The Road West

Last updated
The Road West
Genre Western
Starring Barry Sullivan
Opening themeThe Road West by Leonard Rosenman [1]
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes29
Production
Executive producer Norman Macdonnell
Running time60 minutes
Original release
Network NBC
ReleaseSeptember 12, 1966 (1966-09-12) 
May 1, 1967 (1967-05-01)

The Road West is an American Western television series that aired on NBC from September 12, 1966, to May 1, 1967. [2]

Contents

Overview

Ben Pride moves with his children Timothy, Midge, and Kip, his new wife Elizabeth, his father Tom, and his brother-in-law Chance from Ohio to Kansas during the 1860s. The show centers around the difficulties the family faces taming the land and homesteading. [3]

Cast

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1"This Savage Land (Part 1)" Vincent McEveety UnknownSeptember 12, 1966 (1966-09-12)
2"This Savage Land (Part 2)"Vincent McEveetyUnknownSeptember 19, 1966 (1966-09-19)
3"The Gunfighter" Charles S. Dubin UnknownSeptember 26, 1966 (1966-09-26)
4"The Lean Years"UnknownUnknownOctober 3, 1966 (1966-10-03)
After killing a man in self-defense, Corbett becomes hunted and flees to the family home. Guest stars: Elva Miller [4]
5"This Dry and Thirsty Land" Bernard McEveety UnknownOctober 10, 1966 (1966-10-10)
6"Long Journey to Leavenworth"UnknownUnknownOctober 17, 1966 (1966-10-17)
Ben and his son agree to deliver an outlaw to prison for a fee. Guest stars: Geoffrey Horne, Robert F. Simon, John Pickard, Hal Baylor [5]
7"Ashes and Tallow and One True Love"UnknownUnknownOctober 24, 1966 (1966-10-24)
8"Piece of Tin" Robert Totten UnknownOctober 31, 1966 (1966-10-31)
9"Lone Woman"UnknownUnknownNovember 7, 1966 (1966-11-07)
10"Shaman"UnknownUnknownNovember 14, 1966 (1966-11-14)
11"To Light a Candle" Paul Stanley UnknownNovember 28, 1966 (1966-11-28)
12"Pariah"Paul StanleyUnknownDecember 5, 1966 (1966-12-05)
13"Have You Seen the Aurora Borealis?"UnknownUnknownDecember 12, 1966 (1966-12-12)
14"Power of Fear"UnknownUnknownDecember 26, 1966 (1966-12-26)
15"Reap the Whirlwind"UnknownUnknownJanuary 9, 1967 (1967-01-09)
16"Beyond the Hill"UnknownUnknownJanuary 16, 1967 (1967-01-16)
17"The Predators" Harry Harris UnknownJanuary 23, 1967 (1967-01-23)
18"A Mighty Hunter Before the Lord"UnknownUnknownJanuary 30, 1967 (1967-01-30)
19"No Sanctuary"UnknownUnknownFebruary 6, 1967 (1967-02-06)
20"The Insider"UnknownUnknownFebruary 13, 1967 (1967-02-13)
21"Road to Glory"UnknownUnknownFebruary 20, 1967 (1967-02-20)
22"Fair Ladies of France"UnknownUnknownFebruary 27, 1967 (1967-02-27)
23"Never Chase a Rainbow"UnknownUnknownMarch 6, 1967 (1967-03-06)
24"Eleven Miles to Eden" Paul Henreid UnknownMarch 13, 1967 (1967-03-13)
25 [6] "Charade of Justice"UnknownUnknownMarch 27, 1967 (1967-03-27)

Ben regrets having a horse-thieving teenager arrested after a judge sentences him to hang.


Guest stars: Tom Tryon as Sheriff Tom Platt, Kurt Russell as teenager Jay Baker and Jay C. Flippen as Judge Platt
26"The Eighty-Seven Dollar Bride"Paul HenreidUnknownApril 3, 1967 (1967-04-03)
27 [7] "A War for the Gravediggers"UnknownUnknownApril 10, 1967 (1967-04-10)

During a trip to buy cattle, Ben and Tim get involved in a political revolution in a small Mexican town.


