Dallas: J.R. Returns

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Dallas: J.R. Returns
Dallas, J.R. Returns.png
UK VHS cover
Genre Drama
Based onCharacters created by David Jacobs
Written by Arthur Bernard Lewis
Screenplay by Leonard Katzman
Directed by Leonard Katzman
Starring
Theme music composer Jerrold Immel
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producers
Production locations901 Main St, Dallas, Texas
Calder House - 4800 Park Lane, Dallas, Texas
Hyatt Regency Hotel - 300 Reunion Boulevard, Dallas, Texas
Southfork Ranch, 3700 Hogge Drive, Parker, Texas
CinematographyDon Reddy
Editor Fred W. Berger
Running time120 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network CBS
ReleaseNovember 15, 1996 (1996-11-15)
Related

Dallas: J.R. Returns is a 1996 American made-for-television drama film and is the first of two Dallas reunion films, produced after the series went off the air in 1991. [1] It originally aired on CBS on November 15, 1996, [2] and was rerun as part of TV Land's salute to 50 years of Warner Bros. Television.

Contents

Plot summary

The cliffhanger ending of the 1991 Dallas series finale is resolved; the gunshot J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman) fired was at the mirror, not himself.

Five years later, J.R. is in Europe, while Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy) lives at Southfork Ranch alone with his son Christopher (Christopher Demetral), happily out of the oil business, and Cliff Barnes (Ken Kercheval) now owns Ewing Oil.

Bobby, conscious of the fact that Southfork is now almost empty, considers selling it. Meanwhile, Cliff decides to sell Ewing Oil to WestStar Oil, a giant oil conglomerate headed by J.R.'s other nemesis, Carter McKay (George Kennedy). J.R. hears this and decides to try to regain his position. He appeals to Bobby to get back in business together and buy Ewing Oil back but is rebuffed. J.R. arranges for Afton (Audrey Landers) to be put in a sanitarium so Cliff can't find her.

J.R. learns of a provision in Jock Ewing's will where Jock left J.R.'s son, John Ross (Omri Katz), stock in the computer company Cyberbyte. The provision states that John Ross is only to receive this stock upon the death of his father. Since John Ross is unaware of his inheritance, J.R. decides to sell some of this stock and buy shares to take over WestStar. He sells the stock portfolio and buys a controlling stake in WestStar Oil. To cover his tracks, J.R. rebuys the stock and reinstates the provision, saying that if anyone finds out about the incident, he will claim that they were released to John Ross Ewing Jr. (J.R.) instead of his son (full name John Ross Ewing III) in a clerical error.

To set this in motion, he fakes his death and has his attorney "accidentally" put the shares in his name instead of his son's. Bobby holds a memorial service, with John Ross and Sue Ellen (Linda Gray) attending and Cliff in quiet celebration, believing he's won the ultimate victory over J.R. until J.R. returns to Southfork. He claims to have been kidnapped and escaped. Sly is disgusted and resigns as J.R.'s assistant.

J.R. is the majority shareholder in WestStar, and he uses that clout to force McKay to back out of buying Ewing Oil. After being sent a letter notifying him of his daughter's whereabouts, Cliff decided that finding his family is more important than beating J.R., but Bobby figured out a way that Cliff can have both, and he bought Ewing Oil. Bobby later realizes that he was tricked back into the oil business by J.R., who knew getting Bobby off Southfork would force him not to sell. J.R. maneuvered the board to remove McKay as Chairman of WestStar and for himself to take his place.

An unhappy Bobby sells half of the company to his new partner, Sue Ellen. A drunken and bitter Sly (Deborah Rennard) had tipped off Sue Ellen that J.R. faked his own death. Sue Ellen suspected this all along and felt that J.R needed to be taught a lesson. Cliff, meanwhile, greets Afton and their daughter Pamela (Deborah Kellner) outside the sanitarium, and they leave to be a family.

In the last scene, John Ross asks J.R. why he is smiling even though he lost Ewing Oil to Bobby and Sue Ellen. J.R. points out that Bobby is back in the oil business and is no longer going to sell Southfork. Sue Ellen is back at Southfork to stay, and John Ross will remain in Dallas to learn the oil business from J.R. John Ross realizes that his father planned everything to work out this way. J.R.'s last words are, "You see, John Ross? You're learning already."

Ratings

Dallas: J.R. Returns was a ratings success for the CBS Network, and ranked 14th place for the week it was shown, with a 13.4 rating. [3] Its success prompted Warner Bros. to produce a reunion miniseries for the Dallas spin-off series Knots Landing (entitled Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac ) in 1997. A second Dallas TV movie, War of the Ewings, was produced in 1998.

