TNT revived Dallas for a 2012–14 series. Would you revisit it again?

[stevew]

As to the original question that started this thread, could Dallas be revisited? I think the answer lies in a prequel series, set around 1950.
Lets face it, any "Dallas" reboot would be aimed primarily at fans of the original series. Thats why its "Dallas" and not "Odessa".

The really nice thing about a prequel is that its essentially, pre-written. We know the broad outline of the 1950s Dallas story, how Jock and Digger were partners and how they had a falling out due to Diggers drinking, and how Jock ended up with Miss Ellie. But there is an enormous amount of story that lies untold, that can be visited in the prequel, such as the very questionable actions of Jock and the early cartel members. I'd love to see some of the stunts Jock, Jordan Lee, Andy , etc pulled in the early years of the cartel. The original series hints that some REALLY questionable stuff went on, it would great to see exactly how they all became rich, whose lives they ruined in the process, and the extra marital affairs that went on as well.

If its written right, and if its CASTED right, this could be a very popular show. Whomever gets chosen to play the roles of Jock, Miss Ellie, JR, Bobby, Ray, Digger, etc, have to have both a visual and acting umbilical cord to the original actors...... very hard to do.

I like the idea. I think I might try my hand at such a fan fiction next. I always wanted to see more of the Shepard family and it might provide such a vehicle.

 

[retrosonic]

I have a bunch of story line ideas that I came up written down already.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

If you mean re-watch it, then no thanks.

I'd only get psychotic if I watched that show again.

 

[Sea - Boo! - Er]

The really nice thing about a prequel is that its essentially, pre-written.

Unfortunately, that's also the bad thing about them.

 

[stevew]

I have a bunch of story line ideas that I came up written down already.

I’d love to read them.

 

[stevew]

Unfortunately, that's also the bad thing about them.

Excellent point. As I thought about it I had some ideas but it all came around to the core issue, the story is already written and I’d just be adding filler. A movie / miniseries maybe. Idk. I still might write something. I’d need the help of someone who knows the story better than I do to get the details correct.

 

[lbf522]

A continuation would not work with the passings of Ken Kercheval and Larry Hagman. A reboot like CW Dynasty if well written with all new actors for all of the main characters or a mini series of the events that happened prior to the original's airing.

Again, it would have to have good writers and place in charge who cares about the show to make it good.

 

[stevew]

A continuation would not work with the passings of Ken Kercheval and Larry Hagman. A reboot like CW Dynasty if well written with all new actors for all of the main characters or a mini series of the events that happened prior to the original's airing.

Again, it would have to have good writers and place in charge who cares about the show to make it good.

I certainly get your point, but what if Dallas were continued with “good writers and place in charge who cares about the show?” What I mean is, now with so much of the original cast gone or retired, there isn’t much to bring back. Simone point, Sue Ellen moves back to London with Don and Bobby moved to California near Gary. So, an entirely NEW show exists on its own. Maybe with only Lucy floating around to anchor it to the original in anyway - maybe. And a new company, Ewing Industries. What remains, the house, the historical commentary, the family. But the characters could be anyone, almost.

3rd gen to consider:

John Ross Ewing III
Christopher Ewing
Pamela Barnes (Ewing?)

But you don’t have to keep any of them. In their 40’s or near by now. Keep the TNT history? Or not?

And 3rd gen without a story as of yet:

Margret Krebs
Lucas Krebs
Cally’s child
etc.

Play off their set up in the original or just move on?

Create new 3rd gen character. Certainly JR could have children out there. I’d be shocked if didn’t. I liked the daughter idea TNT set up.

4th gen.?

The point to me would be the Ewing family, their home at South Fork and being business - if that then it’s still Dallas. If they don’t mess with the old characters I think they’re good.

 

[lbf522]

I certainly get your point, but what if Dallas were continued with “good writers and place in charge who cares about the show?” What I mean is, now with so much of the original cast gone or retired, there isn’t much to bring back. Simone point, Sue Ellen moves back to London with Don and Bobby moved to California near Gary. So, an entirely NEW show exists on its own. Maybe with only Lucy floating around to anchor it to the original in anyway - maybe. And a new company, Ewing Industries. What remains, the house, the historical commentary, the family. But the characters could be anyone, almost.

