Anyone else notice this about Coy and Vance episodes of the Dukes of Hazzard ?

[Charger-Bodie]

I've noticed that the General Lee has extra crappy paint in the episodes of DoH with Coy and Vance. It could just be my imagination , but I've always wondered if the crew building the cars was kinda striking a little themselves by making the cars look extra bad in retailiation to the goings on at the time. Anyone else ever notice this? Is it old news that I don't know about?

[keith88]

The general had crappy paint jobs on her before that .. but that was the beginning of the end of the show that is for sure . I'm sure they were trying to cut cost where ever they could by that point.

[Charger-Bodie]

I'm a paint and body guy and it just stick out in those episodes. Like the cars were painted with spray cans instead of a gun.  I totally understand that they all had subpar paint jobs but it sure seems like the coy and Vance ones are far worse.

[Mike DC]

  
What do you mean by "crappy" paint?  If you mean flat/satin finishes, that was often intentional.  Glossy finishes reflect light in annoying ways on the set.  Film crews will purposely scuff down paint, spray over stuff with dulling clear layers, cover chrome trim & side mirrors with silver paint, etc.


They were throwing a ton of cars in the air during that season though, in attempt to make up for the missing actors.  The crew were known to touch-up stunt cars with paintbrushes or spray cans when they got in a hurry.  They weren't going to paint a whole car that way but sometimes that's what it took to get a repair job out the door in a hurry.  

(People always say DOH is nothing but the cutoff shorts & car stunts . . . but if you think about it, season#5 literally put that to the test.  There WAS more to the show than that and the ratings fell during season#5 to prove it.)



Remember that those episodes were built to stand up to the audience of the time.  That was before VCRs were commonplace and not everyone had cable channels.  That means an episode got one viewing straight through without any pausing & rewinding & slo-mo.  People watched it on a little glass TV perched 5-10 feet away.  One viewing, maybe another one next summer, and that's it.    

Modern TV/movies look and stand up to scrutiny much better.  They also cost much more.  So the studios do remakes & sequels all the time instead of new material because it's less risky.  It's a mixed blessing.  

[Charger-Bodie]

The more cars being used factor could explain it. As for the satin- flat finishes ,I see your point but the ones I'm referring to are really splotchy . Not just dull.

The cars in the Bo and Luke episodes just seem to have had more care .

[Dino]

I haven't watched doh in a very long time, but I recall the cars were looking extra crappy in that season.  I also recall in the first episode of that season when those guys got introduced that they jumped over the house or barn and it was insanely high.  It doesn't always have to be a shark.  

[69wannabe]

I have all the season's except for season 5. I really need to purchase that one tho.... I would like to have seen Bo and Luke go up against the mean green machine just one time!!!

[Daytona R/T SE]

I can honestly say that I've never been able to sit through an entire "Coy and Vance" episode.

I've tried.

Can't do it.

[Charger-Bodie]

I can honestly say that I've never been able to sit through an entire "Coy and Vance" episode.

I've tried.

Can't do it.

Although they are cheesier than normal Dukes episodes . I like watching them now because I haven't seen the 300 times each like the Bo and Luke ones . When I was 10 and they were on there was no way I would watch them. As it would have been an insult to Bo and Luke then.

[marshallfry01]

I met Byron Cherry (Coy) about two weeks ago. He signed my glove box door. Awesome guy. Very down to earth. One of the friendliest dukes characters that I've met so far. Most people don't like the coy and Vance episodes, but I thought they did pretty good for the shoes they had to fill

[Mike DC]

I haven't watched doh in a very long time, but I recall the cars were looking extra crappy in that season.  I also recall in the first episode of that season when those guys got introduced that they jumped over the house or barn and it was insanely high.  It doesn't always have to be a shark.

That jump (in a blue 73/74 Plymouth) cracked a vertebrae on the driver.  He was wearing their special spine-saving jump harness and it still wasn't enough.  

They had to put nitrous on the car for that.  Very short space before the ramp + heavy trunk ballast & rollcage + smog motor = needed HP in a big way.    




Coy & Vance -

A lot of the "bad acting" with those two was because they actually read the scripts that they were given. 

Schneider & Wopat had enough leeway with the producers to change their lines around a bit and try to make them sound a little better on the fly.  The scripts really sucked.

[Dino]

I haven't watched doh in a very long time, but I recall the cars were looking extra crappy in that season.  I also recall in the first episode of that season when those guys got introduced that they jumped over the house or barn and it was insanely high.  It doesn't always have to be a shark.

