"Dallas" (1978) TV series 1978-1991

Creator:

David Jacobs
(more)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14

Release Date:

2 ÁPRILIS 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

The soapy, backstabbing machinations of Dallas oil magnate J.R. Ewing and his family.

Plot Keywords:

Oil | Texas | Soap Opera | Ranch | Lost Season

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 40 wins & 80 nominations

Cast

Larry Hagman	...	J.R. Ewing (357 episodes, 1978-1991)
Patrick Duffy	...	Bobby Ewing (327 episodes, 1978-1991)
Linda Gray	...	Sue Ellen Ewing (308 episodes, 1978-1991)
Ken Kercheval	...	Cliff Barnes (288 episodes, 1978-1991)
Steve Kanaly	...	Ray Krebbs (259 episodes, 1978-1991)
Barbara Bel Geddes	...	Miss Ellie Ewing / ... (255 episodes, 1978-1990)
Victoria Principal	...	Pamela Barnes Ewing (251 episodes, 1978-1987)
Charlene Tilton	...	Lucy Ewing Cooper / ... (215 episodes, 1978-1990)
Howard Keel	...	Clayton Farlow (208 episodes, 1981-1991)
Susan Howard	...	Donna Culver Krebbs / ... (198 episodes, 1979-1987)
Deborah Rennard	...	Sly Lovegren (158 episodes, 1981-1991)

Series Directed by
Michael Preece		(63 episodes, 1981-1991)
Leonard Katzman		(55 episodes, 1979-1990)
Irving J. Moore		(39 episodes, 1978-1991)
Larry Hagman		(30 episodes, 1979-1991)
Patrick Duffy		(24 episodes, 1981-1991)
Nick Havinga		(17 episodes, 1983-1986)
Corey Allen		(6 episodes, 1978-1986)
Gunnar Hellström		(6 episodes, 1979-1983)
Gwen Arner		(6 episodes, 1984)
Leslie H. Martinson		(4 episodes, 1979-1980)
Linda Day		(4 episodes, 1985-1986)
Linda Gray		(4 episodes, 1986-1989)
Dwight Adair		(4 episodes, 1987-1991)
Robert Day		(3 episodes, 1978)
Alexander Singer		(3 episodes, 1979-1985)
Robert Becker		(3 episodes, 1985-1986)
Bruce Bilson		(3 episodes, 1986)
Steve Kanaly		(3 episodes, 1987-1989)
Barry Crane		(2 episodes, 1978)
Lawrence Dobkin		(2 episodes, 1978)
Vincent McEveety		(2 episodes, 1978)
Harry Harris		(2 episodes, 1980-1982)
David Paulsen		(2 episodes, 1983-1987)
Bill Duke		(2 episodes, 1983)
Jerry Jameson		(2 episodes, 1986-1987)
Ken Kercheval		(2 episodes, 1990-1991)

Series Writing credits
David Jacobs		(204 episodes, 1978-1990)
Arthur Bernard Lewis		(57 episodes, 1978-1990)
Leonard Katzman		(53 episodes, 1978-1990)
David Paulsen		(41 episodes, 1981-1988)
Camille Marchetta		(12 episodes, 1978-1980)
Howard Lakin		(12 episodes, 1980-1990)
Peter Dunne		(11 episodes, 1985-1986)
Joel J. Feigenbaum		(10 episodes, 1985-1986)
Leah Markus		(9 episodes, 1980-1988)
Will Lorin		(9 episodes, 1982-1985)
Rena Down		(8 episodes, 1978-1981)
Linda Elstad		(7 episodes, 1980-1983)
Stephanie Garman		(6 episodes, 1985-1986)
Hollace White		(6 episodes, 1985-1986)
Calvin Clements Jr.		(6 episodes, 1986-1987)
Mitchell Wayne Katzman		(6 episodes, 1986-1987)
Lisa Seidman		(4 episodes, 1989-1991)
Loraine Despres		(3 episodes, 1979-1980)
Robert J. Shaw		(3 episodes, 1980-1981)
D.C. Fontana		(2 episodes, 1978-1979)
Richard Fontana		(2 episodes, 1978-1979)
Worley Thorne		(2 episodes, 1978-1979)
Susan Howard		(2 episodes, 1986-1987)
Bill Taub		(2 episodes, 1986)
Louella Lee Caraway		(2 episodes, 1987-1989)
David Michael Jacobs		(1 episode, 1979)
Bryce Zabel		(unknown episodes, 1989)
Jonathan Hales		(unknown episodes)
Simon Masters		(unknown episodes)
Jackie Zabel		(unknown episodes)

