I was surprised when J.R. showed up again in a new series. I thought he shot himself and Joel Grey escorted him to Hell in the final episode of the first series.
Knowing J.R., he probably made a sleazy business deal with the devil and took over Hell.
J.R. Ewing was a great character and Hagman a fine actor. It's very sad to know that such a good-natured, friendly guy let himself be snared in liberalism.