Dallas 2.0: Discussion Thread

[EricMontreal22]

I wouldn't go that far.

I liked it a LOT more than I expected to, especially since I thought Cynthia Cidre's only other attempt writing a soap, Cane, was a mess despite a good cast, and had heard the grumbles aboput creator David Jacob's offer to be a consultant being rejected. That's not to say I loved it, or am even half confident it won't lose interest quickly, we'll see.

It DOES feel a lot like a simple continuation of the show, as if it had never left, rather than a reboot (I admit I was expecting something as disastrous as Melrose Place's reboot, despite the fact that even in its last years Dallas always had a better core). I admit I was a bit disappointed by the wedding cameos--will we see more of Lucy at least? (Or her Knots Landing parents, not that they ever paid much attention to her...)

My main problem is the young cast. They're awfully pretty, and also kinda bland. They're decent actors (well aside from Jesse Metcalf, who at least isn't trying to play a bad boy), but I am still a bit worried about a bait and switch with, after a few episodes, nearly all of the drama revolving around them with just cameos of the three former stars--particularly given Hagman's health and the fact that Linda Gray has hinted at not being featured as much as she thought she would. But, we'll see. It's nice to have a full on, irony-free, primetime soap again (though Revenge filled some of that niche for me), even if Dallas ranks third out of my 80s primetime soap list (Knots being first, then Dynasty, though Dynasty fell apart worse than Dallas, then Dallas and then Falcon Crest, in case anyone cared).

The critical reaction has been surprisingly strong too, though nearly everyone seems to think the yougn cast needs to get more interesting (I think one problem is, true to most modern youth soaps, they just are so pretty--so was the original Dallas cast but they also had more distinctive and different looks from one actor to another, not so homogonized).

Ent Weekly this week had a nice oral history/interview about Dallas in the past, how awful the TV movies were (which are largely being ignored), etc. I didn't know Victoria Principal ostracized herself so much from anything, and anyone Dallas, or that Hagman spent every single day drunk (at least tipsy) until 1995 when he had liver issues. Of course I never watched Dallas "live" until its final year and had to catch up with the TNN reruns.

Oh, and I didn't hear any whimsical music either--thank god. (Even on a show I *loved*, Herskovitz/Zwick's Once and Again, I cringed at Snuffy Walden's "cutesy" musical cues he'd do for some of the lighter scenes which, without the music, would have been fine).

Oh, I also enjoyed the opening credits (though I wondered why they got rid of cast photos), and even the closing credits werer in nice retro yellow on black (this may have only been here in Canada where it's shown on Bravo--no relation to the US Bravo--, I am guessing TNT may have had the usual cutaway end credits).

[DRW50]

They're not even that pretty - I have a tough time looking at most of them. I guess they're Hollywood pretty, but they're "attractive" in the same way the Ford brothers were.

I didn't watch the second TV movie but I didn't think the first one was that bad. It's not like most of Dallas was superbly written.

[frequentsoapfan]

I keep hearing people talk about the great writing last night. Did I miss it? It had it's moments but I wouldn't throw out the word great yet.

I heard about Hagman's drinking awhile ago I believe from Barbara Eden.

[ChitHappens]

Loves me some hot shirtless men, but I have to agree. They just don't do it at all. Their lack of charisma and Metcalf's corpse like acting takes away from the looks some say they have. Shirtless Christopher did nothing for me! Nice body, but I needed someone else's head on his shoulders. It's severely ridiculous casting! Ford? I'd turn lesbian before I ever allowed myself to salivate over his ass!

He'd been drinking that long? With who's liver?

[EricMontreal22]

He had a liver transplant in the 90s--didn't he? I thinkt he article said that... But yeah, they talked about how he'd have "soft" booze (it sounds like Champagne was his tipple of choice lol) in the morning until he felt that "click" as he called it (which I think is a reference to Brick in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof who talked about needing to drink till he felt the "click") and then he would do his thing--never slurring or missing lines on set, so nobody really intervened.

No, you're right, Dallas rarley had brilliant dialogue or anything. I saw the tv movies when they aired but remember nothing, and didn't know the show well enough back then.

I agree they're not pretty--what I meant is they sorta fit into the boring, safe, homogenized version of TV pretty we so often get now. Interchangeable. That's what I meant--the original cast was attractive as well, but in a more interesting way, but this has become more and more of a problem with TV in general.

Agreed, though I haven't yet read anyone claim the writing ws spectacular.

[frequentsoapfan]

On another message board I kept seeing gushing over the great writing.

[DRW50]

It's a real mistake, because the whole point of the original Dallas, with the Ewing brothers, was that Bobby was the perfect son, the handsome god. Gary was damaged. JR was desperate and insecure and very charming. You don't have those dynamics when the leads are putty-faced mannequins. What this blandness means is there is no reason to care about any of the new characters, because they are all the same.

[Soapsuds]

true that...to all of it

[ChitHappens]

Watching the very first eppy, and while I'd like to see Ken Kercheval, I'm not looking forward to punk ass Cliff. He was such a loser. We were supposed to feel bad for him after he'd start something with JR and lose. Those were the good ole days!

[Ms. Chandler Quartermaine]

SInce it did well in the ratings, can they please get started on that Dynasty reboot as well

The new women on Dallas are so blah, there wasn't a single interesting one in the bunch. Seriously, they couldn't get ONE big name on this show, in terms of new characters? They need someone to liven things up.

[quartermainefan]

Dallas had some great writing in the early years.

"I am Tokopa!"

the scene where Aunt Lil Trotter recounted what happened to Mickey

"JR, we don't make love anymore!"

Digger selling Pam for $100

Clayton falling for Sue-Ellen and silently being crushed because he was so old she had no idea

Jock's first wife Amanda thinking Bobby was Jock

Cliff buying and candy for Rebecca

Solid writing episode in and episode out

[Khan]

Enter (the new) Charlotte "Charlie" Wade:

[DRW50]

I'm sure Lindsay Lohan will be available soon.

[DaytimeFan]

I enjoyed it quite a bit.

There are a few false notes, notably Jesse Metcalf and whoever the bland actress is whose playing his wife...Metcalf is just so weak and fake and terrible in every role he does. There are scores of actors who would have done better in the role, although it takes a lot of charisma to take a 'good guy' character places. See Duffy, Patrick. He wrote the book on it.

I like Jordana Brewster and Josh Henderson, I buy them as 'Pam' and 'JR' like characters.

Wonderful to see Duffy, Linda Gray and Larry Hagman back. Gray looks phenomenal and if she's underused this season, that is a major error on the part of Cynthia Cidre, not that I'm surprised. Hagman is the star of the show for obvious reasons, his performance was terrific, especially as JR came out of his catatonic state, Hagman's face came alive.

The emphasis should be on the established Dallas vets and more of them should return...the chemistry that Hagman, Duffy and Gray have can't be faked and created overnight, something Cidre should have realised in terms of the younger cast.

[Khan]

If Cidre & Co. were smart, they'd kill off Christopher toward the end of the season, and use that as a launch pad for Victoria Principal's return. I mean, just imagine: the last shot of the season, before hiatus, and it's Pam (after we pan up, of course), standing over her son's fresh grave.