Dallas (second series)

Dallas (second series)
Opening screenshot and caption for the TNT-TV series "Dallas", 2012-14.
Main starring cast:	Patrick Duffy Linda Gray Larry Hagman (Seasons 1-8, 1 & 2) Brenda Strong Jesse Metcalfe Josh Henderson Jordana Brewster Julie Gonzalo Mitch Pileggi
Created by:	Cynthia Cidre
Executive Producer(s):	Cynthia Cidre, Bruce Rasmussen, Michael M. Robin, Ken Topolsky, & Bryan J. Raber
Running time:	47-50 minutes
Network/Country	TNT / United States (USA)
Followed by:	Knots Landing Dallas (first series)

Dallas is an American prime time television soap opera developed by Cynthia Cidre and produced by Warner Horizon Television that aired on TNT from June 13, 2012, to September 22, 2014. The series was a revival of the prime time television soap opera of the same name that aired on CBS from 1978 to 1991. The series revolved around the Ewings, a wealthy Dallas family in the oil and cattle-ranching industries.

The series brought back several stars of the original series which involved some of the same characters, at much more advanced ages, and their children. Most important are the characters of John Ross Ewing III and Christopher Ewing, the children of J.R. Ewing and Bobby Ewing, respectively. J.R. and Bobby and Sue Ellen Ewing, again returned to the revival series, this time around, as the matriarch and patriarchs of the family.

Developed by Cynthia Cidre and produced by Warner Horizon Television that aired on TNT from June 13, 2012, to September 22, 2014.

The series, which was made for TNT, is the sister company to Warner Bros. Television, which has owned the original series since its purchase of Lorimar Television (the original show's production company) in 1989. On July 8, 2011, after viewing the completed pilot episode, TNT gave a green light for the series with a 10-episode order, which premiered on June 13, 2012.

On June 29, 2012, TNT renewed Dallas for a second season consisting of 15 episodes, which premiered on January 28, 2013. On April 30, 2013, TNT renewed Dallas for a third season consisting of 15 episodes that premiered on Monday, February 24, 2014.

On October 3, 2014, TNT cancelled the series after three seasons for a decline ratings.

"Dallas" main characters J.R. (Larry Hagman), Sue Ellen (Linda Gray), Bobby (Patrick Duffy) and his fourth wife Ann (Brenda Strong).

Plot

The series revolves around the Ewings, a wealthy Dallas family in the oil and cattle-ranching industries. It focuses mainly on Christopher Ewing (Jesse Metcalfe), the adopted son of Bobby (Patrick Duffy) and Pamela Barnes Ewing (Victoria Principal), and John Ross Ewing III (Josh Henderson), the son of J.R. (Larry Hagman) and Sue Ellen Ewing (Linda Gray).

Both John Ross and Christopher were born during the original series' run and were featured in it as children (although played by different actors). Now grown up, John Ross has become almost a carbon copy of his father, bent on oil, money, and greed. Christopher, meanwhile, has become a lot like Bobby, in that he is more interested in the upkeep of Southfork Ranch, much like his adoptive father. As an additional point of contention, Christopher is also becoming a player in alternative energy (methane clathrate recovery), thereby eschewing the oil business. However John Ross is determined to resurrect the Ewings' former position in the oil industry. John Ross states in season one that he is J.R.'s eldest child, which contradicts the original series where JR's illegitimate older son James Beaumont appears in seasons 12–13.

Alongsides John Ross and Christopher, original series characters Bobby, J.R., and Sue Ellen return as full cast members for the new series. Additional familiar characters, including J. R.'s and Bobby's niece Lucy Ewing Cooper (Charlene Tilton), their half brother Ray Krebbs (Steve Kanaly), and Ewing family rival Cliff Barnes (Ken Kercheval) appear occasionally as guest stars.

Various other actors/characters from the original series have also made appearances, including Audrey Landers (Afton Cooper), Cathy Podewell (Cally Harper Ewing) and Deborah Shelton (Mandy Winger). Ted Shackleford and Joan Van Ark, who first appeared on Dallas in the late 1970s before joining the spin-off series Knots Landing, also returned as Gary and Valene Ewing.

New main characters that made their appearance in the first season included Bobby's third wife, Ann (Brenda Strong); Christopher's new wife Pamela Rebecca Barnes Ewing (Julie Gonzalo), daughter of Cliff Barnes and Afton Cooper, introduced as Rebecca Sutter; and Elena Ramos (Jordana Brewster), the daughter of Ewing family cook Carmen Ramos (Marlene Forte), who is caught in a love triangle with Christopher and John Ross. Harris Ryland (Mitch Pileggi), plays Ann's villainous ex-husband. New main characters that made their appearance in the second season included Ann and Harris's daughter, Emma Ryland (Emma Bell); and Elena Ramos's brother Drew Ramos (Kuno Becker). In the second season, Judith Brown Ryland (Judith Light) joins the cast as Harris Ryland's hyper controlling mother, while in season three Nicolas Trevino (Juan Pablo Di Pace) joins the cast as a childhood friend of Elena and Drew's who returns to help Cliff Barnes take over the Ewing oil company.

