Wide Country

Premiering on September 20,1962 the short-lived series "The Wide Country" was in fact NBC's answer to "Stoney Burke"(which was on a rival network) that lasted one season and produced 28 episodes,all in classic black-and-white. At the time "The Wide Country" aired,almost half of the programming that dominated prime-time were television westerns with "Gunsmoke", "Wagon Train",and "Bonanza' being the top three programs that dominated the Nielsens. "The Wide Country" was similar to "Stoney Burke" that featured modern day rodeo competitors who perform for top prizes. Also to point out that when this series premiered for the 1962-1963 season,almost half of the programming at NBC was in color with "Bonanza","The Joey Bishop Show", "The Wonderful World of Disney",and "The Virginian" just to name a few.

Produced by Revue Studios(the same company that also produced "Wagon Train" and "The Virginian")the series starred Earl Holliman and Andrew Prine as brothers Mitch and Andy Guthrie who are traveling rodeo competitors. Older brother Mitch is a champion bronco rider in the rodeo who tries to keep his younger brother Andy from getting into something while having various kinds of adventures along the way due to the life of a rodeo cowboy was like since they basically work the circuit of big shows,many of which were large urban centers. The aspect of this made for some great human interest stories in which the somehow over protected brother who convincingly keeps his kid brother out of trouble as well as keeping from doing something or teaching him the value of being a rodeo cowboy as well as teaching his kid brother the meaning of responsibility. Out of the 28 episodes that this series produced,it managed to bring on some very interesting guest stars ranging from Patty Duke, Roberta Shore, Slim Pickens, Jay Novello, to Barbara Parkins, Edgar Buchanan, Alan Hale,Jr., Anne Helm, Adam West, to Roger Mobley, Barbara Stuart to Yvonne Craig and I. Stanford Jolley.

The series aired on Thursday nights where it faced tough competition from "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet", "The Donna Reed Show", and the children's series "Mister Ed",and the second half of "Perry Mason" which clobbered it in the ratings. "The Wide Country" ended with the final episode of the series on April 25,1963. On September 19,1963 the show that replaced "The Wide Country" was another short-lived modern day "western" titled "Temple Houston" starring Jeffrey Hunter that was also produced under Revue Studios.

Earl Holliman and Andrew Prine were in their heyday in the early 60s when this series was showing. The plot was simple: a professional rodeo cowboy, Holliman, was shepherding his kid brother, Prine, while having various kinds of adventures along the way. The life of a rodeo cowboy was very peripatetic, as it still is, because they basically work the circuit of big shows, many of which are in large urban centers. This aspect of this career line made for a good plot line of human interest stories of the somewhat overprotective brother who keeps trying to convince his younger sibling of the value of doing something other than being a rodeo cowboy. Holliman, with his square-jawed rugged good looks, was a good counterpart to the somewhat dreamy idealistic Prine, often cast with an interesting guest actor like Slim Pickens or John Dehner. Too bad they can't write stories now like they did back then as this unremarkable little series was quite entertaining.

To the person who wrote a review on Wide Country, the series that replaced it was not a contemporary western, but it was your 19th century setting, I'm talking about Temple Houston starring Jeffrey Hunter and Jack Elam as George Taggart. It was from Warner Bros. Television, not Revue Studios! It actually replaced a dramatic anthology titledThe Robert Taylor Show from Four Star, but NBC canceled it because the stories were not based on actual case histories from the Department of Health Education and Welfare! Wide Country could have run for maybe another season or two, but the same could have been for Stoney Burke from Daystar/UATV on ABC starring Jack Lord. The rodeo Westerns just simply bit the dust.

The Wide Country was the second of two shows with a rodeo background that came to television in 1962, the other being Stoney Burke. Maybe both could not crack that all important demographic, the young. Those that buy the products the advertisers hawk on shows.

I don't understand why neither show really made it. The rodeo does have some inherent drama within it. The quest to be champion in whatever event you compete in, the personal dangers accompanying trying to do your personal best. The Professional Bullriders do quite well with their attendance and audience today.

Earl Holliman like Jack Lord was a rider of broncos and he also was after a national championship. At the same time Earl had a younger brother Andrew Prine who wants the same life, but Holliman is discouraging it. Still Prine tags along with him, to every event where one or both have some kind of experience.

In a nutshell that was both Stoney Burke and The Wide Country. The success of films like The Lusty Men, J.W. Coop, and 8 Seconds show that rodeo does have a big screen appeal. Maybe someday, someone will capture that appeal for the small screen.