Why the rush to bring people back?

[Laurie!]

The chemistry between Brenda and Patrick is there, sorry if people don't like that idea, but it really is. This woman loves Bobby deeply and thats very apparent from the first episode. Brenda is really good in the role and full of energy. It's nothing like April & Bobby. April was a sap, almost like a sulky teenager.

Chemistry is a subjective quality that's open to individual interpretation. You can have your opinion ad I'll always have mine, essentially. However, I think that Brenda Strong's career sort of bolsters my opinion. I'm not trying to insult Brenda Strong...I'm sure she's a very lovely person as are Donna Mills, Morgan Fairchild, Morgan Brittany, etc....the difference is, those actresses never really win a role as the empathetic doe-eyed character whose eyes well up with tears and suddenly you're engrossed in the tragedy of their lives...rooting for them in love, etc....the way Victoria was capable of on Dallas. Those actresses always win the role of the cunning, cold, prissy bitch because that's what their screen presence exudes.

Brenda Strong is no different....she's been in the business for decades and all she's ever won are bit roles where she comes across as prissy and cold. Her most notorious role is on DH where instead of winning the Terri Hatcher role or another major part due to her screen presence...she won the role of a woman who provides snobby sounding commentary with perfect grammatical delivery and who is heard and rarely ever shown. Yes, the role of Ann could be her sudden break-out role....but I'm perfectly capable of being objective and in every screen cap and promo pic I've seen....Ann seems cold and prissy. The closest one that had any warmth to it is the one used at the top of this forum...and that photo is so computer enhanced it's unnatural and cartoonish.

I believe I have a more moderate view. I don't want every possibility exhausted at the start, and I believe there is room to bring back characters over the course of subsequent seasons. However, I also don't want to tune into an entirely new cast either. Instead of Rebecca and Tom Sutter, they should have brought back Pamela Rebecca and Bobby's son Lucas. Unlike the Sutters, they actually have ties to original series characters and are more in-line with the "next generation" theme this show is supposedly espousing.

Sid, once again you're spot on with everything you've said in every post I've read today....focusing on the above part though.....I agree completely but in terms of past characters such as Cliff, Pam, etc....I think there's also a huge risk in saving all of the best cards for later and suddenly later never comes. For example...if you've ever played the card game Crazy Eights...I once had the perfect hand and I lined all of my best cards, saving them for a huge run where I'd have my opponent miss a turn, pick up 5, then I had the plan to change the colour and I'd lay down 3 cards of the same number for the perfect plan coming together. The only problem was....suddenly my opponent went "knock-knock" down to his last card and I couldn't follow my master plan, I had to pick up a card and then he won.

That's how I see this Dallas 2.0...don't hold everything back, planning on a third season and beyond...because in today's TV market, the 3rd season and beyond may never come because of a tragic actor death or viewers tuned out cause the show doesn't have their favourite characters and it's nothing but recycled storylines and appeasement producer decisions to make the current cast happy.

[Pamela Barnes]

But thats where I think Brenda is different. She isn't a wholesome Miss Ellie type completely, she isn't Caroline Ingalls But she is still a warm generous character and I think she plays that well. With the accent and the whole Ann persona she is likeable. Despite what you think I'm not being an Ann advocate for the sake of it, I'm quite critical of the mistakes Dallas makes, any show makes that I have a vested interest in. I have not seen enough to make a complete judgment but I did feel she is right for the show.

My only criticism, which I have touched on before, is the characters are rather bland. More or less what we have come to expect from a modern US popular drama. The only one who falls outside of this is Josh Henderson's portrayal of John Ross. But the women you could summarize on a postage stamp.

It lacks those great character actors we saw in Dallas - Ken Kercheval, David Wayne, etc. Again I am saying that from watching a limited amount but it's easy to assume that.

[Laurie!]

But thats where I think Brenda is different. She isn't a wholesome Miss Ellie type completely, she isn't Caroline Ingalls But she is still a warm generous character and I think she plays that well. With the accent and the whole Ann persona she is likeable. Despite what you think I'm not being an Ann advocate for the sake of it, I'm quite critical of the mistakes Dallas makes, any show makes that I have a vested interest in. I have not seen enough to make a complete judgment but I did feel she is right for the show.

