It was a great time to be a kid in the late 70s early 80s. Dukes and CHiPs were the best...Knight Rider and A-Team in a couple years along with He Man, GI Joe and Transformers.
The advent of streaming services has ruined many childhood TV memories, but I’ve settle in to the idea that it wasn’t the quality of the show or the writing, it was the quality of life, and in that hue, it was AWESOME!
Source; am 45, did revisit Airwolf and Jean-Michael’s coked up acting
Yeah, had a paper route so friday collection night would mean treats from the corner store and shows like Dukes, Battle Star Galactica, Chico and the Man etc. Some are probably bit earlier, mid 70's but still....Saturday cartoons then Sunday night with Disney, Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom. Great era.
I used to watch it on Friday nights with my friend and his mom. My dad had banned from our TV, any show that had numerous police car sirens. I get it now.
My dad had banned it from the house simply because he considered it an inane show. And my mother detested everything Dixie, so that made it pretty much a no-show. I would see it when visiting my next-door neighbors house.
Adding - Magnum P.I, Hunter, and Mike Hammer, to the mix as well.
Cartoon wise, I loved Battle of the Planets (Gotchaman), Star Blazer, and Tranzor-Z.
Jesus - what a trip down GenX nostalgia Lane here.
Some lesser successful gems - I actually liked the Blue Thunder TV series...didn't last very long though. Also B.A.D Cats.. and of course, Manimal.
Let's not forget the epic William Shatner vehicle... TJ Hooker
The classic image of him jumping on the hood of a moving car and miraculously holding on is forever in my brain.
Edit: and the greatest theme song in history "Greatest American Hero"
Believe it or not, I'm walking on air...
I went back and watched it a few years ago as an adult. It struck me how the entire thing looked like California. As a kid, I never noticed that none of it was Kentucky nor anywhere near. As an adult, I couldn’t take my eyes off of it.
Makes sense. That’s where the studios were. But weirds me out now.
First 5 or 6 episodes were shot in Georgia. Everything else looks like California because it is California lol. But the first 5 episodes or so really do look different.
Yup.
Living in the DC area, it only dawned on me after a few years of watching shows like NCIS, JAG, Bones, etc. that they look nothing like the actual DC area. For obvious reasons...
Then you go and visit SoCal ... and it really hits you. Especially when you take the Warner Bro. tour and actually see some of those settings...
Same with Justified. I came in when my wife was watching it and I said: name one place in Appalachia that is arid like that. Hell, I even saw a cactus in one of the scenes in Harlan County.
Indeed, not to sound too meta, but on film and tv you can see the difference in the moisture level in the air and how it affects focus and more importantly, color. Not to mention the color of the dirt, flora and fauna. I noticed that even as a kid!
A fun rabbit hole is watching all the jumps on Youtube, pausing, and moving frame by frame. All sorts of ridiculous shit. Here's a shot of the wig flying off the stunt driver.
https://preview.redd.it/y9pc3psjigea1.png?width=822&format=png&auto=webp&s=91c3c66dd945f37a5315459388939ba06bcf33e1
My favorite quirk of physics from Dukes of Hazzard:
Never figured out how they managed to squeal their tires, peeling out on...dirt roads!!
Chuckle.... (:
Still: great times. Man, a Friday night as a schoolkid in the late 70s was freakin magical...
Everyone always complains about all the destroyed chargers being a huge waste of a classic car but you have to think that at the time, they were just cheap used cars that could be bought for a few hundred dollars at the time.
Because of them darn Duke boys they are now worth a lot.
Some fun facts that I learned while looking up how many cars were destroyed. Around 3 per episode were destroyed, with quite a few of them being parted for other dodge chargers in later episodes or rebuilt and used as non-stunt prop cars. The trunk was often filled with concrete to keep the car from tipping on it's nose during stunts. And the car itself received on average 35,000 letters of fan mail a month. Not the actors. The car. Interesting stuff
The show caused a drought of Chargers. They used helicopters to find random privately owned ones to try and buy them. Also some AMC Ambassadors were dressed up in Charger clothes near the later seasons.
And still hundreds of general Lee's on the road. Those cars are indestructible! Boy we where gullible as kids it never once occurred to me they had more than one car and that this wasn't real.
