"Walking Tall" (1981) TV series

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

17 January 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Action

Plot:

Sheriff Buford Pusser maintains law and order in McNeal County, Tennessee with the help of his loving family, loyal staff and a large club he calls his "pacifier."

Plot Keywords:

Tennessee | Police

Cast

Bo Svenson	...	Sheriff Buford Pusser / ... (7 episodes, 1981)
Rad Daly	...	Michael Pusser (7 episodes, 1981)
Heather McAdam	...	Dwana Pusser (7 episodes, 1981)
Walter Barnes	...	Carl Pusser (7 episodes, 1981)
Harold Sylvester	...	Deputy Aaron Fairfax (7 episodes, 1981)
Jeff Lester	...	Deputy Grady Spooner (7 episodes, 1981)
Courtney Pledger	...	Deputy Joan Litton (7 episodes, 1981)

Runtime:

60 min (7 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Columbia Pictures Television

Trivia:

At the end of the seventh and last episode, Pussar's famous stick breaks. He's left standing with the broken-off handle in his hand.

Movie Connections:

Version of Walking Tall (2004)

Soundtrack:

Walking Tall

Not bad

TV series based loosely upon the movie star lawman Buford Pusser.Bo Swenson reprises his role that he played in the Walking Tall movie.This series is set in modern day times (modern cars....modern times,not 60s/70s).And there is the flaw,as Sheriff Pusser died in 1974 (and he wasn't Sheriff then either).A folksy-aimed series that unfortunately used the wrong man as the basis for the show.If they had given Bo an anonymous generic lawman name,it might have flown for a while.But the Walking Tall franchise had gasped its last.I watched the show when it first aired,and it seemed it tried too hard to get its points across.Very much a right or wrong "I told you so" lesson to be learned.I am sure that the real story of Buford was much harsher than that,but such is the way with Hollywood....they always change things to their liking,even if it isn't true.Mr Swenson did a nice job as Mr Pusser though,I liked him much more than Joe Don Baker's portrayal. The Rock is reprising the tired old tale of Walking Tall once again.Carrying the stick is action star Dwayne Johnson (The Rock).Cant they let it rest? Now there's talk of another WT movie. Pusser has been gone for 32 years now.Thats a long time.Why does Hollywood continue to beat this horse? UPDATE********************************************************** I remember when first watching this series back in 1981,that I was very confused regarding the situations that they set Buford in.He served as Sheriff until 1970,and Pauline was killed in 1967,and in one episode (the first one)it was mentioned she died 2 years earlier...meaning the series was set in 1969,one year before his term ended with no chance at re-election.In another episode it was mentioned that if rumors spread about some female that Buford was involved with back in his school days,he wouldn't get re-elected......however at that point it was impossible,as 3 terms was all he could serve legally.All the TV patrol cars were 1977-1979 Dodge Monaco Police Pursuits,and the occasional mid 70s Country Squire wagon,1979 Ford pickup,and 1979 LTD appeared on screen....these were current day used cars,and not true examples of the real Pusser days.Movie 1 used 1972 Dodge Polaras (Buford's wife was killed in a 1966/1967 Polara),movie 2 used 1974 Chevy Impalas,and movie 3 used 1976 Impalas,none of these truly represented the 1960s as they should have been.This all confused me....as did the PCP use in episode 1,the environmental destruction in "deadly impact",and the total change of appearance of John Witter from his dark hair/fat man persona of the movies.Talk about confused!! I betcha thats why this series didn't fly.....Buford Pusser living and in office in the 1980s? That was just too far fetched for most people.