Script idea

[Brian Coltrane]

I'm of the opinion the original cast can't ( and shouldn't ) be replaced. But there's something to be said for keeping the Dukes of Hazzard adventures going for generations to come, so long as '69 Charges don't become extinct in the process. That bein' said...

The "next generation" concept, which would give the original cast well-deserved screen time, would be the best way to appeal to longtime fans while drawing new folks that never saw the show in their life. Here's a rough idea for a script along that line:

Rosco, having enough wherewithal to retire, and having perhaps at last found a true love in which to spend his twilight years, heads off to travel around the country as a professional demo derby driver. Before he can indulge in this, however, he needs to make sure Hazzard County is in good hands. So in the upcoming Sheriff election, he endorses a relative. The good folks of Hazzard, unable to resist how good Roger B. Coltrane looks in a black Stetson, elect a new Coltrane as Sheriff and assure themselves future years of chaos.

Rosco gives Roger parting advice and well wishes, and then the freshly- retired Sheriff heads off into the sunset and into legend - after leaving one last parking ticket on the General Lee's windshield, and running over a fire hydrant on his way out of town. The merry "Khee!" and parting wave from Rosco is answered by a wave and goodbye from Bo, Luke and Daisy, who have no idea of the domino effect that fickle fate has in store.

Ya see, Roger B. Coltrane had no more pinned on his badge when a huffy, stout whirlwind of a man by the name of Horace Jackson Hogg pulls into Hazzard, seeking his fortune. Literally. Poor ol' Horace wasn't recognized in Boss Hogg's estate and hadn't been left a penny in Boss's will. This was because Horace is the son of Huey Hogg, and one fateful day when Boss had disowned his nephew Huey for the last time, that branch of the Hogg family tree was pruned in it's entirety.

Horace never forgot the teachings of his father, Huey - who had faithfully corresponded with his son throughout his confinement in one of Georgia's better state prisons - and armed with schemes aplenty, Horace came to Hazzard figuring to hoodwink ol' Rosco out of every last dime. After all, Boss left the Hogg family fortune to a brother-in-law, and here was Horace, blood kin, cut off without a cent. Well, not for long....

When Horace finds Rosco has left town, and taken the last of the Hogg fortune with him, Horace throws a conniption fit. But as he realizes that Rosco's successor is another Coltrane, he sees an opportunity to build his own empire. He befriends the new Sheriff, and makes no secret of his Hogg name, impressing Roger wtih the notion that there were many things that needed "cleaning up" in Hazzard, especially the county finances. Generously, Horace offers to take on the County Commissioner responsibilities, reactivating a county position that been formerly consolidated under the Sheriff's duties. Roger, having already found out what Hazzardites think about speed limits, welcomes the help and gladly gives up what he sees as burdensome bookkeeping.

With a gleeful chortle, Horace begins working his subtle - and not so subtle - schemes, funneling money into his pocket. At the same time, he convinces Roger that the county is going broke and would soon be bankrupt if something wasn't done. Roger goes out and starts writing tickets like mad, and even accepts a cut in pay to try and ease the budget strains. Meanwhile, Horace sets his sights on bigger goals than skimming off Roger's salary and dipping into the county funds. There's just one detail he needs to get rid off to ensure his success...

Being the Dukes, who Horace had been warned about. Horce manipulates the county records to make it appear as if the property taxes on the Duke farm were several years past due....and then initiates a tax foreclosure, intending to have the Duke farm become county property...until he can "buy" it himself - with stolen county money.

Roger is sent to deliver the notice of tax foreclosure to the Dukes. Having no reason to distrust this particular Coltrane, (yet) the Dukes take the notice at face value, speculating that perhaps Uncle Jesse forgot about the taxes, or hadn't been able to keep up with them on his own during the time they were away. The amount, however, his far more than what they can come up with on short notice, and grimly they face the prospect of losing the family land. They try the Hazzard Bank for a loan, but the bank refuses, based on Horace's growing influence on it's policies.

