The Dakotas (TV series)

Last updated
The Dakotas
Diane Brewster The Dakotas 1963.JPG
Diane Brewster as the wife, Jody Fargo, of a double-dealing lawman played by David Brian in the episode "Fargo" (1963)
Genre Western
Directed byAllan A. Buckhantz
Stuart Heisler
Paul Landres
Charles R. Rondeau
Robert Totten
Gordon Bau (make-up)
Starring Larry Ward
Jack Elam
Chad Everett
Mike Greene
Theme music composer Harold Levey
Kenneth S. Webb [1]
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes20 (1 unaired: Black Gold) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer William T. Orr
Producer Anthony Spinner
Production location California
Running time50 minutes
Production company Warner Bros. Television
Original release
Network ABC
ReleaseJanuary 7 (1963-01-07) 
May 13, 1963 (1963-05-13)
Related
Cheyenne

The Dakotas is an ABC/Warner Bros. Western television series starring Larry Ward and featuring Jack Elam, Chad Everett, and Michael Greene, broadcast during 1963. The short-lived program is considered a spin-off of Clint Walker's Cheyenne .

Contents

The Dakotas was cancelled one week after heavy viewer protest over an objectionable scene.[ citation needed ]

Synopsis

The series follows the efforts of U.S. Marshal Frank Ragan (Larry Ward) and his three deputies, J. D.Smith (Jack Elam), Vance Porter (Mike Greene), and Del Stark (Chad Everett) as they try to keep order in the Dakota Territory during the Gilded Age prior to statehood in 1889. [2]

Series history

All four characters initially appeared in an April 23, 1962 episode of Cheyenne entitled "A Man Called Ragan", directors Richard C. Sarafian and Robert Sparr (uncredited), and writers Anthony Spinner (teleplay) and Harry Whittington (story).

However, the degree to which this episode makes The Dakotas a spin-off of Cheyenne is debatable. In the pilot on Cheyenne, the titular character of Cheyenne Bodie never appears. Also, the episode had followed five consecutive weeks of Bronco episodes, broadcast as a part of the wheel series that Cheyenne had effectively become. Moreover, the length of time between pilot and series—almost eight months—further weakened the link between Cheyenne and The Dakotas. [3] The biggest tip-off to viewers as to the parentage of the series was that it had assumed the Monday 7:30 p.m. ET time slot previously occupied since 1959 by Cheyenne.

Guest stars

Among the many guest stars, George Macready appeared as Captain Ridgeway, with Jeanne Cooper as Rebecca Ridgeway, in the third episode, "Mutiny at Fort Mercy". Chris Robinson was cast as Chino in "Red Sky over Bismarck", with Andrew Duggan as Colonel Winters and Kevin Hagen as a preacher. Warren Stevens and Karen Sharpe played Cain and Angela Manning in the episode, "Crisis at High Banjo"; Robert J. Wilke was cast in the same episode as Judge Markham.

Other guest stars included:

Cancellation

When viewers saw the program's eighteenth episode, "Sanctuary at Crystal Springs", they were shocked by a scene that depicted the lawmen killing two outlaws in a church, one of whom had caused injury to a pastor, played by Charles Irving, before dying. Calls for The Dakotas to end its run were answered virtually overnight.[ citation needed ] After just one more episode, the show was pulled. A twentieth episode, entitled "Black Gold", was completed, but was never shown. [4]

Episodes

Several episode titles refer to geographic place names in the Dakotas.

No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
[pilot 1] "A Man Called Ragan"Richard C. Sarafian, Robert Sparr (Uncredited)Story by: Harry Whittington
Teleplay by: Anthony Spinner
April 23, 1962 (1962-04-23)
1"Return To Dryrock"Stuart HeislerStory by: Robert E. Thompson
Teleplay by: Cy Chermak
January 7, 1963 (1963-01-07)
2"Red Sky Over Bismarck"Stuart HeislerStory by: Harry Whittington
Teleplay by: Anthony Spinner
January 14, 1963 (1963-01-14)
3"Mutiny at Fort Mercy"Stuart HeislerStory by: Leo Lieberman
Teleplay by: Leo Lieberman and E.M. Parsons
January 21, 1963 (1963-01-21)
4"Trouble at French Creek"Stuart HeislerE.M. ParsonsJanuary 28, 1963 (1963-01-28)
5"Thunder In Pleasant Valley"Paul LandresStory by: Joyce Fierro
Teleplay by: S.S.Schweitzer
February 4, 1963 (1963-02-04)
6"Crisis at High Banjo"Stuart HeislerCy ChermakFebruary 11, 1963 (1963-02-11)
7"Requiem at Dancer's Hill"Paul Landres Peter B. Germano February 18, 1963 (1963-02-18)
8"Fargo"Stuart HeislerStory by: Mel Goldberg
Teleplay by: E.M. Parsons
February 25, 1963 (1963-02-25)
9"Incident at Rapid City"Allan A. BuckhantzNicholas E. BaehrMarch 4, 1963 (1963-03-04)
10"Justice at Eagle's Nest"Robert TottenS.S.SchweitzerMarch 11, 1963 (1963-03-11)
11"Walk Through the Badlands"Richard L. BareWilliam MourneMarch 18, 1963 (1963-03-18)
12"Trial at Grand Forks"Stuart HeislerStory by: Sy Salkowitz
Teleplay by: Peter B. Germano
March 25, 1963 (1963-03-25)
13"Reformation at Big Nose Butte"Robert TottenCy ChermakApril 1, 1963 (1963-04-01)
14"One Day In Vermillion"Allan A. BuckhantzDean RiesnerApril 8, 1963 (1963-04-08)
15"Terror at Heart River"Stuart HeislerWilliam MourneApril 15, 1963 (1963-04-15)
16"The Chooser of the Slain"Richard C. Sarafian,
Charles R. Rondeau (Uncredited)
Dean RiesnerApril 22, 1963 (1963-04-22)
17"Feud at Snake River"Charles R. RondeauRichard H. LandauApril 29, 1963 (1963-04-29)
18"Sanctuary at Crystal Springs"Richard C. SarafianCy ChermakMay 6, 1963 (1963-05-06)
19"A Nice Girl From Goliath"Charles R. RondeauE.M. ParsonsMay 13, 1963 (1963-05-13)
20"Black Gold"TBDTBDUnaired
  1. "A Man Called Ragan" was presented as an episode in season 6 of Cheyenne in 1962

Home media

On March 24, 2015, Warner Bros. released The Dakotas- The Complete Series on DVD via their Warner Archive Collection. This is a manufacture-on-demand (MOD) release, available through Warner's online store and Amazon.com. [5]

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References

Footnotes

  1. "The Dakotas". www.classicthemes.com.
  2. "The Dakotas (TV Series 1962– )" via www.imdb.com.
  3. Cheyenne at Classic TV Archives Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine
  4. "The Dakotas (WB)(1963) Larry Ward, Jack Elam, Chad Everett, Mike Greene". 4 September 2004. Archived from the original on 2004-09-04.
  5. DVDs for 'The Complete Series' of the Abruptly-Ended 1963 Western Archived 2015-03-13 at the Wayback Machine