Guest stars: Michael Ansara as Serafin and Joe De Santis as Octaviano
28 [8] "The Agreement" Charles S. Dubin Eric Stone and Dean Reisner April 24, 1967 (1967-04-24)

After killing a woman's son who tried to commit a robbery, Chance faces the consequences from the boy's mother.


Guest stars: James Gammon as Deputy Bramley, Virginia Gregg as Lavinia Bishop and Barbara Werle as Laura
29 [9] "Elizabeth's Odyssey" Anton Leader Kathleen Hite May 1, 1967 (1967-05-01)

Elizabeth and Chance come close to losing faith in humanity during a mercy errand, as they embark on a two day journal to Grimmer's farm.


Guest stars: Albert Salmi as Hawes Leggett, Kay Kuter and Svea Grunfeld as Nester and his wife

Production

Executive producer Macdonnell regarded the show's storyline as being identifiable to the viewing audience, with an essential family unit comprising family members "bound to the other by either a true familiar relationship or by an intangible camaraderie". A core idea of the show was to present a realistic portrayal of the real struggles faced by settlers who traveled 'The Road West', with extreme temperatures in each of the summer and winter seasons. [3]

The show's lead actor, Barry Sullivan, was marking his fourth series and described the show as being "a piece of pioneer literature". [3] He had previously expressed that he would never star in a weekly television series again, although he warmed to the show when he began working closely with the cast and crew. [10] Having spent long periods of time driving an old wagon for the show, Sullivan decided to take lessons and spent seven consecutive Saturdays in Antelope Valley, California perfecting the driving technique. [11]

Production moved away from Kansas in 1967, with it reported that the shift in location was always the plan, although happened sooner than anticipated due to the show's future being at risk. Ratings struggled against other shows including Family Affair and The Felony Squad , while Seel's character Tom Pride was killed off to reduce costs. [12]

Filming

Sullivan said in an interview that scripts for the show would be provided several weeks in advance, which allowed time to absorb the scripts in order to perfect their lines and character portrayals. [10]

Reception

The show was highly anticipated by The Atlanta Constitution writer Paul Jones, who predicted that the show would "be the most successful new show of the television season", based on his opinion that there had not been a western show flop for considerable time and of his high rating for producer Norman Macdonnell. [13]

Related Research Articles

The year 1967 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events in 1967.

The year 1966 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events in that year.

The year 1962 involved some significant events in television. Below is a list of notable events of that year.

Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character is lawman Marshal Matt Dillon, played by William Conrad on radio and James Arness on television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suzanne Pleshette</span> American actress (1937–2008)

Suzanne Pleshette was an American actress. Pleshette was known for her roles in theatre, film, and television. She was nominated for three Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. For her role as Emily Hartley on the CBS sitcom The Bob Newhart Show (1972–1978) she received two nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kim Darby</span> American actress

Kim Darby is an American actress best known for her roles as Mattie Ross in True Grit (1969) and Jenny Meyer in Better Off Dead (1985).

WTIC-TV is a television station in Hartford, Connecticut, United States, serving the Hartford–New Haven market as an affiliate of the Fox network. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Waterbury-licensed CW affiliate WCCT-TV. The two stations share studios on Broad Street in downtown Hartford; WTIC-TV's transmitter is located on Rattlesnake Mountain in Farmington.

WUVN is a television station licensed to Hartford, Connecticut, United States, serving the Hartford–New Haven market as an affiliate of the Spanish-language network Univision. It is owned by Entravision Communications alongside low-power UniMás affiliate WUTH-CD. The two stations share studios at Constitution Plaza in downtown Hartford and transmitter facilities on Birch Mountain Road in Glastonbury, Connecticut. WUVN's Univision programming is also broadcast on WHTX-LD in Springfield, Massachusetts, from a transmitter on Provin Mountain in Agawam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry Sullivan (American actor)</span> American actor (1912–1994)

Patrick Barry Sullivan was an American actor of film, television, theatre, and radio. In a career that spanned over 40 years, Sullivan appeared in over 100 movies from the 1930s to the 1980s, primarily as a leading actor after establishing himself in the industry, and later as a character actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Jim Sullivan</span> British guitarist (1941–2012)

James George Tomkins, known professionally as Big Jim Sullivan, was an English guitarist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Horton (actor)</span> American actor (1924–2016)

Mead Howard "Robert" Horton Jr. was an American actor and singer. He is known for playing Flint McCullough in Wagon Train (1957–1962).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janice Rule</span> American actress (1931–2003)

Mary Janice Rule was an American actress and psychotherapist, earning her PhD while still acting, then acting occasionally while working in her new profession.

