History Series / Dallas

** In the series finale "Conundrum", J.R.'s guardian angel Adam asks him [[spoiler:"What makes you think I came from heaven?"]] This is very similar to the final line from the ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' episode "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS1E28ANicePlaceToVisit A Nice Place To Visit]]".

* CorruptCorporateExecutive: J.R. most notably, but pretty much every other company exec. This was made during the Reagan era, when such were often admired.

* PlayingGertrude: Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie) was just nine years older than her onscreen son Creator/LarryHagman (J.R.).

The second story was... less successful. When star Patrick Duffy left the series, his character was {{McLeaned}}. But with declining ratings, the return of the original series showrunner after a brief absence, and the cast missing Duffy, the actor returned in the final moments of the eighth season, leading to the ninth season opening with the revelation that Bobby's death and the subsequent Season 8 [[AllJustADream were all an elaborate dream]]. Needless to say, reaction was quite polarizing to say the least, with some happy to see the character return but others irritated due to the invalidation of the previous season.

[[caption-width-right:350:The Ewings of Southfork. Standing left to right: Sue Ellen, Lucy, J.R., Jock, Pam, Bobby, Ray Krebbs (sitting) Miss Ellie ]]

The second story was... less successful. When star Patrick Duffy left the series, his character was {{McLeaned}}. But with declining ratings, the return of the original series show runner after a brief absence, and the cast missing Duffy, the actor returned in the final moments of the eighth season, leading to the ninth season opening with the revelation that Bobby's death and the subsequent season eight [[AllJustADream were all an elaborate dream]]. Needless to say, reaction was quite polarizing to say the least, with some happy to see the character return but others irritated due to the invalidation of the previous season.

A possible movie [[TheRemake remake]] with Creator/JohnTravolta as J.R. Ewing and Music/JenniferLopez (!) as Sue Ellen has been in DevelopmentHell for years. Problems include the recent RealLife oil crisis, the increasingly negative views of Americans toward oil companies, and doubt in the entertainment industry that fans would accept another actor portraying JR.

* AbortedArc: Several in the Dream Season for obvious reasons. Also the original plot about Ben Stivers/Wes Parmalee (see YouLookFamiliar below) was set to reveal he was really [[spoiler: the missing, presumed dead Jock Ewing]]. The producers dropped it because they felt the fans would see it as being in questionable taste.

* BackForTheFinale: Sue Ellen, Ray, Gary, Valene (who also came back for the ''Knots Landing'' finale), Kristin and Nicholas Pearce.

* BigNo: [[spoiler: In "Trouble At Ewing 23" an extortionist threatens to blow up said oil field if he doesn't get millions of dollars. Although the security guards kill him, he manages to set the bombs off before expiring, unleashing a slowmotion BigNo from Bobby before the field blows up real good.]]

* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Dusty Farlow, by accident. The character appeared in a few episodes at the end of the 7th Season, then left town a few episodes into the 8th. Unfortunately the 8th Season was also the Dream Season and the producers apparently forgot about Dusty, so that per canon he simply vanished without explanation...until TheBusCameBack in Episode 355.

** One episode has JR and Sue Ellen renew their wedding vows. When the minister says, "SpeakNowOrForeverHoldYourPeace", Cliff Barnes (who previously had an affair with Sue Ellen) stands up and opens his mouth to speak, at which point the show immediately ends. In the next episode, he [[spoiler:closes his mouth and walks out]].
** In the final season's finale, [[spoiler: J.R. is seemingly convinced by the Devil to kill himself because of his failure to keep Ewing Oil. J.R. takes out a gun and holds it in his hand, then Bobby hears a gunshot from above. He runs upstairs, opens the door to J.R.'s room...and the show ends right there. ''J.R. Returns'' later explains that when Bobby opened the door, he saw that JR shot the mirror (instead of shooting himself) and was ranting and raving]].

* CorruptCorporateExecutive: J. R. most notably, but pretty much every other company exec. This was made during the Reagan era, when such were often admired.

