User reviews

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.

As his film career slowed down, martial arts action hero Chuck Norris decided for a weekly television series and for nine years he had a pretty good one. It certainly helped the Texas film industry and kept employed a lot of thespian and backstage talent from the Lone Star State.

The title role in Walker, Texas Ranger was played by Chuck Norris as Cordell Walker, a half Cherokee Indian Vietnam veteran who witnessed his parents being killed by racist thugs and was then raised on the Cherokee reservation by his Uncle Ray, played in the first two seasons by Floyd Crow Westerman.

Indian, Vietnam Veteran, Texas Ranger, Martial Artist, all those elements got woven into any and all the episodes of the series. Walker was ably assisted by Clarence Gilyard, fresh from the Matlock series, as a former Dallas Cowboys football star. One thing I swear I never got, injuries cut short his football career, but still he passed the Texas Ranger physical.

Norris's love interest was Assistant District Attorney Sheree Wilson in Dallas and occasionally he called on Noble Willingham, a former Texas Ranger now owner of a popular Dallas rib joint for a little assistance. Willingham was Norris's first partner on the job and the two had a deep affection. Eventually he married ADA Wilson.

Willingham was written out of the series so he could make an unsuccessful run for Congress and Walker got another pair of Texas Rangers with martial arts skills, Nia Peeples and Judson Mills. They were in the series in its last two years.

Norris knew he had a family show and he kept it action filled, but G rated. Take away the martial arts and it's not too different from the Roy Rogers Show in the Fifties. Like Rogers, Norris became a born again Christian and his shows gradually started containing a more Christian message in them. Norris always knew his base was in red state America and played to that audience more and more as the years went by.

Though I hate some of the politics implied, I confess I still do like to see reruns. We could use a few more Cordell Walkers out there, but let's get him some more enlightened opinions on a few issues.

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.

The Texas Rangers are about as famous a Police Agency as there ever was or is in this world; being that they are still going strong and have an origin that pre-dates both the Republic of and State of Texas. The other Police Organizations to be fictionalized as often in their league would be: the "Mounties" of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police/Northwest Mounted Police (now), Scotland Yard and the somewhat police-type agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (the F.B.I.), or as we say in the Police Racket, "the Bureau."* All these groups have had many fictionalized accounts of their exploits. But, next to the collective Radio Programs, TV Series and Theatrical Feature Films and Movie Serials featuring the USA's "Big City" P.D.'s (New York, L.A., Chicago, San Francisco, Mayberry, etc.), no one has more than the Texas Rangers. Their fame and legendary feats have long been written and committed to the page, the airwaves and the screen-be it silver or not.

Just a few examples, off the top of the figurative head; we have THE TALES OF Texas RANGERS (both the Radio Show with Joel McCrea as Ranger Jace Pearson and TV Series; featuring Willard Parker as Jace and Harry Lauter as partner, Clay Morgan.). The OTR (Old Time Radio) Radio Show and its Television version of THE LONE RANGER (1949-57) certainly comes to all of our minds as a good and widely known specimen. After all, just where did you think that the RANGER part of the name come from!? (Hey, man, did I really say, "Television version"?)** And that brings us to our "Review of the Day" guest, WALKER, Texas RANGER (1993-2001). As being a Cop Show, it fills its slot well; yet manages to cross-over into other Genre. Its seemingly easy to pigeon hole series manages to hit a lot of areas that most do not attempt.

For example, it looks like a Western, though a modern-day one. No, we don't mean the 10 gallon hats sported by the various Ranger members; for even a Dude like m'self knows that!*** But there is a spirit of camaraderie and free and easy occurrences that seem to beg for a "B" Western solution by a Juvenile Cowboy Hero and his sidekick.

In the Lead, of course, we have Martial Arts Legend, Chuck Norris, as Cordell "Cord" Walker. His partner on the job and closest of friends is Ranger Jimmy Trivette, portrayed by Clarence Gilyard, Jr. Together they are sort of a "Butch & Sundance" team, as their dialogues are fluent, pertinent, amusing and seem to be natural. Their screen relationship appears real, whether in either Official or Off Duty situations.

So we have little bittie sort of sidebars or subplot scenes involving the heroic pair of latter day Straight Shootin' Lawmen in applying some physical corrective measures. A typical story might have Walker and Trivette being in some Bar, often not being Duty Related and on their own time. They are then confronted by some slightly inebriated "Good Ol' Boys"; locals who think that they're both brave and bad-ass, due to their blood alcohol levels. The Salt and Pepper team (Jimmy Trivette being a Black Man) will always teach the punks a well needed lesson, without taking Police Action (like maybe arresting them, like they should!).

