Ein Duke kommt selten allein

Eight years after Fred Silverman's infamous "rural purge", this show burst on the scene and instantly became a hit. Even though the show did get a lot of heat for the outlandish plots, simplistic characters and scantily clad women, especially Daisy, this show struck a chord with the American public during the late 70's/early 80's. Also, you could tell that this show was done very tongue in cheek and that the cast had a lot of fun doing it. The only bump in the road that hurt its momentum was when John Schneider and Tom Wopat left the show due to a contract dispute. When the producers thought that those two could be replaced by a pair of actors that were almost identical to their predecessors. However the show went downhill during this period. Also, the producers thought that it was the car and not the two leads that everyone turned in to see. However, when the ratings dropped and soon the producers were begging Schneider and Wopat to return.

Even though this show wasn't Shakespeare, it still was one of the highlights of C.B.S.'s Friday night lineup.

I'm biased because I was the of perfect age (and mindset, I LOVE car culture) to grow up with shows like this and Knight Rider. But this show was one of a kind, and took advantage of the car cult flicks of the 70's. While I'll admit some of the episodes were downright cartoonish (actually, most were!), some episodes were really attempting to tell a decent story. As predictable as every episode was, it still had a charm to it that made you want to engage. The main actors were all really good in their portrayals, and you felt like Hazard county really existed somewhere, and to a certain degree, I bet it does, without the jumping car, of course. Bottom line, this was an era where shows were comfortable in what they were, and that alone holds value with me. No agendas, no propaganda, no hidden messages, just "turn your brain off" fun, with eye candy for both sexes. And a fast car to boot. That was all you asked for back then, and honestly, I'd do anything for us to be living in that time again.

I just realised that this series was based on the 1974 movie "Moon Runners," which didn't have the Duke family, but it did have characters named Uncle Jesse, Cooter, and Waylon Jennings as the Balladeer. The main characters, Bobby Lee Hag and Grady even had a stock car which they raced. The car wasn't named "General Lee," but was named after Robert E. Lee's horse, Traveler. They significantly cleaned up the story to make it family-friendly for television. In the movie, the main characters were involved in the illegal alcohol business. Uncle Jesse was a moonshiner who was in trouble with other local moonshiners because of his insistence on quality. Bobby Lee was a rum runner, who used his big old Chevy to outrun the local sheriff and the revenuers (tax authorities).

Love this show so much, the cars, the family, fighting the system, it was the Fast and the Furious before Vin Diesel.

Contains one of the most underrated comedy duos ever in James Best and Sorrel Booke. There will never be another Roscoe P Coltrane or Jefferson Davis High again.

Yes, I grew up watching this (along with All in the family, facts of life, Diff'rent Strokes, The A-Team, etc) I was born in 72 in Marietta, GA and I remember loving this show (yes, I am a male) I would be sitting in front of the T.V. every time this show came on. It was great back then and I could relate to the scenery, Plots, etc. Georgia really looked like that back then, no traffic, not many people and a lot of the main roads were dirt (Canton road, Acworth, 41, etc, were one lane roads and usually dirt) I miss those times and blame technology on busting us people apart... it's too bad they don't have good shows on like this anymore.. If you have not seen this I would suggest you watch some but you have to have the right frame of mind to understand them... :) This was made when America was a great place to live, we were free and did not live under a dictatorship...