The Checklist: Walker, Texas Ranger (S8 Ep9) “Fight or Die”

Here is some food for thought… right now, as you are reading this, there is probably an episode of Walker, Texas Ranger airing somewhere in the world.

Chuck Norris’ career lengthening series has stood the test of time with both longtime fans of the show and a new generation of fans, who were not even born when Walker, Texas Ranger initially ran, discovering the show.

In this episode of The Checklist, we are going to take a look at an episode from Walker’s penultimate season, that originally aired on November 20, 1999 on CBS.

• Synopsis: Cordell Walker (Chuck Norris) answers a special request from the Governor to go inside an Arkansas state prison to uncover a cage fighting operation that is lining the pockets of the warden and his prison guards.

#1 – Given the setting of the episode, does “Fight or Die” utilize any of the common prison tropes?

“Fight or Die” wastes no time getting to an old standby in any prison themed television show or movie… as all new inmates including are immediately thrown into solitary confinement upon their arrival at Copperhead Maximum Security Prison… this includes Walker, who uses the alias Jake Flint.

The whole solitary confinement thing could have been expected, but Walker passing the time in solitary by doing push ups and sit ups which meant a training montage was completely unexpected and completely awesome. 1/1

#2- Were there any notable guest stars?

“Fight or Die” was jam packed with familiar faces…

First up is Marshall R. Teague (Road House) who plays the chief prison guard Lieutenant Tracton. Tracton loves his work, because his work is making the inmates’ lives a living hell. Tracton is an integral part of the cage fighting operation, serving as the director for the prison’s cage fights that are taped and sold on the Internet. Among Tracton’s more memorable quotes… “Don’t get your salad tossed.”

The corrupt warden of Copperhead was played by Charles Napier of Rambo: First Blood Part II fame. Warden Kyle is the mastermind behind the cage fighting operation at his prison and he has become a rich man in the process. The seemingly unbeatable star of the cage fights is a guy known as The Hammer, who was played by mixed martial arts legend, Frank Shamrock.

Last but not least playing two of Walker’s fellow inmates/cage fighters were Richard Norton, who starred opposite of Chuck Norris in The Octagon, and one of the biggest stars in the history of professional wrestling, Randy “Macho Man” Savage! Seeing Chuck Norris battle the Macho Man was a huge highlight for me. 2/2

#3- Was anyone hospitalized?

The Hammer was a lethal competitor so most of his opponents bypassed the hospital and went straight to the morgue. But there was one inmate who survived his match with The Hammer… although he did so with a severe concussion, which sent him to the prison infirmary and that’s close enough to a hospital for me. 4/4

#4- Did Chuck Norris roundhouse kick someone?

Every episode of Walker, Texas Ranger featured some fisticuffs… but given the cage fighting premise, “Fight or Die” provided the audience with more than their average dose of Chuck Norris action… that means we get Chuck roundhouse kicking, punching, striking, grappling and mixing it up for a good chunk of the episode. 3/3

#5- Did the episode end on a light hearted note?

It should be noted that Walker didn’t go into Copperhead Maximum Security Prison alone… he was joined by fellow Rangers, Francis Gage (Judson Mills) who also posed as a prisoner. And James Trivette (Clarence Gilyard) who went undercover as a prison guard.

Both Gage and Walker end up having to fight The Hammer at the end of the episode with Gage getting first crack at The Hammer. Gage doesn’t win his fight, but (not surprisingly) Walker does… which leads to Gage joking with Walker and Trivette that he softened up The Hammer for Walker and they all have a good chuckle as the end credits roll. 5/5

• Final Score = 5/5 (100%) With its higher than average percentage of Chuck Norris action and the added star power it is no surprise that this episode received a perfect score. The prison setting freshened things up, something a series is going to have to do continuously if it wants to run as long as Walker, Texas Ranger did.