Just some good ol' boys

Father forgive me. It's been almost a week since my last confession blog entry.

So here I am on a Saturday night, watching Dukes Ride Again Weekend on CMT. (Yeah, that's pretty pathetic, but there you have it.) This show reminds me of my childhood; it was the one show that all elementary school students (at least in my town) simply could not miss. My brothers and I were absolutely addicted. The car chases, the comedy, the General Lee, and of course the narration by Waylon Jennings! I used to have Ben Jones' autograph. I got it at a car show featuring the "General Lee" when I was about 10 years old, and I cried when the ink got smeared by rainwater leaking into our playhouse.

The VH1-style CMT show "Inside Fame" did a Dukes of Hazzard episode with interviews with all the survivng cast members and of course the head stuntman. Among the tidbits I gleaned were:

• The first 5 episodes were filmed in Conyers, Georgia, and in one of those Sherriff Roscoe P. Coltrane actually shoots a guy. Once they got the ratings data and realized every kid in the country was watching, they moved the show from 9pm to 8 and toned down the sex, violence, drinking, and smoking.


• The CBS executives could not figure out why the show was popular. The head honcho was on vacation in Europe when the show debued. Upon his return he watched it and was ready to cancel it . . . until he saw that it was a top 5 show.


• James Best (Roscoe P. Coltrane) noticed that Catherine Bach (Daisy Duke) was nervous in front of the camera at first. To loosen her up, he took a picture of himself wearing only his cowboy hat and gunbelt and had the makeup man spring the polaroid on her at an unexpected moment.


• The reason John Schneider and Tom Wopat (Bo & Luke Duke) went on strike that year, prompting the arrival of the imposters Coy & Vance Duke, was a misunderstanding/accounting oversight regarding merchandising revenue. Catherine Bach asked them if she should join them in walking out, but they told her not to do so since that would effectively end the show. They now admit they should have resolved the problem differently and that their actions may have contributed to the downfall of the show.


• Sorrell Booke (Jefferson D. "Boss" Hogg) was an accomplished Broadway star who spoke several languages.


• Catherine Bach actually made the first pair of "daisy dukes" herself after the network suggested she wear a poodle skirt that matched the red-and-white checkered tablecloths at the Boar's Nest.


• The network wanted Ben Jones (Cooter) to shave his beard, and he told them to go to hell. Once he became a congressman, "They put me on the Transportation Committee 'cause they thought I knew something about cars."


• It was still a top 20 show when it was cancelled.


• They totaled a '69 Dodge Charger about once every two shows. Plus lots of police cars.

I went online after watching this show and discovered that there will be a Dukes of Hazzard movie coming out this year, starring Johnny Knoxville, Seann William Scott, and Jessica Simpson (gag me). But it also has Burt Reynolds and Willie Nelson, so it can't be all bad!