| High Mountain Rangers | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Action |
| Created by | Robert Conrad David J. Kinghorn |
| Directed by | Joan Conrad Robert Conrad |
| Starring | Robert Conrad |
| Opening theme | "High Mountain Rangers" performed by Lee Greenwood |
| Composer | Robert Folk |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 12 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Joan Conrad |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production companies | A. Shane Company with Sibling Rivalries Black Sheep Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | January 2 – April 9, 1988 |
| Related | |
| Jesse Hawkes | |
High Mountain Rangers is an American adventure drama series about a group of highly trained wilderness search and rescue/law enforcement officers in Tahoe, Nevada.
It starred Robert Conrad as Jesse Hawkes and also starred his two sons, Christian Conrad and Shane Conrad. Robert's daughter Joan was the executive producer. 12 episodes were broadcast, from January 2 until April 9, 1988 on CBS, before the show was cancelled. The series also had a spin-off titled Jesse Hawkes .
The series was centered on Jesse Hawkes, an ex-Marine who started the High Mountain Rangers 35 years before the pilot. He retired after hauling his long-time nemesis, murderous criminal mastermind T.J. Cousins, to justice. Spared the death penalty on a legal technicality, Cousins instead was given life imprisonment without eligibility for parole. Meanwhile, Jesse's eldest son Matt tries out for the HMRs and eventually becomes the team's #2 Ranger...after Merlin (guest star Rick J. Porter as Ranger "Merlin" Pierce) who succeeded Jesse as director. Then Cousins gets broken out of jail by a drug dealer needing his mountain skills, and fatally ambushes Merlin. Now, as the team's third director, Matt urges his father out of retirement to help the Rangers recapture Cousins.
Each Ranger had a call sign (e.g., "Top Gun", "Merlin", "Flying Tiger"); this was used whenever the HMRs were in the field.
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Only Place to Live" | Paul Tucker | Brad Radnitz | January 2, 1988 |
| 2 | "Old Friends, New Friends" | Elizabeth Lindberg | Story by : Robert Conrad & David J. Kinghorn Teleplay by : David J. Kinghorn | January 9, 1988 |
| 3 | "The Trial of Jesse Hawkes" | Robert Conrad | Story by : David J. Kinghorn & Robert Conrad Teleplay by : David J. Kinghorn | January 16, 1988 |
| 4 | "The Competitors" | Georg Fenady | Del Reisman | January 23, 1988 |
| 5 | "War Games" | Rob Iscove | Harv Zimmel | January 30, 1988 |
| 6 | "The Run of Her Life" | Liz Lindberg | Brad Radnitz | February 6, 1988 |
| 7 | "Mr. Right" | James Roberson | Brad Radnitz | February 13, 1988 |
| 8 | "Sacred Ground" | Paul Tucker | Story by : Lars Palo Teleplay by : Lars Palo & Joan Erwin | February 20, 1988 |
| 9 | "The Wild" | Georg Fenady | Sidney Ellis | February 27, 1988 |
| 10 | "Ordeal" | Joan Conrad | Ray Cunneff | March 5, 1988 |
| 11 | "Asylum" | James Roberson | Paul Savage | March 19, 1988 |
| 12 | "Matt's Choice" | Liz Lindberg | Brad Radnitz | April 9, 1988 |