Cast

Main

• Josh Henderson as John Ross Ewing III
• Jesse Metcalfe as Christopher Ewing
• Jordana Brewster as Elena Ramos
• Larry Hagman as J.R. Ewing (Season 1-2)
• Linda Gray as Sue Ellen Ewing
• Patrick Duffy as Bobby Ewing
• Brenda Strong as Ann Ewing
• Julie Gonzalo as Rebecca Ewing
• Mitch Pileggi as Harris Ryland (recurring Season 1, main Season 2-3)
• Emma Bell as Emma Ryland (Season 2-3)

Recurring

• Steve Kanaly as Ray Krebbs
• Charlene Tilton as Lucy Ewing
• Ken Kercheval as Cliff Barnes
• Marlene Forte as Carmen Ramos

Episodes

Main article: List of "Dallas" seasons & episodes (2012 TV series)

Season	Episodes	First air date	Last air date	Network
Season 1	10	June 13, 2012	August 8, 2012	TNT
Season 2	15	January 28, 2013	April 15, 2013
Season 3	15	February 24, 2014	September 22, 2014

Production

Prior to Dallas, Cidre was best known for producing and writing episodes of Cane, an American television drama that chronicled the lives and internal power struggles of a powerful and wealthy Cuban-American family running an immensely successful rum and sugar cane business in South Florida. In 2010, TNT announced it would order a pilot for the continuation of the Dallas series.

The pilot was filmed in and around the city of Dallas in early 2011. Production began in late August 2011 in Dallas on the remaining nine episodes in the first season order, based in studios constructed for the Fox television series The Good Guys.

Executive producer Cynthia Cidre wrote the pilot script, while Michael M. Robin served as the director and executive producer for the pilot. David Jacobs reviewed Cidre's pilot script and gave his blessing to the new series though he has chosen not to participate in its production. A dispute erupted when the opening credits were originally planned to read "Developed by Cynthia Cidre, based on Dallas created by David Jacobs". But upon the determination of the Writers Guild of America's screenwriting credit system, there are currently two separate credits: one listing Jacobs as the show's sole creator and another listing Cidre as the new show's developer.

A sneak preview of the series, including clips from the pilot episode, aired on July 11, 2011, during an episode of TNT's Rizzoli & Isles. Patrick Duffy stated that the new show is "exactly the same [as the old show], but it's 2012. We consider this year 14 of the show. It's exactly as if [viewers] forgot which channel we were on.

Continuity

The new series is a continuation of the old series following a 20-year break, during which the characters and their relationships continued unseen until today when the new series begins.

It does not take the events of the reunion TV movies Dallas: J.R. Returns or Dallas: War of the Ewings into account. Instead, we find the characters having evolved over the last 20 years. Cynthia Cidre, show developer, has confirmed that the new series does not pick up from where the TV movies left off because the movies had tried to resolve lingering plotlines in less than two hours. It continues from the events of the 14th season, their development and consequences extrapolated to 2012.

The Southfork Ranch, home of the Ewing family

Production crew

Cynthia Cidre, Bruce Rasmussen, Michael M. Robin, Ken Topolsky and Bryan J. Raber served as executive producers for the show. Rasmussen had previously worked as the supervising producer with the hit ABC-TV series Roseanne, for which he was awarded the Golden Globe. In the first two seasons, Jesse Bochco and Michael M. Robin were the most prolific directors, each directing five episodes.

Filming

Unlike the original series, which did limited location shooting in Texas but was filmed primarily in Los Angeles, principal photography for the new series takes place in and around Dallas. The new series also did location shooting at the actual Southfork Ranch in the northern Dallas suburb of Parker.

Opening sequence

The opening sequence features a shortened version of the original theme music, and echoes the original series opening with modernized shots of Dallas in sliding panels. Unlike the original series, the actors are not listed alphabetically and, for seasons 1 and 2,  there are no images of the actors seen in the credits. Josh Henderson and Jesse Metcalfe alternate top billing, and the original stars are credited at the end ("with Patrick Duffy", "and Linda Gray", "and Larry Hagman as J. R. Ewing" until Hagman's death in season 2.  

The Dallas logo scrolls from right to left, rather than zooming upwards as it did on the original series. The sequence ends on a shot with the camera flying towards Southfork similar to the shot in the original titles where the camera flies over the gate towards Southfork.  The season 3 titles feature the return of the iconic threeway split-screen opening, similar to those used in the original series for its first 11 years, with moving images of the actors. In addition, the Dallas  season 3 logo zooms towards the screen as it did on the original series.

Reception

Advance screening reviews of the series were generally positive from critics on Metacritic. On June 29, 2012, TNT renewed Dallas for a second season consisting of 15 episodes, which premiered on January 28, 2013.

The second season received positive notice, with a score of 82/100 from reviews on Metacritic.

DVD releases

Season		Episodes	Originally aired		DVD release dates
			Season premiere	Season finale	Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
	1	10	June 13, 2012	August 8, 2012	January 8, 2013	November 12, 2012	TBA
	2	15	January 28, 2013	April 15, 2013	February 11, 2014	October 7, 2013	TBA
	3	15	February 24, 2014	September 22, 2014	January 13, 2015	August 24, 2015	TBA

Awards an nominations

Awards and nominations for Dallas

Year	Association	Category	Recipients	Result
2012	ALMA Awards	Favorite TV Actress-Drama	Jordana Brewster	Nominated
			Julie Gonzalo	Nominated
2013	Key Art Awards	Best Trailer - Audio/Visual	Dallas Theme Song Video MashUp	Won
	NAMIC Vision Awards	Best Performance - Drama	Jordana Brewster	Nominated
	Imagen Awards	Best Primetime Television Program		Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress/Television	Jordana Brewster	Nominated
			Julie Gonzalo	Nominated

Trailer

External links

• Dallas (2012 TV series) article at Wikipedia