Walker, Texas Ranger


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 April 21, 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 made-for-television movie entitled . The movie ended on a cliffhanger, which was never resolved. DVD sets of all seasons have been released. 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, TV Land, and Grit, 10 Bold, being part of Network Ten in Australia and now also airing on Charge!
The series was noted for its moralistic style. The characters refrained from the use of drugs, and they 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, a Dallas–Fort Worth–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. 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, 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. 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 Alexandra "Alex" Cahill, 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, a veteran Ranger who worked with Walker 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, and Francis Gage, are assigned under Walker and Trivette's command.
The series was well known during its run for its product placement deal with Chrysler, especially its Dodge division. After Walker used a GMC Sierra during the first season, he switched to the Dodge Ram, which would be advertised during commercial breaks. Other members of the cast often used other Chrysler vehicles, while villains would drive vehicles from General Motors or Ford Motor Company. This was not unlike The Andy Griffith Show, which exclusively used Ford vehicles due to a sponsorship deal with Andy Griffith. Coincidentally, the show ended just as Dodge was getting ready to redesign the Ram again for the 2002 model year. However the 2006 Dodge Ram SRT-10 was used in the movie Trial by Fire, driven by Walker.

Episodes

Cast and characters

Main characters

Nielsen ratings

The show was quite successful in the ratings throughout its run, ranking among the Top 30 programs from 1995 until 1999, and ranking in the Top 20 in both the 1995–1996 and 1998–1999 seasons.
In October 1993, Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly gave the series a C+.

Home media

and CBS 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.
On May 12, 2015, CBS DVD released Walker, Texas Ranger- The Complete Collection on DVD in Region 1.

Spin-offs and merchandise

Television movies

CBS broadcast the television movie Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire, produced by 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 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 movie 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.
When they announced 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. On May 15, 2007, CBS announced its fall line-up, but this did not include the return of the "Sunday Night Movie of the Week." In June 2018, cast members Clarence Gilyard and Sheree J. Wilson expressed interest in reprising their roles in a potential revival of the series, particularly to address the cliffhanger at the end of the post-series film.

Spin-off

Most episodes were based on true stories. 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, to start a private investigation firm.

Reboot

In September 2019, it was announced that a reboot of the series titled Walker was in development at CBS Television Studios from writer Anna Fricke, with Texas native Jared Padalecki attached to star. Fricke and Padalecki are also set to executive produce the project alongside Dan Lin and Lindsey Libertore from their production company Rideback, as well as Dan Spilo of Industry Entertainment. The CW, home of Padalecki's long-running series Supernatural, emerged as a leading contender to air the series in addition to CBS, which aired the original series. Like the original, the reboot, in which Walker would get a female partner, will explore morality, family, and rediscovering our lost common ground. The logline reads:
In October, it was announced that Walker would air on The CW. On January 14, 2020, it was announced that The CW had issued the reboot with a series order.
In February 2020, it was announced that Lindsey Morgan, Keegan Allen, Mitch Pileggi, Molly Hagan and Coby Bell were cast as Micki, Walker's female partner, Liam Walker, Walker's younger gay brother, Bonham Walker, Walker’s father, Abeline Walker, Walker’s mother and Captain Larry James, a Texas Ranger Captain. In March 2020, Jeff Pierre, Violet Brinson and Kale Culley were cast as Trey Barnett, an Army medic and Micki's boyfriend and Stella and Arlo, Walker's teenage kids.
Walker is scheduled to premiere in January 2021.

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.
The show has garnered a particular cult appreciation among Conan O'Brien fans, from one of his most popular segments called the "Walker Texas Ranger Lever". He explained since NBC had recently purchased Universal, he could now show clips from Walker Texas Ranger without having to pay any money. The joke was that he would pull a giant red lever, causing a random and comically awkward scene to play. Random scenes included Walker jumping out of a plane and punching a woman in the face, or being shot in the back while proposing, or Haley Joel Osment playing a boy who is first meeting the rest of Walker's friends, and suddenly interjects "Walker told me I have AIDS". Conan would go on to riff at the bizarre nature of the scene out of context. He did this primarily on Late Night With Conan O'Brien, which prompted the show's star, Chuck Norris in character as Walker, to make a surprise guest appearance by acting out a skit in parody of the action scenes from Walker, Texas Ranger.

Notable guest stars

Companies

The series began with Cannon Television, but after Cannon folded, CBS assumed production responsibilities and is currently the full owner for this series. Other companies as listed below have also been involved with the series production and/or distribution.