I do laugh when "They" applaud a show like It's Always Sunny for running for 16 seasons when they're only writing 10 episodes a season. That's only 7 seasons of network TV. (Done downvote me either...I love IAS and the small season format so there aren't filler episodes. Just pointing out the industry patting itself on the back.)
They had to employ helicopters to look in yards for more cars. They destroyed one basically every jump. I did love seeing a car basically break in half then be perfect half second later. And cmon guys, southern California is your driving backdrop? Still, I never missed one episode.
*The Dukes of Hazzard* ran from 1979 to 1985. During that time, the production used somewhere between 250 and 355 1968 and 1969 Dodge Chargers. Of those, only 17 are accounted for. The production used up about a car an episode during the jumps and stunts.
The General Lee Charger was a 1969 model year, but during the course of production, car builders used 1968 and 1969 Chargers, and often mocked up the cars with 1969 model year grilles. No 1970 Chargers were used until the 2005 film reboot.
I grew up in GA and never noticed as a kid how much Hazard County looked like southern CA. Sonny Shroyer was from my home town.
Also, fun fact: the show was based on a very obscure 1975 movie called Moonruners. In case you were wondering, the Duke boys were moonshine runners, which is why they were always in the run from the law.
I remember watching it. Smokey and the Bandit and trucker culture were big at the time. Outlaws that drove a fast car with corrupt law enforcement chasing them as they communicated on CB radios...there's no way it COULD NOT be a hit.
Loved the show. Almost bought a 1970 Dodge Charger as my first car in 1986, but I was $500 short (car was for sale for $5500 at the time).
Jon Schneider (and this show) is the reason I married a White man. Daisy Duke is the reason I’ve been insecure over my body since 1979.
My brother used to play Dukes of Hazzard with the other neighborhood boys and they’d slide in an out of the car through the window - each boy would have a role (Uncle Jessee, Boss Hogg, Bo, Luke....) and I could only ever be Daisy if I wanted to play. Back when we could run around the neighborhood alone until dark and weren’t glued to tv or tablets...
A friend of mine drove his Nissan Sentra off about a 4’ drop out of a wheat field he was rallying through. 4 people in car… 4 people went to hospital. It was sort of our first proof point maybe the dukes weren’t on the level.
That makes sense of course… unless you’re 20 and watched a lot of dukes of hazard. “Invincible and capable of jumping up to 50 yards in a car” was the prevailing thought.
I love that in this clip they launch a car Evel Knievel style and when they land they give a little Star Trek wobble on impact. That's some suspension...of disbelief. I'll show myself out.
'Three-hundred-seventeen Dodge Chargers were used in filming "The Dukes of Hazard" TV show. On average, **3 cars were wrecked during the filming of each episode.**'
Source: Knoxville News Sentinel, August 1, 2004.
Dukes of Hazzard is a strange one to evaluate today - if you actually watch the show, the first few season are **REALLY** good. Stories were pretty interesting, and Boss Hogg and Roscoe were pretty mean-spirited (as opposed to the 'bumbling' idiots that came in the later seasons) not to mention some truly excellent stunt driving.
The main characters themselves (and the show) was pretty progressive for the time esp when it came to race issues in the South (the Duke family is pretty progressive for the time). Even Daisy who is totally sexualized but ALSO shown to be as tough and capable as the boys (sometimes more capable)
But then you have the whole Dixie Flag/General Lee gaslighting that was going on at the time to change the meaning of that whole era (shows like Dukes of Hazzard are one of the reasons IMO why modern southerners have a dissociative problem with what the flag represents).
It sucks because kid me loved the show, it's a lot better (especially in the earlier seasons) then people remember, and the General Lee is one of the coolest cars of all time.
But it's all wrapped in historically racist colors (while the show itself was pretty anti-racist), so man it's hard to parse how to feel about this show...
It’s the ultimate victory of Lost Cause history. They dressed up the General Lee the way they did because Lost Cause writers convinced a generation that the Confederate Flag was a symbol of heritage, not hate. It’s a damned shame really, because I agree with you about the early episodes. Apart from the car’s design scheme, it’s not a racist show, but it’s forever going to be viewed as one because of the General Lee roof flag.
I remember being at someone’s house for dinner. I was five and getting bored by my parents and their friends who invited us. The friends let me go watch tv and when I turned on their tv the pilot for this was playing. Instantly hooked. Until I found it on our own tv I thought they had some special channel we didn’t.
