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DallasDecoder.com is Here
“Dallas” debuted 34 years ago today. To mark the occasion, I’ve started an all-new fan blog. Check it out! http://DallasDecoder.com/
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Lather Up! TNT’s ‘Dallas’ Cast Hits the Showers
TNT’s new teaser ad for “Dallas” flashes back to the original show’s infamous shower scene, when Patrick Duffy returned to the series and revealed Bobby’s death had been a bad dream. The New York Times has more details about the campaign, which also includes a nifty billboard in Times Square.
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The Last Time the Ewings Went to ‘War’
Larry Hagman, Linda Gray and Patrick Duffy are seen in a publicity photo for “Dallas: War of the Ewings,” the show’s final reunion movie, which was broadcast in 1998. Visit Dallas Decoder’s Facebook page to see a scene from the film.
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Your Guide to TNT’s ‘Dallas’ Classics: A Postscript
So what happens after “Blast From the Past?”It turns out Bobby is in Pam’s shower because he never died. She dreamed his murder and everything that followed during the eighth season – including J.R.’s dealings with Angelica Nero and the bombing of Ewing Oil.
With Patrick Duffy back as a regular cast member, “Dallas” hits the reset button and picks up where things left off at the end of season seven.
Bobby and Pam remarry, but when Victoria Principal leaves the show, the producers have her character disfigured in a fiery car crash. Pam then runs away to spare Bobby and Christopher the pain of having to live with someone who isn’t pretty.
Sue Ellen embarks on a successful business career and divorces J.R., and when Linda Gray leaves, the producers send her character to England. Lucy divorces Mitch and returns to Southfork for awhile, then leaves again. Donna moves to Washington, D.C., gives birth to a daughter and divorces Ray, who marries Jenna and moves to “Europe,” which is where all the characters seem to wind up when they leave Texas.
A bunch of new faces show up at Southfork, including the ladies seen here: Cally (Cathy Podewell), who briefly becomes J.R.’s second wife; April (Sheree J. Wilson), who becomes Bobby’s second wife and dies on their Parisian honeymoon; and Michelle (Kimberly Foster), April’s sister, who marries J.R.’s illegitimate son James, played by Sasha Mitchell.
(To watch a scene from one of “Dallas’s” final episodes, visit Dallas Decoder’s Decoder’s Facebook page.)
In “Dallas’s” next-to-last episode, J.R. loses Ewing Oil to Cliff, but in the first reunion movie, Cliff reconciles with Afton (who, it turns out, secretly gave birth to his daughter, Pamela) and sells the company to Bobby and Sue Ellen, while J.R. becomes Westar’s chairman.
Got all that? If so, you’re ready for TNT’s new “Dallas” series, which debuts Wednesday, June 13 at 9 p.m.!
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What Was Southfork’s Best Wedding?
Southfork hosted several weddings on “Dallas.” Visit Dallas Decoder’s Facebook page to vote for your favorite ceremony. The list includes the 1982 remarriage of J.R. and Sue Ellen (Larry Hagman, Linda Gray).
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Your Guide to TNT’s ‘Dallas’ Classics: ‘Blast From the Past’
To help viewers get ready for its new “Dallas” series, TNT is offering cable subscribers 10 classic episodes online. Before you watch “Blast From the Past,” read this.Previously on “Dallas:” After “Swan Song,” the Ewings bury Bobby and Pam becomes J.R.’s partner at Ewing Oil. Sue Ellen hits rock bottom, sobers up and wins custody of John Ross, then drops Dusty. After beginning a career as a medical fundraiser, Sue Ellen gets back together with J.R., who dumps Mandy. Mark returns from the dead and gets engaged to Pam. Ray and Donna reconcile. When she suffers a miscarriage, they decide to adopt Tony, a deaf teen. Jenna gets involved with Jack, who joins J.R. in a partnership with Anjelica Nero, a Greek shipping executive who turns out to be a homicidal maniac.
What to watch for in “Blast From the Past:” “Dallas’s” Bobby-less season has its ups and downs, but give it this: It ends with some of the show’s most spectacular season-ending cliffhangers.
By the time the closing credits roll, Clayton has gone missing, Sue Ellen and Jamie’s lives have gone up in smoke and a familiar face is lathering up in Pam’s shower.
Most shocking: J.R. has run away from $2 million in cold, hard cash.
What a nightmare!
What’s next: Your guide to “Dallas’s” final five seasons, which I’ll post next week.
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Jock and Digger’s First Gusher
This publicity shot from “Dallas: The Early Years” shows Sam Culver (Joe Rainer), Digger Barnes (David Grant) and brothers Jock and Jason Ewing (Dale Midkiff, David Wilson) after their first big strike. Visit Dallas Decoder’s Facebook page to see a scene from the movie, which was broadcast March 23, 1986.
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‘Who Shot J.R.?’ Turns 32
Thirty-two years ago today, “Dallas” aired its third-season finale “A House Divided,” which famously ended with J.R. getting shot by an unknown assailant. Visit Dallas Decoder’s Facebook page to watch an interview where Larry Hagman recalls the storyline’s history. Read more about the “Who Shot J.R.?” hoopla at TV Worth Watching and share your memories in the comments section below.
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More ‘Dallas’ Tidbits From TNT
TNT’s new online newsroom offers tons of new “Dallas” stuff, including this shot of J.R. (Larry Hagman) by photographer Zade Rosenthal, a Q&A with Linda Gray and revealing profiles of the major characters.
Some choice tidbits: Sue Ellen “blames herself for giving John Ross such a tumultuous childhood;” John Ross (Josh Henderson) is estranged from his daddy but still yearns for his approval; Bobby (Patrick Duffy) promised Miss Ellie he’d never let anyone drill on Southfork; his new wife, Ann (Brenda Strong), is haunted by her first marriage; and “a misunderstanding” prompted Elena (Jordana Brewster) to call off her wedding to Christopher (Jesse Metcalfe).
Also, we finally get a few details about enigmatic Rebecca Sutter (Julie Gonzalo), who is described as “a self made woman” who lost her parents at a young age in a car accident and put herself through law school.
The newsroom also features a conversation with Cynthia Cidre, the creative force behind TNT’s “Dallas,” who makes the new series sound like it’ll be close in spirit to the original show’s classic early seasons.
“Sometimes I think the old show wasn’t as grounded as we plan this one to be,” Cidre says. “Our characters won’t be doing outlandish, crazy things. They’re going to be behaving as normal human beings do while still letting the audience have a good time.”
Perfect!
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