My only criticism, which I have touched on before, is the characters are rather bland. More or less what we have come to expect from a modern US popular drama. The only one who falls outside of this is Josh Henderson's portrayal of John Ross. But the women you could summarize on a postage stamp.

It lacks those great character actors we saw in Dallas - Ken Kercheval, David Wayne, etc. Again I am saying that from watching a limited amount but it's easy to assume that.

If she's a warm, generous character then a picture should say that. She looks like a snooty Martha Stewart with starched blouses....english riding jodhpurs, etc. in everything I've seen her in promoting this new show. The casting seems as bad as choosing Martha Stewart to play Mother Theresa....at least from the screen caps and promo pics.

What I haven't seen is everything you've been telling us all along...you said it isn't camp, it's a serious drama. Though we get a bunch of horrible ads that seem really camp and soapy. The only female character I've seen that has anything other than a hollow stare, is Julie Gonzalo's character.

[Pamela Barnes]

If she's a warm, generous character then a picture should say that. She looks like a snooty Martha Stewart with starched blouses....english riding jodhpurs, etc. in everything I've seen her in promoting this new show. The casting seems as bad as choosing Martha Stewart to play Mother Theresa....at least from the screen caps and promo pics.

What I haven't seen is everything you've been telling us all along...you said it isn't camp, it's a serious drama. Though we get a bunch of horrible ads that seem really camp and soapy. The only female character I've seen that has anything other than a hollow stare, is Julie Gonzalo's character.

Well you will have to judge for yourself but it won't change anything. Bobby is with Ann, Brenda is Ann and she is brilliant.

[Laurie!]

Well you will have to judge for yourself but it won't change anything. Bobby is with Ann, Brenda is Ann and she is brilliant.

Thank you for the Cole's Notes version. Now there's no need for anyone to watch them because you and Patrick have already spoiled the ending....they're together, they'll always be in love and together, so get over it. Sounds like an incredibly boring drama to me. Compound that with the recycling of storylines that were already done brilliantly on Dallas, the first time around and it sounds like a suspenseful thrill ride...sarcasm intended.

[Sid Fairgate]

Well you will have to judge for yourself but it won't change anything. Bobby is with Ann, Brenda is Ann and she is brilliant.

I've seen three clips of Ann from the show: Two involve pointing a shotgun at people, and the third is her glaring at somebody over her coffee cup. And while I'm glad to see that she's not a docile woman, I hope she's more than just the stern badass with a gun fetish that the promos have depicted her as. Miss Ellie was a tough woman too, but she also had a sweet and vulnerable side.

[Tessie]

Because they have made it as simple as possible and set the dynamic up, then all those things can come in. I feel all those things should happen, but they don't need to all happen in the first 10 episodes when there is potentially so much more.
.

You've said that before, yet I don't know what could be simpler than John Ross, Christopher, and Pamela Rebecca for the younger generation, and one parent for each of them for the older generation. They can always bring Lucas, Margaret, Ray, Lucy, Donna in later if they want to. Instead we have Rebecca Sutter who may or may not be Cliff's daughter even though we already saw Cliff's daughter in a movie that never happened. That sounds complicated to me, not simple.

[Tessie]

I don't like the term the big 3. If you want to call JR the star of the show, I'm okay with that. But don't tell me that Sue Ellen and Bobby were more important characters than Pam, Cliff, Donna, Lucy, Jock, and Miss Ellie. Just because they want to be up and center around everything Dallas related doesn't make their characters any more important to the original show than the other main characters.

Bravo. Brilliant post.

[Seaviewer]

My concern with Brenda Strong from the beginning was that if Ann was the new Miss Ellie she would be more Donna Reed than Barbara Bel Geddes, but I wouldn't compare her to Vanessa Beaumont. I have no problem with believing that Bobby has finally found someone to settle down with and are they now an "old married couple". As for the original point about bringing back all the old cast members, everyone has their favourite that they'd like to see but I agree that there has to be a good reason. The only one we all seem to agree on is Jenna in conjunction with Lucas.

