With television Western series in full comeback mode, Craig Johnson returning to Spokane for another Northwest Passages appearance and memories still very sharp of the series based on his long-running “Longmire” Western mysteries, today would be a great day to go rollin', rollin', rollin' through the rich history of Westerns on the small screen. Hi-Yo, Silver! Awaaaaay!
The Lone Ranger
DEBUT: Sept. 15, 1949 — 5 seasons, 221 episodes
Clayton Moore starred as the famed masked crimefighting Texas Ranger and Jay Silverheels as his sidekick, Tonto, in a show that was created for a radio series in 1933 and then ported over to comic books and movie serials. The show quickly became ABC's highest-rated program and its first big hit.
Gunsmoke
DEBUT: Sept. 10, 1955 — 20 seasons, 635 episodes
The first TV Western not aimed at children, “Gunsmoke” had spent 9 years as a radio drama before it converted to TV, replacing William Conrad with James Arness as hardworking marshal Matt Dillon in Dodge City, Kansas. Amanda Blake played a saloon keeper and — until 1964 — Dennis Weaver Dillon's sidekick.
Maverick
DEBUT: Sept. 22, 1957 — 5 seasons, 124 episodes
Not exactly a comedy but not exactly serious either, James Garner and Jack Kelly played brothers who were card sharks and not terribly talented in a gunfight. They typically alternated episodes but sometimes appeared together. Garner left after the third season and was replaced by Roger Moore.
Wanted Dead Or Alive
DEBUT: Sept. 6, 1958 — 3 seasons, 94 episodes
Steve McQueen starred as a bounty hunter who carried a distinctive weapon he called his “Mare's Leg”: a cross between a handgun and a rifle. McQueen's movie career had stalled, leading him to take a TV role. After the show was canceled, he was cast in “The Magnificent Seven,” reviving his career.
The Rifleman
DEBUT: Sept. 30, 1958 — 5 seasons, 168 episodes
Chuck Connors played a Civil War veteran and widower trying to raise his young son and run a small ranch near a small New Mexico town. He finds himself called away frequently by the town's marshal to help rid the area of lawless types. Twelve-year-old Johnny Crawford played the son.
Rawhide
DEBUT: Jan. 9, 1959 — 8 seasons, 217 episodes
Clint Eastwood and Eric Fleming starred as men who ran cattle drives back-and-forth across the West, running into various people and having adventures along the way. Fleming left after a contract dispute, leaving Eastwood as the show's primary star. Fleming then was killed a year later while filming a movie
Bonaza
DEBUT: Sept. 12, 1959 — 14 seasons, 431 episodes
Lorne Greene played the owner of an enormous ranch on the eastern shore of Nevada's Lake Tahoe. He had been widowed three times and has a son by each of his three wives — played by Pernell Roberts, Dan Blocker and Michael Landon. Blocker's sudden death in 1972 led to the cancellation of the show.
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman
DEBUT: Jan. 1, 1993 — 6 seasons, 150 episodes
A doctor played by Jane Seymour leaves her home in Boston to set up her own practice in Colorado Springs in the years following the Civil War. She fosters three children whose mother is killed, finds a boyfriend — played by Joe Lando — and faces constant reluctance from locals to trust a female doctor.
Yellowstone
DEBUT: June 20, 2018 — 5 seasons, 47 episodes
Kevin Costner plays the present-day patriarch of a large cattle ranch that shares a border with Yellowstone National Park. Costner announced earlier this year he'll leave the show at the end of this season. Prequel series debuted in 2021 and 2022 with at least four more spinoff series on the way.
Longmire
DEBUT: June 3, 2012 — 6 seasons, 63 episodes
Walt Longmire, the sheriff of a rural county in Wyoming, is a recent widower whose daughter worries about his apparent inability to move on with his life. Played by Robert Taylor, Longmire investigates a number of major crimes with the help of his daughter (played by Cassidy Freeman) his deputies (played by Katee Sackho, Bailey Chase and Adam Barley) and his best friend (played by Lou Diamond Phillips), a Cheyenne who helps Longmire navigate Native American customs, issues with the reservation and helps him win cooperation from tribal police officers.
After three seasons on A&E, the series was picked up by Netflix in 2015 for another three seasons. “Longmire” ended in 2017, but the entire series is available for streaming on Netflix.
The series is based on a series of mystery novels written by Craig Johnson. Johnson's 25th Longmire novel, “The Longmire Defense,” will be released Sept. 5.
On Sept. 6, Johnson will be the guest at a Northwest Passages book club event at the Bing Crosby Theater. For more information: Click here!
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This edition of Further Review was adapted for the web by Zak Curley.