Walker, Texas Ranger

Walker, Texas Ranger is not only a bad show, but its silly and often enough downright stupid.

We all know the plot - Good Guy (?) Ranger Walker gets involved with a crime - usually involving Bad Guys so horrendously evil that we're supposed to automatically like what Walker does. And, of course, in the last few minutes Walker saves everything with a few karate chops and kicks. (Often ignoring guns near at hand.)

Why is this so much worse than other shows that follow about the same general form?

To begin with, Chuck Norris is a terrible actor - one or two facial expressions, about as much intonation in his voice as Jack Webb at his most absurd.

Then, he surrounds himself with wooden actors, that by their very poverty of talent make him actually almost look good.

And it looks more like the kind of police brutality that made Amadou Diallow famous - so thats a bit of an exaggeration. But its easy to see how Norris's fondness for beating people up is probably the same kind of thing that leads to police brutality cases in real life. Worse yet, Norris is clearly a bit of an exhibitionist this way - he loves to be SEEN beating people up and defining himself as the ultimate arbiter of the law and as an equally ultimate judge of morality.

And... Clarence Gilyard as Ranger Trivette gets to play Norris' sidekick, and is treated as the very worse kind of sidekick - there as a foil to Norris, and as a source of what I think the writers will see as humourous lines. But unlike (say) Cheech Marin in "Nash Bridges" Trivette is not allowd to much more than be such a foil - and very often he is treated as just another person to show on screen.

Finally, the law and even just reasonable behavior are completely ignored. Walker is apparently sufficiently above legal restraints that he does essentially what he wants - even if it is something that would incur his righteous wrath when someone else did it. (Even the theme song echoes this sentiment.)

The show has one redeeming feature - if you want to know how not to act, if you want to know how not to write for the screen, if you want to know how to break laws and still feel like you're always right, this is the show for you - otherwise it would make a good foundation for a drinking game - or MST2K type audience commentary.

This show was so much fun, I don't even know where to begin. I loved it as a kid, and I still love it now when I see it in reruns... only now it seems hilariously hokey, which makes it even better.

Not only did every single episode have the exact same plot (evil criminal mastermind wants to get rich and/or take over Texas), but the EXACT SAME THINGS happened, too. For instance, in EVERY episode of the show, Walker and Trivette would walk into a bar and start questioning the bartender. After about 15 seconds of questioning, the bartender, along with 10 or 20 random patrons, would break out in karate. Apparently everyone in Texas knows karate. It's like a cult down there.

And then there were the episodes where Walker would tell stories of a Texas sheriff who lived in the days of the Old West... who was, of course, played by Chuck Norris. I believe there was also an episode where Walker himself was transported back in time to the Old West.

I could go on and on, but I'll just summarize by saying that it was an awesome show, with awesome karate fights, and awesomely unrealistic plots. But of course, it was never meant to be taken seriously; it was just meant to be enjoyed. It also neatly wrapped up every episode with a nice moral or message. Thank you, Chuck Norris, for eight years of ass-kicking action.

Yes, the acting is horrendously bad. Yes, the dialog is unbelievably cheesy and stale. Yes, the plots are unoriginal and don't make sense. But damn it, when was the last time that we were able to just turn on the television, sit back and enjoy the action without having to deal with some over-the-top action/drama that goes way too fast and shoves some moral lesson on life in our faces? That's what makes Walker Texas Ranger so enjoyable -- it really recreates the feel of those classic Westerns that used to be on all the time back in the '50s. So horrendously bad that it's great to watch when you just need some time to unwind and forget about everything else. And you've gotta admit, it paved way for a great comedy segment on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. I know I'll still be watching this for years to come.

We have plenty of "realistic" cop shows, "Walker Texas Ranger" is not one of those. This is a solid 45 minutes of entertainment every episode, but it's not for everyone, you gotta like a good hunk of cheese in your tv shows. But even if the rest of the episode sucks, the round kick makes every episode the best ever. Lol always gotta have a roundhouse.

There is some pseudo spirituality in there every now and then, and eventually a bidding realistically with one of his co-workers, there is a slight continuing storyline overtime, believe it or not. However , on the weeks this is an episodic show based around kicking bad guys butts. On Saturday night in the 1990's, you couldn't really get any better than my this, for some that's a good thing!

Nowadays, I would wager this show would still kick all of Saturday night show in the butt. It would also roundhouse the new "Walker" and TKO it with a boot to the head.

Been a big fan of Chuck (Carlos) Norris for decades. His Walker series is the best. If I'm not mistaken, it was created or based from his Lone Wolf McQuade movie, in which Chuck plays a less hygienically kept Texas Ranger. My favorite scene in Lone Wolf McQuade is when McQuades's Dodge truck's turbo gets him out of a big hole that was covered up with dirt. My husband use to make fun of me because I watch Walker every night on USA or Hallmark. We bought the last season on DVD and now he's hooked on it too big time. If anyone knows if there is a DVD set that shows Alex and Walker's wedding, I'd love to know. Also am interested in any seasons on DVD of JAG. I think during the final year is when Chuck and his real wife had twins. I love how Chuck thinks, he stopped Walker while it was on top and he did the same thing with his world championship in Marital Arts. He quit competing after I think it was 6 years as world champion in a row. He also has a very good book out called "Against ALL Odds" and it's a great book, couldn't put it down.