Dallas to return?

Iconic 1980s soap Dallas could be returning to television screens as Warner Brothers ponders on bringing back one of soaps most memorable shows.

 

One of America’s “big soaps” could be about to return to television screens according to news reports. Warner Brothers is seriously considering reviving the 1980s series Dallas – one of the biggest soaps of the 1980s alongside its rival, Dynasty. The soap concentrated on the power-struggles of the wealthy but flawed Ewing family who owned an Oil company in Texas. The struggles of the Ewing family and their various plots against each other was popular with audiences and the series ran from 1979 to 1991, out-living its rival Dynasty. A successful spin-off, Knot’s Landing, was launched during the show’s run and lasted until 1993.

If Dallas did return to screens it’s believed to be as a continuation of the original series. Following the show’s cancellation in 1991 due to low ratings several ‘reunion movies’ in the 1990’s were made and aired. A big-screen version has long been stuck in development with various names attached to the project over the years. According to some reports original series stars Larry Hagman, Linda Gray and Patrick Duffy had been approached about reprising their roles in the proposed new television series.  

Dallas was the soap that gave the genre some of its most memorable plots since which other soaps have copied and adapted for their own audiences. The most famous example is the ‘Who Shot JR” storyline which was one of the most talked about stories of the 1980s. The success of the storyline has led other soaps to feature similar storylines in the hope of capturing the audience’s imagination in the same way. Two such examples are EastEnders’ ‘Who Shot Phil’ and Hollyoaks’ ‘Who Pushed Claire’. Probably Dallas’ other famous storyline was the resurrection of Bobby Ewing [Patrick Duffy] after the character had been killed off. Producers wrote off an entire season’s worth of plots as a dream and Bobby returned in a shower scene that is maybe more infamous that the one in the film Psycho. Years later the Carlton revival of British soap Crossroads was written off as a dream in a nod to Dallas, the soap it was trying to emulate.