Sorry Cheyenne Is Off Encore Westerns
Hope the series returns real soon.
shareWith Encore Westerns, there's no telling. It could be back in six weeks or it could be gone for good.
Perhaps somewhat fitting, the last episode I watched before they took it off was the last episode of the series. It was low on action, but it had some good drama to it. I think they knew the series was ending too. One of subplots of the episode featured Cheyenne hoping to settle down.
I am sorry too, but at least Cheyenne is still on Encore. It airs at 8 p.m. Saturdays on Retroplex.
Just as an aside, I don't understand is why Encore never showed the Bronco or Sugarfoot episodes. There was a day when TV execs understood the importance of getting as much episode count as possible when stripping a show across weekdays, so viewers wouldn't tire so soon from seeing the same reruns over and over. (For that matter, the "Gene Autry Show" would have rerun far better if Encore Westerns had shown all the Flying A Productions series on different days--"Melody Ranch", "Annie Oakley", "The Range Rider", "Buffalo Bill Jr." and "The Adventures of Champion". And Gail Davis was arguably the bigger TV star toward the end of the 1950s--though of course she, like everybody but a precious few, was a mere blip compared to decades of Gene as an overall entertainer). These shows were made by the same people, so I can't imagine viewers liking Gene's own show and hating the other ones he produced. Again, it seems to me that it's another classic case of Encore Westerns rerunning a property fast into the ground when they didn't have to.)
Rawhide replaced it. Too bad... I would much rather see Cheyenne than Wagon Train or Have Gun Will Travel or Loredo!
shareI don't want to lose Have Gun - Will Travel, but Loredo or Wagon Train wouldn't be any great losses.
shareI miss Cheyenne, but if you haven't tried Rawhide, it can be pretty good. I especially like watching Clint Eastwood evolve. It seems also to be a bit more authentic than some of the others. And Gunsmoke is always enjoyable.
I'll give have gun will travel another... no pun intended... shot!
I would like to see them bring back some of the lesser-known westerns from the 50s and 60s:
The Restless Gun (John Payne)
The Dakotas (Larry Ward, Jack Elam, Chad Everett)
26 Men (Tris Coffin, Kelo Henderson)
Yancy Derringer (Jock Mahoney)
Riverboat (Darrin McGavin, Burt Reynolds)
The Adventures of Jim Bowie (Scott Forbes)
Wanted Dead or Alive (Steve McQueen)
The Loner (Lloyd Bridges) (This show had great opening theme music)
The Deputy (Henry Fonda, Alan Case)
I could go on and on. I wish that Enocre Westerns would make Saturday mornings a time when these old western series could be shown.
What is 26 Men about?
shareIt was about the Arizona Rangers. Tris Coffin was the commander and Keno Henderson one of his deputies.
The title refers to the fact that federal law limited the Arizona Rangers to a strength of no more than 26 men.
I can still remember the opening theme, played over a scene of the rangers mounting their horses and riding off.
This is the story of 26 men
Who rode the Arizona Territory.
26 men, who saddled up and then
rode off to answer duty's call.
I see on Amazon that the 26 Men TV series is now available on DVD.
shareI'm guessing it only lasted one season?
That's the good thing about short lived TV shows. They have a better chance of seeing a completed DVD release.
26 men was a syndicated show that was produced from 1957-1959. There were a total of 78 episodes filmed.
It was based on the real Arizona Rangers. In 1901, the Arizona Territorial Legislature authorized "An armed force consisting of one captain, one lieutenant, four sergeants, and 20 privates" to maintain law and order.
Years later, one of the original rangers remarked that, "The reason there was only 26 of us was because the Territory couldn't afford no more."
I'm guessing the captain was the star?
shareTris Coffin was Captain Tom Rynning and Kelo Henderson played Ranger Clint Travis. Rynning sometimes sent Travis out on assignments but usually they worked togather. As I recall, it was a little like a western "Dragnet," with an announcement at the beginning that the stories were true but the names had been changed.
shareYeah, I remember the show and its theme pretty well, because Channel 62 (back when it was just a weak independent station before CBS bought it) showed it over and over for years. Not a classic, but certainly one of Tris Coffin's better roles. I remember the characters expressed a constant urgency about somehow bringing law and order to the territory with just 26 men, so Washington would be convinced that Arizona was ready to become a state (Arizona and New Mexico were the final states in the lower 48 to be admitted to the Union, not until 1912).
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