Community Chat

[Moonlady]

Yes, he is.

There have been plenty of recasts in TV history--some successful (Becky in Roseanne, Darrin and the nosy neighbor [the latter an important character, too, as she was the only outside character to witness the shenanigans] in Bewitched), and some not (Donna Reed's meek Miss Ellie in Dallas, and Dynasty's suddenly-British Fallon in Dynasty). Also, let's not forget the myriad of soap opera actors who've stepped into roles that many thought could never have been filled by anyone else, only to ultimately grow on viewers who then moaned and groaned when those actors moved on to greener pastures. Even the movies do it: Bond, James Bond, anyone?

The death of Hagman presented producers with a challenge (professionally--I'm not addressing the personal loss), not because of his death per se, but because a central character will be lost. What's more of a legacy for an actor? That he undertook a role that only s/he could play, or that s/he created a character that remained integral to the new show's theme and continued development?

They're already promoting "the women of Dallas" for the premiere of the second season because, despite attempts to ssex-up this show and make that the focus, they know they're losing an important character. Even continuity is suffering--again--since the first season finale culminates in John Ross asking his dad to teach him "every trick in the book."

The producers should have chucked sentimentality and viewed this as a challenge to find an actor who'd deliver on performance and on-screen chemistry with other actors to keep this show on course. Interestingly, much of that sentimentality is coming from fans of the old show, many of whom, in fact, deserted the new show early on. The viewership increased among the 18-34 year-old crowd. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have recoiled on learning of the recast of an 81-year old actor.

The PTB have decided to go for the cheap thrill (and one-time ratings bonanza) of a "reunion" for JR's funeral, complete with the grizzled oldies (do those 18-34 year-old viewers really care to see how much more ironed, pulled, and shiny Joan Van Ark's face is?), instead of getting busy to find a replacement that, BTW, should have been in place for the NEW Dallas all along--Larry Hagman was great in the old show but way too old to play that role in the new series (which, after all, was supposed to be the new Dallas). It's the character that's iconic, and there should still have been life in the character since he didn't have to be in his eighties with a kid in his 20s (or early 30s).

Alas, they've elected not to do that, and viewers will ultimately desert this show in droves. What they should have done is have JR "disappear" for a few episodes, then reappear--with a gray-haired Alec Baldwin in the role.