Series Produced by
Leonard Katzman	....	producer / executive producer (322 episodes, 1978-1991)
Philip Capice	....	executive producer (199 episodes, 1978-1985)
Cliff Fenneman	....	associate producer / producer (192 episodes, 1978-1990)
Arthur Bernard Lewis	....	supervising producer (113 episodes, 1981-1985)
David Paulsen	....	producer (59 episodes, 1981-1988)
Lee Rich	....	executive producer (51 episodes, 1978-1980)
James H. Brown	....	producer (13 episodes, 1985-1986)
Peter Dunne	....	supervising producer (13 episodes, 1985-1986)
Larry Hagman	....	executive producer (4 episodes, 1988-1991)
Ken Horton	....	co-executive producer (4 episodes, 1990)
Frank Katzman	....	associate producer (4 episodes, 1990)
Mitchell Wayne Katzman	....	co-producer (4 episodes, 1990)
Howard Lakin	....	supervising producer (4 episodes, 1990)
John Rettino	....	associate producer (4 episodes, 1990)

Series Original Music by
Richard Lewis Warren		(58 episodes, 1978-1990)
Bruce Broughton		(52 episodes, 1979-1985)
Jerrold Immel		(31 episodes, 1978-1985)
John Carl Parker		(23 episodes, 1978-1990)
Lance Rubin		(23 episodes, 1982-1990)
Angela Morley		(3 episodes, 1985)

Series Cinematography by
Edward R. Plante		(80 episodes, 1978-1983)
Robert Caramico		(46 episodes, 1984-1986)
Allen M. Davey		(33 episodes, 1979-1980)
Bradford May		(27 episodes, 1983-1984)
Robert C. Jessup		(15 episodes, 1978-1979)
William Mendenhall		(6 episodes, 1978)
Rick F. Gunter		(4 episodes, 1990)
Karl Kases		(unknown episodes)
Robert F. Sparks		(unknown episodes)

Series Film Editing by
Fred W. Berger		(80 episodes, 1978-1990)
John Arthur Davies		(72 episodes, 1978-1990)
Lloyd L. Richardson		(58 episodes, 1979-1985)
Irving Rosenblum		(3 episodes, 1978)
Sean-Michael Connor		(unknown episodes)

Series Casting by
Irene Mariano		(203 episodes, 1978-1990)

Series Production Design by
Walter M. Jefferies		(unknown episodes, 1986-1987)

Series Art Direction by
Kim Swados		(94 episodes, 1982-1985)
Charles Zacha Jr.		(69 episodes, 1978-1981)
Les Gobruegge		(25 episodes, 1981-1982)
Walter M. Jefferies		(13 episodes, 1985-1986)
David Marshall		(4 episodes, 1990)
Carl Braunger		(3 episodes, 1978)
Ed Graves		(2 episodes, 1978)

Series Set Decoration by
Bryan Thetford		(82 episodes, 1982-1985)
Philip Leonard		(60 episodes, 1980-1982)
Travis Nixon		(25 episodes, 1979-1980)
Robin Royce		(14 episodes, 1978-1979)
Jack Marty		(13 episodes, 1978-1979)
Chuck Rutherford		(13 episodes, 1985-1986)
James Hassinger		(5 episodes, 1978)
Phil Snyder		(3 episodes, 1990)
Robert Gould		(2 episodes, 1978)

Series Costume Design by
Travilla		(44 episodes, 1984-1986)

