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postmodernmulticoloredcloak · 4 years ago

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I decided to watch the Walker pilot so you don’t have to. #1

I don’t know why I’m doing this, but I’m doing this and the more I put it off the less I’ll want to do this. So. Let’s start.

The fist thing we see is Jared Padalecki, em Walker, driving. He’s vaguely smiling and there’s the sun behind him. He seems happy. He’s driving a truck, for some reason my mind goes to Twilight. I’d rather watch that. At least there are vampires (not dressed like clowns) there. Anyway. Walker is meeting someone. He’s meeting his wife! “Look at you!” she says. The camera makes us look at him. He looks like this

I am unsure whether we’re supposed to see this as sexy or cool. It looks frankly ridiculous. I don’t know if I’m just not American enough to appreciate the aesthetic of this. But I didn’t go through 15 seasons of Americana-in-British-Columbia for nothing. If a character appeared like this on Supernatural, it wouldn’t be presented seriously. It would be played for a chuckle or in a light-hearted way at least. Not even Dean Winchester would find this hot.

The Padaleckis tell something to each other. Apparently he needs to go home with the kids and his parents because it’s game night. My mind immediately goes to Game Night the episode and I am sad now. But Walker lifts my mood in its own weird way. He doesn’t know the rules because every time she tells him the rules, he blacks out. I would make a fun quip about this, but the truth is that I relate to him a lot right now because I blacked out during the entire scene. I’m not sure what they said other than the game thing because I wrote it here. I already forgot the rest.

Anyway. What we’re supposed to get from this scene that they’re Very In Love (see that soft warm light?), and that he’s anxious because he’s not great at being a father because he’s shit at games apparently, but his wife is like ~don’t worry so much~ because she’s a kind, understanding wife. He tells her to be safe, because the Texan countryside is dangerous or something. She needs to stay on a route he approved for some reason. Is she traveling with supersoldier serum in her car? Is Hydra going to murder her? [cue the Marvel snipers shooting me to death because they don’t want Marvel to be associated to this]

Later, everyone is having fun playing fake monopoly, but Walker (whose mannerism is just Jared, he’s not even trying) is apparently too stupid to understand a game for kids. Plot twist, this is anti-cop propaganda because it says cops are dumb.

“Et tu Brute” Jared says when the kids point out he broke a rule so they get an extra turn. I thought I was safe from hearing Jared speak Latin! I thought I was safe! I am never safe!

Emily (Gen) suddenly texts him “SOS. Answer” which is OMINOUS! Oh my god! Aren’t you feeling the tension. The rest of the family keeps playing fake monopoly. Someone throws dice. Are we supposed to go “oh! The dice are ~symbolic because someone’s playing dice with her life” or have I been watching too much good tv.

She is running somewhere in the countryside, wearing a white shirt (is this the cowboy lady equivalent of the Wife Nightgown?). She says something is not right. He’s worried. Then he hears gunshot and her scream. He does the Alarmed Jared face, presses lips together and does a Upset Jared face.

Then he goes out, tries to call her again, and again, does a Jared Upset Sniff--

Oh! We actually see her! She’s alive, but she’s been shot in the stomach. Her white shirt is definitely the cowboy lady equivalent of the Wife Nightgown! Ah the blood coming from the stomach! How terrible! Her phone is ringing but she cannot reach it. She is definitely alive right now, though. She’s breathing heavily because of the wound, which is breathing, which is the opposite of being dead.

He decides that she’s dead, and lets out the already infamous manly scream of anguish.

It would be sad if it wasn’t that literally one second ago we saw her wounded but alive. Her turning out alive in the season finale or so will shock everyone. Nobody will have seen it coming. Who wrote this? They should have just shown the ringing phone and her bloody hand/side, making the audience assume she was dead, instead of showing her breathing. Now the audience is gonna assume she didn’t actually die, and wonder “why didn’t he call someone or went looking for her” but apparently Jared’s characters have forgotten that, like, ambulances are a thing. Jared’s manly screams of anguish are more important than common sense.

I’m not going to say anything about the manly scream of anguish. I’m not going to say anything about the manly scream of anguish. I’m n

We’re just 4 minutes in, guys. Why am I doing this?

Eleven months later, says the screen.

It’s night, outside a house. The son is waiting for him. The daughter doesn’t think he’s coming. On the porch there are two men, one is his brother and one is apparently his former partner, now new boss. He’s dressed like you’d expect a normal person to be dressed in a casual Texan night, hat and tie and all. If you are law enforcement in Texas and don’t wear a cowboy hat at any moment, you will be executed. That’s what the death penalty in Texas is for.

Somebody arrives, but to the kids’ disappointment is some dude whose function is to tell us the men’s names. The brother is Liam, the cop dude I forgot.

Walker is being sad on the back of his truck and drinking alcohol, which is the only way television can express a man having trauma. Holy shit - he reminisces of his wife like this is some emotional Lord of the Rings scene in a place where Elves live except this is not the Lord of the Rings and is just ridiculous, look

She’s seen running towards the gazebo, then she turns

This is exactly shot like the scene where Arwen has a vision of her son. Flowy hair and all. I cannot take this seriously.

He smiles sadly. Then a cop car arrives.

Mexican Lady Cop(TM), whose function in the story is to be a Mexican Lady Cop(TM) asks for his licence since he’s drinking alcohol in a public place.

��You ask so nicely” drunk Walker says. Ew. “Yeah, they train the girls special” Oh! Can you see? She is the Feminist Icon who Takes No Shit from the Dude! I’m so excited. I am slowly losing the will to live.

She drives him home on the police car. His legs don’t fit. At least this is realistic.

He does exposition in the car, including “I needed to visit a ghost instead”. There-there was no need to say it. What’s the demographic they’re aiming for? Five year olds? Do they have to spell everything out loud?

