Bob Allen and father, John, meet to discuss their con.   Bob glances out the window and across the parking lot.   Bob Allen steps outside to catch his breath and to make a phone call.

 
On Mon, Sept 20, the new TV series, Lone Star, will debut. As the name implies, the show is based in Texas and, yes, it does revolve around the oil and gas business. And, no, it's not a remake of Dallas. Not exactly.
 
"Robert Allen (James Wolk) is a Texas con-man who leads a double life. As "Bob," he is married to Cat and living in Houston while working for his oil-tycoon father-in-law. Four hundred miles away, he is "Robert" in a second life with girlfriend Lindsey. As he schemes to take control of the oil business and finds himself torn between the love of two women, he must fight to keep his web of lies from falling apart," per Wikipedia.
 
The show stars James Wolk, a major role for him, David Keith, who has been on television for 30 years (including an episode of Walker, Texas Ranger), John Voight (who doesn't know John Voight...or his famous daughter? And he does a better Texas accent than any New Yorker I remember, better than Larry Hagman in Dallas and Larry was born in Fort Worth!), and numerous other actors.
 
Like Dallas and Walker, Texas Ranger, this series is being filmed in Dallas and Fort Worth and other Metroplex locations. That works well most of the time. The producers manage to visit Houston convincingly. However, for the visits to Midland, unless it just rained for seven straight days, there is too much green in the scenes. Sure, there are some yards with enough grass to mow in Midland but there is seldom a wide, green expanse anywhere near a sign that says "Midland 7 (miles)." Usually the only major green at that radius is the sign itself.
 

Time for Bob Allen to get back to "work" and his new job.

TiVO has made the program pilot available as a download. It is probably available through other media. We did see it, which is why I'm able to write about it. While I do love all things Texas, if there wasn't a Garland connection, I probably wouldn't be writing about it at all.
 
I'm really not giving anything away when I say that Robert/Bob meets with his father, John Allen (David Keith), in an empty store space with bars over the windows. If you watch the pilot, this is where Garland residents get a treat that most others won't catch. They look out the window and discuss the "oil wells" that they don't see. (Okay, you have to watch it to figure out what I'm saying there.)
 
Bob steps outside to make a call. The camera pans across the parking lot. If you haven't noticed it before, there is a sign that looks very familiar. If you can't figure out from where, you haven't lived very much of your life in Garland. If that's not enough of a clue, just read the darn sign!
 
All right. Now everyone gets it. The scene is shot from the old Garland Shopping Center at Garland Ave and Miller Rd. Welcome to Garland, Lone Star!
 
Zombieland is already on DVD so it's nice to be back in front of the lens, Garland. (Although, technically, Zombieland was not actually filmed in Garland.) Garland has a long history of being filmed. Walker was filmed numerous times in Garland. Threes times at Hubbard's Cafe downtown (twice at the old location and once at the new). One episode included the pond and area where the the Hills of Firewheel subdivision is now located, off Campbell Rd near Firewheel Golf Park. So, is it accurate to say?…