TV Review: DALLAS – Season 1 – “Revelations”

By PAMELA HARLAND / Contributing Writer

Posted: August 10th, 2012 / 07:10 AM

Stars: Larry Hagman, Patrick Duffy, Brenda Strong, Linda Gray, Josh Henderson, Jesse Metcalfe, Jordana Brewster, Julie Gonzalo
Writer: Cynthia Cidre & Robert Rovner
Director: Steve Robin
Network: TNT, airs Wednesday nights
Original Telecast: August 8, 2012

The build up was intense, the results, not quite what I expected. Still, the DALLAS Season One finale “Revelations” was only partially intriguing, somewhat suspenseful and not hardly at all surprising. Perhaps, it was because my expectations were too high. Or maybe it was because I was led to believe I could expect above average greatness, every time, ever week. This week, arguably, the most important of any series – the finale, I have to admit, disappointed me and yet satisfied me in some ways as well.

With the revelation of Tommy’s death, no shock there, they obviously aren’t going to kill off Rebecca (Julia Gonzalo) who is expecting Christopher’s twins, we see a frantic Rebecca call a “clean-up” crew to take care of the “problem”. The fact that she didn’t just call 911 and claim self defense suggests this girl’s got much more to hide than we know. She definitely has big skeletons in her closet. Gonzalo plays her character all over the map so we still can’t tell if we like her or not. Do we feel for this girl who just has a poor lack of judgment or is she full of it? Is her deception so deep that even we can’t begin to delve into her dark past and forgive her, much less Christopher (Jesse Metcalfe)? The problem with her is that when we see her alone we have seen her act immorally and morally, inappropriately and appropriately. Who is she? What does she really want? Christopher isn’t the only one searching for those answers.

Someone else who confuses right and wrong on a daily basis is John Ross (Josh Henderson). After he proposes to Elena (Jordana Brewster) and she says yes he thinks he is home free in landing the girl of his dreams. Trouble is he has told her far too many lies and eventually his house of cards comes crashing down on him.

Although the episode is entitled “Revelations”, only a few of those are actually revealed. It’s not untrue to say that not all is revealed in the episode and yet we see so much in such a short period of time…Elena is engaged to John Ross then Christopher. Rebecca is back on track with Christopher then she is way off course with him. Bobby (Patrick Duffy) loves his brother J. R. (Larry Hagman) then hates him, then loves him, then hates him. And likewise with J.R., who softens momentarily when he gives Southfork back to his ailing brother. But, he is J.R. so we sense there is more to his generous act then meets the eye.

And then there’s Ann (Brenda Strong) the woman holding everyone together, it seems. She looks out for the family, even compromising herself in order to help her friend Sue Ellen (Linda Gray).

The biggest problem with the episode isn’t what wasn’t said, it was what was said. There was too much flip flopping to take it all seriously, even for DALLAS. In fact, so much was squeezed into the episode that it felt too forced and synthetic. The character interactions just never feel believable, which gave the finale a lack of authenticity. Now, granted, the show was written well and I love this new incarnation of DALLAS, after all, as you may recall I was a fan, as a little girl, of the original, but this was too much to take. So, when it is revealed that Rebecca – or whatever her real name is – is actually Cliff Barnes’ daughter, this is not a giant shocker. Barnes (Ken Kercheval) was only in one tor two episodes briefly throughout the season, we knew he would come back in the finale, otherwise his presence at all in the series just wouldn’t have made sense.

My biggest fear for the series is the creators blowing their creative wad – so to speak – all at once. Don’t rush in all the storylines and arcs to gain an audience quickly because you are going to lose that very same audience even quicker. In short, the finale was good, not great. Was it what I expected, yes and no. I wanted a lot to watch and fascinate me, yes. What I didn’t want was to have that fascination be marred by a lack of substance. The result, I’m afraid was nothing more than an overwrought and overwritten soap opera.

A note to the producers – slow down! Let the story evolve a bit on its own before you pull the rug out from underneath us over and over again. Because, in the end, it’s much more surprising to be comfy cozy in a seemingly safe place for a while and then…wham rip that rug right out from underneath us! Now that would be a revelation!

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TV Review: DALLAS – Season 1 – “Revelations” – Season Finale

While very good, the rushed storytelling proves to be somewhat frustrating

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Article: TV Review – DALLAS – Season 1 – “Revelations” – Season 1 finale

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