The third season of The Dukes Of Hazzard ran from September of 1980 through April of 1981 and it did an admirable job of carrying on the corny humor and high octane car chases that made the first two seasons of the show such a success.

We all know the basic premise of the series, and soon to debut feature film update. Bo and Luke Duke are two good natured southern boys who like to have fun and drive fast cars in Hazzard County. They hang out with their moonshine making Uncle Jessie and their too hot for words cousin, Daisy. The Duke boys have a penchant for getting into trouble with the local law, comprised of Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane and his cohort, Enos. They answer to Boss Hogg, the big man in town who runs the bank. Boss is as crooked as they come, and that has a trickle down effect right on into the police department. Every week when the series was on the air, the Dukes would either get into trouble with Hogg and his cronies or end up having to help them out of some sticky situation.

Highlights from this season include the two part opener, Carnival Of Thrills in which Bo takes the place of a stunt driver who was injured during a performance. Later, Bo and Luke get into a fight and Bo decides to ditch Hazzard and join the carnival. When Daisy and Jesse learn the truth about Bo's new employers, they find that they need Luke's help to stop him before it's too late.

The Hazzardville Horror stars Tammy Wynette as herself. In this episode, some burglars make away with Boss Hog's silver stash and they hide it in the haunted house in town. The woman who owns the house has it up for sale and the thieves, wanting to keep their hiding spot for themselves, launch an elaborate plan to convince her that it's haunted and to leave the property alone.

Mrs. Rosco P. Coltrane guest stars William Sanderson of Blade Runner. Rosco meets up with a lady through a computerized dating service and soon he asks her to marry him. Boss Hogg starts planning the wedding and invites everyone in Hazzard except for the Duke family. When the bank is robbed and everyone is celebrating, only the Dukes could be responsible… or so Boss Hogg thinks.

Woody Strode of Once Upon A Time In The West shows up in a holiday themed episode called The Great Santa Clause Chase where Bo and Luke take a job delivering some Christmas trees to the town. The truck ends up getting hijacked and it looks like the Dukes are to blame.

In State Of The County, The Oak Ridge Boys make a cameo for an impromptu performance at the Boar's Nest and in Bye, Bye Boss look for a fun supporting role performance from the one and only Charles Napier. The legendary Roy Orbinson plays himself in The Great Hazzard Hijack when the Duke boys find part of a missing stash from a bank robbery that happened five years ago.

By the third season, the writers and the performers in the series had come into their own and the humor started to flow a little better. Yeah, it's all still very corny and quite predictable but that's half the charm of the show. The Dukes Of Hazzard was, and still remains, a hokey slice of good natured fun and with plenty of interesting guest stars popping in throughout the third season, this batch of episodes makes for a nice selection.

The episodes contained on the set, which comprise all of the third season, are as follows:

Carnival Of Thrills Part 1
Carnival Of Thrills Part 2
Enos Straight To The Top
The Hazzardville Horror
And in This Corner, Luke Duke
The Late JD Hogg
Uncle Boss
Baa, Baa, White Sheep
Mrs. Roscoe P. Coltrane
The Great Santa Claus Chase
Good Neighbors Duke
State Of The County
The Legacy
Duke Vs. Duke
My Son, Bo Hogg
To Catch A Duke
Along Came A Duke
By-Line, Daisy Duke
The Return Of Hughie Hogg
By, Bye, Boss
The Great Hazzard Hijack
The Hack Of Hazzard
The Canterbury Crock

Video:

The show was shot and composed for TV as we all know, so it shouldn't surprise anyone to see it presented here in its original fullframe aspect ratio. As far as the transfers go, it is a mixed bag. Some episodes fair better than others, but a few have got quite a bit of minor print damage present throughout. While this is to be expected on a show that's over two decades old, the real problem is the edge enhancement and the aliasing that is noticeable throughout, giving quite a few scenes a shimmering effect that is mildly distracting. It's not all bad though – print detail is high and colors look good, while black levels remain pretty stable. So while it's not perfect, it is at least watchable and realistically looks as good as I'd figured it would.