2. INTRODUCTION TO DALLAS:
THEN…
Dallas is set in the state of
Texas, USA. the programme
follows the trials and tribulations of
the wealthy Ewing family, made
rich from oil.
The trailer opens with a loud
drum/whoosh and the modern
image of the Dallas City skyline.
We recognise that time has moved NOW…
on since the original seasons
because of the highways and the
numerous modern skyscrapers.
During this image, we hear the
voice of a man saying, “All those
fights, over Ewing Oil…” we now
know that the man talking is Bobby
Ewing, brother of JR Ewing. The
audience knows from past
seasons, that the two brothers did
not see eye-to-eye.

3. The image then cuts to where we
assume the voice is coming from. A
man is sat in a chair and another
man is walking towards it. We
notice that the man sitting down
has a lack of hair on his head so we
know that he is old.
The camera then cuts closer to the
old man sitting in the chair, we
cannot see his face so this builds
curiosity in the audience.
The man walking towards the chair
says, “We laid waste to everything
in our path, JR,” this tells us that
the old man in the chair is JR
Ewing, and the man walking is
Bobby. However, we have still not
been shown the faces of these
brothers. The images we do see of
JR give us the impression that he is
in a care home because he is
covered in a blanket and wearing
pyjamas.

4. The image then cuts to the face of an
older Bobby Ewing – Patrick Duffy. He
says, “For what?” and in the corner of
the mise-en-scene we see an out-of-
focus image of JR.
The answer to Bobby‟s question is
answered in the next clip: Money.
The audience are familiar with the past
storylines and know that the family
became rich after drilling for oil on their
land. The title card „Money‟ has a
background image of a river and cattle
– this reminds the audience of what the
Ewing‟s profession was before the oil
was found, they were farmers.
The trailer then cuts to a CU of Chris
Ewing, adopted son of Bobby and Pam
Ewing. We only know he is Chris
because he acknowledges the person
he is talking to as John Ross, who we
know is the biological son of JR and
Sue Ellen Ewing.

5. The scene then cuts to an OTS shot of
John Ross jnr. Who says, “Couldn‟t
disagree more,” when Chris states, “Oil‟s
in the past, John Ross.” this gives the
audience the impression that John Ross is
a „carbon copy‟ of what his father was like
in past seasons – cared more about the
money than family.
Another answer to Bobby‟s question is
given in the next title card: Power. This
time with a background image from up
above the galloping cattle. This image
reminds the audience of past season
opening credits – the city is being
observed from the perspective of a person
in a helicopter, looking down over their
„kingdom‟.
We now see the other side of John Ross
when he confronts Chris saying, “You‟ll
never be a Ewing Christopher!” the
audience already knows from past
seasons that Chris was adopted, and
John Ross is pulling at the heartstrings
because he is just like his father, wants all

6. The scene then cuts to an OTS reaction shot
of Chris. This is significant in the story
because the two cousins are arguing over the
same issues their fathers before them had –
Ewing Oil.
In many ways, Chris is like Bobby: the „nice
guy‟ who wants to keep Southfork Ranch
going rather then bother with the oil supply.
Where as John Ross wants the money and
power.
The next title card says: Rivalry. This, the
audience assumes is what the two brothers
and their sons are going through; Bobby and
Chris want to put all their time into the upkeep
of their ranch, where JR and John Ross want
to put all their time into the oil business. The
two families believe they are right and the
other wrong and it will be a constant battle of
egos until something drastic happens.
The scene then cuts to an interior shot of
Chris and who we assume is his girlfriend
Rebecca Sutter. He says, “ This is about me
and John Ross,” so we assume that John
Ross has done something to anger him.

7. The scene then cuts to an OTS reaction shot
of the girlfriend looking forlorn and distressed.
We know that she is not an immediate part of
the story and is not yet part of the family
either.
The scene then cuts to black, with a loud
boom.
We are then slowly introduced back to the
scene between Bobby and JR in the care
home. Bobby says, “I don‟t want them to be
like us…” which voices his concern about how
alike their sons lives are turning out to be like
their own – constant fighting.
For the first time in the whole trailer, the
audience get to see the full profile of JR
Ewing, and how much he has grown since the
end of the 14th season.

