Tag Archives: Dallas TNT

We’re looking forward to ‘Dallas’ returning

I’m enjoying TV series old and new this summer and fall, but I have to admit I’m looking forward to the return, over the winter, of some favorites like “The Walking Dead,” “Justified” and “Dallas.”

A reader asked when “Dallas” is returning for its third season. I did some online checking and found … well, nothing very specific. TNT says the third season – the first without Larry Hagman as J.R. Ewing – will return in early 2014.

Here’s the TNT press release, from April:

TNT has renewed the hit drama series Dallas for a third season. Produced by Warner Horizon Television, Dallas centers on the Ewing clan, an enormously wealthy Texas family whose sibling rivalries, romantic betrayals, corruption and even murder are truly legendary. TNT has ordered 15 episodes for the third season, which is slated to launch in early 2014.

“Dallas has built a passionately loyal following with its expertly woven storylines, clever twists and turns, and numerous outstanding performances by a cast that spans generations,” said Michael Wright, president, head of programming for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies (TCM). “Although we said goodbye to Larry Hagman and his iconic character J.R. Ewing this year, Dallas has many more stories left to tell, and the Ewing clan will continue to honor J.R.’s memory by keeping its audience surprised and delighted.”

TNT’s Dallas stars Patrick Duffy as Bobby Ewing, who is now the senior member of the Ewing family following the death of his older brother, J.R. Ewing. Linda Gray stars as Sue Ellen Ewing, J.R.’s former wife and the mother of his son, John Ross, played by Josh Henderson. Jesse Metcalfe is Christopher, Bobby’s adopted son, and Jordana Brewster is Elena Ramos, who grew up in the Ewing household and is now fighting for her own family’s legacy. Julie Gonzalo is Pamela Rebecca Barnes, Christopher’s ex-wife and the daughter of Cliff Barnes (Ken Kercheval), a longtime rival of the Ewings. Brenda Strong stars as Bobby’s wife, Ann, while Mitch Pileggi stars as Harris Ryland, Ann’s scheming ex-husband. The ensemble cast also includes Emma Bell as Emma Brown, a sheltered beauty whose father has taught her to distrust the world around her, and Kuno Becker as Drew Ramos, Elena’s troubled brother who has recently returned to Southfork.

Dallas launched on TNT last summer and ranked as basic cable’s #1 new drama of 2012 with key adult demos. In its second season, Dallas has averaged 3.8 million viewers in Live + 7 delivery, with 1.6 million adults 25-54 and 1.4 million adults 18-49.

Created by David Jacobs and developed by Cynthia Cidre, Dallas is executive-produced by Cidre, Michael M. Robin and Robert Rovner. The series is shot on location in the title city.

When I know a specific date, I’ll let you know.

‘Dallas’ returns strong, builds to goodbye to JR

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It was, perhaps, inevitable. After battling cancer for years, Larry Hagman – beloved by a couple of generations of soap opera watchers as J.R. Ewing of “Dallas” – succumbed last November, after filming a few episodes of the second season of the “Dallas” revival on TNT.

TNT and producer Cynthia Cidre – the latter responsible for the topnotch return of the series last year – have said they’ll pay homage to not only Hagman but the famous “Who Shot J.R.” storyline from the show’s original run decades ago by killing off J.R. in an upcoming episode.

The passing of the Texas oil man and winking conniver and womanizer will have a big impact on the show. I’m not convinced we’ll see a third season, but that depends on how much viewers judge the series has lost because of Hagman’s passing.

In the meantime, let’s all raise a glass – even if imaginary – of bourbon and branch and enjoy Hagman as J.R. while we still have him. We can start Monday night, when the new season begins.

I’ve seen the first two hours and found them like the best of the first season: Enjoyable soapy goings-on with misunderstandings, back stabbings and intrigue aplenty.

As Bobby, his son Christopher and J.R.’s son John Ross jump-start Ewing Energies, all the characters have some good scenes. John Ross picks up the bride to be at a bachelorette party and beds her to blackmail her father, uttering the immortal phrase, “Love is for pussies.”

Christopher’s bride, Rebecca – revealed last season to be the daughter of longtime Ewing rival Cliff Barnes – returns and a custody battle will soon be brewing over the twin babies she’s carrying.

Bobby continues to investigate the circumstances behind the kidnapping, 20 years earlier, of wife Anne’s child.

And Sue Ellen’s political fortunes very nearly drive her to drink again.

I really, really want this new “Dallas” to succeed, but they might have a tough row to hoe without Hagman. If the producers focus on snappy lines and meaty stories for Josh Henderson as John Ross, they might create a truly worthy follow-up.

It’ll be hard to top Hagman’s character or his delivery, though. Example: A line in the second half of the premiere when J.R. turns to a Barnes family henchman and asks, “How does it feel to be a poodle?”

J.R., we’re going to miss you.

Looking ahead to ‘Dallas’ returning … and J.R.

‘Dallas’ closes great first season with ‘Revelations’

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I hope you’ve been watching the revival of “Dallas” this summer on TNT. If so, you’ve seen one of the best continuations of a TV show I’ve ever seen.

If you’ve been watching, you’ll want to tune in tonight at 9 on TNT for the season finale, “Revelations.”

The first season of Ewing family in-fighting – new but comfortingly familiar – climaxes tonight. So far this season we’ve seen the storyline move along two main paths: John Ross, the son of J.R. and Sue Ellen Ewing, was conniving to break into the oil business, even if it meant drilling on family homestead Southfork Ranch.