“It’s been a while since I had an actual conversation” he says, which supposedly explains why he’s making awkward exposition, but it’s just bad writing. At least they acknowledge it’s bad writing.

She figures he’s law enforcement coming back from an undercover mission from some drunken ramble he makes. This is worse than the Sherlock phone cable port thing.

She says she just got promoted from state trooper, ehe she will work with him wink wink nudge nudge. Is she going to be a cop-buddy-character slash love interest except when they’re almost about to realize they’re into each other, his wife comes back and draa~ama? I can already see it.

He goes home, makes some Jared grunts, and falls asleep on the couch.

Next morning, he goes out and jogs to where he left the truck. He puts on a cowboy hat which is supposed to be an artistic shot.

I’m slowly dying. He makes some Jared Deep Breaths, at least this made me laugh.

Wait, he’s now wearing a black hat. He’s in mourning, see? What.

He drives to his father’s ranch. His father is Super Not Impressed. It’s awkward. They took about horses. Mitch Pileggi is thinking that at least the other show was more exciting and there was Jensen Ackles in it.

He gets into his parents’ house and the dogs run to him, he does the Jared Dog Chuckle. He hugs his mom. He hugs his son - “August, my boy!” he says, like a normal person his age says.

He hugs his brother and they joke-wrestle and he says “I’m still the big brother” and did I mention I’m dying inside. I just can tell this is SUPPOSED to be reminiscent of Dean and Sam’s first meeting at Stanford in the pilot except Jared is the big brother now. Ew.

We learn that the brother is a DA and gay. All pilots suffer from Forced Exposition Syndrome but it’s like this isn’t even trying.

He goes to work and hugs (very manly hug of course) his friend-now-boss, who is called James. James asks him if he’s good and he’s like yeah I’m good, which our I’m Fine Lie Moment #1. Some things never change.

Enter the case of the week - a cop offered roadside assistance but he was assaulted. We’re already starting with a “Oh No Poor Cop :( Someone Doesn’t Like Cops And Gets Violent” plot. Yay.

Ta-da! Mexican Lady Cop appears, cowboy hat and all. James says she’s Walker’s new partner. My heart cries while Walker says “figured you’d be a guy” and she replies “so did my mom”. The feminism is so strong :’) She’s such a strong female character :’) I’m so happy :’)

Then Walker makes such a quintessential Jared thing with his mouth that I need to stop this here and take a break.

It’s been 13 minutes. So much still to go. I’m bored. Why am I doing this.

#cw's jared: legit texan #marghe watches walker for some darned reason

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positivexcellence · 4 years ago

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WALKER, a reimagining of the long-running series “Walker, Texas Ranger,” stars Jared Padalecki (“Supernatural”) as Cordell Walker, a widower and father of two with his own moral code, who returns home to Austin after being undercover for two years, only to discover there’s harder work to be done at home. He’ll attempt to reconnect with his creative and thoughtful son (Kale Culley, “Me, Myself and I”) and his headstrong, somewhat rebellious teenaged daughter (Violet Brinson, “Sharp Objects”) and navigate clashes with his family – an ADA brother (Keegan Allen, “Pretty Little Liars”) who stepped in during Walker’s absence, his perceptive mother (Molly Hagen, “Herman’s Head”) and his traditional rancher father (Mitch Pileggi, “The X-Files”). Walker’s former colleague is now his Ranger Captain, (Coby Bell, “The Game”). Walker finds unexpected common ground with his new partner (one of the first women in Texas Rangers’ history) played by Lindsey Morgan (“The 100”), while growing increasingly suspicious about the circumstances surrounding his wife’s death. The show also stars Jeff Pierre as Trey Barnett. (X)

#walker 1x01 #cordell walker #micki ramirez #larry james #stella walker #august walker #walker

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stereogeekspodcast · 4 years ago

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[Transcript] Season 2, Episode 2. Stereo Geeks Special: The CW’s Walker

We can't believe we're saying it, but we've enjoyed the first six episodes of The CW's Walker. What is this reboot of the 90s action show doing that's so unexpected and downright subversive? In this spoiler-free review of the first half of the opening season, the Stereo Geeks duo dive into why we're loving the show and why you should give it a try.

Walker promo image courtesy The CW.

Listen to the episode on Anchor.

Ron: Welcome to a new Stereo Geeks Special! In this episode we’ll be reviewing the first 6 episodes of The CW’s Walker.

I’m Ron.

Mon: And I’m Mon. Please note that this is a spoiler-filled review so if you haven’t caught up with the first 6 episodes, please watch them and return to our podcast!

[Continuum by Audionautix plays]

Ron: This show is adapted from the 1993 series, Walker, Texas Ranger. It was conceived by Jared Padalecki, and Anna Fricke is the showrunner. There are numerous women writing and directing the episodes. Despite the source material, this show is surprisingly subversive with regards to masculinity, gender roles, and race.

Mon: The original Walker, Texas Ranger TV show aired in the 90s, with Chuck Norris in the lead. The show was also inspired by a Chuck Norris film from the 1980s. So, as you can imagine, it was a punch-fest. Now we can't really attest to that, because we never saw it. We only ever caught the trailers on TV.

I have to say when you and I launched this podcast, I don't think we would have imagined that we would have even watched a single episode of the Walker reboot, forget actually dedicating an entire special to it. But here we are!

Ron: Well, I think part of the reason why we're actually talking about the show is because of Jared Padalecki. As Sam Winchester on Supernatural for 15 years, Padalecki has wormed his way into a lot of hearts.

But Walker is nothing like Supernatural and Cordell Walker, Jared Padalecki’s character on the show—yeah, he is no Sam Winchester.

Mon: The first episode really had me worried. It started off with a female character being fridged, and the entire storyline was confusing. Do you remember how many times I turned to you and said ‘I'm so confused. I'm so confused.’?

