David Jacob about Larry Hagman and Dallas 2.0

Very interesting read. I would think he is more bitter about not being involved in the new show. But his comments sound very reasonable. [quote] Do you like the new show? I do. It’s great to see Southfork in H.D. and widescreen. Beautiful. I do wish they would slow things down. Mike and I were talking recently and said we could’ve gotten 10 shows from the first five. [Laughter] And not by stretching, but by making it more complex and by making the stories less plot-driven and more character-driven. I think it was Chekov who said plot is character. Whoever said it, I agree with.

http%3A//dallasdecoder.com/2012/12/03/the-dallas-decoder-interview-david-jacobs/



• He must be positively geriatric at this point. In any event, television has changed dramatically in the past 25 years, and it doesn't seem like Jacobs is suited for the times. Telling "slow" stories is no longer seen as an effective method of keeping viewers watching, and looking back at the old "Dallas," it's a little shocking how dated it seems, with plots dragged on nearly as long as they once did on daytime soaps. Also, let's not forget that back then they were having to do 28-30 episodes a season in primetime, and 48 minutes of airtime instead of today's average of 41 (thanks to an increase in commercial time). The situation is only more constrained on cable, where seasons generally last 12-16 episodes, depending on the show. (IIRC the first season of the new "Dallas" was only 10 eps.)

• R1 - can I just say how refreshing it is to find someone who understands seasons and episode counts and the differences between seasons of the past and current tv seasons. For a site that has lots of tv related threads, surprisingly few people seem to understand how tv series work in the context of tv seasons.