Kingslaay Dallas can be easily regarded as one of the greatest TV dramas of all time. Excellent plots and twists, acting, brilliant characters, cliffhangers and setting is what gives this show its iconic status. Viewers are treated to the complications and exciting events that surround the dynamic Ewing family. From Ewing Oil to Southfork Ranch the drama and intensity never seems to stop. Dallas beautifully show us a traditional family structure largely influenced by the Patriarch (Jock) and Matriarch (Miss Ellie). But this is so ordinary or traditional family and every family can be said to have its black sheep. J.R. Ewing, played by Larry Hagman, steals the show with his incredible performance as the unscrupulous and scheming oil baron in Dallas. We are treated to a number of schemes and manipulations through the episodes as J.R aims to have his cake and eat it too. In 1980 J.R's schemes had gone too far which led to the biggest event in television history, Who Shot JR? The beauty of this cliffhanger was almost anyone in the show was a suspect, he was that evil. More people in America tuned in to watch who shot JR than vote in the Presidential election. This show also helped make the cliffhanger popular that kept audiences on the edge of their seats. Nowadays many shows use cliffhangers. While the quality of the show declined in its latter seasons the show will be remembered most for its twists and performances of earlier seasons (1-10). Dallas is as entertaining and relevant as it was then as it is today. The combination of plots, twists, unique setting and great scheming by J.R makes this show timeless. His character and the show will forever occupy a special place in the TV sphere. Evil never dies.

fgmorley You have in this series the very example that this show, a prime time drama for the American public, broke all records for popularity. The bitter elite of critics will always put down the taste of the vast viewing public. Hey wake the Fck Up!Everyone loves to hate on JR. But he's correct more times than not. He's just an A-hole about it. Pam is an emotional d-bag who cannot ever make her mind. Sue Ellen is a cripple. Miss Ellie is a moron. Clayton Farlow is another d-bag.Poor Bobby is always caught between his candy-striper idiotic morality and his keeping his do-g behind his zipper.It's s hoot. And when they replace Miss Ellie (Barbara Bel Geddes) with Miss Ellie ( Donna Reed), that just goes to show you how popular this show was and still is. It's ridiculous, but WAIT!!!Bobby gets killed and then comes back in the shower!! The next season!, And people kept watching. So for those of you rate this at a mediocre 7.0, you are the morons. This show blew everything else away in it's time and would do the same today. Homeland? Chance? Name it you would not even come close.FGM

Armand First soap opera for me. Bridge between communism era and transition to democracy. A book with strong color images. Crumb from far America. Spider web. And a character - JR. The years of high school are parts of evening when Dallas magic is present. Love stories, a dream as explanation for slices of movie, oil, Texas, fights, cruelty, wives and powerful husbands, Miss Ellie and the ranch, pieces of exotic world and tension of each meeting. It is not an impressive show today. Only an old picture in attic or a childhood game. The episodes are smoke of lost time. Proofs of a youth or pieces of a way to discover world. So, only remarks may be gentle and fragile. Dallas is beginning . One from many others. A porch. Or chewing gum. So, just ash carpet.

DominickMEvans For the time in which it first aired, Dallas was one of the raciest shows on primetime television. As a child of the 80s, now in my late-20s I grew up watching Dallas, or rather my mother watched it while I was getting ready for bed. However, all these years later, I have to admit I hold a special place in my heart for the show. The actors were amazing, especially since they were television actors, and the story lines were tumultuous enough to be remembered nearly two decades later.Dallas: The Complete Fifth Season was an excellent season to watch because several of the show's main plot lines had already been established. As a viewer, you were well aware of what you would be getting when you turned on the television on Friday nights, and this season was full of shocking moments and unexpected surprises.Right from the start, the ultimate Southfork drama occurs. A body is found in a pool on the Southfork property and J.R Ewing (Larry Hagman) becomes the prime suspect! Of course, all of the Ewing brothers spend the show accusing the others of killing the person, so maybe J.R isn't to blame…this time. J.R. has other things on his plate, which are more important than a dead body. He's battling Sue Ellen (Linda Gray) for their son. Sue Ellen and the boy are living on the Ewing family's rival's ranch, and J.R. wants his son back.Midway into the season, things really heat up when the family patriarch Jock Ewing dies. Let the games begin on the Southfork properties, because while lovely Miss Ellie is grieving, her children will all be fighting for the prestige and money of Ewing Oil. By this point, viewers needed to prepare themselves because there was going to be a knockdown, drag-out fight to the finish – everyone wants their fair share, and a little bit more on the side.Meanwhile, in the midst of all this craziness, Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy) and his wife Pamela (Victoria Principal) are both desperate to have a baby. When adoption doesn't go as well as hoped, Bobby does what all Ewings do best, he buys one. Now add in a suicide attempt and the possibility of financial ruin and you have the best of Dallas in one stunning DVD box set.Excellent performances were given by the entire cast, but, as usual, Hagman and Gray stole the show. However, special kudos should go out to Patrick Duffy, who also gave an amazing performance. This box set has everything a true Dallas fan could want. From murder to treasonous behavior, all the elements are represented and they guarantee to please.The big special feature for this season of Dallas offers a tour of the Real Southfork Ranch. This is the ultimate behind-the-scenes look at the ranch the Ewings called home.All in all, Dallas -The Complete Fifth Season is a Dallas-lover's dream. Watching this particular season made it crystal clear why season five was ranked number one in both the U.S. and the U.K. when the it first aired. If you are a fan, you will not want to miss this box set, and if you are not, but you love the serial dramas of today, you might want to give Dallas a try. Nothing on television these days can compare to the drama of the Ewing clan, and honestly, I doubt anything ever will! Star Rating:four and a half starsOriginally Published on Thursday, August 24, 2006 Copyright 2006: Ashtyn Evans and Literary Illusions