Dallas (TV Series)

[Alexander Corrino]

Okay I searched and only found a thread from 2016, so I guess I'm not only allowed but also required to create a new one.

Dallas is my favorite TV show of all time (well at least up to the dream season), and I've seen quite a few others here liking it as well, so I thought there might be room for discussion about favorite plots, characters, locations...

I did a re-watch of the show (up to the dream season) recently and I really loved most of the storylines all over again. Dallas is so much more than a campy soap opera, it really touched some heavy issues of its time (sometimes in a way that seems a little weird nowadays but often also surprisingly progressively). Not saying it doesn't have it's campy soap opera moments as well tho, of course.

I guess my favorite episodes are always the ones in which JR owns Cliff Barnes in some way, especially over a long time (like when he tricks him into going into politics to get him out of the OLM).

My favorite weird plot line will always be the Ray/Lucy relationship in the first season that gets a rather... umm... concerning twist later when Ray turns out to be Lucy's uncle. Whoops?

Character-wise I'm a big fan of Sue Ellen, she's my favorite character along with JR and I think she gets the most amazing character arc and development of all the main characters over the course of the show. A friend of mine got me a personalized Linda Gray autograph at a convention recently and I nerded out so much about it - and then even more when Linda Gray liked my tweet about it. (I know, I know, stop fanboying. But... LINDA GRAY!!!)

To me Dallas is more than just a series - it's there when I just want to escape back into the late 70s/80s when the world was a different place. (I do kinda love how entire plot elements of Dallas would not happen nowadays anymore because of smartphones - such as when someone is not told that something bad happened, like when Sue Ellen comes home after Bobby's death, completely oblivious to what happened and JR rips into her for it.)

I would mention the "modern" continuation but I couldn't get past its first season, it just wasn't for me, so I shall leave that to those who have seen it. (I do know that its cliffhanger ending and then sudden cancellation caused outrage tho.)

Anyways... what's your favorite plot? Favorite episode? Favorite character? And yeah, how much of a debacle was the Bobby Ewing Under The Shower scene? Are you Team Ewing or Team Barnes? Would you want to live at Southfork? Or work at Ewing Oil? Or Barnes-Wentworth?

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

The original run, even towards the end, was great TV. Maybe not the original primetime soap, but the best.

The later TNT series was OK, but it felt a little forced. Everyone was scheming against everyone. The original had some characters not trying to stab someone else in the back.

 

[Galileo7]

It had a good theme.

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[Alexander Corrino]

The original run, even towards the end, was great TV. Maybe not the original primetime soap, but the best.

The later TNT series was OK, but it felt a little forced. Everyone was scheming against everyone. The original had some characters not trying to stab someone else in the back.

I really enjoyed how the original series always tried to portray Bobby as "the good brother" who wouldn't resort to the things JR resorted to, but as soon as Bobby gets a whiff of the power that Ewing Oil represents (when JR is injured, for example), he eventually succumbs to the same kind of behavior JR displays. Because power corrupts. It's a nice little morality lesson, IMO. I also enjoyed the balance of "nice characters" vs. "evil characters" on the original series although the nice ones are often easy victims for JR (such as Valene and Gary).

It had a good theme.

I loooove the Dallas theme, it's catchy and super recognizable. I also love the iconic screen split scenes. And the fact that the original series's cast appears in alphabetical order, not in order of "how important is this character to the show" (which was apparently rare since other shows usually used the "importance" model in their opening credits).

 

[Captaindemotion]

Dallas was superior to the other similar soaps, not just because it was the daddy of them, but because it knew when not to take itself too seriously and when to take itself seriously enough. Plus Larry Hagman was a fine and charismatic actor. Great theme tune too.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

I love Dallas. As a kid, I watched it with mom every Friday night. I still remember who shot J.R. and the weird season where Donna Reed played Miss Ellie.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Both iterations of the show handled the deaths of main actors pretty well.

When Jim Davis passed, they ended up doing Jock's death just like you'd expect on a soap, died in a helicopter crash and no body recovered. That left things "open" for the Wes Parmalee imposter storyline.

When Larry Hagman died, they still had J.R.'s schemes running full tilt. Even his actual death was a misdirection.

