Why does Dallas always get a free pass....

[TJames03]

.....when their story lines bomb?

First we have the "Dream Season," then a lot of people say that the movie ("Dallas: The Early Years") never happened because it aired during the dream season and was told only from JR's POV, then the "JR Returns," and "War of the Ewings" movies have been said to "not count," etc. Why do Dallas fans allow this? DYN, KL, and FC never did this.

 

[Karin]

Good question, I don't know. I guess Dallas fans are adaptable. Or maybe it's just that after accepting the dream season we've come not to take our fandom too seriously and accept pretty much everything else!

 

[Rove]

Indeed a good question. As Dallas was the No.1 rating show for a few years I suspect it also attracted (behind the scenes) some inflated egos. We've all heard the stories of the conflict between Phil Capice and Leonard Katzman with some assistance from Larry Hagman. I can only guess all involved had their own thoughts in what direction Dallas should be steered with little thought to us the viewers. This was also a time when fans generally communicated only with the actors via fan clubs to voice their opinions on their characters.

Today writers/producers/show-runners can have immediate interaction with fans via social media as episodes go to air which gives them instant feedback on how their ideas/stories are playing out, and if there working.

Dallas TNT (for those working in the industry) is a good lesson on how to not mess with such an iconic show as Dallas. First of all, if your going to produce a continuation, watch the original in its entirety. Get a good feel on what made it tick. Because as history has shown, get it wrong and the viewers (fans) will desert you. In this case Dallas TNT only received a three season pass.

 

[Sea - Boo! - Er]

I'm not sure I agree with the premise of the question. They might have been decisions of TPTB but they haven't been accepted mutely by the all the fans.

 

[TJames03]

I'm not sure I agree with the premise of the question. They might have been decisions of TPTB but they haven't been accepted mutely by the all the fans.

True, but it just seemed that the writers and actors thought of their fans with contempt as in, "They'll accept any crap we put out and can back out if it doesn't work."

 

[Rove]

"They'll accept any crap we put out and can back out if it doesn't work."

It didn't always go to their plan though. Just take the dream season. Once that monster was released upon the viewer there was no going back. Leonard Katzman perhaps thought at the time it was a clever idea. "Hey Dallas viewers? You know what you thought you watched the previous season? It didn't happen." Perhaps he thought we would be a forgiving bunch - anything to get Bobby (Patrick) back.

 

[Presea]

A very good question. I'll give them a free pass about the dream just because I liked it and it brought Katherine back to life. But I've never seen the reunion movies or the Early Years thing, and frankly I have no desire to. TNT Dallas was the last straw for me, though.

 

[pete lashmar]

I think the Early Years works far better now than it did when originally screened. Fans loved the Dallas characters, as portrayed by the cast they knew and loved- so watching it back when it was originally screened was a bit of a jolt - it was old U.S.A, it had new actors playing popular characters and it was quite slow paced too. But now I can watch it and thoroughly enjoy it, it adds to the rich tapestry of Dallas and answers one or two questions along the way.

Yes it told from the point of J.R, but his account is in itself 2nd hand - so we must trust that he heard this from both Jock and Ellie.

The 2 TV movies...they were fun, but some of the new characters didn't fit in and that was the joy of Dallas, the casting was usually spot on.

 

[Lastkidpicked]

The 2 TV movies...they were fun, but some of the new characters didn't fit in and that was the joy of Dallas, the casting was usually spot on.

I'm one of the few fans who thoroughly enjoyed the 2 TV movies. They were like a reunion of old friends and foes.

Even if I didn't like the movies, I'd give them a free pass. Why? Because you could tell that the actors (Especially Larry Hagman) were having a fun time doing it.

In J.R. Returns, you could tell that Hagman was having a great time. Look at the ending, when he barges into the West Star board meeting:

J.R.-- Don't rush off everyone. This is about to get interesting.
Mac-- Oh, hello, J.R. Somehow I thought you'd be here sooner.
........

