The time has come my friends to talk about Dallas. Perhaps the show that sums up the 80s. Y'all know how much I loved Dynasty but Dallas really was where it was at.
Wednesday nights, BBC1, 8pm (followed by Points of View) and you'd find me glued to the television for most of the 80s. Woe betide anyone that spoke for the next fifty minutes. By god, it was fantastic. Some of the best soap characters ever: Tragic Sue Ellen Ewing and her drink problem and callous husband, Pam Ewing and her beseeching eyes, Bobby Ewing (yes, I cried when he died, let's just get that out in the open here and now - it was sad, ok?), Miss Ellie and her long suffering sighs and of course... JR Ewing. Without Larry Hagman there was no Dallas. He was the finest villain and quite often, you did feel a bit sorry for him. Fabulous.
I learnt a great deal from Dallas: never expect anything to go right at the Oil Baron's Ball, you can make business deals while swinging round on a chair and sipping a drink, Chinese food is the best takeaway food (thank you Cliff Barnes) and a red convertible Mercedez is the car every woman should own.
Truth be told, it never recovered from the 'it was all a dream' line where they just obliterated a whole series. Yes, I was glad Bobby was back but it was a bitter-sweet happiness as the show took a nose dive in quality. However, the first five seasons or so of Dallas were fantastic. You can watch them now and still be hooked. The 'Who Shot JR?' storyline was brilliantly done. In the days before the internet, this was really much of what we talked about that summer while we waited eagerly for it to return.
All this talk of Dallas coming back with the original cast. Yes, I will watch it but I can't believe it will be any good. The beauty of Dallas was the fact it was the 80s and greed was good, big hats were cool and everyone had glossy hair and was young. I mean really, how is Larry Hagman still alive?
Here are the credits - contender for best credits of the 80s. Enjoy.
Ahhhhh Dallas! How I loved it. How I wanted to live at Southfork. How I had a crush on Ray Krebbs (it was the voice).But most of all, I wanted a car with a number plate that said Ewing whatever number, I really thought that was the height of sophistication *sigh*
ReplyDeleteAnd may I also add, how educational! I remember someone winning a piece of pie in Trivial Pursuit by correctly identfying the Dallas Cowboys as the foorball team from Dallas. When the other mightily impressed contestants asked how you know that you smiled sweetly and said 'it's in the intro to Dallas'!
ReplyDeleteDallas is an education in so many ways!
ReplyDeleteDallas makes me think of two things. Firstly, having the school hamster for the weekend when I was 6 and it going mental on its wheel to the Dallas music. OK I know hamsters do that anyway but it seemed as if it was WORKING OUT to the music.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, last year I flew into Dallas airport and saw that skyline and for the whole of my layover I was playing the tune in my head.
I'm not sure there is a better theme tune than Dallas.
I want to fly into Dallas airport JUST so I can do that. Preferably in a helicopter where I can see the shadow of it...
ReplyDeleteI WILL be flying into Dallas in a few weeks, I already have the theme tune on my iPod ready to be played as the plane flys in!
ReplyDeleteTurned out you were dead wrong about Dallas 2.0. It was very good. I expected it to be about a C+, hoped for a B-, it was a B+. This is Dallas however, and we grade on the curve, A minus yall. Rest in peace Larry.
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