Dallas (1978 TV series): Difference between revisions
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Dallas (TV series) |
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runtime = 45 Minutes| |
runtime = 45 Minutes| |
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creator = [[David Jacobs]]| |
creator = [[David Jacobs]]| |
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starring = [[Barbara Bel Geddes]]<br>[[Jim Davis]]<br>[[Patrick Duffy]]<br>[[Kimberly Foster]]<br>[[Linda Gray]]<br>[[Larry Hagman]]<br>[[Susan Howard]]<br>[[Steve Kanaly]]<br>[[Howard Keel]]<br>[[Ken Kercheval]]<br>[[Sasha Mitchell]]<br>[[Cathy Podewell]]<br>[[Priscilla Presley]]<br>[[Victoria Principal]]<br>[[Dack Rambo]]<br>[[Barbara Stock]]<br>[[Charlene Tilton]]<br>[[Sheree J. Wilson]]| |
starring = [[Barbara Bel Geddes]]<br>[[Jim Davis]]<br>[[Patrick Duffy]]<br>[[Kimberly Foster]]<br>[[Linda Gray]]<br>[[Larry Hagman]]<br>[[Susan Howard]]<br>[[Steve Kanaly]]<br>[[Howard Keel]]<br>[[George Kennedy]]<br>[[Ken Kercheval]]<br>[[Sasha Mitchell]]<br>[[Cathy Podewell]]<br>[[Priscilla Presley]]<br>[[Victoria Principal]]<br>[[Dack Rambo]]<br>[[Barbara Stock]]<br>[[Charlene Tilton]]<br>[[Sheree J. Wilson]]| |
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country = [[United States]]| |
country = [[United States]]| |
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network = [[CBS]]| |
network = [[CBS]]| |
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*[http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/D/htmlD/dallas/dallas.htm Encyclopedia of Television] |
*[http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/D/htmlD/dallas/dallas.htm Encyclopedia of Television] |
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*{{imdb title|id=0077000|title=Dallas}} |
*{{imdb title|id=0077000|title=Dallas}} |
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*[http://soapnet.go.com/thesoaps/dallas/currentseason/getcurrentepisode.html SOAPnet Dallas Page] |
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[[Category:CBS network shows]] |
[[Category:CBS network shows]] |
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Revision as of 19:33, 24 September 2005
| Dallas | |
|---|---|
| Created by | David Jacobs |
| Starring | Barbara Bel Geddes Jim Davis Patrick Duffy Kimberly Foster Linda Gray Larry Hagman Susan Howard Steve Kanaly Howard Keel George Kennedy Ken Kercheval Sasha Mitchell Cathy Podewell Priscilla Presley Victoria Principal Dack Rambo Barbara Stock Charlene Tilton Sheree J. Wilson |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 356 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 45 Minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | April 2, 1978 – May 3, 1991 |
Dallas was a long-running primetime television soap opera about the Ewings, a wealthy Texas oil family. It aired on the CBS network from April 2, 1978, to May 3, 1991. It was broadcast around the world, and is probably the most famous and successful American soap opera outside of the U.S.
The series is probably best-known for the central character of J.R. Ewing, the vain, greedy, scheming, crass oil baron played by Fort Worth native Larry Hagman for the show's entire run.
Famous episodes
Dallas is also known for three famous episodes that made TV history: Template:Spoiler
- "A House Divided" and "Who Done It?" - The 1979-1980 season ended with the show's anti-hero, J.R. Ewing, being shot (in the episode "A House Divided"). Viewers had to wait all summer (and most of the fall due to a Hollywood actors' strike) to learn whether J.R. would survive, and which of his many enemies was responsible. "Who Done It?" aired on November 21, 1980, with the revelation that Sue Ellen's sister Kristin, shot him in a fit of anger. It was one of the highest-rated episodes of a TV show ever aired. A session of the Turkish parliament was even suspended to allow legislators a chance to get home in time to view the episode. The great success of this stunt helped usher in the practice of ending a television season with a big cliffhanger. This entered into United States popular culture, with t-shirts printed with such references as "Who Shot J.R.?" and "I Shot J.R.!" being common over the summer.
