Movie Info:
Writers: Various
Director: Various
Cast: Larry Hagman, Howard Keel, Barbara Bel Geddes, Priscilla Presley, Patrick Duffy, Steve Kanaly, Ken Kercheval
Rating: NR
Studio: Warner Bros
Release Info:
Theatrical Release: 1987
DVD Release Date: April 21, 2009
Online Availability: Amazon for $25.99
At one time, Dallas was the King of the Primetime shows. It had some competition, but JR and the rest of the Ewing clan held their own nicely. Then a few bumps in the road came along. Bobby died, which was a sad event to say the least. Then it turned out that it was a dream and he was just in the shower. This stupid event and poor writing ensured that Dallas was going to fall from grace.
I am almost certain that my mom watched every season of Dallas. She loved shows like this. When primetime dramas were big, she watched them all. She never missed one of them. My memory of the shows is a bit more limited, as I was younger and didn’t pay attention to shows like this. I remember the big moments like when JR was shot or when Bobby died and then came back.
I know the basics and have since seen some of the other seasons of Dallas. I have seen enough to know that this season was one of the biggest flops, in my opinion. The show wouldn’t be on much longer and that was considered a good thing. The best part of the show was the acting, but when the scripts and storylines were boring or utterly ridiculous there wasn’t a whole lot that the cast could do to save the show.
Some highlights this season include Pam’s disappearance, some drug use, plenty of cheating, and loads of scheming and plotting against family members. JR forms a business and looks to get revenge or control of some other businesses, Bobby gets a girlfriend or two, and general boringness ensues. Of all the seasons, I have seen, sadly this was the most predictable and the most yawn inducing to date. I am not debating the power of Dallas or the goodness that it once offered. I am just saying that by season 11 it was no longer good or powerful.
The Dallas: The Complete Eleventh Season Plot
There was a whopping, 30 episodes in the eleventh season of Dallas. Brief details of each episode have been listed below to give you an idea of what to expect, or a refresher if you’ve seen the episodes and are looking to see what happened this time around.
“After the Fall: Ewing Rise”: Pam is sent to the hospital because she has third degree burns. JR forms JRE Industries. Cliff cannot help but feel like he’s let down Digger.
“After the Fall: Digger Redux”: JR holds onto a copy of Pam’s will in case of her untimely demise. While JR is worried about the will, April is worried about helping Bobby through this. Miss Ellie is worried about Clayton as she thinks he is overworking himself.
“The Son Also Rises”: Christopher runs away because he wants to see his mother. Meanwhile, Charlie wants Jenna and Ray to get married.
“Gone with the Wind”: Cliff goes on a search for Dandy. Sue Ellen goes away on a business trip with Nicholas Pearce.
“The Lady Vanishes”: Bobby and Cliff learn what happened to Pam after they search to find out where she went. Serena Ward is back and looking for a favor from JR.
“Tough Love”: Bobby has to tell Christopher why Pam has disappeared. Understanding how delicate the situation is, Jenna wants to help. Nicholas Pearce thinks that Sue Ellen should allow April to work with her.
“Last Tango in Dallas”: Both Bobby and Christopher find Lisa interesting. Miss Ellie worries about Clayton and his heart condition. JR meets up with Nicholas Pearce after getting some information about Weststar.
“Mummy’s Revenge”: Clayton ends up in the hospital thanks to his heart trouble. Sue Ellen makes a decision about April. Pam gives Bobby a surprise. Meanwhile, JR does some digging into the Cryder family history.
“Hustling”: Bobby is shocked to see how Christopher reacts when Pam files for divorce. Jenna agrees to marry Ray. April begins to investigate Nicholas Pearce.
“Bedtime Stories”: Ray and Jenna officially announce their engagement. Cliff has had it with Dandridge. JR is suddenly interested in two things, getting revenge on Weststar and Kimberly.
“Lovers and Other Liars”: When Cliff shuts down drilling, Dandridge is less than pleased. Sue Ellen learns that JR is cheating…again.
“Brothers and Sons”: Ray asks Bobby to be the best man at his wedding. Christopher learns that Lucas is his half brother. The Ewing’s have a Barbecue.
“Brother, Can You Spare a Child?”: Bobby intends to fight the lawsuit brought on by Lisa. Casey spends time plotting against JR. Meanwhile, Charlie gets busted with the boyfriend.
“Daddy’s Little Darlin’”: Ray doesn’t like Charlie’s boyfriend. Cliff has problems with his natural gas business dealings. Sue Ellen wants JR to see what she could lose, so she tries to make him jealous.
“It’s Me Again”: JR makes it known that Kimberly needs to properly prove herself if he is going to leave Sue Ellen. Nicholas Pearce steals from Sue Ellen, while Cliff is offered a buy out.
