Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire

Texas Ranger Captain Cordell Walker, along with Rangers Francis Gage and Rhett Harper are involved in a shoot out at a bank, where a group of robbers take the tellers hostage. Ranger Harper kills two of the robbers while the leader is able to escape. A guidance missile accidentally ends up in the hands of a thirteen-year-old boy, who does not know that three Koreans, who are very skilled in combat, are looking for it. The criminals go to the boy's house, where they murder his father. The boy manages to escape, but the criminals continue to hunt him down. Jimmy Trivette has to leave for a family vacation, while Gage is following the case of the boy, helped by new Ranger Kay Austin. As if that were not enough, a girl who had an appointment with Ranger Harper is killed and all evidence leads to him.

Alex follows the case of the ranger and Harper gets support from his aide Garrett Evans, while Gage and Kay Austin follow the case of the missing boy. The boy takes refuge at the home of his friend but criminals find it and try to take back the missile. Eventually, the boy realizes that the criminals want the missile guidance system and is aimed at the top of his father for help. Meanwhile, a man is found dead whom Ranger Harper had arrested years earlier and the evidence leads back to him, but just when Ranger Austin can prove otherwise the evidence disappears. Meanwhile, Walker kills one of the Korean criminals and Gage and Austin find a man who days earlier had attacked the Harper ranger with a punch and then take his blood sample, which is the same on the scene of the crime. The criminals are the guy but just before arriving Walker, Gage and Austin who kill the criminals.

At the trial against Ranger Harper, he discovers that the real culprit is Garrett, Evans's colleague. Garret takes the defense hostage, but the rangers manages to disarm him followed by Harper knocking him down with a punch. After clarifying the story, the main protagonists leave the courtroom and go in the main hall. Walker leaves to return home, but the leader of the bank robbers returns with a gun. However, Rangers Harper, Gage, and Austin shoot him dead. Alex looks down to see a single bullet wound in her chest and falls to the ground.

The U.S. channel CBS in 2005 decided to produce a TV movie based on the popular TV series starring Chuck Norris which aired October 16, 2005. Chuck Norris, Sheree J. Wilson and Judson Mills reprise their television roles. Clarence Gilyard makes a cameo appearance; however, he's not credited in the titles because of his inability to participate in the main filming due to a family vacation. Judson Mills (who was not originally planned in the script) was invited to reprise his role of Francis Gage. Nia Peeples, who played Sydney Cooke, was excluded from the screenplay, despite the additional interest which could have been generated by the return of both characters. This was last film appearance for Clarence Gilyard after his retirement in 2002 following Left Behind II: Tribulation Force.

The film is independent of the events of the show. Set four years after the last television episode, the story is completely new to try to give the film a fresh tone.

On October 17, 2005 the film was awarded Best Film of the Week on Saturday night. Chuck Norris stated that more Walker, Texas Ranger television films were expected. Trial by Fire was to be the first in a series of television films dedicated to the character of Walker, intended for broadcast on Saturday night. Based on the low ratings, however, CBS decided to shelve the idea, while leaving open the possibility of future direct DVD releases.

Mitchel Musso (as Josh Whitley) and Selena Gomez (Julie, a friend of Jeremy) appear in cameos.

• Chuck Norris as Cordell Walker
• Sheree J. Wilson as Alex Cahill
• Judson Mills as Francis Gage
• Andre Kristoff as Rhett Harper
• Janine Turner as Kay Austin
• Steven Williams as Mike Burton
• Bret Loehr as Jeremy Hopkins
• Bruce Locke as Blue Eye
• Mitchel Musso as Josh Withley
• Ned Vaughn as Garret Evans
• Danilee Kelly Norris as Angela Walker
• Darryl Cox as Aaron Gordon
• Glenn Morshower as Reed Larkin
• Maggie Myatt as Dee Dee Michaels
• Timothy Vahle as Adam Hopkins
• Derek Southers as Clete Tyson
• Selena Gomez as Julie
• Clarence Gilyard as James Trivette
• Charles Baker as Herman Van Horne

• Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial by fire on IMDb