Dallas (1978 TV Series)
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Dallas (1978 TV series) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article is about the original 1978–1991 television series. For the sequel, see Dallas (2012 TV series). Dallas is a long-running American prime time television soap opera that aired from April 2, 1978, to May 3, 1991, on CBS. The series revolves around a wealthy and feuding Texan family, the Ewings, who own the independent oil company Ewing Oil and the cattle-ranching land of Southfork. The series originally focused on the marriage of Bobby Ewing and Pamela Barnes, whose families were sworn enemies with each other. As the series progressed, oil tycoon J.R. Ewing grew to be the show's main character, whose schemes and dirty business became the show's trademark.[1] When the show ended in May 1991, J.R. was the only character to have appeared in every episode. The show was famous for its cliffhangers, including the Who shot J.R.? mystery. The 1980 episode Who Done It remains the second highest rated prime-time telecast ever.[2] The show also featured a "Dream Season", in which the entirety of the ninth season was revealed to have been a dream of Pam Ewing's. After 14 seasons, the series finale "Conundrum" aired in 1991. The show had a relatively ensemble cast. Larry Hagman stars as greedy, scheming oil tycoon J.R. Ewing, stage/screen actressBarbara Bel Geddes as family matriarch Miss Ellie and movie Western actor Jim Davis as Ewing patriarch Jock, his last role before his death in 1981. The series won four Emmy Awards, including a 1980 Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series win for Bel Geddes. With its 357 episodes, Dallas remains one of the longest lasting full- hour primetime dramas in American TV history, behind Bonanza(430 episodes), Law & Order (456 episodes), and Gunsmoke (635 episodes). In 2007 Dallas was included in TIME magazine's list of "100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME".[3] Dallas also spawned the spin-off series Knots Landing in 1979 which also lasted 14 seasons. In 2010, TNT announced it had ordered a new, updated continuation of Dallas.[4] The revival series, continuing the story of the Ewing family, premiered on TNT on June 13, 2012. Original premise[edit] In 1978, MGM released the film Comes a Horseman, starring James Caan, Jane Fonda, and Jason Robards, who played the character Jacob Ewing. One of Jacob Ewing's ranch hands is played by Jim Davis, who also is playing Jock Ewing in Dallas, a part he received after the film was finished. Part of the plot in Comes a Horseman is the attempted take over of cattle ranches by oilinterest groups, and how they fail to do so. Dallas debuted on April 2, 1978, as a five-part miniseries on the CBS network. Producers initially had no plans for expansion; however, due to the show's popularity, it was subsequently turned into a regular series and broadcast for 13 full seasons, from September 23, 1978, to May 3, 1991. The first five episodes, originally considered a miniseries, are now referred to as season one [5]—leaving fourteen seasons in total. The show is known for its portrayal of wealth, sex, intrigue, and power struggles. Throughout the series, the main premise is the longtime rivalry between the Ewings and the Barneses which came to head when the Barnes daughter, Pamela (Victoria Principal) eloped with a Ewing son, Bobby (Patrick Duffy) in the first episode. The back story was that, back in the 1930s, wildcatter John Ross "Jock" Ewing, Sr.(Jim Davis) had allegedly cheated his one-time partner, Willard "Digger" Barnes(David Wayne and later Keenan Wynn), out of his share of their company Ewing Oil, and married Digger's only love, Eleanor "Miss Ellie" Southworth (Barbara Bel Geddes). Ellie's family were—in contrast to Jock—ranchers, with great love for the land and the cattle. Following the marriage of Ellie and Jock, the Southworth family ranch, Southfork, became the Ewings' home, where Jock and Miss Ellie raised three sons: J.R. (Larry Hagman), Gary (Ted Shackelford) and Bobby. J.R., the eldest Ewing son, unscrupulous and unhappily married to a former Miss Texas, Sue Ellen Shepard (Linda Gray), was frequently at odds with his youngest brother, Bobby, who had the morals and integrity that J.R. lacked. Middle son Gary was Ellie's favorite as he displayed Southworth traits; however, Gary had been in conflict with both Jock and J.R. since childhood and was dismissed as a weak link. While still young, Gary had married waitress Valene Clements (guest star Joan Van Ark), who produced the first heir, the petite and saucy Lucy (Charlene Tilton). Years prior to the series beginning, J.R. had driven