Series Makeup Department
Jerry Gugliemotto	....	hair stylist (130 episodes, 1981-1990)
Gregg Mitchell	....	hair stylist (112 episodes, 1980-1984)
Susan A. Cabral	....	makeup artist (108 episodes, 1981-1985)
Joe Hailey	....	makeup artist / makeup department head (78 episodes, 1983-1990)
Cheri Minns	....	makeup artist (62 episodes, 1978-1981)
Kathy Agron	....	makeup artist (53 episodes, 1981-1983)
Linda Leiter Sharp	....	hair stylist (35 episodes, 1979-1981)
Lola 'Skip' McNalley	....	hair stylist (24 episodes, 1984-1990)
Judith Silverman	....	makeup artist (18 episodes, 1981)
Ralph Gulko	....	makeup artist (13 episodes, 1985-1986)
Diane Pepper	....	hair stylist (13 episodes, 1985-1986)
Travis Dixon	....	hair stylist (11 episodes, 1978-1979)
Alan Fama	....	makeup artist (10 episodes, 1978-1981)
Carolyn Ferguson	....	hair stylist (7 episodes, 1978)
Jerry O'Dell	....	makeup artist (7 episodes, 1978)
Jim Kail	....	makeup artist (5 episodes, 1978)
Bren Plaistowe	....	hair stylist (5 episodes, 1978)
Rebecca De Morrio	....	hair stylist (4 episodes, 1985)
Bob Jermain	....	makeup artist (4 episodes, 1990)
Holly Hoffman	....	hair stylist (3 episodes, 1978)

Series Production Management
Wayne A. Farlow	....	unit production manager (199 episodes, 1978-1990)
Edward O. Denault	....	executive production supervisor (194 episodes, 1978-1985)
Mitch Ackerman	....	production supervisor (184 episodes, 1978-1985)
Neil T. Maffeo	....	executive in charge of production (5 episodes, 1978)
Barry Stern	....	unit production manager (5 episodes, 1978)
R. Robert Rosenbaum	....	executive in charge of production / unit production manager (4 episodes, 1990)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Alan Brimfeld	....	first assistant director (87 episodes, 1978-1986)
Fred Stromsoe	....	first assistant director (74 episodes, 1980-1985)
Frank Katzman	....	second assistant director (73 episodes, 1983-1986)
Paul Snider	....	second assistant director (53 episodes, 1981-1983)
Rick Johnson	....	first assistant director (47 episodes, 1983-1991)
James M. Freitag	....	second assistant director (25 episodes, 1979-1980)
Glen Sanford	....	second assistant director (23 episodes, 1980-1981)
John G. Behm	....	first assistant director (21 episodes, 1978-1980)
David Menteer	....	first assistant director (11 episodes, 1980-1981)
Claude Lawrence Jr.	....	second assistant director (10 episodes, 1978-1979)
Nicholas Batchelor	....	second assistant director (8 episodes, 1979)
Joanne Keene Hall	....	dga trainee (8 episodes, 1990)
Michael J. Kane	....	second assistant director (6 episodes, 1978)
Robert Brooks Mendel	....	dga trainee (5 episodes, 1986)
Keri L. McIntyre	....	second assistant director (4 episodes, 1990)
Edward Ledding	....	first assistant director (3 episodes, 1978-1980)
Wayne A. Farlow	....	first assistant director (3 episodes, 1978)
To Chee Kan	....	first assistant director: Hong Kong (3 episodes, 1985)
James E. Inch	....	second assistant director (2 episodes, 1978)
Amy Rosenbaum Jacobson	....	first assistant director (2 episodes, 1990)
Richard R. Johnson	....	first assistant director (2 episodes, 1990)
Jonathan Giles Zimmerman	....	first assistant director (1 episode, 1981)
Ronald Chong	....	dga trainee (unknown episodes, 1988)
Carl Lawrence Ludwig	....	second assistant director: Austria (unknown episodes)

