DALLAS: Pilot-Changing of the Guard

Dallas is back and came back strong with lots of juicy tidbits! Welcome back to Southfork Ranch!

We begin with John Ross (JR’s son, played by Josh Henderson) and his girlfriend Elena (Jordana Brewster) drilling on land and they find a lot of oil! Now they just have to convince his Uncle Bobby (Patrick Duffy)to let them drill on Southfork Ranch.

Bobby Ewing is in a Doctor’s office and we find out he has a gastrointestinal tumor that is a rare form of Cancer. He asks the doctor not to tell anyone because he doesn’t want to ruin his son’s wedding which is taking place in a few days.

We meet Christopher (Bobby’s adopted son played by Jesse Metcalfe) while he is discussing Alternative Energy during a business meeting. A woman comes up to him and starts telling him in French that she needs his help. He follows her into the women’s locker room and they start making out! (Super hot!)They get caught by a woman in the locker room and we find out that the mystery French speaking woman is his fiancée, Rebecca Sutter (Julie Gonzalo).

John Ross and Elena are celebrating their oil find with a team of workers. John Ross pays one of them off for not telling his uncle. He gets a call and goes outside. He walks up to a red Porsche, the window rolls down and he says “One thing my Daddy taught me was hope for the best and prepare for the worst. You stay tuned” then walked away. We never saw who was in the car (oh scandalous)!

Bobby visits JR (who is clinically depressed and doesn’t leave his room). Bobby tells him that he wants John Ross and Christopher to have a chance at being a family without all the fighting over oil. He doesn’t want them to be like they were. He tells him he loves him and misses him despite their differences. JR sits in a chair and doesn’t respond to Bobby.

The family is gathering at Bobby’s for his birthday and this is where the fun starts. We find out that Elena (John Ross’s girlfriend) used to be engaged to Christopher (Bobby’s son, John Ross’ cousin) and there is definitely a rivalry between these two. At dinner John Ross stirs up trouble by suggesting that Elena be a bridesmaid in Christopher and Rebecca’s wedding (awkward). Although uncomfortable with the idea, Elena finally accepts because Rebecca did not give her much of a choice. Bobby announces that he decided to sell Southfork Ranch and John Ross is not happy about it.

Bobby discovers John Ross drilling for oil and tells him he can’t drill on Southfork. Elena and John Ross try to convince him by telling him about their oil findings, but his mind is made up. Southfork is for sale. Then Christopher and John Ross get into about oil vs. Alternative energy and they start fighting. John Ross said, “You will never be a Ewing. Everybody knows your Daddy sold you as a baby!”

So what does John Ross do? He has the Sherriff serve his Uncle Bobby with papers. John Ross filed an injunction against the sale of Southfork. He wants the terms of his grandmother’s will overturned on grounds of mental incompetence. John Ross is bad just like his Daddy, but Bobby is not going down without a fight! He promised his mother no one would ever drill on her land and he intends to keep that promise.

Chris is working in his lab and finds out that methane (the material he has been working with for Alternative energy) might be the cause of an earthquake. The researcher who told him about the methane has been shut down (maybe he should stick to the oil business after all).

John Ross goes to visit his father (for the first time in years) and asks him for help. He tells him about Bobby selling Southfork to a conservatory. He tells him he hit a 2 billion barrel reserve and Bobby wants to preserve the land. JR had his eyes closed the whole time and then he finally spoke. He said “Bobby was always a fool.” He told John Ross they have a lot to catch up on, and we know that JR is on board to save Southfork.

John Ross asks Elena to visit Chris to find out what she can about his Alternative Energy plan. She does and finds out about his team in China and the methane triggering the Earthquake. She apologizes because she knows how hard he has worked on this plan. She questioned his happiness and he told her he was happy. She told him she wanted him to be happy and gave him his ring back. She left in tears. When she got back to John Ross she didn’t tell him about the problems with Chris’s alternative energy and the earthquake.

Bobby wakes up with stomach pains so Ann, his wife, goes downstairs and discovers someone is in their house. So she gets her gun and chases after him but doesn’t catch him. But she does find Bobby’s medicine and finds out about his cancer.

The day of the wedding, Bobby meets with Marta Del Sol who wants to buy Southfork for her father’s conservatory. Chris is concerned and tells his father not to make any decisions until they talk.

John Ross gets a call from JR that tips him off about the Methane and the earthquake and the dangers of this Alternative Energy. He goes to Chris and threatens to expose him as a fraud if he doesn’t convince his father to take Southfork off of the market.

Chris storms over to Elena and accuses her of telling John Ross (she didn’t). He told her that John Ross is just using her and she slapped him (woo hoo our first slap of the season). She quoted an email that he sent her on the day they were supposed to get married and Chris said he never sent an email. He waited for her for six hours and the next time he saw her, she was with John Ross (Oh, nothing like a family love triangle). They embraced and now they both think John Ross sent the email. Chris stormed up to him and grabbed him and said “I know it was you” and threw him up against the wall.

Chris came clean with Bobby and told him he will not move forward with his Alternative Energy until he knows it is safe. Bobby meets with Marta and tells her he plans to move on with the sale. They shake hands and John Ross walks off. He goes to meet with his dad and sees Marta Del Sol with him. We find out that she is really working with JR to set up Bobby.

Chris and Rebecca go on with the wedding and it was beautiful.

The mysterious red Porsche pulls up to the Dallas Cowboys stadium and a woman with high heels on gets out. She walks in the stadium and is meeting John Ross. We see it is Marta and she is really working with John Ross to set up JR and Bobby! He said “Trust me. Southfork will be mine and only mine. The fun is just beginning!”

Wow! John Ross is taking on everybody! What a way to comeback after 20 years! What did you guys think? Let me know in the comment section below.

Dallas airs Wednesday nights at 9/8c on TNT.