Review of Walker Pilot Episode

Even though it meant the end of one of our favorite shows, Supernatural, my wife has been looking forward to seeing this new Jared Padalecki series since it was first advertised. As a result, we made sure to watch the pilot episode when it aired last night.

After seeing it, my opinion of the show is a bit mixed. I didn't hate it but, at the same time, the pilot didn't quite make me optimistic about the series either.

There are a couple things that did not work in this show's favor during the pilot episode. One of the big ones was there wasn't anything that seemed unique about it. A man haunted by his wife's murder. Been done. A parent trying to reconnect with his/her children? Also been done. Just as important, neither of those premises have staying power. It's only a matter of time before both are resolved and the show needs to transition to a completely different tone.

Also not helping was the pilot really didn't give me a good idea about what kind of show this is going to be. Is it going to focus on his relationship with his family or his job? Is it going to be action-based (like the original Walker, Texas Ranger) or is it going to focus more on Walker's detective skills? The pilot mixed in all of the above but fell short of committing to any of them.

I also feel the timing of this show was wrong. I get The CW wants to capitalize on the success of Supernatural but airing the show just a few weeks after Padalecki's other series ended might not have been a good choice. I tried to see him as a Texas Ranger, but found myself still half expecting Jensen Ackles to show up to help him fight a family of werewolves or something. To be fair, Supernatural was on the air longer than expected because of COVID and that might have been a factor. But I still think the network should have waited at least a few more months

One other thing that my wife and I both complained about when watching this episode was the sound. The background music and noises seemed to be too loud at times, especially when the various characters were having a conversation. This was growing a bit irritating by the end of the show and we hope it is something that will be fixed in future episodes.

I make a serious effort not to fully judge a series based solely on the pilot episode, both because that episode has to give a lot of information in a short amount of time and because I know last second changes sometimes occur immediately following.

Based on what I did see, however, I do find myself having a hard time recommending the series at this time. I am willing to give it a chance but do hope there is more of an effort to make this show a little more unique and fun to watch.

My Grade: C