Destination: Dallas: A Guide to TV's Dallas

by Billie Rae Bates

What are the names of Bobby's sons? How many times did J.R. and Sue Ellen marry? And of course ... Just WHO shot J.R.?The classic primetime TV soap "Dallas" enthralled millions of viewers over many seasons on CBS, and it continues to enthrall viewers on cable and DVD decades later! Now you can have all the fun facts of the Ewings and Southfork Ranch at your fingertips with this reference guide, DALLAS.The second of the BRBTV reference books on classic TV shows, DALLAS includes an exhaustive cast list, character guide, episode guide, fun and useless information, birthdays of the stars, celeb interviews, a guide to the merchandise of the show, and much more. This Kindle edition gives you all the great content -- both text and photos -- of the jam-packed print edition, in a convenient, portable, searchable format. Photos appear in color in the Kindle edition, plus the e-book of " Dallas" includes the continuity of TNT's "Dallas" reboot series! See an updated cast list, character guide, and all-new episode synopses for the 2012 series. (Kindle edition updated only -- print edition remains the same.) You'll see a dynamite cover by talented Baltimore artist Dale Cuthbertson, on both the Kindle and print editions!BRBTV has been a solid reference source on TV shows such as "Dallas" since 1998. You can learn more about the author and her other reference guides, which focus on "Dynasty," "The Dukes of Hazzard" and "Wonder Woman," at BRBTV.com. Also check out the BRBTV Reports in Kindle format on Amazon, quick and snappy feature stories and episode guides for beloved classic animated shows.

651 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 26, 2007

About the author

A journalist of both print and broadcast, Billie Rae Bates has a long career as a professional writer and editor that includes 10 years in the daily newspaper industry in Detroit; Saginaw, Mich.; and Wausau, Wis. She's written three novels, two of which are set in Detroit, as well as the BRBTV series of fact books and reports, which cover the primetime soaps "Dynasty" and "Dallas," the action-adventure hits "Wonder Woman," "The Dukes of Hazzard" and "The Green Hornet," and a host of animated and kids' series. Since 2006, she's kept up a news blog focusing on these classic TV shows, and she's also blogged for other sites. BRB reviews books for Foreword Reviews. She's the creator, writer and photographer of two yearlong photo essays, the much-discussed "My Mother's Clothing" and "The Inexplicable Lives of Dolls."

A graduate of Michigan State University's School of Journalism, Bates' work over the years has included interviews with all manner of actors and other Hollywood pros for the BRBTV products, as well as many artists and writers in the comics industry for her on-camera work for the TV shows "Comics Continuum" and "Fantastic Forum." She's done a bit of acting on the side, as well.

Bates is a mid-Michigan native who has also lived in Detroit, Atlanta and Washington, D.C. You can visit her official site at BillieRae.com, as well as the home page for BRBTV at BRBTV.com.

Reviews

[Tony Romine · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is such an amateurish attempt at a guide for DALLAS, the long running CBS primetime soap opera. It's not even 10 pages in before she uses Wikipedia as a reference point. Most of the book isn't any sort of behind the scenes information or interviews, it's just one paragraph summaries of the show's 357 episodes, 3 tv movies, and 40 reboot episodes. There is also a very long list of every character credited on the show (even bit parts) and who played them followed by an even longer list of who the characters are in relation to the show. There are the usual quick bios on the major actors that seemed to be pulled from their IMDB pages, but some are even so poorly detailed that even that source is a stretch. The only real meaty thing are the handful of sparse interviews she managed to get with random people who were on the show (Sasha Mitchell is the most notable one here). It's all very poorly put together with very little editing done to make it more readable. I didn't even attempt to finish it once I saw how shoddy the whole thing was. I want to say that her heart was in it, but honestly it seems like something she created in a Microsoft Word document while she watched the show and tried to make a few bucks off of.

[William Land · Rating 5 out of 5]

This guidebook is essential for every "Dallas fan! Comprehensive cast and character lists are included to provide first-time viewers and long-time fans details about the various series characters and the actors who portrayed them. A detailed episode guide summaries each episode in this long-running TV series.

Interviews with some actors associated with the TV series are included including Sasha Mitchell (James Beaumont), Audrey Landers (Afton Cooper), Deborah Tranelli (Phyllis Wapner), and other less known characters.

This fun book is the result of a true Dallas fan.

[David Allwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Any devoted fan of the CBS television series, ‘Dallas’ (1978-1991) will overlook the many flaws in Billie Rae Bates’ book, ‘Destination: Dallas’. Devoted fans probably won’t care about the disheveled organisation of the book. And they won’t care about the changing fonts, the unconventional sources, or the obscure photographs. True ‘Dallas’ fans, however, will greatly appreciate the exhaustive behind-the-scenes information available in this book and the comprehensive summaries of all 357-episodes of the ratings juggernaut that was this landmark soap opera. This self-publishing author is obviously a devoted fan and she speaks the language of other devoted fans. Is this book a literary classic? No, but that won’t matter to the audience of this book - the devoted fans.