At long last! After months and months and months of waiting….TNT has revived the popularly decadent and scandalous night-time soap opera, DALLAS! We are huge fans of the show and even bigger fans of JR. We decided to forego movie watching this week in order to celebrate the summer premiere of TNT’s DALLAS.
Our celebration included a hearty dinner of barbecued ribs, potato salad, green beans, and biscuits—a real, Texan-sized, stick-to-your-ribs, keep-your-napkin-under-your-biscuit-to-catch-the-dripping-butter, where-are-the-wet-wipes-this-sauce-is-everywhere, meal. We gathered together at 7pm—2 hours before the premiere. We relived the greatest moments of DALLAS history by watching the 2004 CBS Reunion Special for DALLAS. We got to see awesome bloopers, outtakes, the top 10 DALLAS cliffhangers (Who Shot J.R. was #1----DUH!) It was a great production, actually, and we were constantly laughing at Larry Hagman’s behind the scenes antics---who knew he was so funny!!??
At 9pm, the pilot episode of the new DALLAS hit the screens. There’s a lot going for it…. Not the least of which are the hotties playing Christopher (Bobby and Pam’s adopted son) and John Ross (J.R. and Sue Ellen’s son). Filmed primarily on location in Texas (a plus that the original series didn’t have), the setting is awesome and expansive. Southfork is still beautiful (Jason’s mantra of the night was “I’m going inside that house before I die.”). The new series is not a “re-do” of the original—that would never fly with DALLAS fans. I mean, who else could EVER be J.R.???? Larry Hagman is J.R., and only Larry Hagman. Period. The fat lady has sung. Instead, the new series is what I like to term: “DALLAS: THE NEXT GENERATION”. Bobby, Sue Ellen, and J.R. are back, older of course, but still worried with the quest for power, money, and control of Southfork. The crux of the show this time is the story of the Ewing children: John Ross and Christopher. Love triangles, backstabbing, manipulation, jealousy, self-importance…. Yep, the apples haven’t fallen far from the trees….but then…. It wouldn’t be DALLAS otherwise! For those of you that are waiting to watch the first 2 episodes on your DVR, I’m not going to reveal anything because there are a ton of “WHAT?!” and “OH MY GOD?!?” moments already in the first 2 hours. However, I will give you a few tidbits to whet your appetite:
· Feuds (this is bigger than the Hatfields and McCoys, folks—pay close attention)
*Bobby vs. J.R. (Still! After all these years!)
*John Ross vs. Christopher
*John Ross vs. Bobby (Mrs. Ellie’s demand for no drilling on Southfork is paramount)
*John Ross vs. J.R. (Oh yes!)
*Bobby vs. Christopher (would seem unlikely, but I swear this is gonna happen over the
potential sale of Southfork)
*Sue Ellen vs. _______ (with her political aspirations I believe she’ll, in the end, be at
war with everyone)
*Elena vs. Rebecca (fighting for the love of Christopher… with a twist on Rebecca’s end…
but I'm not spoiling that for folks that haven’t watched yet)
and in the future….
*Ann vs. Pamela (now, no one has said that Victoria Principle is coming back to the show, but Jason and I feel it’s pretty likely. Pam and Bobby belong together, and if they’ll pull that stupid “this was all a dream” shower scene to bring Bobby back from the dead in the original, they’ll bring Pam back…especially since she was never TRULY declared dead….)
· Things We Loved:
*THEME SONG: the BEST theme music for a tv show, EVER. EVER. So happy they kept the
opening credits exactly the same!
*Blasts from the Past: Ray and Lucy show up to the wedding!!!! (Steve Kanaly and Charlene
Tilton) Always loved them, and I think they’ll continue to pop up as the season
progresses. If you’d seen the look on Lucy’s face when Bobby talks about
potentially selling Southfork, you’d agree with me.
*J.R.: The man is 80, but he’s still got it. He is just as manipulative, just as conniving, just
as scheming as he ever was. You wonder there in the beginning, but boy you know
without a shadow of a doubt by the end. He’s back, and back with a vengeance.
Not to mention those eyebrows….they’re like devil’s horns!
*One-liners: The writers had some great dialogue. There were constantly little quips and
gems from J.R. and Bobby (and the others) that just really nailed that DALLAS tongue-
in-cheek, double-meaning, counter-purpose dialogue.
· House Divided (again):
During the Reunion Special, we were talking about our favorite moments and characters from the original series, and we found out we disagreed about one: Mrs. Ellie! Jason and I loved her. Kathy didn’t care for her at all. (We did all agree though that the one season Donna Reed stood in for Barbara Bel Geddes, Donna Reed sucked!)
· Favorite Line of the Night:
There were a lot of good ones, really. But my absolute favorite was towards the end of the 2nd hour, and it was more about the timing of the line, and Kathy’s response:
J.R. has gone to Mexico to see a man about a deal he’s making. As J.R. walks up to this Mexican hacienda, he has a voice-over that says: “There’s an old Mexican saying that “it’s better to be old than to be the devil…”
Kathy immediately replies: “Unless you’re old AND the devil….”
Ratings: I did not ask my counterparts their comments or their ratings. I feel it’s a little early to decide. I feel we are slightly divided at the moment based on our reactions. Jason and I, I think, are excited and really enjoying it so far. Kathy, I think, feels there’s a little something missing as compared with the original, but, I think, she likes it ok… We do all agree, however, that if this were coming on without some of the original cast (especially Bobby and J.R.) and all that history, we probably wouldn’t be too enthused. I mean, let’s face it, J.R. IS DALLAS, and without him, it just would NOT be the same. After we’ve seen more of the season, we’ll revisit this and give a rating.
LONG LIVE DALLAS!
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