The action film actor died this Friday March 20 at the age of 86. For many French people, he was the face of Sundays just after lunch with “Walker, Texas Ranger”. A look back at a series that has marked several generations.
“In the Eyes of a Ranger.” These were the first words of the legendary theme song that fans of “Walker, Texas Ranger” could hear on Sundays on TF1 after the traditional chicken and fries. With his impressive physique, Chuck Norris, whose death was announced this Friday, brilliantly embodied this series which supported the digestion of young and old alike.
Launched in 1993 on CBS, the series has more than 200 episodes spread over 9 seasons and a TV movie as a conclusion broadcast in 2005. It tells the adventures of Cordell Walker, this “Texas Ranger”, a former Marine, expert in martial arts and raised by his Native American uncle Ray Firewalker. An extraordinary character who remained anchored in the memory of viewers.
Audiences of more than 8 million viewers on TF1
But above all, Walker is not a cop like the others. Very caricatured, he stands out by solving cases with karate in slow motion, with steely morality and an infallible sense of justice. And unique to each episode, it ends with good triumphing over evil and sometimes Chuck Norris kicking the bad guy in the face.
In France, the series arrived on July 9, 1995 on TF1 and Chuck Norris quickly became the king of Sunday afternoons on television. This so-called “quiet” slot becomes a weekly meeting place for millions of viewers. Some episodes of the first season even reach 8 million followers. But with competition from TNT in the 2000s, the series will lose a few feathers while remaining a pillar of front page programming until its final years. For its last season, in 2012, there are still 3.3 million fans following Walker’s adventures on the front page, or 22% of the public, according to Médiamétrie.
Today, the series is no longer broadcast on television. It had a second life on TMC, in its historic niche. But the channel had deprogrammed the fiction, due to lack of audience. “Walker, Texas Ranger” is however available on MyCanal and Amazon Prime Video. Proof that the series is indestructible… Like its hero!
