Leading article: Back in the saddle

Television resurrections are hit and miss. Doctor Who worked spectacularly well. But more often than not, remakes of beloved old TV series fail to hit the spot with viewers. Updates of The Bionic Woman, Knight Rider, 90210, and The Twilight Zone all flopped. So will it work for that great 1980s warhorse Dallas, which is being brought back to life by the US network TNT?

The channel appears to be aiming for a blend of tradition and modernity. The actors who played JR, Bobby and Sue Ellen have all signed up for another ride in the saddle. But the reincarnation of Dallas will also feature a new generation: the children of the original characters.

The idea is an intriguing one. On the one hand tales of a feuding, wealthy oil family look incongruous in these times of austerity. But the price of oil is rising once again. Recent events in the Gulf of Mexico show there remains plenty of drama surrounding the oil industry to be tapped.

Perhaps the show's makers could introduce a malevolent British oil executive, or an ex-president and oil man now living out his retirement in Texas. And if the comeback proves unpopular, there's always the Dallas insurance policy to fall back on: they can just pretend it was all a bad dream.