The Dukes of Hazzard

The Dukes of Hazzard
"Fighting the system like a two-bit modern day Robin Hood"
Genre: Comedy Adventure Running Time: 45–49 minutes Country: United States Release Date: January 26, 1979 – February 8, 1985 Network(s): CBS Created by: Gy Waldron, Rod Amateau, Jerry Rushing. Distributed by: Warner Bros. Television Starring: Tom Wopat John Schneider Catherine Bach Denver Pyle Rick Hurst Sonny Shroyer Ben Jones James Best Sorrell Booke Waylon Jennings Byron Cherry Christopher Mayer Seasons: 7 Episodes: 147

The Dukes of Hazzard was an American TV series that ran from 1979 to 1985, which revolved around the adventures of cousins Bo and Luke Duke in Hazzard County, Georgia, while evading their county commissioner, Boss Hogg and his partner, Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane.

Summary

The television series The Dukes of Hazzard followed Bo and Luke Duke, two cousins living in an unincorporated area of the fictional Hazzard County, Georgia, racing around in their modified 1969 Dodge Charger, The General Lee, evading corrupt county commissioner Boss Hogg and his inept county sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane.

Why It Rocks

1. The show takes the idea and elements of the movie it's based on, Moonrunners, and turns it into an very entertaining show.
2. Tons of memorable characters, such as Bo and Luke Duke, Daisy Duke, etc.
3. Spawned one of the most famous cars in television history, the General Lee.
4. The jumps that the Duke boys pull off in the General Lee are spectacular to look at. Many of the car crashes pulled off are also very incredible.
5. Waylon Jennings does a great job as the narrator.
   1. In addition to being the narrator, he appeared as himself in an episode.
6. The theme song is really catchy, and overall fits the show very well.
7. Some of the side characters can be pretty cool, such as Enos, Cooter, Sheriff Little, and several others.
8. Some of the antagonists get some heartwarming moments, such as Sheriff Roscoe in one episode asking the Duke Boys to help out his brother.
9. Many of the car chase scenes are very exciting to watch.
10. Good celebrity cameos, such as Hoyt Axton, Donna Fargo, Freddy Fender, The Oak Ridge Boys (twice), Roy Orbison, Buck Owens, Johnny Paycheck, etc.
11. One episode showed the origin of how the Duke Boys got the General Lee, and it's told greatly.
12. The setting of the show gives it some very good scenery.
13. The comedy is pretty good, with some adult jokes occasionally.
14. Great acting from most of the cast.
15. Sharp, and excellent writing.
16. Lots of great episodes, like One Armed Bandits, Happy Birthday General Lee, etc.
17. It spawned a great TV movie, The Dukes of Hazzard: Reunion! (1997), which returned the old cast.

Bad Qualities

1. Coy and Vance were not good replacements for Bo and Luke, and were received badly by fans.
2. In the later seasons, the crew was running low on cars to jump, and instead reused stock footage.
3. Some of the characters can be pretty dull, such as Cletus.
4. Some episodes aren't so great such as Strange Visitor to Hazzard.

Reception

The Dukes of Hazzard received positive reviews from both audiences and critics alike, with many considering it to be one of the best TV shows of all time. It has a 7.1/10 on IMDB, an 8.5/10 on TV.Com, and a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Trivia

1. Out of all the cast members on the show, Tom Wopat, Catherine Bach, John Schneider, Ben Jones, and Sonny Shroyer are the few still alive.
2. The crew had beat up 300 Dodge Chargers while performing jumps on the show, with some being repaired. In the later seasons due to the shortage of Dodge Chargers, they used stock footage.
3. In the wake of the 2015 Charleston Church shootings, the show was pulled from networks for reruns, and Warner Bros. stopped selling merchandise of the General Lee, or removed the Confederate flag from it.
4. The original Confederate flag on the car was painted on, but over time the crew created decals to save time putting it on each individual charger.
5. Ernie Hudson, who played Winston Zeddemore in Ghostbusters, worked on The Dukes of Hazzard.

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