In a world where remakes and revivals seem to be a bit too frequent, it’s always nice when one comes along that seems like an organic choice brought on by the characters rather than just cashing in on an old brand.
Dallas, as originally conceived and aired in 1978, was a multi-generational story, telling the tale of the feud between the Ewing family and the Barnes family – a battle that extended back to Jock Ewing and Digger Barnes earlier in the 20th century.
Throughout the series’ 13-year run, and especially after characters like Jock and Digger expired due to story or actor deaths, the focus was truly on the younger generation, including the dastardly J.R. Ewing. Very early on in the series, J.R. and his wife, Sue Ellen, had a son, John Ross Ewing III.
J.R.’s brother, Bobby, also eventually had a son, Christopher. It’d take way too long to explain Christopher’s actual parentage here, but let’s just say “Bobby’s son” and leave it at that for the sake of simplicity.
The 1997 TV-movie Dallas: J.R. Returns showed a bit of this even younger generation of John Ross and Christopher, but sadly, when the second reunion called War Of The Ewings came around, John Ross and Chris were nowhere to be seen.
Next summer, TNT is reviving Dallas and telling their tale. Old favorites like Larry Hagman (J.R.), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), and even Cliff Barnes (Ken Kercheval) will be present, and this should be a lot of fun. For me, Summer 2012 cannot come fast enough.
TNT has released a new trailer for their new Dallas, showing some scenes we hadn’t seen yet. Enjoy:
Also recently released by TNT is a fantastic video where the new cast talks about the Dallas legacy:
