A Southfork Summer

I think I get it now. For years I never quite understood the excitement of another new Star Wars or Batman movie. And what was all that hype about Battlestar Gallactica about? You can’t change gender of the protagonist and expect loyalty. Why watch at all if there is no Dirk Benedict 2.0?

After last night’s Dallas marathon, I get it.

Bobby was a bit grayer, I loved that Sue Ellen was back, and who couldn’t love another Cliff Barnes v. Ewings plot twist? But the most epic returning character was JR. JR in a nursing home? Yeah right. Not for long. Oil on Southfork was just the miracle cure he needed.  Those eyebrows and the sinister lighting let viewers know that JR was still trouble. Those scenes could have been campy, but the fast paced introduction of familiar children now grown up was a great way to deflect any trace of campiness. The years between episodes have not softened JR. Nor have they made him less inclined to treat his family as family. In an unexpected twist, he seems out to cheat his son out of the oil he’s found on Southfork.

The clothes. The fast cars. Wednesday nights just got a whole lot better.