Mac-- You can't buy Ewing Oil from us, no matter how much stock you own or how much money you have
J.R.-- Why not?
Mac-- Because we don't own it. Cliff sold to somebody else
J.R.-- Who?
Bobby appears-- Cliff sold it to me.
J.R.-- Starts to get that mischevious grin
Bobby-- Are you suprised?
J.R. -- Not really!
Bobby-- (notices J.R.'s grin) Do you mean to tell me that this is some big scheme of yours?
J.R. -- Welcome back to the oil business, Bobby. Lord knows, it wasn't easy!

Mac (Laughing, even though J.R. got the better of him)-- Why you son of a . . .
J.R. (interrupting) Don't take it hard, Mac. Some days you're the windshield, some days you're the bug!

Even if the plot was a little thin, I'll give them a pass because it was enjoyable watching the actors having so much fun.

 

[Alexis]

In fairness I say that DYNASTY The Reunion never happened too.

 

[TJames03]

Sadly, it did. :-(

 

[Piggyrella Sanderson]

.....when their story lines bomb?

First we have the "Dream Season," then a lot of people say that the movie ("Dallas: The Early Years") never happened because it aired during the dream season and was told only from JR's POV, then the "JR Returns," and "War of the Ewings" movies have been said to "not count," etc. Why do Dallas fans allow this? DYN, KL, and FC never did this.

TJames03, I don´t think we "allowed" this, actually we did all we could at the time. At least two other people here besides me (Barbara Fan and Sarah) wrote to Lorimar / the writers-producers to complain about miscasts or stars being let go. And probably many other people did too. I only had two big problems with "Dallas" prior to Bobby´s "shower": Donna Reed and her bouffant.

Seriously, the fact is that, prior to the Dream Season, we had 7 wonderful years of solid storylines and dysfunctionality to enjoy, which made of the story a long best-selling novel. Of course, after the infamous "none of that happened", all this was ruined, including the 5 "c´s" that every good novel (or series) must follow. I have the feeling that, neither the fans of "Dynasty" nor the "Falcon Crest"´s ones, may say that...

I´d apply the subject of this thread to "Knots Landing" though. It had very few mistakes or miscasts, and of course it got a free pass, what else could you do about it? I always say that "Dallas" (most times) and "Knots Landing" were the only primetime supersoaps whose show-runners could notice that one season was going wrong and take immediate measures to make the second half of the season much better. This hardly happened in the other two "big ones"...IMHO. :mo:

About the Early Years and the movies, well, I think it´s a matter of tastes. I love TEY because it´s very coherent with the previous seasons of the mother series, and also because of the casting, aside from the production values, which are quite good. I also love David Jacobs´ writing here, though I could do without so many flashbacks and flashforwards. In the two sequels, characters do a lot of out-of-character things, and both Larry and Ken had had health problems recently and it´s noticeable. I only like the Sue Ellen-John Ross relationship and the fact that nobody got recast. The second one is totally forgettable... :byee:

One thing from the "other" forums that I miss here, is the fact that, no matter how crappy some seasons are, people have different opinions and a lot of creative ideas that might have been used in the real show. Sometimes we "Dallas" fans just forget anything post-Bobby´s "death" and bash the rest, especially Angelica Nero, the Bobbysockers (you know, April and co.), James and the new characters from the last seasons. I am very glad that a few new threads have been created to remember what we enjoyed the most in the series and how we would change the things we don´t like. Kudos to those of you who made it possible!

 

[Ms Southworth]

Seriously, the fact is that, prior to the Dream Season, we had 7 wonderful years of solid storylines and dysfunctionality to enjoy, which made of the story a long best-selling novel. Of course, after the infamous "none of that happened", all this was ruined, including the 5 "c´s" that every good novel (or series) must follow.

Sometimes we "Dallas" fans just forget anything post-Bobby´s "death" and bash the rest, especially Angelica Nero, the Bobbysockers (you know, April and co.), James and the new characters from the last seasons.

@Toni: I especially agree with the parts that I've highlighted above!

 

[Rove]

TJames03, I don´t think we "allowed" this, actually we did all we could at the time. At least two other people here besides me (Barbara Fan and Sarah) wrote to Lorimar / the writers-producers to complain about miscasts or stars being let go. And probably many other people did too. I only had two big problems with "Dallas" prior to Bobby´s "shower": Donna Reed and her bouffant.