 

[Alexander Corrino]

Dallas was superior to the other similar soaps, not just because it was the daddy of them, but because it knew when not to take itself too seriously and when to take itself seriously enough. Plus Larry Hagman was a fine and charismatic actor. Great theme tune too.

Agreed. I do also enjoy Dynasty but it's just such a totally silly campy show that I can't even begin to take it seriously (except maybe its first season when it was basically a weak copy of Dallas). I need to be in a specific mood to be able to get through that series, and I never have this problem with Dallas, I'm always in the mood for an episode. And I also agree about Larry Hagman. He carried the show on more than one occasion through more than one rather... underdeveloped plot. They were lucky to have him - I'm still in awe about the fact that JR was never supposed to be the main character of the show and that it was only after viewers loved him so much after the first season (aka miniseries) that he was put into the main seat. Best decision the writers/producers ever made - I don't think the show would have been as successful if they had gone with their original plan to make it all about Bobby and Pam. (I mean they did keep the Barnes vs. Ewing thing, but it was a strong supporting element, not always the main one.)

I love Dallas. As a kid, I watched it with mom every Friday night. I still remember who shot J.R. and the weird season where Donna Reed played Miss Ellie.

OMG yeah. I just watched that season a few weeks ago and it's so incredibly jarring to see Donna Reed basically playing a glam version of Miss Ellie. She interpreted the character completely differently, and she was SO MUCH THE WRONG ACTRESS for it, especially after Barbara Bel Geddes' wonderful down-to-Earth and hands-on performance for seven seasons. Reed is a fine actress, don't get me wrong, but she was SO WRONG in that role. And I really felt she had no chemistry whatsoever with Howard Keel/Clayton Farlow (mmm, now THERE'S my type, haha), unlike Barbara Bel Geddes. It really brings all my enjoyment to a screeching halt. I don't blame Donna Reed, she did what she thought was best, but I am really not surprised at all that fans didn't like her as Miss Ellie. I'm really glad that BBG came back. She just... WAS Miss Ellie.

When Jim Davis passed, they ended up doing Jock's death just like you'd expect on a soap, died in a helicopter crash and no body recovered. That left things "open" for the Wes Parmalee imposter storyline..

It really impressed me when I read that Jim Davis was very ill already when he was doing his final scenes as Jock but he was a total professional right until the end and played his scenes through despite everything (he was sitting most of the time, granted, but that was all). Amazing actor. I'm not the biggest fan of Jock Ewing's macho style and his way of treating his sons (especially Gary) but Davis did a WONDERFUL job. Never liked the Parmalee storyline tho. Poor Miss Ellie, being so tortured over it!

 

[J.T.B.]

I remember watching the premiere. I guess it must have gotten a lot of press because my whole family was waiting for it to start. I remember I wasn't aware of a Mercedes roadster before, there weren't any where I lived for sure.

I watched it for a few years but lost interest after "who shot JR." Most shows like that have maybe four good seasons, then it just feels like they're going in circles, IMO.

I would watch Jim Davis in anything. Two of the great Western voices in Dallas, Davis and Morgan Woodward.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

I remember watching the premiere. I guess it must have gotten a lot of press because my whole family was waiting for it to start. I remember I wasn't aware of a Mercedes roadster before, there weren't any where I lived for sure.

I watched it for a few years but lost interest after "who shot JR." Most shows like that have maybe four good seasons, then it just feels like they're going in circles, IMO.

I would watch Jim Davis in anything. Two of the great Western voices in Dallas, Davis and Morgan Woodward.

Soaps in general regurgitate the same 3 or 4 tropes. Dead characters coming back, stolen babies, long lost relations, etc, etc.

Writing and strength of cast usually make or break a soap.

 

[Alexander Corrino]

I would watch Jim Davis in anything. Two of the great Western voices in Dallas, Davis and Morgan Woodward.

I love Morgan Woodward's character, Marvin "Punk" Anderson, as well, yes! Woodward really filled that character with so much personality even though Punk was only a supporting character. I love how crucial he was when it came to Jock's will, and how he tried to do what Jock would have wanted.