When it comes to reboots I have to admit I’m a little skeptical, with good reason (Veronica Mars). The first question is always is this a legitimate reboot of the series, or is it just a continuation. The show I’m covering for this week’s Gone Too Soon is a continuation. Today I’m covering Dallas.
I wasn’t even alive when the original Dallas was in its heyday. I live in Texas and know where Southfork Ranch (the setting for Dallas), is so I wasn’t a stranger to Dallas before the reboot. I knew some of the characters, a little of the backstory, and of course I had heard all about “Who Shot J.R?” All that to say that, before watching the new version I had a little knowledge of the original, but for the most part I was a newbie and I loved the reboot. Dallas ran for three season on TNT from 2012-2014.
The Gist
Dallas picks up with the next generation of Ewings fighting over Southfork. Most of the original cast is back, with many newcomers playing the children of the OG’s. Here’s all you need to know: there are two sides to the Ewing family, the side that wants to protect the land and the side that wants to put up oil derricks. These sides of the family are always fighting each other for power and control of the land. That’s it, that’s the gist. Everything that these characters do is for money, power, and control, and boy do they stoop pretty low to accomplish their goals.
The three main returning original characters are JR (Larry Hangman) and Bobby (Patrick Duffy) and Sue Ellen Ewing (Linda Grey). The rest of the main characters are all new to the series. This includes: John Ross Ewing III (Josh Henderson, The Arrangement), Christopher Ewing (Jesse Metcalfe, John Tucker Must Die), Elena Ramos (Jordana Brewster, Fast and Furious franchise), Rebecca Sutter a.k.a Pamela Barnes (Julie Gonzalo, A Cinderella Story), and Ann Ewing (Brenda Strong, 13 Reasons Why). Several of these actors you can find on Hallmark Channel, Desperate Housewives and Supergirl.
Should You Watch It
I’m pretty sure that if you like the new Dynasty reboot then you will like Dallas. (Though I haven’t ever watched a full episode of the new Dynasty, but from the clips I’ve seen I think it’s a fair comparison.)
I could also compare Dallas to the gone too soon ABC show Grand Hotel. If you like over-the-top drama, secrets, intrigue, romance, and backstabbing then you should like Dallas. It has all of these elements. I don’t watch a ton of soap operas, I’ll admit, but I liked Dallas, and I think you will too.
Everyone loves a good bad guy, and you won’t find one better than J.R. Ewing. He wrote the book on bad guys and Larry Hangman was fantastic at it. Hangman died during filming during season 2, so this was his last role.
Sunken Ships
There were so many ships that I just couldn’t keep track or even really invest in them. There were several different relationships that were happening. My favorite in the beginning was Christopher and Elena. They had the most stable relationship of the new characters and were pretty sweet together, when given the opportunity.
Now if you like mess (which I have to admit is pretty compelling) then Pamela and John Ross are the couple for you, cause wow. That is a lot to sift through, but of course it wouldn’t be a soap opera without love triangles, miscommunication, and betrayals. There’s a lot of drama for both ships and every other ship on this show.
Caution: Cliffhanger
We are dangerously close to Stitchers territory here. In the final episode a main character gets blown up by a car bomb. You may be saying that sounds like a pretty big cliffhanger and it was, but the difference between Stitchers (the cliffhanger I judge all cliffhangers against) and Dallas is that you know exactly what happens next.
You know exactly which character died and presumably the next season would focus on the bombing, and comparatively this cliffhanger doesn’t come close to the ‘Who Shot J.R?’ cliffhanger of the original series. (Largely regarded as one of the best cliffhangers ever).
In all honesty, the show isn’t resolved, but it doesn’t bother me enough (and hopefully not you) to ruin how much fun the show was.
Where to Watch it
All three seasons are available to buy on Amazon. I hope that I have convinced you to check it out. The show is full of soapy goodness. If you want to watch the original Dallas then you can find it for free on IMDbTV.
Read about a few other shows that were Gone Too Soon: Jericho, Deception, Take Two, Deadly Class, Whiskey Cavalier, Hap and Leonard, Ravenswood, iZombie, Daybreak, and Eye Candy. What shows do you think were Gone Too Soon?