Could it really have been that long ago? Two country cousins at the dawn of the Reagan era, sporting Teen Beat good looks and roaming the faux-Georgia countryside in a muscle car dubbed the General Lee, their shirts half-buttoned and the wind whipping through their blonde and brunette locks.

Indeed, for a time, Coy and Vance Duke ruled the world.

Sorry?

You were expecting someone else?

The legend of Coy and Vance — the Duke "cousins" brought in to replace Tom Wopat and John Schneider when the original Duke duo pressed producers for bigger paydays before the series' fifth season — has become one of the most noteworthy "switcheroos" in Hollywood history… right up there with the dual Darrins in "Bewitched."

Producers, convinced the car was the real star of the show, sent Bo and Luke onto the NASCAR circuit and brought in Byron Cherry and Christopher Mayer — survivors of an "American Idol"-worthy casting call of thousands — to fill the original Dukes' shoes… and car… and clothing.

The gravy train lasted 18 episodes, until Wopat and Schneider settled up and Coy and Vance were hurriedly rushed off to tend to a — ahem — "sick relative," never to return.

In the end, it was just another bizarre backstage episode for a show that had perhaps more than its fair share.

Here are five other things you don't – or at least shouldn't – know about the "Dukes of Hazzard."

1. There's another verse to the show's theme song, with Waylon Jennings – the balladeer – making reference to himself: I'm a good old boy, You know my mama loves me But she don't understand Whey they keep showing my hands but not my face on TV A complete version of the song can be heard on the "Dukes of Hazzard" TV Soundtrack album, originally released in 1981 (and recently re-released with bonus tracks). Sadly, on the original release the theme wasn't even sung by Waylon Jennings, just a nameless gang of plenty (thankfully this egregious oversight was fixed in the re-release). One "highlight" on the soundtrack: Johnny Cash turns up singing a tune from the point of view of the "General Lee." It's as close to a "Star Wars Holiday Special" moment as Cash ever managed.

2. "The Dukes of Hazzard" had a spinoff Saturday morning cartoon. "The Dukes" aired in 1983, and the story arc had the Dukes leaving Hazzard County in an attempt to beat Boss Hogg in an around-the-world race. (At stake? Deed to the family farm.) Episode titles included "The Dukes in Scotland," "The Dukes in Hong Kong" and "The Dukes in Urbekistan." The early episodes of the series, by the way, were created during the Bo-and-Luke holdout, hence they feature the images and voices of Coy and Vance. Once the contract issue was settled – as in the live action show – Wopat and Schneider took over, and Coy and Vance were abruptly left, roadside, somewhere in Switzerland.

3. Somebody on the cast was usually protesting something. Long before Coy and Vance arrived, both Ben Jones ("Cooter") and James Best ("Roscoe P. Coltrane") walked off the set during a tumultuous second season. Jones left when producers tried to force him to shave his beard. (He relented by season three.) Best was protesting "unsafe dressing room conditions," which evidence from an old TV Guide article suggests meant his dressing room wasn't a luxury RV. Best eventually got his Winnebago. In Jones' absence, a series of Cooter "cousins" stepped in to fill the Duke's mechanic needs. Best was replaced by a series of outside law enforcement agents, most notably one played by Dick "'Bewitched's' Second Darrin" Sargent.

4. The Hogg Family spreads out clear to Arizona. In addition to having a twin brother (the honest Abraham Lincoln Hogg), uncle (the deceased Silas Hogg), three nephews (the college educated – but evil – Hughie, his brother – also evil – Dewey and the awfully nice – but crooked – Jamie Lee), and a cousin (off-and-on Hazzard deputy Cletus), J.D. "Boss" Hogg is also distantly related to one Jolene Hunnicutt, a waitress at Mel's Diner in Phoenix. This connection led to the infamous "Alice" episode in which Boss Hogg (with Enos in tow) visits Arizona and tries to turn "Mel's Diner" into the "Boar's Nest West." All of that is true. Speaking of extended families, it's been estimated that Uncle Jesse had to have at least six brothers – or unmarried sisters – to produce the established number of cousins with the surname "Duke."

5. "E.T." was a guest star in one episode. OK, not THE "E.T.," but that didn't stop the writers – horrifically burnt out, it would appear, in the show's eighth season – from building an episode about a short, friendly visitor from another planet. "Strange Visitor to Hazzard" featured Bo and Luke trying to keep Boss Hogg from exploiting their little space buddy for financial profit. The "visitor," by the way, was played by Felix Silla, a legend in sci-fi circles, perhaps best known for his role as the body of "Twiki" in the TV show "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century." (He also played an Ewok and had the role of "Emperor Penguin" in the film "Batman Returns.") The entire eighth season was a disaster, even by Duke standards. Plotlines included Daisy and Enos getting married to prevent Daisy from having to testify against him and – of course – the entire county getting suckered by a "fake" Aladdin's lamp and a bogus genie.