Katherine Wentworth

''Dallas'' is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1978, to May 3, 1991. The series revolves around an affluent and feuding Texas family, the Ewings, who own the independent oil company Ewing Oil and the cattle-ranching land of Southfork. The series originally focused on the marriage of Bobby Ewing and Pamela Barnes, whose families were sworn enemies. As the series progressed, Bobby's elder brother, oil tycoon J.R. Ewing, became the show's breakout character, whose schemes and dirty business became the show's trademark. When the show ended on May 3, 1991, J.R. was the only character to have appeared in every episode.

The show was prominent for its cliffhangers, including the " Who shot J.R.?" mystery. The 1980 episode "Who Done It" remains the second-highest-rated prime-time telecast ever. The show also featured a "Dream Season", in which the entirety of season 9 was revealed to have been a dream of Pamela Ewing. After 14 seasons, the series finale " Conundrum" aired in 1991.

The show is mostly an ensemble cast, with Larry Hagman as greedy, scheming oil tycoon J.R. Ewing, stage/screen actress Barbara Bel Geddes as family matriarch Miss Ellie and Western movie actor Jim Davis as Ewing patriarch Jock, his last role before his death in 1981. The series won four Emmy Awards, including a 1980 Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series win for Bel Geddes.

With its 357 episodes, ''Dallas'' remains one of the longest lasting full-hour prime time dramas in American TV history, behind ''Gunsmoke'' (635 episodes), '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (525 episodes as of December 2022), ''Law & Order'' (475 episodes as of December 2022), ''Bonanza'' (430 episodes), and ''Grey's Anatomy'' (406 episodes as of November 2022). ''Dallas'' also spawned spin-off series ''Knots Landing'' in 1979, which also lasted 14 seasons and a total of 344 episodes.

In 2007, ''Dallas'' was included in ''Time'' magazine's list of "100 Best TV Shows of All-Time".

In 2010, TNT announced it had ordered a new, updated continuation of ''Dallas''. The revival series, continuing the story of the Ewing family, premiered on TNT on June 13, 2012, and ran for three seasons, ending its run on September 22, 2014.

Original premise

''Dallas'' debuted on April 2, 1978, as a five-part miniseries on CBS. Although the miniseries was created as the series' pilot, by the time it was aired, neither the producers nor the network were hopeful that it would continue beyond these five episodes and initially had no plans for expansion. It was shown in a late Sunday night time-slot, known for low ratings. However, the miniseries proved popular enough to be turned into a regular series and broadcast for 13 full seasons from September 23, 1978, to May 3, 1991. The five pilot episodes, originally considered a miniseries, are now referred to as season 1, making fourteen seasons in total.

The show is known for its portrayal of wealth, sex, intrigue, conflict and power struggles. Throughout the series, the main premise is the longtime rivalry between the Ewing and Barnes families, which came to head when the Barnes daughter Pamela (Victoria Principal (Patrick Duffy), in the first episode. The series is largely set in Dallas, Texas, and fictional Braddock County, where the Southfork Ranch is located.

The backstory was that, in the 1930s, wildcatter John Ross "Jock" Ewing ( Jim Davis) had allegedly cheated his one-time partner, Willard "Digger" Barnes (David Wayne/Keenan Wynn), out of his share of their company Ewing Oil, and married Digger's only love, Eleanor "Miss Ellie" Southworth (Barbara Bel Geddes/Donna Reed). In contrast to Jock, Miss Ellie came from a long line of ranchers with great love for the land and the cattle. Following their marriage, the Southworth family ranch, Southfork, became the Ewings' home, where Jock and Miss Ellie raised three sons: J.R. (Larry Hagman), Gary (David Ackroyd/Ted Shackelford) and Bobby.

J.R., unscrupulous and unhappily married to former Miss Texas beauty queen Sue Ellen Shepard (Linda Gray), was frequently at odds with Bobby, who had the morals and integrity that J.R. lacked. Middle son Gary was Miss Ellie's favorite as he displayed Southworth traits; however, Gary had been in conflict with both Jock and J.R. since childhood and was dismissed as a weak link. At 17, Gary secretly met and married 15-year-old waitress Valene Clements (Joan Van Ark), producing the first Ewing grandchild - petite and saucy Lucy (Charlene Tilton) - before returning to Southfork with the intention of settling down. Although Jock warmed to Valene and supported Gary's fledgling family, J.R. pressured Gary into alcoholism by landing him with bad business deals that caused him to flee Southfork. With Gary gone, J.R. persecuted Valene until she left the ranch and the state, leaving Lucy to be raised by her grandparents.

During the first episodes of the series, teenage Lucy is seen sleeping with ranch foreman Ray Krebbs (Steve Kanaly). Later, in season 4, Ray was revealed as Lucy's uncle, an illegitimate son of Jock's through an extramarital affair during World War II. Unhappy with his small, one-dimensional role, Kanaly had considered leaving the show; to add depth to the Ray character, Hagman suggested that the writers create a plot wherein Ray becomes half-brother to J.R., Gary, and Bobby, noting his resemblance to Davis. The episodes where Ray and his niece Lucy had a fling are, as Kanaly told Dinah Shore in an appearance on her show, "prayerfully forgotten, I hope".

Ray had previously engaged in a short fling with Pamela, but she fell deeply in love with Bobby, and the pilot episode begins with the two of them arriving at Southfork Ranch as newlyweds, shocking the entire family. J.R., who loathed the Barnes family, was not happy with Pam's living at Southfork, and constantly tried to undermine her marriage to Bobby. Meanwhile, Pam's brother Cliff (Ken Kercheval), who had inherited Digger's hatred towards the Ewings, shared J.R.'s objections to the marriage and continued his father's quest to get revenge.

Most of the seasons ended with ratings-grabbing cliffhangers, the most notable being the season 3 finale " A House Divided", which launched the landmark " Who shot J.R.?" storyline and was ranked No. 69 on ''TV Guide'' list of "TV's Top 100 Episodes of All Time". Other season finale cliffhangers include an unidentified female corpse in the Southfork swimming pool (season 4); a blazing house fire (season 6); Bobby's death (season 8) and subsequent resurrection (season 9); and J.R.'s apparent suicide ( season 14).

Cast and characters

Main cast

For the original five-episodes miniseries (season 1) six actors received star billing: Barbara Bel Geddes as Ewing matriarch Miss Ellie, whose family were the original owners of Southfork; Jim Davis as her husband Jock, the founder of Ewing Oil and head of the Ewing family; Patrick Duffy as their youngest son, Bobby; Victoria Principal