The Dukes call a family meeting, and decide there's nothing to do but sell, as much as they hate it. They contact their out-of-town kin to share the news and to see if they could "stay a spell while the storm blows over." The kinfolk, (insert new Duke names of your choice) react with surprise to the problem, having never heard of any back tax notices being published with the name Duke on them. This gets Luke thinking about it, and he decides they should investigate the county records. Meanwhile, the next generation Dukes come to the Duke farm to help in any way they can.

As the Dukes try and investigate the county tax records, they are blocked by Horace Hogg's tricks. They are also harassed by Roger B. Coltrane, who, after flipping his patrol car over in mid-air and landing dramatically into a pond while chasing them that morning, is beginning to understand why Rosco had ticketed and jailed the Dukes on a regular basis.

Unexpectedly, and while everything remains uncertain, Bo receives an offer to cover for another driver in an upcoming NASCAR race. The timing of the offer isn't good, but the money is, and many Duke tax problems could be solved by it. Bo accepts, especially when Luke agrees to join him to fill another on the team, radioing pit calls. Meanwhile, they trust the kinfolk Dukes to carry on the county tax record investigation with Daisy's help. Abruptly, Daisy finds herself called away as well, when her college falls short of instructors for environmental studies, and asks her to take a teaching assignment.

When Horace hears of the 3-Duke departure, he celebrates, thinking he's won. It's short-lived when Dale and Gavin Duke (YOU name 'em, then, this is harder than you'd think, LOL) discover one of Horace's many schemes and begin to realize that something is very amiss in Hazzard County. But they can't seem to turn around without running into (literally) Roger B. Coltrane, who, after several wrecked patrol cars later, is now convinced that when it comes to Dukes, less is more, and none is better.

The ensuing cat-and-mouse chases of the law vs. Dukes come to an end when Roger succeeds in arresting Dale and Gavin. The farm is all but lost, and all looks bleak. Dale Duke makes his one phone call. ( after being overcharged for it, as Sheriff Roger B. Coltrane is getting the hang of this cop-for-money thing.) Dale calls in the last Duke reinforcement left, that being their cousin, an attractive woman by the name of Mandy Duke. (Okay, I have a hard time coming up with Duke names, I admit it.)

Mandy is a sweet-looking, demure-sounding woman who just happens to be an over-the-road truck driver. When she steps down for the cab of her semi in high heels and scanty denim shorts, the Sheriff forgets why the hell he pulled her over. He soon realizes that this newest newcomer to Hazzard is another Duke, however, when she pancakes his cruiser. (Being a well-bred lady, she takes pains to make sure Roger is out of the car first.) After the squad car is roadkill, Mandy proceeds to aid her cousins in their escape from jail, leading us up to the all-hell-breaks-loose sequence. Dale and Gavin, thanks to hearing Horace's bragging while they were incarcerated, find the evidence they need and flee Hazzard with it, intending to take it to the State office in Atlanta and bust Horace Hogg wide open. Horace calls in some big guns, baddie types who put results over method, and the General Lee is in flight from hired goons, and from Sheriff Roger B. Coltrane, but it is aided by a semi truck. In the end sequence we see car stunts that remind us why wholesale automotive destruction is such fun...and we see the General fly, of course!

Does the farm get saved? Does Horace Hogg find a way to wiggle off the hook if it does? Will Sheriff Roger B. Coltrane survive his first 30 days in office?

If Bo and Luke and Daisy find their fill-in positions become permanent career offers, will Dale, Gavin and Mandy Duke ( I apologize for these names! Gah! ) stay on the Duke farm to tend it?

Would there be a sequel?????

(just in case any desperate scriptwriters are under incredible pressure and might, when faced with no viable alternative, be tempted to lift this half-ass concept off the board... note that all applicable copyrights apply to concept above. Anyone wanting to leave a personal reaction to this script idea - so long as it isn't violent - can email me at briancoltrane@yahoo.com, or PM me here on HazzardNet. Otherwise, you can share some feedback right on this thread.)

