Still decoding

I started the Dallas Decoder website 10 years ago today. It was the beginning of one of the most exhilarating — and most exhausting — times of my life.

Seriously.

I got hooked on “Dallas” as a kid in the 1980s, but I never expected to continue my fandom into adulthood. By 2011, though, I was bored with my career and in need of a hobby, so when TNT announced plans to revive “Dallas” as a weekly series, I thought: What the hell? Why not spend my free time writing about a show that had meant so much to me?

From the beginning, I knew I wanted to take a critical look at “Dallas” — to celebrate it, yes, but also to dissect it and try to determine the secret of its appeal. My initial plan was to post a critique of a “Dallas” episode every weekday; after about a year and a half, I’d be done with all 357 hours and ready to move on to something new.

That’s not how things worked out.

My first critique went live on April 2, 2012 — the 34th anniversary of “Dallas’s” debut. Things were quiet for the first few months, but as TNT cranked up the publicity machine for the new “Dallas,” traffic to Dallas Decoder started climbing. The hype surrounding the new show seemed to be bringing people to my website. It occurred to me that I should probably write about TNT’s “Dallas” as well, so when those episodes started airing that June, I began critiquing them, too.

That’s when interest in Dallas Decoder really picked up. I soon found myself writing about the new show more than the original series — and not just episode critiques, either. I interviewed the TNT show’s stars and some of the creative people behind the scenes. I started live tweeting each broadcast and began hosting weekly #DallasChat sessions with my fellow fans and chatting with the regulars in the Dallas Decoder comments section, where we built our own little community. I even got to visit the set and see how the new show was made.

Before long, Dallas Decoder began to feel like a part-time job. Don’t get me wrong; I loved every minute of it. But there were more than a few occasions where my husband Andrew wanted to, you know, leave the house — go to dinner, see a movie, hang out with friends — and I begged off. I had too much “Dallas” work to do!

After TNT canceled the new show and the #SaveDallas campaign went bust, I shifted my focus back to writing about the original series. I critiqued my all-time favorite episode, “Swan Song,” and even published an oral history to go along with it, but after four years of writing about “Dallas” all the time, I was worn out. I hit the pause button on Dallas Decoder, fully intending to return in a few months and pick up where I left off.

That didn’t work out as planned, either.

Life, as it has a way of doing, had other things in mind for me. I took on more responsibility at work and at home. I discovered new hobbies. I even started leaving the house again with Andrew (although a global pandemic came along and took care of that soon enough).

But even though I don’t write about “Dallas” like I used to, the show is never far from my thoughts. I drink my coffee from a Southfork mug every morning. I pass my husband’s J.R. and Sue Ellen Lego portraits every time I go down the hall. I even spent several years working on a “Dallas” script — my vision for how the Ewing saga should continue. It was more work than I imagined, but it was also a lot of fun. And yes, I still watch “Dallas.” Just last month, Andrew and I began revisiting old episodes every Friday night. The show still holds up.

I think about Dallas Decoder a lot, too. I’ll always be thankful to the support I received from all the people connected with “Dallas,” including Rachel Sage Kunin, the wonderful costume designer from the TNT series, and Linda Gray, who really is the kindest, wisest person you’ll ever meet. I’m also thankful to all the regulars from the Dallas Decoder comments section and #DallasChat. I miss you all.

Will I ever get back to writing about “Dallas” regularly? I hope so. I still have 157 episodes left to critique, and as a compulsive list-maker, I don’t like leaving things undone. I’m also not getting any younger; when I look in the mirror these days, it sometimes seems like Wes Parmalee is staring back at me.

Besides, I still don’t think I’ve fully cracked the mystery of “Dallas.” In one of my first posts 10 years ago today, I expressed my hope that Dallas Decoder might help me “figure out, once and for all, why I love the show as much as I do.” I’m no closer to an answer now than I was then. What is it about this show that keeps me coming back? The nostalgia? The camp? Something else?

Truly, I don’t know. Maybe someday I will.

Why do you love “Dallas”? Share your comments below and read more opinions from Dallas Decoder.