DVD Review: Walker, Texas Ranger: The Complete Fourth Season

After watching the complete fourth season of Walker, Texas Ranger on DVD, I can honestly say that not much seems to change from episode to episode, season to season. For those of you who don't remember the show that ran from 1993-2001 on CBS, here's a little refresher: Cordell Walker (Chuck Norris) is a Texas Ranger working out of Dallas, who believes in beating up criminals whenever he deems necessary. His partner is the younger Jimmy Trivette (Clarence Gilyard Jr.), a streetwise guy from Baltimore who used football to get a college education, but lost his shot at a career with the Dallas Cowboys after a career ending shoulder injury. Trivette tends to be more scientific than Walker, preferring to let scientific advances help them catch criminals more than their fists.

Walker's life pretty much revolves around his work, but he does find time for his girlfriend a district attorney named Alex Cahill (Sheree Wilson). When Walker isn't spending time with Alex, he's usually hanging out with his buddies at CD's, a bar/ restraint owned by former a former Ranger named C.D. Parker (Noble Willingham), forced into retirement after being shot in the knee.

While Walker stays true to the premise of beating people up whenever possible, during the fourth season the show does interject a new theme here and there. In the season's first episode "Higher Power" the gang deals with the supernatural, when a child believed to be the reincarnation of a Buddhist monk is pursued by a past-life enemy and Walker is the only one who can save the boy's life. In "Ghost Rider" a dead child's spirit assists Walker in finding out who murdered him eight years earlier. Despite this little side trip into the supernatural, Walker, Texas Ranger will never be confused with Medium. Walker deals with live victims and uses his fists and martial arts expertise to get through the day.

Fans of Chuck Norris and Walker, Texas Ranger will want to pick up this set, which contains all 27 episodes of the fourth season on 7 DVDs. Non fans might not find much of interest here, as all the storylines follow the same basic premise.

The video is presented in full screen, as most television shows are. The video quality is pretty good and the colors come through reasonably well. There is some minor edge enhancement at times. Some episodes are also a bit grainier than you would expect for a show shot during 1996-97. The entire DVD set is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo with optional closed captioning available in English. Optional dubbed tracks are provided in Spanish and Portuguese by way of two Dolby Digital Mono tracks and subtitles are provided in Brazilian and Portuguese. Walker, Texas Ranger: The Complete Fourth Season comes with no extra features.