Seriously, the fact is that, prior to the Dream Season, we had 7 wonderful years of solid storylines and dysfunctionality to enjoy, which made of the story a long best-selling novel. Of course, after the infamous "none of that happened", all this was ruined, including the 5 "c´s" that every good novel (or series) must follow. I have the feeling that, neither the fans of "Dynasty" nor the "Falcon Crest"´s ones, may say that...

I´d apply the subject of this thread to "Knots Landing" though. It had very few mistakes or miscasts, and of course it got a free pass, what else could you do about it? I always say that "Dallas" (most times) and "Knots Landing" were the only primetime supersoaps whose show-runners could notice that one season was going wrong and take immediate measures to make the second half of the season much better. This hardly happened in the other two "big ones"...IMHO. :mo:

About the Early Years and the movies, well, I think it´s a matter of tastes. I love TEY because it´s very coherent with the previous seasons of the mother series, and also because of the casting, aside from the production values, which are quite good. I also love David Jacobs´ writing here, though I could do without so many flashbacks and flashforwards. In the two sequels, characters do a lot of out-of-character things, and both Larry and Ken had had health problems recently and it´s noticeable. I only like the Sue Ellen-John Ross relationship and the fact that nobody got recast. The second one is totally forgettable... :byee:

One thing from the "other" forums that I miss here, is the fact that, no matter how crappy some seasons are, people have different opinions and a lot of creative ideas that might have been used in the real show. Sometimes we "Dallas" fans just forget anything post-Bobby´s "death" and bash the rest, especially Angelica Nero, the Bobbysockers (you know, April and co.), James and the new characters from the last seasons. I am very glad that a few new threads have been created to remember what we enjoyed the most in the series and how we would change the things we don´t like. Kudos to those of you who made it possible!

I remember writing to Lorimar Productions requesting why they let Katherine go? It was the first and final fan letter I had wrote. Makes me chuckle still how passionate I was regarding Katherine. I always like to think someone at Lorimar listened because the following year I awoke from my dream and Bobby didn't really die nor did Katherine.

 

[Kenny Coyote]

.....when their story lines bomb?

First we have the "Dream Season," then a lot of people say that the movie ("Dallas: The Early Years") never happened because it aired during the dream season and was told only from JR's POV, then the "JR Returns," and "War of the Ewings" movies have been said to "not count," etc. Why do Dallas fans allow this? DYN, KL, and FC never did this.

I don't agree with the premise. Just take a look at the ratings and you'll see that plenty of Dallas fans quit watching as the quality of the show declined. If they had known how badly the dream season was going to tarnish the legacy of the show I think they would have preferred not to bring Patrick Duffy back. Not only did it hurt the legacy and credibility of Dallas, but the season they brought Bobby back had lower ratings than the season before it.

 

[Presea]

I remember writing to Lorimar Productions requesting why they let Katherine go? It was the first and final fan letter I had wrote. Makes me chuckle still how passionate I was regarding Katherine. I always like to think someone at Lorimar listened because the following year I awoke from my dream and Bobby didn't really die nor did Katherine.

They revived her for us, but I imagine that if your letter had been written about why they didn't use her after season 11 (dvd), then the writers and other people involved in working on the show might have wrote you back with this reply: "Sorry, but we want to get rid of all of the popular female characters played by good actresses, and Katherine is no exception." I swear, it was like they were TRYING to get Dallas cancelled!

 

[Rove]

They revived her for us, but I imagine that if your letter had been written about why they didn't use her after season 11 (dvd), then the writers and other people involved in working on the show might have wrote you back with this reply: "Sorry, but we want to get rid of all of the popular female characters played by good actresses, and Katherine is no exception." I swear, it was like they were TRYING to get Dallas cancelled!

I clearly remember writing to Lorimar Productions after they killed off Katherine (Morgan). I must have had an investigative mind as I first wrote to TV Week here in Australia and requested Lorimar Productions Office address. I also included a stamped self address envelope and someone actually sent a reply. Those were the days.

 

[JR Ewing Fan]

I just pretend the sequel show didn't exist. In my world JR Returns was the real end of Dallas. Although it wasn't great it tied up all the loose ends.