Return of the King: Dallas.

Dallas was the king back in the day when there was only three TV channels. It was out on its own, of a Saturday night, it started out mid week but due to its popularity got a promotion,  shining like a fifty pence piece in the dog turd of variety shows and earnest chat that was BBC Saturday nights. Many is the time, I remember, sitting in front of the box, no money to go out, just the two bottle pack of Pomaigne and Dallas to keep me company. Although it was hard not to knock back the Pomaigne when confronted with the horrors of the  Little and Large Show. 

Dallas was like nothing we had seen before, it was big and sexy and full to the Stetson brim with back biting and intrigue.   This was long before the crazed Pam shower scene and the decline that brought with it. But what is forgotten there, is the sheer muddle of the next season, as loyal viewers tried, in vain, to work out what was real and what wasn't. And now it is back, back in a world of thousands of channels, on demand, and crazy pseudo imitatorslike Revenge. 

  

So how does Dallas stand up in this new world? Not too bad really. Some things haven't changed Bobby is still insufferable and self righteous in equal measures and Southfork still looks pretty windy. But the confrontations have moved on a generation as John Ross and Christopher are now battling for the soul of the Ewing family. John Ross is drilling on Southfork, which is no doubt making Miss Ellie spin faster, in her grave, than his drill bits. Bobby wants to turn it into some sort of park and Christopher is messing around with ice, but ice with methane in it. I'm no scientist, but isn't that a frozen fart? Sue Ellen is meandering around the edges and JR, is like some fallen warlord in what looks like an up market old folks home. But we all knew that wouldn't last, you couldn't keep those eyebrows dormant for too long. 

One disappointment was that we had a Ewing do and no one ended up in the pool. As old viewers will remember, the average Ewing Barbie ended with a fair few people punched into the water. There was some nice neat, little twists, in the opening episode, and some good, old school back biting. But what Dallas needs to do is keep with what made it good back in my Pomaigne days of the early seasons and certainly not fall into the daffiness of Dirty Sexy Money and Revenge.

Now Dallas is back does that mean Knots Landing won't be too far behind? How great would it be to see Mac McKenzie's wig again.

Over