DALLAS REDUX

Jon Ross (Josh Henderson) faces his father J. R. (Larry Hagman)

DALLAS (2012).

After Dallas wrapped up its fourteen year run, it turned out that there was still life left in those enduring characters. First there were two telefilms, J. R. Returns (1996) and War of the Ewings (1998), both of which had continuity problems and both of which were forgettable, below the level of the best episodes of the series. There was also a prequel telefilm I have not yet seen and  a reunion special which brought together several of the cast members to reminisce, with host Larry Hagman amusingly referring to the show's thirteen years when the series actually lasted fourteen seasons. Then came the reboot in 2012, which was a whole different story. The show wisely focused -- at least at first -- on the younger generation, which included J. R.'s son Jon Ross (Josh Henderson) and Bobby's adopted son, Christopher (Jesse Metcalf of Beyond a Reasonable Doubt), who were each billed first in the credits on alternating episodes. The show was also smart enough to retain Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy), Sue Ellen (Linda Gray), and especially J. R. (Larry Hagman). We first see J,. R. despondent in a nursing home, but he gets out of his funk, shows up at the Oil Baron's Ball on a walker, then throws that walker away and gets back into the action, which includes a whole love-hate thing with Jon Ross.

It's terrific that the show has several vital cast members who are now seniors, but annoying that Duffy, Gray and Hagman -- despite their very large parts -- are not listed as bonafide stars of the show but only listed under "with." Hagman wheeled and dealed for the first two seasons, but then passed away, as did his character. Frankly I had always thought that Gray and Duffy, while competent, were lightweights, but in their senior years these two actors really stepped up their game. Gray has a superb scene when she is hungover at J. R.'s grave site, and Duffy, out of J. R.'s long shadow, not only delivers an impassioned knock-out performance, but becomes the true star of the show and its most important and pivotal character. That's saying a lot when there are so many younger, good-looking and talented co-stars, especially Josh Henderson as Jon Ross, a devilishly charismatic "bad boy" who has a lot more sex appeal than his father ever did (if they ever remake Hud, Henderson would make you forget Paul Newman). Brenda Strong (who was mostly unseen in Desperate Housewives, although her deceased character was the narrator), Mitch Pileggi [Shocker], who was also in the final seasons of the original show, and especially the wonderful Judith Light [Save Me] as a mother from Hell also make a strong impression. Watch her getting turned on as she insists a drug dealer do a body search on her for hidden wires!

Ken Kercheval, who managed to appear in every season of the original show, as well as the two telefilms, is back as Cliff Barnes. Cliff always seemed vaguely demented, and in this reboot, he is clearly demented, his actions those of a lunatic, such as allowing his own daughter to be nearly blown up and killing his unborn grandchildren because he still wants to strike back at those damn Ewings. Kercheval seems to be having fun playing a man who has been turned, a bit improbably, into a hateful villain.

Dallas only lasted three abbreviated seasons (ten episodes for the first season, and fifteen apiece for the last two) and ended on a cliffhanger that will never be resolved. I think there was way too much of those Mexican drug dealers in the final season, and they were simply not that interesting. The writers, who managed to make the characters more dimensional than in many soap operas, certainly had enough material to work with without dragging in an ever-present drug cartel, and that may have hastened the series' abrupt cancellation. Still, Dallas was a fun ride while it lasted.

Verdict: Some fine acting, interesting developments, and good scripting help put this over. ***.

DALLAS: THE FINAL SEASONS

Larry Hagman and Gayle Hunnicutt

DALLAS Season 12 - 14. 1988 - 1991.