You were introduced to every character, and seemingly every character dynamic as well. All of that in the first 45 minutes. It was too much, and it was too messy. But the end of the episode really made us want to come back. And I think the success of this show really lies in the fact that every episode makes us want to come back and meet these characters, find out what they're doing and how are they surviving.

So, who are the characters?

Ron: As we’ve already mentioned, we have Jared Padalecki as Cordell Walker, the titular Texas Ranger. Alongside Cordell is his partner in crime—or in law enforcement— Lindsey Morgan’s Micki Ramirez. She is the first female Texas Ranger, and the first Latina Texas Ranger in the show.

Cordell’s wife, who we meet briefly in the first episode, and she returns in flashbacks in subsequent episodes, is Emily, played by Jared Padalecki’s real life wife Genevieve Padalecki. And fun fact, Jared and Genevieve met during Supernatural.

Keeping it in the Supernatural family, we have, Mitch Pileggi, playing Bonham, Cordell’s father. As Supernatural fans will remember. Mitch Pileggi played Sam and Dean's grandfather, Samuel Campbell in Supernatural.

We also meet Cordell’s mother, his children, his brother—who's also the ADA. And we also meet Coby Bell’s, Larry James, who is Cordell and Micki's captain, and has been Cordell’s long-suffering friend. There are several other characters that we meet as well. And all this happens in the first episode, so as you can imagine, it's a bit clunky.

From episode 2 onwards, it seems like they have a bit more focus. You don't have to meet every single character; they come in from time to time when they're needed in the story. And I think, overall, that kind of helped our connection with the show.

Not having watched the original, we don't really have a bouncing off point, but we do know that there was a lot of action, not much on the drama, not much on the emotions—there wasn't much human connection. I think a lot of people were hoping that they would just get something like that with this show. But Walker isn’t like that.

From the first episode onwards, it works really hard to balance the police procedural side with the family drama and dynamics. And six episodes in, I think it’s done a pretty good job.

Mon: It's been really successful in bringing these two rather disparate angles together. And what it does very well is to structurally interweave these two parallel storylines. We go from the investigation to the family drama and then we go back again, and it's not cyclical, as much as it is interwoven. And that structurally makes the episodes very interesting to watch.

Ron: But more importantly, the way they’ve balanced these two sides of Cordell’s life is actually pivotal to how the show proceeds, because Cordell is a single father now. He doesn't do a very good job of just being a Ranger, or just being a dad, and he's at the point where he's trying to figure out how to do those together. And it's actually quite amusing when you're watching it because you're like, ‘shouldn't you be with your kids right now?’ And then other times you're like ‘don’t you have a job to do?’

Mon: I feel like it's really important for us to see both these sides, not only of Cordell, but also of Micki, because it's always great to see how the job impacts the characters’ family dynamics, and the other way around. Because if you're being pulled out of your investigation because your kid did something ridiculous, or you're abandoning some kind of family trip because there's another bad guy on the loose, there will be explosions somewhere or the other. And it just makes it more relatable.

Also, we might be seeing some new pattern in The CW shows because Superman & Lois is doing something similar, right? And so's Black Lightning. They're constantly trying to show us what it's like to be a working parent. But since this is The CW, the working parents can’t just go into some office job— their office job happens to be being a Texas Ranger, or being superhero.

Ron: And that's really the crux of the show. So maybe that's why people aren't enjoying it because it isn't just, you know, fisticuffs and guns. This show is very much about subverting toxic masculinity. Walker isn’t pure as driven snow, he's definitely layered and tortured, and he does things that are questionable. But the important thing is that Micki, and the people around him, call him out on it. I especially love that about episode 6—which is fresh in our minds because we just saw it—but it's not something you see often.

Mon: I feel like in the pilot episode they kind of leaned in towards what people would have expected of Walker, being a reboot of the original Walker, Texas Ranger show. But it doesn't pan out like that, because as you said, toxic masculinity is nowhere over here.

But there are consequences to the actions that Walker takes in the pilot episode, which we see in episode 6, and that is a nuance that you need in the 21st century. We have moved beyond just watching people beat other people up. We need to know that there are people behind those fists, and that's what we’re finding out.

Ron: We started watching the show because Jared Padalecki was in it. But according to my research, Padalecki has been thinking about the show for a while.

Mon: I've been hearing about his name attached to a Walker reboot for a long time. And the only reason I think it finally got the green light is because Supernatural was announced to be coming to an end in 2020. It's been on hold for a while.

Ron: It's funny because in the initial concept apparently Padalecki was going to produce the show, and the Jensen Ackles who's going to be stepping in as Walker. [laughs]

Mon: I can see that. But you know, Ackles would have brought a kind of swagger that this version of Cordell Walker doesn't need. And I think it would have changed the dynamic a lot.

Ron: I totally agree with that, especially because Padalecki seems to have got the idea from reading a story about a policeman who walked away from his duties because he did not want to continue separating children from their parents, just because they were immigrants.

Mon: Wow.

Ron: Yeah.

Mon: That explains the undertone throughout.

Ron: Exactly.

Mon: We can't tell you too much…

Ron: …but it's what have you read that.

I'm actually very curious to see where this first season goes, because that kind of story is playing a certain part in this. We've seen it pop up quite a bit just in these first six episodes. Will they take it forward? How far will they go with that? Not sure.

Mon: It will be a bold move to really tackle immigration, immigrant problems, head on in a show like Walker. This is why we need a blank canvas. You do a reboot, you do something different. You bring it to the 21st century.

Ron: According to Padalecki’s interview with Variety, this is what we said: This is not a show about a martial artist kicking minorities in the face; this is a show about a legit Texan saying, ‘Hey, I need to hear the whole story before I make a decision.’ So this version is less about what goes through somebody’s fists and feet, and more about what goes through somebody’s head and heart.”

