Recently finished watching the season 1 and 2 DVD set of ‘Dallas’, which was a guilty pleasure primetime soap during the Disco Years...and well beyond. The show started with a mini-series in April of 1978 and subsequently ran for 12 seasons. I remember this was one of the few shows that my entire family enjoyed…even Daddy liked ole love-to-hate-him J.R. Ewing, the villain of the show. Watching the show brought back fun memories of Friday nights in front of the TV. The start of the weekend! My sister and I could stay up late! Woo-hoo!
'Dallas' was popular before the glitzier and more glamorous nighttime soaps like ‘Dynasty’ and ‘Falcon Crest’ came along. I liked that it focused on the family (as dysfunctional as they were). Also, the good guys were good and the bad guys were bad. Not much character shading going on back then, like there is now…where every character is ‘conflicted’. Dealing with 'shades of gray' is something most of us have to face all too often in real life!
Though J.R. was the most fun character to watch, Sue Ellen, his long-suffering wife, was the most fascinating character. We all understood the motivations behind J.R., Bobby (J.R.'s good guy brother), Pam (Bobby's hot wife) and Cliff (Pam's brother, main nemesis to J.R.), but Sue Ellen was more intriguing. Why does she stay in such a horrible, abusive marriage? It seems to go beyond money and prestige, though it probably started that way based on the episodes featuring Sue Ellen’s social climbing mom. By the end of the second season, it's pretty clear that while she professes to love Cliff, she really loves, wants...is addicted to J.R. Which pretty much drives her insane...good, twisted stuff!!
Disco Years fans will love the outfits...and the discotheque scenes. Lots of boogie-ing and 'bow-chicka-bow-wow' music!
It seemed to me that the show didn’t find its best footing until several episodes in…but once it got rolling, it rocked!
Trivia:
- The show was originally intended to focus completely on life within the Ewing family from Pam's perspective. Sue Ellen's role in particular was supposed to be very minor. However, after the big audience response to J.R. and Sue Ellen, the show became more balanced, focusing on several characters . . . though in later seasons it pretty much became the J.R. show.
- Most fans of the show know Ted Shackelford as Gary Ewing (J.R.'s black sheep brother, who went on to star in a spin-off called 'Knots Landing') and Mary Crosby as Kristen Shephard (Sue Ellen's evil sister, who later made television history on the show...but I won't give that away), but I was surprised to see that both roles were originally played by different actors in these first seasons. Colleen Camp, of all people (pictured below), was Kristen! They obviously wanted to re-cast with a sexier actress...thus, Mary Crosby. It’s irritating that the DVD packaging prominently displays Mary Crosby, even though she isn’t in the first two seasons. The producers really wanted David Ackroyd (pictured below) to stay on as Gary, but he had scheduling conflicts. That’s a good thing in my book, because Ted Shackelford better fit the wimpy-guy-trying-to-be-tough role.
- Patrick Duffy (Bobby) had finished working on the recently cancelled 'The Man From Atlantis' when he got the 'Dallas' job. I'm totally bummed that 'The Man From Atlantis' isn't on DVD yet. Victoria Principal (Pam) was intimidated when she had to audition with Patrick. She had actually saved the TV Guide with him on the cover for 'The Man from Atlantis'.
- Victoria Principal was the only cast member who marked through a clause in her contract stipulating that the actors could not endorse/promote products during the run of the show. Smart move on her part, as later her exercise books/videos were hugely successful.
- You'd probably recognize J.R.'s secretary in these first seasons. She's Tina Louise...Ginger from 'Gilligan's Island'!
