Werewillie Oleson
Telly Talk Schemer
The widescreen universe?
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Frankenstein Underworld
Telly Talk Champion
Exactly. The expanded screen format causes all kind of hacky glitches, including retcons, character inconsistencies, and the ripping off of storylines from higher quality shows.The widescreen universe?
Werewillie Oleson
Telly Talk Schemer
Au contraire! It proves that the Rylands and Ramoses already featured in the Lorimar version, but you didn't see them because there wasn't enough screen.
The widescreen reveals the true Dallas that it was supposed to be from the very beginning. Hallelujah!
The widescreen reveals the true Dallas that it was supposed to be from the very beginning. Hallelujah!
Frankenstein Underworld
Telly Talk Champion
Is that what it was? Wow, I had no idea. Looks like we finally got to see the cartel responsible for giving Lucy and Tommy drugs in Lorimar Dallas too. It all makes sense now!
stevew
Telly Talk Star
Excellent points.
Luke_Krebbs_Ewing
Telly Talk Champion
TNT's Dallas was wiped from my memory by the Time Lord's!
What are we talking about again!?!
What are we talking about again!?!
Sea - Boo! - Er
Telly Talk Warrior
You may be right but I don't see why they should be. JR Returns was what "Conundrum" should have been. WOTE was misconceived, it would have been far better to build on the themes of the first one, but not bad as a standalone story. Certainly they both improved on the final season or so.
JR Ewing Fan
Telly Talk Active Member
She failed on both accounts.
JR Ewing Fan
Telly Talk Active Member
The only 2 storylines I liked was the way they honored Larry Hagman on that one episode anyway and the way they wrote out Pam. The rest sucked.
Frankenstein Underworld
Telly Talk Champion
Pretty much. Although I really liked Josh Henderson's portrayal of John Ross. The kitchen argument between him and Sue Ellen is a particularly powerful scene.
I also thought Cliff was mostly true to himself (minus the billionaire gambler part) in season 1. Unfortunately, Cidre ruined his character with the rig explosion in season 2.
You say that like it would be impossible to do both. At the very least, she could have made the show exciting and pleasing to at least the majority of Dallas fans.Willie Oleson said:
This clip feels like it could have come from classic Dallas, which is the best compliment I could give the show. Sadly, TNT Dallas rarely embraced its heritage (or got it right.)
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ChrisSumner
Telly Talk Fan
In the end I feel it was a decent three year run. I look forward to reaching it when I get there in my re-watch. The biggest problem is when it was launched. While it isn't perfect, it's so interesting watching the Dynasty reboot with endless tie ins to the original (even though it doesn't require it as a remake) and writers who appreciate the soap opera genre. What hurt this show is that the writers simply despised soaps and that's what they were tasked at writing. Ratings showed that the audience was there, but the writing drove them away. It's a shame because this was it. Had this gone better we may have gotten more seasons, Knots Landing, who knows? For Dallas to be off the air as long as it was and come back to the ratings it did is pretty outstanding. I just wish they had writers who appreciated the genre more. Being on TNT didn't help much either. I wonder how it would've fared on a streaming network.
Frankenstein Underworld
Telly Talk Champion
Yes, wrong network and wrong showrunner. Both appeared to be chosen arbitrarily by the production company. When it came to showrunners, they should have vetted potential picks.
But Dallas TNT was not about the Ewing Family. There were only three (two after Hagman's death) blood Ewings on the show and they were secondary characters on a show that should have been about them.
Rove
Telly Talk Warrior
I will always be baffled by this. Where was the harm in embracing the rich tapestry that was Lorimar Dallas? After 14 seasons a continuation of Dallas could easily have drawn on any number of scenarios of what the Ewing family were up to in 2012. I have no beef utilizing the characters of John Ross and Christopher...alongside JR, Sue Ellen, Bobby, Cliff and others. They were the heart and soul of Dallas.
So why banish the very characters the viewers are interested in? Why create an imagined family which supposedly grew up with the Ewing family? At times I wasn't sure if I was watching Dallas or Mexico. Too much air time was given to characters and stories which bore little resemblance to Dallas.
I better stop. My fists are clenching as I type :scream:
Spooky Owl!
Telly Talk Supreme
It's a 21st century female producer who wanted to write about the maid and the maid's daughter, and Bobby's new Desperate Housewives' wife and that wife's ex and his mother.
Why does Cidre need to address the original show or sufficiently familiarize herself with it? TNT wanted name-recognition, and Cidre wanted a show to produce. There's not much mystery to it.
Most continuations don't work for essentially the same reasons.
Why does Cidre need to address the original show or sufficiently familiarize herself with it? TNT wanted name-recognition, and Cidre wanted a show to produce. There's not much mystery to it.
Most continuations don't work for essentially the same reasons.
Frankenstein Underworld
Telly Talk Champion
Yes, not much mystery to it all. The only thing I am baffled by is why Cidre was chosen in the first place. Her previous show flopped, and she didn't exactly have a notable body of work. I don't doubt that the executives only cared about the name recognition (why else put it on procedural network like TNT?) Still, I'd love to know why they chose Cidre to helm the show. Even she seemed surprised, having admitted to being familiar with very little of the original series. It's a shame that they didn't try to lure David Paulsen out of retirement.
Rove
Telly Talk Warrior
And Bradford May as Director of Photography...plus David Jacobs as Story Consultant.
Frankenstein Underworld
Telly Talk Champion
That's the dream team right there. Instead, they chose to hand one of the most popular television franchises over to a failed writer who was unfamiliar with the show.
What could possibly go wrong?
Werewillie Oleson
Telly Talk Schemer
Spooky Owl!
Telly Talk Supreme
I'm sure they never thought of Paulsen at all. They even refused to talk to David Jacobs until that refusal hit the press.
They just handed nuDALLAS off to the hands of nearest female producer. There's no mystery: cynical executives assign continuation to whoever's available.