We've definitely seen that in the first six episodes, and following the events of the sixth episode, I think we're gonna see a lot more of that.

Mon: Exactly. They're not being completely in your face about immigrants and minority communities, how they're treated and the issues that they face, but that's definitely there.

Ron: So one of my concerns when I started watching the pilot episode was that, oh, we have a white family at the center of the story. The problem with having a completely white family is that everybody around them is also white, but this show doesn't do that.

For one, Micki, who is Cordell’s partner has a massive role; she's basically the second lead. We also have Captain James played by Coby Bell, who is a Black man, and he is trying to make a difference in his department. The Walker showrunner, Anna Fricke spoke to Variety about the characters of colour on the show: “This was always supposed to be a show that was set up to have conversations on both sides of the fence and that Walker is a character that can see things both ways — we call him the edge of the coin. We realized that unwittingly we were set up to have those conversations in the characters of Captain James, who is a Black man, and in Walker’s new partner, who is a Latinx woman.”

So, she went on to talk about the pilot episode especially, because it did get delayed in production. So they went back to the writers room, and they worked on a few things. So this is what she had to say about how the pilot was changed slightly to reflect the circumstances of 2020. “Given that we had the extra time, we tweaked the pilot slightly in that Captain James, as a newer captain who was promoted while Walker was gone on a case, is really here on a mission to bring progress into the department and to keep an eye on corruption.”

Now considering everything that we have seen in 2020 and the police violence that has been, well, it's been there in the US for a long time, but in 2020, it's just—you couldn't avoid it. So, the Black Lives Matter movement definitely had an impact on the show. I'm kind of surprised that there aren't other shows that are following the same example. 2020 threw everything out of balance, but writers rooms had the opportunity to really absorb everything that was happening around them. I like the fact that the Walker team went back and said, ‘You know what we can do something, we can show what's happening in the real world through our show’. And that's why, I guess, we’ve seeing so much of the subversion.

I think what we’ve seen till now is only a taste of what's to come, really.

Mon: Oh, I agree with you. Listening to what Anna Fricke had to say about Captain James, I want to see more of that, because right now, he's almost comic relief—which I love, I really love that about him. But you can tell that there is a serious story and a serious character simmering beneath what is seen.

And this is a really clever move by the writers room so far. They are going with the easy route—family drama and investigation, but they're slipping in these moments which are making you think, which are bringing the reality of the world into the fantasy of the show.

In the first episode, Micki highlights some of the racism that she's had to overcome to be a Texas Ranger. In episode two, Stella, Cordell’s daughter, she acknowledges her white privilege and how it lets her off the hook, but not her Latinx friend.

And throughout, we see the same thing—a person of color is accused of killing his boss. Did he really do it? This seems too easy; it's constantly happening in every episode. It's a pattern. And I feel like it is crescendoing to something major. Is it going to be a realization of just how harmful some of the Texas Rangers’ actions are in the real world? Or is it going to be something different? We don't know.

Ron: Whatever we've learned so far about the show is making me question why they've kept the name of the show, just Walker.

Mon: Ooooo. Good point.

Ron: Especially now that we know what the inspiration for the show was for Jared Padalecki. Hmmm.

Mon: Wow, that’s really making me think.

I really like how refreshing this show is. It could have just been an easy reboot; they could have just cruise controlled throughout the entire story. It could have been about guy loses his wife, he's drunk, he meets new partner, they build a romance, kids go on living their life—none of that is happening so far. There are real questions being asked here, and it's thought provoking.

It's entertaining but it's also thought provoking. And I like that; that's a good mix. I mean let's be honest, when you cast Jared Padalecki as Cordell Walker, you know you're going to get a different kind of hero. He's not just going to be broody. He's not just going to be an Action Man; there's going to be layers. And that's what we get.

He definitely comes across as somebody who is burdened by his loss. He's also a little bit arrogant, but he's coming to terms with the fact that he has made mistakes in his life; he's constantly continuing to make mistakes, and he has to address those. But he's also funny; because like, he's a real person.

He'll suddenly act out not realizing the consequences, or he'll say something because he got excited. He is so normal. And I really liked that because there are these instances of comic relief and you're like, ‘that came out of nowhere, but I really needed that’.

Ron: It's funny because we’ve kept mentioning how we watched the show because of Jared Padalecki and how, because he was Sam Winchester, it was just a natural progression. But watching Walker, I'm not getting anything of Sam Winchester. I'm commending Jared Padalecki for his performance because Sam Winchester was last year, Walker is just a few months later.

The person that Sam Winchester was, was kind of young, needed direction, always turned to his older brother. Walker isn't like that. Cordell is a grownass man with teenage children. Somehow I just can't get over that

Mon: And the fact that Sam Winchester was such a rule follower, whereas Cordell’s middle name is basically rule breaker. I just really like that. I mean, we know that an actor is supposed to be able to disappear into new roles, but it's always funny when you go from 15 years as one person and then suddenly he's just living in the boots of Cordell Walker.

Despite that, I have to say that the performances throughout are very The CW. Either people are speaking rather staccato, or they're a little bit singy-songy and melodious. I feel like they need to up the ante a little bit, because this kind of show, with its drama and its family dynamics, it requires a little bit more nuance. But it hasn't really affected how I enjoy the show.

Ron: I think for the most part, Jared Padalecki and Lindsey Morgan are doing a very good job. I love the chemistry between the two characters, they feel like their partners, and it makes it really fun to watch. The parents, played by Mitch Pileggi and Molly Hagan, that's a dynamic that I'm very interested in watching more of. I don't know where they're going with it, but it's not what I expected.

