Dallas: The Return

         The new season of TNT's Dallas is set to return this February and honestly I can't wait for it to get here. We were all bummed that Larry Hagman (who played JR Ewing) had passed away mid-way filming the second season and many have been wondering if the show could really go on with out its biggest star. Frankly that shouldn't be an issue.

Back stabbing is a family tradition.

          I've seen some of the episodes of the original Dallas and loved every bit of it. If any one else saw it then you would know that the actor who played Jock (the Patriarch of the Ewing Family) had died also, but still the show must go on. The cast and crew carried on and Dallas was still a hit. Some may argue that JR was what kept fans watching. He was as bad as they came but just as hot and the rest of the cast as well held the audience's attention with all the twists, bitch slapping, and drama a soap opera can dish out. 

Bad blood is hard to wash out.

        Dallas returned for a continuation meaning the kids are all grown up and now they're continuing the old family feud over what else: South Fork Ranch. John Ross and Christopher may not be brothers but they are still blood (Christopher is the son of Sue Ellen's manipulative sister, Kristin Shepard so they're still cousins) and the bad blood has seemed to have bled into the next generation. They both have taken on their fathers' roles in terms of their ambitions, personal beliefs, and the family business. 

The devil's spawn (even sexier)

       John Ross (Josh Henderson) believes that oil is what's best for Ewing Energies, thinking that Christopher's alternative energy is a pipe dream. Christopher (Jesse Metcalfe) believes the opposite and that methane is the future of energy. John Ross is JR in every way, which I think draws people in but he is also as Sue Ellen says only half of JR, the other half is her and Sue Ellen has a softer side. John Ross may like to mix business with pleasure but he does have a heart when it comes to the special women in his life. John Ross was crazy for Elena who broke his heart, making him turn more into his father's son in terms of back stabbing and scheming to get what he wants. Then there was Pamela (once Rebecca Sutter) whom John Ross seems perfect for. He was very concerned for Pamela's safety so much that he went behind his father's back to meet with Cliff Barnes in order to save her from prison. John Ross was also very compassionate to a depressed Pamela after she had lost her twin babies in the womb because of an explosion on the rig they were all on. 

Who said chivalry is dead?

        John Ross and Pamela are mirror images of each other. They both idolize their cold distant fathers who criticize more than they encourage so John Ross and Pamela feel they have to win at everything or risk disappointing their fathers. Yet they also have tender hearts and allow themselves to get emotionally involved. They have modeled their personalities after their cut throat fathers (John Ross especially) Pamela is like Bobby's Pamela but she seems much tougher and able to hold her own. Yet two people who are so much alike there's bound to be some friction. She may have accepted Christopher's infidelity but only because he immediately admitted it. Yet John Ross's rolls in the hay with Emma will get him in deeper trouble. He and Pamela have strong personalities and neither will give way when it comes to business or revenge. 

Never cross a Ewing.

Can he beat John Ross?

        Christopher was adopted so he always felt that he had to earn the Ewing family name and that means: Never fail and fight to the last man. Christopher is like his father, Bobby in that he's more compassionate than his philandering cousin, John Ross, and that back stabbing and screwing people in order to get what you want is not the answer. Yet Christopher has abandonment issues, which lead to anger issues. His mother, Pamela left him and for years he didn't understand why. Christopher can be as unforgiving when he's been lied to or betrayed. He may be a nice guy but there are times when he'll do things that are not so nice. It took Chris a while to forgive Pamela Barnes for tricking him into marriage even after she said she fell in love with him. He also had a hard time forgiving Elena, his fiancé, for not telling him that she knew her brother Drew caused the explosion that made Pamela lose their children. Now that Elena found out that the Ewings had stolen land from her family maybe she'll be as unforgiving to the whole Ewing clan. 

Old grudges refuse to die.

R.I.P. JR Ewing

         The young blood of this cast ring true the old saying of "history repeats itself." The characters may be mirrors of their predecessors: Emma is the new Lucy but more of a devil, Pamela is the second Barnes to marry into the Ewings (twice!) but she's got a lot more grit, John Ross is the new JR but he has a heart in there somewhere, and Christopher is the new Bobby but with unresolved anger issues. It's a perfect mix of new drama in an old story. Detailing the real race of oil against new alternative energy that will touch us all. I have every confidence that Josh Henderson can fill Larry Hagman's cow boy boots just as John Ross will seek to do with JR's boots. There will be as much love, lust, back stabbing, scheming, greed, vendettas and heart break on this new generation of Dallas as there was in the old generation. As JR said, "Blood is thicker than water, but oil is thicker than both."