"DALLAS" ALL AROUND THE WORLD:
Ratings
DALLAS has been aired to date in over 90 countries, including RUSSIA, HUNGARY and JAPAN, the only country it was unsuccessful. Currently, it is being re-aired on the Cable TV Channel SOAPnet and several european networks. Here you are a extensive report, that we hope to complete, regarding the course of DALLAS in the rest of the world, excluding UK, already mentioned in another section of this site.
IN SPAIN:
NOVEMBER 6, 1979
TVE (the public Spanish TV) premieres the show on its Second Channel (UHF), with a lesser audience. That is why it goes practically unnoticed, though these 13 episodes appeal a certain people´s sector who realizes DALLAS is a product different from all those previously aired. By then, every episode cost about 300.000 pesetas.
JUNE 30, 1981
On its second phase TVE re-airs the episodes now on the First Channel (VHF) and on prime time: Tuesday nights at 22,40 hours. After the first 13, will follow a lot more, this time reaching the top places at the Acceptance Indexes. The show and its stars´ popularity will become huge, and they will monopoilize the covers of the tabloid magazines. Contests are organized pointing at J. R. as the best loved character on TV. An impressive parasite economy appears: photo-stories, novels, satirical folk songs and even little cakes. The audience tips over the Ewing Family´s misventures in a before unseen way: 20 million viewers (of a 35 million population).
JUNE 8, 1982
TVE decides to interrupt the airing of DALLAS temporarily due to the Football World Championship. In the last scene, Bobby seems determined to resume his relationship with Jenna Wade, during Pam´s stay in Paris. One month later, the show continues with new episodes, proving (as if it had to), that the young Ewing will always be faithful to his wife. This last season had a price increase, reaching one and a half million pesetas per episode, including the dubbing costs.
AUGUST 17, 1982
2 and a half years after the infamous Night J.R. Was Shot, that kept most Americans on the edge of their seats, TVE airs “A House Divided”, as it announces the show´s cancellation. They blame the price increase from Lorimar, topping 1.400.000 pesetas, though they also turn to a presumed decrease in the Audience ratings, completely unfunded. The TVE General Director defines himself against this kind of series, which does not prevent him from programming on upcoming years Dynasty, Flamingo Road, Falcon Crest (in a double version, Spanish and Catalan) and The Colbys, all of them complete!
SEPTEMBER 10, 1983
Inauguration of TV3, Televisió de Catalunya, the first Autonomous Spanish Channel. One of the big assets is the airing of the episode following the attempted murder against J.R. The effective but somewhat rough Spanish dubbing has been replaced by an impeccable adaptation to Catalan, with an all-new voice cast, for it has been logically dubbed in Barcelona. They pay 250.000 pesetas per episode, while the dubbing prices rise to 1.000.000.
JANUARY 29, 1984
DALLAS becomes a part of the TV3 regular schedule, thus actually starting its third Phase. The show is aired on Sundays at 21,30 hours, and the first Catalan-dubbed episode is re-aired. After that, the Basque Country and Galicia would also add the Ewing Saga to their Programming Plan. On Euskal Telebista, besides the dubbing to Euskera, the dialogues are Spanish subtitled.
FEBRUARY 12, 1984
3 years late we Catalan people watch the historic episode “Who Done It?”, featuring a last scene where the identity of the J.R.´s shooter is revealed. One year later, at the first Anniversary of TV3, DALLAS has already become the biggest show, enjoying the highest ratings.
JULY 1, 1985
TV3 begins the re-airing of Seasons 3 and 4, on day time, at 15,15 hours. At the same time, on Sundays J.R. try to solve his business problems, that put him in a Cuban prison.
JANUARY´ 1986
DALLAS is out on the Video Rent Market in Spain. They offer the Season 3 episodes in 2 monthly tapes, each featuring a couple of episodes, unseen for the audience who is not able to tune in the autonomous Channels. The Spanish dubbing costs 1.000.000 pesetas, since every character should be have the same voice they became popular with on the First Phase. Likewise the tapes are recycled after they are viewed by the Video-store members, overtaping new episodes. This complex revolutionary method makes the process cheaper for the store.
