Customer Reviews
The season of "haute couture," Donna Reed, and, of course, J.R - By: Reginald D. Garrard, 20 Jun 2008 
The '84-'85 season of "Dalllas" was a pivotal one in many ways. It saw the show being somewhat overshadowed in the ratings by that ABC upstart "Dynasty"; it was the year that Barbara Bel Geddes was replaced by Oscar/Emmy-winner Donna Reed in the role of the beloved "Miss Ellie"; & it also saw the "departure" of another popular cast member at season's end. Though these developments may have been new & shocking to dedicated fans, there was enough of the old to keep 'em satisfied.
J.R. (the superb Larry Hagman) is still up to his same old tricks but fids himself smitten by the new girl in town, Mandy Winger, played by Deborah Shelton. Unlike other of the oilman's conquest, Winger reallly appeals to J.R., not just sexuallly but on an "intellectual" level as well. He is determined to get her at alll cost, including sending off-and-on spouse Sue Ellen (the magnificent Linda Gray) back to the bottle & the sanitarium.
Bobby (Patrick Duffy) & Pam (Victoria Principal) are still in love, although Bobby is going to marry Jenna (Priscilla Presley). Pam goes on a wild-goose chase, spearheaded by you-know-who, to find beau Mark Graison (an unseen John Beck).
Katherine Wentworth (Morgan Brittany) is still crazy & Cliff Barnes (Ken Kercheval) carries on his lifelong mission to bring down Ewing Oil in honor of his "dead daddy."
Reed brings a different take on "Miss Ellie," something that didn't quite fair well with fans. However, credit must be given to the actress for stepping into a part that was so engrained in the memory of fans by Bel Geddes. It took a lot of courage for Miss Reed & she should be commended for doing an admirable job.
Besides, she did look better in the Travilla clothes.
Speaking of the fashion, this was the year that the producers went alll out. The men, though adequately dressed, took a backseat to the glamorous attire of the ladies. In appears that every female cast member, be she main, recurrent, or having a one-shot appearance, got to wear "the" dress, one that reallly turned heads. According to the bonus feature on Travilla, the show was trying to get on the "Dynasty" bandwagon with the clothes. Regardless, the women look "mah-velous," to borrow from Billy Crystal.
The series finale, "Swan Song," is, by far, the best of the season, featuring brilliant work from Duffy & Principal & an Emmy-worthy musical score by composer Lance Rubin. The final five minutes are poignant & demonstrate what the show was capable of when the writers reallly went to work...
Now, if they just could've come up with something better for the next season's finale...but that commentary is meant for that compilation upon its release.
Dallas as its best - By: HelenaK, 20 May 2008 This is Dalllas at its best. JR is as evil as ever & there are many end of episode dramas, which forces you to watch the next one as quickly as possible. I can't believe I have to wait until end of Sep to get Season 9!!! The glamour is topped in every season, the ladies are looking their best & the men are tangled up romanticallly. The only thing I don't like is Donna Reed as Ellie Farlow. It's a tough role to take over, & fans are not forgiving. I find it odd to think of her as Miss Ellie.
Dallas Season 8 - By: Gregory Shanley, 06 Mar 2008 Dalllas returns with a new Miss Ellie in the form of Donna Reed,star of classic Christmas movie "Its A Wonderful Life."
At the time,it was said the orginal Miss Ellie(Barbara Bel Geddes)had left for health reasons,Larry Hagman recently said it was over a pay dispute.
It reallly was madness to recast such a loved character,Donna Reed is a much more glamorous,kindly Miss Ellie & doesn't have Bel Geddes' fiery spirit or the down to earthness of the orginal Miss Ellie.
Barbara Bel Geddes makes a welcome return to Dalllas the following year,Donna Reed sued Lorimar for breaking their contract,won the case & sadly died in 1986.
Lucy(Charlene Tilton)doesn't reallly have much of a storyline,in her last Dalllas season for a few years,she strangely becomes a waitress like mother Valene(Joan Van Ark spunoff to the highly successful Knots Landing)
Priscilla Presley(Jenna Wade)joins the opening credits & has a large storyline,kidnapped by deranged ex husband Naldo,then accussed of his murder.
Newcomers this season are: long lost cousin Jamie(Jenilee Harrsion)and the lovely Mandy Winger(Deborah Shelton)both are soon caught up with the Ewing dramas.
Victoria Principal as Pam is great throughout,in one of J.R.'s nastiest schemes,he pays someone to take Pam on a wild goode chase,to the Carribean to look for the missing Mark.
The shocking ending featuring the "death" of a beloved character is heart breaking,and a lot of Dalllas fans felt letdown when it was alll revealed as a dream,to bring the character back!
