Walker’s political stance may be slightly updated, but everything else about the show feels musty and stylish.
Chuck Norris delivered nine seasons in the ’90s and’ 00s kick-ass kicks and lessons in morality as the title character of the CBS crime drama Walker, Texas Ranger. Is still being broadcast multiple times a day on local digital channels and basic cable networks, Walker, Texas Ranger is a relic of a bygone era, when TV cops were uncomplicated do-gooders with no inner lives, and every case could be easily resolved within an hour (minus commercials) through a few fisticuffs and a stern conversation. . The program ended less than 20 years ago, but it feels very outdated than that.
So remake Walker, Texas Ranger in 2021 is a strange prospect, and it seems that the creators of the new CW version (simply titled Walker) have no idea to update this extremely square premise for the current day, at least in the first episode, which is the only one provided for review. Supernatural‘s Jared Padalecki plays the title character, a much more anxious version than Norris’s blunt, tacit legislator. Padalecki’s Cordell Walker comes with a lot of family baggage, beginning with the mysterious murder of his wife Emily (Genevieve Padalecki), which is obviously set up as a continuous storyline.
WalkerThe first episode begins with Walker and Emily divorcing before she is killed, and when Walker tells her “Be safe” before she leaves, it’s a clear sign that she’s about to die. Walker sits down with his teenage children August (Kale Culley) and Stella (Violet Brinson) and his parents (Mitch Pileggi and Molly Hagan) for a wholesome game night, but then he gets an urgent call from Emily and hears shots in the background . When he tries to call her back and gets no answer, he lets out a hilarious, overwhelming male mourning of sadness, which is just slightly less subtle than any of the other emotional moments in the episode.
Ten months later, Walker has just returned from a secret mission, and he gets drunk in a park where he and Emily spent time together. His family is outraged by his absence, during which Walker’s parents and his brother Liam (Keegan Allen) had to step in to raise the children, and his new Ranger partner Micki Ramirez (The 100says Lindsey Morgan) admonishes him to play by the rules and not dominate her chances of success in the white Rangers by men. These are all superficial problems that can be easily solved by a few heartfelt bonding moments, and there is nothing complex about them. Walker, whether in the plot or the character development.
In addition to all of Walker’s trauma, the first installment presents a perfect case of the week, with Walker and Ramirez investigating a roadside attack on a patrol officer. Writer and series creator Anna Fricke barely pays attention to the rudimentary investigation, which mainly serves to cater for some battle scenes (yes, there is a kick-off) and to draw up future plot threads about a generic drug cartel threat. The basic crime-solving story has no tension or mystery, and there is nothing enticing about the possibilities for more generic drug cartel action.
However, the Walker family drama is no better, with his famous rebellious teenage daughter – who is arrested for unspecified drug use at a party – and disapproving yet loving parents, who of course all just want what is best for each other. They are upset about Walker for running away and immersing himself in a case rather than dealing with Emily’s death, but the emotions are broad and simple, communicated in blunt speeches with about as much subtlety as a kick around.
The original Walker, Texas Ranger was known for his conservative stance, and Fricke tries to add a more progressive tone to this version, by bringing in Ramirez as a groundbreaking Mexican-American woman Ranger and giving Walker a gay brother (although Liam’s partner is off-screen). is and is only briefly mentioned in this first) episode). There’s even a subplot about Walker trying to help the undocumented parents of Stella’s best friend. When Walker’s father makes a slightly insensitive remark during the meal, the other family members quickly correct him. While the original show took place in Dallas, the remake is in the more liberal Austin, and the creators seem committed to representing Texas’ growing diversity.
However, they do it in the same cheesy, exaggerated way as everything on the program. WalkerThe political stance may be slightly updated, but everything else about the show feels musty and quiet, completely out of place with the modern genre shows that are The CW’s current brand. This version of Walker could easily fit into CBS, and it’s hard to imagine Supernatural fans following Padalecki to this new program will be happy with anything about it except just seeing his face on screen again.
Padalecki fits awkwardly into the role, which is not the stoic action hero Norris portrayed, but neither is he a complex, flawed protagonist. Walker’s fixation on his dead wife is manifested in submerged, Hallmark visions of her vigilance over him and his family, giving the Padaleckis a chance to look at each other longingly.
The first episode of Walker stick to an original story, and future episodes may branch off more, with more interesting cases and more fully developed supporting characters. But here is very little to indicate the kind of low-rise world building that are CW’s best shows, whether it’s the Arrowverse superhero series or Riverdale or Supernatural. Walker is a hokey, old-fashioned cop show, and to wake it up a bit and post it on The CW does not change that.
With Jared Padalecki, Lindsey Morgan, Keegan Allen, Mitch Pileggi, Molly Hagan, Violet Brinson, Kale Culley, Coby Bell and Jeff Pierre. Walker is on Thursday, January 21 at 8:00 PM ET / PT on The CW.
