Walker Reboot – Good or Bad

CW television decided to a reboot of the show Walker, Texas Ranger. They shortened the title to just Walker. CW has a lot of courage to reboot such a well-known show. The original show starred Chuck Norris, a man known for his fighting, and ran for about eight years. This new show stars Jared Padalecki, known from the show Supernatural.

My dad liked the original show, so though I never watched the whole series I have watched quite a few episodes. When I heard that CW decided to do this reboot, I became curious, so last night, I sat down and watched the pilot episode. While watching I tried really hard to not compare to the previous show. I wanted to see how the show would do on its own. This is my review while avoiding spoilers.

The Good Part from Walker

The show modernized everything. They gave everyone modern cellphones and knowledge. That helped. Also, while I saw some parallels, the new show went in a different direction, especially, giving the main character teenage children. I think Padalecki has the ability to do well and the dynamic between him and his show daughter worked.

The Bad Part from Walker

Jared Padalecki comes to this show after acting previously in the very popular show Supernatural. It’s hard not to think of him in the previous role and if any other of the Supernatural crowd will join the show. Also, the show political. It made a strong emphasis on the plight of illegal aliens. I’ll have to watch more of the show to see how that plays into the main story. I put this as bad because I watch shows to get out of the world issues, not have it shoved in my face. Also, I felt the story disjointed. They had some mystery solve which happened quickly, then focused mostly on Walker and his family problems. It didn’t connect well to me.

Conclusion

This show has potential. Remember this was just the pilot, so I expect some issues as the actors mold their roles. It takes a little bit of time, so could turn into a great show. Padalecki has the hardest part of convincing Supernatural fans that he is no longer Sam Winchester, but instead Cordell Walker.

Next, the show will have to be better than the original. By doing the reboot, they put themselves in direct competition with it. If they are not better, that will cause problems for the show. People will not want to watch it, if they loved Chuck Norris. Honestly, I felt the show could have kept the same name and premise without putting them in direct competition with the original. All they had to do was create this Walker as the son or such of the original Walker. They could have even had the same name. Then the show feels more like an extension rather than a competitor.

In short, my opinion is that this show has potential, but it also has a few problems to overcome. While I may watch the next episode or two, I probably will wait until it shows up on some streaming service. It was good enough to watch and maybe good enough to binge, but not one I feel really drawn to make sure I watch the next episode as soon as available.