* DemonSlaying: In the after-movies – later, the 2012 continuation series when the movies were retconned – the implied fate of Adam, the demonic spirit that tried to taunt J.R. into committing suicide in the original series' finale. J.R. had seen Adam in the mirror and fired the gun ... but it is revealed in the later shows that instead he shot the gun into the mirror, killing Adam.

* DrowningMySorrows: J.R. is a heavy drinker even at the best of times, but he really hits the bottle hard after Jock dies (see HeroicBSOD below.)

** Ray and Jock were shaping up to become this in season 4.

* [[ItsAWonderfulPlot It's A Wonderful Plot]]: The final episode. [[spoiler:Subverted in that a): the alternate reality shown has many characters' lives noticeably improved by J.R.'s absence, and b): the "angel" is a demon encouraging J.R. to kill himself.]]

* LaterInstallmentWeirdness: By its final couple of the seasons the original run had lost most of its classic era cast with the exception of JR Ewing himself, Bobby, Cliff and a few minor supporting characters, greatly eroding the BigScrewedUpFamily nature of show. The combination of a mostly new and younger cast, different locations, soapier storylines in general and in the finale an outright shift into the supernatural with an ItsAWonderfulPlot ending made late ''Dallas'' a very different animal to the beast it had been in its prime.

* LukeYouAreMyFather: James Beaumont announced to the Ewings that he was [[spoiler: J.R.'s]] son. However, in the revival series, he isn't seen nor mentioned.

* MisplacedAccent: In spite of the Gung-ho, Texas! spirit of the show, most everyone has a Generic American accent, with notable exceptions being J.R. and Sue Ellen. That's all good and well, she was Miss Texas and he's, well, [[SouthernFriedGenius just J.R.]], but it's weird that neither of their younger siblings have any trace of that Texas drawl. This is also a case of TruthInTelevision. Many people in the Dallas-Fort Worth area do not have the stereotypical Texas accent.

** Passed on to Cliff. The man can't get a hangnail without it being the Ewings' (specifically JR's) fault.

* OffTheWagon: Sue Ellen developed a sort of on-and-off-the-wagon revolving door over the years. She quit drinking at the end of season two after [[ImperiledInPregnancy nearly dying in a drunk driving accident]] while pregnant with John Ross and was considered an alcoholic from that point on. She stayed sober through most of the series, but slipped several times during moments of extreme stress.

* PresentAbsence: Jock after his death in Season Five and Bobby after his death during the Dream Season.

** In the series finale "Conundrum", JR's guardian angel Adam asks him [[spoiler: "What makes you think I came from heaven?"]] This is very similar to the final line from the ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' episode "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS1E28ANicePlaceToVisit A Nice Place To Visit]]".

* StylisticSuck: In "Proof Positive", Mandy does a screen test for a film, playing the LoveInterest of a cop who [[TakeThat is based on]] Sonny Crockett from ''Series/MiamiVice''. The test is very badly shot and both Mandy and the actor playing the cop exhibit BadBadActing. It also contains banal dialogue such as "I'm a cop! That's all I know how to be!"

--> '''Ann:''' *[[DramaticGunCock Cocks shotgun]]* I don't miss, mister. Not at any range.
--> (later on, when talking to a Southfork security guard) '''Guard:''' Next time, Ms. Ewing, shoot him.
--> '''Ann:''' Oh, I will.

--> '''J.R.:''' Bullets don't seem to have much of an effect on me, dear.

** Ann and Harris Ryland initially appear to be this when she visits in order to request that his company cease moving tanker trucks into Southfork on J.R.'s orders. The "amicable" disappears when it's revealed that Harris is a slimebag. [[spoiler: The two of them end up kissing each other during "Where There's Smoke", with Harris' mother Judith watching.]]

--> ''My father took down three senators, two governors and a vice-president... and he taught me everything he knows. Your head's gonna look real nice above my fireplace... Governor.''