- "Blast From The Past" - One of the show's stars, Patrick Duffy, left the program in the spring of 1985. His character, Bobby, was plowed down by a car and died, on camera, on May 17, 1985. When Duffy agreed to return to the show in 1986, producers ended the 1985-1986 season, on May 16, 1986 with a shot of Duffy emerging from a shower. Fans had to wait until September 26 to learn how the writers would explain Duffy's return. Most were disappointed with the solution: Bobby's ex-wife, Pam, had dreamt the entire previous season, including Bobby's death; an example of retroactive continuity. This caused a conflict elsewhere, as references to Bobby's death were made in the spin-off TV show Knots Landing. After this, Dallas and Knots Landing effectively cut ties as they then took place in different universes!
Exterior locations were shot at the Southfork Ranch, which is now a tourist attraction and a convention center. It is located in Plano, a suburb north of Dallas. Many of the show's exteriors, including shots of each protagonist's respective skyscraper offices, were also shot in the Dallas area. The majority of the series' dramatic action was filmed in California at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios. The series was produced by Lorimar.
Production details
A spin-off series, Knots Landing, ran from 1979 to 1993.
Produced by Leonard Katzman, the television series was one of the first to be distributed globally. Dallas was eventually translated and dubbed into 90 languages.
The first and second seasons, collectively consisting of the first 29 episodes (out of 357) were released on Region 1 DVD on August 24, 2004. Season Three was released on August 9, 2005.
Cast of Characters
- Larry Hagman as John Ross "J.R." Ewing, Jr.
- eldest son of Jock and Miss Ellie
- Patrick Duffy as Robert James "Bobby" Ewing (1978-1985, 1986-1991)
- youngest son of Jock and Miss Ellie
- Barbara Bel Geddes (1978-1984, 1985-1990) and Donna Reed (1984-1985) as Eleanor "Ellie" Southworth Ewing Farlow
- Jock's wife, whose family owned Southfork Ranch originally
- Jim Davis as John Ross "Jock" Ewing, Sr. (1978-1981)
- founder of Ewing Oil, head of the Ewing family
- Linda Gray as Sue Ellen Shepherd Ewing Lockwood (1978-1989)
- J.R.'s long-suffering wife
- Charlene Tilton as Lucy Ewing Cooper (1978-1985, 1988-1990),
- flirtatious granddaughter
- Victoria Principal as Pamela Barnes Ewing (1978-1987)
- Bobby's wife who is forced to act as a buffer between the two feuding families
- Ken Kercheval as Cliff Barnes
- Pam's brother, whose schemes are aimed directly against the Ewings
- Steve Kanaly as Ray Krebbs (1978-1988)
- ranch foreman, Jock's illegitimate son
- Susan Howard as Donna Culver Krebbs Dowling (1979-1987)
- politico who marries Ray
- Howard Keel as Clayton Farlow (1981-1991)
- Miss Ellie's second husband
- Morgan Fairchild (1978), Francine Tacker (1980) and Priscilla Presley (1983-1988) as Jenna Wade Marchetta Krebbs
- Bobby's first love and one-time fiancée
- Dack Rambo as Jack Ewing (1985-1987)
- wandering cousin
- Sheree J. Wilson as April Stevens Ewing (1986-1991)
- Jack's ex-wife who eventually marries Bobby
- George Kennedy as Carter McKay (1988-1991)
- who becomes head of WestStar and adversary of J.R.
