Dallas: The Early Years (1986)

My Review

“Dallas: The Early Years” is a made-for-television movie that is a prequel to the long-running series “Dallas,” which ran on CBS (1978 to 1991). It chronicles the story of the three senior characters of the show: John Ross “Jock” Ewing, Eleanor Southworth “Miss Elly” Ewing, and Willard “Digger” Barnes, from 1933 to 1951, and how the long-running feud between Jock and Digger started, among other juicy topics. It was expertly directed by Larry Elikann and superbly written by David Jacobs, the creator of both “Dallas” and its spinoff “Knots Landing.”

The outstanding cast includes David Grant as Digger Barnes, Dale Midkiff as Jock Ewing, Molly Hagan as Miss Ellie, Hoyt Axton as Aaron Southworth (Ellie’s father), David Wilson as Jason Ewing (Jock’s brother), along with Bill Duke, Geoffrey Lewis, William Frankfather, Wendell Meldrum, Liz Keifer, Matt Mulhern, and Larry Hagman as J. R. Ewing in the introductory segment.

“Dallas: The Early Years” was first aired on CBS on March 23, 1986, with a running time of 140 minutes, courtesy of executive producer David Jacobs, Lorimar Television, and Roundelay Productions. It was filmed on location in and around Dallas, Texas, especially at the Southfork Ranch in Parker.