** Throughout the first season, Rebecca supposedly does this when she finds out that she's pregnant and doesn't want to defraud Christopher. [[spoiler:Turns out that Cliff's her father, and he sets her back on the path of trying to take the drilling technology from Christopher]].
** John Ross gets this in season two. His business arrangement with Pamela against his brother blossoms into full-on love, and he ends up marrying her. He also puts aside his differences with Christopher to stop Cliff and Ryland. Then, at the end of the season, he nonchalantly cheats on Pamela with Emma Ryland, implying that his actions throughout the season were just a front for his true motives.

* ButtMonkey: John Ross would really like to be a MagnificentBastard like his daddy. Unfortunately for him, he falls square into this trope instead. (At ''first''....)

** Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, shows up in a season one episode.

** The tape [[spoiler:Marta/Veronica makes of her and a drugged John Ross having sex]] comes back into play several episodes later when Christopher (who has resolved to fight dirty and stop JR from drilling) bribes a doorman to get access to John Ross' apartment, and discovers the CD she left for him, which he later uses as leverage.

* ConvenientMiscarriage: [[spoiler:Pamela Rebecca suffers one after the oilrig explosion]] in "Guilt and Innocence".

** [[spoiler: The woman claiming to be Marta Del Sol is not the real Marta Del Sol]].
** Christopher discovers in "Revelations" that [[spoiler:his wife, Rebecca Sutter]] is impersonating someone who lives in Des Moines, Iowa. The audience later learns that [[spoiler: Rebecca is Cliff Barnes's daughter]].
* CutApart: In season two, Tommy Sutter's body is found thanks to the machinations of J.R. and Frank. In a montage, we see Pamela Rebecca frantically packing as she tries to make a getaway, while the police rush to apprehend the suspect. They bang on the suspect's door. Pamela, horrified, opens the door to...[[spoiler:her father, Cliff. Meanwhile, Frank is being arrested - Cliff framed him for the crime in return for his betrayal]].
* DeadlyNosebleed: [[spoiler: Rebecca]] gets this during the first season. [[spoiler: It turns out she's pregnant with twins]].
* DeathEqualsRedemption: Subverted. While most people still remember JR's dirty dealings, the Ewings paint JR as a friggin' saint after his death.
* DestinationDefenestration: [[spoiler:Marta/Veronica]] gets thrown out a window (offscreen) by [[spoiler:Vicente's goons after a confrontation with John Ross]].
* TheDragon: Frank Ashkani in the first two seasons, and Roy Vickers in season two.

** [[spoiler:Rebecca and Christopher go to meet Cliff]] in "The Price You Pay", and [[spoiler:Rebecca acknowledges Cliff with a long look and stilted greeting to each other]] when they first meet. This later gets picked up on when it's revealed that [[spoiler:Rebecca is Cliff's daughter, and she was in on the plan all along to take Christopher's drilling technology]].

* GambitPileup: It would appear there are several machinations afoot regarding possession of Southfork, and many of the strings are being pulled by [[spoiler:a CriminalDoppelganger of the daughter of one of J.R.'s Mexican friends]].

** And who ''really'' sent the email that broke up Christopher and Elena? [[spoiler:It was Rebecca, but she shifts the blame on Tommy for Christopher to discover]]

** In the last two episodes of season 1, it seems like John Ross and Christopher have finally put their differences aside and are ready to combine their plans into a new business venture. John Ross proposes to Elena and she accepts, and Christopher and Rebecca are patching things up. Even J.R. is ready to bury the hatchet with Bobby and end his pursuit of power. Then [[spoiler: Rebecca shoots Tommy after backing out of their scheme. J.R.'s latest backstab attempt is fully revealed to Bobby, causing him to have a brain aneurysm. Elena discovers John Ross's part in J.R.'s scheme and breaks off the engagement. Christopher discovers Rebecca isn't who she says she is and ends it with her. He goes to find Elena and they rekindle their old romance. Rebecca meets with Cliff Barnes who is really her father and vows to help him in their original scheme. Finally a heartbroken and vengeful John Ross vows to steal everything from Christopher with J.R.'s help, proving that [[IgnoredEpiphany neither of them have learned a thing.]]]]
** In "Legacies", the driving forces of the season are reconciled. Bobby finally shuts down Cliff's vendetta against the Ewings for good by framing him for J.R.'s murder, Harris Ryland is arrested for drug trafficking, Christopher and John Ross learn who shot J.R. (it was Bum, acting on J.R.'s orders) and the family finally gets Ewing Energies back for good... [[spoiler:except that Cliff convinced Elena to go after the Ewings for screwing over her family decades earlier, and John Ross cheats on his newlywed wife with Emma Ryland, proving that he once again hasn't learned a thing]].

