WALKER, TEXAS RANGER
FINAL SEASON

PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO PRESENTS

Release Date: June 14th, 2005

MSRP Price: $49.99 
Amazon Price: $34.99
Costco Price: $33.99
Sam's Club: $33.52

24 Season 9 Episodes 
Format: full-screen 
Studio: Paramount Home Video
Run Time: 17 hours 45 minutes
Number of Discs -  6
Sound - Dolby Digital 5.1

Walker, Texas Rangers Season 9 Rating:  A
Video:  A
Audio:  A
Content:  B
Acting:  B
Bonus Material:  NONE
Overall:  A

STARS: Chuck Norris, Clarence Gilyard Jr. (chips), Sheree J. Wilson, Noble Willingham, Floyd Red Crow Westerman, Nia Peeples and Judson Mills

Chuck Norris turned "Lone Wolf McQuade" into a viable television personality that would run for nine seasons on CBS and is still running in syndication today. 

I was never a big fan of the show but Walker was entertaining whenever I caught an episode. The later seasons went for some reaching storylines, but still remained watchable for the full nine year run. 

Other than "Lone Wolf McQuade" and " Invasion USA" Chuck's body of work would be considered "B" movies.  I have enjoyed many of his films, but Walker is probably the mans best body of work. 

Norris' co-star Clarence Gilyard Jr. never had much of a big screen career, but without looking him up at the Internet Movie Database Website I remember the man from CHiP's, Die Hard, Top Gun and as Matlock's private investigator. Not a bad actor but without landing the Walker role Gilyard Jr. would never have had much of a career. 

PACKAGING 
The slip case looks great. CBS Home Video and Paramount mixed a nice collection of images to create the Walker boxed set. The series is burned to single sided discs stored on two disc ultra thin cases. There is a mix of images on each case. 

VIDEO: 
The video looks outstanding and it should being from 2001. There is no color washout or fading. Blemishes and debris are minimal. CBS Home Video has done a nice job with the full-screen transfer. 

AUDIO: 
The 5.1 audio sounds good. It doesn't rock and roll the rear speakers, but television was never really inspired by true Dobly Digital. At ear rocking volume the music gets a bit distorted, but I don't normally listen to the telly that freakin' loud either. The sound is excellent for television. 

BONUS FEATURES: 
Did someone say Bonus Features? I hope not, since the boxed set doesn't offer any.  This is likely the reason the price on the set is at $50 rather than the $70 or $80 price range. 

Since the use of Double sided disc started I have noticed the reduction in price of many of the older series coming in a $40 which is awesome. Walker, despite being a newer series, would have benefited from that new just under $40 price tag. 

SUMMARY: 
While the boxed set offers no supplemental material it is a very nice boxed set. One I am glad to have. But Walker doesn't have the "Autoplay Feature". Studios have got to remember the friggin' "AUTOPLAY". It's a must have feature on ALL boxed sets. It's a common problem with many sets being released today. The menus are cheaply done and don't offer any music overlay. Walker Final Season is a stripped down boxed set intended to give fans what they ask for. No frills, no chills, just episodes. and that's fine. Drop the price to $37.99 and it would be an awesome deal. 

I thought it odd for the first set released to be the final season. It will interesting to see if Paramount works from season 9 backwards or jumps to the first season with it's next release.  

There are obviously a ton of fans that enjoy the Walker series simply based on the fact the show was able to stick around for nine seasons. It's a great set for the collector and could be an opportunity to have over 200 episodes to watch at your leisure.

Walker: Season 9 Overall Rating:  A

BACK TO THE MAIN PAGE