It is at times like this the twosome resembles The Lone Ranger and Tonto! Just think about it, if you will. We have similarities that may well be more than strictly coincidental. They're both teams of men from different backgrounds, racially anyhow. One of the individuals seems to outrank his partner, though not for the same reasons. In the LONE RANGER Saga, Tonto pledges his support as assistant after recognizing the nearly dead Ranger John Reed as one who had saved him (Tonto) years earlier. In WALKER, the rank is strictly one of a paramilitary rank and in official business.

In both instances, we see both men fighting side by side, being equally proficient as fighters and with equal dignity as men. Though both series are Westerns in one form or another, neither opted for the "Comical Sidekick" ploy, which was so common in years-gone-by, and not unheard of today.

NOTE: * Though it has virtually an unlimited budget, covering any and all expen$e$, and the use of possibly the finest in forensic sciences (Crime Lab), the FBI is not a Police Department. It lacks the complexity, the wide responsibility and so many widely divergent and on-going missions. The FBI is more like the Detective Division in being responsible for The Follow Up Investigation of a Criminal occurrence.

NOTE: ** In the Lone Ranger Origin Story, the Masked Man was the sole surviving Texas Ranger of 7 (?) who were massacred by the Butch Kavindish Gang.

NOTE: *** Native Texan and All-American Quarterback from Texas Christian University (TCU), 1937 NFL Rookie, "Slingin" Sammy Baugh was given a 10 Gallon Hat and Cowboy Boots to wear for his first Press Conference and Photo Ops by the Washington Redskins; even though he had never worn such things before in his life!

This series is formulaic and boring. The episodes are the same thing every week, simply with slightly varied settings. Some purely evil character does some dastardly deed, Walker goes after him, and it ends in a Karate match. The villains are super-cliché super-stereotypical evil villains, the good guys are all pure, honest and saintly, and the story lines are simplistic and unrealistic. After about 2 episodes, the show becomes totally unwatchable by all but the least discerning fans. Certainly not Norris's best work. His other work may be cliché but it usually does not drag on for weeks. If you enjoy formulaic,boring, repetitive clichéd snooze-fests, then this is for you.

It was a sad day in my house when this series aired its farewell episode. It was a ritual for my dad and I to sit down every Saturday night and watch Walker, Texas Ranger. I was teased endlessly in high school for being a Chuck Norris fan, but this series made it all worth it. I got my weekly dose of uncynical, clean-languaged action and got to laugh at the sometimes too-good-to-be-true situations. It was nice to have a show out there that didn't feel like it had to use foul language and sexual innuendos every ten seconds to appeal to their audience. I love Chuck Norris' multi-cultural character and the way he mixes Native American wisdom with kick-butt martial arts. Clarence Gilyard's character, James Trivette, was perfectly cast. No one I have talked to could imagine anyone but Clarence Gilyard playing Trivette. He was good in Matlock, but he was sensational in Walker, Texas Ranger. Noble Willingham made for a perfect CD Parker--in fact, he reminded me more than once of my Uncle Jimmy. Sheree J Wilson could not have been cast more perfectly as Assistant DA Alex Cahill, Walker's courtroom nemesis at first, then later his love interest. My favorites, though, have to be the later addition of Judson Mills as Francis Gage and Nia Peeples as Sydney Cooke. Could there have been any more romantic tension between those two?!?!? Judson Mills added a certain almost school-boy charm when it came to bantering with Sydney and Nia Peeples was perfect in the way she let Gage know he was utterly clueless when it came to women. My dad used to say "You know, you can only take so many boots to the face before you just don't get up anymore and I think Walker has exceeded his limit." I was sad to see this show end, but I'm glad that USA Network and the Hallmark Channel air reruns of it, even though they are mostly older episodes from the early '90's.

This TV show is possibly the most pathetic display of crap on TV today. Horribly predictable, obscene usage of slow motion photography, cheesy story lines. Chuck Norris is an abomination who should never have been allowed to be filmed in anything. The way he chooses to make each episode into a public service announcement is really annoying. His acting sucks so bad that it makes a person cringe with embarrassment. I will give the series some credit though...it does get entertaining at times, but not enough for it make any difference. With all the negative points this series has, i still prefer it over reality TV, it can't really get any more worthless than that.

