Shotgun Slade

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Shotgun Slade
Format	Western
Starring	Scott Brady
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	39
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	television syndication
Picture format	Black and white (1959-1961)
Original run	October 24, 1959 – 1961
External links
IMDb profile

Shotgun Slade is an American western television series starring Scott Brady that aired in television syndication from October 24, 1959 until 1961.

Since the Western genre was beginning to lose popularity with viewing audiences, Shotgun Slade had three characteristics that made it novel among Westerns. The first was Slade's profession. Instead being a marshal, sheriff, or wandering gunfighter, Slade was a private detective, hired by individuals to track down criminals, return stolen money, and other similar duties. This was obviously influenced by the growing popularity of television private eyes such as Peter Gunn, Richard Diamond, Private Detective, Hawaiian Eye, and others.

Another quirks was Slade's weapon of choice. Instead of packing a six-gun, Slade carried a combination shotgun that has an upper and lower barrel.The lower barrel fired a 12-gauge shotgun shell, while the top barrel fired a .32 caliber rifle bullet. The idea was that this weapon gave Slade the ability to fire at close and distant targets with the same amount of accuracy. Western television shows were known for featuring distinctive weapons, such as those on shows like The Rifleman, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, Wanted: Dead or Alive, and The Rebel, but Slade's shotgun stood out even among the weapons of those other shows.

The third novelty of the series is that it featured a modern jazz score instead of the traditional Western-themed music that was the norm for Western television shows and movies. Again, this seems an influence of the private eye genre's popularity because most private eye shows featured a jazz score.

Unfortunately, all of Shotgun Slade's quirks and idiosyncrasies did not add up to a long-running series because the show only lasted two seasons.