8. The trailer then goes into fast mode, they
try and cram 7 or more significant
moments into the space of just 1/ 2
seconds. The first image in the montage
we see is of Chris in a pure white room.
We can see a desk lamp on a table so
we assume that it is some one‟s office –
but not necessarily his because he is not
dressed in office attire.
The next image is a topless John Ross
with a woman we assume is his girlfriend
– Elena Ramos, standing behind him.
The audience can tell that they are in his
apartment, it is lavish and has a view of
the city behind him which means his
apartment is high up.
The third image is of two men
exchanging money. The audience can
tell that they are men because their
hands are rough looking and have
broader wrists. We can‟t see who is
exchanging the money which makes the
audience suspicious and curious.

9. The next image is of Rebecca looking down
on Chris. We know from Bobby‟s past that
he was meant to marry a woman but
changed his mind last minute so he could
marry another. Because John Ross is so like
his father, we do not want Chris to copy
Bobby with his girlfriend.
The next image is an OTS shot of a man
and a woman greeting Bobby. They are all
dressed in suits and dresses, and the
decorations around them hint to the
audience that the scene is set at a wedding.
We are not familiar with these characters but
because they are shown in this vital moment
we know they must be significant to the
story.
The next image we see is of Chris looking
lost and confused, as though he is searching
for someone because they may well be in
danger. He is dressed in a suit, the same as
the last image so the audience assumes that
he too is at the wedding, but who‟s wedding
is it?

10. The next image is of John Ross exiting a
house looking slightly shifty and wary. We
know he is not at the wedding because of the
clothes he is wearing. At the end of the shot
he is reaching out in front of him to get into a
car.
The next image is of Bobby riding a horse.
This is a stereotypical image of a „Dallas
Cowboy‟ because he is also wearing a
cowboy hat. We assume he is looking
onwards towards his house because that is
the next image.
This series of images were accompanied by a
sequence of fast drum beats – for each beat
there was a new image.
The scene then cuts to a familiar sequence; a
slow zoom/pan leading up to the main house
of the Southfork Ranch. During this sequence
we hear the voiceover of Chris saying, “My
whole life, I‟ve been trying to get the Ewing
name back on top.” this tells the audience that
even though we see Bobby and Chris as the
„good guys‟ they are still obsessed with the
power of their name.

11. From the image of the house, the channel icon
„TNT‟ shows up along with the website address
for the show so the audience can get more
information. TNT is often used by cowboys in
cartoons, so here the audience can make a
connection with the branding.
The scene then cuts to a BCU of Chris talking
to Bobby. They are both dressed in suits and
ties which shows off their wealth. The scene is
set in what looks like Bobby‟s office; there is
wood panelling on the walls and Bobby is
sitting in a big, tan leather chair, so we know
they are talking business.
We then see the reaction shot of Bobby, we
see that he is wearing a suit and bow tie so we
begin to wonder whether this conversation is
taking place during the wedding that we have
seen previously.
The next scene is of John Ross and Elena.
John Ross is looking over to the right, we
assume that he is looking at someone, possibly
Chris because of the emotions portrayed on his
face. John Ross looks angry and Elena is
looking worriedly at him.

12. In the next scene, the audience hears John
Ross saying, “I‟ll always be JR‟s son to them,”
voicing his concern about not being able to
make a name for himself because of his father.
He argues that he is only in line to take over
Ewing Oil because the fact that he is the sole
heir to it, not because he has earned it.
The next image is of Chris kissing
Rebecca, she is dressed in a white dress and
is all made up. The audience now realises that
the wedding from the images before is his
wedding to Rebecca.
Instead of one of the characters speaking a
voiceover, the audience hears a different voice
saying, “Next summer… TNT invites you
back…” they are speaking this during another
montage of images, including this image where
the audience assumes it is either Chris‟s stag
night or another celebratory event because the
scene is set in a bar and they are all holding up
alcohol in one form or another.

13. The scene then cuts to an aerial shot of
Dallas city. This is a familiar sequence
because in the past seasons, the opening
credits have been mostly of aerial shots of
Dallas. This city is now more modernised
and business has taken over which can
be seen as a metaphor for the Ewing
family: they have been corrupted by
power and greed.
The scene cuts to a BCU of Elena talking
down to John Ross saying, “There‟s no
point going to war…” this makes the
audience assume that she doesn‟t want
John Ross to be like his father, she
doesn‟t want him to put all his time and
effort into the family oil business.
The scene then cuts back to the slow
zoom of the ranch house. The narrator
then says, “…to the one place, that has it
all…” this is referring to the many
dramatic and tedious storylines from
previous seasons.