Now, I am not from the times when Walker was on. i'm only 10, Walker Texas Ranger finished when I was only a toddler. but watching the re-runs of the show, i can tell that is awesome, exciting and sometimes even funny! Walker always wins, he rarely gets hurt in the fights. Best TV series I ever seen! OK, here's the way the show goes: Ranger Cordele Walker- (Chuck Norris) is a Texas ranger partnered with a younger ranger named Jimmy Trivette- (Clarence Gilyard Jr) and the episodes usually begin with a crime scene and then you see the rangers at their office when they hear about the crime. they go out and find the bad guy. a while later, they plan a showdown, and Walker goes with Trivette in their truck, finds the bad guy and beats him up. after that, the rangers reunite or something, then the episode ends. the show is super! i strongly recommend it, Chuck Norris kicks butt. 10/10

First of all, no one with any law enforcement experience (Not ER or EMT, but real law enforcement) takes this show seriously. Walker would be drummed out of any police force in the US for his illegal and totally unprofessional tactics. On top of that, he is a comic book character---no acting ability, incredibly trite lines, no character development. The fact that Alex Cahill loves him shows just how dumb blondes really are. And Trivett is the ultimate clown in black-face. Come on---if you think Walker is a heartfelt show without bias, then explain why JT is treated as a dolt, always is the subject of Walker's jokes, never is allowed to be the one to solve the crime, and never rescues Walker, who should be dead 50 times over for the stupid things he does. While it may be true that many criminals are even dumber than the detectives who go after them (and believe me, most cops are dumber than dirt), the smart ones Walker comes up against never seem to get the point that once Walker is captured, the jerk needs to be put of his misery. But then again, Norris produced the show as well as starred in it, so how could he willingly get rid of himself or even show how stupid his tactics are. As if six guys are going to wait around to take him one at a time. What a terrible series! It is more demeaning than any of the hokey westerns like The Lone Ranger, Roy Rogers, The Cisco Kid, and Wild Bill Hickock, though I would imagine that most of you on here are far too young to remember those shows. But like those shows, in the same way as those shows, Walker TR is just as insulting and just plain silly.

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.

Walker Texas Ranger is one of the worst shows produced in the past 10 years. The script for James 'Jimmy' Trivette, Walker's sidekick, is about as pathetically written of a part as Wesley Crusher on Star Trek TNG, and is played with about as much conviction.

On this show, people don't respond the way people respond to things in real life--everyone is polarized--everyone is either a completely good guy or a completely bad guy (unless Walker himself has a 2 minute talk with them and then they change instantly). That's not how life works, that's not how people are. This show doesn't take place in this reality.

The plot lines are about as realistic as Murder She Wrote, a show where an arrogant old lady can just walk into people's houses without them getting angry, and she can demand that police officers do what she wants and they bend over backwards for her. With Walker, everyone on the show, including the "bad guys", act like he's the sort of hero that myths and fairy tales are made of, and time itself bends to his whim. The lines that sometimes come out of people's mouths on this show are beyond ridiculous. It's as if the scriptwriter for the part of Wesley Crusher (for the "serious" parts) and the scriptwriter for Bob Saget's funniest home videos (for the "humor" parts) got together and wrote all the scripts for this show.

This show is for people who think that good always prevails over evil. It's for the elderly. It's for wishful thinkers. It's for people who want to be guaranteed to always have a happy ending. It's for people who want to drift away into oblivion. It's for people whose drug of choice is their television.

I cringe every time I see even a commercial for this show. My opinion is that it is THE worst show to be on television in the last 10 years.

I used to like Chuck Norris, but this show has forever tainted him in my mind. I can't even watch his older movies without thinking of this show.

Cordell Walker is not only a loyal friend, ready to sacrifice his own life for the sake of a friend, but also an implacable enemy who will do everything possible and impossible to bring the criminal to justice. He works with classical methods, often relying on the instincts inherited from his Native American ancestors. His partner, James Trivett, has a more modern approach to crime investigation. The Rangers are assisted in their fight for justice by SiDi Parker , an old ranger who has already retired, and Alex Cahill, an assistant prosecutor who is madly in love with Walker.

Walker can do no wrong. He's a better fighter, better shot, better athlete, better looking than everyone else in the state of Texas. He's even better at darts or chess than his partner and perpetual punching bag Trivette. He ends up saving the day in each episode, sharing none of the glory or accolades.

This show is nothing more than a way for Chuck Norris to stroke his ego.

I can only imagine him sitting in on writer meetings: Writer: Okay, let's have Walker go into a bar, get the snot beat out of him and Trivette shows up and takes care of business.

Chuck: I like it. But let's have Trivette get the snot beat out of him and Walker takes care of business.

Writer: But Chuck, it's been done to death. Can't we change it up a bit?

Chuck: You're fired! Who else has any original ideas?

All the other writers sit there silent.

BTW do NOT play the Walker drinking game with this show. When it first came out, my friends and I would take a shot every time someone said "Walker". I nearly died from alcohol poisoning.

