Hondo (TV series)
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''Hondo'' is an American
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
drama series starring Ralph Taeger that aired on
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from September 8 until December 29, 1967 during the 1967 fall season. The series was produced by Batjac Productions, Inc., Fenady Associates, Inc., and
MGM Television MGM Television Worldwide Group and Digital (alternatively Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television Group and Digital, commonly known as MGM Television and then-known as MGM/UA Television; common metonym: Lion) is an American television production/dis ...
.


Overview

''Hondo'' is based on the 1953 3D film of the same name starring
John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...
and
Geraldine Page Geraldine Sue Page (November 22, 1924June 13, 1987) was an American actress. With a career which spanned four decades across film, stage, and television, Page was the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Acade ...
, which was in turn an offshoot of a July 5, 1952 ''
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'' short story "The Gift of Cochise". Below the name of the teleplay author, each episode states, "Hondo" based on a screen play by
James Edward Grant James Edward Grant (July 2, 1905 – February 19, 1966) was an American short story writer, screenwriter and film director, who contributed to more than fifty films between 1935 and 1971. He collaborated with John Wayne on twelve projects, start ...
/ from a story by
Louis L'Amour Louis Dearborn L'Amour (; né LaMoore; March 22, 1908 – June 10, 1988) was an American novelist and short story writer. His books consisted primarily of Western novels (though he called his work "frontier stories"); however, he also wrote hi ...
. The storyline concerns Hondo Lane, a former
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cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...
officer who had moved west following the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
and taken an
Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...
bride, only to see her killed as part of a massacre of Indians conducted by
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troops. Now Hondo and his dog, Sam, travel alone and seek to prevent further trouble between the Army and the remaining Indians. They also fight to counter land grabbers and other outlaws. Noah Beery Jr. portrays Hondo's frequent sidekick, Buffalo Baker, who had been played by
Ward Bond Wardell Edwin Bond (April 9, 1903 – November 5, 1960) was an American film character actor who appeared in more than 200 films and starred in the NBC television series ''Wagon Train'' from 1957 to 1960. Among his best-remembered roles are Ber ...
in the original movie version with John Wayne. The little boy, Johnny Dow, is played by
Buddy Foster Lucius Fisher "Buddy" Foster IV (born July 12, 1957) is an American former child actor. Beginning his professional acting career at the age of eight, Foster is known for his roles in various television series throughout the late 1960s and early 1 ...
, older brother of
Jodie Foster Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and the ho ...
. While the Wayne film had been fairly successful, this series, airing against the hit
sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
''
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. ''Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.''The show (and CBS) renders the title as ''Gomer Pyle – USMC''. is an American situation comedy that originally aired on CBS from September 25, 1964, to May 2, 1969. The series was a spin-off of ''The Andy Griffith Sho ...
'' on
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and ''
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'' on
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, was soon canceled, with the last broadcast occurring on December 29, 1967. The
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for
broadcast syndication Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and radio programs to multiple television stations and radio stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in the United States where ...
is at least
100 episodes In the U.S. television industry, 100 episodes is the traditional threshold for a television series to enter syndicated reruns. One hundred episodes are advantageous for stripped syndication because it allows for 20 weeks of weekday reruns (depend ...
, but ''Hondo'', with only seventeen segments, became popular after it left the air and became the subject of an article in the ''
Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
''. One venue for broadcasting ''Hondo'' during early 2020s has been
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. The first two episodes were edited together to form the feature film ''Hondo and the Apaches'', which was released theatrically outside of
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.


Cast


Episodes


Home media

On June 13, 2017,
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
released the entire series on DVD via their
Warner Archive The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the inte ...
manufacture-on-demand service.Spun Off from the John Wayne Film, The Complete Series is Coming to DVD!


References


External links

* * Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, ''
The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Hondo (Tv Series) American Broadcasting Company original programming English-language television shows 1967 American television series debuts 1967 American television series endings 1960s Western (genre) television series Television series by MGM Television Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios Television shows set in Arizona