[PAMANDBOBBYFOREVER]

Concerning Brenda, after watching Desperate Housewives last night it hit me how wrong this casting is, beyond my usual reasons of "shes not Pam." Her character is very distant and proper sounding and having watched the first season involving her suicide she comes off as cold. Now she plays that very well, and is great for Desperate Housewives. But unless her acting and personality does a complete 180, I can't see her as a loving and devoted wife. It's not even her looks, but just her personality and voice. She would be better off as some business woman who worked on some scheme with John Ross. I can't quite explain it but she reminds me of Susan Flannery's character from season 3. There is no way I could see her as Bobby's wife, or in a Miss Ellie type of role.

[Fortune]

Granted, there are a lot of characters from the old show I want to see brought back on this show. But, I don't think it should be done in a rushed or forced manner. Let things happen on an even pace. It's much better that way. Throwing in everyone for a crowd scene would be insulting & writing scenes specifically for the purpose of showing another character from the past will be bad for the overall story. My hope is that they're already storyboarding season 2 & looking for creative ways to incorporate those characters as appropriate.

[Laurie!]

My concern with Brenda Strong from the beginning was that if Ann was the new Miss Ellie she would be more Donna Reed than Barbara Bel Geddes, but I wouldn't compare her to Vanessa Beaumont. I have no problem with believing that Bobby has finally found someone to settle down with and are they now an "old married couple". As for the original point about bringing back all the old cast members, everyone has their favourite that they'd like to see but I agree that there has to be a good reason. The only one we all seem to agree on is Jenna in conjunction with Lucas.

Exactly. She wears pearls, english riding pants in Texas and stuffy blouses like I would have expected to see Donna Reed's Miss Ellie wear. I only compared her to Vanessa Beaumont in the sense that the story seems forced to destroy the legacy of old Dallas the way the Vanessa Beaumont story did.

I don't agree that Jenna Wade should come back either. Lucas, yes...Jenna no. It's completely unrealistic that Jenna would be in the picture now just because of Lucas. Lucas would be a grown man now and Jenna wouldn't automatically be back in Bobby's life at Southfork just because of Lucas. The only point of Jenna would be if Ray came back.

Concerning Brenda, after watching Desperate Housewives last night it hit me how wrong this casting is, beyond my usual reasons of "shes not Pam." Her character is very distant and proper sounding and having watched the first season involving her suicide she comes off as cold. Now she plays that very well, and is great for Desperate Housewives. But unless her acting and personality does a complete 180, I can't see her as a loving and devoted wife. It's not even her looks, but just her personality and voice. She would be better off as some business woman who worked on some scheme with John Ross. I can't quite explain it but she reminds me of Susan Flannery's character from season 3. There is no way I could see her as Bobby's wife, or in a Miss Ellie type of role.

Exactly. It's not just DH either. Brenda looks cold and hollow in every role I've seen her in and the promo pics/screen caps of TNT Dallas only seem to perpetuate that. I'm sure she's a fabulous woman in reality but her screen presence doesn't convey anything warm and fuzzy.

[Duke]

Interesting that I read the interview with David Paulsen recently that James did and he was talking about getting rid of Emma Samms as Fallon but then he met the actress and she was a delight, funny, intelligent, earthy. Why is Fallon so dull when Emma is so vibrant and interesting? So he kept her and played the character to those aspects of her personality.

I think that really showed on screen in Dynastys final season, where Fallon came to life. So I hope that the same can be said of Bobby.

Thats interesting. I had just assumed DP was trying to take the character Fallon back to her origins and have Emma Samms try and play her more like Pamela Sue Martin who was incredibly vibrant, sexy and charming and played Fallon with a lot of verve, energy, wit and intelligence.

[Duke]

Can I just ask why some people are certain there will never be any dramatic conflict or tension between Bobby and Ann? Even if its set in stone they'll never break up I can't see why this is prohibitive to any friction or drama what so ever. Obviously they may turn out to be dull but I assume a lot of thr relationship drama will be provided
by the younger characters anyway.

