The New Lassie

Last updated
The New Lassie
The New Lassie 1989.jpg
GenreFamily
Drama
Starring Will Nipper
Christopher Stone
Dee Wallace-Stone
Wendy Cox
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes48
Production
Executive producerAl Burton
ProducerJohn Ward
Camera setup Single-camera
Running time25 mins.
Production companiesAl Burton Productions
Palladium Entertainment
MCA TV
Original release
Network Syndication
ReleaseSeptember 8, 1989 (1989-09-08) 
February 15, 1992 (1992-02-15)
Related

The New Lassie is an American family drama series which aired in first-run syndication from September 8, 1989 to February 15, 1992. The series stars Will Estes (then using his real name of Will Nipper) as Will McCullough, Lassie's new master. Real life husband and wife Christopher and Dee Wallace-Stone co-starred as Will's parents.

Contents

The New Lassie is essentially a sequel to the 1954 series, and was the latest in the line of works featuring the Lassie character, which debuted in the 1943 film Lassie Come Home , followed by several more movies and the aforementioned television series, which ran from 1954 to 1973.

Synopsis

The series centers on the McCulloughs, a middle-class family living in suburban Glen Ridge, California. The McCulloughs are the owners of the then-present-day descendant of Lassie. Real life spouses Christopher and Dee Wallace-Stone played Chris and Dee McCullough, with Will Estes (credited by his given name of Will Nipper) and Wendy Cox appearing as their young son Will and teenage daughter Megan respectively. [1]

Will McCullough (Will Nipper/ aka Estes) with Lassie during the 1980s syndication run. New Lassie 1989.jpg
Will McCullough (Will Nipper/ aka Estes) with Lassie during the 1980s syndication run.

Jon Provost, who starred in the original Lassie series, portrayed Chris' brother Steve McCullough who was revealed in a later episode to be the adult Timmy Martin in an episode guest-starring June Lockhart in a reprisal of her role as Timmy's foster mother Ruth Martin. In the episode titled "Roots", Timmy reveals that he was never officially adopted by the Martins, and thus couldn't go with them to Australia when they moved there (at the beginning of season 11 of the original Lassie series). Subsequently, he was later adopted by the McCullough family, and began going by his middle name of Steven (Steve). [1]

Cast

Guest stars

Guest stars with a Lassie past included Roddy McDowall, who had starred in the first movie Lassie Come Home (1943) [2] [3] and Tommy Rettig, [4] who had played Jeff Miller in the early years of the original television series (later syndicated as Jeff's Collie ). [5] Other guest stars included Leonardo DiCaprio and Todd Bridges. [6] [7]

Episodes

Season 1 (1989–90)

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
11"Occurrence at Glen Ridge"Sigmund Neufeld Jr.Steve FeldSeptember 9, 1989 (1989-09-09)
22"City Lights"Sigmund Neufeld Jr.Mark BurleySeptember 16, 1989 (1989-09-16)
33"Bingo Was Her Name-O"Sigmund Neufeld Jr.Alan MoskowitzSeptember 23, 1989 (1989-09-23)
44"Heatwave"Bruce GreenPaul HunterSeptember 30, 1989 (1989-09-30)
55"Lassie at Last"Dennis Donnelly Joel Rogosin October 7, 1989 (1989-10-07)
66"Halloween" Scott Baio Michael Thomas Mann & Bruce RushOctober 14, 1989 (1989-10-14)
77"Roots"Alan Cooke Bud Wiser October 21, 1989 (1989-10-21)
88"Tinker"Sigmund Neufeld Jr. Joel Rogosin October 28, 1989 (1989-10-28)
99"A Dog and His Boy"Sigmund Neufeld Jr.Bud WiserNovember 4, 1989 (1989-11-04)
1010"New Generation"Robert CaramicoBud WiserNovember 11, 1989 (1989-11-11)
1111"Once Upon a Time" Tony Dow Christopher Stone & Bruce CameronNovember 18, 1989 (1989-11-18)
1212"Quality Time"Larry StewartMark BurleyNovember 25, 1989 (1989-11-25)
1313"Guess Who's Coming to Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner?" Christopher Stone Joel Rogosin September 8, 1990 (1990-09-08)
1414"Still Life"Alexander Singer Christopher Stone & Bruce CameronFebruary 17, 1990 (1990-02-17)
1515"Trapped" Scott Baio Bob HamnerFebruary 24, 1990 (1990-02-24)
1616"Just Another Saturday"Sigmund Neufeld Jr.Susan GoldbergSeptember 29, 1990 (1990-09-29)
1717"He's Back"Dennis Donnelly Christopher Stone & Bruce CameronOctober 6, 1990 (1990-10-06)
1818"Wild West"Alan CookeStory by: Mitchell Cohen & Bruce Cook
Teleplay by: Bud Wiser
October 13, 1990 (1990-10-13)
1919"Pot Hunters"Sigmund Neufeld Jr.Cathryn Michon & Eric VennerbeckOctober 20, 1990 (1990-10-20)
2020"Watch Your Step"Dennis DonnellyAlan MoskowitzOctober 27, 1990 (1990-10-27)
2121"Burglary"Dennis DonnellyMichael Thomas Mann & Bruce RushNovember 3, 1990 (1990-11-03)
2222"Snake Pit"Renny TempleStory by: Bud Wiser
Teleplay by: Mitchell Cohen & Bruce Cook
November 10, 1990 (1990-11-10)
2323"Livewire" Tony Dow Jack KaufmanNovember 17, 1990 (1990-11-17)
2424"Kindness is Contagious" Christopher Stone David H. VowellNovember 24, 1990 (1990-11-24)
2525"Witness"Bruce GreenJack KaufmanDecember 1, 1990 (1990-12-01)

