The Checklist: Walker, Texas Ranger (S3 Ep21) “Case Closed”

When you look at the acting career of Chuck Norris you can break it down into three distinct eras.

There is Chuck P.C. (Pre-Cannon) with his unforgettable appearance in The Way of the Dragon going one on one with Bruce Lee and starring in movies like Lone Wolf McQuade, The Octagon and Silent Rage.

In the mid-80’s Chuck Norris entered his Cannon Era and this is when business really picked up for him. Norris was one of Cannon’s go to guys starring in Invasion U.S.A., The Delta Force and the Missing in Action trilogy.

Then came the era of Walker, Texas Ranger. Walker, Texas Ranger premiered on April 21, 1993 with the first of three special pilot episodes. The show would be picked up and begin airing in the fall of 1993 beginning its impressive eight seasons on CBS. The more than 200 episodes of the series continue to air on various television networks around the globe.

In this edition of The Checklist I will put Episode 21 from the third season of Walker, Texas Ranger to the test. The episode was titled “Case Closed” and originally aired on April 29, 1995.

• Synopsis: Cordell Walker (Chuck Norris) and Alex Cahill (Sheree J. Wilson) are out for a drive one night when they see some mysterious bright lights in the sky. When they get out to investigate they find a little girl wandering down the road. The girl tells them her father has been taken by “sky people”. As Walker and Alex attempt to get the traumatized girl medical attention the Air Force has the road blocked off and Walker soon finds himself investigating a mystery of the close encounters kind in a small Texas town.

1. Did Chuck Norris roundhouse kick someone? 

Even though this particular episode had some sci-fi elements you would not normally find in the series (obviously inspired by The X-Files which was a bonafide hit for FOX  at the time), Chuck Norris never forgot to dance with what brung him. We get to see Walker deliver a thunderous roundhouse kick to a hired hoodlum in a short but sweet barroom brawl. Later there is more Walker fisticuffs when he battles some thugs in an airplane hangar. But to me the martial arts move of the episode is when Walker karate chops a table in half while questioning a suspect. That got him to talk! 1/1

 2. Were there any notable guest stars?

There were no less than three guest stars in “Case Closed” that would be familiar to anyone who calls themselves an action fan.

First and foremost is Dirk Benedict of The A-Team fame. Benedict plays a man named Blair. Blair is working with the Air Force on developing technology that can cause drones to fall from the sky… but before you go thinking Blair is some sort of flag waving patriot, I’d like to point out that Blair plans on sneaking the technology off the base and selling it to the highest bidder. That bastard!

Leah Ayres (or Leah Kalish as she is credited on this episode) plays local newspaper reporter Tara Flynn. Tara’s uncle was a reporter before her and died trying to find out what mysteries the Two Rock Air Force base had hidden inside. Tara is picking up where her uncle left off and interjects herself in Walker’s investigation. “Case Closed” was the first of three appearances of the Tara Flynn character. Leah Ayres also played a reporter and love interest to Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Frank Dux character in Bloodsport.

Last but not least was Raymond Cruz. Action fans may recognize Cruz as Joey Six from The Substitute. Cruz played Sergeant Perez in “Case Closed”. Perez crossed paths with Walker through out the episode, first as adversaries but they get on the same page eventually. 2/2

3. Was there any vehicular mayhem? 

Any action adventures series worth a damn knows the importance of vehicular mayhem and this episode of Walker, Texas Ranger did not disappoint. Walker hops in a jeep in order to catch a plane that is about to take off (similar to a scene Chuck Norris did in The Delta Force). Walker manages to get on the plane just before it is about to take off, as the plane is in the air, a final showdown between Walker and Blair goes down… unfortunately for Sergeant Perez, he gets caught in the middle and falls out of the plane WITHOUT a parachute. So Walker straps on a chute and jumps out of the plane to save Perez (similar to a scene Chuck Norris did in Delta Force 2). 3/3

4. Was anyone hospitalized?

It seems to me that Walker was always going to visit someone in the hospital. Every week either a friend of Walker’s or some poor sap who was wronged by that episode’s evil doers was in the hospital and every week Walker was there to visit and lift their spirits. In “Case Closed” the hospitalized character is the father of the little girl that Walker and Alex find at the beginning of the episode. That’s right, he was not abducted by aliens but instead his plane crashed on the outskirts of the Air Force base and the military had him under wraps as he apparently saw too much before the crash. 4/4

5. Did the episode end on a light hearted note? 

So many episodes of Walker, Texas Ranger ended with Walker and his crew enjoying a cold beer at C.D.’s Bar and Grill and having a laugh, usually at the expense of Walker’s best friend and partner James Trivette (Clarence Gilyard)… but not “Case Closed”. This episode ended on a somewhat spooky and mysterious note as Tara shows Walker and Alex some archival film footage her uncle had shot asking the residents of the small town about the strange happenings at Two Rock Air Force base. The truth is out there… 4/5

• Final Score = 4/5 (80%) The almost complete lack of Trivette, the total lack of C.D. Parker and the sci-fi leanings of “Case Closed” prevented the episode from getting a perfect score. But I’ll take an 80% Walker, Texas Ranger over a 100% Grace Under Fire any day of the week.