- Cathy Podewell as Cally Harper Ewing (1988-1991)
- J.R.'s second wife
- Sasha Mitchell as James Beaumont (1989-1991)
- J.R.'s illegitimate son
- Kimberly Foster as Michelle Stevens Beaumont Barnes (1989-1991)
- April's sister
- Barbara Stock as Liz Adams (1990-1991)
- Cliff's girlfriend
Important secondary characters
- David Ackroyd (1978-1979) and Ted Shackleford (1979-1981) as Garrison Arthur "Gary" Ewing
- alcoholic black sheep of the Ewing family and Lucy's father who moves away to California to star in spin-off series Knots Landing
- Joan Van Ark as Valene Ewing (1978-1981)
- Gary's wife and Lucy's mother
- David Wayne (1978-1979) and Keenan Wynn (1979-1980) as Willard "Digger" Barnes
- Cliff and Pam's father, former partner and sworn enemy of Jock Ewing
- Tina Louise as Julie Grey (1978 - 1979)
- J.R.'s secretary and mistress
- Don Starr as Jordan Lee (1978-1990)
- a member of the cartel
- Fern Fitzgerald as Marilee Stone (1978-1990)
- promiscuous female member of the cartel
- Barbara Babcock as Liz Craig (1978-1982)
- Pam's boss at The Store
- George O. Petrie as Harve Smithfield (1979-1991)
- family attorney
- Colleen Camp (1978-1979) and Mary Crosby (1979-1981) as Kristin Shepard Farraday
- Sue Ellen's sister, who has an affair with J.R. and then shoots him in the famous cliffhanger, then gives birth to Bobby and Pam's son Christopher before her death
- Tom Fuccello as Dave Culver (1979-1982, 1986-1987)
- Donna's stepson
- Jared Martin as Steven "Dusty" Farlow (1979-1982, 1985, 1991)
- Clayton's son and Sue Ellen's one-time lover
- Randy Powell as Alan Beam (1979-1980)
- smooth-talking, ambitious lawyer who works for J.R.
- Martha Scott as Patricia Shepherd (1979-1985)
- Sue Ellen and Kristin's mother
- Leigh McCloskey as Mitch Cooper (1979-1982, 1985, 1988)
- Lucy's husband
- Morgan Woodward as Punk Anderson (1980-1988)
- Oil executive and good friend to Jock and Ellie
- Joanna Cassidy as Sally Bullock (1980-1981)
- shipping magnate who sleeps with J.R.
- Morgan Brittany as Katherine Wentworth (1981-1984, 1985, 1987)
- wicked half-sister of Pam and Cliff
- Priscilla Pointer as Rebecca Wentworth (1981-1983)
- mother of Pam, Cliff and Katherine
- William Smithers as Jeremy Wendell (1981, 1984-1989)
- head of WestStar and proverbial thorn in J.R.'s side
- Audrey Landers as Afton Cooper (1981-1984, 1989)
- aspiring singer who becomes Cliff's girlfriend
- Susan Flannery as Leslie Stewart (1981)
- a PR agent who works with Ewing Oil
- Deborah Rennard as Sylvia "Sly" Lovegren (1981-1991)
- J.R.'s secretary
- Deborah Tranelli as Phyllis (1981-1991)
- Bobby's secretary
- Sherill Lynn Rettino as Jackie Dugan
- Cliff's secretary
- Alice Hirson as Mavis Anderson (1982-1987)
- Punk's wife
- John Beck as Mark Graison (1983-1984, 1985-1986)
- Pam's one-time fiancée
- Lois Chiles as Holly Harwood (1982-1983)
- oil heiress becomes involved in a complex scheme with J.R.
- Timothy Patrick Murphy as Mickey Trotter (1982-1983)
- Ray's rebellious cousin
- Christopher Atkins as Peter Richards (1983-1984)
- young,hot lover of Sue Ellen
- Omri Katz as John Ross Ewing III (1983-1991)
- J.R. and Sue Ellen's son
- Shalane McCall as Charlie Wade (1983-1988)
- Jenna's daughter
- Alexis Smith as Lady Jessica Farlow Montford (1984, 1990)
- Clayton's criminally insane sister
- Daniel Pilon as Renaldo Marchetta (1984-1985)
- Jenna's ex-husband and Charlie's father
- Jenilee Harrison as Jamie Ewing Barnes (1984-1986)
- cousin to the Southfork Ewings who marries Cliff
- Deborah Shelton as Mandy Winger (1984-1987)
- one of J.R.'s many mistresses
- Joshua Harris as Christopher Ewing (1985-1991)
- Bobby and Pam's adopted son
- Barbara Carrera as Angelica Nero (1985-1986)
- exotic businesswoman who dangerously tangles with J.R.
