Last Monday was the unveilling of the new series of Dallas in Sweden. I love Dallas, have box DVD sets of each season. Sue Ellen Ewing got me through puberty, so I owe the show a lot. I was really excited about the new series, and the chance to pick up again where they and I had left off. Sadly, like most things in life, the reality can't live up to the fantasy. I ended the first episode feeling slightly emotionally violated. In the original series, the characters took years to develop their personalities. JR Ewing didn't start out as the ruthless source of all things evil. Not until after his father died, which I think was about the 5th season, that you saw the final character emerge. These things took time, just as you would expect. That's what kept people hooked, I think, by revealing a fraction at a time of what was to come. That makes a great series.
Not so, the new series. Right off the bat I got hit with these brand new characters (who appear to have dropped out early from acting school) who had these ready formed personalities supposedly mirroring those of former characters. No way. They haven't earnt the right to have those personalities. Not yet. Even though the storyline of the first series was often hard to swallow, the personalities you could identify with. These new personalities were so extreme and without foundation that there was no way that you could take them seriously. Very Beverly Hills 90210 and totally lacking in credibility. I had actually taped the other 2 episodes being aired that week, but have yet to watch them. Frankly, I am so disappointed that I don't know if I want to. I might haul out the old boxed sets again, and try to forget that it ever happened. That being said, it's going to be very difficult to block out the return appearance of Lucy Ewing. I guess that some people age better than other, but geez, Charlene Tilton, what the hell were you thinking ? If you turned up for free, you overcharged them.
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