Walker, Texas Ranger

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Walker, Texas Ranger
The Walker, Texas Ranger title card (from 2000) features star Chuck Norris.
Format	Police Procedural
Created by	Christopher Canaan Leslie Greif Paul Haggis
Starring	Chuck Norris Clarence Gilyard Sheree J. Wilson Noble Willingham (1993-1999) Nia Peeples (1999-2001) Judson Mills (1999-2001)
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	8
No. of episodes	203 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time	60 minutes (approx. 42 min)
Broadcast
Original channel	CBS
Original run	April 21, 1993 – August 25, 2001

Walker, Texas Ranger was an American television western/police dramatic series, created by Lesie Grief and Paul Haggis. It aired on CBS with three pilot episodes followed by eight full seasons, from April 21, 1993 to May 19, 2001, was broadcast in over 100 countries, and has since spawned at least one made-for-television movie. It was originally conceived on August 6, 1987. DVD sets of the first,^[1] second, third, fourth, and final seasons have been released. At various times since 1997, reruns of the show have aired, in syndication, on the USA Network, Showcase Action, and Hallmark Channel.

The show was known for its moral values. For example, the characters refrained from the use of drugs, and they participated in community service. Martial arts were shown prominently as the primary tool of law enforcement and occasionally as a tool for Walker and company to reach out to the community.

The show has gained a following for its camp appeal, thanks largely to its improbable combination of martial arts and modern Western genres, and to the resurgent popularity of its star, Chuck Norris.

The show was initially developed by executive producer Derek Broostad 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, Moessinger^[vague] remained to finish developing the series. The show centered on Cordell Walker (played by 1980s action hero Chuck Norris), a Dallas-based member of the Texas Rangers, a state-level bureau of investigation. Walker was raised by his paternal uncle, a Native American named Ray Firewalker (played by the late actor Floyd Red Crow Westerman from 1993-94), served in the Marines in Special Forces^[vague] in the Vietnam War, and shares the values of sheriffs in the Wild West. One episode reveals that Walker was once engaged to a woman who was killed by the suspect of an investigation. His partner and best friend is James "Jimmy" Trivette (played by Matlock alumnus Clarence Gilyard), a former Dallas Cowboys player who takes a more modern approach. Walker's young partner had grown up in Baltimore and used football as his ticket to college education which led to his career, until one day, he tore his knee. Trivette also works inside the office using computers and cellular phones to collate information of the people who've been taken into custody. Walker also works closely (and shares a mutual attraction) with Alexandra "Alex" Cahill (played by Dallas alumna Sheree J. Wilson), a Tarrant County Assistant District Attorney, who on occasion puts up a frown if Walker didn't get the results in time. He also gets advice on cases from C.D. Parker (played by the late Noble Willingham), a veteran Ranger (later inducted into the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame) who worked with Walker until retiring to operate a small restaurant and bar called "CD's Bar and Grill."

[edit] Nielsen ratings

• 1995-1996 #18 11.8 million households
• 1996-1997 #23 10.7 million households
• 1997-1998 #29 9.1 million households

[edit] Structure

[edit] Recurring elements

Several elements and scenarios appeared frequently on the series:

• Walker performs his legendary roundhouse kick to the villain's face as a last move that usually defeats the victim immediately when the victim falls from a window, off the roof, and others. The shot of Walker kicking his adversary is then rapidly repeated, twice, and in slow motion, from different angles.
• The kidnapping of assistant district attorney Alex Cahill.
• Walker taking part in undercover operations, with the aim of getting evidence to convict the antagonists' leader.
• The antagonists' leader attempting to leave town or temporarily close down their illegal operations to avoid being arrested by Walker or his associates
• Walker is often shown teasing Trivette as they drive from place to place.
• Walker talking to or interacting with animals—staring them down to prevent them from attacking, directing them to do complex tasks, or using their knowledge for his benefit.
• A vacationing Walker (or an associate) inadvertently stumbling upon an illicit enterprise that requires Walker's intervention and the ultimate destruction of said enterprise; the climax often comes just before Walker returns to his post in Dallas.
• Paranormal or mystical phenomena, including but not limited to: ghosts of Native Americans directing Walker towards clues; the ghost of Hayes Cooper, legendary Texas Ranger, leading Walker to buried treasure; the ghost of an old Native American shaman striking Walker with a lightning bolt and transporting him hundreds of years into the past; a reborn Buddhist monk being hunted down by a jealous monk, also reborn.
• Troubled children or teens overcoming the odds with Walker's assistance. In various episodes, this has included: Juan, a boxing prodigy whose father beats him and his mother (and later kills himself and the mother when driving drunk) ("Golden Boy", season 9); Chad Morgan, a young telekinetic who is institutionalized so that his abilities can be measured and tested ("Brainchild", season 6); a boot camp for delinquent 18- to 21-year-olds that Walker and Trivette run ("Mr. Justice, season 6); a child (guest star Haley Joel Osment) whose drug-addicted mother led to his being infected with HIV ("Lucas 1 and 2");and the Kick Drugs Out of America program, an after school martial-arts class run by Walker to encourage kids to stay out of trouble.
• Dual plot lines involving a legendary Texas Ranger of the Old West, Hayes Cooper (also played by Norris). Other Walker regulars have performed dual roles in these episodes, although some appeared in them only once.
• The majority of the antagonists fight against Walker and his friends or regular police officers when they are declared to be under arrest, and the majority of criminals and law enforcement personnel are also accomplished kick boxers/martial artists.
• Walker is often shown jumping out of a helicopter, or another moving vehicle, into the vehicle of a fleeing criminal, or occasionally into a criminals hideout
• Walker arriving just in time to save someone, or to arrest criminals.
• C.D. being injured by the antagonist and being hospitalized.
• When suspect people or criminals are confronted by Walker with interrogating questions, they usually respond by pretending to turn away, only to then draw back and attempt to throw a hay maker punch. This punch is always blocked by Walker, and after its failure, he proceeds to beat them until they are rendered to the ground.
• The episode often ends with a lighthearted moment in which the main characters exchange jokes and have a good laugh at C.D.'s bar. This is commonly concluded with a camera still on Walker and/or another character laughing which subsequently fades to black before the credits roll.

The cast for the first six regular seasons of Walker, Texas Ranger (from left to right): Clarence Gilyard (Trivette), Chuck Norris (Walker), Sheree J. Wilson (Alex) and Noble Willingham (1931-2004, C.D.)

[edit] Changes over the years

Over the years the show ran, many changes were made:

• For the first season, the protagonists drove General Motors vehicles. Ranger Walker drove a GMC K1500 Sierra, Ranger Trivette drove a Pontiac Firebird, and Alex drove a Pontiac Sunbird convertible.
• For season two, all the GM vehicles were replaced by the closest equivalent Chrysler counterparts. Walker drove a Dodge Ram, which was outfitted with "Hide-A-Way" strobe lights in its headlights and tail lights. Trivette drove a silver Dodge Stealth, while Alex drove a Chrysler Sebring convertible. In later episodes, Trivette drove a black Ford Mustang GT.
• In early episodes, Walker's weapon was a .357 revolver. In later episodes, his weapons were a .40 S&W semi-automatic, a Colt 1911 style .45 ACP, and a Taurus PT92.
• While the pilot season did not have an opening theme, the first season had an instrumental opening theme which was changed for season two. Partway through the second season (with the episode "The Big Bingo Bamboozle"), it was replaced with the song "Eyes of a Ranger," performed by Chuck Norris, which would remain in the opening credits for the remainder of the series.
• After much criticism for the amount of violence in the show over the years, the number of violent acts in each episode was reduced.
• The early episodes featured some Cherokee mysticism. But since Norris, according to his own account^[2], "recommitted [his] life as a Christian in the mid-'90s", the later episodes starting with season 4 featured an increased use of Christian symbolism and family issues, e.g. close friendships with Christian ministers. The episodes sometimes focused on children with Walker assisting them through a crisis. This also included Alex opening up the H.O.P.E (Help Our People Excel) Center during the sixth season, which lasted for the remainder of the show.
• For the last two seasons, two young characters, Rangers Sydney Cook (played by Nia Peeples) and Francis Gage (played by Judson Mills), were added to the cast.
• In one of the last episodes Gage and Sidney fall in love with each other.
• Mid-seventh season, Noble Willingham left the show to pursue a career in the United States Congress, making his final appearance in the episode "A Matter of Faith". As a result, episodes after his removal from the opening credits included only references to his character C.D., who would never appear again, even when the character died as a way of writing him off.
• In the season seven finale ("Wedding Bells"), Cordell Walker weds Alex Cahill (who became Alex Cahill-Walker from that point on).
• In the last episode of the series ("The Final Show/Down"), Cordell Walker and Alex Cahill-Walker have a daughter named Angela. (This is also the name of the baby girl born to Chuck Norris's character in the movie Hero and the Terror).
• In the pilot season and first few episodes of Season 1, Trivette wore glasses. Later, he stopped wearing them.
• In the first few seasons, Trivette's computer was a laptop; after that, he had a desktop.