3rd gen to consider:

John Ross Ewing III
Christopher Ewing
Pamela Barnes (Ewing?)

But you don’t have to keep any of them. In their 40’s or near by now. Keep the TNT history? Or not?

And 3rd gen without a story as of yet:

Margret Krebs
Lucas Krebs
Cally’s child
etc.

Play off their set up in the original or just move on?

Create new 3rd gen character. Certainly JR could have children out there. I’d be shocked if didn’t. I liked the daughter idea TNT set up.

4th gen.?

The point to me would be the Ewing family, their home at South Fork and being business - if that then it’s still Dallas. If they don’t mess with the old characters I think they’re good.

That is certainly an interesting Idea never thought of that. Again, like I said it would have be have someone in charge who cared about the show and have good writers.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

I don't think so, my heart lies with the Lorimar original.

I do own all three boxsets of the TNT revival but have only ever watched the first two.

I have zero interest in watching the third season.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

The timing was wrong for this reboot. Had it come a few years later I feel it would've been better. Of course due to the deaths of Ken Kercheval and Larry Hagman I'm happy it happened, but it was all wrong. To think how high the ratings were when it debuted and it just plummeted is heartbreaking because that proved the audience would've been there if the show was good.

I agree with Pamela that the casting was just plain bad. The actors weren't strong enough to overcome such thin characterizations and bad writing. It felt like they had no budget which forced them into casting no name actors who just couldn't hold their own. I feel Ann, John Ross, Christopher, Pamela Rebecca AND Elena could've been cast better. The biggest miss though was the writing. You have a soap but a writer who hates soaps and can't write a romance, a continuing story OR a compelling multi-episode story. She was hopeless. I feel like by the third season she accepted it was a soap and it got better, but it was too little too late at that point.

Dallas and Knots Landing weren't Dynasty. Both were well written and respectable series so being a "soap" wasn't a bad thing for them. Cidre's problem was just that she couldn't write a GOOD soap.

She couldn't, not when she had Daffy Duck as an Executive Story Consultant!

Cidre was just a quack I'm afraid.

 

[Barbara Fan]

I don't think so, my heart lies with the Lorimar original.

I do own all three boxsets of the TNT revival but have only ever watched the first two.

I have zero interest in watching the third season.

I have never bought it, Its not worth £12.99 or whatever HMV or Amazon charge, I have bought the other 2 but they are in the cellophane wrapper, as is the final dire season of original Dallas.

If S3 was ever to go down to say... ....... 99p................ Id buy it to complete the set, but still think that 89p more than its worth!!

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

I have never bought it, Its not worth £12.99 or whatever HMV or Amazon charge, I have bought the other 2 but they are in the cellophane wrapper, as is the final dire season of original Dallas.

If S3 was ever to go down to say... ....... 99p................ Id buy it to complete the set, but still think that 89p more than its worth!!

The third season was a big f*ck you to the original hit LORIMAR series.

The only reason I bought it was because I was intoxicated whilst on eBay.

Despite the fact I bought it, I have absolutely no intention of ever watching it.

 

[DallasFanForever]

Despite the fact I bought it, I have absolutely no intention of ever watching it.

I’ve never bought it, and I don’t think I ever will. I just have no interest in reliving it ever again. There’s no point.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

I’ve never bought it, and I don’t think I ever will. I just have no interest in reliving it ever again. There’s no point.

I was drunk when I ordered it.

I wanted a drink real bad just like Sue Ellen! But I was so confused!! Just like Sue Ellen!

Where's Dusty Farlow when you need him? He could've helped me and stopped me from ordering it!

 

[Pamela_E]

Seemed simple to me, maybe I’m wrong but:

1) give original fans everything they wanted from nice wrapped up story lines and happily ever after inclusions in bits and pieces throughout the show - instead the recon we got. I.e. Pam’s alive living in California and Bobby goes off to visit her all the time (unseen of course as VP wasn’t coming back).

2) create a new cast of characters and plots as a continuation that makes sense, like both boys are more established at their age, younger characters, like Calley’s child and Lucas show up.

But Dallas fans are a declining audience, we were the kids who watched Dallas back in the day, so many of the adults would be in their 80's.

