Wrangler is an American Western television series starring Jason Evers that aired on the NBC television network from August 4 to September 15, 1960.
In Wrangler, Evers played Pitcairn, a wrangler who roamed the Old West, finding adventures and helping people along the way. However, Wrangler did not have much of a chance to find adventure because the series lasted only for six episodes. It was a summer replacement series for The Ford Show Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford, but did not garner high enough ratings to become a full-fledged series.
This was the first time that Evers was a regular on a network TV series, and he was the only actor to appear in all episodes. Three years after Wrangler, Evers landed the lead in the 26-episode ABC drama Channing, set on a fictitious college campus.
Wrangler was the first TV series created by future Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. [1] [2]
Wrangler stood out among westerns chiefly because it was the first of its genre to be videotaped rather than filmed.[3] It earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Electronic Camerawork in 1961,[4] but the innovative technique led to numerous production problems and delays at KTLA, where it was produced.[5]
Guest stars included Tyler McVey in the episode "Incident at the Bar M," also known as "Episode at the Bar M." UCLA has preserved that and other episodes in its Film and Television Archive.[6]
Episodes
- “Episode At The Bar-M”[7]
- “A Time For Hanging”[8]
- "Affair at the Trading Post"[9]
- “The Affair With Browning’s Woman”[10]
- “Incident At The Wide Loop”[11]
- “A Crisis Named Wavelin”[12]
Never aired
- “Encounter At Elephant Butte”[13]
- Podcasters Earl Green, Ashley Thomas and John Champion discovered in 2024-2025 that the episode "Encounter At Elephant Butte" (scheduled to air first on Sept. 8, then preempted and rescheduled to air on Sept. 15, 1960) was likely never finished, and that "A Crisis Named Wavelin" was completed and aired instead, too late for the TV listings to be updated.[12]
- Edward J. Lasko wrote another script, “The Incident of the Magic Elixir," that was never produced.[14]
References
- ^ "Introducing Wrangler". Mission Log: Gene-ology (Podcast).
- ^ Interview: GENE-OLOGY uncovers WRANGLER as Gene Roddenberry’s first series creator credit.
- ^ "TV Acres". 12 September 2023.
- ^ "Wrangler - IMDb". IMDb.
- ^ KTLA Innovation: Television’s First Videotaped Western ‘The Wrangler’
- ^ "Television Programs Preserved By UCLA 1988-2012". Archived from the original on 2014-08-10. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
- ^ "Episode At The Bar-M". Mission Log: Gene-ology (Podcast).
- ^ "A Time For Hanging". Mission Log: Gene-ology (Podcast).
- ^ "Affair at the Trading Post". Mission Log: Gene-ology (Podcast).
- ^ “The Affair With Browning’s Woman”. Mission Log: Gene-ology (Podcast).
- ^ “Incident At The Wide Loop”. Mission Log: Gene-ology (Podcast).
- ^ a b “A Crisis Named Wavelin”. Mission Log: Gene-ology (Podcast).
- ^ “Encounter At Elephant Butte”. Mission Log: Gene-ology (Podcast).
- ^ “The Incident of the Magic Elixir”. Mission Log: Gene-ology (Podcast).
- McNeil, Alex. Total Television (1996). New York: Penguin Books ISBN 0-14-024916-8
- Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows (1999). New York: Ballantine Books ISBN 0-345-42923-0