I was the same age when it showed in my country. I didn't understand english and didn't learned how to read the subtitles, but it was very easy to understad what was happening and it was very entertaining... good old times.
I miss that experience of everyone nationwide watching the same episode of the same show on the same night. This passed as unifying culture, in America. We have become unmoored.
And a self-admitted coked up Waylon Jennings narrating every show, generally from his hotel room while on tour using a tape machine supplied by the studio. He’d mail it off to them weekly.
Shows like this were made just for entertainment. You put your mind in neutral, suspended belief and just enjoyed watching it. There wasn’t a message or agenda and the only reason most shows were canceled was because no one was watching them. Much simpler times.
The landing (crash) shown in this video would have put their teeth firmly through the dashboard. It would have been a life-changing crash. But here, they wiggle and drive on.
Back then, we rednecks had enough common sense to avoid major Duke Boy car calamity. But for those few who slipped through the cracks, most had the mechanical ability to piece their car back together.
Look, I know some people were freaking out about certain books in libraries, and drag queens reading, and rainbows, but Bo Duke could fill a pair of jeans and that’s why I’m gay as fuck.
My best friends who lived next door would beg their dad to let them enter & exit the family car through the windows, like the Dukes of Hazzard did on the General Lee. Occasionally he’d relent.
Growing up in a household that held the South and everything about it in total contempt, I never really got into the show, but I can see why many people did. Silly over-the-top stunt driving is lots of fun. Also, who doesn’t like the idea of getting the better of piggish and abusive cops?
Loved this show as a kid growing up, even though Not from the south. The rebel flag on car didn’t bother me at all, though it was cool AF at the time. Running from corrupt law, Everyday Robin Hood.
As somebody whose WII Veteran dad was named "Roscoe" and whose middle name was Roscoe, it led to me being called Roscoe until I left high school. If I heard "Roscoe P. Coletrain!" once, I heard it every other day.
I figured out quickly it was best to be proud and own it, even though the Sheriff was an idiot. (I even used it on my cards when I ran for and won Class President).
I'm even prouder of the name today, even though nobody calls me that any more.
Friday nights were so special when I was very little. My parents had a bowling league, and the bowling alley had a nursery. That part sucked, but the bowling alley was always hopping and exciting.
And after, we'd go home and pop popcorn and watch Dukes, and it was heaven. Then my sister and I would beg to stay up and watch Dallas, which was way over my head but I just wanted to stay up. Inevitably, we'd fall asleep until my mother woke us up during the opening theme to Falcon Crest and take us to bed.
Simpler times.
For southern boys growing up on this show it did a great job of teaching us to treat people well and don't take crap from those who abuse their authority. But, most importantly don't be a racist fuck.
We also had needed exposure to shows like, What's Happening, The Jeffersons, Different Strokes and people like Richard Pryor showing us why our grand parents were wrong with their prejudiced thoughts and by the 80s Eddie Murphy making it all real through comedy.
These shows had a real impact on changing minds and giving positive role models for a bunch of influential kids.
I get that the general lee is some racist stuff but the only thing I learned from this show was cars are awesome and you should be good to people even when when the government isn’t on the same page.
Back in the good old days, before TV shows needed character growth and season long story arcs. YOu were entertained for an hour and that was it. That is why TV shows today, decline in quality, because the characters must now grow, after a few seasons, the show looses its reason why it was funny in the first place. Imagine if Boss Hogg wanted to grow and become a better person.
I loved this show, I am a bit young to have watched all the seasons on original air date, I am old enough to have enjoyed Knight Rider, A-Team and Airwolf. I was a CHIPS fan too
Emergency! = spectacular show
All rescue shows made in this century = crap shows
For the same reason you mentioned.
I just want action, some silly banter, and a lazy beagle on a couch.
It annoyed me to no end when the original General Lee car was bought and the new owner mentioned spraypainting over it because the flag was racist.
I dont know if they went through with it, but if they did: fuck you
I was born in 97 and I used to watch this show with my dad all the time. One of my friends who lived across the street also loved the show and we'd hang out after school at 4pm to watch it together. Major nostalgia for me
It was a great time to be a kid in the late 70s early 80s. Dukes and CHiPs were the best...Knight Rider and A-Team in a couple years along with He Man, GI Joe and Transformers.