If anyone else has script ideas, please share 'em! If y'all remember Dukes episodes like "Strange Visitor to Hazzard" , that's argument right there for being concerned about what this movie script entails. Heh.

[sav9901]

I like the Roscoe ideah when it comes to him retiring and leaving.

[DixieDavenport]

I LOVE IT!!!! I'm still laughing! I agree that the remaining old cast should have air time to introduce us to the new generation of Hazzard and NOT have a different BO, Luke, Daisy and Cooter! By the way, Ben Jones (Cooter) said at last years Duke Fest he WAS available!!! There are many way for this to have occurred -- either through long lost cousins OR through children of our generation Dukes --- hear out the idea -- In the first Dukes, it is mentioned then left alone (I guess because it was a family show) that at least 2 of the children in the orphanage COULD be Luke's! He said Bo was always bragging on him then the idea was NEVER mentioned again. AND Cooter did have a daughter in on show! And as seen on one of the stories here -- Daisy and Hughie could have gotten together when they intended on getting married once so the possiblities are there for another generation.

I really like your idea about Roscoe retiring and bringing in Hoarse Hogg! Like I said I'm still laughing which is what Dukes was all about! Love the part of Mandy and Roger forgetting WHY he stopped her!!! Yes, Hazzard needs more semi's!! If you agree check out Bj Goes to Hazard --Just hope your old enough to remember the concept!! I admit I wrote it assuming people would remember the BIG RED and WHITE Kenworth!

DixieDavenport

[Brian Coltrane]

Thank ya, Dixie D!

I may be one the few people who remember the show "BJ and the Bear."

The average Knight Rider fan would be startled to know that KITT, as a base concept, first appeared on BJ and the Bear as a type of super patrol car that Sheriff Lobo got ahold of. We're talking several years time difference, so of course it wasn't the same make and model as KITT would later become...but the super-cruiser was painted solid black, and sported a light bar on the roof that was a series of red lights that moved back and forth in a sequence. The car appeared in only one ep that I can recall.

Yep, BJ and the Bear was produced by Glen Larson, and even back then he had this hang-up with the motion of a horizontal red light. Now, when ya think about the use of the semi in Knight Rider that served as KITT's mobile shelter, it's clear ol' Glen loved a good semi truck as much as he loved that moving red light gimmick.

On the other wheel, the main similarity between BJ & Bear and DOH is the antagonistic yet occassionly truce-worthy relationship between BJ McKay vs. Sheriff Lobo...it's not too dissimilar from the Dukes vs. Rosco.

I can't remember why BJ was constantly on Lobo's ticket list; could it have been because BJ was from Milwaukee WI? Was it the chimpanzee in the Oshkosh bib overalls? Or did Lobo just hate truckers as a demographic? At any rate, I do recall Lobo's character softening a bit over time; in fact, "The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo" became a spinoff series, albiet short-lived.

That's enough babble outta me - thanks again Dixie!

Brian

[DixieDavenport]

Yes, I know that that show it was "Cain's Cruiser".

The main reason Lobo was after BJ is in the pilot he helped Lobo's "Ladies of the Night" escape Lobo and Perkins. Lobo was arrested at the end on that show thus being humilitated in his town. Later Lobo kidnaps Bear (the Chimp) then BJ has to come back to testifiy. As you can probably remember even in Lobos show BJ was his "enemy". I have the series -- no my memory isn't that good. Sadly Universal owns the rights and BJ has not been put on VHS or DVD. I've had to hunt them down on e-bay. If your interested in reliving those days search BJ and the Bear Fan Club there is a great one out there! WHICH is how I found this site!

As you can tell I am a bigh fan of both shows as well as the vehicles!!! I'd rather watch them than the new shows!! I just received my DOH 1st series on DVD this week and have been tied up so I have yet to watch all them again!!!! I still know the scripts word for word! LOL

DixieDavenport

[travelerF150]

I just pray that they don't make it like the Starsky and Hutch movie. That movie was alright but I wasn't a Starsky and Hutch fan. If I was I probably would've been pissed.