Mon: I feel like they’re teetering on the brink of being a soap opera with Abeline and Bonham, but they're constantly restraining, so I want to know what they're planning to do with them. Because I feel like Bonham, especially, he's changed since the pilot. He's not the person who we were introduced to during the pilot episode, and that's a good thing because I didn't like that guy. With Abeline, she's a very different kind of character, and I almost feel like she's an antihero,

Ron: Or is it Bonham who the antihero?

Mon: Oooooo

Ron: There is some tension between these two characters. We aren't given much information. They’re eking it out for the audience, and it's so unexpected. Every time they come on screen I'm just like, ‘What is going on what is happening with these two?’ Sometimes they're happy to be together, a lot of times they're not. I feel like we're gonna get to know something which is gonna change how we watch the show.

When it comes to acting, I think the young ones, Violet Brinson, who play Stella, and Kale Culley, who plays August, they've taken some time to settle into their roles. It's one of the same problems that we kind of have with Superman & Lois, where Superman and Lois are great to watch, but the children? Not so much.

Mon: Yeah, I would say the weakest link in the show is definitely Stella and August, especially August. I feel like they want to do something with this character, but he's just been left behind. With Stella, she's almost the conduit for some of the drama, some of the flashbacks, and some of the race-talk that is happening. But with August, he's not even an angsty teen; he's just there.

Ron: But I think that relates to how this show is gender swapping a lot of moments. Stella is basically the troublemaker, and it's an understandable reaction because she is grieving and her father wasn't there when she was grieving. So she's acting out just to get attention, which is something that teenagers do. August, on the other hand, is the ‘good’ child. He’s a saint. He doesn't do anything wrong. He immediately allows his father back into their lives and Stella is the one who's questioning, ‘why?’. This man was gone when we needed him. She wants August to stand up for them. But August doesn't. He wants to keep the piece. That's a fun little subversion that I’ve been wanting to see in shows but this one is giving it to us.

And then there are these other little things, like Stella is playing soccer. I have not seen soccer in an American TV show, so that's really unexpected. It's usually American football, or it’s lacrosse, like in Teen Wolf, but soccer? Not so much, so that's fun. You see August kind of helping with the cooking, but he's also very interested in photography. And that's a creative field that we usually see female characters get into. What's also quite interesting in Walker is that both Stella and August are taking after their mother. They do things that she used to like doing, that she was interested in, that they did with her. Their father, not so much, even though he was also absent so they would want to do something that he likes. But it seems like they're genetically predisposed to want to be like their mom, so that's fun.

From what we know of Emily, she was quite multitalented. She was a photographer. She was a great mom. She was a good friend; she was a wonderful wife; she was a handyman. And Walker, on the other hand, is terrible with tools. We don't usually get to see things like that.

Mon: In a way, Walker is defined by only two things: his job and his family. But Emily, despite having such curtailed screen time, is this fully-fledged character, who was so amazing in every way and everybody is like, kind of, always wishing that Emily was there, and not Walker. I don't know if they intended that as a subversion, but it sure comes across as that.

Ron: What Walker does well is that the subversion isn't just limited to the Walker family. Like we see Micki, is the Ranger, but her partner, Trey, is a nurse. Now, this is something that used to drive me up the wall about most shows that were, you know, in any way action-oriented, sci-fi, fantasy. Female characters were almost always relegated to the role of healer or nurturer, male characters got to go out there and fight. But here, it's exactly the opposite. Micki is the one who is going out and fighting, whereas Trey is the one who is there to help people and take care of them if things go bad.

Mon: And not just medically. He's also an emotional support for a lot of people. Like he's there for Stella, he's there for Walker. He's also there for Micki. So again, that's why we need a refreshing change from what we've always had. And I like that it’s the CW which is doing it because, yeah, they’re kind of on the map because of their superhero stuff, but we've always found that even with the superhero stuff, there have been times when we felt like they could have pushed some boundaries, but they didn't. And with this show, I'm not saying they're like, completely breaking every possible glass ceiling. I'm just saying that they're doing a very good job of making some cracks.

Ron: I mean there is a strip club scene which is not what it looks like. That's all I'm gonna say.

From episode 2 onwards, every story has been really, really exciting. So, from a writing point of view, the show is also doing a really good job. I've actually found myself surprised by the direction of some of the stories, and that's quite fun, considering we've watched a lot of police procedurals in our lives.

Mon: At this point, it's easy to get a little bit jaded with pop culture. This is our entertainment—action stuff, superhero stuff, we are for it. But you need to innovate. It's a tough landscape, there's so much new content coming out, so much of it is in the same genre. What I feel like with Walker is that, mostly because of Padalecki, he's gonna draw in a completely different crowd, which is the Supernatural crowd. And because it's on The CW, you're also getting eyeballs from an audience who is kind of watching Riverdale in the evenings. And then they got Walker. And you need that balance, because so much content is cruise control. And as we said, this show could easily have been that, but it wasn’t. And it's trying very hard not to.

As we said, there is a certain pattern, because in every episode, you're like, ‘Wait, did they just do that?’ And it makes you sit up and take notice and wonder, ‘okay in all these years, why did no other show have this particular scene?’ And more than anything else, I think that's what's making us come back. It's like, how are they innovating? How are they being more creative and more innovative with the same established storylines and dynamics.

Ron: I'm going to give Walker props for even trying to do things differently, because you just mentioned Riverdale, and that show is entertaining, but it's been so cliched from the very start. And considering its audience, I really would have wanted it to do something a little bit different. There have been times when I’ve watched Riverdal and I thought, ‘Oh okay, that's a little bit different.’ But honestly, it just doesn't try that hard.

Mon: No, in fact, some of the messaging in there is problematic to say the least. Young people are watching it, and, well, young people are on The CW a lot, and I do worry that they need to get a strong message about what's right, what's wrong and what you should be questioning,

And that's what Walker is doing. It is acknowledging the privilege of this family. But at the same time, it is also telling us that they have their own struggles. Are their struggles greater than other people? No. But this is the story that we’re being told, because we need the audience stand in, and as we know the easiest way for the audience to walk into a show is through somebody who apparently looks like them.

