Dallas Returns In Surprisingly Good Form On TNT

Last night I watched Dallas on TNT expecting to find it un-watchably bad. So, I set the DVR to only record the first episode, not the whole series, not knowing at the time I was setting my DVR that the Dallas premiere was a two hour two episode deal.

By the time the first episode ended I was hooked on  Dallas 2012.

By the time the original Dallas went off the air the show had become embarrassingly bad, with the finale totally not worthy of a show that had been the #1 TV show in America and around the world for many years.

The old Dallas was filmed mostly on a Hollywood soundstage, with a few Texas location shots thrown in. The new Dallas appears to be filmed in North Texas, with the scenery actually looking like North Texas.

The quality of video has so greatly improved in the decades since the original Dallas left TV that the new Dallas appears to be a much higher quality production.

Southfork is now a sprawling monster of a ranch, with Bobby wanting to turn it into some sort of National Park with the help of some conservancy philanthropist, who unbeknownst to Bobby is actually in cahoots with J.R. who, it seems, Bobby thinks is no longer functioning in the thinking department. This is also what the viewers are led to think upon first seeing J.R., looking very old, sitting, eyes closed, seeming not aware Bobby is talking to him, living in some sort of rest home or funny farm.

And then later, when John Ross visits, suddenly the old J.R. wakes up, in full possession of his faculties. Still later we see J.R. vertical in full double-crossing scheming mode.

The writing for Dallas 2012 seems to be by people who actually watched the original Dallas back in its glory days and have managed to recreate the scheming steamy soap opera in all its glory.

Aging is a reality that takes its toll on all of us, should we be so lucky as to grow old. Seeing J.R., Bobby, Lucy, Ray Krebs and Sue Ellen, decades later, was like some sort of reunion. The years have treated Sue Ellen well. There was a short mention of Sue Ellen now either being the governor of Texas or running for governor.

John Ross at the Dallas Cowboy Stadium 50 Yard Line

The strangest example of using actual North Texas locations was at the end of the first episode when we see a pair of legs wearing cowboy boots and another pair of legs wearing high heels, walking to a showdown on the 50 yard line of the Dallas Cowboy Stadium in Arlington.

The legs belonged to John Ross and the lady J.R. is scheming with to trick Bobby regarding the Southfork conservancy. In Cowboy Stadium we learn that John Ross has been doing some double-dealing scheming of his own.

Having this meeting in Dallas Cowboy Stadium may have looked sort of cool, but it was a bit goofy. Something that has always been part of the charm of Dallas.

It is going to be interesting to see the Nielsen ratings for last night's Dallas premiere. Did millions of viewers of the old Dallas, like me, tune in to check it out, to find themselves pleasantly surprised?

Dallas 2012 is being aired all over the world. Is the Dallas phenomenon going to spark, world-wide, again? All the elements seem to be there that made the original such a lowbrow super hit..