Series Art Department
Anthony C. Thorpe	....	property master (85 episodes, 1979-1982)
John Rettino	....	property master (84 episodes, 1983-1986)
Randy Severino	....	set dresser (21 episodes, 1988)
Bob McLing	....	property master (14 episodes, 1978-1979)
Ray Jeffers	....	property master (11 episodes, 1982-1983)
Robert J. Visciglia Sr.	....	property master (7 episodes, 1978)
Gaston G. Gray	....	property master (5 episodes, 1978)
Margaret Mazzola	....	assistant props (4 episodes, 1983)
Kerri Knerr	....	property master (4 episodes, 1990)
Mychael Bates	....	assistant property master (unknown episodes)
Kirk S. Heinlen	....	property master (unknown episodes)

Series Sound Department
James Bailey	....	foley artist (334 episodes, 1978-1990)
Victor Guarnier	....	sound effects supervisor (157 episodes, 1978-1984)
Steve Cantamessa	....	boom operator (118 episodes, 1980-1984)
Clark King	....	production sound mixer (90 episodes, 1980-1983)
Duncan McEwan	....	sound recordist (77 episodes, 1978-1982)
Daniel P. Church	....	boom operator (76 episodes, 1988-1991)
Vanessa Theme Ament	....	foley artist (62 episodes, 1981-1984)
Dennis Kirkpatrick	....	boom operator (60 episodes, 1983-1985)
Ron Curfman	....	production sound mixer (49 episodes, 1979-1985)
Doug Grindstaff	....	supervising sound editor / sound effects supervisor / ... (47 episodes, 1984-1986)
Thomas Burke	....	sound effects editor (42 episodes, 1981-1986)
Rich Steven	....	sound effects editor (27 episodes, 1979-1982)
Anthony Zero	....	sound effects editor (19 episodes, 1980-1982)
Richard Friedman	....	sound effects editor (15 episodes, 1984-1985)
Bob Sheridan	....	production sound mixer (14 episodes, 1978-1986)
Thomas Causey	....	production sound mixer (14 episodes, 1978-1979)
Michael Hilkene	....	sound editor (14 episodes, 1978-1979)
Tony Garber	....	sound effects editor (13 episodes, 1984-1985)
Mike O. Corrigan	....	sound effects editor (10 episodes, 1982-1983)
Alan L. Nineberg	....	sound effects editor (10 episodes, 1983-1984)
Steve Purvis	....	sound effects editor (9 episodes, 1980-1981)
Bruce Bell	....	sound effects editor (9 episodes, 1982-1983)
George Ronconi	....	production sound mixer (9 episodes, 1985)
Richard Bryce Goodman	....	production sound mixer (8 episodes, 1979)
Robert Wald	....	production sound mixer (7 episodes, 1978)
Don Higgins	....	sound effects editor (6 episodes, 1983-1984)
Avram D. Gold	....	sound effects editor (5 episodes, 1979-1980)
Vince Garcia	....	production sound mixer (5 episodes, 1985)
Bud Alper	....	production sound mixer (4 episodes, 1978)
John Leveque	....	sound effects editor (4 episodes, 1979)
Andrew Gilmore	....	production sound mixer (4 episodes, 1990)
Kimberly Harris	....	post-production sound (4 episodes, 1990)
Catt LeBaigue	....	sound prelay (2 episodes, 1990)
Larry Porche	....	sound prelay (2 episodes, 1990)
Alfred J. Carranza	....	assistant sound editor (unknown episodes)
Marty Church	....	adr mixer / sound re-recording mixer (unknown episodes)
Lee Dragu	....	supervising sound editor (unknown episodes)
Albert Ibbotson	....	sound effects editor (unknown episodes)
Mark L. Mangino	....	sound effects editor (unknown episodes)

Series Special Effects by
Randy E. Moore	....	weapons master / special effects coordinator (5 episodes, 1988-1989)
Bradley W. Taylor	....	firearms assistant (4 episodes, 1988-1989)