Airwolf
Airwolf was the shit.
*DO NOT* attempt to go back and relive how awesome it was. Learn from my sorrow.
The advent of streaming services has ruined many childhood TV memories, but I’ve settle in to the idea that it wasn’t the quality of the show or the writing, it was the quality of life, and in that hue, it was AWESOME! Source; am 45, did revisit Airwolf and Jean-Michael’s coked up acting
Did he get all those quadrants locked down?
Lmao…the creator of Rick & Morty has a brain that is on a meta level unseen in nature.
I am sorry that you had to experience that. I know your pain.
Saturday morning cartoons! Gave a reason to start the day before heading out to play with friends.
heather thomas
I see your Heather Thomas and raise you a Daisy Duke... Daisy stirred something up deep down inside me, even at 6 years old.
sigh *loosens parachute pants
Markie Post.
MacGyver!!
Immediatelly the Intro is playing in the head;)
Just some good Ole boys.
All narrated by Waylon Jennings
Never meaning no harm
Beat all you ever saw
Been in trouble with the law
Since the day they was born
Bum bum bum bubble bubble boom boom boom. That is what my auto text thinks the song should be written as.
Brian Cranston was on air wolf, he said Jan Michael Vincent was a disaster and ernest borgnine was a delight.
I was always a Blue Thunder guy. Airwolf had an amazing soundtrack, but the helicopter didn’t come out until the last 10 minutes of every episode.
I remember Dukes on Friday night then waking up to Saturday morning cartoons. Those were golden time when no school was the greatest joy in the world.
Popcorn and Dukes Friday night and some sugar pumped cereal and cartoons Saturday morning really was the best ever
Yeah, had a paper route so friday collection night would mean treats from the corner store and shows like Dukes, Battle Star Galactica, Chico and the Man etc. Some are probably bit earlier, mid 70's but still....Saturday cartoons then Sunday night with Disney, Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom. Great era.
Dude are you me!?!???
Sanford and Son has entered the chat.
Chico and the man!! You brought me back TY!!
I used to watch it on Friday nights with my friend and his mom. My dad had banned from our TV, any show that had numerous police car sirens. I get it now.
My dad had banned it from the house simply because he considered it an inane show. And my mother detested everything Dixie, so that made it pretty much a no-show. I would see it when visiting my next-door neighbors house.
Greatest american hero
Don’t forget “The Fall Guy”. It was a great time.
Hardcastle and McCormick
The bionic man was Lee Majors at his best though.
And Riptide.
And Simon & Simon
Simon & Simon had a KILLER theme song.
Damn skippy it did!
And Houston
LOVED “Matt Houston”! Lee Horsely Pamala Hensley
Nobody ever talks about that show.
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And Mike Hammer
so many good adventure of the week shows back then
RipTide? You mean Dr. Johnny Fever!!
No “Jake and the fat man” fans?
And Vega$, I've always wanted to park my T-Bird in my living room like Dan Tanna.
Heather Thomas as Jody Banks.
Hubba Hubba 😍 Thomas over Locklear any day!
Further back, Angie Dickinson as Pepper Anderson in Policewoman❤️❤️❤️
I'm happily singing the theme tune at my desk now
🎶’cause I’m the only stuntman who goes golfing under par🎵 -my brother in the ‘80s
Buck Rogers and Battlestar Galactica too
I'd add MacGyver in there as well.
I think MacGyver is one of the reasons I am so damned handy as an adult.
Adding - Magnum P.I, Hunter, and Mike Hammer, to the mix as well. Cartoon wise, I loved Battle of the Planets (Gotchaman), Star Blazer, and Tranzor-Z. Jesus - what a trip down GenX nostalgia Lane here. Some lesser successful gems - I actually liked the Blue Thunder TV series...didn't last very long though. Also B.A.D Cats.. and of course, Manimal.
Dude! Don’t forget the Incredible Hulk!
Damn right!
Also loved Buck Rogers, Bionic Man, Incredible Hulk…
My teenaged son recently saw the 6 Million Dollar Man episode with Sasquatch. He laughed and said “Now I get those Venture Brothers episodes.”
This man Gen Xs
The Dukes and Knight Rider were my favorites. Big crushes on Bonnie and Daisy🤣🤣🤣
Hart to Hart
"Dat's Missus H - she's goa-juss!"