14. The scene then cuts to Rebecca and Chris
kissing each other – an addition to the many
storylines, whilst there are old ones that can
be rekindled, new ones are occurring all the
time.
It then marks the entry of Sue Ellen, former
Miss Texas and JR‟s ex-/wife, getting out of a
flashy car and wearing a deep red dress.
This shows wealth but could also be
interpreted as possible danger for the family.
She meets with John Ross and says, “Think
of me as your ally.” this tells the audience
that she is classed as the „bad guy‟ now
along with JR and John Ross. Maybe she
wants revenge on one of the other characters
and is manipulating John Ross to do it.
This scene is being played out whilst the
familiar theme tune of the old seasons of
Dallas is playing in the background. This
allows the audience that are familiar with the
old seasons to relate to and reminisce about
those episodes. New audience members
may recognise the theme tune and its
significance but will not know what has
happened until now.

15. The trailer then cuts back to where we saw
John Ross confronting Chris about not being a
real Ewing. This time, Bobby is confronting
John Ross saying, “No drilling on my ranch.”
This shows anger towards John Ross that
hadn‟t been seen before from Bobby. In the
first few seconds of the trailer, Bobby is seen to
be the calm and collected one, but now he is
letting his anger show.
Elena is standing very close to John Ross as
though she is holding him back from Bobby
and Chris, and Bobby is standing between the
two boys as though he is stopping a fight and
keeping them apart – another hint that the The scene then cuts back to the care home
business side of their lives has taken over. where JR is sat in his chair with the same
They are fighting against each other rather blanket and pyjamas on. We can see the
than with each other. side of John Ross‟ face so we can tell that
he has come to his father to ask for help
and advice about the company. JR
says, “Bobby was always a fool…”. Which
tells the audience that JR is not the
helpless old man he is perceived because
he is in a care home. The old family feud is
still there.

16. The whole way through these scenes, there is
a relatable soundtrack playing behind it. It gives
the impression that even though the times have
moved on the characters are still classed as
„cowboys‟.
The scene then cuts to a MS of a woman
pointing a gun at something and then pulling
the trigger. We don‟t know who the woman is or
who or what she is pointing at but we know that
she is not one top be messed with.
The scene then cuts to a mirror reflection of
Rebecca getting fitted for her wedding dress.
This is significant because it marks the start of
a new era – Bobby has now married Ann, and
started anew and now so has his son. The next image is of John Ross and two men in
hard hats. We assume that these men work for John
Ross through the oil company. They are drilling for
oil and they are looking away from their jobs
because someone who is not meant to be there has
arrived to make a fuss. During this montage of
images, the narrator starts to say, “Television‟s
landmark drama returns…” which ensures that the
audience know the series was big in its day.

17. The infamous Dallas theme tune is still
replaying behind all the action, allowing the
audience to relive the stories from the
previous seasons.
Again the mood turns sour when Bobby
exclaims, “I am sick to death with this
family, devouring itself over money!”. It shows
Bobby shouting at John Ross and
Chris, making himself seem like the „good
guy‟ again because he doesn‟t want the
money. The scene then cuts to Chris
confronting John Ross, it seems at his own
wedding because of the dress attire and the
flower garlands in the back of the mise-en-
scene.
For the first time in the trailer we see JR out of
his chair by the window and in regular clothes.
This makes the audience wonder whether he
was in a care home at all. We see him go
back to the all-powerful CEO of Ewing Oil we
remember as he confronts his son about not
giving the oil company to him, explaining
that, “It is mine.”

18. We see a short clip of a reaction shot from
John Ross, where we notice that he is not
showing many emotions. This, we relate to
JR because he doesn‟t portray many
emotions either.
The trailer ends with a brand new title card –
brand new series, brand new design. This is
the first time in a while the audience may
have seen this sign, so the creators have
made it appear shiny and new as thought
they are wanting the audience to know that
the series is not like the originals, it is brand
new.
During this title card, the Dallas theme tune
increases in volume to emphasise the
meaning behind it.
The last image the audience sees is of a
man riding a horse – we assume this man is
Bobby because we saw him before riding a
horse. „dallastnt.com‟ is pasted across the
screen as a reminder for the audience to
gather more information about the series
from it.