Series Stunts
Charlie Picerni	....	stunts (2 episodes, 1978)
Bruce Paul Barbour	....	stunt performer (2 episodes, 1983-1988)
Fritz Ford	....	stunt double (unknown episodes)
Janet Gunn	....	stunt double: Susan Howard (unknown episodes)
Tom Morga	....	stunt double (unknown episodes)
Greg Walker	....	stunts (unknown episodes)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Earl C. Williman	....	gaffer (90 episodes, 1984-1987)
Steve Randolph	....	camera operator (89 episodes, 1987-1991)
Harry Langdon	....	photographer: Miss Tilton (6 episodes, 1982)
Robert C. Jessup	....	camera operator (5 episodes, 1978)
Don Nygren	....	electrical gaffer (5 episodes, 1978)
Thomas P. Powell	....	lighting technician (5 episodes, 1978)
Wes Tansey	....	key grip (5 episodes, 1978)
Peter McEvoy	....	assistant camera (3 episodes, 1985)
Owen Marsh	....	camera operator (unknown episodes, 1979)
Missy Boswell	....	second assistant camera (unknown episodes)
Robert Driskell	....	gaffer (unknown episodes)
Adam Glick	....	set lighting technician (unknown episodes)
To Lee	....	second assistant camera (unknown episodes)
Robert Schoenhut	....	camera operator (unknown episodes)
Philip Sloan	....	dolly grip (unknown episodes)
Henry Tirl	....	additional first assistant camera (unknown episodes)
Monty Woodard	....	electrician (unknown episodes)

Series Casting Department
Barbara Miller	....	executive in charge of casting (204 episodes, 1978-1990)
Rody Kent	....	location casting (71 episodes, 1980-1985)
Bianca Cioffi-Zaring	....	casting assistant (31 episodes, 1987-1988)
Liz Keigley	....	location casting (12 episodes, 1978)
Shari Rhodes	....	location casting (12 episodes, 1978)

Series Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jack Bear	....	costumer (174 episodes, 1979-1986)
Lyn Paolo	....	costume supervisor / set costumer / ... (76 episodes, 1988-1991)
Violet N. Cane	....	costumer (60 episodes, 1979-1982)
Kathy Monderine	....	costumer (42 episodes, 1984-1985)
Ann Gray Lambert	....	costumer (30 episodes, 1983-1984)
Yvonne Kubis	....	costumer (28 episodes, 1982-1983)
Meschelle Ravare	....	costumer (13 episodes, 1979)
Bob E. Horn	....	head costumer (8 episodes, 1978)
Ray Birdwell	....	costumer (7 episodes, 1978)
Sharlene Williams	....	costumer: women (6 episodes, 1978)
Richard Mahoney	....	costumer: men (5 episodes, 1978)
Jeanne Malone	....	costume supervisor (5 episodes, 1978)
Henry Salley	....	costumer (5 episodes, 1978)
Bretly W.R. Baughn	....	costumer: men (4 episodes, 1979)
Sharon Thober	....	costumer: women (4 episodes, 1979)
Laurie Riley	....	costumer (4 episodes, 1990)
Kathy O'Rear	....	costumer (3 episodes, 1978)
Donna Roberts	....	costumer (2 episodes, 1978)

Series Editorial Department
Neal Krone	....	apprentice film editor (unknown episodes)
Linda Renaud	....	assistant editor (unknown episodes)

Series Music Department
Jerrold Immel	....	composer: theme music / composer: theme "Dallas" (173 episodes, 1978-1990)
Patricia Peck	....	music editor (104 episodes, 1982-1990)
David Franco	....	music supervisor (74 episodes, 1983-1985)
George Probert	....	music editor (73 episodes, 1979-1982)
Jack Lowry	....	music editor (21 episodes, 1978-1979)
Ken Runyon	....	music editor (5 episodes, 1978)
Richard Berres	....	music supervisor (3 episodes, 1990)
Don Nemitz	....	orchestrator (unknown episodes)

Series Transportation Department
Linda Cipperley	....	transportation (26 episodes, 1979)
Jim Russell	....	transportation captain (7 episodes, 1978)
Glenn Carter	....	transportation captain (5 episodes, 1978)
Mitch Friedman	....	driver (5 episodes, 1989-1991)

