Dallas: Le retour de J.R.

If this forum permitted it, the "caps-lock" key would have been in force in titling this review -- it only seems fitting. For a series that so revolutionized television to be this badly given artificial respiration is a TV tragedy.

"Dallas: JR Returns" is everything that was horrid about the original show, with none of what made it so special. While the original was, at its best, a character-driven drama with a solid back story, the sequel is an overly-plotted morass of mediocrity.

Not only has the cast aged -- frighteningly, for the most part -- but so has television continued to grow. "JR Returns" is a throwback to the worst of 1970s television ... meaningless and ultimately unsatisfying.

Kudos only to Linda Gray (of the original cast) and newcomer Chris Demetral (as the grown Christopher, adopted son of Bobby and Pam). No one else displays any passion or vitality.

Some things are better left untouched. The legacy of "Dallas" is one.

A classic return to all the money grabbing and power struggles of the Eighties. It was great to see the crew back in action. Most of them haven't aged a bit.

Watching the verbal scraps between JR and Cliff Barnes brought it all flooding back. Damn it was good!

Well ... that old J.R. didn't really commit suicide -- he's back in action: He returns from five years in Europe and, fresh off the plane, he visits Cliff at the offices of Ewing Oil and, of course, promptly tells him he's going to take his company back. Bobby, meanwhile, is at the now-empty Southfork, feeling lonely as a widower but enjoying a great relationship with his son Christopher. Bobby decides to put Southfork up for sale. He runs into old pal Julia Cunningham, and the two go out. Christopher is intrigued by Julia's charge Pamela (who is actually Pamela Cooper). Cliff is negotiating the sale of Ewing Oil to competitor Weststar and Carter McKay.

J.R., about to lose his treasured home and his just-as-treasured company, enlists the aid of Harv Smithfield's lawyerly niece, Anita (played by the saucy Tracy Scoggins of "The Colbys"). Together they discover a secret codicil in Jock's will that leaves stock in a computer company to John Ross -- and that stock is now worth big bucks. It can only be claimed, though, after J.R.'s death. So what does he do? Hmmm ... you can probably guess ...

DALLAS there is nothing out that can compare to the acting as the actors acted in the series.To me there has been no series out that any one actor has compared to the actor JR EWING.I wish somebody would get all the episodes on vhs or dvd soon.

After a few years of Dallas withdrawal, I was very happy to see the group get together again. It seems that a few years away from the show didn't hurt anybody's ability to get back into character. It was also great to finally end up knowing that J.R. didn't shoot himself after all. Or was it just a dream?

Excellent. Great to see J.R. up to his old tricks.

8/10 stars.