Ron: The people around the Walker family are people of color. So you have Micki, you have Trey, you have Captain James, Stella's friend, August’s possible love interest, they haven't got there yet. Even Cordell’s brother Liam, his partner is a person of color. So you've got this in with the Walker family, but around them, you’ve got all these people of color who we definitely are interested in and invested in. It could have easily been the other way around, and I would have liked that, but I'll take it.

Mon: I think the smart move by the writers has been that not only do we have an in with a white family, but we're also looking through their eyes to understand the different viewpoints of the people around them. And essentially what's happening is that no one is being made to feel alienated in a circumstance or an environment that they feel is their own. So, the fact that the white family has a ranch, and stuff like that okay, yeah, that's aspirational for a lot of people. But you also have the Black captain who is new. So you have that audience who is enjoying being part of a club, if you could say, that hasn't always represented them. And then you have, of course, with Micki, and the dichotomy of being a Texas Ranger, when the Texas Rangers are such a problem for the Latinx community. So it’s this inclusivity, which I guess we’re really, there for.

Ron: And that's all just within the first six episodes, so I really don't know where this show is going to be going. I'm very excited by its direction. And I'm really surprised that from all the shows that we've seen Walker is the one that's making us think, ‘well, this is doing something different’.

Mon: Yeah, and I think it's fortuitous that we are recording this episode after episode 6. That was some episode! A lot happened, they packed in a lot. There were a lot of twists and turns too; a lot of bombshells in there. And it's actually making us rethink how we have viewed some of the characters. There are some revelations coming and I don't think we're gonna like it.

Ron: Well, I for one, am totally invested in this show. Episode 6 felt like it was a turning point. According to Anna Fricke, the showrunner, things are gonna be happening. I cannot wait to find out what they are.

So, there you have it. We're really enjoying the first six episodes of Walker, which is not something we thought that we would be saying on our podcast.

Mon: But we’re glad we are. Because, you know what, if you haven't caught this show because you think it's not your kind of show, give it a shot. And give it a shot beyond just the pilot episode because you're in for a ride.

Ron: And some really great characters.

Mon: Absolutely.

Ron: Have you watched Walker? What did you think of it? We'd love to hear from you.

You can find us on Twitter @Stereo_Geeks. Or send us an email [email protected]. We hope you enjoyed this episode. And see you next week!

Mon: The Stereo Geeks logo was created using Canva. The music for our podcast comes courtesy Audionautix.

[Continuum by Audionautix plays]

Transcription by Otter.ai, Ron, and Mon.

#walker #the cw #jared paladecki #supernatural #stereo geeks #reboot #podcast

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callmestiletto · 4 years ago

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so i know the musty cowboy wail has been posted but i don’t think you understand the context.

got questions about that hot mess of a show but don’t want to watch it yourself? i have suffered for the cause. i have your answers.

so i liveblogged the premiere of walker. but its all on discord and i copied the whole thing here and it crashed my computer so IT IS NOT MEANT TO BE GUYS.

important things to know.

gen looks beautiful. all of her scenes are in the trailer except for this piece of cinematic mastery.

now, walker roles

we have jared padalecki as cordell "ITS JUST WALKER" walker

we have genevieve padalecki as emily "MYSTERIOUS DEAD WIFE FOR REASONS BUT SO PRETTY" walker

we have pll bro as i assume he was given a first name walker.

we have mitch pileggi as mitch pileggi HORSE BREEDING SEASONS father walker

MOLLY HAGAN. who is liz's mom from izombie! as mother "i'm raising your children better than you" mother walker.

we have raven from the 100 as micky "i'm not like other girls i'm a mexican american possible army vet state trooper texas ranger who didnt play with dolls and learned about cars" rodriguez the rule following newbie partner

oh yeah and we have odette annabelle as jeri "im a bartender but maybe also a humanitarian best friend of gen" no last name.

and then there was knockoff cw jughead as august "the good son" walker. and knockoff cw nancy drew as stella "the problem child who once played basketball and now plays or possibly quit soccer" walker.

and then there was one line isabelle "belle" possible best friend "mexican AMERICAN" girl

and her unnamed parents who look Very Concerned at all times to be around everyone in law enforcement because they're papers aren't back yet?

re: the conservative and gay brother

the brother repeatedly mentioned "Brett"

which clearly isn't a woman's name. no word on what their relationship is.

and we didn't say we're conservative!

but we are a soft handed assistant DA now

compared to whatever we did before? less soft handed other law job?

other important texas things

there was a grand total of 18 cowboy hats worn by people.

#walker #truly #this was a hilarious thing to liveblog to the gospels discord #but oh my god who wrote this mess #good god #anti walker #anti jared #idfk #GENEVIEVE I STILL LOVE YOU #YOU DESERVE BETTER

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rkorlov · 4 years ago

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Thoughts on Walker so far

Well, as a long time fan of Supernatural of course my job is to support my boys in their new projects so I’m quite excited to see Jared play Walker.

So far, I’m liking it, there are moments in which I think it’s cheesy or some lines would be best delivered or could be rewritten but well, it’s a CW show so I can’t ask for much in that sense so let’s talk characters instead.

Jared’s doing an amazing job and it’s quite incredible to see him brand new, you get me? The role really fits him and he’s proving how great of an actor he truly is, which I’m all here for. Proud of my boy.

Also, I personally believe most of the other characters are being quite unfair to Walker, he’s actually trying to be there and he’s also experiencing grief and yet everyone treat him like he ain’t trying when he clearly is, it’s just the others not giving him the chance to prove right, like what he does is not enough. That pisses me off, especially because there’s a lot of questions he’s got around his wife’s death and people just seem to forget to tell him the important details like “I closed her eyes” or “no, mom carried those chips around”. But I’m glad that’s cleared already, too bad it took them 11 months to tell him. I don’t know, give the man a break and let him grow as well.

