Nichols (TV series)
| Nichols | |
|---|---|
 Title card screenshot | |
| Also known as | James Garner as Nichols |
| Genre | Western |
| Created by | Frank Pierson |
| Written by |
Juanita Bartlett Gene L. Coon Jack Curtis Theodore J. Flicker Robert Foster Bud Freeman Marion Hargrove James L. Henderson Buck Houghton George Kirgo Ken Kolb Benjamin Masselink Frank Pierson Sam Roeca Frank Telford Shimon Wincelberg William Wood |
| Directed by |
John Badham Paul Bogart Ivan Dixon Danny Haller Jeremy Kagan Gerd Oswald Frank Pierson Peter Tewksbury William Ward William Wiard |
| Starring |
James Garner Margot Kidder Stuart Margolin Alice Ghostley |
| Composer(s) | Bernardo Segall |
| Country of origin | USA |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 24 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Meta Rosenberg |
| Producer(s) | Frank Pierson |
| Cinematography | Lamar Boren |
| Running time | 60 mins. (approx) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBC |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original run | September 16, 1971 – March 14, 1972 |
Nichols (also known as James Garner as Nichols) is an American Western television series starring James Garner broadcast in the United States on NBC during the 1971-72 season. Set the fictional town of Nichols, Arizona, in 1914, Nichols differed from traditional Western series of the era. The main character, a sheriff, rode on a motorcycle and in an automobile rather than on the traditional horse. The hero did not carry a firearm and was generally opposed to the use of violence to solve problems, preferring other means. Margot Kidder portrayed Ruth, the love interest/barmaid of Nichols.
Overview
Nichols (no first name given) came back in the town founded by his family to learn that it had been taken over by another family, the Ketchams, who functioned as a gang. Their matriarch, "Ma" Ketcham (Neva Patterson), blackmailed Nichols into serving as the town sheriff, which carried little actual authority (as the Ketchams largely ran things), but considerable danger. Mitch Mitchell (Stuart Margolin) was assigned as Nichols' deputy, either in spite or because he was none too bright, none too honest, and something of a bully. Nichols (James Garner) soon found a love interest in Ruth (Margot Kidder), a barmaid, who worked for Bertha (Alice Ghostley), the bar's proprietress. Nichols' personal concern was not usually law enforcement but rather a way of getting rich with little effort.
This was the first time since "Maverick" that Garner had worked with Warner Brothers. After suing Warner over "Maverick", Garner was banned from the lot by Jack Warner.
The series did not do well in the ratings and was retitled James Garner as Nichols in October 1971 to capitalize on the star's popularity. The low ratings also resulted in the decision by the program's producers to kill off the title character. The greedy, pacifist Nichols was shot down, to be avenged by his identical twin brother, Jim Nichols (portrayed by Garner), who arrived in town and administered justice in a stereotypical (and it was hoped, popular) Western fashion. This solution made recasting and retitling the program unnecessary while allowing for considerable changes. However, the episode in which the first Nichols was murdered proved to be the final one; before it aired, NBC cancelled the series, rerunning the earlier episodes in the summer of 1972.
