The opening scene of this season’s “Dallas” finds Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy) regarding the South Fork Ranch graves of his older brother J.R. — killed off last season following the death of Larry Hagman in late 2012 — and those of his long-deceased parents.
“I’m the caretaker now. I’m the only one left,” he says to himself. “I’ll try not to disappoint you.”
Though Hagman’s J.R. was the iconic star of the original “Dallas” — which aired on CBS from 1978-91 — it’s Bobby who’s been both the patriarchal figure of the oil-rich Ewing clan and the show’s moral center.
And now, with the villainous J.R. gone, Bobby is set to clash with J.R.’s son John Ross (Josh Henderson), who’s assumed the mantle of the resident South Fork schemer.
The Season 3 premiere (Feb. 24 at 9 p.m. on TNT) picks up 12 hours after the second-season finale, which saw the Ewing boys put their longtime rival Cliff Barnes in jail — framing him for the murder of J.R. (as part of the departed’s wishes). It’s something that wouldn’t have passed muster for the straight-arrow Bobby in the ’80s, Duffy says.
“We’re not going to let that pass by,” Duffy tells The Post. “Really the whole first half of this season is addressing the repercussions of doing that particular deed, and how it plays out and which characters find out about it.”
It’s just one way the presence of J.R. is still felt on the show. Hagman’s name remains atop the “Dallas” call sheet — the show’s daily roster of the actors’ report times — and, in Monday’s season premiere, John Ross is plotting renovations to South Fork based on plans his father drew up. In another scene at the Ewing Global office, a painting of the former villain looms in the background.
“The show still very much centers around that character in the sense that they can invent plots that he hatched 10 years ago that have come into fruition now and we have to deal with them,” Duffy says. “All the plots aren’t that way, but some of them will be, in order to keep the specter of the J.R. character alive.”
Duffy will also direct an episode of “Dallas” this season, his first time behind the camera since his “Step By Step” days — a break he took to let his directorial technique catch up to 2014.
“The industry technology and filmmaking process has changed so dramatically since I directed a one-hour drama,” says Duffy, who also directed “Dallas” episodes during its original run. “I really did need two years of close observation to feel comfortable with this new method.”
And it’s not just the camera work that has changed in the 20 years that “Dallas” was off the air. Duffy notes the drama’s storytelling is much better in 2014 than it was in the ’80s or ’90s, with five episodes’ worth of an original show’s plot packed into each week — and an audience that’s more willing to accept flawed heroes.
“The relationship of Bobby and [his wife] Ann [played by Brenda Strong] is going to take some twists and turns we never would have considered with Momma and Daddy,” he says.
Beyond that, Duffy can’t reveal much about the upcoming season, except to say that the episode he’s directing (Episode 11) will see the proverbial plot bomb explode — with every character having to address J.R.’s master plan.
“It’s one big storyline so you can’t really divulge anything without tipping the scales. All I can say is Bobby lives, so we don’t have to go through that again,” he says, alluding to the series’ infamous “dream season” back in the ’80s (when Bobby was supposedly killed off, only to return). “And I assume at the end of every season Bobby will win in some fashion.”
Though Duffy jokingly refers to this as the show’s 17th season, he says the reboot really has breathed new life into the series. And though its second season on TNT averaged 3.8 million viewers — a sizable drop from the 6 million or so it drew for its first season — he still sees years of life left in the franchise.
“I confidently see this show being able to get seven years easily,” Duffy says. “I don’t see a downside. It’s just when will we wear out our welcome? And hopefully that’s not for a while.
“As long as there’s a breath in Bobby, I’m on board.”