[edit] Rerun broadcasts

From March 2006 on, two U.S. cable channels—USA Network and the Hallmark Channel—broadcast episodes of the show multiple times a day. Since the Hallmark Channel is a "family-friendly" channel, offensive content was edited, and episodes that directly referred to sex, drugs, and Satanism were often removed.

In Australia, the series is currently^[when?] being shown on the cable channel Fox 8.

In the United Kingdom, it is currently^[when?] airing on Bravo, weekdays at 7:00 p.m.

From 2005 until mid-2006, it aired on Showcase Action in Canada at 4:00 p.m. on weekdays.

It is currently being broadcast in France (in a dubbed version) on Sunday afternoons on the TF1 channel and in Italy (in late afternoons) on RETE 4 channel.

In Estonia, the show was broadcast every night on Kanal 2 at various air times, one or two episodes per night. The last episode, "The Final Show/Down", aired on March 5, 2008.

[edit] DVD releases

All DVDs are released by Paramount Home Entertainment, through CBS DVD. In a very unusual move, the last season was released first, whereas virtually all other shows release their season sets starting with the first season.

[edit] Spin-offs and merchandise

[edit] Television movies

CBS broadcast the television movie Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire, produced by Paramount Network Television (now CBS Paramount Network Television), on October 16, 2005. Chuck Norris, Sheree J. Wilson and Judson Mills reprised their roles, and Clarence Gilyard shot a cameo for the movie 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 Cook 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 movie a fresh look. Even the opening credits with the theme "Eyes of a Ranger" performed by Chuck Norris, was absent.

Although the return of Walker Texas Ranger did not garner the ratings CBS would have hoped for (due in part to a late running football game pushing back the start time an hour), 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 Wilson's character ending up as the victim of a courthouse shooting, leaving many to believe that there would be a follow-up movie.

In announcing their fall 2006 prime-time schedule, CBS said that they would no longer be producing "Sunday night Movie of the week" projects, which severely impaired any hopes of Walker's return to television in the foreseeable future, although there is hope for a direct-to-DVD movie.^{[citation needed]}

On May 15, 2007, CBS announced its fall line-up, but did not include the return of the "Sunday night Movie of the week."

[edit] Sons of Thunder

Main article: Sons of Thunder

A short-lived series, Sons of Thunder, featured recurring character Carlos Sandoval, who resigns from his post with the Dallas police and teams up with childhood friend Trent Malloy (a protégé of Walker's) to start a private investigation firm.

[edit] Novels

Three Walker, Texas Ranger books, written by James Reasoner, were published by Berkley Publishing Group in 1999. The books are now out of print.

1. Walker, Texas Ranger (1998, ISBN 0-425-16815-8)
2. Hell's Half Acre (1999, ISBN 0-425-16972-3)
3. Siege on the Belle (1999, ISBN 0-425-17112-4)

