Ahh... 'The Dukes of Hazzard', nothing quite like it. I was one year old when 'Dukes' began airing here in the U.K., in March 1979 (less than two months after it debuted in the States, in the wonderful days before $ky nabbed everything new), so literally grew up with the series. Coming at the end of the 1970s, the decade that saw the 'Outlaw' movement at it's height, it capitalised on that whole "good ol' boy" way of life seen in so many Burt Reynolds films and the like. (Interestingly, there are several references to Burt Reynolds in these early episodes; surprising to think that he'd go on to play Boss Hogg in 2005's insultingly poor movie!). As you might know, 'Dukes' was a TV reworking of creator Gy Waldron's 1975 b-movie 'Moonrunners', which featured many identical and similar characters and concepts. I recently managed to get a copy of this film and it's a fascinating comparison.
We only had a video recorder by the time quite late episodes were shown in the U.K., and sadly my father had long since taped over the few recorded episodes I had with James Bond films! Other than a few ropey episodes recorded in the early 1990s (see below), I didn't have access to the complete series was it was finally released season-by-season on DVD in 2005. So now I've decided it's finally time I sit down and watch the series right through heck, I haven't seen some of those late episodes for almost 25 years! As I make my way through, I shall review each one (as in, give my thoughts on each episode; some contributors seem to get confused that ''review' means to simply give an overview of the plot ;) ).
Although I love all periods of 'Dukes' (even the infamous Coy and Vance phase of the fifth season!!), I have to say, it is these original five episodes that I truly love. Although still essentially a comedy, they are more comedy-dramas that do not play simply for laughs, and have a much more rustic, in a way almost "gritty" feel, as opposed to the purely child-orientated, slapstick-heavy offerings that sadly took their toll on late(r) episodes.
This first episode sums up what the series is all about. Bo and Luke, the "two modern day Robin Hoods", steal Sheriff Rosco's illegal slot machines and donate to the money from them to the poor, in this case the struggling Hazzard orphanage.
The casual viewer will notice a number of differences with this and the next four episodes compared to what the series would soon become. Filmed in the real-life Covington, Georgia (they would move to the familiar Warner Brothers lot in Hollywood after completion of the fifth episode, "High Octane"), things have a more 'rough-and-ready' feel to them than the family-friendly proceedings would soon become the norm; several characters are noticeably not yet on form Cooter, is much more of a wild man (at the beginning of this episode, he has stolen the Sheriffs car!), and no character is more of a contrast to their later self than Sheriff Rosco, much more hard-edged than the bumbling loon he would soon morph into. Boss Hogg takes a back seat for most of this one, with Rosco seeming to be the key organiser behind the slot machine racket.
The pacing of this one is great, and does not sag at all. The climatic car chase through town is wonderfully orchestrated (as opposed to the often generic chases of later episodes), and I love how, even in the middle of an edge-of-the-seat pursuit, Bo and Luke still spend their time bickering something that sadly did not continue for long as the production rate increased and such little touches were very much lost.
For some reason, Cooter is driving (a replica of) 'Starsky & Hutch's car in this episode, with no apparent reason given. I've heard a few possible theories as to why it's here over the years, but not even life-long hard-core fans such as yours truly seem to know the real reason; either way, it never appears again in the series.
'The Dukes of Hazzard' was a huge hit when shown here in the United Kingdom. It was one of those family shows that *everyone* liked; children my age liked it, my father loved it, my Mom didn't mind me watching due to the strong morals; heck, even my grandparents and assorted aunts and uncles often tuned in (my late Grandmother loved Uncle Jesse)! It's so sad that we don't have any truly family shows like this nowadays.
Considering how popular it was here, amazingly it's never been repeated by any mainstream channel. Although I think they might have repeated the first season as part of the original run, when the series ended the BBC never reran it rather sad considering some of the other rather weak imported shows they've ran over and OVER again!
Bearing that in mind (and it being long before the internet became common place, which would have allowed fans to share private off-air recordings at least), it wasn't until October 1992 that I finally got my hands on a few 'Dukes' episodes that I was able to record; our next-door neighbours had cable TV installed. By chance I was playing around with the aerial on my portable TV and found that, somehow, the cable TV signal was leaking through the wall (nothing illegal, it was quite literally a stray signal!!) A couple of weeks later, Sky One began running a package of 'The Dukes of Hazzard', consisting of the first 60 produced episodes, running up to the episode "The Fugitive" (made as part of the third season). The quality was often poor considering the 'stray' source, and if the episodes were available to buy back then, I certainly would have done so. That first week I watched "One Armed Bandits" on my portable TV; by the next episode, I had devised a far stronger set-up, and had it hooked up to the family video recorder to record! Not bad for a nerdy schoolboy; All that simply because I loved (and still love) 'The Dukes of Hazzard' so much.