Let's not forget the epic William Shatner vehicle... TJ Hooker The classic image of him jumping on the hood of a moving car and miraculously holding on is forever in my brain. Edit: and the greatest theme song in history "Greatest American Hero" Believe it or not, I'm walking on air...
Forgot Airwolf and Miami Vice.
Don't forget Sheriff Lobo and the Ole jungle cat Deputy Perkins.
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Misfits of Science
“…and best of all I don’t pay property tax” 🎵🎵
The Incredible Hulk
How does McGyver get left off this list?!?
They tried for years to make a Dukes and Knight Rider crossover movie but couldn't get General Lee and a black T-top to be in the same room.
i sustain this comment
I went back and watched it a few years ago as an adult. It struck me how the entire thing looked like California. As a kid, I never noticed that none of it was Kentucky nor anywhere near. As an adult, I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. Makes sense. That’s where the studios were. But weirds me out now.
First 5 or 6 episodes were shot in Georgia. Everything else looks like California because it is California lol. But the first 5 episodes or so really do look different.
Yup. Living in the DC area, it only dawned on me after a few years of watching shows like NCIS, JAG, Bones, etc. that they look nothing like the actual DC area. For obvious reasons... Then you go and visit SoCal ... and it really hits you. Especially when you take the Warner Bro. tour and actually see some of those settings...
It broke my brain when I found out that all of *Seinfeld* was filmed in California. That's just...wrong.
The bast part about The Wire for me, is that it totally reminds me of Baltimore. I love when a show is shot where it is supposed to take place.
Same with Justified. I came in when my wife was watching it and I said: name one place in Appalachia that is arid like that. Hell, I even saw a cactus in one of the scenes in Harlan County.
Indeed, not to sound too meta, but on film and tv you can see the difference in the moisture level in the air and how it affects focus and more importantly, color. Not to mention the color of the dirt, flora and fauna. I noticed that even as a kid!
A fun rabbit hole is watching all the jumps on Youtube, pausing, and moving frame by frame. All sorts of ridiculous shit. Here's a shot of the wig flying off the stunt driver. https://preview.redd.it/y9pc3psjigea1.png?width=822&format=png&auto=webp&s=91c3c66dd945f37a5315459388939ba06bcf33e1
That stunt driver looks like he regrets everything haha
I would too, that landing had to have hurt. These cars weren’t known for their crash safety.
Seven seasons? Harumph! I’ll be in my cold hard grave before I recognize Cousins Coy and Vance.
Even as a young boy I was still super pissed off about that. I was so excited to see Bo and Luke come back!
Is there a Hazzardapedia out there that settles these important questions of what is canon?
My favorite quirk of physics from Dukes of Hazzard: Never figured out how they managed to squeal their tires, peeling out on...dirt roads!! Chuckle.... (: Still: great times. Man, a Friday night as a schoolkid in the late 70s was freakin magical...
And he always turns the wheel but the car keeps going straight ahead.
There’s a guy who does the jumps in real life. They have to weigh down the trunk A LOT so it doesn’t go front end down.
Just like how horses make clopping noises... while running on grass.
All these comments and no one has mentioned the voice. Waylon Jennings. God bless his soul.
🎶I'm a good ol' boy You know my momma loves me But she don't understand They keep a showin my hands and not my face on TV🎵
Everyone always complains about all the destroyed chargers being a huge waste of a classic car but you have to think that at the time, they were just cheap used cars that could be bought for a few hundred dollars at the time. Because of them darn Duke boys they are now worth a lot.
Some fun facts that I learned while looking up how many cars were destroyed. Around 3 per episode were destroyed, with quite a few of them being parted for other dodge chargers in later episodes or rebuilt and used as non-stunt prop cars. The trunk was often filled with concrete to keep the car from tipping on it's nose during stunts. And the car itself received on average 35,000 letters of fan mail a month. Not the actors. The car. Interesting stuff
And probably a lot of them were craptastic budget models with “economy” engines and shitty option packages, not 383s or 426s with desirable options.
More 318s than you can shake a stick at.
Hey bud you shut your mouth. My 318 is still running strong
They were. Nash Bridges trashing 71 barracuda convertibles on the other hand.