That jump (in a blue 73/74 Plymouth) cracked a vertebrae on the driver.  He was wearing their special spine-saving jump harness and it still wasn't enough.  

They had to put nitrous on the car for that.  Very short space before the ramp + heavy trunk ballast & rollcage + smog motor = needed HP in a big way.    

Wow that sucks.  I remember the car being blue but didn't remember what it was.  Left over Daisy car?

[Mike DC]

No, not a Daisy car.  They did use a few 73/74 Plymouths later in the series after Daisy's cars were gone. 

The stunt driver wasn't paralyzed or anything.  He recovered & lived to jump another day.  But he did feel like he should have backed out of doing that stunt in hindsight.  They were mostly young guys on DOH and there were lots of others waiting to take their jobs if they didn't wanna take the risks.

[Dino]

I'm glad to hear he recovered.  A bit crazy to go risk it all again but I can understand why.  He may have added depends to his jump suit though.   

[Brock Lee]

There were a lot of changes going on behind the scenes just prior to the Coy and Vance era. This was post Veluzat built cars. There was the very brief Ken Fritz era followed by Warner Brother assuming total control of production of General Lee's within that period of time. Different crew, different look. I think the paint is mainly a product of the crews getting the hang of spraying single stage orange. They got better with time and practice.

[Charger-Bodie]

I met Byron Cherry (Coy) about two weeks ago. He signed my glove box door. Awesome guy. Very down to earth. One of the friendliest dukes characters that I've met so far. Most people don't like the coy and Vance episodes, but I thought they did pretty good for the shoes they had to fill

I agree. They did good considering .

[wingcar]

It was never intended to be Shakespeare.....    

(* To Jump, or not to jump...that is the question.....etc. etc...)   

[Kern Dog]

I met Byron Cherry (Coy) about two weeks ago. He signed my glove box door. Awesome guy. Very down to earth. One of the friendliest dukes characters that I've met so far. Most people don't like the coy and Vance episodes, but I thought they did pretty good for the shoes they had to fill

I met Byron at the Spring Fling car show a few years back. I was unable to meet the other guy because he is dead.

[GL#10]

They put in more stunts and focused more on the comedy of Sorrel (Boss ) and James (Rosco)  , you notice a lot in the intro's of each episode they focus more on stunts and the comedy .

The Mean Green Machine  used in two episodes of S5  was in fact the #3 Uncle Jesse Pickup that was wrecked on set .

[VegasCharger]

They put in more stunts and focused more on the comedy of Sorrel (Boss ) and James (Rosco)  , you notice a lot in the intro's of each episode they focus more on stunts and the comedy .

The Mean Green Machine  used in two episodes of S5  was in fact the #3 Uncle Jesse Pickup that was wrecked on set .

Yea they kinda lead you on after the first Mean Green Machine show "The New Dukes" (S5-E1) at the very end where Waylon Jennings narrated "I got a hunch that someday it will be showing up in Hazzard again" as they show track marks of the vehicle with the vehicle nowhere in sight.

It shows up again in "The Return of the Mean Green Machine" S5-E14

[Homerr]

 

[VegasCharger]

Here's one. Crappy but it's a pic of the 73/74 Plymouth RR/Sat jump at it's peak of Coy and Vance's introduction to the show.

[Mike DC]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpOxDfeVcGw

Video clip of the blue Plymouth jump.

That thing landed very flat on all four wheels.  That's partially why the impact was so hard on the driver.





This was one of their highest jumps ever.  One of my favorites from the series.  

The camera man was lying down under the ramp looking forward - that was a risky thing to be doing, even though the ramps were staked down with axleshafts pounded 2 feet into the ground.   The cars would hit the ramps violently enough to bend the unibody & send chunks of plywood into the air.

That jump landed pretty flat too.

[tan top]

I can honestly say that I've never been able to sit through an entire "Coy and Vance" episode.

I've tried.

Can't do it.

Although they are cheesier than normal Dukes episodes . I like watching them now because I haven't seen the 300 times each like the Bo and Luke ones . When I was 10 and they were on there was no way I would watch them. As it would have been an insult to Bo and Luke then.

I remember watching them the first time round on tv ,  even then I thought it was pretty false over acting , was only a kid then ,  not sure how old I was ,  but  did not care really  , only watched the show for the General lee 

[Mike DC]

    
The Bo & Luke cloning makes more sense when you realize that nobody expected that strike to last so long.  They were thinking in terms of a couple weeks, not a whole season.  They had already done temporary clones of other cast members several times in the past.  The show hadn't been much worse the wear for it.  "Quick, let's get some out-of-town Duke cousins to show up! We're gonna delay the shooting schedule if we wait any longer!"  


