Skip to main content

The Return of Dallas



Tonight on TNT is the premiere of the new Dallas. Not sure what to call it: Dallas: The Next Generation? Dallas: Again!? Regardless, it's the return of the classic CBS series that originally aired during the 1970s, '80s and '90s. Cynically, I want to brush it off by remarking that it's an obvious commercial ploy to capitalize on a well-established TV brand that seeks to prey on folks' nostalgia. But, dear reader, I am willing to admit a great weakness to such nostalgia, and will most likely tune-in to at least the season premiere, if not the entire 10-episode-season.

Talking of Dallas always puts me in a wistful mood, of good times as a kid that will never come again, of family members no longer with us, of languid Saturday nights in front of the TV at my grandmother Callie Mae's house. That is where I remember watching Dallas. Honestly, I'm not sure if mom and dad were ever regular viewers, but if we were at grandma's on a Friday night, the TV was on CBS, and we would often sit in the living room and catch the shows that were on.

Friday nights were, for quite some time, The Dukes of Hazzard, Dallas and Falcon Crest. Dad seemed to really enjoy the antics of Boss Hogg and his bumbling policeman sidekick, Rosco P. Coltrane, on Hazzard. With Dallas, I remember the adults in the room emitting audible gasps the night that Pam found Bobby in the shower in the ninth season closer (May of 1986). Other nights of the week at grandma's, we would watch Alice, with Flo and her "kiss my grits!" trademark sassy line. Still other nights, it would be the soapy goings-on of Knots Landing.

Dad and grandma are gone now. Not sure if mom even knows there's a new version of Dallas about to air. As stated earlier, I'm going to try and give the season opener a go. But it's already been a nice trip down nostalgia lane, seeing the promos with J.R. and Bobby, the South Fork ranch, and whistling the theme tune. It's brought back some nice memories.




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Yesterday's Restaurants

The local newspaper has a feature from one of Champaign-Urbana's most legendary restaurateur's, John Katsinas, on what his favorite area restaurants were that have now since closed (or will soon be closing).  It's a nice little read, and has made me stop and think about the restaurants that have come and gone that have left an indelible (and edible) impression on me throughout the years. Here we go....
Post a Comment
Read more

Watching The Hours

A Twitter friend named Paula has asked for folks to submit ideas for a blog-a-thon about what we think will be the classic films of the future. In other words, what relatively recent movies (namely, from the 21st century), do we think will be considered classics in the decades to come, possibly airing on such venerable stations as Turner Classic Movies ? While a number of films come to mind for such a category, one in particular stood out from the rest, and thus is my entry for Paula's blog-a-thon.
5 comments
Read more

She's Madonna

Today we're going to talk about something very important. We're going to talk about Madonna. "Madge," as she's affectionately known around the gay scene, has been making music for over thirty years. I grew up with her songs, many of them pop classics. In recent years, it can be arguably said that her popularity has waned a bit. During the past decade, Madonna has put out seventeen singles. Of those, three have charted in the US Top 40. Ten Failed to chart at all on the Billboard Hot 100. We now have at least one possibility offered as to why Madge's chart power is waning: Ageism. At least, that's what Diplo (just, Diplo), a producer of some of the tracks off her latest album, thinks . I know it's difficult to be objective about something you've worked on -- whether you were the producer or the artist -- but, as a listener/fan, I have to say that Madonna's most recent work has simply not been that good. Still, we'll hear what
Post a Comment
Read more