“Walker, Texas Ranger” is back as a TV movie, reminding us that fate is fickle.
“Taxi” lasted only five seasons, “Sports Night” only two, “Boomtown” barely more than one. They were praised and cancelled.
“Walker,” however, ran for eight-plus years. “You can’t kill it with a stick,” jokes Paul Haggis, one of the show’s creators.
Even now – four years after ending its run – it resurfaces briefly.
“Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire” airs at 8 p.m. Sunday on CBS (KCNC-Channel 4), starring Chuck Norris in the midst of fights and chases.
Yes, Norris says, people have suggested the series return. “Only about 100,000 times. You should see the e-mails.” And no, it won’t happen. “I like it this way, as a movie of the week,” he says. “You have the time to get it done right.” Besides, he’s busy. Norris, 65 and a grandfather of nine, has 4-year-old twins.
“It’s the best,” Norris says. “The time I have to spend with them is priceless.”
So he stays at home a lot and works a little. In the movie, he’s back to being Cordell Walker, a Texas Ranger.
His character’s problems focus on Rhett Harper (Andre Kristoff), a young Ranger. As the movie starts he’s in a fierce shoot- out with bank robbers. Soon, evidence seems to link him to two murders. Walker’s wife, Alex (Sheree J. Wilson), is trying to convict him; a forensics expert (Janine Turner) looks for evidence to free him. Then there’s a 13-year-old boy who comes across a vital missile guidance device. North Koreans are killing people to get it.
That stirs up all the expected chase scenes, with Aaron Norris directing. “I think he is as good as anyone,” says his brother Chuck.
It also leads to some fierce martial-arts battles between Norris and the three actors who play Koreans.
“It was really an incredible experience, trying to keep up with them,” Norris says. “One of them was an Olympic contender.” The martial arts is how this all started for Norris. After growing up as a shy and poor kid in small-town Oklahoma and California, he joined the Air Force at 18 and learned taekwondo in Korea.
Back home, he started a martial-arts school, won championships and tried acting. In a 14-year stretch beginning in 1977, he starred in at least 18 action movies.
That led to the series in 1993. Three writers are listed as creators, but Norris says the basic idea came when he talked with writer Leigh Chapman. “Walker is really a combination of a lot of my characters in the movie. He’s a compassionate guy, but a tough guy.” The series finally ended in 2001. Since, Norris has made one CBS movie, continued his youth program (KICKSTART) and launched a kickboxing league.
Mostly, though, this is a time to be home with his second wife, Gena, and the twins.
“The first time, I was just a kid myself,” Norris says of fatherhood. “All I did was work. I was an absentee father.”
Another tough-guy actor, Alan Autry, suggested he try fatherhood again. “He said, ‘The second time, you’re much better at it.’ ” Norris agrees. He has three kids in their 40s and the twins. “I want to spend all the time I can with them.”