* TheManBehindTheMan: Cliff is this to [[spoiler:Pamela Rebecca Barnes]] and Frank in the first season, then Governor Sam [=McConaughey=] is this to Cliff and Ryland in season two.
* MathematiciansAnswer: John Ross asks [[spoiler:Pamela at their impromptu wedding if she is marrying him because she loves him, or hates her father for killing her children and wants him to suffer.]] The response: [[spoiler:"I do"]].
* MercyKill: [[spoiler: J.R. was dying of cancer, so as part of his "masterpiece", he had Bum shoot him with a gun stolen from Cliff, as a means to frame him for his death]].

** [[spoiler:[[CriminalDoppelganger The fake Marta Del Sol]] was working for J.R. and John Ross against Bobby]].

** Elena becomes this for Cliff Barnes after discovering that JR cheated her father out of lucrative land deeds.

** The same thing happens in the third-season mid finale, "Where There's Smoke". [[spoiler:Pamela finds out about John Ross' infidelity, and her response is to surprise John Ross and Emma as they're making out in his apartment and begin a threesome with them. They don't get very far before Pamela begins convulsing from an unknown medical condition]].

** Sue Ellen faces the same temptation the night before J.R.'s funeral. [[spoiler: This time she succumbs]].

* NotQuiteDead: Ultimately subverted in season two. In "Ewings Unite!", Christopher learns that [[spoiler:his mother, Pam Ewing, didn't succumb to the terminal disease she was diagnosed with the twelfth season of the original series]], and went to live in Abu Dhabi with another man, which led to J.R. searching for her before his death. In "Legacies", it's revealed that she was dead all along, and Cliff covered up her death in order to stop Christopher from accessing her shares of Barnes Global.
* [[ObfuscatingStupidity Obfuscating Senility]]: J.R., at 75, is a lot sharper and more capable than he lets on at the beginning of the first episode. He pretends to be a harmless old man who almost everyone else thinks is senile, and is more concerned with reliving the "good old days" then having anything to do with Bobby's plans to sell Southfork...all while he's pulling incriminating evidence from the family in plain sight.

** "Truth And Consequences" has a sequence where JR talks with the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, Jerry Jones, and considerable attention is paid to the game being played at the Cowboys Stadium.

* RefusalOfTheCall: Christopher in season one. He is more than happy to let Southfork get sold to a conservancy and focus on his methane drilling. However, J.R. and John Ross' machinations eventually force him to start fighting dirty in order to protect his family and the ranch.

** 'Smiling' Frank is revealed in "Collateral Damage" to have been picked up from the streets of Islamabad as a young boy by Cliff Barnes 30 years earlier (setting it, in the show's timeframe, around season 4-5 of the original series), and was supposedly brought up by Cliff for most of his life, yet he was never seen or hinted at before his introduction in "The Price You Pay".

** By the end of the original series, Cliff Barnes had soundly beat J.R. and acquired Ewing Oil, which (as the [[AllThereInTheManual backstory]] to the 2012 series indicates) he sold off years later, and lived handsomely off the profits. [[spoiler:At the end of season 1, it's revealed that he's much more evil than before. Not only does he want Christopher's drilling technology (using his own daughter to get in close to Chris, who's his own nephew), but he's also willing to cover up deaths - as seen in Tommy's case - if it gets him closer to what he wants]].
** According to "Legacies", [[spoiler:Cliff Barnes (having learned of Pam Ewing's death in Abu Dhabi in 1989)]] arranged for a doctor to create the illusion she was still alive, so that Christopher couldn't inherit her shares of Barnes Global. This is despite the fact that, in the original series' timeframe (season 12), Barnes Global did not exist yet, and Cliff was at his most sympathetic as a character at that point in the narrative.

* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: When Bobby gets a court order stopping John Ross from drilling on Southfork land, John Ross tells the workers to keep drilling, but they leave, saying that they "ain't tanglin' with Bobby Ewing."

-->'''J.R.:''' Turns out Christopher and the Ramos girl are getting awfully cozy. Shared their first kiss under the family oak tree. Should’ve been her and John Ross, if you ask me.

* SpinOffspring: Although the last generation still has a big part, the revival claims to focus on [[GenerationXerox J.R. and Sue Ellen's son, John Ross, and Bobby and Pam's son, Christopher]] as well as [[spoiler: Cliff Barnes's daughter, Pamela Rebecca]].

* AbsenteeActor: J.R. spends part of the first season on a "business trip" to Las Vegas to take part in a high-stakes poker game organized by Cliff Barnes, with his role largely relegated to a single scene per episode. This was done to accommodate Creator/LarryHagman's treatment after his cancer returned. It also counts as an AbortedArc, as the storyline was dropped when Hagman recovered and returned to the show for the last three episodes of the season.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters:

* CharacterOutlivesActor: Jock Ewing goes on a trip to an oil reserve in South America, in order to keep him alive as long as possible after his actor, Jim Davis (not [[ComicStrip/{{Garfield}} that one]]), died. As with Mr. Hooper, his death (which occurred on the return trip) wasn't addressed until some time later.

* AbsenteeActor: All the main cast with the (unsurprising) exception of Creator/LarryHagman, who appears in all 357 episodes. Hagman is followed by Ken Kercheval at 344 (justified, because of recurring status in the first two seasons and missing several episodes in the last three seasons) and Patrick Duffy at 327 (justified, because of his "death" in season nine).

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<<|AmericanSeries|>>

As the name might suggest, the series was set in UsefulNotes/Texas}}, based around the Ewings, a large DysfunctionalFamily of oil barons. Family patriarch John Ross "Jock" Ewing had built up Ewing Oil and married Eleanor "Miss Ellie" Southworth, the daughter of a rancher and together they had three sons:

''Dallas'' was a juggernaut PrimeTimeSoap of TheEighties (it ran from 1978-1991). For much of its run it was the most watched show in the world.

As the name might suggest the series was set in [[EverythingIsBigInTexas Texas]], based around the Ewings, a large DysfunctionalFamily of oil barons. Family patriarch John Ross "Jock" Ewing had built up Ewing Oil and married Eleanor "Miss Ellie" Southworth, the daughter of a rancher and together they had three sons:

Inspired a glut of failed copycat shows (''Secrets of Midland Heights'' and ''Texas''), the most successful being ''Series/{{Dynasty}}'', its SoBadItsGood counterpart that ended up becoming the show's chief rival during the mid-1980s. It was also given a SpinOff, ''Series/KnotsLanding'', which was based around Gary Ewing, though the dream season ultimately led to both shows severing ties with each other.

* YourCheatingHeart: John Ross begins an illicit affair with Emma in the third season, after he wedded Pamela in the previous season. Later subverted when Pamela finds out about the affair. [[spoiler:Instead of calling out John Ross on it, she dresses up in her green bustier and surprises John Ross and Emma at his apartment, where they begin a threesome]]. Then she has an unspecified seizure just before things really get going.

* LatinoIsBrown: Both the young female leads are played by Latin American actresses. The dark-skinned, dark-haired, dark-eyed Jordana Brewster (Brazilian) plays a Mexican character, while the lighter-skinned, brunette, green-eyed Julie Gonzalo (Argentinian) plays an Anglo character.

* GenrePopularizer: For the PrimeTimeSoap.

The show produced two of the most famous stories in television - both cliffhangers (a staple of the series). The first in 1980-81 was the mystery of 'Who shot J.R.?', the answer to which was at that time the most watched episode in television history.

* BigScrewedUpFamily: In fact, the [[The ForeignSubtitle subtitle of the series used in the Japanese dub]] is ''named'' with this.[[note]]As ''Dallas: Kainaru Aku no Ichizoku''.[[/note]]