Dallas 2020

[stevew]

The more I think about it, the more I would want to go with the concept of @Taylor Bennett Jr. to create a series exploring the 1950s - early 1970s which Taylor describes as "the years when Jock was running things and JR was on his way up, Bobby as the football star, skinny young Ray Krebbs showing up on the ranch with a note from his mother, the whole Gary fallout. With the right cast and production and writing it would be amazing."

This idea of setting a modern day drama in the past was done by Mad Men with great success, as it set its show in the 1960s. So there's a precedent for that working with a 21st century audience. If that might necessitate making this Dallas more serious drama than soap opera, fine. I have no problem with that. Actually, the more serious drama style seems better accepted today than soap opera anyway. I just want it to tell great stories which would be fascinating to watch for people of all generations.

Another reason I like this is because the story of the years of building a company which becomes the largest independent oil company in the state of Texas would a compelling one. Dallas is already thought of as "an old show" done in old style, maybe a "dinosaur", so here they'd be acknowledging "Yes this is a show about events taking place a long time ago - we're embracing the idea of telling a story set in that time and turning what some would consider a possible weakness into a strength."

By doing that you also make it clear that the only way to do it would be with a new cast playing the same characters. It's not a stylistic choice to not use the still living actors of Dallas because it would be impossible for them to portray those characters as young people. I think it would help the audience accept new actors playing this characters because it would be so apparent to them that this story could not be told any other way.

It would be a great opportunity to look into things such as "what made JR become the man he became - what molded his character." Through flashbacks we could even look into how JRs childhood shaped him. We could see how Pam and Cliff's upbringing shaped their characters. I'd find getting the opportunity to watch all these personalities being shaped and to find out how different factors shaped them to be fascinating!

Seeing Jock Ewing working as a much younger man building his own company from the ground up and allowing us to finally see the way Jock Ewing did "bidness" when he was still in his prime years in a weekly series could be very compelling TV.

From a practical standpoint, a financial one, I think this is still the best way to do it. By making Dallas look like a 21st century show, conceding that an 80s soap is outdated, we'd be embracing the fact that yes, this is an old story, these events did take place a long time ago, but they make a compelling story to watch when told in a modern style!

I like this idea. People could watch the Early Years to get some back ground or Dallas ‘78 to find out what happened - with a new awakened interest. The house could be the same (though in the pilot it was different) but decorated for the time period.

Year 1959.

• February 3 – A chartered plane transporting musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper crashes in foggy conditions near Clear Lake, Iowa, killing all four occupants on board, including pilot Roger Peterson. The tragedy is later termed "The Day the Music Died", popularized in Don McLean's 1972 song "American Pie". JR us struck by this event.

Jock - celebrates his 50th birthday (think Cat on a Hot Tin Roof), runs Ewing Oil, while interested in the ranch, he’s a company man, ruthless, hiring the best of the best to take on big oil.

Ellie - a homemaker, mother and wife with a bit of a pretentious side, a leader in the DOA, known for riding horses, shooting guns, yet being very well dressed and her house incredibly decorated, she oversees the employees of Southfork including the cattle ranch business.

JR - 28, Director of Special Projects for Ewing Oil, meaning his father’s go to man in the company, very handsome, a whore of a young man, the most illegible bachelor in Dallas, bent on being more ruthless than his father and more pretentious than his mother.

Gary - a high school kid, nerd, loner, loves the ranch, story lines which have nothing to do with business, focus on his becoming an alcoholic.

Bobby - high school kid, popular, football jock, story lines which have nothing to do with business, lots and lots of girlfriends including occasional appearances by Jenna Wade and other girls the family (Jock, Miss Ellie and Bobby feel are suitable).

(Ray won’t show up until later in the series)

Val - Gary’s secret girl friend from the wrong side of the tracks, the Ewing’s find our she’s pregnant from the start of the series.

