Is Dallas the Greatest American Soap/Drama Series of All Time?

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

Do you consider Dallas to be the Greatest American soap opera/drama series of all time or is there another show better & more worthy of that title?

I want you're opinions.

Does Dallas deserve to be remembered as the Greatest of all time or are their other shows more worthy?

And if not, why not?

 

[Willie Oleson]

Dallas shone bright but briefly, it peaked in greatness with the Guzzler episode but after that it all went downhill pretty fast.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

Well I love the show.

It's a great drama series and it only gets better with repeated viewings.

 

[HelloHappy]

Dallas or Knots are the greatest to me. It depends on the season for which show I think is better. I appreciate that Knots was generally not over as the top as others, but the writing on Dallas was untouchable during the first few years. I also like that Knots had three female leads who portrayed different types of strength (Karen, Abby, and Valene, though I know some may not consider her a strong person).

 

[Rove]

The broadest impact?

I think these are the words we should be focusing on rather than asking if Dallas was the greatest ever. In my view Dallas became this cultural phenomenon which is still felt today. Without Dallas there would have been no Dynasty, Falcon Crest, Knots Landing. TV Executives suddenly became aware or were forced to sit up and take note there was a hunger for adult drama on Prime Time television. The character of JR changed the television landscape in that men wanted to be like him and women wanted to be with him. Here was a television series - with some soapy elements - where both men and women could watch a series together...and that's not an easy task.

Dallas paved the way for shows like St. Elsewhere, Hill Street Blues. L.A. LAW, The Sopranos and others. It's true legacy though is the almighty cliff-hanger. It began with this...

...and to this day writers are still trying to emulate it.
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So rather than argue if Dallas was 'the greatest ever' I'd rather focus on the fact Dallas had 'the broadest impact'. I can live with that.​

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[Jimmy Todd]

Dallas or Knots are the greatest to me. It depends on the season for which show I think is better. I appreciate that Knots was generally not over as the top as others, but the writing on Dallas was untouchable during the first few years. I also like that Knots had three female leads who portrayed different types of strength (Karen, Abby, and Valene, though I know some may not consider her a strong person).

Valene waa a strong person in her own way. She never gave in to bitterness orcynicism, and was strong enough to remain incorruptible in the wicked world she occupied and which slapped her with one hardship after another since childhood. She also had the tenacity to keep on chugging along in life.
Valene was also written much differently when she was on Dallas and in early Knots than later Knots. The writers on the latter part of the series made her much weaker than she really was.

 

[Mustard]

If you want to understand how the capitalist system works, on both sides of the law, watch The Godfather films and watch Dallas.

 

[pete lashmar]

Dallas is, in my view, the greatest U.S drama series/soap of all time, but even amongst it's fans there are differing views on when it wasn't during it's 14 year run - and we've debated that at great length over the years.

However, party of the huge global success of Dallas wasn't even planned - The who shot J.R plot reached fever pitch because of a longer break between series and because of Larry holding out for a pay increase, it created a perfect storm. Likewise, the sad death of Jim Davis led to one of the biggest plots of the series, which then spider webbed into so many other stories and plots.

There were downsides though, after the massive success of Bobby's death the show became a laughing stock with Pam's dream....BUT people remember it, they still talk about it - even casual fans always bring it up when Dallas is mentioned, so although it was ridiculed at the time, people talk kind of affectionately about it now.

Miss Ellie's changing head was the other one, but really, only fans remember that.

The last 3 seasons saw big changes, poor plots and some very unnecessary departures for me, but other fans of the show still enjoy it right through to the end, and everyone is entitled to their opinion.

Doctor Who will always be my all time favourite show, a show that can change it's lead actor, and be set anywhere in space and time...it's really is THE perfect premise for a show . But Dallas will always be my number 2, a show I have loved since I saw the very first episode and I watched it right to the bitter end on it's original run and can now re-watch every year or so and stop when I feel the quality dropped. Roll on the HD release box set...I WANT IT AND I WANT IT NOW!!!

 

[Rove]

Roll on the HD release box set...I WANT IT AND I WANT IT NOW!!!

Agreed!

You know, I'm praying Warner Bros will release Dallas either on Blu-ray (my preferred version) or DVD because it may reinvigorate chatter here on Telly Talk. Perhaps we can all begin our re-watch as a collective group and discuss at length each episode in further detail.