FEBRUARY 9, 1986
Unexpectedly, with the episode opportunely re-titled "The End" ("End Game"), TV3 puts an end to the show´s airing, after Bobby´s shooting, thus making it curiously parallel to the course of DALLAS on TVE. The Executives excuse themselves alleging the lack of available episodes (when there were 2 more seasons left to air) and a slight lower audience ratings, rather unbelievable since 20 seconds of publicity at the DALLAS´s pauses cost 700.000 pesetas, the highest price of all. We Catalans say goodbye to J. R. and family again, and not long after also Basque and Galician people will, the latter after watching only the first Season 5 episodes. 108 episodes had been aired by TV3 and etb, leaving the audience uncertain of Bobby surviving the shooting. At the same time the Press reports about the buying from the Private TV Tycoon Silvio Berlusconi, of the Airing Rights for Season 7 of DALLAS. The currently Italian politician pays 15 million pesetas per episode.
OCTOBER´1988
After 2 years without DALLAS, TV3 makes an agreement with Berlusconi and gets the rights for the rest of the show, as well as for the prequel “The Early Years, premiered in USA on March 23, 1986, and its “spin-off” Knots Landing, to be aired as “Califòrnia”, the same title it will have on the other Autonomous Channels, first on a weekly basis and then, daily, ignoring 3 of its Seasons (about 75 episodes from the middle) ignominioulsy, thus ruining any potential success, since the Catalan viewer who had watched the first 3 Seasons, could not follow the plots of Season 7 and next. Even so, KL was aired all the way. DALLAS was initially scheduled on Mondays, then on Tuesdays (as it was on TVE) and, by law, it could regain its Sunday night slot at the end of the next year.
AUGUST 2, 1992
J. R. speaks Catalan for the very last time when two-parter “Cunundrum” is aired, instead of the original double episode format. The show has never been re-aired by TV3 since then, nor its sequels neither.
IN USA (BY SEASONS):
-Nº 44 on 1977-1978 SEASON (THE MINI-SERIES)(Top Series: LAVERNE & SHIRLEY, HAPPY DAYS and THREE´S COMPANY)
Sundays 10 to 11 pm. Season´s highest rated episode: BARBEQUE.
-Nº 40 on 1978-1979 SEASON (Top Series: THREE´S COMPANY, LAVERNE & SHIRLEY and MORK & MINDY)
Saturdays 10 to 11 pm, Sundays 10 to 11 pm and Fridays 10 to 11 pm. Season´s highest rated episode: JOHN EWING III (I).
-Nº 6 on 1979-1980 SEASON (placed between sitcoms ALICE and FLO)
Fridays 10 to 11 pm, scheduled right after THE DUKES OF HAZZARD. Season´s highest rated episode: A HOUSE DIVIDED.
-Nº 1 on 1980-1981 SEASON (placed between the comedy shows THE DUKES OF HAZZARD and THE LOVE BOAT)
Fridays 10 to 11 pm, right after THE DUKES OF HAZZARD. Season´s highest rated episode: WHO DONE IT?
-Nº 1 on 1981-1982 SEASON (placed before sitcoms THE JEFFERSONS, JOANIE LOVES CHACHI and THREE´S COMPANY)
Fridays 9 to 10 pm, between THE DUKES OF HAZZARD and FALCON CREST. Season´s highest rated episode: THE SEARCH.
-Nº 2 on 1982-1983 SEASON (placed before the shows M*A*S*H and MAGNUM P.I.)
Fridays 9 to 10 pm, between THE DUKES OF HAZZARD and FALCON CREST. Season´s highest rated episode: THE WEDDING.
-Nº 1 on 1983-1984 SEASON (placed before the shows DYNASTY and THE A-TEAM)
Fridays 9 to 10 pm, between THE DUKES OF HAZZARD and FALCON CREST. Season´s highest rated episode: END GAME.
-Nº 2 on 1984-1985 SEASON (placed between the shows DYNASTY and THE COSBY HOUR)
Fridays 9 to 10 pm, between THE DUKES OF HAZZARD and FALCON CREST. Season´s highest rated episode: SWAN SONG.
-Nº 6 on 1985-1986 SEASON (placed after the sitcoms THE COSBY HOUR, FAMILY TIES and CHEERS, and before DYNASTY and THE GOLDEN GIRLS)
Fridays 9 to 10 pm, between THE TWILIGHT ZONE and FALCON CREST. Season´s highest rated episodes: THOSE EYES/BLAST FROM THE PAST.
-Nº 11 on 1986-1987 SEASON (placed between the sitcoms WHO´S THE BOSS? and NEWHART)
Fridays 9 to 10 pm, between SCARECROW AND MRS. KING and FALCON CREST. Season´s highest rated episode: THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF EWING.
