Series Review: Sons of Thunder

Marco Sanchez, Chuch Norris, and Jimmy Wlcek

03/09/16

From March to April of 1999, CBS saw the beginning of a new series, a spin-off from the ever classic hit in Walker Texas Ranger. The series would pick up with stories from the recurring characters Trent Malloy and Carlos Sandoval who originally made their debut in Walker in the season five two-hour episode "Sons of Thunder." The twosome went on to reprise their roles in many episodes of future seasons of Walker. This new series by the same name, Sons of Thunder, first aired March 9, 1999, and ran for six weeks before being canceled by the network. That stinks, CBS. Anyways....

After a trying ordeal, Detective Sandoval (Sanchez) quits the Dallas Police force and joins his best friend Trent Malloy (Wlcek) in starting up Thunder Investigations, a private investigator service serving the Dallas metroplex. After biting off a bit more than they can chew and acquiring spunky side-kick and office manager Kimberly Sutter, the threesome are thrust into adventures they hardly could have thought up on their own as they strive to save lives and help those truly in need within the city. Throughout the short series, Walker lead characters Ranger Walker, Ranger Trivette, and also Alex Cahill reprise their roles as supporting characters much like Trent and Carlos did in Walker. (Look for a detailed review of the 2-hour pilot movie from Walker in the near future.) 

SOT was an excellent storyline to choose as a spin-off. With its strong moral base, clearly defining the line between wrong and right while showing how far a little courage, strength, and doing what's right can go, I would have loved to see more of this series made. Even if it may have not been as par-none as Walker was, I think they got a raw deal in just being given six episodes. Not fair in my opinion. That being said, the "Sons of Thunder" episode and characters were my absolute favorite from Walker and in television overall. So it was very much exciting to see that they had continued their stories and given the characters their own series. It is quite unfortunate though that it only lasted for such a short time. As far as content goes, there are a lot of similarities to Walker. So refer to my Walker  review for more information there. My rating: 4 out of 5.  #hasmyheart 💕