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Review:
Sons Of Thunder
Written
by Rick Ellis, March
8th, 1999
Generally,
I'm all too willing to watch a new program, no matter the stars,
subject matter or network. I'll watch anything at least once, and
I really do attempt to keep an open mind.
But
sometimes even your very own TV boy has trouble getting in the mood
for in depth criticism. Maybe it's trouble at home, distractions
from family and friends, or in the case of Saturday, a throbbing
wisdom tooth that had limited my diet to liquids--and none of those
were margaritas. So needless to say, my television reviewing powers
were not at their peak.
And
CBS was not exactly helping matters.
The
network debuted a new series on Saturday, and they haven't been
overwhelming critics with information ahead of time. Television
is not that different from the movies--when the studio doesn't promote
a new project ahead of time, you have to suspect the worse.
All
of this is an explanation of sorts, to say that my feelings on SONS
OF THUNDER may not the most untainted of responses.
Nevertheless,
I will say that while the new drama doesn't suck, it has a long
way to go to be anything close to solid entertainment.
SONS
OF THUNDER is a sort-of spin-off of the wildly successful Chuck
Norris series WALKER, TEXAS RANGER. It was created by Chuck
and his brother Aaron, and is debuting in the Walker timeslot.
But
it's also obviously aimed at a younger crowd. The series stars Jimmy
Wleck and Marco Sanchez as two hotshot Dallas detectives. Wleck
is a private investigator, and Sanchez is a police detective. And
when a serial killer begins killing women in order to taunt Sanchez,
the two partner up quicker than you can say "Starsky and Hutch."
They're
mentored by a couple of familiar faces. Chuck Norris makes a couple
of brief appearances as Cordell Walker, and former HEAT OF THE
NIGHT cast member Alan Autry (he played Bubba) signs on as Butch
McGuire, an all-knowing, somewhat mysterious owner of their favorite
bar/boxing facility.
The
acting in the series is generally solid, but what kills the episode
is the clunky script. It's painfully apparent from the beginning
how the episode will play out, and some of the holes in the plot
are big enough to drive a herd of Texas longhorns through.
There
are the stereotypical cardboard characters: the surly police lieutenant,
the police partner who gets killed in the first half-hour, the wacky
junkie snitch who hangs out at a pool hall. And they all manage
to sap the life out of the show.
My
hunch is that if you like WALKER, TEXAS RANGER, you may hang
around for this show. If for no other reason because there isn't
much competition at this time of night. ABC is currently filling
the hour with whatever movie they happen to have on the shelf, and
NBC has the painfully inept PROFILER.
But
in a better world, there would be other choices. Although in a better
world, this show wouldn't be quite so mundane.
THE
CAST:
Jimmy
Wleck as Trent Malloy
Marco
Sanchez as Carlos Sandoval
Alan
Autry as Butch McGuire
Dawn
Maxey
GUEST
STARRING:
Chuck
Norris as Cordell Walker
Wade
Williams
Lisa
Anne Morrison
Rosa
Blasi
Neil
Giuntoli
Kate
Cochran as the Scared Woman
Lapase
Edwards as the Desk Sergeant
Heidi
Franz as Miss A. Smith
Mona
Knox as the Waitress
Leanne
Locken as the Young Woman
Michael
Mattison as One-Eyed Jack
Alex
Morris as Captain Donald Phillips
Ice`
Morris as Bobo Barnes
Ed
Spila as the Detective
Catherine
Whiteman as the News Reporter
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