The Dukes of Hazzard is an American television series that originally aired on the CBS television network from 1979 to 1985. It was directed by Jack Starrett (1979), following on from Starsky and Hutch (1975). Starrett went on to direct Hill Street Blues (1981).
Main plot
The show was loosely based on the movie Moonrunners (1975), and followed the adventures of two southern good ol' boys, Bo and Luke Duke, living in an unincorporated area of the fictional Hazzard County, Georgia in their souped-up car the General Lee, as they evaded corrupt Boss Hogg and his inept county Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane. Bo and Luke had been sentenced to probation for illegal transportation of moonshine.
Many episodes revolved around Boss trying to engage in an illegal scheme with criminal associates. Some of them were "get-rich schemes," though many others affected the financial security of the Duke farm (property which Boss long wanted to acquire for various reasons). Other times, Boss hired known criminals to frame Bo and Luke for crimes such as bank robbery (thus, resulting in probation revocation and allowing Boss to easily acquire the Duke farm). It was up to Bo and Luke to uncover the schemes and foil the criminals.
More than once, however, Boss was targeted by former associates who were either seeking revenge or turned against him after a scheme unraveled due to Boss' greedy nature or Rosco's bumbling. Other times, criminals who were even more crooked and ruthless than Boss came to town. Rosco has also found himself in trouble more than once. When those situations arose, Bo and Luke often had to rescue their adversaries before defeating the bad guys.
Daisy Duke (portrayed by actress Catherine Bach) has the distinction of having her trademark provocatively high-cut jean short shorts named after her. Uncle Jesse often provided the cousins with sage advice.
Deputy Enos Strate was generally a friend of the Dukes, but during the early years, he too was involved in car chases with Bo and Luke (since he was Rosco's underling). Only after he returned from his stint in Los Angeles did he totally refuse to harass the Dukes without just cause. Deputy Cletus Hogg (Boss Hogg's cousin ) was also generally friendly but also asked to help Rosco arrest the Dukes.
Bo and Luke leave the show
The Dukes of Hazzard was consistently among the top-rated televison series (at one point, ranking second to Dallas, which immediately followed the show on CBS' Friday night schedule). Then, in the spring of 1982, series stars John Schneider and Tom Wopat walked off the set in a contract dispute over their salaries and merchandising royalties.
Two "replacement Dukes" were subsequently hired (Byron Cherry as Coy, Christopher Mayer as Vance), and the ratings immediately sank. The "faux Dukes" (one of the more polite ways viewers described the "long-lost cousins" of Uncle Jesse) were never popular with viewers, and were immediately written out the show when Schneider and Wopat reached a settlement and returned to the series in early 1983.
While the return of Bo and Luke were welcomed by hardcore fans, the show never regained its former popularity, and by 1985, The Dukes of Hazzard quietly ended its run.
Tourist attraction
Although Hazzard County, Georgia was a fictional location, the real-life town of Hazard, Kentucky was a beneficiary of the show's popularity. Members of the cast were frequent visitors to the town's annual Black Gold Festival.
Characters on the show
- Bo Duke (John Schneider 1979 to 1981 & 1983 to 1985 Seasons)
- Luke Duke (Tom Wopat 1979 to 1981 & 1983 to 1985 Seasons)
- Daisy Duke (Catherine Bach)
- Uncle Jesse Duke (Denver Pyle)
- Coy Duke (Byron Cherry 1982 To 1983 Season)
- Vance Duke (Christopher Mayer 1982 to 1983 Season)
- Cooter Davenport (Ben Jones)
- Hazzard County Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane (James Best )
- Hazzard County Deputy Sheriff Enos Strate (Sonny Shroyer 1979 to 1980 & 1982 to 1985 Seasons)
- Hazzard County Deputy Sheriff Cletus Hogg (Rick Hurst 1980-1983 Seasons)
- Jefferson Davis 'Boss' Hogg (Sorrell Booke)
- Flash The Basset Hound - dog
- The Balladeer (Waylon Jennings)
- The General Lee, a souped-up 1969 Dodge Charger. It was orange with a Confederate battle flag painted on the roof. The windows were always open; the doors were welded shut; and the car has the number "01" on both sides. (Through the history of the show, 229 General Lees were used. Twenty still exist in various states of repair. The upper left corner of the "1" in the "01" differed, making for a continuity error.)
Theme song
The theme song "The Good Ol' Boys" was written and performed by the late Waylon Jennings. He was also the narrator of the show.
Movies
There were two made-for-TV reunion movies, The Dukes of Hazzard: Reunion! (1997) and The Dukes of Hazzard: Hazzard In Hollywood (2000)
A feature film remake of the series, The Dukes of Hazzard is scheduled to premiere in 2005.
Spin offs
- The character of Deputy Sheriff Enos Strate was spun off into his own short-lived detective show called Enos , which ran from 1980-81.
- An animated version of the show called The Dukes aired in 1983.
- Three video games based on the show were created:
Reruns
Until TNN was purchased by Viacom, it aired reruns of The Dukes of Hazzard. After the creation of "The New TNN," the program was strangely absent from all television. CMT Canada and Showcase Action airs The Dukes in Canada. CMT America began airing the series in late February 2005.
DVD Releases
The first 2 Seasons are available on Region 1 DVD.
Season 3 is scheduled for release on Region 1 DVD in May 2005.
External links
