Classic Television - Dallas

US Drama - BBC 1 - 1978 - 1991

This prime-time American soap is based around the life and affairs (business and personal) of the Texan Ewing family and their associates and introduces one of television's all-time great bad guys, the legendery JR Ewing. The Ewings' wealth from the oil industry, thanks to the manoeuvring of John Ross ('Jock') Ewing, the head of the clan, who cheated his great rival, Digger Barnes, out of the proceeds of a giant oil-strike some 40 years earlier. Jock also stole Digger's girl Eleanor Southworth ('Miss Ellie'), leaving the two families the bitterest enemies since the Capulets and the Montagues.

Jock and Ellie's three sons are John Ross Jr ('JR'), the rarely seen Gary, and Bobby. They live on the Southfork ranch in Braddock County, just outside Dallas. Gary moves away and into his own spin-off series, Knots Landing, leaving JR and Bobby prime heirs to the Ewing fortune. Whereas JR is ruthless and bad and never happy unless he is hurting someone, Bobby is honest and good, almost the missing conscience of JR. Their relationship is always uneasy, and JR resents Bobby's involvement in Ewing Oil. Another leading character is ranch foreman is Ray Krebbs, who turns out to be Jock's illegitimate son, and therefore also a Ewing.

The Ewing-Barnes rivalry has passed down a generation from Jock and Digger to JR and Cliff Barnes, who as an Assistant District Attorney, explores every avenue for exposing Ewing corruption, in the hope of gaining revenge for his father's humiliation. Cliff eventually becomes head of his own family's oil enterprise, Barnes-Wentworth.

In the first episode the Barnes family and the Ewing family are brought together when Bobby Ewing married Cliff Barnes' sister Pam.

But the storyline that got the country talking was 'Who Shot JR?' Infact the whole world spent months agonizing over this.

It turns out to be Kirsten, Sue Ellen's sister (Sue Ellen is JR's wife). Kirsten is pregnant by JR. JR recovers, Kirsten leaves town and gives birth to Christopher and he is adopted by Bobby and Pam.

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