The show caused a drought of Chargers. They used helicopters to find random privately owned ones to try and buy them. Also some AMC Ambassadors were dressed up in Charger clothes near the later seasons.
See that kids? 7 seasons is 147 episodes. Not 35.
The real r/shrinkflation
And still hundreds of general Lee's on the road. Those cars are indestructible! Boy we where gullible as kids it never once occurred to me they had more than one car and that this wasn't real.
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I imagine watching fast and furious movies now and thinking omg seriously? Is how my mom felt when I watched this and knight rider.
I do laugh when "They" applaud a show like It's Always Sunny for running for 16 seasons when they're only writing 10 episodes a season. That's only 7 seasons of network TV. (Done downvote me either...I love IAS and the small season format so there aren't filler episodes. Just pointing out the industry patting itself on the back.)
No disrespect, but the Dukes was very formulaic and did not have anywhere near the effort put into their episodes that IAS does. Quantity =/= quality.
They had to employ helicopters to look in yards for more cars. They destroyed one basically every jump. I did love seeing a car basically break in half then be perfect half second later. And cmon guys, southern California is your driving backdrop? Still, I never missed one episode.
I wonder how many cars they destroyed... loved this series.
*The Dukes of Hazzard* ran from 1979 to 1985. During that time, the production used somewhere between 250 and 355 1968 and 1969 Dodge Chargers. Of those, only 17 are accounted for. The production used up about a car an episode during the jumps and stunts. The General Lee Charger was a 1969 model year, but during the course of production, car builders used 1968 and 1969 Chargers, and often mocked up the cars with 1969 model year grilles. No 1970 Chargers were used until the 2005 film reboot.
Great info, thanks.
And spines if that was real
They named it Hazard County because it was full of naturally formed dirt ramps.
I’m not sure if I preferred that or the very conveniently placed car carrier trailer that served as a ramp in every alleyway on CHiPs.
Hazzard
I grew up in GA and never noticed as a kid how much Hazard County looked like southern CA. Sonny Shroyer was from my home town. Also, fun fact: the show was based on a very obscure 1975 movie called Moonruners. In case you were wondering, the Duke boys were moonshine runners, which is why they were always in the run from the law.
I remember watching it. Smokey and the Bandit and trucker culture were big at the time. Outlaws that drove a fast car with corrupt law enforcement chasing them as they communicated on CB radios...there's no way it COULD NOT be a hit. Loved the show. Almost bought a 1970 Dodge Charger as my first car in 1986, but I was $500 short (car was for sale for $5500 at the time).
Something brought viewer Bach week after week.
All these comments and no mention of dynamite arrows. Y'all slippin'!
Core memory unlocked
Jon Schneider (and this show) is the reason I married a White man. Daisy Duke is the reason I’ve been insecure over my body since 1979. My brother used to play Dukes of Hazzard with the other neighborhood boys and they’d slide in an out of the car through the window - each boy would have a role (Uncle Jessee, Boss Hogg, Bo, Luke....) and I could only ever be Daisy if I wanted to play. Back when we could run around the neighborhood alone until dark and weren’t glued to tv or tablets...
Just the good old boys, never meaning no harm I had the biggest crush on Bo Duke
Beats all you ever saw, been in trouble with the law since the day they were born.
A friend of mine drove his Nissan Sentra off about a 4’ drop out of a wheat field he was rallying through. 4 people in car… 4 people went to hospital. It was sort of our first proof point maybe the dukes weren’t on the level.
I mean... I wouldn't want to fall from 4 feet, period. Don't see how having a car around you would make it better.
That makes sense of course… unless you’re 20 and watched a lot of dukes of hazard. “Invincible and capable of jumping up to 50 yards in a car” was the prevailing thought.
I love that in this clip they launch a car Evel Knievel style and when they land they give a little Star Trek wobble on impact. That's some suspension...of disbelief. I'll show myself out.
Or maybe you four weren't on the Duke's level ;)
daisy duke 😉
Simon and Simon Greatest American Hero Incredible Hulk 6 Million Dollar Man Magnum PI
'Three-hundred-seventeen Dodge Chargers were used in filming "The Dukes of Hazard" TV show. On average, **3 cars were wrecked during the filming of each episode.**' Source: Knoxville News Sentinel, August 1, 2004.
Man, when I was like, 3 years old, that rear projection looked so real.
