Dallas (1978)

Watchseries; Dallas is the greatest TV series of all time - sure it's a guilty pleasure, escapist fantasy but extremely well done - compare this with utter drivel like Dynasty ( as Terry Wogan more accurately called it "Dysentery"!)

There's something - and someone - in it for everyone:- big business wheeling and dealing, bar-room brawls, love affairs, all the other Soap Opera staples - but with an unlimited expense account.

Strong male characters - Bobby, Ray, Jock, Clayton;

Strong female characters - Miss Ellie, Pam, Donna;

The most lovable villain ever created - JR Ewing, superbly played by Larry Hagman and then there's Sue Ellen, the equally superb Linda Gray, who is in a category all of her own.

At its mid-80s peak the most gorgeous women on the planet - and they're not made of plastic either.

Up until the infamous dream season - and thats 8 years into the show's run - even the slightly silly elements are kept within bounds and is part of its charm ( ie. the poison dwarf, only having one phone and one servant in the early series etc).

And of course, there's THAT theme music/opening credits!

Dallas is the greatest TV series of all time - sure it's a guilty pleasure, escapist fantasy but extremely well done - compare this with utter drivel like Dynasty ( as Terry Wogan more accurately called it "Dysentery"!)

There's something - and someone - in it for everyone:- big business wheeling and dealing, bar-room brawls, love affairs, all the other Soap Opera staples - but with an unlimited expense account.

Strong male characters - Bobby, Ray, Jock, Clayton;

Strong female characters - Miss Ellie, Pam, Donna;

The most lovable villain ever created - JR Ewing, superbly played by Larry Hagman and then there's Sue Ellen, the equally superb Linda Gray, who is in a category all of her own.

At its mid-80s peak the most gorgeous women on the planet - and they're not made of plastic either.

Up until the infamous dream season - and thats 8 years into the show's run - even the slightly silly elements are kept within bounds and is part of its charm ( ie. the poison dwarf, only having one phone and one servant in the early series etc).

And of course, there's THAT theme music/opening credits!

Dallas watchseries. When Dallas was aired for the first times in the 80s I was a child and I couldn't appreciate it yet. Since last September, when a satellite channel proposed again this Soap Opera, I had a small crush of it. I became fond of J.R.'s intrigues, his rivalry with Bobby and Cliff Barnes, the beautiful Pamela and nice Miss Ellie.

Dallas' strength is the plot. Not completely concerned about love and betrayals (typical but annoying), the Ewing Oil battles can move even the male audience transforming the Soap in a TV-series. Jim Davis' death (the mythical Jock, R.I.P.) put a lot of fuel in the "engines" with the legacy questions and relations getting worse. J.R.'s Machiavellian plans filled the script of amusing and caustic irony, always enjoyable.

The recitative level wasn't so great; all the actors, actually, had their height in this series, but the general quality is decent. Except for Ken Kercheval and Steve Kanaly, which proved to be good actors giving a great shape to their characters, challenging J.R. at any cost. Special mention to Charlene Tilton, which is really beautiful and should have had greater relief in the story.

Ending too late, in 1991 (2-3 years too many), the story was slowly plagued by script tricks and poorly credible deaths or departures, compromising its heritage made of several Emmys and 1 Golden Globe won.

6,5 / 10

Dallas was and still is a TV phenomenon. It took the model of the tired old American soap and turned it into something fresh, fascinating and compelling watched by millions of people around the world. It used for the first time the device of the cliffhanger at the end of the season to keep people coming back for more. Personally I believe the 1981-1984 central seasons were its high point with the titanic struggle between JR and Bobby for control of Ewing Oil plus other strong story lines.

What was the secret of its success and longevity? I believe this is down to 3 factors.

1. The story lines cleverly combined subjects that would appeal to a mass audience - love and sex, glamour, money and power, family problems, and controversial subjects for the time e.g. Sue Ellen's alcoholism that attracted interest and raised awareness.

