Posted on 06/13/2012 4:12:30 PM PDT by JennysCool
When you aim to remake “Dallas,” partner, you’re putting on a big hat.
But TNT and the producers of Dallas 2.0, which launches with back-to-back episodes Wednesday night, have the cattle to do it.
They start with the smart move of bringing back the original Ewing brothers, Larry Hagman’s J.R. and Patrick Duffy's Bobby.
Then they make the smarter move of not pretending this old guard would still be dominating the world of Southfork Ranch, as if no descendant of this screwed-up family had ambitions of his or her own, good or evil.
Instead, the producers simply let the gene pool do the work.
J.R.’s son John Ross (Josh Henderson) shares J.R.’s obsession with money, power and domination. Bobby’s adopted son Christopher (Jesse Metcalfe) envisions a future where clean energy will replace fossil fuel and make the world a better place.
Fossil fuel, of course, by which we mean oil, has been the Ewing family ticket to vast, unapologetic wealth.
So there are those in the family who see this alternative energy foolishness as a direct personal insult.
-Snip!-
So we’ve got love and money both in play here, and soon they swirl together into a tale that’s got more kick than Texas chili made with live rattlesnakes.
It’s also soapy, of course, not to mention campy. Hagman in particular hasn’t lost an ounce of his villainous sleaze.
No one expects “Dallas” to have the kind of reach now that it had three decades ago. But between old fans who will enjoy a revisit and young folks who never even heard of Miss Ellie, TNT is placing a sound bet.
It was all just a bad dream.
Hagman is indeed pretty talented. I even thought his earlier comedic chops in “Jeannie” were pretty sublime. But I did read a really long interview of him, where he recounted his experiments with LSD and mind-altering drugs, and I have to say he came across as one of the most bratty and embarrasingly self-absorbed people I could possibly imagine.
I don’t think they should get public subsidies for sure.
Too bad they threw the producer or writer off. I don’t like the green aspect of it either.
Oh cripes. What's next, will we find out Cliff & JR had a Brokeback Mountain thang goin' on??
Growing up, Dallas was a "banned" show for my sister & me. Yet somehow we managed to catch enough of it to keep up (dad travelled a lot). Despite itself, it all seems so innocuous, nowadays.
|
|
I agree. “Dallas” worked best when Bobby was married to Pam(providing the sugar) while J.R. was married to Sue Ellen(providing the spice). That stupid nonsense about Pam leaving Bobby because of her car accident burn injuries was even worse than the “whole season where Bobby died was a dream!” idiocy.
How will they explain it? She found out she’s not dying and her plastic surgeon kidnapped her and kept her prisoner for 2 decades?
Bah!
I never watched the original, I will certainly not waste time on a remake.
Oh, and it’s cable?
Non-starter right there, until cable goes commercial-free.
“Bobby’s adopted son Christopher (Jesse Metcalfe) envisions a future where clean energy will replace fossil fuel and make the world a better place.”
Ugh. Leave Dallas in the pre-PC 1970s and 1980s where it belongs.
I watched an extended preview online. It looks good.
I don’t think I ever missed an episode during the original run.
I do recall the first season. The 3 broadcast networks, for some reason, moved weekly series around that year. A show might be on Tuesday one week, Friday the next, then Monday, etc. It was havoc ‘chasing’ favorite programs. It was actually with the 2nd season that Dallas really became popular.
It used to be that I watched Dallas before I went out on Friday nights. It was a great show, particularly the early years.
It’s great that Hagman is still able to do his cameo appearance as I recall his health was bad in years back.
Hollyweird has almost completely run out of ideas and can only do rehash.
A re-make of ROBO COP is in the works. Budget? $100 million.
Bite your tongue, LOL! J.R.’s character was great, but Jock Ewing was the best thing about that show, IMO.
You can't recreate that 80’s vibe anymore than you can reheat yesterday's souffle.
Couldn’t disagree more. A fight over energy between the sons is the perfect way to update “Dallas” and get the conflict going. We don’t have to agree with either of them to enjoy watching them fight it out!
Post-surgery Victoria Principal looks so different that fans would do a double-take.
Well, I’ve watched for 45 minutes and I’m bored. Bad sign.
No surprise. What can you do?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.