UK readers may never forget the mixture of contempt and confusion that spread itself across Larry Hagman’s pink, withered face as he sat in the middle of the mayhem that is Shooting Stars with Reeves and Mortimer.
US readers, of course, will just think of his as charming old bastard, JR Ewing.
Well, Hagman is back to reprise his role in the new Dallas reboot which is dragging loads of the old cast out of retirement to help raise the profile of the show and, of course, stop the tide of sneering naysayers (like us) who think it’ll probably be rubbish.
Larry Hagman will join the cast of the new Dallas along with Patrick Duffy and Linda Gray, which is great news for a bunch of actors who haven’t had a whole lot of stuff to do since Dallas stopped airing over 20 years ago.
For the infants among you, the original Dallas aired from 1978 onward and followed the Ewing family of Southfork. Power struggles, people getting shot, steamy affairs, massive hats and mindbogglingly brilliant and hammy incidental music featured throughout.
The modern take will focus on the Ewing offspring ? J.R. Ewing?s son, John Ross, and the adopted son of Bobby and Pam Ewing, Christopher ? and of course, they’ll all be constantly scrapping with each other over power, money along with steamy affairs and hopefully, really hammy incidental music.
Josh Henderson (from Desperate Housewives) is going to play John Ross while Jordana Brewster (from Fast & Furious) will play Elena, who is involved in a love triangle with Christopher and John.
Hagman said that he’s still representing Dallas…
“It's like an annuity, really. I go out, they adore me, and then they pay you. What better job can you have?”
Of course, this isn't the first time that someone?s tried to breathe life back into the Texan melodrama. 20th Century Fox wanted to make a film about it, starring John Travolta, Jennifer Lopez, and Luke Wilson, but realised that, with a cast like that, it could have easily been the shittest movie ever made.
And so, with an ’80s revival still in swing, the time could be right for a new Dallas to come along and trash the face off everyone.
Provided the producers don’t try to make it ‘quality’.
Follow hecklerspray on Twitter or join our Facebook group or BUY ONE OF OUR STUPID T-SHIRTS!