“Marriage on the Rocks”: Kimberly has her doubts that JR is seriously willing to leave Sue Ellen. Lisa enlists Cliff’s help to get Christopher. April and Bobby go on a date.
“Anniversary Waltz”: JR’s plans to regain power at Ewing Oil do not go as planned. Bobby learns who is behind the custody battle. The investigator that April hired worries about the ties that Nicholas has to the mob.
“Brotherly Love”: Bobby shocks the family with the rage he feels about JR. The growing bond between Sue Ellen and Nicholas Pearce continues to get stronger. Clayton does his best to make things right with Miss Ellie.
“The Best Laid Plans”: Sue Ellen makes a plan to work with Bobby so they can fight against JR. Some changes are laid in the custody trial. Meanwhile the ex-boyfriend of Laura Ellis comes to town.
“Farlow’s Follies”: April admits to Bobby that she is being blackmailed. Ray and Jenna try to help Charlie as best they can. Miss Ellie tries to deal with Clayton and what he has done.
“Malice in Dallas”: April figures out who Nicholas really is. Though Miss Ellie tries, she has a hard time dealing with what Clayton has done. Meanwhile, it’s time for Christopher’s custody trial.
“Crime Story”: Nicholas and his thugs are easily able to intimidate April. JR asks Cliff to keep his Weststar holdings. Charlie continues acting out. Lucy receives a visit from Miss Ellie. Bobby and Kay mix business with pleasure.
“To Have and to Hold”: Miss Ellie confronts Clayton. JR talks to Ray about buying into Weststar. Kay Lloyd makes her way to Dallas with intentions to see Bobby.
“Dead Reckoning”: Jenna debates whether or not sending Charlie to boarding school is the right thing to do. Meanwhile, Clayton talks to Miss Ellie about Laurel Ellis.
“Never Say Never”: Sue Ellen keeps a close watch on Nicholas Pearce. Kay uses her clout to introduce Bobby to a powerful Senator. Meanwhile, all of the Ewings, sans JR give their support to Clayton.
“Last of the Good Guys”: JR finds some incredibly important evidence in the Clayton murder case. Casey Denault wants to make a partner out of Cliff. Kimberly attempts to halt the takeover of Weststar.
“Top Gun”: Cliff descends further into his drug use. JR makes some business plans that are about to go south. Meanwhile, Bobby struggles because he thinks that Kay’s career is more important than there relationship.
“Pillow Talk”: JR swears he will get revenge on Sue Ellen for what she’s done. Ray tries to get rid of Connie, while Bobby and Kay try to keep their relationship together. Miss Ellie struggles over what to do about Clayton.
“Things Ain’t Goin’ So Good at Southfork, Again”: Both Lucy and Jenna return to the area. Kay is not looking forward to leaving Washington to go to Dallas. Bobby keeps up the fight to use the Ewing name for business purposes.
“The Fat Lady Singeth”: Clayton helps Sue Ellen get John Ross. Ray and Jenna decide if they should stay together…or not. Meanwhile, JR and Nicholas Pearce end up getting in a serious scuffle over Sue Ellen while they are in a high-rise building.
Storyline/Plot: 
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Directing:
Audio/Visual:
The video quality for Dallas is below average. You can expect to see some compression errors, softness, the occasional bout of blur, and general poor quality. If one of these things were here on its own, you might be able to ignore it, but having them all here just builds the annoyance factor. The quality for Dallas has always appeared that these DVDs have just been thrown together.
Still, no fan wants to pay a high price for a quality that looks like it was just thrown together from an old VHS copy. You can watch these without getting lost or having to turn them off, but you won’t love the quality. You probably won’t even like it.
The Dolby Digital Mono track is better than the video, though it would be hard for it to be worse. The dialogue here is clear and does not cause a problem. This is mainly a dialogue driven drama, but the minimal sound effects and music sound good, as well. In addition to the standard English audio there are subtitles in English and Closed Captioning is enabled.
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Bonus Features:
After seeing many of the previous seasons of Dallas it should be no shock to learn that there are no bonus features available on these discs.
Bonus Features:
Bottom Line:
By the eleventh season, Dallas has started it’s decline and steadily begun to fall. It wasn’t the show that it once was. Some fans still clung to Southfork, but many had left for greener pastures. If you are a diehard Dallas fan you will probably want to pick this up out of principal. However, if you’re not you might just want to cut your losses and either skip this altogether or just rent it.
Overall Rating:
Technorati Tags: TV on DVD, DVD Review, Dallas, JR Ewing, The Complete Eleventh Season, Primetime Soap Opera
