Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
And now we're going to talk to a girl who's been a Dallas fan almost
all her life. She also attended the reunion at Southfork last november.
Here's Karin Schill. But wait...I'm Karin and I can't interview myself,
can I? - No but I can interview you.
- Why did you start to watch Dallas? - I grew up with it. My parents
watched it. So the theme music played throughout my childhood.
I used to come running to see the opening credits when I was so
young that I barely could speak. I was 11 when I really started to
watch Dallas. My mom was an episode behind and she watched it
at the breakfast table. I glanced at it and suddenly I saw a woman who
drove her car into a truck and I wanted to know if she'd survive
so I watched the next episode to find out and there was no solution.
So I watched the next episode, and the next one and by the time I knew
what happened to her I was hooked. My parents had explained what
Dallas was all about and I just kept watching it. I used to have some
routines when I watched it as a kid. I used to put on my Dallas earrings,
a pair of red triangles and I watched the show in them and my nightgown.
- Are there any current TV-shows or other shows that you can
compare with Dallas? - Well the shows that are most like
it is the soaps of the 80s like Falcon Crest, Dynasty and Knots Landing.
Knots Landing is a spin-off of Dallas so characters like Lucy has visited
it and it's about Lucy's parents Gary and Val. So...
- Are they of the same genre? -Yes, Dallas came first in 1978
then came Knots Landing in 1979, Dynasty in 1981 and Falcon Crest
in 1982. So the other shows tried to copy Dallas concept, tempo and
Dallas cliffhangers. Cliffhangers became common after the
"Who Shot JR" in 1980. The whole world wanted to know that.
- What was it like to meet the Dallas cast?
- It was so much fun. It was something I had dreamt about since
I was a child. When you watch them on TV they are so out of reach,
and then all of a sudden they are there in reality. I'm sitting as close
to them as we're sitting right now and we're talking and they almost
know my name. It feels unreal. I can't really describe it.
But I felt really, really happy to meet them.
- Okay. So which is your favorite character on the show?
- I can't pick just one. Since I love so many of them. But there's always
some characters you like less, that annoys you. But I often like the bad
characters too. But one character that annoys me a bit is Mark
Graison who is portrayed by John Beck. He was Pam's love interest
when Bobby and Pam had divorced and he had a moustache and played
horsepolo and was kind of...nah I didn't like him much.
- How did you and your family react when the show ended?
- Well the thing is I began watching the show in 1991, which was the
year it was cancelled because we broadcast shows later in Sweden.
So I didn't react then. But when we got to the last episode I felt sad.
It was like "what am I going to do now on Saturday nights?" The
best part of the week was to watch Dallas. You had to wait a whole
week and it was saturday and you ate sweets and it was relaxing and
fun to watch it. So I was sad when it ended. But after that the reruns
started at once and then I got to watch the best years of the show.
So it wasn't really over until in 1996 and that year they did a reunion
movie so I don't know...I reacted in a way since I wasn't happy with the
original ending of the show in 1991. So my sister and I began writing
on a Dallas fanfic in 1994 and we're still writing on it. So we have
written about 80 episodes so the show has never really ended in my
mind. It lives on.
- Have you replaced Dallas with any other show?
- No but Buffy came close.
- What was it like at Southfork? - It was one of the weirdest but
most fun experiences. Maybe it's the craziest thing I've ever done
to go to the US just to attend this reunion. To meet the cast, to
meet fans. One of the best things about it was that I met friends
who also are fans from all around the world. Also since I'm a journalist
I also had an assignment to do interviews with the cast. So I stood
at the red carpet with a microphone and was all like "Hello I'm from
'Ultimate Dallas' can you answer a few questions?" And most of them
did. They were so nice and it was a really cool feeling. I mean it's
something I've dreamt about since I was 15, to be at Southfork with
the cast and there I suddenly was. So my dream came true.
- I think it was too much, I mean in the first episode she was sleeping
with him, he was sleeping with her and it was...
- I didn't understand it... - Me neither, it was hard to follow
the first episode of Dallas. You don't know what's happened
and the storylines starts in the middle of something.
- I think you need to watch 10-13 episodes to get into it. Then you'll
get to know the characters and there's some episodes that are
great and some less great and in the beginning of the show are
the episodes plots self-contained, and each episode is like a 45 min.
movie. Then the next episode is about something else. But then
when the show turns into a series and the episodes goes into each
other and there's dramatic plots like accidents and cliffhangers
and you go "Oh My God what happens next? I wanna see more."
I think you need to get there before you start thinking it's good.
- Are you following any TV-series? - No not right now. But I used to.
- Which is your favorite Tv-series? - That's 'The Simpsons'.
- Why do you like that show? - It's fun. It's good.
It's been on the air a long time and I can't really explain why.
- Do you follow any TV-series? - 'Gossip girl' and 'Grey's Anatomy'. -
- Are those your favorite shows? -Yes 'Gossip Girl' is.
- Do you follow any Tv-series? - No, not totally.
I just watch tv-shows sometimes.
- Do you have a favorite tv-show? - 'Southpark'.
- Why do you like that show? - It's good. It's fun.
- Do you have any favorite Tv-series? - 'Andra Avenyn'.
- Do you follow any other tv-shows? - No. I watch 'Friends' sometimes.
- Do you watch any Tv-series? - Not really.
- Do you have any favorite Tv-series? - 'The Simpsons'.
- Why do you like that show? - They are yellow. They are stupid
and goofs around.
- What's your favorite tv-series? - I watch many Tv-series. But right
now it's 'Grey's Anatomy'. - Why do you like that the most?
-It's a good show, with exciting plots, it's fun to follow their lives.
- Do you have a favorite character? - No but I like Meredith a lot.
- That's all we had to offer in our pilot episode. But Neon will be
back in two weeks and then the theme is "Cafeteria food at schools"
So I hope you'll keep watching us.
English Translation by: Karin Schill.