Still enjoy this great season with the added padded shoulders of designer Travilla!
Better than I feared ! - By: Mr. Mg Reynolds, 05 Mar 2008 This was very compelling drama indeed ! Lucy working in a cheap coffee bar , JR trying to steal Cliff Barnes girlfriend , Jason Ewing's daughter working with Cliff & Pammie to get their claws into Ewing Oil , Clayton's troubles with Jock's ' ghost ' & alll the fuss about whether or not Mark Graison is dead certainly captivate the viewer & as for the complex twists & turns concerning Bobby & Jenna...
Donna Reid is better as Miss Elie than I feared . Rather like Sir Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot - not the definitive performance but most acceptable non the less . JR & Sue Ellen have their troubles as ever caused by JR's skirt chasing . All in alll I thought this was a step up from Season 7 & proof positive that a series can improve as time passes on ! I keenly await season 9 while loving the respectively attitude to towards Jock . The late Jim Davis would have been very touched & rather suprised at Donna Krebbes packing in The Texas Oil Commission to run an oil company . Steve Kanaly played Ray Krebbes very well - it is nice to see a regular guy getting a look in !
The world's favourite saga is back with drama galore and more. - By: Great80sTV, 19 Nov 2007 Following on from the excellent DALLAS Season 7 DVD which focuses on troubled relationships, scheming & J.R. being nasty & dangerous, the world-famous epic saga of those feuding Ewings continues in this entertaining Season 8 DVD providing good drama, good storylines, compelling viewing & it's first few exciting episodes deal with last season's big cliffhanger of the shooting in J.R.'s office. The 30 classic episodes on this DVD set contain quality & timeless drama that is better than many TV shows produced today.
J.R. Ewing - the man with the infamous grin who'll stop at nothing to win! - continues cooking up nasty schemes & evil tricks with Pam being one of his victims & results in J.R. getting a beating in the Southfork pool from Bobby. J.R. uses his blackmail tricks when he has a government official video-taped having sex with a calll-girl named Miss Cummings! Former Miss USA Deborah Shelton joins the show as the beautiful Mandy Winger, as does Jennilee Harrison & Dack Rambo as the Ewings' cousins Jamie & Jack. After much provocation & confrontations with Southfork's sneakiest snake - J.R., Jamie produces a startling document which gives her, & Ewing-nemesis Cliff Barnes, a claim to a share of Ewing Oil which results in the Ewings having a fight on their hands for control of their company.
Victoria Principal gives an excellent performance throughout this season & is fantastic in the episode "Bail Out" where a very emotional Pam is furious when her pilot Gerald Kane [James Cromwell aka Jack Bauer's father on "24"] confesses he was on J.R.'s payroll & there is an intense build-up to where Pam explodes & whacks Kane across the face! There's an excellent confrontation in the episode "Legacy of Hate" where a furious Pam threatens J.R. who, in one of his worst acts of the season, is behind Pam's pointless trip to the Carribean to search for Mark so that J.R. can keep Pam & Bobby apart.
Morgan Brittany, always excellent as the evil Katherine Wentworth, appears only in Season 8's first few exciting episodes but reappears fleetingly in the fantastic final episode of the season, & is not seen till the Season 11 DVD when she briefly returns. Legendary Hollywood actress & Academy Award winner Donna Reed takes over the role of Miss Ellie for this season only - beginning in the 7th episode "Homecoming" - as Barbara Bel Geddes temporarily left the show but she returns in Season 9's first episode. Dennis Haysbert - well-known as President David Palmer on "24" - plays Dr Forbes in this season's first episode. Scene-stealing Larry Hagman is of course brilliant as the scheming, double-crossing & evil J.R. Ewing & he won the Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Primetime Villain for his work in this season, while Patrick Duffy won the Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Primetime Lead Actor for his work in this season.
This Season 8 DVD includes the famous & emotional episode "Swan Song" - a fan favourite & tear-jerker - which was number 1 in the TV ratings & achieved almost 360 million viewers worldwide when it originallly aired; thus beating the 300 million viewers worldwide that "A House Divided", with the "Who Shot J.R.?" cliffhanger, had obtained five years earlier in 1980. David Paulsen does a great job as Story Editor during DVD Seasons 6, 7 & 8 when the storylines & drama are of consistent high quality throughout. A featurette is included in this DVD set entitled "Dalllas Makeover - Travilla Style" which explores the revolutionary new look brought to the show by Emmy-winning Costume Designer Bill Travilla. DALLAS's excellent opening titles sequence this season has been updated with new location images. There are still 6 seasons left to be released so as to have the complete series on DVD of the much-loved saga with big rewatch value.