I dont think the name Ann is that similar to Pam. Pam is short for Pamela. Ann is just Ann.

Im disappointed to here there are no Ken Kercheval types, no character actors. If it has too much of that homogenous, bland prettyness of some of the modern soaps it's not really going to feel like DALLAS. I think recapturing that distinct flavour is more important than cramming in 10 originals no matter how superfluous they may now be

[Laurie!]

Can I just ask why some people are certain there will never be any dramatic conflict or tension between Bobby and Ann? Even if its set in stone they'll never break up I can't see why this is prohibitive to any friction or drama what so ever. Obviously they may turn out to be dull but I assume a lot of thr relationship drama will be provided
by the younger characters anyway.

I dont think the name Ann is that similar to Pam. Pam is short for Pamela. Ann is just Ann.

Im disappointed to here there are no Ken Kercheval types, no character actors. If it has too much of that homogenous, bland prettyness of some of the modern soaps it's not really going to feel like DALLAS. I think recapturing that distinct flavour is more important than cramming in 10 originals no matter how superfluous they may now be

Patrick Duffy saying that he's "pretty sure that Brenda will always be his wife on Dallas" is the same as...if you're going to see a horror movie and you hear an actor who stars in the movie say that nobody dies in the movie....that pretty much spoils the suspense and drama of the movie. We basically now know that Ann and Bobby are so dull that we get a few instances where I'm sure JR digs up something from Ann's past and JR wants Ann off Southfork just like the whole JR and Pam scenario of old...and that causes some tension but it's not really tension because we know they stay together according to Patrick.

With Pam and Bobby...they divorced and there was real drama because we never knew if Pam would actually follow through with marrying Mark or Bobby might actually marry Jenna, etc. If we take Patrick at his word, apparently Bobby and Ann won't ever split up. It was a stupid thing for him to say.

Ann can be short for several names...including Angela in some instances. Angela/Pamela, Ann/Pam, Annie/Pammie....nahh, no similarities whatsoever. Though if Ann is supposed to be like Miss Ellie then I'm sure they'll call her Miss Annie in no time at all.

The problem I have...there doesn't seem to be any originality whatsoever. Like you say, they're supposedly missing great character actors but also...instead of new storylines, we seem to be getting a recycled version of Dallas when it was great. Those stories were already done on Dallas once and done really well for the most part....why do them all over again?

[Fortune]

Patrick Duffy saying that he's "pretty sure that Brenda will always be his wife on Dallas" is the same as...if you're going to see a horror movie and you hear an actor who stars in the movie say that nobody dies in the movie....that pretty much spoils the suspense and drama of the movie. We basically now know that Ann and Bobby are so dull that we get a few instances where I'm sure JR digs up something from Ann's past and JR wants Ann off Southfork just like the whole JR and Pam scenario of old...and that causes some tension but it's not really tension because we know they stay together according to Patrick.

With Pam and Bobby...they divorced and there was real drama because we never knew if Pam would actually follow through with marrying Mark or Bobby might actually marry Jenna, etc. If we take Patrick at his word, apparently Bobby and Ann won't ever split up. It was a stupid thing for him to say.

Ann can be short for several names...including Angela in some instances. Angela/Pamela, Ann/Pam, Annie/Pammie....nahh, no similarities whatsoever. Though if Ann is supposed to be like Miss Ellie then I'm sure they'll call her Miss Annie in no time at all.

The problem I have...there doesn't seem to be any originality whatsoever. Like you say, they're supposedly missing great character actors but also...instead of new storylines, we seem to be getting a recycled version of Dallas when it was great. Those stories were already done on Dallas once and done really well for the most part....why do them all over again?

Oooh. Can you imagine if Ann were short for Angela? Then ofcourse there'd be the nickname Angie (Pammy) and the already known Ann (Pam). I'd actually laugh at that mess!! And if any of the hands calls her Miss Annie I think that would be the end all be all of "in your face" comedy. As for the relationship, I'm taking that with a grain of salt. No one (even the Big 3) should make predictions about where this show will go. They couldn't the first time & should know better this time. Just because they're all happy & drama free now doesn't mean it'll stay that way. Any number of things could happen/people come to town & disrupt that marriage.

