About that time, them Duke boys were on their way to have afternoon tea and crumpets with the Queen….
So on Sunday, a lady brought by a pile of stuff to sell to the shop, and I went through the cards, the toys, the magazines, and came up basically empty…except for this:
The British hardcover Dukes of Hazzard annual…I had no idea them Duke boys had enough of a following in dear old Blighty to warrant a series of annuals, but there were apparently at least six of them. I hoped and prayed it was a comics annual, but alas, it was just short stories and puzzles and at least one article explaining CB radio jargon, all copiously illustrated with color photos of the cast:
There’s also an article at the beginning of the volume with sort of a FAQ, explaining what kind of car the General Lee is (“The General Lee is what is known in the USA as a ‘muscle car'”) and whether or not Hazzard County is a real place (well, there’s a town in Kentucky named Hazard that has some ties to the show).
Oh, and did I mention there’s a page of jokes? There’s a page of jokes:
There’s also a two page board game, with the unfortunate name of “The YeeHaa! Game,” page one of which may be seen below:
…in which players, when landing upon the “Yee-Haw!” square, must balance out the advantage of being able to interfere with another player’s progress in the game by bearing the indignity of having to shout out “YEE-HAW!” while doing so.* No, really, it’s in the rules:
Now we’ve had this book in our possession for all of about a day and I’ve already sold the thing via the Internet, so I’ll have to ship this sucker out when I’m back in the shop on Tuesday. I’ve gone from not knowing this even existed to already missing it within in a matter of hours.
Oh, I’d hold onto you like a limpet if I could, Dukes of Hazzard Annual.
I hope there’s a story where Boss Hogg arrests Bo and Luke for impersonating a peer of the realm.
Yes, The Dukes of Hazzard was very popular over here. It was broadcast for years in a prime Saturday afternoon/evening slot (just before Doctor Who!) that was also home to The A-Team and Knight Rider.
Given that there were only 4 channels broadcasting at the time, and that things were super-depressing over here (Thatcher, miners strikes, record high unemployment etc. etc.) The Dukes of Hazzard and its ilk were a much needed bit of escapism for British kids of the 80’s.
I grew up in the north east of England, which is a long way from Hazzard County in almost all respects, and one of my neighbours had a horn that sounded just like the General Lee.
Well, possum on a gumbush, I just about done a spit-take with my moonshine when I read that there headline, Enos!
Little known fact that some of Alan Moore’s first published work was in the “BJ and the Bear” annual.
Was Waylon Jennings still The Balladeer in the UK? For some reason I find myself hoping his narration was overdubbed by Richard Attenborough or somebody.