Continuity

As with War of the Ewings (1998), the events depicted in J.R. Returns are ignored for the revival series, which premiered on TNT in 2012.

Cast

Starring in alphabetical order
Guest Stars

DVD release

Warner Home Video released Dallas: J.R. Returns on DVD April 12, 2011 as part of the Dallas: The Movie Collection 2-disc set. [4] It was only available as a region 1 set.

Related Research Articles

<i>Dallas</i> (1978 TV series) American television series

Dallas was an American prime time soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1978, to May 3, 1991. The series revolved around an affluent and feuding Texas family, the Ewings, who owned the independent oil company Ewing Oil and the cattle-ranching land of Southfork. The series originally focused on the marriage of Bobby Ewing and Pam Ewing, whose families were sworn enemies. As the series progressed, Bobby's elder brother, oil tycoon J. R. Ewing, became the show's breakout character, whose schemes and dirty business became the show's trademark. When the show ended on May 3, 1991, J. R. was the only character to have appeared in every episode.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. R. Ewing</span> Fictional character

John Ross Ewing Jr. is a fictional character in the American television series Dallas (1978–1991) and its spin-offs, including the reboot series (2012–2014). The character was portrayed by Larry Hagman from the series premiere in 1978 until his death in late 2012; Hagman was the only actor who appeared in all 357 episodes of the original series. As the show's most famous character, J.R. has been central to many of the series' biggest storylines. He is depicted as a covetous, egocentric, manipulative and amoral oil baron with psychopathic tendencies, who is constantly plotting subterfuges to plunder the wealth of his foes. In the PBS series Pioneers of Television, Hagman claimed the character of J.R. began its development when he played a similar character in the film Stardust, and that he was also inspired by a mean boss he once had.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sue Ellen Ewing</span> Fictional character in Dallas

Sue Ellen Ewing is a fictional character and one of the female leads in the CBS primetime soap opera Dallas. Sue Ellen was portrayed by Linda Gray and appeared on the show since its pilot episode, first broadcast on April 2, 1978. Dallas followed the trials of the wealthy Ewing family in the city of Dallas, Texas, into which Sue Ellen married when she wed J.R. Ewing. Gray played Sue Ellen until the twelfth season of Dallas, when her character finally leaves Texas after beating J.R. at his own game in the 1989 episode "Reel Life". Gray returned for the 1991 series finale "Conundrum" and the subsequent Dallas telemovies. She reprised the role for the 2012 continuation series of Dallas, which ran until 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bobby Ewing</span> Fictional character

Robert James Ewing is a fictional character in the American television series Dallas and its 2012 revival. The youngest son of Jock and Miss Ellie Ewing, he was portrayed by actor Patrick Duffy. Bobby had been killed off in the final episode of the 1984–1985 season, and Patrick Duffy left the show for a year. Bobby returned in the famous "shower scene" at the end of the following season. The subsequent "dream revelation" at the start of the next season explained Bobby's accident, his death, and all but the final scene, as a dream of Bobby's fiancée and ex-wife, Pamela Barnes Ewing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cliff Barnes</span> Fictional character in the American television series Dallas

Clifford Barnes, played by Ken Kercheval, is a fictional character from the popular American television series Dallas. The Barnes family are competitors and sometimes enemies of the Ewing family. Cliff is the son of Willard "Digger" Barnes and Rebecca Barnes, the brother of Pamela Barnes Ewing, and half-brother of Katherine Wentworth. J.R. Ewing was Cliff's personal nemesis, with J.R. and Cliff continuing on the bitter feud that started with their fathers, Jock Ewing and Digger, from their oil wildcatting days during the Great Depression. J.R. and Cliff were the only two characters to appear throughout the entire run of the series. A running gag on the series is Cliff's fondness for Chinese take-out.

Clayton Farlow is a fictional character in the popular American television series Dallas, played by Howard Keel from 1981 to 1991.

Ray Krebbs is a fictional character in the American television series Dallas, played by Steve Kanaly from 1978 to 1989. Ray Krebbs is the illegitimate son of Texas oil baron Jock Ewing. He later appeared in the reunion movie Dallas: War of the Ewings (1998) and made guest star appearances in the 2012 continuation of Dallas.

Carter McKay is a fictional character that appeared in the later seasons of the popular American television series Dallas, played by George Kennedy from 1988 to 1991. The character reappeared in the reunion movies Dallas: J.R. Returns (1996) and Dallas: War of the Ewings (1998), again played by Kennedy.

