The Young Riders

''The Young Riders'' is an American western television series created by Ed Spielman that presents a fictionalized account of a group of young Pony Express riders (some of whom are young versions of legendary figures in Old West history) based at the Sweetwater Station in the Nebraska Territory during the years leading up to the American Civil War. The series premiered on ABC on September 20, 1989 and ran for three seasons until the final episode aired on July 23, 1992.

Production

Filming of the original pilot for the series took place in California. After the ABC network picked it up, the series production moved to Tucson, Arizona, with filming in "Mescal", a western-themed movie town operated by Old Tucson Studios.

Before the series premiere, producers of the 1988 film '' Young Guns'' filed a lawsuit against ABC and the series producers, claiming the series title combined with its plot infringed on their trademark.

In the second season, Don Franklin joined the cast to portray the character Noah Dixon. In doing so, he became the third African-American actor to hold a starring role in a television western – after Raymond St. Jacques, who had co-starred on the final season of '' Rawhide'' as cattle drover Simon Blake (1965) and Otis Young, who co-starred with Don Murray on the short-lived (1968–69) TV series '' The Outcasts''. Having never ridden a horse before, Franklin was sent to "Cowboy Camp" for 3–4 days where he learned how to mount and dismount, and the basics of riding. Desiring to also work behind the cameras, Franklin talked with producers about writing and directing an episode for the series. In an interview, he noted that the series producers were very receptive and was regularly encouraging the cast to not only make suggestions, but also follow through with them. When the cast noted that they didn't like the series becoming a "guest-villain-of-the-week", it was changed to refocus back on the individual characters and their relationships with each other. Franklin himself also encouraged that more black characters be included in the series.

Characters

Aloysius "Teaspoon" Hunter (Anthony Zerbe)

A former Texas Ranger and one of the few survivors of the Battle of the Alamo. A colorful yet immensely wise character, Teaspoon can be a tough task master but he cares about all of his riders.

The Kid ( Ty Miller)

A soft-spoken southerner. He loves his horse, Katy, whom he purchased by winning the money to buy her in a boxing match. He is the first of the riders to learn that Lou is a girl, and he falls in love with her.

William F. Cody (Stephen Baldwin)

Buffalo Bill is arrogant, brash, and a bit on the goofy side, but also devoted to his friends. He is an excellent shot with long arms such as rifles.

James Butler Hickok (Josh Brolin)

Wild Bill is hot-tempered and quick to go for his gun. He is a fast draw and gains a reputation as a gunslinger that he doesn't particularly want as it causes people to come challenge him. His temper frequently gets him in trouble, though Teaspoon and Sam try to help him learn to control it.

Buck Cross (Running Buck) (Gregg Rainwater)

A half-Kiowa who is close friends with Ike. Buck helps break down stereotypes that the townsfolk have of Indians in the area.

Louise "Lou" McCloud ( Yvonne Suhor)

Lou presents herself as a man so that she can join the riders. The Kid finds Lou out in the first episode, and the other riders when they help her rescue her brother and sister from their abusive outlaw father. She eventually falls in love with and marries The Kid.

Sam Cain (Brett Cullen) Season 1

The current marshal of Sweetwater, and a former gunslinger. He is in love with Emma and she finally marries him at the end of Season 1. Because of his own past, Sam tries to help Hickok deal with his growing gunslinger reputation.

Ike McSwain ( Travis Fine)

Ike is mute and bald, but that doesn't keep him from being an excellent rider. He is particularly close to Buck, who taught him sign language. Ike can be very passionate about protecting people.

Noah Dixon ( Don Franklin) Seasons 2-3

A free-born black man who joins the Riders in the second season.

Emma Shannon ( Melissa Leo) Season 1

The caretaker of the station and the riders. Though she can be just as tough as Teaspoon when the riders do wrong, she tries to be a mother to them all. She is in love with Marshal Cain, but because of her past, she hesitated to marry him until the end of the first season.