-Nº 22 on 1987-1988 SEASON (Top Series: THE COSBY HOUR, A DIFFERENT WORLD and CHEERS)
Fridays 9 to 10 pm, between BEAUTY AND THE BEAST and FALCON CREST. Season´s highest rated episode: GONE WITH THE WIND.
-Nº 30 on 1988-1989 SEASON (Top Series: THE COSBY HOUR, ROSEANNE and A DIFFERENT WORLD)
Fridays 9 to 10, between BEAUTY AND THE BEAST and FALCON CREST. Season´s highest rated episode: NO GREATER LOVE.
-Nº 55 on 1989-1990 SEASON (Top Series: ROSEANNE, THE COSBY HOUR and CHEERS)
Fridays 9 to 10 pm, between SNOOPS and FALCON CREST. Season´s highest rated episode: 333 (II).
-Nº ? on 1990-1991 SEASON
Fridays 10 to 11, after BAGDAD CAFÉ and OVER MY DEAD BODY. Season´s highest rated episode: CONUNDRUM.
TVM´S:
-Nº 9 on the week´s most watched shows with DALLAS: THE EARLY YEARS. Aired on Sunday, 8 to 11 pm.
-Nº 14 of the week with DALLAS: JR RETURNS. Aired on Friday.
-Nº 42 of the week with DALLAS: WAR OF THE EWINGS. Aired on Friday.
IN FRANCE:
The show premiered in 1981 on TF1 and then changed to the Private TV, la Cinq. Years later, it has been re-aired on Canal Jimmy from October´1999 on.
IN HOLLAND:
The Nation-wide channel AVRO only aired the show´s first 3 seasons (not the mini-series), from 1981 to 1984. Then nothing: the Dynasty fever came and the private channel RTL4 bought the rights and aired it frantically, not one episode a week but several of them, on a daily basis, each week, until July 13, 1992.
IN BELGIUM:
The Top Series in 1980:
- DALLAS
- ARNOLD
- Dubbel Dobbel (Belgian show)
- De Collega's (Belgian show)
- Paradijsvogels (Belgian show)
- Met voorbedachten rade (Belgian show)
The most popular shows in 1981 were:
- DALLAS
- CHARLIE´S ANGELS
- LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE
- CHiPs
- Happy Days
- THE WALTONS
- THE LOVE BOAT
- MAGNUM P.I.
- WKRP IN CINCINATTI
- THE INCREDIBLE HULK
- THE ADVENTURES OF BUCK ROGERS
- LOU GRANT
- HART TO HART
- KNOTS LANDING
- THE DUKES OF HAZZARD
- Diff'rent Strokes
- TAXI
- SOAP
- FANTASY ISLAND
- HILL STREET BLUES
- Tik Tak
- Gaston & Leo
- Zeg 'ns Aaa (Dutch show)
- DYNASTY
- De Fabriek (Dutch show)
IN GERMANY:
The first 92 episodes were aired between June 30, 1981 and April, 1983. Then came a pause for dubbing the new episodes and the show was resumed in September, 1983, until December 1984.
All this happened on the First Nation-wide German Channel ARD, which omitted some episodes, like WINDS OF VENGEANCE, and even censored a few scenes, which was checked out on the DVD Edition. Another break for dubbing next season on September, 1985, and so on. It was aired from June 1981 to September 1991.
Then it has been re-played on the Third Channel (1983, 1994, 1996, 1997), RTL (1992), Premiere (2000, 2002), the RTL2 Channel (2001, 2002) and Kabel1 (2002). DALLAS: THE EARLY YEARS was aired on the Second Channel ZDF, on March 15, 1987.
IN HUNGARY:
Some characters´ names were changed for the Hungarian-spoken version: JR became JOCKEY and SUE ELLEN was renamed SAMANTHA. It started to air late, on December 31, 1990, on Friday nights during 7 years. First 4 seasons were re-aired later, but not the whole series.
IN ITALY:
"Dallas presented a strange circumstance: in its Italian debut, at prime time on RAI 1, the Valentine´s Day in 1981, it was as successful as expected. The reason: a dirty trick played by the censorship. The public TV had sent a Vatican messenger to USA in order to choose the episodes. The Italian audiences was following a series without the fundamental narrative pace. But its luck would change thanks to the person responsible for the rising Canale 5, who adquired the whole package of episodes directly from American CBS. Dallas enters the TV Olymp and classifies among the Top 10 TV shows in the modest channel´s history." Source: http://www.dallasforever.com/
GERARD VAN DIJKE and TONI DÍAZ
IN UK:
See the Section DATES AND NUMBERS
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