and Clayton about him being adopted. His parents comfort him and explain their reasons for not initially telling him the truth. Christopher's life is turned upside down when Pamela has a bad car accident; when Bobby keeps him away from the hospital, the boy believes it is because he is adopted. Soon after, Pamela disappears from the hospital, leaving a note for Bobby that claims she doesn't want anyone to see how badly burned she actually is. Christopher is bitter and angry when Pamela requests a divorce; later, he's forced into the middle of a custody battle between Bobby and Lisa Alden, Jeff Farraday's sister. Lisa drops the case after hearing Christopher tell the judge he doesn't want to be away from his father. In 1989, Christopher and John Ross discuss J.R.'s new wife,
Cally, and conclude that they've done all right despite not having their mothers around; they also agree that all women cause trouble. However, both boys bond with Cally, and Christopher is a bit jealous of the attention she gives John Ross. Accompanied by Bobby and his girlfriend, April Stevens, Christopher goes on his first date that fall. When John Ross gets a motorcycle as a gift from his new-found half-brother,
James, Christopher is left alone. John Ross teases his cousin about being the baby of the family, and they have a fight. Christopher takes out his anger by throwing darts at a picture of John Ross. In 1990, Bobby and April marry, and Christopher approves. However, his happiness is short-lived: April is killed on the honeymoon. In 1991, John Ross is sent to live with his mother in London. Missing his cousin greatly, Christopher visits him in London in May 1991.
2012 (TV series) In the 2012 continuation of the television series, a grown-up Christopher (now portrayed by Jesse Metcalfe) takes after Bobby and concerns himself with the welfare of the land and environment. However, John Ross is more like JR, pitting the two against each other. Christopher is looking into
alternative energy sources such as
methane ice, which could cause some problems since the family has been in the oil business for decades. Christopher resents John Ross because he feels that his cousin has exploited the Ewing name to get anything he wants, while John Ross has continually criticized him for not being a biological Ewing. He was married to John Ross's wife
Pamela (who was originally posing as a woman named Rebecca Sutter, who turned out to be Cliff Barnes' daughter, making Pamela Christopher's adopted cousin; Cliff was the first Pamela Barnes Ewing's brother) who miscarried their twin children. He was once re-engaged to Elena, but he broke up with her over her deception involving her brother Drew and the sabotage of his methane rig. Later he takes a romantic interest in a Southfork ranch hand named Heather (
AnnaLynne McCord). It is mentioned that he attended
Stanford University prior to the events of the revival series. In the final episode of the series in 2014, a man who
appeared to be Christopher (but only seen from the back) was seen getting into a car that then exploded moments later. It is possible that a
car bomb was planted on the orders of Elena's lover
Nicolas Treviño, but the cliffhanger was never resolved. ==Reception==