The plan caused conflicts not only with John Ross’ cousin, Christopher, and his father, Bobby, but also with J.R. Ewing himself, who wants to get his hands on Southfork.

The fate of both Southfork and Christopher’s alternative energy start-up has been at stake in a complicated scheme that involved a bunch of Venezualans. That’s all resolved nicely tonight.

The other main storyline depicted the romantic turmoil surrounding Christopher and his “good girl with a secret” wife Rebecca as well as John Ross and girlfriend Elena, daughter of the family’s longtime maid.

If you haven’t been watching and think that plot makes it sound like the older generation of Ewings – brothers J.R. and Bobby, J.R.’s ex Sue Ellen and Bobby’s second wife, Ann – get short shrift in the new series, that hasn’t been the case.

Most of the emotional high points – and the best lines of dialogue – of the new series have revolved around the older generation and that’s the case tonight too.

So here are some random, relatively spoiler-free observations about tonight’s last episode of the season:

If you saw the end of last week’s episode, you saw that Rebecca, trying to break free from the scheme involving her pretend “brother” Tommy, struggled with Tommy over a gun. There’s little surprise who turns up dead at the beginning of this episode.

Bobby, in the latest in a series of medical issues, ends up in the hospital. There’s a genuinely touching moment as J.R. urges a comatose Bobby to “wake up and fight … fight me.” If you’re not a little misty after this scene, you’re not a “Dallas” fan.

John Ross, trying to reform, teams with Christopher to found a new company, Ewing Energies. Best part: It’s located in the old Ewing Oil building (albeit gutted and unrecognizable from its dated 1980s glory. Probably for the best.). Even better: You know these guys are eventually going to be at each other’s throats.

One relationship ends, ostensibly, in tonight’s episode, while another begins, in good soap opera fashion.

For those of us who loved Mitch Pileggi as FBI boss Skinner on “The X-Files,” his role as a sleazy Dallas businessman here is a shock. But he gets what’s coming to him tonight.

Linda Gray, always a bright spot in the original series as Sue Ellen, has had an “okay” role in this series so far. She gets a few nice moments tonight, as does Brenda Strong as Ann, Bobby’s wife. It’ll be nice to see more for them next season.

The final scene between Bobby (Patrick Duffy, solid as ever here) and J.R. (Larry Hagman, worth his weight in black gold) is perfect. Just perfect.

There’s a nice twist – no spoilers here – in tonight’s episode but it’s telegraphed somewhat by the opening credits. Don’t pay too much attention to the names of the guest stars tonight or you might see it coming.

And you don’t want to see it coming.

The final scene of this season finale and the final line of dialogue are just right.

I can’t wait until next season.

Sneak peek: ‘Dallas’ gets twisty with ‘Family Business’

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Always a master of understatement, Bobby Ewing at some point during “Family Business,” Wednesday night’s episode of “Dallas,” says, “This family’s in trouble.”

Yes, Bobby. It’s been that way since the 1970s and frankly we wouldn’t have it any other way.

I was a little skeptical when TNT announced its continuation of “Dallas.” Various prequels and sequels to the great nighttime soap have been attempted before, including an “early years” TV movie featuring the younger days of Jock Ewing, Ellie Farnsworth and Cliff Barnes. None had absolutely clicked and none was very successful.

But TNT’s series, set in modern day a couple of decades after we last saw the Ewings, works and works very well.

I don’t usually get to see TV shows in advance, but I got my hands on the last couple of episodes of the season. I’m here to tell you, darlin’, they’re good. They very well might rank up there, purely in terms of soapy storyline and good scenes for characters, with the best of the old show.

If you’ve been watching, you know that cousins John Ross and Christopher (Jesse Metcalf and Josh Henderson), the sons of J.R. and Bobby, have been struggling through various personal dramas, especially their dealings with the women in their lives, maid’s daughter Elena (Jordana Brewster) and good-girl-with-a-secret Rebecca (Julie Gonzalo). This has played out in front of a backdrop of struggle over control of South Fork Ranch and the possibility of drilling for oil on the land.

In Wednesday’s next-to-last episode of the season, the cousins also turn to family doings and business dealings as a Ewing has a health crisis and the cousins consider the unthinkable (at least for their fathers): Working together.

If it sounds like there’s a lot of emphasis on the younger Ewings, that’s true. But the older generation really gets all the best moments.

One gets the aforementioned health crisis, while another meets a career turning point. There’s blackmail and skullduggery aplenty.

“Dallas” always worked best when it got a lot of the Ewings together under one roof, whether it was Southfork Ranch or the Ewing Oil office. Wednesday’s episode does just that and everything really clicks, whether it’s downright touching scenes between J.R. (Larry Hagman, who’s wonderful) and John Ross or J.R. and Bobby (Patrick Duffy).

There’s also good stuff for Bobby’s wife, Ann (Brenda Strong), and J.R.’s ex, Sue Ellen (Linda Gray).

“He called me wife number three,” an irritated Ann says to Sue Ellen after an encounter with J.R. Sue Ellen allows that she knows: She gave J.R. a good slap in return.

The ratings for the show have been good and it’s already been renewed for a second season. The unlikely success of the series must have been on the minds of the writers when they had J.R. – who else – say, “I’m back, honey, and I’m gonna be bigger than ever.”

No big spoilers for this or the season finale, but there are some fun twists and turns in the stories and big changes for the characters.

And somebody ends up on the unlucky end of a gun.

Check out “Dallas” and its next-to-last episode of the season at 9 p.m. Wednesday.

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