CBS' "Dallas" Discussion (1978-1991)

[mfan1986]

Hey guys,

Just wondering what you think the chances of ‘Dallas’ being remastered/restored in HD for streaming/physical disc release?

Shows like Charlie’s Angels got a BluRay, from memory, ‘Dallas’ was one of the most internationally successful shows of all time, same with Dynasty (which at least has had some seasons resorted in HD for broadcast, but nothing yet for Dallas.

Just wondering what your thoughts are considering it was shot on film and would look glorious in HD.

Cheers.

[Crowbar_Faith]

Personally I would love this and buy it in a heartbeat. I caught on to the show pretty late thanks to one of my grandparents, who watched it back in its heyday. I se some of the other shows from that era that get the restore bluray treatment, and as you said, it’s one of the longest running and most popular shows ever on television.

But that may also be why we may not see it, considering the show ran for 14 seasons, they may not feel it’s worth the money to restore & upgrade a show that will need a lot of work in the studio and may not have a big enough audience willing to spend what they will charge per seasons through 14 seasons.

Unfortunately it seems the show has largely been forgotten, as I don’t even think it streams anywhere. I think maybe Amazon Prime but elsewhere you just have the option to buy episodes for $1.99 each.

[MONTYC]

Dallas currently streams on Amazon in the USA for free (with commercials). The quality of the episodes are pretty bad. Amazon don't even use the official Warner DVD release transfers for most of the seasons. Apple TV+ use better quality transfers but the show would benefit from a HD upgrade.

Seasons 1-9 could easily be remastered to HD. The final season also has a physical 35mm print so could also be remastered. Seasons 10-13 were shot on film but edited on video master (curse of the mid 80's!) so the film elements would need to be found and redone from scratch. Paramount have done this with the original MacGyver series but Warner do not have the same interest in remastering older shows these days, unless they plan to stream them on HBO Max.

[redxrebellion]

I’d buy it if it was released, but I’d be more interested in Falcon Crest.

[Crowbar_Faith]

Yeah, I had the old DVD releases and even those looked like they needed a great deal of cleanup work.

I remember when CBS (which I assume would be Paramount) cleaned up and remastered Star Trek the Next Generation, which was from the late 80’s and early 90’s. A lot of time and money went into restoring that show, and I’ve read that they still haven’t recouped the money they put into it. But I’ve read elsewhere that they have, who knows.

But with streaming being the big thing now, you’d think they’d want to clean the show up for that, even if a physical release isn’t in the plans. I’d like to see it just for preservation sake of such an iconic show.

[MONTYC]

Originally Posted by Crowbar_Faith

I remember when CBS (which I assume would be Paramount) cleaned up and remastered Star Trek the Next Generation, which was from the late 80’s and early 90’s. A lot of time and money went into restoring that show, and I’ve read that they still haven’t recouped the money they put into it. But I’ve read elsewhere that they have, who knows.

Next Generation had to have all their effects re-scanned and shot for HD which was a pretty costly process and probably why we have not seen a HD release for DS9. There wasn't many effect shots on Dallas (!) but there are around 357 episodes to covert to HD. Pretty time consuming.

[Aloha from Hawaii 73]

post-Sue Ellen episodes were a bit of a chore to watch imo

[morris_schaffer]

Just thought it would be funny if this was a prequel to the 1979 Scott film.

[scissorpuppy]

Considering HBOmax has recently posted new HD remasters of Lois and Clark & Babylon 5.
Both shows shot on film but posted on video. I would guess the odds are good WB has looked into Dallas, which was a much more popular show. Considering there wasn’t any effects work to worry about, this would be a fairly easy process with today’s technology.
I think WB came into ownership to the title via Lorimar, hopefully they retained all the elements and not just video masters.

As long as the elements still exist, then the chances are probably good we’ll see something happen at some point. My brother is a big Dallas fan and was telling me recently that it seems to be disappearing from streaming services, so perhaps that’s a sign of licensing contracts running out and it becoming an HBOmax exclusive. Which would also give them reason to remaster them.

[jra166]

Head of Warner Archive discussed the Lorimar properties on Let's Get Physical Media, and says very good discussions are taking place between all divisions of WB. Even referenced the time and work required. There are no negative masters of completed episodes, so they would have to be rebuilt. Great discussion. Specifically at 51:00 and 57:30 regarding the Lorimar properties. I for one am VERY optimistic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwWZ...ature=youtu.be

[MONTYC]

Originally Posted by jra166

Head of Warner Archive discussed the Lorimar properties on Let's Get Physical Media, and says very good discussions are taking place between all divisions of WB. Even referenced the time and work required. There are no negative masters of completed episodes, so they would have to be rebuilt. Great discussion. Specifically at 51:00 and 57:30 regarding the Lorimar properties. I for one am VERY optimistic.

Great news. Although there are negative masters of Dallas from Seasons 1-9 and 14 which just need remastered. Seasons 10-13 were shot on film but edited on to video so they would have to be rebuilt from scratch.

Same with Knots Landing and Falcon Crest. Early seasons have a negative transfer and later seasons just a video master.

As the guy says in the video there's not much CGI on Dallas so that would keep costs down.

I think things are looking up.

[EvaDK]

I remember images from Dallas; I was like 7-8 years old when it aired here.

I wanted Bobby's red Mercedes, to which my brother said that I couldn't, because it could only run on American liquid arrogance.

[JR Ewing]

Update on the Dallas HD situation. Have been doing some digging and I've tracked down someone who has been scanning the original Dallas film elements at Warner. They have been working on the restoration project since May and are over half way with the seasons. Biggest job is to start from scratch with seasons 10-13. I just hope they don't sit on the project until the 50th anniversary in 2023.

[cboy007]

Wow! Very encouraging news! Lets hope Knots Landing is not far behind!

[s2mikey]

Originally Posted by EvaDK

I remember images from Dallas; I was like 7-8 years old when it aired here.

I wanted Bobby's red Mercedes, to which my brother said that I couldn't, because it could only run on American liquid arrogance.

I was in that age range too - I remember the

[Show spoiler]"Who shot JR"

craziness. .

As for this show.... I wonder if I'd like it now? Sometimes these older shows and films dont hold up so well. But, I think I could be into this. Classic stuff.

[redxrebellion]

I’ll get this if it’s released but would much rather have Falcons Crest

[Colonelhomer]

Dallas series bundle is $60 now on vudu. Hate to pay for SD but might bite the show is so good and Amazon commercials are time wasting

[Swissangel4616]

they also should release Knots Landing and Falcon Crest in HD on bluray. Full season boxes or complete series.

[Narcissus]

This would/will be so cool.

[Moviefan2k4]

Dallas began airing before I was even born, and ended right before I entered my teen years. I don't have much memory of it, since no one in my family watched it (despite us living in Dallas at the time). Anyway, it could be interesting if the studios eventually restore it.