August is such a sweet boy and I feel like he’s gonna have hell of a development, I’m looking forward to see it.

Stella’s quite an interesting character, I like the idea of her fighting for what’s right and speaking her mind. I feel like she’s the kind of girl to get in a lot of trouble but we’ll see how they play it out.

Micki gives me the sense of being the embodiment of justice and I love to see a powerful female character which sticks to what’s right and wants to make change happen.

Last mention before I end this: when I first saw Mitch Pileggi, I really blurted out “WAIT, they got grandpa Campbell to play Walker’s father?” and hell yeah they did, a crazy thought.

Anyway, I’m enjoying the series and looking forward to see what holds in storyline.

#Walker #Walker CW #Jared Padalecki #Cordell Walker #Genevieve Padalecki #Emily Walker #Micki Rodriguez #Lindsay Morgan #Stella Walker #Violet Brinson #August Walker #Kale Brady Culley

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filmreviewonline · 4 years ago

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Walker Trailer - New Series reboot stars Jared Padalecki as Ranger with own moral code...

New Post has been published on https://filmreviewonline.com/2021/01/19/walker-trailer-new-series-reboot-stars-jared-padalecki-as-ranger-with-own-moral-code/

Walker Trailer - New Series reboot stars Jared Padalecki as Ranger with own moral code...

Walker is a reimagining of the long-running series Walker, Texas Ranger. It stars Jared Padalecki of Supernatural fame.

It stars Jared Padalecki whose character returns home after being undercover for two years. Only to discover there’s harder work to be done at home.

The series premieres Thursday, January 21st, 2021. It will be available to stream the next day free on The CW.

Walker Trailer 2 ‘Coyboy Way’

https://filmreviewonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Walker-Season-1-Trailer-2-Cowboy-Way.mp4

Walker Lowdown

The show is a reimagining of the long-running series Walker, Texas Ranger. This stars Jared Padalecki (from Supernatural) as Cordell Walker. He is a widower and father of two with his own moral code! He returns home to Austin after being undercover for two years, only to discover there’s harder work to be done at home.

We will see him attempt to reconnect with his son and daughter:-

The son is creative and thoughtful and played by Kale Culley, know fo Me, Myself and I

The daughter is headstrong and somewhat rebellious teenager played by Violet Brinson of Sharp Objects fame

There is the need to navigate clashes with his family:-

An ADA brother who stepped in during Walker’s absence, played by Keegan Allen of Pretty Little Liar

A perceptive mother played by Molly Hagen of Herman’s Head

And his traditional rancher father played by Mitch Pileggi who is known for The X-Files.

Walker’s former colleague is now his Ranger Captain. He is played by Coby Bell, of The Game. Walker finds unexpected common ground with his new partner (one of the first women in Texas Rangers’ history) played by Lindsey Morgan of The 100”., Meanwhile he is growing increasingly suspicious about the circumstances surrounding his wife’s death.

The show also stars Jeff Pierre as Trey Barnett.

Walker is written and executive produced by Anna Fricke know for Being Human and Valor. It’s also executive produced by Dan Lin and Lindsay Liberatore and Jared Padalecki.

Walker is from CBS Television Studios in association with Rideback.

#Anna Fricke #Coby Bell #Jared Padalecki #Jeff Pierre #Kale Culley #Keegan Allen #Lindsey Morgan #Mitch Pileggi #Molly Hagen #Violet Brinson #Walker (2021 tv)

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keecuntwalker · 4 years ago

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Walker’ Showrunner Previews Upcoming ‘Family Soap’ Starring Jared Padalecki

By Danielle Turchiano

If all had gone according to plan, a pilot episode for “Walker,” the upcoming “reimagining” of the 1990s, Chuck Norris-led drama “Walker, Texas Ranger,” would have shot in the spring of 2020, and the production team would have been able to make adjustments to characters, plot points or even casting after seeing what worked in that initial episode, before going to series.

But there has been nothing about the year 2020 that has been according to any usual plan, and “Walker” ended up getting a straight to series order at the CW after being unable to shoot a pilot amid a pandemic-forced production shutdown. Now, the new series about a widowed father and Texas Ranger (played here by “Supernatural’s” Jared Padalecki) is being introduced internationally at Mipcom by ViacomCBS Global Distribution Group without the crucial, world-defining series premiere episode to screen.

For showrunner Anna Fricke, the delayed production start has meant more time working with the writers’ tweaking scripts and making pivotal changes to ensure the final product pays homage to the original, while still being as specific and thoughtful for today’s audience as possible.

“It’s still a love song to Texas and the character is still obviously a Texas Ranger and somewhat of a maverick character with a very strong moral compass. I’d say that is a powerful carry-through” from the original,” Fricke tells Variety.

But the racial reckoning and cries for police reform within the United States in the last few months also inspired the writers to dig deeper into conversations about those changes that need to be made.

“This was always supposed to be a show that was set up to have conversations on both sides of the fence and that Walker is a character that can see things both ways — we call him the edge of the coin,” she explains. “We realized that unwittingly we were set up to have those conversations in the characters of Captain James, who is a Black man, and in Walker’s new partner, who is a Latinx woman. Given that we had the extra time, we tweaked the pilot slightly in that Captain James, as a newer captain who was promoted while Walker was gone on a case, is really here on a mission to bring progress into the department and to keep an eye on corruption.”

