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The Movie: "Dukes of Hazzard", the ultra-popular Southern comedy, ran from 1979-1985 before driving off into the sunset. Coming out on the same day as the release of the theatrical film remake, season 5 of the series sees more of the same good-natured goofiness. The series starred Tom Wopat and John Schneider as Luke and Bo Duke, a pair of Southern boys who drove around in the General Lee, trying to evade Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke) and sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane (James Best). The Duke boys were helped by their cousin Daisy (Catherine Bach) and Uncle Jesse (Denver Pyle). However, this season was different, as Schneider and Wopat apparently did not come to terms with producers before the season started. As the season opened, the Duke boys that audiences knew were headed off, trying to persue their dreams of NASCAR success. While the corrupt Hogg and his associates thought they were free and clear to do whatever they pleased, they're soon shocked by the return of Coy and Vance Duke (Byron Cherry and Christopher Meyer), two Dukes who were apparently even more trouble for the bad guys of Hazzard county than Bo and Duke are. Despite the change, the show didn't drop off too noticably in quality, despite the temporary departure of the two leads. Cherry and Meyer are enjoyable as the replacement Dukes, and have good chemistry with each other and the rest of the cast. Still, they weren't around for long, as Bo and Duke were back doing stunts in the General Lee by the last few episodes of the season. 5th Season 1982 87. 5- 1 24 Sep 82 The New Dukes 88. 5- 2 1 Oct 82 Dukes Strike it Rich 89. 5- 3 8 Oct 82 Lawman of the Year 90. 5- 4 15 Oct 82 Coy Meets Girl 91. 5- 5 22 Oct 82 The Hazzardgate Tape 92. 5- 6 29 Oct 82 Big Daddy 93. 5- 7 5 Nov 82 Vance's Lady 94. 5- 8 12 Nov 82 Hazzard Hustle 95. 5- 9 19 Nov 82 Enos in Trouble 96. 5-10 26 Nov 82 The Great Insurance Fraud 97. 5-11 3 Dec 82 A Little Game of Pool 98. 5-12 10 Dec 82 The Treasure of Soggy Marsh 99. 5-13 17 Dec 82 The Revenge of Hughie Hogg 100. 5-14 7 Jan 83 The Return of the Mean Green Machine 101. 5-15 21 Jan 83 Ding, Dong, The Boss is Dead 102. 5-16 4 Feb 83 Coy vs. Vance 103. 5-17 11 Feb 83 Comrade Duke 104. 5-18 18 Feb 83 Witness: Jesse Duke 105. 5-19 25 Feb 83 Welcome Back Bo 'n' Luke 106. 5-20 4 Mar 83 Big Brothers, Duke 107. 5-21 11 Mar 83 Farewell, Hazzard 108. 5-22 25 Mar 83 Daisy's Shotgun Wedding The DVD VIDEO: "Dukes of Hazzard" is presented by Warner Brothers in 1.33:1 full-frame, the show's original aspect ratio. The picture quality does suffer from some minor instances of dirt and specks, but print flaws are very brief and not particularly noticable. Some minor shimmering is also present at times, as well. On a positive note, the picture does look mostly crisp and detailed here. There are some instances of softness on occasion and the picture doesn't look crystal clear, but for an early 80's TV series, the picture looks pretty well-defined. Colors appeared bright and nicely saturated, with no smearing. SOUND: The show's mono soundtrack sounded pretty good; although the audio's rather thin, it's at least clear and easily understood. EXTRAS: Two featurettes: "Hazzard County Stunt Team: Reunited and In Your Face!" (the original stunt team pays homage to the show's original stunt coordinator) and "Cooter's Place: Keeping the Dream Alive" (a tour of Ben Jones' shrine to "Hazzard".) Final Thoughts: Despite a major change this season, "Dukes of Hazzard"'s fifth season still entertains. The DVD set provides a couple of nice, minor supplements and fine audio/video quality. Recommended for fans. |