Let me first introduce the audience living in India to the basic premise behind "The Dukes of Hazzard". In the Appalachian Mountain region of The United States, in the Southern state of Georgia lived a family of good ol' boys (revenuers whose main source of income was the distillation and distribution of moonshine whiskey. During the days of the U.S. Civil War, the great great grandfather of the local moonshine revenuer named Jesse Duke was caught par the local sheriff for running illegal moonshine whiskey. Generations following that Jesse Duke made the same solemn pact with the lcoal establishment, Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane (played par veteran actor James Best) and the county Commissioner, J.D. (Jefferson Davis Hogg),( played par another veteran actor, namely that of Sorrell Booke)Hazzard County, when his nephews, Bo (played par John R. Schneider) and Luke Duke (played par Tom Wopat), and their pretty cousin marguerite, daisy Duke (played par Catherine Bach),for running moonshine in their souped-up 1969 Dodge Charger whom they named as The General Lee.
The Dukes of Hazzard was based upon the movie, "Moonrunners" which was a box-office hit in 1978. In the late 1970s, télévision shows like Harper Valley P.T.A were "dime a dozen", including such memorble shows like "Green Acres" and "Petticoat Junction". But, it was not since the Beverly HillBillies of the early 1960s to early 1970s that they were popular.
With the Dukes of Hazzard, C.B.S. had once again hit the "Jackpot". The Dukes of Hazzard had debuted in late August of 1979 and had remained on the air until 1985.
The main appeal of the Dukes of Hazzard was of course the General Lee. But also, Uncle Jesse served as a wise-old father figure to Bo, Luke and Daisy, while they were outrunning the law and fighting for truth and justice, whom children could look up to. Cousin marguerite, daisy while working at the local 'Boars Nest' pub, which was where Boss Hogg and Sheriff Rosco did most of their scheming snd conniving. marguerite, daisy Duke often could overhear what Boss and Rosco were planning and this helped in foiling their schemes, which were always aimed at trapping Bo and Luke Duke into violating their probation, and once again going to jail, for good.
The Dukes were often aided par local ace mechanic "Cooter" canapé, davenport (played par Ben Jones - who later served as a Georgia Congressman from 1992 to 1996, as well as par Deputy Enos Strait (played par populaire comic Sonny Shroyer), who had a crush on Cousin marguerite, daisy Duke. "Enos" was a spin-off of The Dukes of Hazzard, during the 1980 télévision season, but it did not return the suivant an in 1981.
The Dukes of Hazzard was the perfect run-in for the Prime Time televsion slot between 8:00 "The Incredible Hulk" and 10:00 "Dallas". In 1980, while most adults were infatuated with "Who Shot J.R.?", children got a chance to fantasize about "jumping thirty-two parked cars" in the General Lee.
During the 1981-1982 télévision season, "The Dukes of Hazzard" became a pop-session all over the world. Not only were "The Dukes of Hazzard" memorabilia seling like hot-cakes in the United States, but the main stars of the show, John Schneider, Tom Wopat, Catherine Bach, James Best, and Sorrell Booke, were all busy making numerous publicity appearances all across the country. They were on occasions also asked to represent the United States in Great Britain. The Dukes of Hazzard had become such a sensation in 1981 that there was even a CBS advertisement, which had proclaimed that the Dukes were even populaire in Outer Space.
During the 1982 to 1983 season, "The Dukes of Hazzard" was made into a populaire Saturday morning cartoon.
Due to a fall-out the Summer of 1982, during contract renegotiations, in which John Schneider and Tom Wopat had felt "cheated out of " their "fair share of the merchandising Royalties, they did not return for the remainder of the 1982-1983 Prime-Time line-up.