[BJ Ewing]

People generally like familiarity. They want to see what the characters they know have been up to and are like in today's world. That's only natural.

[PAMANDBOBBYFOREVER]

Patrick Duffy saying that he's "pretty sure that Brenda will always be his wife on Dallas" is the same as...if you're going to see a horror movie and you hear an actor who stars in the movie say that nobody dies in the movie....that pretty much spoils the suspense and drama of the movie. We basically now know that Ann and Bobby are so dull that we get a few instances where I'm sure JR digs up something from Ann's past and JR wants Ann off Southfork just like the whole JR and Pam scenario of old...and that causes some tension but it's not really tension because we know they stay together according to Patrick.

That sounds exactly like what Ronn Moss from Bold and Beautiful says about the Ridge and Brooke relationship. For the last few years he's basically said they are end game and they might have some troubles but they will always end up together because they are "destiny." So for us Taylor fans we know even if it looks like they might get back together it will never really happen because of all the statements that have already been made. That makes any Ridge/Brooke/Taylor triangles more boring than they were before because you always know what will happen. So now we have to focus on the younger generation to see how anything will turn out.

Which makes this new Dallas sound like Bold and Beautiful.

[Laurie!]

That sounds exactly like what Ronn Moss from Bold and Beautiful says about the Ridge and Brooke relationship. For the last few years he's basically said they are end game and they might have some troubles but they will always end up together because they are "destiny." So for us Taylor fans we know even if it looks like they might get back together it will never really happen because of all the statements that have already been made. That makes any Ridge/Brooke/Taylor triangles more boring than they were before because you always know what will happen. So now we have to focus on the younger generation to see how anything will turn out.

Which makes this new Dallas sound like Bold and Beautiful.

Oh, no offense cause you're a fan of B&B but saying Dallas is like B&B is an even bigger insult than I've ever said before. As a Patrick Duffy fan, I sadly once watched an entire half-hour episode of B&B and with the exception of Susan Flannery and a couple of the younger actresses, the show was abysmal. The acting was horrid and there's way too much kinda-sorta incest on that show.

I get what you're saying though and it's exactly like that.

People generally like familiarity. They want to see what the characters they know have been up to and are like in today's world. That's only natural.

There's already familiarity with the old characters though...we don't need a complete re-hash of all the old storylines like we seem to be getting.

Oooh. Can you imagine if Ann were short for Angela? Then ofcourse there'd be the nickname Angie (Pammy) and the already known Ann (Pam). I'd actually laugh at that mess!! And if any of the hands calls her Miss Annie I think that would be the end all be all of "in your face" comedy. As for the relationship, I'm taking that with a grain of salt. No one (even the Big 3) should make predictions about where this show will go. They couldn't the first time & should know better this time. Just because they're all happy & drama free now doesn't mean it'll stay that way. Any number of things could happen/people come to town & disrupt that marriage.

Well, considering the 10 episodes of the first season are already in the bag, we at least know that whatever drama and secrets from Ann's past comes up...they obviously overcome them....plus, Bobby obviously doesn't die from his health crisis. Though, if they're recycling everything, perhaps he has to have his scrotum removed and he must deal with the consequences of not feeling like a man anymore.

[PAMANDBOBBYFOREVER]

Oh, no offense cause you're a fan of B&B but saying Dallas is like B&B is an even bigger insult than I've ever said before. As a Patrick Duffy fan, I sadly once watched an entire half-hour episode of B&B and with the exception of Susan Flannery and a couple of the younger actresses, the show was abysmal. The acting was horrid and there's way too much kinda-sorta incest on that show.

No offense taken the show has been shitty for a long time (except for Taylor, Steffy and Stephanie). I watch it because the soap I really do love Young and the Restless has become even shittier than Bold and the Beautiful that I gotta watch something. Well that and B&B is good for laughs. And I take the Dallas so seriously that I can't just watch the new one and laugh at its awfulness. It would be to painful. I truly think this new show is ruining everything I loved about the old show. (Bobby remarried again and Sue Ellen as a politician?)