Walker, Texas Ranger (1993) Biography, Home media, Premise, Television films, Critical reception

Walker Texas Ranger (1993)

Walker, Texas Ranger (1993)

Walker, Texas Ranger is an American action crime television series created by Leslie Greif and Paul Haggis. It was inspired by the film Lone Wolf McQuade, with both this series and that film starring Chuck Norris as a member of the Texas Ranger Division. The show aired on CBS in the spring of 1993, with the first season consisting of three pilot episodes. Eight full seasons followed with new episodes airing from September 25, 1993, to May 19, 2001, and reruns continuing on CBS until July 28, 2001. It has been broadcast in over 100 countries and spawned a 2005 television film entitled Trial by Fire. The film ended on a cliffhanger, which was never resolved. DVD sets of all seasons have been released (with the three pilots packaged with the first regular season).

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At various times since 1997, reruns of the show have aired, in syndication, on the USA Network and Action in Canada. Reruns are currently seen on CBS Action, WGN America, CMT, INSP, getTV, Pluto TV, Heroes & Icons, and Grit, 10 Bold, and being part of Network Ten in Australia. The series was noted for its moralistic style. The characters refrained from the use of drugs and participated in community service. Martial arts were displayed prominently as the primary tool of law enforcement and occasionally as a tool for Walker and company to reach out to the community.

Premise

The show was initially developed by executive producer Allison Moore and supervising producer J. Michael Straczynski when the series was still being produced by Cannon Television. While Straczynski had to depart to get his new series Babylon 5 on the air, executive producer David Moessinger remained to finish developing the series. The show is centered on Sergeant Cordell Walker (Norris), a Dallas–Fort Worth–based member of the Texas Rangers, a state-level bureau of investigation. Walker was raised by his paternal uncle, an American Indian named Ray Firewalker (Floyd Red Crow Westerman, pilot episode, season 1; Apesanahkwat, season 2). The surname being, possibly, a nod to the 1986 Norris film, Firewalker. Cordell, prior to joining the Rangers, served in the Marines’ elite Recon unit during the Vietnam War. Both Cordell and Uncle Ray share the values characteristic of Wild West sheriffs.

His partner and best friend is James “Jimmy” Trivette (Clarence Gilyard), a former Dallas Cowboys player, “Go Long Trivette”, who takes a more modern approach. Walker’s young partner grew up in Baltimore and used football as his ticket to college education. He was dropped from the team after he tore up his shoulder in a major game, which led to his career in the Rangers (often making references to watching the Lone Ranger and how C.D. Parker mentored him as a rookie officer). Trivette also works inside the office using computers and cellular phones to collate information of the people who have been taken into custody.

Walker also works closely with (and shares a mutual attraction to) Alexandra “Alex” Cahill (Sheree J. Wilson), a Tarrant County Assistant District Attorney, who on occasion puts up a frown if Walker does not obtain results in time. He also gets advice on cases from C.D. Parker (Gailard Sartain, pilot season; Noble Willingham, seasons 1–7), a veteran Ranger (later inducted into the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame) who worked with Walker (and is the only character on the show to address Walker by his first name Cordell on a regular basis) until retiring to operate a small restaurant and bar called “CD’s Bar and Grill”, a restaurant widely known in the series for its chili. In season 7, two rookie Texas Rangers, Sydney Cooke (Nia Peeples), and Francis Gage (Judson Mills), are assigned under Walker and Trivette’s command.

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Critical reception

In October 1993, Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly gave the series a C+. Critic “Average Joe” Queenan thoroughly roasted the series, particularly over targeting a wider audience than suited for its late-night timeslot. He called the show “…so corny and predictable that it appears to be in slow-motion even when it’s not…With plotlines that were old when George Burns was young, acting that makes William Shatner seem like Marlon Brando, and dialogue that could stop The Dukes of Hazzard dead in its tracks…Most episodes of the series are completely unwatchable — although, to the producers’ credit, many are scripted so that Chuck Norris doesn’t need to talk much…While Norris indeed has a number of successful and well-received films to his credit, here is the first and only time I recall that he was trusted with performing his own theme music. He is no Roy Orbison…I’m not sure they’re even using a DP on this show; it seems that they just mount a camera on a tripod and tell Chuck to start kicking people’s faces in for a solid hour, which he seems more than willing to do.”

Television films

CBS broadcast the television film Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire, produced by Paramount Network Television (now CBS Studios), on October 16, 2005. Chuck Norris, Sheree J. Wilson and Judson Mills reprised their roles, and Clarence Gilyard shot a cameo for the film but was not featured due to the filming’s conflict with a long-planned family vacation. To fill the void, Judson Mills, who was not in the original script, returned to reprise the role of Francis Gage. Nia Peeples, who played the role of Sydney Cooke for seasons 7 and 8, was also not featured in Walker’s return to prime-time television. The explanation given was that producers decided not to follow much of the original Walker Texas Ranger series, as to give the film a fresh look.

Even the show’s original opening credits with the theme “Eyes of a Ranger” performed by Chuck Norris, was absent from the TV movie. Although the return of Walker Texas Ranger did not garner the ratings CBS had hoped for, indications were that CBS was green-lighting future Walker Texas Ranger “movie of the week” projects. But as of spring 2006, both CBS and the Norris camp have been silent as to the future of the franchise, leaving many to wonder if it will return. Trial by Fire ended with Sheree J. Wilson’s character the victim of a courthouse shooting, leaving many viewers to believe that there would be a follow-up movie.

Home media

Paramount Home Entertainment and CBS Home Entertainment have both released all seasons on DVD in Region 1 The Complete 1st Season contains the three pilot episodes and the first full season being labeled as just the first season. This has confused some fans, as the episodes are wrongly numbered. Seasons 1–6 have been released in regions 2–4.