Warner Bros | 1988-89 | 1378 mins.| Not Rated
By the twelfth season, Dallas was really showing its age. A series that just a few years earlier seemed fresh and exciting, was getting into the nasty habit of recycling old storylines. Though I was a Dallas watcher until the bitter end (I still believe Larry Hagman’s J.R. Ewing is one of the best villains ever to grace the small screen), creatively, Dallas probably officially ‘jumped the shark’ the day Pam woke up, found Bobby (Patrick Duffy) alive, and therefore, the events of season eight were all a dream. Wherever Dallas lost its way, the twelfth season marked the last time the series would break the Nielsen Top Thirty—it finished thirtieth for the year—which was a major drop from 1979-87 where the show never finished lower than eleventh, and ranked first for three seasons.
After shooting him three times, Sue Ellen (Linda Gray) is shocked and angry to learn J.R. has survived the attack; “I don’t believe this! You mean that bastard is still alive?” she says incredulously. J.R. being J.R, he sets about trying to get control of Ewing oil again. First by being mortally wounded—unfortunately for him, Bobby doesn’t buy it for a second and just laughs. Even his own mother, Miss Ellie (Barbara Bel Geddes) is unmoved.
Bobby ultimately decides to let J.R. be part of Ewing oil again, provided he agrees to stay out of the oil end of things. Momentarily touched by his little brothers generosity, J.R. extends am invite for Bobby and his son Christopher (Joshua Harris), to join him and John Ross (Omri Katz) to go on a hunting trip to Haleyville on the Arkansas/Louisiana border. Because nothing on Dallas can be as simple as a hunting trip, J.R. catches the eye of a waitress named Cally Harper (Cathy Podewell), promises her a new life. Of course, country fried Cally has brothers who don’t take to kindly to a big city cowboy like J.R. trying to romance their sister. A trumped up rape charge lands J.R. in the city jail, where Cally is able to break him out only temporarily. Once he’s back in custody, J.R. finds himself a member of a chain gang. If that’s not punishment enough, the Harper brothers decide to break him out, just to keep him prisoner on their farm and work him to death! The whole storyline is utterly preposterous, but Larry Hagman clearly enjoyed plating it for all it was worth.
For me, the storyline was worth it, just because it introduced Cally. She was the sauciest character to hit Dallas in years, and gave the show a bit of a renewed spark. Podewell, has perfect chemistry with Hagman (who apparently picked her specifically for the role). Once J.R. escapes from prison, and returns home to Southfork, putting the whole incident out of his mind—including the fact that he did marry Cally to avoid getting killed by her brothers—the writers change things up by having Cally follow him there. One might assume this is a prelude to molding a “new” Sue Ellen character for J.R. to abuse and humiliate, but in a welcome turn of events, the opposite occurs: Cally, so sweet and sexy, eventually breaks down J.R.’s reserves and he comes to be charmed by her. Of course, this being Dallas, Cally has to engage in a little duplicity, including listening to Sue Ellen’s tips on sexually teasing J.R.. She lies about being pregnant, to get him to marry her. But it comes off as an innocent ploy, because she states she only did it because she loved him so much she couldn’t bear to lose him…and you believe it. Even better, J.R. loves that she lied to him, and says she’ll make a good Ewing wife, after all. Throughout the rest of the season, the writers keep Cally adorable and kind (she saves John Ross from drowning at the celebrated Southfork pool. In Europe, she says she loves and trusts J.R.—a heartfelt, honest statement that moves J.R. enough to stop him from cheating on her. Of course, we know this isn’t going to last, but Cally’s sweet, sexy nature, and J.R.’s obvious delight in her, will only increase the animosity when he does cheat on her.
The other major storyline of the twelfth season involves the Ewing war with Carter McKay (George Kennedy) and Westar. While I like George Kennedy and thought his performance was admirable, the entire storyline didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. Why didn’t Miss Ellie just buy departing Ray Krebbs’ spread in the first place? After all, it had originally been a part of Southfork, given away by Jock to illegitimate son Ray. Wouldn’t she want it back in the family? But alas, then there wouldn’t have been any reason to bring George Kennedy aboard, and a whole new reason for the Ewing’s to start a round of fights.
By the twelfth season, Dallas’ storylines were becoming increasingly unbelievable, and longtime fans were beginning to notice that some of the events were simply recycled from earlier seasons. Despite that, J.R. remained one of the best villains on television, and fans will undoubtedly want to add Dallas: The Complete Twelfth Season to their collections.
Cramming twenty-six episodes on three flipper discs has created some obvious compression issues, including some shimmering and smearing. Scratches, dirt and some splices here and there, are evident throughout. Colors are all uneven, as well.
The Dolby Digital English mono audio track accurately reflects the original network broadcast presentation. All dialogue is discernable; although hiss is audible (it’s minor, though). Subtitles and close-captions are available.
No special features are available.
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