The show had to appeal to a new audience but leverage the fame of the original.

That is why it was always destined to annoy fans of the original. They had to appeal to younger audiences and it didn't work.

Not an easy concept. Which is why a reboot would potentially have worked, in the same way Dynasty has. Many of those viewers on Netflix probably don't give a hoot about the original Dynasty.

 

[Rove]

But Dallas fans are a declining audience

Sad but true...but. When TNT Dallas returned to the small screen for the first time in America over 6 million viewers tuned in. Not bad for a series which had been absent from the small screen for 14 years. So interest was still there, both domestically and internationally. The problem was Cynthia underestimated the power and influence of JR. He was the man viewers wished to see. God...even the crotchety old dame herself, Esther Shapiro (of Dynasty fame) was asking, "Where the hell is JR?"

It was a grave and tactical error focusing the continuation on the next generation. While interesting to see where John Ross and Christopher would fit into the scheme of things, retconning the Ramos family was just plain wrong...but hindsight is a wonderful thing.

 

[Werewillie Oleson]

That is why it was always destined to annoy fans of the original. They had to appeal to younger audiences and it didn't work.

DALLAS also has to be sexy, and - no offence - that wasn't going to work for the older original actors so it simply had to be about the next generation.
I thought they took their soap very seriously, as opposed to the childish dramedy in New Dynasty.
PEYTON PLACE also focused a lot on the younger characters but I don't think young viewers were their exclusive target audience.

DALLAS simply has to be a good and modern soap, and that's what it was. It's not possible to make it look like the LORIMAR days because that was a 70s and 80s soap.

 

[stevew]

But Dallas fans are a declining audience, we were the kids who watched Dallas back in the day, so many of the adults would be in their 80's.

The show had to appeal to a new audience but leverage the fame of the original.

That is why it was always destined to annoy fans of the original. They had to appeal to younger audiences and it didn't work.

Not an easy concept. Which is why a reboot would potentially have worked, in the same way Dynasty has. Many of those viewers on Netflix probably don't give a hoot about the original Dynasty.

You make a good point, and I’m all for a reboot, but I think a continuation could have worked IF they had just focused on the new generation and left the original generation to guest roles. I would have had Bobby married to Pam and living in CA with Gary - a happy ending set up for guest appearances; Sue Ellen in Europe remarried to Don; JR on a ship somewhere happily retired setting up a competition between John Ross and his son with Calley to take over his “Empire” with John Ross like Jock, married to Pamela, raising three boys living on the ranch and Calley’s son like JR fresh out of college. That what no one gets another from the original because the stories they watched all have happy endings (not sure I could give JR and Sue Ellen a get back together) and the next generation takes off on its own. The one exception to the original cast I might have included was Lucy as a regular and certainly the house interior would be the same layout. This would still leave Christoper, Lucas, Margret, etc. and friends of John Ross, Pamela and Calley’s son not to mention grandchildren of the Anderson’s and others. And while yes the audience from the original would have been older the numbers that showed up that first night proved the show still has (or had until they disappointed so many) several million fans willing to show up.

 

[stevew]

Sad but true...but. When TNT Dallas returned to the small screen for the first time in America over 6 million viewers tuned in. Not bad for a series which had been absent from the small screen for 14 years. So interest was still there, both domestically and internationally. The problem was Cynthia underestimated the power and influence of JR. He was the man viewers wished to see. God...even the crotchety old dame herself, Esther Shapiro (of Dynasty fame) was asking, "Where the hell is JR?"

It was a grave and tactical error focusing the continuation on the next generation. While interesting to see where John Ross and Christopher would fit into the scheme of things, retconning the Ramos family was just plain wrong...but hindsight is a wonderful thing.

I disagree. The only think we should have seen was the new generation abs JR showing up here and there to cause trouble. He was too ill to carry a show and they knew it. But yes people wanted to see him so his presence could still have been major, much like Jock was even though he had died. They were never going to tell an interesting story about three old people unless they turned it into a comedy. One, like Angela Channing, was sufficient, to drive the story. They spent too much time on rehashing old stories, on a messed up set (the house) and with young characters engaged in teenage bs.