Gary and Valene off Southfork, leaving Lucy to be raised by her grandparents. During the first episodes of the series, the teenaged Lucy is seen sleeping with ranch foreman Ray Krebbs (Steve Kanaly). Later, in season four, Ray would be revealed as a half-sibling, an illegitimate Ewing son through an extramarital affair Jock had during World War II. Unhappy with his small, one-dimensional role, Kanaly had considered leaving the show; to add depth to the Ray character, Hagman suggested that the writers create a plot wherein Ray becomes half-brother to J.R., Gary, and Bobby, noting his resemblance to Davis. The episodes where Ray and niece Lucy had a fling is, as Kanaly told Dinah Shore in an appearance on her show, "prayerfully forgotten, I hope". Ray had previously engaged in a short fling with Pamela Barnes, the daughter (or rather, as it revealed in season three, stepdaughter) of Digger Barnes. However, Pam fell deeply in love with Bobby, and the pilot episode begins with the two of them arriving at Southfork Ranch as newlyweds, shocking the entire family. J.R., who loathed the Barnes family, was not happy with Pam's living at Southfork, and constantly tried to undermine her marriage to Bobby. Meanwhile, Pam's brother Cliff (Ken Kercheval), who had inherited Digger's hatred towards the Ewings, shared J.R.'s objections to the marriage, and continued his father's quest to get revenge. Most of the seasons ended with ratings-grabbing cliffhangers,[6] the most notable being the season three finale "A House Divided", which launched the landmark "Who shot J.R.?" storyline and was ranked #69 on TV Guide's list of "TV's Top 100 Episodes of All Time".[7] Other season finale cliffhangers include the finding of an unidentified floating female corpse in the Southfork swimming pool (season four); a blazing house fire (season six); and Bobby's death (season eight) and subsequent return (season nine). Cast and characters[edit] Main articles: List of Dallas characters and List of Dallas (1978) cast members See also: Ewing family and Barnes family Main cast[edit] For the original five-episodes miniseries – season one – six actors received the star billing: Barbara Bel Geddes as Ewing matriarch Miss Ellie Ewing, whose family was the original owners of Southfork; Jim Davis as her husband Jock Ewing, the founder of Ewing Oil and head of the Ewing family; Patrick Duffy as their youngest son, heartthrob Bobby Ewing; Victoria Principal as Pamela Barnes Ewing, the daughter of the rivaling Barnes family, whom Bobby brings home as his wife in the pilot episode; Larry Hagman as J. R. Ewing, the oldest son, who strongly objects to his new sister-in-law; and Charlene Tilton as Lucy Ewing, Bobby's and J.R.'s saucy teenage niece, whose parents had been driven off the ranch by J.R. Not receiving top billing during the miniseries, although appearing in the majority of the episodes wereLinda Gray as J.R.'s long-suffering, alcoholic wife Sue Ellen Ewing; Steve Kanaly as ranch hand Ray Krebbs, Pam's ex, who eventually turned out to be Jock's illegitimate son; and Ken Kercheval as Pam's brother Cliff Barnes, J.R.'s archrival. Gray and Kanaly were promoted to the regular cast as of the first episode of the fall of 1978, and Kercheval a year later. Further on in the series, several new characters were added, as the original actors departed the series: For season five, after guest starring since the second season, Susan Howard joined the main cast asDonna Culver Krebbs, politician and widow of a former Texas governor, who becomes Ray's first wife and mother to his daughter Margaret. Season eight saw the addition of musical actor Howard Keel as wealthy, and sometimes hot-tempered rancher Clayton Farlow, Miss Ellie's husband following Jock's death, to the star cast after having appeared on the show since season 3, and Priscilla Presley as Bobby's teenage sweetheart Jenna Wade, who gives birth to Bobby's only biological child, Lucas, and eventually becomes Ray's second wife. Keel had recurred on the show since the fourth season, and Presley since season seven (the character of Jenna had however been played by Morgan Fairchild for a season two episode, and Francine Tacker for two episodes in season three). Temporarily replacing Barbara Bel Geddes in the role as Miss Ellie, Donna Reed also joined the main cast during the eighth season, until Bel Geddes returned in the following year. Dack Rambo, portraying wandering cousin Jack Ewing, was promoted to regular status for season ten, after having appeared as a guest star since the end of the eighth season. He was, however, written out of the show midway through the tenth season. Jack's ex-wife April Stevens Ewing, played by Sheree J.