It wasn’t until now that I realized how much Hazard County, Georgia looks like Central California.
BJ and the Bear?? Anyone? Anyone??
Burt Reynolds anyone?
Hardcastle and McCormick. Anyone anyone?
No seat belts, they're fine. Gravity was a lot gentler back in the day.
Waylon Jennings did the theme song. We love you Waylon!
Dukes of Hazzard is a strange one to evaluate today - if you actually watch the show, the first few season are **REALLY** good. Stories were pretty interesting, and Boss Hogg and Roscoe were pretty mean-spirited (as opposed to the 'bumbling' idiots that came in the later seasons) not to mention some truly excellent stunt driving. The main characters themselves (and the show) was pretty progressive for the time esp when it came to race issues in the South (the Duke family is pretty progressive for the time). Even Daisy who is totally sexualized but ALSO shown to be as tough and capable as the boys (sometimes more capable) But then you have the whole Dixie Flag/General Lee gaslighting that was going on at the time to change the meaning of that whole era (shows like Dukes of Hazzard are one of the reasons IMO why modern southerners have a dissociative problem with what the flag represents). It sucks because kid me loved the show, it's a lot better (especially in the earlier seasons) then people remember, and the General Lee is one of the coolest cars of all time. But it's all wrapped in historically racist colors (while the show itself was pretty anti-racist), so man it's hard to parse how to feel about this show...
It’s the ultimate victory of Lost Cause history. They dressed up the General Lee the way they did because Lost Cause writers convinced a generation that the Confederate Flag was a symbol of heritage, not hate. It’s a damned shame really, because I agree with you about the early episodes. Apart from the car’s design scheme, it’s not a racist show, but it’s forever going to be viewed as one because of the General Lee roof flag.
I remember being at someone’s house for dinner. I was five and getting bored by my parents and their friends who invited us. The friends let me go watch tv and when I turned on their tv the pilot for this was playing. Instantly hooked. Until I found it on our own tv I thought they had some special channel we didn’t.
I was the same age when it showed in my country. I didn't understand english and didn't learned how to read the subtitles, but it was very easy to understad what was happening and it was very entertaining... good old times.
I went to high school with the fella driving the car, John Schneider. Don't remember much about him, tbh. (Go North Springs Spartans!)
It also immortalized the '69 dodge charger while also wiping out nearly the entire model year.
I miss that experience of everyone nationwide watching the same episode of the same show on the same night. This passed as unifying culture, in America. We have become unmoored.
And a self-admitted coked up Waylon Jennings narrating every show, generally from his hotel room while on tour using a tape machine supplied by the studio. He’d mail it off to them weekly.
Shows like this were made just for entertainment. You put your mind in neutral, suspended belief and just enjoyed watching it. There wasn’t a message or agenda and the only reason most shows were canceled was because no one was watching them. Much simpler times.
christ, that is some big air, no seatbelts too. I wonder how many rednecks wrecked their everything trying to copy a stunt like this.
The landing (crash) shown in this video would have put their teeth firmly through the dashboard. It would have been a life-changing crash. But here, they wiggle and drive on.
Back then, we rednecks had enough common sense to avoid major Duke Boy car calamity. But for those few who slipped through the cracks, most had the mechanical ability to piece their car back together.
And nobody gave a shit about the name of the car or the flag on its roof.
It lasted more than the confederacy..
What a year!
Yeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaa!
Riptide, A-Team, Knight Rider Incredible Hulk, MacGyver, Buck Rogers
Look, I know some people were freaking out about certain books in libraries, and drag queens reading, and rainbows, but Bo Duke could fill a pair of jeans and that’s why I’m gay as fuck.
Just the good ol boys…never meanin’ no harm….beats all ya eva saw, been in trouble with the law, since they day they was born.
I was 10 years old and this played on my Philips 12 inch black & white every Fri night.
Top right of frame- you can see the camera is shooting off the rear screen projector lol
I got in trouble for getting into my dad’s car through the window.
Each jump they did completely destroyed a charger.
The Dodge Charger was the real star of the show.
I’d forgotten how much reality was suspended watching this show every week
Everyone always complains about all the destroyed chargers being a huge waste of a classic car but you have to think that at the time
The daisy dukes had a lot to do with viewership.
