Search - Walking Tall - The Complete TV Series on DVD

Mediocre TV Sheriff Show from the 70s

John A Lee III | San Antonio, TX | 07/09/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The original WALKING TALL movie shocked people of the time with its violence and straight forward, no-nonsense route to justice. To a lesser degree, the sequels tried to do the same thing. In the case of this series, an attempt was made to commercialize the idea. The attempt was not all that successful.

The movie worked because of a desire to see justice and because of a frustration with the system. In that context, Sheriff Buford Pusser's violence made sense. In the TV series, however, it is another matter. The violence and disregard of the system is present just for the sake of excitement.

The acting is a mixed bag as are the plots. There has been much worse which has lasted longer on TV. This show, only lasted for 7 episodes. That was enough.

Episode synopses follow:

The Killing of McNeal County's Children - Someone is selling PCP cigarettes in the local school and Sheriff Pusser is on the warpath trying to shut down sales. He wants action and will let the law catch up as best it can.

The Protectors of the People - Tensions flare when some white supremacists try to incite racial violence and blame the black community for crimes they committed themselves. It comes to a head when a black deputy is framed for raping a white woman.

Kidnapped - A bank robbery goes wrong and the head robber gets shot and arrested. That leaves his sons looking for a way to spring him. They decide to stage a kidnapping to get their dad back.

The Hitman - A big time vice operator is trying to get set up again in McNeal County and the Sheriff is making things difficult. To get around those difficulties, a hit man is hired. This hit man is an old friend of the Sheriff.

Company Town- Sheriff Pusser investigates a missing man from a mining town. His wife is convinced that he has been killed because he was speaking out for better working questions. The more the sheriff looks around, the more crooked the setup seems.

Deadly Impact - The sheriff gets suspicious when a lady is run off the road. She is a pollution whistleblower and that raises eyebrows.

The Fire Within - A man with a gunshot wound runs the sheriff of the road. It turns out he is involved in a dangerous gun running operation. Before the accident, the victim made a confession to a priest but the priest refuses to divulge any information which might help the case.
"