James Garner when interviewed for Emmy TV Legends indicated that "Nichols" was one of his favorite roles. In the interview he indicated that the failure of the show was due to a presentation of the show to executives at Chevrolet. The car company had originally offered to sponsor the show in full but, after the screening of the pilot, a wife of one of the executives complained that "Nichols" was not "Maverick" the popular series that Garner starred in during the 1950s. As a result, Chevrolet indicated they would only sponsor half the show forcing Garner, Warner and NBC to hunt for other sponsors in a very competitive market.[1]
Garner has stated that, despite the low ratings of the series, "Nichols" had better ratings than any show launched the following season on NBC and that the ratings for the series steadily improved which gave Garner, Warner and his producers hope the show would be renewed.[2]
Garner discovered his frequent co-star on this series and "The Rockford Files" Stuart Margolin while watching an episode of the anthology comedy series "Love American Style". He also promoted his agent Meta Rosenberg to the role of producer for the series. She would continue to work as a producer for Garner's "The Rockford Files" as well. [3]
Cast
- James Garner as Nichols/Sheriff Jim Nichols
- John Beck as Ketcham
- Alice Ghostley as Bertha
- Margot Kidder as Ruth
- Stuart Margolin as Deputy Sheriff Mitch Mitchell
- Neva Patterson as Ma Sara Ketchum
- M. Emmet Walsh as Gabe McCutcheon
Guest stars
- Val Avery
- William Christopher
- Scatman Crothers
- Jack Elam
- Steve Forrest
- Jennifer Gan
- Bo Hopkins
- Rance Howard
- Don Keefer
- Strother Martin
- Ricardo Montalban
- John Rubinstein
- Robert F. Simon
- Tom Skerritt
- Susan Tyrrell
- Joyce Van Patten
- Anthony Zerbe
Episodes
| Episode # | Episode title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1-1 | "Nichols" | September 16, 1971 |
| 1-2 | "The Siege" | September 23, 1971 |
| 1-3 | "The Indian Giver" | September 30, 1971 |
| 1-4 | "Paper Badge" | October 7, 1971 |
| 1-5 | "Gulley vs Hansen" | October 14, 1971 |
| 1-6 | "Deer Crossing" | October 21, 1971 |
| 1-7 | "The Specialists" | October 28, 1971 |
| 1-8 | "Peanuts and Crackerjacks" | November 4, 1971 |
| 1-9 | "Ketcham Power" | November 11, 1971 |
| 1-10 | "The One Eyed Mule's Time Has Come" | November 23, 1971 |
| 1-11 | "Away the Rolling River" | November 30, 1971 |
| 1-12 | "Where Did Everybody Go?" | December 7, 1971 |
| 1-13 | "The Marrying Fool" | December 28, 1971 |
| 1-14 | "Eddie Joe" | January 4, 1972 |
| 1-15 | "Zachariah" | January 11, 1972 |
| 1-16 | "The Unholy Alliance" | January 18, 1972 |
| 1-17 | "Slight of Hand" | February 1, 1972 |
| 1-18 | "Wings of an Angel" | February 8, 1972 |
| 1-19 | "About Jessie James" | February 15, 1972 |
| 1-20 | "Fight of the Century" | February 22, 1972 |
| 1-21 | "Man's Best Enemy" | February 29, 1972 |
| 1-22 | "Wonder Fizz Flies Again" | March 7, 1972 |
| 1-23 | "All In the Family" | March 14, 1972 |
- A 24th episode entitled "Bertha" with guest star Alice Ghostley was originally pre-empted, but NBC did air it on May 16, 1972. As it aired after Nichols was killed, it made no sense to viewers, as it presented Nichols as being alive.
DVD release
On September 10, 2013, Warner Bros. released Nichols: The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1 via their Warner Archive Collection.[4] This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively in the US and only through Warner's online store.
It should be noted that the DVD release mislabels two episodes. Disc 1, Episode 4 is not "Paper Badge" as labeled on the disc, but is instead "Ketchum Power." And Disc 3, Episode 1 which is labled as "Ketchum Power" is actually "Paper Badge." "Paper Badge" can easily be identified as it guest stars Joyce Van Patten.
Syndication
Nichols was broadcast on American Forces Network Television in Germany in the early 1980s. "Nichols" was also broadcast in Iran, specifically in Isfahan, during 1978.
References
- ↑ http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/shows/nichols
- ↑ http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/shows/nichols
- ↑ http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/shows/nichols
- ↑ 'The Complete Series,' Starring James Garner and Margot Kidder, on DVD
- Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows
External links
- Nichols at the Internet Movie Database
- Nichols at TV.com
- Nichols at epguides.com