[edit] Trivia

• Uncle Ray Firewalker's name is an inside joke: Ray is Chuck Norris's real middle name (and his late father's first name); Firewalker was a movie Norris made with Lou Gossett, Jr., Melody Anderson, Sonny Landham and John Rhys-Davies in 1986.
• In a two-episode crossover arc split between fellow CBS series Martial Law and Walker, Walker helps Sammo Law (played by Sammo Hung) take down a hate crimes leader who murdered another Texas Ranger; Law then comes to Texas to help recapture the leader after his escape.
  • This subsequently established that Walker and the CBS show Early Edition are set in the same fictional universe, which also had a crossover featuring the character Sammo Law.^[3]
• Every major character (including Walker himself) has been hospitalized.
• Only two antagonists, Victor La Rue and Caleb Hooks, return to get revenge on Walker in later episodes.
• Executive Producer and creator, Derek Broostad, named the character Walker in homage to his high school sweetheart, Tasha Walker.
• After Walker got a Dodge truck, the "bad" characters began using General Motors models of cars, while the "good" characters used Chryslers, Dodges, or sometimes, Fords.
• KC HiLiTES can be seen on Walker's pickup truck.
• Actors Richard Norton, Leon Rippy, Sam J. Jones, Robert Forster and Marshall R. Teague appeared in several episodes as different antagonists; notably, Teague is in both the original pilot episode and the series finales.
• Songwriter Tirk Wilder penned the theme song "Eyes of a Ranger," performed by Norris. Guest star Lila McCann sings the song in the episode of the same name.
• The series was filmed on location in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Local residents were frequently used as extras, and some even had speaking roles (including Dallas-based UFC veteran Guy Mezger). Some interior shots were filmed in Los Angeles.
• Chuck Norris reportedly tried to convince CBS to keep the show running after his decision to quit so he could return to making movies, retitling the show simply Texas Rangers and focusing on the remaining characters, but the network was only interested in keeping the show if he stayed, which led to his decision to end Walker after 202 episodes from one pilot season and eight full seasons.
• After departing from Matlock, Clarence Gilyard joined the cast of the show, just in time.
• Chuck Norris, Clarence Gilyard, and Sheree J. Wilson are the only actors to appear in every episode of the show.
• In one of the episodes, they state that there are 100 Texas Rangers and only 100, when in reality, the real Texas Rangers are capped at 118 as of September 1, 2000.^[4]
• In the film Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Will Ferrell's character Ricky Bobby has named his children Walker and Texas Ranger.
• Walker was mentioned on the King of the Hill episode High Anxiety (Part 2). When the Texas Ranger was called in by Peggy Hill, she shouts "I love your show, I love that Walker".
• Early in the second season, Walker purchased the fictional Seaking FY rifle which was actually an M1 Garand rifle replica loaned from a Dallas firearms collector.
• On Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Conan uses a lever called "The Walker, Texas Ranger lever" to show clips from the series (most of the clips are usually fight scenes).
• In Delta Farce, Everett (DJ Qualls) mentions about killing a man with his bare hands. Then he said, "Try the 'heart-punch'. I seen Chuck Norris use it on the set of "Walker Texas Ranger" to kill some smart-ass intern" and Larry (Larry the Cable Guy) looks at Everett funny and Everett said "Talk about your hush-money."

[edit] Notable guest stars

[edit] See also

• List of Walker, Texas Ranger episodes
• The Lone Ranger

[edit] International

• In Uruguay, the show is currently airing on Teledoce.
• In Chile, the show is currently airing on telecanal.
• In Australia, the show was broadcast on Channel Nine and currently airing on Fox8.
• In Croatia, the show was broadcast on HRT.
• In the Czech Republic, the show is still shown on TV Nova.
• In the Dominican Republic, the show is still shown on Telecentro 13 at workday evenings (22:30).
• In Estonia, last episode was just recently broadcast on March 5th, 2008. It was shown on Kanal 2 at workday afternoons. The show will most likely enjoy reruns in the near or near-to-soon future.
• In France, the show is still shown on TF1 every Sunday afternoon.
• In Germany, the show was shown on RTL II.
• In Hungary, the show is still shown on TV2.
• In Israel, the show was shown on AXN.
• In Italy, the show is still shown on Rete4.
• In Japan, the show is still shown on FOX Japan.
• In Latvia, the show is still shown on LNT.
• In Lithuania, the show is still shown on LTV.
• In Montenegro, the show is still shown on RTCG.
• In the Republic of Macedonia, the show was shown on A1.
• In Norway, the show was broadcast on TV3.
• In Panama, the show is still shown on RPC 4.
• In Poland, the show is still shown on Polsat.
• In Portugal, the show was broadcast on SIC.
• In Slovakia, the show is still shown on TV Markíza.
• In Slovenia, the show is still shown on POP TV.
• In South Africa, the show is still shown on E.tv.
• In Spain, the show is still shown on Aragón Televisión, Canal Sur, Telemadrid, 8tv and Televisión de Galicia.
• In Sweden, the show was shown on TV3.
• In the United Kingdom, the show is still shown on Bravo (TV).
• In the United States, the show is still shown everyday; three times on USA Network and twice on Hallmark Channel.
• In Turkey, the show was shown on Kanal D.
• In Ecuador, the show was shown on RTS.

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• Walker, Texas Ranger at the Internet Movie Database
• Walker, Texas Ranger at TV.com
• Sony Pictures Television website
• Episode Guides for Walker and Sons of Thunder
• French fansite for Walker Texas ranger