Not to be confused with the popular movies of the same name, Walking Tall � The Complete Series is a two-disc set containing seven episodes made for NBC television in 1981. Bo Svenson, who replaced Joe Don Baker as Sheriff Buford Pusser for the 1975 sequel to the original 1973 film (the 2004 remake featured Chris "the Rock" Vaughan), stars again as the no-nonsense rural lawman who uses a high-falutin' moral sensibility and a large club to keep order. Svenson is no Olivier (or Baker, for that matter), but pretty much anyone would have a tough time lifting this show above its level of mediocrity. What we have here is cornpone with a conscience, The Dukes of Hazzard with principles, tackling big issues (teen drug use in "The Killing of McNeal Country's Children," racism in "The Protectors of the People," industrial pollution in "Deadly Impact") with all the subtlety and nuance of Pusser's two-by-four, featuring villains who are beady-eyed, white trash lowlifes, mealy-mouthed corporate liars, or other stereotypes. And while Pusser freely delivers sententious pronouncements like "the law is this county's gotta stand for something other than just right or wrong" and lectures the townspeople about what's best for them and his families ("I'd think about that if I were you"), when things go too far he's only too ready to take matters into his own hands and bust a few heads, the law be damned. On the other hand, it's fun to see pre-stardom guest turns by actors like Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger from the Nightmare on Elm Street films) and Eric Stoltz, along with former NFL star Merlin Olsen, who does a decent job as a former friend-turned-bad guy in "The Hitman." Although there is plenty of violence, none of it's particularly grisly by new millennium standards, and Walking Tall's touting of traditional family values will certainly have its adherents. The DVD set incudes no bonus features. --Sam Graham