- Steve Forrest as Wes Parmalee (1986)
- ranch hand who claims to be Jock
- Jack Scalia as Nicholas Pearce (1987-1988, 1991)
- a stock broker who becomes infatuated with Sue Ellen
- Andrew Stevens as Casey Denault (1987-1989)
- a young hustler who works with J.R.
- Leigh Taylor-Young as Kimberly Cryder (1987-1989)
- daughter of the largest owner of WestStar stock, whom J.R. tries to marry to gain control of that company
- Beth Toussaint as Tracy McKay Lawton (1988-1989)
- Carter McKay's daughter who becomes involved with Bobby
- J. Eddie Peck as Tommy McKay (1989)
- son of Carter McKay, a drug dealer
- Jeri Gaile as Rose Daniels McKay (1989-1991)
- Carter's young wife
- Ian McShane as Don Lockwood (1989)
- a film director who directs Sue Ellen's idea for an unflattering film about J.R.
- Gayle Hunnicutt as Vanessa Beaumont (1989-1991)
- old flame of J.R.'s and James' mother
- Lesley-Anne Down as Stephanie Rogers (1990)
- PR woman who plots to make Cliff a large political figure
- Susan Lucci as Sheila Foley (1990-1991)
- psychotic kidnapper
- Barbara Eden as Lee Ann De La Vega (1990-1991)
- old girlfriend of J.R. plotting revenge against him
DVD Releases
- Seasons 1 and 2 were released on Region 1 DVD on August 8, 2004, and on Region 2 DVD on November 1, 2004.
- Season 3 was released on DVD Region 1 on August 9, 2005 and on Region 2 DVD on September 26, 2005.
References
- In the Family Guy episode "DaBoom" (1999), the Y2K virus changes civilization for the worse. At the end of the episode, Pam wakes up and tells Bobby, who is in the shower, that she just dreamt about the strangest episode of Family Guy. They pause, then ask, "What's Family Guy?"
- On the TV series Father Ted, a character named Tom wears a shirt that says "I shot JR".
- Introducing Saturday Night Live's 1986-1987 season, Madonna, who hosted the first episode of the dismally rated 1985-1986 season, read a statement from NBC that claimed the previous season of SNL was "all a dream, a horrible, horrible dream." Coincidentally, on another ill-fated SNL season (1980-1981), Charlene Tilton hosted an episode (which Larry Hagman had turned down) centered around the "shooting" of Charles Rocket, a parody of the Who Shot J.R. story arc, in which Rocket says "I'd like to know who the fuck did it." For his use of the profanity, he was fired.
- On That 70's Show when Donna is caught drinking, Eric notes that she was "like Sue Ellen on Dallas"
- A couple of scenes on The Simpsons episode entitles "who shot Mr. Burns? Part 2" Smithers dream at the start of the show is similar to Pam waking up and realizing Bobby's death was all a dream. Also Smithers thinking he shot Burns because he was drunk and he had a fired weapon on him similar to Sue Ellen during the Who Shot JR? mystery.
Trivia
- Larry Hagman and Ken Kercheval were the only cast members to stay with the series throughout its entire run.
- Larry Hagman is the only actor to appear in all 357 episodes of the series.
- Larry Hagman, Patrick Duffy, Ken Kercheval, Linda Gray and Steve Kanaly are the only actors to appear in both the first and last episodes of the series.
- The communist government of Nicolae Ceauşescu's Romania ran episodes of Dallas in the 1980s hoping that it would convince people that capitalism was corrupt and decadent. Instead it sowed discontent with the communist system, as viewers looked past the characters to the portrayal of American lifestyles. Soon after the government fell, a Romanian businessman created a Dallas-themed attraction complete with a replica of the Southfork Ranch, to celebrate the show's role in bringing down communism.