J.R. Ewing , of course . Because J.R. was portrayed as a despicable oil baron , Ceausescu 's government presumably decided the show must be anti-capitalist . Whatever the reasoning , `` Dallas '' became a runaway hit when it arrived in Romania in 1979 . A series about wealthy , beautiful people -LRB- evil or not -RRB- was an inspiration to Romania 's poor and dejected masses . Eventually , the government decided such Western television was a bad influence , and `` Dallas '' was taken off the air in 1981 . But by then , it was too late . The fantasies of Western life lived on in the imaginations of Romanians , and in 1989 , Ceausescu was overthrown during a public uprising . Not incidentally , the actor who played J.R. , Larry Hagman , visited Romania some years later and was treated as a hero . In an interview following the experience , Hagman said , `` People from Bucharest came up to me in the street with tears in their eyes saying , ` J.R. saved our country . ' '' 2 . `` SEE IT NOW '' The Show that Ended McCarthyism
-LRB- Mental Floss -RRB- -- Have you ever been watching television and thought , `` Wow , this soap opera is so good it could cause the downfall of a corrupt communist regime , '' or even , `` I bet one day this show is going to send the first woman into space '' ? Well , maybe you 're not giving the boob tube enough credit . Popular television shows have influenced politics in the United States and around the world . While others are busy blaming television for all of society 's downfalls , we think it 's time someone stood up for ye olde idiot box . After all , these 10 television shows did n't just entertain , they helped convince the world to get with the program . 1 . `` DALLAS '' The Show that Overthrew a Dictator -LRB- Well , kind of . -RRB- `` Dallas '' was one of the most popular TV shows in history -- and nowhere was it more talked about than in Nicolae Ceausescu 's communist Romania . How did the soap opera get past Romanian censors ? With help from `` Dallas '' leading man ,