Walker Texas Ranger
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. DVD sets of the first, 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 Allison Moore and supervising producer J. While Straczynski had to depart to get his new series Babylon 5 on the air, Moessinger remained to finish developing the series.
The show is centered on Cordell Walker (also played by 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, who served in the Marines in Special Forces in the Vietnam War, and shares the values of sheriffs in the Wild West.
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 grew up in Baltimore and used football as his ticket to college education which led to his career, until one day when he tore his shoulder.
After Walker's original partner died unexpectedly, and all thanks to C.D.'s pleasure in finding a replacement partner for Walker, he didn't believe in Trivette, but was later taken in, as the two grew to bond with each other. 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 doesn't obtain results in time. 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."
Nielsen ratings
1995-1996 #18 11.8 million households
1996-1997 #23 10.7 million households
1997-1998 #29 9.1 million households
Structure
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.
Walker teases him by emphasizing how much it looked like it did or is going to hurt.
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 8); Chad Morgan, a young telekinetic who is institutionalized so that his abilities can be measured and tested ("Brainchild", season 5); a boot camp for delinquent 18- to 21-year-olds that Walker and Trivette run ("Mr.
Justice, season 5); a child (guest star Haley Joel Osment) whose drug-addicted mother led to his being infected with HIV ("Lucas 1 and 2" Season 5);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.
Often real clips from other televised programs are used as the backdrop for episodes that show sporting events, weather and action sequences.
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.)
Changes over the years
Over the years the show ran, many changes were made:
For the first season, the protagonists drove General Motors vehicles.
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. But since Norris, according to his own account, "recommitted 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.
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.
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. Later, he stopped wearing them.
In the first few seasons, Trivette's computer was a laptop; after that, he had a desktop.
Rerun broadcasts
From March 2006 on, two U.S.
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 being shown on the cable channel Fox 8, Wednesdays at 10:20 p.m.
In the United Kingdom, it is currently 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. 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. (However could have contributed to lower ratings.) 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.
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 is the only actor to appear in all 202 episodes of the series. Clarence Gilyard is the runner-up in terms of a number of episodes an actor appeared in, he had appeared in almost every episode of the series, missing 2 shows, during the 1997-98 season, for a total of 200 of the 202 episodes produced.
In one of the episodes, they state that there are 99 Texas Rangers and only 99, when in reality, the real Texas Rangers are capped at 134 as of September 1, 2007.
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.