Other part time roles: Digger (and his kids), Lucy (as a baby), Punk and Mavis, Jordan Lee, Lucas Wade and other members of the cartel, Smithfield’s dad as the family’s old lawyer with Harv up and coming, Demarest as a young man just out of college as their criminal lawyer, Leland’s dad as their banker, Danvers as their physician, Sheriff Washburn (the dad of Fenton) in Jocks pocket, Eugene Bullock as Jock’s international contact with dreams of growing Ewing Oil the size of Standard Oil, Herbert Wenworth.

Ewing Oil at this time is based on Humble Oil, creating a partnership with NYC giant Encor, getting into petrochemicals and focused on a Libyan oil deal - though the partnership never goes as far as Humble Oil and Standard Oil of New Jersey and West Star is spun off of the attempt.

Reginald “Reggie” Gillis - EnCor V.P., bringing his family from out east to Texas (based on the Bush family) to oversee EnCor and Ewing Oil’s 50/50 ventures, including exploration in Texas, Libya, Venezuela, etc. EnCor is the giant refinery and gas station business. Gillis eventually founds the Estrella Corporation, a oil services business which eventually become a major part of West Star. His youngest daughter, Muriel, is a late in life baby, but his older boys are in their early twenties.

Sue “Elliot” Sheppard - lawyer, President of the West Oil Company (later merged with Estrella to form West Star). A major rival of Ewing Oil. He is the father of Sue Ellen and Kristian.

Kris Sheppard - lawyer, Elliot’s older brother, founder of West Oil.

J (Jeremy) Peter” Wendell - son of a lawyer and independent oil man and father of Jeremy Wendell (early ‘30’s V.P. of Wendell Oil). Hi Peter is Jock’s main business rival, based on J Paul Getty.

I can’t remember the Early Years but maybe include Miss. Ellie’s mother (I’m sure by this time her brother and father are not around) and explore Jock’s family, parents, brother Jason, maybe add a sister.

 

[Kenny Coyote]

I like this idea. People could watch the Early Years to get some back ground or Dallas ‘78 to find out what happened - with a new awakened interest. The house could be the same (though in the pilot it was different) but decorated for the time period.

Year 1959.

• February 3 – A chartered plane transporting musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper crashes in foggy conditions near Clear Lake, Iowa, killing all four occupants on board, including pilot Roger Peterson. The tragedy is later termed "The Day the Music Died", popularized in Don McLean's 1972 song "American Pie". JR us struck by this event.

Jock - celebrates his 50th birthday (think Cat on a Hot Tin Roof), runs Ewing Oil, while interested in the ranch, he’s a company man, ruthless, hiring the best of the best to take on big oil.

Ellie - a homemaker, mother and wife with a bit of a pretentious side, a leader in the DOA, known for riding horses, shooting guns, yet being very well dressed and her house incredibly decorated, she oversees the employees of Southfork including the cattle ranch business.

JR - 28, Director of Special Projects for Ewing Oil, meaning his father’s go to man in the company, very handsome, a whore of a young man, the most illegible bachelor in Dallas, bent on being more ruthless than his father and more pretentious than his mother.

Gary - a high school kid, nerd, loner, loves the ranch, story lines which have nothing to do with business, focus on his becoming an alcoholic.

Bobby - high school kid, popular, football jock, story lines which have nothing to do with business, lots and lots of girlfriends including occasional appearances by Jenna Wade and other girls the family (Jock, Miss Ellie and Bobby feel are suitable).

(Ray won’t show up until later in the series)

Val - Gary’s secret girl friend from the wrong side of the tracks, the Ewing’s find our she’s pregnant from the start of the series.

Other part time roles: Digger (and his kids), Lucy (as a baby), Punk and Mavis, Jordan Lee, Lucas Wade and other members of the cartel, Smithfield’s dad as the family’s old lawyer with Harv up and coming, Demarest as a young man just out of college as their criminal lawyer, Leland’s dad as their banker, Danvers as their physician, Sheriff Washburn (the dad of Fenton) in Jocks pocket, Eugene Bullock as Jock’s international contact with dreams of growing Ewing Oil the size of Standard Oil, Herbert Wenworth.

