The Dukes of Hazzard
The Dukes of Hazzard was part of America's redneck fetish in the mid-to-late 1970s, otherwise evident in popular songs, movies, and television shows highlighting fast cars, truckers, citizens' band radio, moonshine, irreverent hicks, and clueless lawmen. Created by writer-producer Gy Waldron and inspired by his own 1975 bootlegging comedy, Moonrunners, Dukes milked seven seasons of material from the tale of a Deep South family of reformed whiskey-makers and their running feud with a greedy impresario and his chief lackey, a buffoonish, venal sheriff.
This three-disc set includes all 13 initial episodes of Dukes from 1979, a period fans fondly recall because some of the programs were shot on location in Covington, Georgia, rather than a Burbank backlot. Also noteworthy is that a couple of key characters, particularly Hazzard County's corrupt lawman, Roscoe P. Coltrane (James Best), hadn't gelled yet into permanent hayseed stereotypes and were arguably more interesting at the beginning. At the center of the action are Sheriff Coltrane's nemeses, cousins Bo Duke (John Schneider) and Luke Duke (Tom Wopat), a couple of wild boys buzzing through the backwoods in the "General Lee," a souped-up Dodge Charger. Bo and Luke are good at heart but have to behave themselves while on indefinite probation, complicating but not halting their efforts to vex Roscoe and his patron, diminutive bigwig Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke). The enmity runs both ways: Roscoe and Boss Hogg, with the aid of witless Deputy Enos Strate (Sonny Shroyer), dream up ways of eliminating the Dukes--including their wise old Uncle Jesse (Denver Pyle)--but their efforts always backfire.
While every episode is a variation on the previous one, predictability is a virtue in Dukes. The series pilot, "One Armed Bandits," finds Luke and Bo, with help from their sexy cousin, Daisy (Catherine Bach), diverting slot machines (smuggled into Hazzard County by Roscoe and Boss Hogg) to sundry watering holes where they can raise money for Bo's girlfriend's charity. In "Money to Burn," Boss Hogg tries to frame Bo and Luke for robbing an armored truck, while in "Deputy Dukes," the unarmed guys are forced by Roscoe to escort a deadly prisoner from one town to another. The Dukes hit back in "Daisy's Song," investigating a scam that took Daisy for $50 and implicates, of course, Boss Hogg and Roscoe.
Yes, it's a show about rubes, car stunts, and a legacy of moonshine, but there's something comforting about it, in a tongue-in-cheek way. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com
In the series' pilot episode, cousins Bo and Luke Duke intercept Hazzard County Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane's illegal shipment of slot machines, then plan to use the proceeds to donate to the Hazzard County Orphanage in Rosco's name, to ensure his win in an upcoming election against a corrupt opponent.
Daisy learns that Jessi Colter has recorded a song she wrote. One problem: Where's the royalties she's due? That's what Bo and Luke try to find out as they infiltrate Hazzard County Commissioner "Boss" J.D. Hogg's record piracy operation.
Bo and Luke help family friend Mary Kaye Porter elude a crime boss, who's after the $100,000 trust fund for Mary Kaye's unborn child.
Bo and Luke are hired by a corrupt used car dealer to repossess a Rolls Royce so that he can sell the car to Boss (who plans to give the car to his wife, Lulu, as a present). The job is easier said than done, since the luxury car is owned by a gang of counterfeiters.
Boss gets Uncle Jesse to enter a contest for a new type of fossil fuel, saying that moonshine is the perfect way to cut down on pollution. However, Boss has more up his sleeve: He plans to tip off the authorities and, once Jesse is arrested, take credit for the idea himself.
Family friend Swamp Molly asks Bo and Luke to deliver a load of moonshine, but the shipment is really illegal firearms.
Luke enters the General Lee in the Hazzard County Obstacle Race, competing against his gorgeous girlfriend Amy Creevy. But Amy's life is in danger, thanks to her jealous ex-boyfriend.
Embittered farmer Neil Bishop gets revenge on Boss (for apparently defrauding him earlier) by stealing his illegal liquor money. When Bishop's car is towed away, he jumps into the General Lee, thus implicating Bo and Luke. When Uncle Jesse learns what's going on, he assists Bishop with a scheme to convince Boss to return the money.
When mechanic Cooter Davenport takes the official presidential limousine out for a joy ride, he doesn't count on the car developing mechanical failure, especially at the Duke farm. Knowing they could be charged with a federal offense if the limousine is spotted on their farm, the Dukes scramble to return the car before anyone notices.
With their probations on the line, Boss has Bo and Luke deputized to help transport Rocky Marlowe (Public Enemy No. 1) to Hazzard County to stand trial.
Boss concocts a "double your money" scheme by reporting $1 million in retired currency stolen, framing Bo and Luke for the robbery, burying the money in a pine box, then - after receiving an insurance check to cover the losses - unearthing the loot.
Bo and Luke are hired to haul what they think is a shipment of shock absorbers. Actually, they've been duped into driving a rolling casino.
Bo and Luke are jailed along with another motorist named Tom Colt following a confrontation after a near accident. While in jail, Colt suddenly becomes ill, forcing the local physician to quarantine the jail with the Duke boys, Colt, Boss and Rosco inside. However, there's more to the illness than meets the eye, particularly after an armed robbery at Hazzard Bank.
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John Schneider | Bo Duke |
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Denver Pyle | Uncle Jesse |
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Tom Wopat | Luke Duke |
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James Best | Sheriff Rosco Coltrane |
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Sonny Shroyer | Enos |
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Sorrell Booke | Boss Hogg |
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Catherine Bach | Daisy Duke |
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Ben Jones | Cooter |
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Waylon Jennings | The Balladeer |
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Jerry Campbell | Jerry - Bartender |
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Norman Alden | Chief Lacey |
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Mary Jo Catlett | Alice |
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Wallace Merck | Jojo |
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Clayton Landey | Max |
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Ronnie Schell | Lester Starr |
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Ginny Parker | Mabel |
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Wallace Wilkinson | FBI #1 |
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Ralph Pace | Ed Monroe |
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Bill Gribble | Carson |
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Roy Tatum | FBI #3 |
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Terry Browning | Ruby |
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Rocky Laidler | Brodie |
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Bob Cleveland | FBI #2 |
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Candy Bleick | Dodie |
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Gary Grubbs | Roy |
| Packaging | Custom Case |
|---|---|
| Nr Discs | 5 |
| Screen Ratios | Fullscreen (4:3) |
| Audio Tracks | Mono |
| Subtitles | Dutch | English | English (Closed Captioned) | French | German | German (Closed Captioned) | Italian | Italian (Closed Captioned) | Portuguese | Swedish |
| Distributor | Warner Home Video |
| Layers | Single side, Dual layer |
| Edition Release Date | Aug 15, 2005 |
| Regions | Region 2 |