The big question right now is, of course, how anyone could possibly think that Jared Padalecki could even come close to the greatness that is Chuck Norris. Joey Paur from GeekTyrant seems to be in some agreement with this since Norris made the series Walker: Texas Ranger what it was, and apart from the fact that he sang the theme song (oy), it’s still hard to imagine anyone else filling his boots and doing just as well. Padalecki has a huge fan base thanks to Supernatural but at the same time that’s not quite enough to make some people think that he can take on a role that was fleshed out by one of the greatest in the business. It’s kind of obvious that a lot of people are going to look at this with their nostalgia glasses and say that it can’t be done, when in truth there is a small chance that Padalecki might actually be able to pull it off. But seriously, the show might need to take a very different direction to avoid being compared on a continual basis to Norris’ performance, and it already seems as though this will be the case.
According to Nellie Andreeva of Deadline the story is going to have Walker returning home after a two-year undercover stint to realize that he’s got a lot of work to do when it comes to his home life and will also need to investigate a few things close to home as well. He’ll be given a female ranger as a partner, one of the only Texas Rangers to ever be a woman it would seem, and this will no doubt spark a bit more interest in the show. These days it’s definitely more than just the fighting and the fairly common story lines that get people to watch. But it’s kind of funny to think of this show being rebooted since Padalecki simply doesn’t cut the same figure that Norris did and while Norris is getting too old to do this kind of stuff any longer it’s still enough of a hope that we might see him make a cameo on the show just to pass the torch so to speak. After all with a reboot it almost seems as though it should be mandatory to factor in a couple of the older actors that made the original so great, either as recurring characters or someone that’s there to sort of give the reboot a pleasing hint of continuity that would appease a lot of older fans and ease them into the new version.
Such a thing isn’t guaranteed to work but it’s a nice thought all the same, sort of a bit of recognition for those that helped to give the current a show a chance to exist in the first place. Maybe that’s one of the biggest gripes about so many reboots and remakes, it’s that there are those that go off and try to be their own creation without giving much if any real thought to saying ‘thank you’ to the movies and shows that came before them. Some of them do this in their own way that’s hard to see and yet is still an homage to the original, but others thankfully take it a little further and bring in the actual actors and ideas that made the show great in the first place. Even bringing those ideas in and then casting them off in a light-hearted way isn’t too bad since it’s a new era and new ideas are going to be needed to push an old but popular story line. Padalecki does have a chance to make this show into something great but it seems as though he might have kind of an uphill climb ahead of him, and one that will be bordered on most sides with fans of Chuck Norris that will be watching him closely.
Joe Otterson of Variety has stated that either the CW or CBS will be the likely landing sites for this show since Padalecki has a pretty good standing relationship with the CW, but CBS is very interested in seeing Walker on its lineup. At this point it’s hard to say just where it will go, but you can be assured that people will be willing to watch just to see how Padalecki does and whether or not they’ll think he’s a good successor to Norris. Even if a lot of folks are hesitant to even think it’s possible Padalecki’s fan base is likely to say that it’ll work no matter what since it’s been established that he’s a good actor and he can make it work. Of course if you follow the word of those who follow someone blindly because they’re starstruck you’d best be ready for some disappointment due to high expectations. But will he make it work? It’s very possible.
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