Season 2 (1991–92)

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
261"The Diary of Sandy Frank"Sigmund Neufeld Jr.Bruce RushSeptember 7, 1991 (1991-09-07)
272"Best of Show"Sigmund Neufeld Jr.Bud WiserSeptember 14, 1991 (1991-09-14)
283"On the Beach" Christopher Stone Bud WiserSeptember 17, 1991 (1991-09-17)
294"Leeds, the Judge" Christopher Stone Christopher Stone & Bruce CameronSeptember 21, 1991 (1991-09-21)
305"The Gathering of the Clans"Corey Allen Christopher Stone & Bruce CameronSeptember 28, 1991 (1991-09-28)
316"The Stranger"Sigmund Neufeld Jr.Ken Peragine & Howard FriedlanderOctober 5, 1991 (1991-10-05)
327"The Kitty Saver"Robert CaramicoRobert Weatherwax & Arthur AndersonOctober 12, 1991 (1991-10-12)
338"Slumber Party"Mary Kay PlaceBud WiserOctober 17, 1991 (1991-10-17)
349"The Amazing Lassie"Larry StewartBud WiserOctober 25, 1991 (1991-10-25)
3510"The Cave" Christopher Stone Mark BurleyNovember 2, 1991 (1991-11-02)
3611"Lassie P.I."Larry StewartBud WiserNovember 9, 1991 (1991-11-09)
3712"Hit and Run"Sigmund Neufeld Jr.Jack KaufmanNovember 23, 1991 (1991-11-23)
3813"Nikki's Family" Christopher Stone Bud WiserDecember 7, 1991 (1991-12-07)
3914"Dog Day Afternoon"Arthur Anderson Christopher Stone & Bruce CameronDecember 14, 1991 (1991-12-14)
4015"The Represa"John H. WardSteve Stark & Michael HitchcockDecember 21, 1991 (1991-12-21)
4116"The Commercial"Robert Caramico Christopher Stone & Bruce CameronJanuary 4, 1992 (1992-01-04)
4217"Fallen Idol" Scott Baio Mark BurleyJanuary 11, 1992 (1992-01-11)
4318"Punch Drunk"Sigmund Neufeld Jr.Jennifer Burton & David LangJanuary 18, 1992 (1992-01-18)
4419"A Rabbit's Tale"Robert WeatherwaxStory by: Jon Provost
Teleplay by: Bud Wiser & Steve Stark
February 1, 1992 (1992-02-01)
4520"A Will and a Way" Christopher Stone Christopher Stone & Bruce CameronFebruary 15, 1992 (1992-02-15)
4621"Hostage: A Dog's Life"Sigmund Neufeld Jr.Jack KaufmanFebruary 22, 1992 (1992-02-22)
4722"Twin Pekes"Sigmund Neufeld Jr.Steve FeldFebruary 29, 1992 (1992-02-29)
4823"The Computer Study"Sigmund Neufeld Jr. Tom Rettig & Joe PerretMarch 7, 1992 (1992-03-07)

Production notes

The collie featured in The New Lassie was a fifth generation of Lassie. The dog was trained by Robert Weatherwax, the son of Rudd Weatherwax who trained the original Lassie. Robert was assisted by his only son Robert Jr. [8]

Syndication

Reruns of The New Lassie aired on TV Land Canada in 2007. [9]

Related Research Articles

<i>Lassie Come Home</i> 1943 film by Fred M. Wilcox

Lassie Come Home is a 1943 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Technicolor feature film starring Roddy McDowall and canine actor Pal, in a story about the profound bond between Yorkshire boy Joe Carraclough and his rough collie, Lassie. The film was directed by Fred M. Wilcox from a screenplay by Hugo Butler based upon the 1940 novel Lassie Come-Home by Eric Knight. The film was the first in a series of seven MGM films starring "Lassie."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roddy McDowall</span> British actor (1928–1998)

Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall was a British and American actor, whose career spanned over 270 screen and stage roles across over 60 years. Born in London, he began his acting career as a child in his native England, before moving to the United States at the outbreak of World War II. He achieved prominence for his starring roles in How Green Was My Valley (1941), My Friend Flicka (1943), and Lassie Come Home (1943). Unlike many of his contemporaries, McDowall managed to evolve from child star into an adult performer and appeared on Broadway as well as in films, winning a Tony Award for his performance in Jean Anouilh's The Fighting Cock. For portraying Octavian in the historical epic Cleopatra (1963), he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lassie</span> Fictional female collie dog

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Will Estes</span> American actor (born 1978)

William Estes Nipper, known professionally as Will Estes, is an American actor. He is known for his role on CBS police drama Blue Bloods as Jameson "Jamie" Reagan, a New York City Police Department officer and the youngest son of the police commissioner, played by Tom Selleck. Prior to that role, he starred as J.J. Pryor, on the NBC drama American Dreams.

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References

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  9. "TV Land Canada Reveals Fall 2007 Premiere Dates" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-06-28.