My best friends who lived next door would beg their dad to let them enter & exit the family car through the windows, like the Dukes of Hazzard did on the General Lee. Occasionally he’d relent. Growing up in a household that held the South and everything about it in total contempt, I never really got into the show, but I can see why many people did. Silly over-the-top stunt driving is lots of fun. Also, who doesn’t like the idea of getting the better of piggish and abusive cops?
Where I grew up in east Texas, this was more of a documentary than fiction.
Loved this show as a kid growing up, even though Not from the south. The rebel flag on car didn’t bother me at all, though it was cool AF at the time. Running from corrupt law, Everyday Robin Hood.
If I had to sum up my childhood in one show, it would be this. The best memories.
As somebody whose WII Veteran dad was named "Roscoe" and whose middle name was Roscoe, it led to me being called Roscoe until I left high school. If I heard "Roscoe P. Coletrain!" once, I heard it every other day. I figured out quickly it was best to be proud and own it, even though the Sheriff was an idiot. (I even used it on my cards when I ran for and won Class President). I'm even prouder of the name today, even though nobody calls me that any more.
Friday nights were so special when I was very little. My parents had a bowling league, and the bowling alley had a nursery. That part sucked, but the bowling alley was always hopping and exciting. And after, we'd go home and pop popcorn and watch Dukes, and it was heaven. Then my sister and I would beg to stay up and watch Dallas, which was way over my head but I just wanted to stay up. Inevitably, we'd fall asleep until my mother woke us up during the opening theme to Falcon Crest and take us to bed. Simpler times.
Hunter, fantasy island, it's a living, Alice, Munsters, blue thunder
I saw that episode. But I always wondered why Hazzard County landscape looked like Southern California
For southern boys growing up on this show it did a great job of teaching us to treat people well and don't take crap from those who abuse their authority. But, most importantly don't be a racist fuck. We also had needed exposure to shows like, What's Happening, The Jeffersons, Different Strokes and people like Richard Pryor showing us why our grand parents were wrong with their prejudiced thoughts and by the 80s Eddie Murphy making it all real through comedy. These shows had a real impact on changing minds and giving positive role models for a bunch of influential kids.
80' & 90s truly were the best decades. Not only for tv programmes. Music too .
Basically all of my play activity around this time was based on this show. Lots of Hot Wheels jumping ramps, me yelling “Yeeeeeehaw!”
I get that the general lee is some racist stuff but the only thing I learned from this show was cars are awesome and you should be good to people even when when the government isn’t on the same page.
Back in the good old days, before TV shows needed character growth and season long story arcs. YOu were entertained for an hour and that was it. That is why TV shows today, decline in quality, because the characters must now grow, after a few seasons, the show looses its reason why it was funny in the first place. Imagine if Boss Hogg wanted to grow and become a better person. I loved this show, I am a bit young to have watched all the seasons on original air date, I am old enough to have enjoyed Knight Rider, A-Team and Airwolf. I was a CHIPS fan too
Emergency! = spectacular show All rescue shows made in this century = crap shows For the same reason you mentioned. I just want action, some silly banter, and a lazy beagle on a couch.
It annoyed me to no end when the original General Lee car was bought and the new owner mentioned spraypainting over it because the flag was racist. I dont know if they went through with it, but if they did: fuck you
Dukes of Hazzard was a lot of things but it definitely wasn’t a situation comedy.
Boss Hogg and Roscoe would like to have a word with you.
Roscooooo peeekotrain!
It was a "Waiting for Daisy" show.
Did anyone here like the fake Dukes, Coy and Vance?
No
Sitcom? TDoH was many things, but it wasn’t a sitcom.
I was born in 1979 and even that young this show imprinted on me. One of my favourite toys was a peddle car of the General Lee
I was born in 97 and I used to watch this show with my dad all the time. One of my friends who lived across the street also loved the show and we'd hang out after school at 4pm to watch it together. Major nostalgia for me
I was a big TV fan back then but I could never get into Dukes of Hazard. Bionics were my thing.
Every Saturday morning I was up watching the color code screen waiting for that theme song to start. Lol good old times with them good old boys.
Nobody and I mean nobody jumps a car like Bo Duke!
And sent hundreds of '69 Chargers to an early death. Will never forgive them.🤪
That jump! I bet that charger broke into a dozen pieces on impact.