First of all, I just want to say that I am so grateful to CMT for resurrecting Dukes. It really brings back childhood memories. I’m not sure if I’m going to see the movie or not.
OK, now my question. Uncle Jesse always goes on and on about the importance of family. Bo, Daisy, and Luke are all cousins to each other and they all call Uncle Jesse “Uncle” (not Dad or Pop). Doesn’t that mean that Uncle Jesse has (at least) 3 brothers (since all the cousins have the last name Duke, then their fathers had to be Dukes) out there somewhere? I also think there is a sister, because I remember them mentioning an “Aunt Katie.” If family is so important to the Dukes, then how come we never hear about/see these relatives?
The Dukes of Hazzard was originally intended as a grimly realistic portrayal of the life of a poor rural Southern family. In the never seen pilot episode, they showed the family gathering together; the six brothers - Tom, Dick, Harry, Bert, Ernie, and Jesse - had brought their wives and children. In a Faulkneresque moment, Grandpa and Granny Duke told them all that they were losing the family farm. Then, in a Tarantinoesque moment they pulled out machine guns and started shooting everyone. The only survivors were the children (along with the youngest brother Jesse) who were all sitting out at the kid’s table on the back porch. Gathering together the remnants of his shattered family, young Jesse vowed to raise his niece and nephews to adulthood.
The pilot didn’t test well in focus groups so the producers decided to go in a new direction.
It’s like in Tobacco Road - everybody else got run over, burned alive, starved to death, or ran off to the cotton mills. The population of “family” finally got winnowed down to where everybody had enough to eat, and then it hit an equilibrium.
[aside]The General Lees never had their doors welded shut, because it was too expensive and time-consuming. The ones used for close-ups had completely working doors, and the jump cars either had their doors bolted or chained shut.[/aside]
I found a site called Flog that has an equation on this matter. Apparently there is a minimum of at least 16 Dukes.
The upcoming release of the third season of Dukes on DVD is supposed to have a segment called “Dukes Family Tree” by series creator Gy Waldron. I suspect that might clear up some things.
But they were supposed to be welded shut. There were a couple of times where the car is in a long shot and you see one of the actors open the door to get out.