Jesse James ( Christopher Pettiet) Season 3

A young boy who joins the riders in the third season.

Rachel Dunn ( Clare Wren) Seasons 2-3

Rachel takes on the role of station caretaker after Emma leaves.

Guest stars

Many prominent actors guest-starred on the show, including Mitchell Ryan, Rob Estes, Chris Penn, Lloyd Bochner, Jay O. Sanders, Ted Shackelford, Roger Rees, James Gammon, Meg Foster, Albert Salmi,
Kelli Williams, Fisher Stevens, Della Reese, Melissa Michaelsen, David Carradine, Stacy Keach Sr., Pernell Roberts, David Soul, Cynthia Nixon, Richard Roundtree, Buck Taylor, Nick Ramus, Jamie Walters, Frances Fisher, Noble Willingham, James Cromwell, William Russ, John Slattery, Rebecca Staab, Jim Beaver, Peter MacNicol, Tim Thomerson, Stan Shaw, Bart the Bear, Brian Keith, Park Overall, Brian Bonsall, John Schuck, Gloria Reuben, Khrystyne Haje, Gary Sandy, John DeLancie, Tammy Grimes, Frederic Forrest, Frederick Coffin, Cliff DeYoung, William Sanderson, Sydney Walsh, Cassie Yates, Robert Clohessy, and Jenny O'Hara

Episodes

Reception

In its first year on the air, ''The Young Riders'' was plagued by low ratings. In November 1989, it ranked 60th out of 84 programs for its time slot in the Nielsen ratings. In its second season, the series was given a new timeslot and made a dramatic turn around, winning its time slot five out of its first seven weeks, and consistently outperformed the other critically acclaimed shows on the night ''China Beach'' and ''Twin Peaks''. Though still only ranked 57th in the Nielsen Ratings, it began building a "small, but loyal" following among teens and young adults.

Diane Holloway of the ''Austin American-Statesman'' felt it offered a new take on the standard Western, and praised the series for its "beautiful" cinematography. The ''Philadelphia Inquirer''s Ken Tucker heavily criticized the series when it premiered considering it "one of the season's most pretentious bombs" and feeling "everything about tis overdone" including the acting. Considering it a rip off of the films '' Young Guns'' and ''The Long Riders'', Tucker considered the series failed at period authenticity and thought the riders dressed no different from 1980s young adults. Writing for ''The Atlanta Journal'', Phil Kloer agreed with Tucker, also calling the series a rip off of ''Young Guns''. Kloer considered the pilot to be "not particularly good or bad", and felt the series was doomed to fail quickly. He did, however, praise the series cinematography as being "more like a film than a TV series, very beautiful with lots of soft light". Ron Miller of '' TV Weekly'', however, praised the series when it was released. As it entered its second season, he renewed his praise, noting the more successful series was now "thumbing its nose at all the prognosticators" who had considered it unlikely to succeed.

Home media

MGM released the first season of ''The Young Riders'' as a single Region 1 DVD box set on March 21, 2006.

The season 1 set was released to Region 2 (Europe) on January 15, 2007.

TGG Direct released season 3 on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time on January 29, 2013. They also re-released the first season on the same day. Season 2 was released on October 22, 2013. However, due to clearance issues, the episodes "Born to Hang," "Bad Company," "Blood Money," and "Littlest Cowboy" were excluded. Another Season 2 set was released in 2014. In addition to the four episodes excluded from the 2013 release, the 2014 set also excludes the episodes "Dead Ringer" and "The Play's the Thing".

References

External links

*

The Young Riders Italia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Young Riders, The
1989 American television series debuts
1992 American television series endings
American Broadcasting Company original programming
English-language television shows
Cultural depictions of Buffalo Bill
Cultural depictions of Jesse James
Television series by MGM Television
Television shows set in Wyoming
Television shows set in Nebraska
Works about the Pony Express
1980s Western (genre) television series
1990s Western (genre) television series