CWâs âWalkerâ is more a poorly written cowboy story than an action-packed reboot Â
Courtesy of CBS Media Ventures
The CW network is known for its exciting DC shows, such as âThe Flash.â Among its most popular TV shows, the season premiere of âWalkerâ was a huge hit for the CW, as it captured its largest audience yet at over three million viewers. By now on its third episode, âWalkerâ has proven a disappointing watch accompanied with a frail plot that immediately disinvolves the audience. The acting in the first two episodes are worth a watch but donât make up for the void of interest that is evident early on in the story. Â
The CW
Jared Padalecki and Mitch Pileggi in the CW s Walker .
HOLLYWOOD, California Occasionally a reboot comes along that’s so different from the original you wonder why they bothered. “Walker” is one of those, dropping the “Texas Ranger” part of the title from the CBS series that signed off 20 years ago, and trading in Chuck Norris for “Supernatural’s” Jared Padalecki, in what feels more like a family drama than a butt-kicking crime show.
Part of that revised profile has to do with airing the series described as a “reimagining,” but really just a means of leveraging the name on the El Paso/Las Cruces CW, a younger-skewing network than CBS. Indeed, that’s especially true compared to the ’90s when “Walker” patrolled Saturday nights along with Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman” and “Touched by an Angel,” shows that disproportionately appealed to more rural communities seeking the TV equivalent of comfort food.
For “Supernatural” fans, who are still grieving the loss of our beloved show after 15 years on the air, the premiere of the new CW show “Walker” on Thursday brought a lot of complicated feelings. Many of us weren’t ready (and to be honest, would never have been ready) to say goodbye to Sam Winchester, so seeing Jared Padalecki inhabit a brand new character was exciting but also brought a fresh sense of loss, as though the new character made the loss of Sam finally real.
On the other hand, it was wonderful to have another television show to anticipate, and for Thursday nights at 8 pm EST to be something special once again. In the midst of continuing controversy about the way “Supernatural” ended, and a hashtag campaign to tank “Walker” before it even began, the show itself managed to air with considerable fanfare anyway – making it the CW’s most watched Thursday in three years, even topping NBC’s airing in its time slot!
Walker on the CW?
I was, but that isn’t what we got, and I’m not mad. Did I love the first episode? No. I’m not even sure that I liked it, but I didn’t hate it either. I’m viewing it as what it was an information dump. I can only hope that the threads dangled in this episode end up paying off as the season and series progress.
It’s the first one, so it’s a long one.
The episode opens with Walker greeting his wife Emily, played by Padalecki’s real-life wife, Genevive. Emily’s about to leave to deliver supplies, but it doesn’t sound like a simple charitable donation because Walker gives her a specific route. We all know this isn’t going to end well, which is too bad because we didn’t know this Emily for long, but I liked her. A final kiss, then they go their separate ways.
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Jared Padalecki on a CW show about complicated family relationships and an (at least recently) absentee father? After Padalecki spent 15 years on
Supernatural, it does sound a bit familiar. But the good news is that, ultimately,
Walker and
Supernatural each stand on their own. In the new series pilot, Padalecki and company succeed in establishing a completely new character in a completely new world, one where ghosts only exist in Walker s mind.
The pilot begins with the origin story of the aforementioned ghost. In the first scene, Walker says goodbye to his wife, Emily (played by Genevieve Padalecki). She s off on a trip but assures him that she ll take his approved route. As for Walker, his parents and kids are waiting at home for game night to begin.