"A House Divided" is the 25th and final episode of the third season and 54th overall of the American television series Dallas. It is the episode known for spawning the eight-month "Who shot J.R.?" phenomenon. The episode ended with the mysterious shooting of J.R. Ewing in his office by an assailant whose identity was not revealed until the following season. The mystery was resolved in the fourth episode of the following season, entitled "Who Done It", which remains the second most-watched episode in American TV history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Ross Ewing III</span> Fictional TV character, DALLAS

John Ross Ewing III is a fictional character from the American prime time soap opera Dallas and its 2012 continuation series. The character was first written into the series in the episode named "John Ewing III: Part 2" which first aired on April 6, 1979. Omri Katz prominently played the role in the series from 1983 until its conclusion in 1991 and also in the subsequent follow-up movie Dallas: J.R. Returns. In the continuation series, actor Josh Henderson stepped into the role. John Ross is the son and namesake of show's most iconic character, J.R. Ewing, and his longtime love, Sue Ellen Ewing.

<i>Dallas</i> (2012 TV series) 2012 American television drama series

Dallas is an American prime time soap opera developed by Cynthia Cidre and produced by Warner Horizon Television, that aired on TNT from June 13, 2012, to September 22, 2014. The series was a revival of the prime time television soap opera of the same name that was created by David Jacobs and which aired on CBS from 1978 to 1991. The series revolves around the Ewings, an affluent Dallas family in the oil and cattle-ranching industries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Ewing</span> Fictional character in the American drama series Dallas

Christopher Ewing is a fictional character from the American prime time drama series Dallas and the continuation series. The character was first written into the series in the episode "Starting Over", which first aired on December 11, 1981. The role was portrayed by Joshua Harris from 1985 until the conclusion of the original series in 1991. In the continuation series, the role is portrayed by Jesse Metcalfe. Christopher is the adopted son of Bobby and the late Pam Ewing and the biological son of Kristin Shepard and Jeff Farraday.

Ewing family (<i>Dallas</i>) Fictional family featured in American soap opera Dallas

The Ewing family is the fictional family of the American prime time soap opera Dallas and its 2012 revival, as well as the foundation of the spin-off series Knots Landing. In the original series of Dallas, the Ewings own and run Southfork Ranch and the oil giant Ewing Oil; in the revival series, Ewing Oil is replaced by Ewing Global, formerly Ewing Energies. Knots Landing features the large corporation of Gary Ewing Enterprises.

"Conundrum" is the title of the 22nd episode of the fourteenth season of the American television drama series Dallas. It is also the 356th and last episode of the original Dallas series. The episode was written and directed by showrunner Leonard Katzman and aired on CBS on Friday, May 3, 1991, as a double-length episode. Subsequent airings in syndication split the episode into individual hours, which raises the total episode count to 23 for the season and 357 for the series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pamela Rebecca Barnes</span> Soap opera character

Pamela Rebecca Ewing is a fictional character from TNT's primetime soap opera Dallas, a continuation of the original series of the same name which aired on CBS from 1978 to 1991. Rebecca was portrayed by actress Julie Gonzalo, and appeared on the show since its pilot episode, which first aired on June 13, 2012. The daughter of Cliff Barnes and Afton Cooper, the character originated in two episodes of the original series' season 12, and also appeared in the TV reunion movie Dallas: J.R. Returns. Pamela Rebecca was named after both her half-aunt, Pamela Barnes Ewing, and grandmother, Rebecca Barnes Wentworth.

"The Furious and the Fast" is the seventh episode in the second season (2013) of the television series Dallas. The episode marks the last appearance of J.R. Ewing.

"Legacies" is the fifteenth episode and season finale in the second season (2013) of the television series Dallas. In the US it aired along with the final episode in the season, "Guilt by Association", functioning as a two-hour finale. It finally answered the question that was uttered in "The Furious and the Fast": Who shot J.R.?

Harris Ryland is a character in the American television series Dallas, played by Mitch Pileggi. Harris is the son of Judith Brown Ryland and ex-husband of Ann Ewing.

References

  1. Mink, Eric (14 November 1996). "J.R. Reprises That Ol' 'Dallas' Malice". Daily News (New York). Internet Archive. Archived from the original on 24 September 2010. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  2. "Picks and Pans Review: Dallas: J.r. Returns". November 11, 1996. Retrieved 2013-04-19.
  3. Curran, Barbara A. (2003). 25 Years of Dallas. United States: VBW Publishing. p. 369. ISBN   1-58939-583-2.
  4. Lambert, David (8 February 2011). "Dallas - Package Art - Front and Rear - Finally Arrives for 'The Movie Collection' DVDs". TVShowsOnDVD.Com. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2012.