The year was 1993 and there was darkness across television. Chuck Norris appeared and decreed: "let there be a show starring myself as a Texas Ranger named Walker." Now there was show called Walker Texas Ranger. And that is how the show got started. Chuck Norris did not have to persuade CBS to broadcast his program; he simply demanded it and it was done. Thus begins my wonderful journey into the kingdom of Walker Texas Ranger.

Yes the formula for Walker Texas Ranger was simple but effective. Case in point: Walker and his partner Trivette would be cruising down the streets in their Dodge Ram and notice some illicit activity going down in the park. They would get out investigate said activity--- and by now everyone knows the shady looking characters are dealing dope. The 6 or 7 dope dealers feeling very cocky think they can take on Walker and his partner. Big mistake! Apparently the dope dealers have never seen Norris's action blockbuster: TOP DOG because if they had, they would known that Norris was an 8th degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. After Walker and his partner punch and kick justice into the lowlifes, they learn the dope is being shipped and concealed through cans of baby formulas and thus begins the story.

Walker Texas Ranger would adhere to that type of story line every single week and BINGO, the viewers were awarded 9 years of bliss. Of course the critics and elitists would pooh-pooh the show calling it over-the-top and badly acted, but they don't understand the appeal of those types of shows. The viewers enjoyed Walker Texas Ranger because they know the bad guys will get what's coming to them at end, but like to see Walker karate chop his way to the point.

I know Chuck Norris is very busy selling the TOTAL GYM but if ever have the chance to meet him I would shake his hand and tell him THANK YOU for bring Walker Texas Ranger into my home and my life every Saturday Night.

Chuck Norris understands the concept of catharsis about as fully as anyone who has ever worked on television. That is what this show is all about, leading the viewer up to Chuck's eventual mauling of the bad guy. Just like David Carradine's Kung Fu did with an earlier generation. For let's be clear, the bad guys in Walker are not just bad and evil, they are BAADDD and EVIILLL. They leer and smirk and laugh with glee while torturing poor innocents or true blue law officers. And while I haven't begun to see even a majority of the episodes, from what I have viewed it appears that the villains are almost all from the one social, ethnic, and racial group everyone just loves to hate: White males. Following its predecessors, such as the Death Wish and Dirty Harry movies, brown, black and Asian crims are mostly safely integrated only into multiracial "gangs"--absurd as that might be in reality--that would make Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition downright giddy. The master criminal, the true evildoer, the enemy of all mankind is, as far as I can tell, always White. (Note: the Dirty Harry movies were even more "racially correct" about this than Walker. Excepting the opening few minutes of the first film, all of the Dirty Harry villains were not only White but blonde-haired and blue eyed.)

None of this distracts from the Walker Catharsis, however. It probably makes a few soccer moms even feel better than they would usually. Oh, and before some viewers go all holier than thou about Walker being low brow, formulaic, and predictable, just let me ask a question. Is Dancing the Stars, American Idol, and waiting every week to see some pathetic fool voted off an island any better intellectually, artistically, or aesthetically? Give old Chuck credit. He knows how to push buttons and he does it in a style that would be familiar to anyone watching classic TV in the 60s or early 70s. Walker's refusal to go "edgy" or "experimental" almost makes it seem revolutionary in a TV landscape where every series is trying to outshock the other.

I as well shared in the family sit down time with Walker, watching it with my dad as did my roommate. Nothing was better than sitting back and just watching an action movie in an hour.

Now obviously, there is a lack in actual quality in the show as far as the writing goes, but it's always hilarious to see the far-fetched plots that the writers come up with. He somehow manages to get involved with gangsters, drug lords, crooked cops, satanists, kidnappers and all sorts of people despite the fact that he's only a Texas ranger.

Despite this, anyone should be able to sit back, laugh at Chuck Norris' antics, while watching all sorts of things get broken (he always breaks everyone's furniture but no one ever seems to get too mad about it), things blowing up (almost immediately on impact most of the time) and slow motion spin kicks as well as some clever villain banter. The native American episodes are always interesting too with hallucinations and visions...Walker is part native American, so he has supernatural visions.

The theme song always amused me too. The original theme song had a hilarious guitar lead part that reminded em of Top Gun or something and I lost it when I fist heard the song sung by Chuck Norris. Nothing will ever be as good as "the eyes of the ranger."

I don't really know how I felt about the addition of the newer younger characters, but I guess after so many years, you have to do something new. It just didn't seem the same to me anymore after they were added though. Nothing compares to Trivette and Walker's seasons alone for the most part. If you haven't seen this show and you like actions movies, then I highly recommend checking it out, as it airs several times a day.

Series of other times in which the usual lonely cowboy saves the situation with slaps and flying kicks. There are characters characterized in an acceptable way even if everything is decidedly simplistic and banal.

Very bad TV series. Never understood why it was hyped so much.