I was never the biggest fan of Dallas, but like most people (including my late mother who never watched the show ever) I tuned in for "Who Shot J.R?" but the show never became a guilty pleasure until the last couple of seasons, which were fast-paced fun. J. R. Ewing (Larry Hagman) got involved in a near-shotgun wedding with Callie (Cathy Podewell), had himself committed to a mental institution to get some papers (from Alexis Smith!), got shot again by his ex-wife Sue Ellen (Linda Gray), who used her money to finance a biopic about him. While this roman a clef film took center stage in season 12, the sub-plot never really amounted to much. Sue Ellen simply told J. R. that she wouldn't release the film as long as he behaved himself. We never saw the reaction from the cast or even the director (whom she married off-screen) when they found out the public would never even see the movie. George Kennedy [Strait-Jacket] showed up as a business rival with his own inner demons, and Gayle Hunnicutt [The Legend of Hell House] appeared in more than one season as J. R.'s lost and long-time love (when she finally breaks off her engagement to him, J. R. doesn't try very hard to get her back). Meanwhile Bobby (Patrick Duffy of The Last of Mrs. Lincoln) lost his wife, Pam, who first ran off after being disfigured in a car crash and then got a terminal illness, but decided not to tell anyone; Bobby's next wife was shot and killed on their honeymoon. Hagman wasn't a great actor, but he made the most of J. R. and offered a very effective portrayal. The performers on Dallas sometimes phoned in their performances, but at other times they were really on target. For instance, George Kennedy had a great scene when he's talking to his son on the phone and expressing how overjoyed he is that he's being released from a Mexican prison. Season 13 introduced the charming Sasha Mitchell as J. R.'s son (by Hunnicutt, who was quite good), who crosses both wits and swords with his father. Mitchell was not a seasoned performer, but he had an appealing, inoffensive arrogance that complimented his good looks and made him an asset to the show. A mention should be made of the two very talented child performers, Omri Katz and Joshua Harris, as the sons, respectively, of J.R. and Bobby. It was fun to see Barbara Eden, Hagman's co-star from I Dream of Jeannie, as an oil woman who really puts J. R through the wringer in season 14. Ken Kercheval was fine as J. R.'s bitter rival, Cliff Barnes, but the character could be so irritating (and always looked like an unmade bed) that it's a wonder he lasted fourteen seasons when others were sent packing! The disappointing last episode of the show had J. R. contemplating suicide while a demon played by Joel Gray (!) showed him what life would have been like for the other members of his family if he had never been born. Ted Shackleford as Gary Ewing (of Knots Landing) probably had more footage in this episode than in all the other seasons combined. The final season was followed by three TV movies and the show was revived in 2014 with some of the original players.

Verdict: Big hair, bad marriages, cat fights, bar fights, bed-hopping, philandering, plotting and co-plotting, and a little something about the oil industry, ***

THE LAST OF MRS. LINCOLN

Robby Benson, Julie Harris, Michael Cristofer

THE LAST OF MRS. LINCOLN (1976). Producer/director: George Schaefer. Based on the play by James Prideaux. Broadway Theater Archive DVD.

"We may have been the first family, but we were far from rich."

"After your father was taken from us, people said it would get easier. But it doesn't. It gets harder."

"It is not the years that age us, but loneliness."

Recreating the Broadway show, The Last of Mrs. Lincoln was presented as a telefilm on PBS in 1976. It is wonderful that there will always be a permanent record of Julie Harris' superb performance as Mary Todd Lincoln in the days after the assassination of her husband. Then she has to deal with the death [after already losing two other children and a husband] of her 18-year-old son, Tad (Robby Benson), and what she wrongly sees as the betrayal of her oldest son Robert (Michael Cristofer) when he is forced to have her institutionalized when she has a nervous breakdown. She comes to the home of her sister (Priscilla Morrill), who after all these years still doesn't think Abraham Lincoln was worthy of her. [A great scene in a play full of many has Mary telling off an old biddy (Kate Wilkinson) who has supposedly come calling out of friendship but really just wants to crow.] Mary bonds with a young nephew (Patrick Duffy) who has more respect for her and her memories than almost everyone else around her. Benson and Cristofer are excellent in a stellar cast without a bad performance. The play takes incidents in history and makes them come alive, fleshing out these people in a way no history book could. Although it's excellent at delineating a certain time and place [from 1865 Chicago to Springfield many years later], it also reveals some universal truths. Cristofer later wrote the play The Shadow Box (which was also made into a telefilm) and now appears on the TV show Smash.

Verdict: A masterpiece. ****.