Norman Scarth Macdonnell was an American producer for radio, television, and feature films. He is best known for co-creating with writer John Meston the Western series Gunsmoke, which was broadcast on CBS Radio from 1952 to 1961, and on television from 1955 to 1975.

The NHL on CBS is the branding used for broadcasts of National Hockey League (NHL) games produced by CBS Sports and televised on CBS in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diana Millay</span> American actress (1934–2021)

Diana Claire Millay was an American actress. She primarily worked in television, guest starring in nearly 100 prime time shows, and played continuing roles on two daytime soap operas, Dark Shadows and The Secret Storm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tammy Locke</span> American actor and performer (born 1959)

Tammy Locke is an American actor and performer, known for her work as a child actor in The Monroes and other films and TV series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Shea (actor)</span> Actor

Michael Shea is an American former child actor. Beginning a prolific career at the age of ten, Shea is perhaps best known for portraying the title role in the NBC children's television series, The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, as well as for his feature film roles: as Nick in the Ivan Tors family film, Namu, the Killer Whale; as Jimmy in the MGM western, Welcome to Hard Times; and as "Cav" in the Walt Disney drama, Ride a Northbound Horse. Although born and raised in New York City, Shea was primarily cast as the wholesome small-town "country boy" throughout most of his career as a child star.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Seel</span> American actor (1897–1980)

Charles Seel was an American actor.

Anne Elizabeth Burr, later Anne Burr McDermott, was an American actress who appeared on the stage, and in television, radio, and film in the 1940s and 1950s. She made her Broadway debut in Orson Welles's Native Son in 1941, and appeared with frequency on the New York stage through 1952. She appeared in several minor roles in films, beginning with the parts of Ruth in Child of Divorce (1946) and Judy Clark in The Devil on Wheels (1947). In 1947 she portrayed Viola in the first unabridged televised production of William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. She became one of the world's first soap opera stars; first appearing in the earliest years of that genre as Dr. Eve Allen, one of the first women doctors portrayed on television, in The Greatest Gift (1954-1955). She was an original cast member of As the World Turns; starring as Claire from 1956 until 1959 when she retired from acting.

From 1965 through 1975, in addition to the Saturday night game on CBC, Hockey Night in Canada also produced and broadcast a Wednesday night game on CTV, CBC's privately owned competitor; beginning in the 1975–76 NHL season, these midweek games would begin to be broadcast by local stations.

References

  1. Terrace, Vincent (2013). Television Introductions: Narrated TV Program Openings Since 1949. Scarecrow Press. p. 147. ISBN   9780810892507.
  2. The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present. Ballantine Books. 2003. p. 100.
  3. 1 2 3 "NBC's The Road West offers family-unit adventure". Green Bay Press-Gazette. February 26, 1967. p. 100.
  4. "Elva Miller Appears In Road West Episode". Anderson Herald. May 27, 1967. p. 24.
  5. "Monday October 17 Evening". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. October 16, 1966. p. 586 via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Tom Tryon Has Guest Star Role In 'Road West'". Hartford Courant. March 26, 1967. p. 128.
  7. "Mexican Revolt Provides Action Of 'Road West'". Hartford Courant. April 9, 1967. p. 168.
  8. "Mother Tries To Defy Town On 'Road West'". Hartford Courant. April 23, 1967. p. 158.
  9. "Mercy Errand is Described on 'Road West'". Hartford Courant. April 30, 1967. p. 154.
  10. 1 2 "Was Through with TV - He Changed His Mind". Sioux City Journal. December 4, 1966. p. 42.
  11. "Sullivan Learns To Drive A Wagon". Biddeford Saco Journal. March 25, 1967. p. 10.
  12. "Pride family feels threat of 'ace' Nielson's men". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. January 28, 1967. p. 19.
  13. "No Tired Gun in Road West, A Sure Winner Coming Up". The Atlanta Constitution. August 2, 1966. p. 8.

Further reading