TV Review: Want Some Good TV? Buy the DVD… Dallas!

by Alexandra Savilo

Staff writer (Ontario, Canada)

Dallas. If you’ve ever heard the word you’ve probably affiliated it with “Who shot J.R.” or the city, or the famous Dallas Cowboys.

Well if you guessed the first option then ding, ding, ding we have a winner! Don’t worry, I’m not from the stone ages. When I heard of the show for the second time I vaguely remembered it (the first time I was too infantile to register it anywhere decent in my mind). This was actually  my mother’s golden memory and in fact the only soap opera she ever watched.

WAIT! Please don’t stop reading, let me say first off this is not 90210, Passions, The Young and the Restless or the OC or any of that shallow cockamamie. Well, at least not to that level.

If anything one might even argue that Dallas was educational. Dallas is centred around the Ewing family, a rich Texan oil company that is the largest independent in the state. There’s Jock Ewing, head of the family but retired from head of the company (however he still works and has the biggest say), Ellie, his wife who owns the colossal ranch they live on called Southfork (which today has now become a tourist attraction) and two of their three or four sons (depending how far you’ve gone into the seasons I’ll leave it as discreet as possible). The oldest son is J.R. Ewing who is as dastardly and cunning as ever and all the while he’ll do it with his jolly wide Texas grin.The second son is Bobby who adds his own drama by marrying the Ewing’s biggest rival’s daughter Pamela Barnes. Pam has a brother who lives and breathes Ewing demise and J.R. has an alcoholic wife with a son, and Gary (another brother who does not live on the ranch) has an illegitimate daughter living on Southfork.

And that’s not even a season’s worth of drama! But it’s not drug drama or excess in violence and all sex is off screen or implied. And where’s the education, you may ask? You’ll get to learn a lot of Texan geography and a surprising amount on the oil business, not to mention the fads and glamours of the late 70’s and 80’s.

Another reason to watch this show invented and might I add, perfected, the cliffhanger. Ask your parents who shot J.R. and they’ll tell you that the entire world waited three long summer months debating over a myriad of characters. There were bets, bribes, articles and cover stories in Time and even newspapers!

If you won’t watch it for the content, at least try it for the history. After all, we’re talking about an era before the birth of sitcoms and reruns. People made sure that their life stopped for this 48 minute (excluding commercials) TV show.

Who do I watch? Pam & Bobby for the win! But honestly, that woman gets on my nerves sometimes, the way she can’t understand how much Bobby loves her! Donna Culver Krebbs has got to be my favourite female television character to date. She’s a smart, political-savvy, loyal, caring and beautiful woman, but she’s not a Barbie. She’s classy and spunky and a person I’ve always admired. She goes after the right things no matter how hard and she won’t stop until every thing’s the way it should be.

But enough of my blab, it is very unbecoming! Take a peek and tell me what you think and lets gab of society and its portrayal in DALLAS!

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September 14 2008 06:55 am | Uncategorized

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