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 pinagmulan 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 sa pamamagitan ng 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 sa pamamagitan ng veteran actor James Best) and the county Commissioner, J.D. (Jefferson Davis Hogg),( played sa pamamagitan ng another veteran actor, namely that of Sorrell Booke)Hazzard County, when his nephews, Bo (played sa pamamagitan ng John R. Schneider) and Luke Duke (played sa pamamagitan ng Tom Wopat), and their pretty cousin uri ng bulaklak Duke (played sa pamamagitan ng 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, telebisyon 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 uri ng bulaklak while working at the local 'Boars Nest' pub, which was where Boss Hogg and Sheriff Rosco did most of their scheming snd conniving. uri ng bulaklak 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 sa pamamagitan ng local ace mechanic "Cooter" maringal na aparador (played sa pamamagitan ng Ben Jones - who later served as a Georgia Congressman from 1992 to 1996, as well as sa pamamagitan ng Deputy Enos Strait (played sa pamamagitan ng popular comic Sonny Shroyer), who had a crush on Cousin uri ng bulaklak Duke. "Enos" was a spin-off of The Dukes of Hazzard, during the 1980 telebisyon season, but it did not return the susunod taon 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 telebisyon 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 popular in Outer Space.
During the 1982 to 1983 season, "The Dukes of Hazzard" was made into a popular 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.
