Labels
Posted by

DALLAS SWEPT AWAY TOO SOON



Currently trending... the bid to save DALLAS; New Dallas as I prefer calling it.
I was SO amazed when the long rested 70s soap (which had  2 T.V films some time later) was revived in 2012,  featuring Dallas alumni; the now late Larry Hagman as the iconic villain J.R Ewing, Patrick Duffy as his gentle yet firm brother Bobby Ewing, Linda Grey as Sue Ellen and Ken Kercheval as Cliff Barnes. Notably missing was the Ewing matriarch Miss Ellie played by Barbara Bel Geddes and Pamela Barnes Ewing, played by Victoria Principal. Instead there are new faces... Josh Henderson who played John Ross Ewing- J.R's son and Jesse Metcalfe as Christopher Ewing; Bobby and Pamela's adopted son. Hence, New Dallas was the new generation rivalry between John Ross and Christopher... mirroring the Cain and Abel rivalry between their fathers decades ago. And there is Brenda Strong playing Bobby's third wife- Anne Ewing, to my dismay.








I was a huge fan of Dallas back in the day so I had some misgivings about New Dallas after managing to watch the first episode. It's been several years of course but I was upset to see how frail Larry Hagman looked; though I was happy to see the aged but still handsome Patrick Duffy who played Bobby Ewing. Bobby has always been my favorite Dallas character and of course Pamela(Victoria Principal). Since they shared a great love and overcame several odds before their relationship ended on an unnatural and sad note, it was very hard seeing him with Anne. I really hoped there would be an episode where Pamela would come back from the dead after so long and explain herself to Bobby and Christopher but it turned out that the poor thing died long ago and her greedy brother Cliff (I always hated that guy) conveniently never told Bobby and Christopher about it- letting them believe for years until after J.R's death that she heartlessly  abandoned them.



Anne is a sweet, lovely woman and while I still prefer Pamela over her, I definitely prefer Anne over Jenna Wade-his first love who ditched him and  whom he  almost married  after he was divorced but eventually ditched to go back to Pamela. After his second wife April's tragic death, it was a surprise to see him with a new wife after so long... but better Anne than Jenna. And Southfork seemed so empty without  Miss Ellie! Duffy, Hagman and Grey were present true but still.... New Dallas is not the same as the old series.
To be honest, after seeing Hagman in the first few episodes, I doubted New Dallas would make it to the end of its first season. Now I hear that it will not be renewed for fourth season. The original Dallas lasted for 14 seasons, so this is a huge blow. Of course there is the void left by Larry Hagman's death and the angst... it's present but obviously not enough to keep it floating. If only Pamela Ewing (Victoria Principal) had returned to Southfork, there would have definitely been a major love triangle story line!
The  fans are not giving up in the bid to save Dallas and since the producers went through a lot of trouble reviving it, they should give it another chance. While I still prefer the original series, this one still has some potential.





Email Post
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts