Dallas was an American prime time television soap opera that aired in the United States from April 1978, to May 1991. Intended as a miniseries, it was initially broadcast in a time slot for programs with low ratings – late Sunday nights. But Dallas quickly became a viewers’ favorite. In fact, it became so popular that it ran for 14 seasons and a total of 357 episodes.
Dallas conquered the Western World
Not only American viewers were hooked on Dallas, an estimated 300 million people across 60-90 countries (depending on the source you consult) tuned in every week to follow the Ewing-family saga. In Germany, the show aired for the first time in June of 1981. Soon, up to 42% of Germans gathered around their television set every Tuesday night to second-guess J.R. Ewing’s next move.
The Plot of the TV Series
The Ewings are a wealthy Texas family and live on Southfork, a cattle ranch, and own an independent oil company, Ewing Oil. They have three sons. J.R., the eldest, is as unscrupulous, greedy and scheming as his father, Jock Ewing. Bobby, the youngest has the integrity and morals that J.R. lacks. Gary, the middle child, is mostly absent. Throughout the series, the Ewings put their immense wealth on display while disregarding the law. Rules do not apply to people of their standing. Each episode is packed with feuds between family members, business partners and the outside world. Power struggles, sex, conflict, and extravagance are the driving forces of the show.
Southfork Ranch, home of the Ewing family in the TV Series Dallas fictional TV series “Dallas.” In real life the ranch is a conference and event center in Parker, Texas. www.walled-in-berlin.com
Good Versus Evil
At a time when family shows, like “The Waltons,” portray people as being inherently good, Dallas swerves in the opposite direction. While virtue, honesty, decency, and integrity always win out with the Walton family, ruthlessness, deceit and immorality triumph in Dallas. As J.R. puts it, “What I do isn’t always honorable, but I do it in the interest of our family. If that means I have to get my hands a little dirty in the process, so be it. My Daddy built this company, and I am going to do whatever I can keep it profitable. If “Good” wins in the Waltons, “Evil” wins in Dallas.
Dallas May Have Been the Beginning of a New Era
Today, our society no longer agrees on much of anything. Behavioral norms have largely given way to the pursuit of power, notoriety, and riches. Whatever it costs and whomever you have to buy through lies and bribery – it is all justified in order to get what you want. Integrity and honesty often have to fall by the wayside. These days, that mindset is apparent in the political arena, but also increasingly in personal life. Was Dallas an experiment in Social Darwinism? Did Dallas waken a slumbering giant within us?
For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic or current events, people, places or food.
Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.