The editors were still free to borrow shots from old chase footage if the new guys don't look much different.   The directors could still shoot the existing scripts they had been given for season#5 as long as the temporary Duke boys didn't show distinct new personalities of their own.  Just cross out "Bo" and write in "Coy".  Cross out "Luke" and write in "Vance."  



The producers would probably have pointed a little more writing/development at the C&V characters if they had known the strike would last almost the whole season.  

[Barfyspitz]

I read once that john Schneider owned a car company that actually produced general lees for the show. If that is true....it kinda makes sense lol.   I remember that season well. I was a little kid and was distraught to see two new guys playing Bo and Luke. In my childhood innocence, I thought Bo and Luke were just sick and this was like when you had a substitute teacher lol. After a few weeks, I lost interest and started watching night rider lol

[TPR]

I know they were hillbillies and all, but what's the probability of 5 cousins being the only child to 5 sets of parents when their grandparents had at least 6 children?
Clearly I'm over thinking this.
TPR

[Ghoste]

And all becoming orphaned so that they need to go live with uncle Jesse who seems to be the only single and childless sibling from that generation.  (they were all without parents correct?)

[Mike DC]

             
Yeah, the backstory that we never really got was that the parents were tragically gone when they were younger.  That got weirder as they kept adding cousins.  Cousin "Jeb Stuart Duke" had also showed up for an episode in season#3.   

On the other hand, I don't think they ever spelled out that Coy & Vance & Jeb's parents were gone.  Only the big three. 

[bull]

Some of the things I notice about the car are pretty small but really stick out. Oddball side mirrors, wheel trim on or gone, or on the back but not the front, push bumpers jammed into the grill in one scene but not in the next, etc.

[jaak]

Here is a Coy/Vance General Lee and General is spelled wrong... it says "Genreral", lol.



Jason

[Mike DC]

Some of the things I notice about the car are pretty small but really stick out. Oddball side mirrors, wheel trim on or gone, or on the back but not the front, push bumpers jammed into the grill in one scene but not in the next, etc.

After switching to the wider-style pushbar in mid-season#4, they occasionally used the GLs to push other stalled cars around on the set.

[Kern Dog]

Back during the original run, I faithfully watched the show until Bo and Luke ducked out. I was 13 when the show first aired and right about the time I was driving, Coy and Vance popped in. Obviously I was a bit distracted with my car, plus I was working Friday and Saturday nights at Burger King. No VCR to record the show.
When TNN bought the rights and started to rerun the show in 1995 or 1996, I was totally wigged out and happy to see it back on TV. I recorded every show even with crappy TV reception. Years later I bought all the seasons on DVD and dumped the tapes.
The Coy and Vance episodes had the same silly writing but I agree with a previous reply: It appeared that the producers stepped up the level of stunts to compensate. More jumps, more chases, etc. Watching the C & V shows purely for stunts? You'll like the show just fine.
Both actors seemed to be nice guys but they really got a raw deal. The story I heard from an interview with Catherine Bach was that they were told that they'd be kept on the show even if/when Bo and Luke returned. I thought Coy (Byron Cherry) was a pretty decent stand in, but..... Vance (Christopher Mayer) was not so gifted. His acting was stiff and wooden, not looking natural at all. We all can agree that the show was meant to be entertaining, but John and Tom had better acting skills and had instant chemistry from episode one.

[Mike DC]

                    
Byron Cherry (Coy) had tried out for the Bo role when the show originally started.  John Schneider actually suggested him to the producers when they went on strike.  

When asked separately, Chris Mayer & Byron Cherry had each named the other as their best match among the final contenders.  That helped seal the deal.    




From what I know, Cherry & Mayer were always aware that they were doing a temporary job.  But the producers did say they would make some continued appearances after the strike ended, which never happened.  I'm not sure if that was a lie so much as changed decision.  If Cherry & Mayer had clicked with audiences then they probably would have reappeared.  

Deputy Cletus was a temporary stand-in for Enos that went on for 2 seasons.  He fit in well enough to be included in the reunion specials/etc like a full-fledged cast member.  But part of the reason that worked was because they played him as a genuinely different character from Enos.   Vance & Coy were never given that kind of development & leeway. 

[HANDM]

Here is a Coy/Vance General Lee and General is spelled wrong... it says "Genreral", lol.



Jason

LOL!
Too funny!