Series Other crew
Wayne Fitzgerald	....	title designer: main title / title designer: main titles (199 episodes, 1978-1986)
David Paulsen	....	story editor / executive story editor (88 episodes, 1982-1985)
Arthur Bernard Lewis	....	executive story editor (69 episodes, 1978-1981)
Camille Marchetta	....	story editor (54 episodes, 1978-1981)
Ken Latka	....	film transfer (52 episodes, 1986-1991)
David Jacobs	....	creative consultant / executive script consultant (18 episodes, 1978)
Faye Brenner	....	script supervisor (14 episodes, 1978-1979)
Joel J. Feigenbaum	....	executive story consultant (13 episodes, 1985-1986)
Stephanie Garman	....	story editor (13 episodes, 1985-1986)
Leonard Katzman	....	creative consultant (13 episodes, 1985-1986)
Hollace White	....	story editor (13 episodes, 1985-1986)
Michael Filerman	....	executive program supervisor / executive supervisor (12 episodes, 1978)
Joe Gannon	....	script supervisor (12 episodes, 1978)
John MacLean	....	location manager (12 episodes, 1978)
Louella Lee Caraway	....	assistant to producer / executive coordinator (11 episodes, 1978-1990)
Robert J. Shaw	....	story editor (11 episodes, 1981)
Rena Down	....	story editor (10 episodes, 1980-1981)
Wade Duncan	....	location manager (7 episodes, 1978)
Candis Waters	....	production coordinator (7 episodes, 1978)
Linda Elstad	....	story editor (7 episodes, 1982)
Andy Ackerman	....	production coordinator (6 episodes, 1978)
Vicki Ogonowski	....	production coordinator (5 episodes, 1978)
Michael Phillips	....	location manager (5 episodes, 1978)
Cliff Fenneman	....	title designer: main titles (4 episodes, 1990)
Lisa Seidman	....	executive story consultant (4 episodes, 1990)
Geoffrey Ryan	....	location manager: Los Angeles (unknown episodes, 1981-1983)
Dale M. Robbins	....	craft service (unknown episodes, 1984-1985)
Bruce Rand Berman	....	production coordinator (unknown episodes)
Nanette Farlow	....	location manager (unknown episodes)
David Michaels	....	production assistant (unknown episodes)
Bill Sheehan	....	first aid nurse (unknown episodes)

Series Thanks
Jim Davis	....	in memory of (1 episode, 1982)

Production Companies

• Lorimar Television

Distributors

• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1978-1991) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• AVRO Television (1979-1984) (Netherlands) (TV)
• RTL Entertainment (1989-199?) (Netherlands) (TV) (RTL4)
• Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution (USA)
• Warner Home Video (2004-) (Switzerland) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2004-) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD) (season 1)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD) (seasons 2 and 3)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD) (seasons 4 and 5)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD) (season 6)
• Worldvision Enterprises (UK)

Other Companies

• Central Casting  extras casting
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Studios  filmed at
• Metrocolor  color by
• Panavision  camera equipment provided by

Also Known As:

Oil (USA) (working title)
The Linda Evans-Project (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

60 min (356 episodes) | Argentina:60 min

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:12 (DVD rating) | Iceland:12 (some episodes) | Iceland:L | Australia:M | Argentina:13 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Big Sky Ranch - 4927 Bennett Road, Simi Valley, California, USA

Company:

Lorimar Television

Trivia:

In episode 145 Peter's Principals, the character Clayton Farlow mentions he is taking Miss Ellie to see Camelot as there is an actor with quite a good voice playing the role of Arthur. Howard Keel, who played Clayton, had starred as Arthur in numerous stage productions of Camelot.

Quotes:

JR Ewing: Sue Ellen, you're a drunk, a tramp, and an unfit mother.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "The Young Ones: Time (#2.4)" (1984)

"Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer!" (J.R Ewing)

Dallas has to be one of the greatest ever TV shows, because it had all of the attributes for entertainment. It had great characters, good writers and story lines that ranged from the ridiculous to the sublime. Oh how easy it was to run an an oil company! Watching Dallas was pure fantasy, it's simply what makes TV fun and relaxing, take out an hour from the real world and enjoy, for people who saw the show they know what I mean!

