Dallas Wed Nov 20 2002 at 6:16:21 On April 2, 1978, one of the biggest television series in American history premiered on CBS. The network only contracted Lorimar for five episodes, saying that if the show became popular, they might extend the contract to a full season of 24 episodes. Dallas aired for an unprecedented 356 episodes over fourteen and a half seasons, and basically gave birth to the prime timesoap operas that characterized television in the eighties. When J.R. Ewing, the show's main character, was shot in 1981, it made headlines all over the world, a testament to the show's depth and popularity... and when "Who Shot J.R.?" aired, it became the second most-watched television program in U.S. history (after the final episode of M*A*S*H).