Dallas Ratings Climb For J.r.'S Funeral

Some 3.56 million people turned out for J.R. Ewing's funeral on TNT Monday night. The Dallas episode, which was devised following the death last November of Larry Hagman, who played the reprobate oilman, was up 28 percent in total adult viewers from the prior week and up 23 percent among viewers 18-49. Hagman had appeared in the first seven episodes of the current season. The uptick in viewers must have been welcomed by the show's producers, who have seen its ratings drop precipitously from last year since the season began. But the numbers were far eclipsed by the original Who Shot J.R.? episode in November 1980 when 83 million viewers tuned in -- one of the biggest audiences for a television program in history. Monday's episode drew mixed reactions from critics. Variety TV columnist Brian Lowry wrote that the best tribute to Hagman would be to play out this current string, provide closure to the J.R. plot, and let Dallas ride off into the sunset. Because the truth is even in his dotage Hagman and J.R. were still the best thing about the series. However, Sophie Schillaci in the rival Hollywood Reporter called the episode a heartfelt tribute