The Good

Dallas just keeps coming out on DVD and we're all better off because of that.

The Bad

Something tells me that they can do a better job with the extras.Things keep rolling along for the Ewing Family with Dallas: The Complete Eighth Season. I could go into a long discourse on what is happening with these characters, why they are doing the things they are doing, what is really going on under the surface, behind the scenes, etc. The reality is that this show, with episodes hailing from the 1984-1985 season is all about one thing: MONEY.

Ironically, or not, at the hub of all of this is oil, which, when you think about our current situation in America, is quite interesting. This season gives us the usual players like Bobby and J.R. vying for power, and then mixed in with this are new faces like Cousin Jamie who looks sweet but very much has her eyes on the family greenbacks.

Nothing is ever really as it seems on this show. One moment it seems like we can depend on these iconic characters to act a certain way, and then in another instance their actions completely throw us for a loop. All things are old and new again with Dallas: The Complete Eighth Season.

Features

Dallas Makeover - Travilla Style

I wasn't too excited to watch this featurette as it seems like Warner Bros. is really scraping in the extras department. It makes sense, how many TV shows on DVD make it to an Eighth season release? (And still have 6 more to go!) This featurette looks at the effect that William Travilla had in designing the costumes for this show. Apparently, Dallas ty, which was a show that was originally created to compete with Dallas. Travilla came in and glamorized the show with a different look for a lot of the characters, especially the females, and this all had a hand in making Season 8 stand out.

Video

Standard Version. Presented in a format preserving the aspect ratio of its original television exhibition. These shows looked pretty darn good. As I have recently stated in other reviews, Warner Bros. always does a good job in bringing out these multi-disc releases. There was some dirt on the some of the images, but for the most part things look really cleaned up and it made this release all the more stronger because of how clear the picture was.

Audio

Dolby Digital. English: Mono. The sound across all 5 discs in this collection was good. I am not going to say that it was great mainly because nothing really blew me away. However, I never heard any sort of distortion and the gala Dallas theme still gave me the same feeling it did when I used to watch this show in the 80s.

Package

The front cover of this bronze colored slipcase release features headshots of all the major players in this season. The back showcases more shots from this show, a description of what Dallas: The Complete Eighth Season is about, a Special Features listing, credits list and technical specs. All 5 discs are stored in 3 slim cases, all of which feature more artwork from the show as well as episode listings, descriptions and airdates.

Final Word

Truthfully, I am not too sure what to say about Dallas: The Complete Eighth Season. I really like this show as I feel it represents everything that was good and bad about the 80s. The good being the look of the time, the simple presentation of the show's editing, and the richness of the television writing. The bad would have to be the overt display of nouveau riche capitalism that seems to be all but reveled in and expected. I know we are simply dealing with characters playing these roles, but it makes sense that as the 1980s gave way to the introspective 1990s this show might peter out.

I honestly feel if you have been collecting this show on DVD than it is your duty to pick up Dallas: The Complete Eighth Season on DVD.