So anyway, there we go, the first episode of a classic. A solid pilot outing, I give this one a definite 10/10. (Oh, and bear with me, not all of my reviews will be SO DARNED LONG!!) =)moreless
EDIT
Episode Summary
Bo and Luke Duke steal Sheriff Coltrane's illegally imported slot machines, and run the 'one armed bandits' themselves, donating the profits to the local orphanage, which is under threat from Boss Hogg.
Watch Online
-
Denver Pyle
Uncle Jesse Duke
-
John Schneider
Bo Duke
-
Tom Wopat
Luke Duke
Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions
See All-
Trivia
ADD TRIVIA- Cooter utters his often used phrase "Shoot fire and save box matches" for the first time in this episode. Edit
- This episode holds the record for the number of times the General Lee's Dixie horn is be heard in a single episode - four times. It is heard once during the chase after the stolen Police car at the start of the story, twice in the scene in the junk yard, and once more as the car drives away in the last shot. Edit
- The guitar used in the opening introduction (not yet a shot of Waylon Jennings) was acoustic. Edit
-
Notes
ADD NOTES- This was the only episode the police station had several different police officers in the jail working where Daisy was in prison. For the rest of the series there was only Roscoe, Enos or Cletus, and Boss Hogg working there. Edit
- The series premiered in the United Kingdom on BBC One on Saturday 3rd March 1979, at 9 pm (it would soon be moved to an earlier time slot to cater to its many younger aged fans). This is less than two months after the show debuted in the US - long before satellite channels were around to poach the rights! Edit
- James Best almost turned the role of Sheriff Rosco (P.) Coltrane down because he said he didn't want to do a "gang thing" for a TV show, believing 'The Dukes' to be a suburban street gang. Edit
-
Quotes
ADD QUOTES- Bo: If you had tuned this car instead of chasing women last night, we'd already have him. Luke: Not with you asleep at the wheel. Edit
- Luke: Watch out for that mailbox! (Bo runs over four mailboxes) Bo: What mailbox? Edit
- Uncle Jesse: Why would you let Cooter borrow your car?! Next time just run it off a cliff and save gas. Edit
-
Allusions
-
Help by adding allusions to this episode. Add allusions
-
Show Forums
Add a Topic
See All
Last Activity
Replies
-
POLL: Favorite Hogg
11/27/1125
-
POLL: Favorite Dukes of Hazzard episode
11/27/1131
-
CMT Continues To Skip Season 5 (Coy & Vance Season) Of The Dukes Of Hazzard
11/27/112
-
Poll: Who is your favorite Duke?
11/17/1161
-
Luke Duke - Tom Wopat on Broadway's Catch Me if You Can
04/14/111
-
The Canterbury Crock
S 3 : Ep 20
Aired 4/10/81
-
The Hack of Hazzard
S 3 : Ep 19
Aired 4/3/81
-
The Great Hazzard Hijack
S 3 : Ep 18
Aired 3/27/81
-
Bye, Bye, Boss
S 3 : Ep 17
Aired 3/13/81
Related Shows
Season 1 Episodes
See AllEp 13
Double Sting
Ep 12
Route 7-11
Ep 11
Money to Burn
Ep 10
Deputy Dukes
Ep 9
Limo One is Missing
Ep 8
The Big Heist
Ep 7
Luke's Love Story
Ep 6
Swamp Molly
Ep 5
High Octane
Ep 4
Repo Men
Ep 3
Mary Kaye's Baby
Ep 2
Daisy's Song
Ep 1
One Armed Bandits
-
Jay-Spacedust EDITOR
User Score: 195
-
angelsxo
User Score: 2503
-
calicow
User Score: 309
-
lae10
User Score: 299
-
fastesttruck
User Score: 128
-
RoseShakara
User Score: 75
-
firecracker666
User Score: 44
-
char2renee
User Score: 29
-
CMTIICE
User Score: 25
-
old_tv_fan
User Score: 23
More
Less