The cases on “Walker,” Fricke continues, will offer unique situations and perspective than on the usual police procedurals, since “rangers get pulled into different cases” than cops. But, she also notes that the focus of the show is primarily on Walker himself and the relationships he has with everyone from his deceased wife (played by Genevieve Padalecki in flashbacks) to his teenage children (Violet Brinson and Kale Culley), his parents (Mitch Pileggi and Molly Hagan), his brother (Keegan Allen), his new boss (Coby Bell) and his new partner (Lindsey Morgan).

“The original Walker had very strong family ties, mostly to his uncle, who he spent a lot of time with. This show, I’d say, is even more of a family drama just because Walker himself now is living on the ranch with his own parents, so it’s a real multi-generational story,” Fricke, who classifies the show as a “family soap,” says.

For the global audience that knows Padalecki from his 15 years hunting demons, the devil and eventually God himself on “Supernatural,” the actor admits that he will take his former character and the lessons he learned from that show “into every job I do.” The character of Walker and the character of Sam Winchester share some basic similarities, in that they both start their respective shows grieving (Sam lost his college girlfriend in the pilot of “Supernatural,” while Walker lost his wife here), and they are both good guys out to make the world a better place.

Walker, though, Fricke notes, is more of a family man, which is what will set him apart from Sam. “The brothers on ‘Supernatural’ were always so isolated with each other, but the story of the first season [of ‘Walker’] really is a man bringing his family back together and getting to know who his kids are now,” she says.

Additionally, the plan is to make Padalecki “look a little different” in order to further separate the characters. “This is someone who grew up — literally — on the network with ‘Gilmore Girls’ back when it was the WB,” Fricke says of Padalecki. “So it was important to him to be, frankly, a man and to be his own person. We’ve discussed a lot in terms of having him be a little scruffier. His character on ‘Supernatural’ is usually clean-shaven, but [we’re] adding that adult side to him.”

“Walker” will shoot in Austin, Texas, which is also the setting of the show. Fricke feels “fortunate” to do so, to truly “capture the essence of Austin.” With the state of health and safety concerns still very high within the United States amid the ongoing pandemic, Fricke notes her writers’ room also takes specific passes through the scripts to look for places where they can remove contact between actors.

“We’ve taken all of the handshakes out. We’re starting family dinner scenes with everybody already sitting so we skip the hugs and things like that,” she says. “Our production team is very conservative. We’re having conversations with actors about what they feel safe with. So while there is romance, a lot of it is implied. In general we’re trying to do a lot of old-school implication [such as] longing looks. It’s a real dilemma in thinking how to approach filming in a time of COVID.”

#jared padalecki #variety #walker #cw walker

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sam-winchester-admiration-league · 5 years ago

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Winchester family reunion alert! Mitch Pileggi — who recurred as Sam and Dean’s maternal grandfather on Supernatural — will reunite with Jared Padalecki in The CW’s forthcoming Walker, Texas Ranger reboot, our sister site Deadline reports.

The drama, simply titled Walker, stars Padalecki as Cordell Walker, “a widower and father of two with his own moral code who returns home to Austin after being undercover for two years, only to discover there’s harder work to be done at home,” per the official synopsis. “He’ll attempt to reconnect with his children, navigate clashes with his family and find unexpected common ground with his new partner (one of the first women in Texas Rangers history), while growing increasingly suspicious about the circumstances surrounding his wife’s death.”

The X-Files alum Pileggi will play the series-regular role of Walker’s father Bonham, who is described as a sturdy, conservative, tough-as-nails family man who doesn’t hold back when talking with his sons. A third-generation Texas rancher, he’s most comfortable taking care of business on the ranch.

As previously reported, Keegan Allen (Pretty Little Liars) will portray Walker’s younger brother Liam, a gay conservative who was just promoted to assistant district attorney. Meanwhile, Lindsey Morgan (The 100) is Walker’s new partner Micki.

Walker — which hails from writer/producer Anna Fricke (Being Human) — is one of two projects to receive a straight-to-series order from The CW for the 2020-21 season, the other being the Arrowverse spinoff Superman & Lois, starring Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch in the title roles.

#TVLine #Mitch Pileggi #Jared Padalecki #Walker #Sam Winchester

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ancylyns-veste · 4 years ago

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- The series will arrive in 2021. The CW announced that Walker will arrive in January 2021. We don't yet have an exact premiere date but we do know that the series will take over for Supernatural and air Thursday nights at 8/7c, followed by Legacies at 9/8c.

- Jared Padalecki will star and executive-produce. Padalecki will play Cordell Walker, a widower and father of two. After being undercover for two years, Cordell returns home to Austin in an attempt to reconnect with his children while dodging dust-ups with his conservative family. Padalecki won't just star as the titular character of the series, though; he'll also be executive-producing alongside Anna Fricke, Dan Lin, and Lindsey Libertore.

- Meanwhile, Pretty Little Liars alum Keegan Allen has been cast as Liam, Cordell Walker's gay, conservative younger brother, who is also an assistant district attorney. He is described as "smart, slightly smug, but with a strong moral compass," and he's prone to sacrificing his personal life in favor of family obligations. One of those obligations was taking care of Cordell's kids during their father's absence.

- Deadline reports other additions to the cast include Mitch Pileggi as Bonham Walker, Cordell's sturdy, conservative and tough as nails father, and Molly Hagan as Abeline Walker, Cordell's mother who is described as "an unstoppable force of nature."

Looking forward to see Mitch, which I know from way back X-Files as Walter Skinner. He is a friendly, funny guy, who spent a year in Munich as a student, partying. lol

Jared’s name will be Cordell, which in German Kordel is cord or string. weird.

#cw #Jared Padalecki #mitch pileggi #walker #supernatural

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archivingspn · 3 years ago

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Variety: “‘Walker’ Showrunner Previews Upcoming ‘Family Soap’ Starring Jared Padalecki”

[source]

#2020-Oct #2020:October9 #*walker #Anna Fricke #author: Danielle Turchiano #Variety

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