Ewing Oil at this time is based on Humble Oil, creating a partnership with NYC giant Encor, getting into petrochemicals and focused on a Libyan oil deal - though the partnership never goes as far as Humble Oil and Standard Oil of New Jersey and West Star is spun off of the attempt.

Reginald “Reggie” Gillis - EnCor V.P., bringing his family from out east to Texas (based on the Bush family) to oversee EnCor and Ewing Oil’s 50/50 ventures, including exploration in Texas, Libya, Venezuela, etc. EnCor is the giant refinery and gas station business. Gillis eventually founds the Estrella Corporation, a oil services business which eventually become a major part of West Star. His youngest daughter, Muriel, is a late in life baby, but his older boys are in their early twenties.

Sue “Elliot” Sheppard - lawyer, President of the West Oil Company (later merged with Estrella to form West Star). A major rival of Ewing Oil. He is the father of Sue Ellen and Kristian.

Kris Sheppard - lawyer, Elliot’s older brother, founder of West Oil.

J (Jeremy) Peter” Wendell - son of a lawyer and independent oil man and father of Jeremy Wendell (early ‘30’s V.P. of Wendell Oil). Hi Peter is Jock’s main business rival, based on J Paul Getty.

I can’t remember the Early Years but maybe include Miss. Ellie’s mother (I’m sure by this time her brother and father are not around) and explore Jock’s family, parents, brother Jason, maybe add a sister.

That's a very nice plan. Just one question regarding the ages: Bobby wouldn't have been a high school kid then; he'd be 9 years old. When he "died" his gravestone said 1950-1985 and you're saying it's 1959. So I guess you're just taking some artistic license there with the ages, since how many people would know the difference anyway, to make it fit your story better, right? That's why JR is said to be 28, which would mean you'd have him being born in 1931 instead of 1937 or 1939. That's fine, but what about Ray? He was conceived near the end of WWII and born in 1945 - the end of WWII. If you change that, you change his whole background.

Since Ray is 14 in 1959, how is Bobby, Jock's youngest son, in high school?

 

[Chris2]

I’d prefer they just leave it alone. The TNT revival could have been great, but they had the wrong creative people running it. The original cast is now that much older, and the younger audience doesn’t have memories of Dallas.

If they want to reboot anything, it should be Knots Landing. And unfortunately, it’s 10-15 years too late for that if you wanted significant participation from the original cast.

 

[stevew]

That's a very nice plan. Just one question regarding the ages: Bobby wouldn't have been a high school kid then; he'd be 9 years old. When he "died" his gravestone said 1950-1985 and you're saying it's 1959. So I guess you're just taking some artistic license there with the ages, since how many people would know the difference anyway, to make it fit your story better, right? That's why JR is said to be 28, which would mean you'd have him being born in 1931 instead of 1937 or 1939. That's fine, but what about Ray? He was conceived near the end of WWII and born in 1945 - the end of WWII. If you change that, you change his whole background.

Since Ray is 14 in 1959, how is Bobby, Jock's youngest son, in high school?

Got it. You’re right. I was taking some artistic libert my but it won’t work. I’d have to move it into the sixties. Let’s say 1964 and make Bobby 14? Would that make Gary 16? And JR 25? Ray 19 - he could show up soon. Could Jock still be celebrating his big 50th?

 

[Kenny Coyote]

Got it. You’re right. I was taking some artistic libert my but it won’t work. I’d have to move it into the sixties. Let’s say 1964 and make Bobby 14? Would that make Gary 16? And JR 25? Ray 19 - he could show up soon. Could Jock still be celebrating his big 50th?

Yes, Jock could still be 50 and yes, JR and Bobby's ages are what you said. I think 1964 would be good year in which to set it. Gary would be 20 or 21 I think, but as long as you make it so Gary is conceived either before Jock left to go to war or after he got back, and in between the ages of JR and Bobby it works.