Life After Dallas

Nearly two years ago I shared that while back in my hometown caring for my mom, my sister, mom and I started re-watching Dallas, the Friday night soap opera that originally ran from 1978-91. I was probably a tween when I first started watching, and watched through most of my teen years. I loved the writing back then, and was invested in what would happen next. I even remember without knowing what an introvert was, that I said no to going to a party because I honestly wanted to be home to watch my show.

Fast forward and I finished the series. Every episode. Fourteen seasons. Sadly, mom passed away in January 2021 and one of the last things she talked about with my sister was when were they going to watch Dallas again? They both enjoyed the re-watch as much as I did. When I traveled back to NY throughout last year, binging Dallas eased our grief and stress. Once I returned home, I made a rule where i could only watch if I was exercising. I’ve logged a lot of miles on my recumbent bike!

It’s been interesting to watch as a 52 year old versus the 16 year old. Here’s what I walked away with.

Original watch: I loved Jock and Ellie.

Re-Watch: I couldn’t stand Jock and Ellie. Jock comes from the era where women were to be seen and not heard, and their purpose was to birth babies and make dinner. Ellie was such a strong character with a rich history and we don’t see that at all until Jock is gone. I was really surprised by the mad respect I had for Clayton. He was the consummate gentleman but he was no fool. I really liked his pairing better with Miss Ellie.

Original Watch: I loved Jenna Wade.

Re-Watch: I loved Pam. The author in me was so impressed that the writers, my guess is all or mostly male, created a character in Pam who worked full time and was a force in the business world. Bobby learned a bit of his father’s archaic thinking, so he would have preferred Pam be home. Ha. Not Pam. Even better, she was just as strong standing up to JR and her brother, Cliff. Her story went sideways a few times, but I gave her grace because of her first season. Once Victoria Principal left the show, it was never quite the same.

Original Watch: Bobby is everything.

Re-Watch: Patrick Duffy probably had the hardest job. As a teen, I swooned over Bobby like my mom probably did, LOL. He was the ultimate gentleman and do-gooder. He was a great foil for JR. This time around, I read an article that where I believe Larry Hagman said Patrick Duffy had the hardest job because as the ultimate good guy, that’s hard to portray. Given Bobby’s longevity on the show, that’s 13 years of doing the right thing. In the soap opera world, that gets old for an actor. Larry Hagman always had a new angle to explore with his constant conflicts and consequences. As an author, I found that interesting.

Original Watch: There’s nothing odd here.

Re-Watch: What are they doing???? There were a lot of things I picked up as an adult I completely missed as a younger person. Probably for the best. Ray started out as a ranch hand fooling around with the teenaged Ewing grand-daughter, Lucy. There’s the that’s illegal angle because Ray was clearly an adult and she is in high school. That would not fly on TV today. More than that, later on Ray learns he is a Ewing and poof, Ray is now a protective uncle to Lucy. No mention of their exploits because double ewwww.

Then there’s the episode where the Ewings are held captive in their home. I missed this the first time because I didn’t start watching until after JR was shot. I believe this was the original cliffhanger, at least that I was made aware of, and when the show started, I was eight. Bad enough I started watching around ten! Anyway, JR stepped out on SueEllen with some country girls and their men found out. The men travel to SouthFork for revenge. At one point they make SueEllen put on her bikini from when she was a beauty queen and sing. Oh, it was painful to watch.

Wes Parmalee. This is when I stopped watching the first time. Even back then I smelled a lousy plot and this was one. Jock Ewing had been dead for years but now this character shows up named Wes who might be Jock. He might not be. It went back and forth with even Miss Ellie believing he was, creating drama with her new husband, Clayton Farlow. Suddenly, Wes is gone. I read the viewers hated the storyline and made it loud and clear, so the writers axed the plot. Again, painful.

Also painful was the beautiful storyline between Ray and Donna where they lose their baby and consider adopting a child with special needs. It was heartwarming and so well done. Then Patrick Duffy decided to return to the show, and that meant Bobby needed to be alive. The famous shower scene happens, and every storyline is erased. That meant Ray and Donna never met the child. Those characters never recovered. Neither did I.

The last season. I personally think the show needed to end around the time SueEllen left. It had an amazing run and they were out of good ideas. Watching Bobby mope around the country grieving the loss of his new bride was excruciating. JR was a shell of who he used to be. Even Miss Ellie was gone. I did enjoy Cally, what a breath of fresh air she was. But the ending was disappointing, especially after a 14 year run. Like Seinfeld, I consider the second to last episode a true finale.

Next up I hope to find the reunion movie they did in 1996. I was a newlywed so that was never on my radar. Then, the 2014 series. I watched that as well and I remember overall being disappointed. It will be interesting to see if my opinions change.

So if you are Gen X and love nostalgia, this was an interesting project. I can think of a lot more productive uses of my time but I have no regrets. It was a time where Dallas connected my parents and my sister and I in the best of ways. I have great memories, and it really was fun to look back. JR had amazing one liners and faces that I don’t think anyone else could pull off as well as Larry Hagman did. Plus, I got good workouts in!