A blast from the past - the return of Dallas

One of the world's longest-running prime-time television soap operas, concentrating on the Ewings, a wealthy Texas oil family, Dallas aired for 14 seasons on the CBS network from 1978 to 1991, according to the website Wikipedia.

Broadcast around the world, it is probably one of the most famous and successful American soap operas outside of the US, over the years turning into a small screen cult, with a following hungry for the nostalgia that it evokes.

The series is best-known for the central character of JR Ewing - the vain, greedy, scheming, crass oil baron played by Larry Hagman for the show's entire run - as well as for also inventing the season-ending cliffhanger.

Ironically, JR was only meant to be a supporting character when the show premiered; the show was to be based around Bobby and Pam. The popularity of JR, however, took off and he became the focus of the series. There were scores of sibling wars, messy divorces and doomed new marriages. As each season ended, viewers were left on the edge of their seats with a finale that usually left one or several characters' lives in the balance.