So there we were introduced to the Ewing's who were in a bitter feud with the Barnes. However it was the biggest mismatch since George Foreman pounded Joe Frazier into the canvas 6 times in two rounds in the 1973 heavyweight title fight. The Ewing's led by JR body-slammed Cliff Barnes around for the first two seasons. In reality it was not a fair contest, a multimillion dollar family with connections up against a small town lawyer were always going to come out on top! However, that was to change as the series progressed. Of course the show quickly centered on JR (played by Larry Hagman) and the writers created a character that people would really hate; he had no problem playing fast and lose with other peoples lives.

So what did JR do that upset so many people! Swindled and cheated the cartel on more than one occasion, blackmailed politician's and government officials into helping him with his crooked deals, had the police set people up on phony charges as he had much of Braddock and Dallas police dept in his payroll. However JR wasn't satisfied with just tormenting the powerful, his family were not spared either, he was instrumental in trying to break up both Bobby, Garry and his mothers marriage's on numerous occasions. Cheated on his wife so many times that he turned her into an alcoholic and had her committed to a sanitarium. Government regulations were also no obstacle to his ambitions. He defied a State department embargo and illegally sold oil to Cuba, instigated a military coup in some oil rich country in Asia and risked a middle east war by hiring mercenaries to blow up Saudi Arabian oil fields to jack up the price of oil, and finally had a run in with the CIA and the Justice Department.

It was not just Cliff Barnes he wreaked havoc on, other people were fair game too. He betrayed, conned and left many of his subordinates, business associates and former lovers twisting in the wind, either in jail, broke or on the run from the police. As a consequence of his meddling, reputations were ruined family relationships were left in tatters and ambitions shattered as he turned his back or double crossed some of his closest confidants. It doesn't get any better than this! Not surprisingly the phrase "I'll get you JR if it's the last thing I'll do" or "you'll pay for this JR" both became fairly regular clichés as they all vowed revenge! As I write this I can count at least 5 attempts on JR's life as they tried to get even.

Many would say that the golden years of Dallas were the 1978-82 seasons. That's probably true, all the characters were developed through those seasons and I think Dallas had it's highest ratings. However my personal favorites were the 1987-1990 (the last series was poor)! In 1986 with the series tottering on the edge, the writers took a chance and despite ridicule brought back the character Bobby by making the previous season all a dream. It was a risk but they resuscitated a series by binning the most boring and tired looking season in 1985/86 (and that's according to Larry Hagman too) as never happening and therefore having a fresh start to the series.

To start with not everything went JRs way he lost Ewing oil, Sue Ellen started to get her act together and fight back on equal terms, Pam left the series and Bobby became a more aggressive character without her. It was a brave attempt by the creators to revive the series and they certainly pulled it off, Dallas never would have lasted as long if they had not done it! They filmed in locations such as Austria, France , Russia and gave a higher profile to the skin crawling Jeremy Wendell head of Weststar and after his exit he was followed by the lager than life Carter Mackay, who kept up the pressure on JR and the Ewing's far more than the cartel.

Some of the story lines introduced scenarios from movies such as COOL HAND Luke when JR was sentenced to hard time on a chain gang , or ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOOS NEST when JR in bizarre scheme bribed a judge to commit him into a puzzle house to find out information from Clayton's mentally ill sister. Even Bobby was not spared, on his trip to Paris his wife April was kidnapped very much a story similar to the 1987 movie FRANTIC.

With the proliferation of satellite and cable TV the major networks sensitive to their advertising revenue delved into trash TV and the half hour sitcoms which are cheap to make. Just over the horizon audience participation shows i.e. Opra, Rikki Lake and Springer and dopey half hour sit-come's were awaiting and if you were to fast forward looming ahead were the so called reality TV shows of the late 1990's.

Dallas was the first of the glam soaps and the second last to be canceled (1991). Was it all more entertaining than what's on today, well you be the judge!