The Young Riders
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Young Riders | |
|---|---|
 DVD Cover |
|
| Genre | Drama / Western |
| Creator(s) | Ed Spielman |
| Starring | Stephen Baldwin Josh Brolin Brett Cullen Travis Fine Don Franklin Melissa Leo Ty Miller Christopher Pettiet Gregg Rainwater Yvonne Suhor Clare Wren Anthony Zerbe |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of episodes | 67 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 45 minutes per episode |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ABC |
| Original run | September 20, 1989 – July 22, 1992 |
| Links | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
The Young Riders is a dramatic western that aired 1989-1992 and featured a fictionalized account of a group of young Pony Express riders. The riders included soft-spoken southerner "The Kid" (Miller), hot-tempered James Butler Hickok (Brolin), William F. Cody (Baldwin), mute Ike McSwain (Fine), half Kiowa Running Buck Cross (Rainwater), and woman in disguise Lou McCloud (Suhor). In the second season, they were joined by free-born black man Noah Dixon (Franklin). The station was run by Teaspoon Hunter (Zerbe), a colorful character and former Texas Ranger, notable on the show for being one of the few (fictional) survivors of the Alamo, and tough, but loving Emma Shannon (Leo), who left at the end of Season 1 when she married Marshal Sam Cain (Cullen). After that, Rachel Dunne (Wren) took on the role of station mother. Season 3 also had a young Jesse James (Pettiet) joining the gang.
For the first two seasons, the riders were stationed at Emma's ranch just outside of Sweetwater, Nebraska Territory (now Wyoming). In the third season, they moved to Rock Creek, Nebraska Territory to rebuild the abandoned waystation there. The riders were now based in town, which brought them close to the action. The third season had a different feel to it, with more individual character storylines as opposed to the ensemble episodes of especially the first season.
The Young Riders was shot on location in Mescal and Old Tucson, Arizona, except for most of the pilot episode, which was filmed in California.
Many prominent actors guest-starred on the show, including James Gammon, Kelli Williams, Fisher Stevens, Della Reese, David Carradine, Stacy Keach, Sr., Pernell Roberts, David Soul, Cynthia Nixon, Richard Roundtree, Buck Taylor, Nick Ramus, Frances Fisher, and Bart the Bear. Directors included well-known western directors Virgil W. Vogel (Centennial and Bonanza) and James Keach (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman). Writers included Steven Baum, Charles Grant Craig, and Jonas McCord.
[edit] Regular cast
- Anthony Zerbe — Aloysius 'Teaspoon' Hunter
- Ty Miller — The Kid
- Stephen Baldwin — William F. Cody
- Josh Brolin — James Butler Hickok
- Gregg Rainwater — Buck Cross (Running Buck)
- Yvonne Suhor — Louise McCloud
- Brett Cullen — Marshal Sam Cain (1989-1990)
- Travis Fine — Ike McSwain (1989-1991)
- Don Franklin — Noah Dixon (1990-1992)
- Melissa Leo — Emma Shannon (1989-1990)
- Christopher Pettiet — Jesse James (1991-1992)
- Clare Wren — Rachel Dunne (1990-1992)
- Don Collier — William Tompkins, Shop Keeper (recurring)
- Monty Stuart — Barnett Hamilton, Marshal's Deputy (recurring)
[edit] DVD release
The first season of The Young Riders has been released on DVD in Region 1 (the United States) by MGM. It is set for a January 15, 2007 release in Region 2 (Europe).
