DVD TALK'S REVIEW OF WALKER TEXAS RANGER THE FINAL SEASON

The Movie:

In the eyes of a ranger, The unsuspecting stranger, Had better know the truth of wrong from right, 'Cause the eyes of a ranger are upon you, Any wrong you do, he's gonna see, When you're in Texas, Look behind you, 'Cause that's where the ranger's gonna be.

Poetry, pure frikkin' poetry is what the lyrics to the Walker Texas Ranger theme song are to my ears. Sung by the main man himself, Chuck Norris, that song perfectly sums up the long running series (that for some reason makes it's DVD debut with the last season rather than the first, a bizarre move on Paramount's part that I really don't understand) that entertained millions in its eight season (I'm sorry, I know technically it's nine but the first season only had three episodes so it doesn't really count in my book) run on CBS.

The premise for Walker isn't all that far removed from that of any other cop/law enforcement show. Chuck Norris plays a Texas Ranger named Cordell Walker who deals with the world's problems very much like a cowboy would.. a cowboy with a penchant for kicking people in the head, that is. He's a tough guy who isn't afraid to use his fists or his feet when he needs to, but he's also an honorable man who doesn't use his considerable fighting skills unless it's absolutely necessary.

Walker doesn't work alone, however. He's got a team of three other rangers who help him out every day and they're not only partners, they're also friends who tend to hang out in the local bar quite a bit. First, there's Sydney Cooke (Nia Peeples of Fame), the sassy lady cop who's always there to lend a hand and kick bad guys in the face at the drop of a ten gallon Stetson hat. And then there's Jimmy Trivette (Clarence Gilyard Jr.), a one time Dallas Cowboy football hopeful who, due to a shoulder injury, had to leave the football world and has since joined the Texas Rangers and quickly rose up the ranks to become Walker's right hand man. Rounding out his posse of law enforcing friends is Francis Gage (Judson Mills), a slick cop with a good heart. When Walker isn't fighting crime, odds are pretty good he'll be making time with his sexy lady friend/beloved wife, a district attorney named Alex (Sheree Wilson).

The episodes contained in this final season are laid out as follows:

Disc One:

Home Of The Brace
Deadly Situations
White Buffalo
The Avenging Angel

Disc Two:

The Winds Of Change
Lazarus
Turning Point
Retribution

Disc Three:

Child Of Hope
Faith
Golden Boy
Desperate Measures

Disc Four:

Division Street
Saturday Night
Justice For All
Six Hours

Disc Five:

Medieval Crimes
Legends
Unsafe Speed
Without A Sound

Disc Six:

Blood Diamonds
Reel Rangers
The Final Showdown Part 1
The Final Showdown Part 2

Whether he's fighting crime with his co-workers or just enjoying a relaxing evening hanging out with Don 'The Dragon' Wilson and Bill 'Superfoot' Wallace (both of whom guest star in the Legends episode), Chuck Norris plays Walker with the same sort of cardboard enthusiasm that his fans know and love him for. With about as much emotion as a bag of potatoes, Norris punches and kicks his way through whatever problems come his way and never once breaks a sweat or loses his black hat. While some of the characters surround him do try to emote every once in a while, Norris remains as stone faced as ever yet somehow manages to turn this to the show's advantage. At times, with his non-acting in full swing, his larger than life adventures almost border on the surreal. Sure, there are plot holes big enough to drive a pick up truck through and yeah, the scripts are about as predictable as you can get, but there's just so much going on sometimes and so little of it makes any sense that, when you through in the strange rock songs that sort of sing about the on screen action it all turns out so wonderfully insane that you can't help but love it.

As if Chuck wasn't enough on his own, this season also benefits from a few heavy duty guest spots. I've already mentioned Don 'The Dragon' Wilson (eleven time world kickboxing champion and a student of the Chuck Norris school of acting) and Bill 'Superfoot' Wallace, but how about Frank Stallone? That's right, Sly's brother and the star of the Roller Blade 7 trilogy appears alongside Chuck in an episode entitled Saturday Night in which Walker and his crew go undercover to stop the mob. Look for wrestling superstar Hulk Hogan in the Division Street episode where he helps Walker start a basketball league for street kids to put an end to a gang war. What about Dionne Warwick? We all love Dionne Warwick, and she shows up to enlist the aid of Walker and company so that she can retrieve the stolen heart needed to save her young granddaughter who is in line for a transplant. And let's not forget Ernest Borgnine, he's here too when Walker and the rangers are once again on an undercover operation, this time to stop a crooked business man from monkeying with a wrestling promoter.

Yeah, it's all terrible but it's also terribly fun. If you're into mindless action and corny moments galore, then you're probably already familiar with the odd little world that Chuck Norris brought to prime time TV in the 1990s. If you're not yet an aficionado of this fine, fine series and you have an appreciation for men who solve problems by kicking people in the head and downing a cold beer or two, then this is the show you've been waiting for.

The DVD

Video:

Seeing as this was a television series, it shouldn't surprise anyone to see it presented fullframe, which is how it was shot. Overall, the quality of the video is pretty good. Some of the darker scenes exhibit some mild compression artifacts here and there and there is some minor edge enhancement present in a few scenes but the colors come through reasonably well and there's a nice level of detail present in the picture. While there is a certain level of softness present throughout the episodes, the video quality on this release looks as good, if not marginally better, than the episodes looked on broadcast television.

Sound:

The entire season is presented in its original Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo with optional closed captioning available in English. There are no other alternate audio tracks or subtitles on this set. Dialogue is plenty clear enough and the opening theme song sounds nice and lively. The various musical cues used throughout the episodes have got sufficient punch to them, as doe the sound effects. Overall, the sound mix on this set is very solid.

Extras:

There are no extra features at all on this set, unless you consider chapter selection a special feature (and for the record I don't). This was definitely a disappointment, I'd hoped for a Chuck Norris commentary or two or maybe some sort of documentary or even a promo spot or still gallery, but nope, Paramount shows Chuck no love in the extra features department and for that they deserve a swift kick to the head.

Final Thoughts:

Despite the bizarre idea of releasing the last season first and the dubious decision to release the set completely bare bones, Paramount has at least ensured that the episodes look and sound okay.

If you're a fan of the series, then Walker � Texas Ranger: The Complete Final Season comes recommended but if you're new to the series I'd say start with the first season (which isn't out yet � weird, huh?). The content is great and this set gets the recommendation based on that alone, however, CBS really should have put some more effort into the extra features department.