2. Excellent writing with top notch scripts.

3. Superb acting from the key cast team. I have to single out Larry Hagman's performance as JR, I have never seen any performance to match it in any TV drama. He completely got under JR's skin and while he showed us what a monster the man was, he also made us aware of his redeeming features (particularly his strong sense of family) so that we never quite lost empathy for him. Patrick Duffy, Linda Gray and Ken Kercheval also gave remarkable performances as Bobby the 'good' brother who was never boring, Sue Ellen the wronged wife who eventually found a life of her own and Cliff, JR's neurotic, bungling rival who rarely managed to best him.

Dallas garners its own chapter in the history of television for several reasons. In its heyday this show was very popular! (The Who Shot JR episode remains one of the most watched programs of all time.) Dallas defined the 80's as the 'ME' generation, big hair and Republican values! JR Ewing takes his place as one of fictions most notorious villains. And the show itself conquered new territory. It was trashy television ... with bite!

The story centers around the Ewing family. Their lives center around oil and power (two things that mixed well in the 1980's). Their nemisis is the family Barnes, bitter rivals continuously looking for their fair share of an empire that they claim they helped to build.

The series opens up as Bobby Ewing brings home his new wife Pamela, first daughter to the Barnes family. The soap opera takes off and the sparks fly.

Over a 13 year run the show deals with all sorts of issues. Alcoholism (Sue Ellen is fabulous when she is sloppy!), infidelity, (JR sleeps with just about anyone with a skirt), drugs, impotence, politics, down syndrome, sibling rivalry, neurofibromatosis, breast cancer, divorce, child custody, homosexuality and physical abuse. And what's so great is that it deals with none of these topics well.

Dallas is not a show to be taken seriously, at least not on a cerebral level. If you want serious drama, watch Hill Street Blues. If you want something preachy, watch Facts of Life. Dallas is best watched with brain waves turned down to their lowest level, with a grain of salt and with an ear for catty drama!

Best storyline: Sue Ellen's drinking causes her to have the baby prematurely. No one knows for sure who the baby's real father is (Cliff or JR) - but Pam had better find out soon as she has just learned that she and Cliff are carrying a gene that could kill any children they intend to have. Complicated? Yes. But you gotta love it!

This show literally changed prime-time television for the better. The show centers around the lives, loves and scandals of the Ewings, a family of oil-rich barons who reside in-where else?-Dallas. When the

show started on CBS in the spring of 1978, the show centered around the "Romeo & Juliet" love story of Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy) and Pamela Barnes Ewing (Victoria Principal), the daughter of the Ewings' arch enemy Digger Barnes. Story lines, and ratings. changed for the better when DALLAS refocused on the devilish dealings of Bobby's oldest brother John Ross "JR" Ewing, Jr. (Larry Hagman. DALLAS reached the peak of its' popularity when JR was shot in the spring of 1980. For years, the show would remain at the top of the ratings until it started getting competition first from ABC's "Dynasty" and then NBC's "The Cosby Show". DALLAS' ratings was never the same after 1986 when Pam dreamed the entire 1985-1986 season. The show ran until 1991, when low ratings virtually killed it. It also spun off the longest-running prime-time soap ever, KNOTS LANDING.

I can't believe that Dallas is being made into a film starring John Travolta as J.R. Ewing. There will only be one J.R. Ewing and that's Larry Hagman. I don't care if he is too ill to play him but I can't imagine another J.R. Ewing. I remember watching Dallas on Friday nights after another southern show, Dukes of Hazzard. I always thought Dallas was great show always entertaining with a stellar cast besides Larry Hagman, Linda Gray, Victoria Principal, Barbara Bel Geddes, George Kennedy, Ken Kercheval, Patrick Duffy, Priscilla Presley, Charlene Tilton, etc. This was one show that was quite entertaining to watch on Friday nights. Sure, it was silly sometimes but you can't beat Dallas not with the original cast. It was quite a show of the 1980s.