YOUNG RIDERS, THE: THE KID {SERIES PREMIERE} (TV)
Summary
The first in this Western drama series about a group of young Pony Express riders in the antebellum Nebraska Territory. In this episode, a young rider known only as The Kid wanders through a town and takes a liking to a certain horse. Her owner demands $25 for her, and The Kid immediately enters a boxing match with the fearsome Irish Johnny McClarnen. Despite the boxer's great strength, The Kid manages to stay upright for three minutes and wins $30, then immediately purchasing the horse, Katy. Spotting a sign, he then signs up to be a Pony Express rider and is given a Bible and some money for his trouble, as the job is dangerous. He meets the eccentric Teaspoon, a former Texas Ranger who provides the new recruits with instructions, and The Kid meets the rest of his group, including the half-Kiowa Running Buck, the mute McSwain, the arrogant Cody, the hot-tempered Hickok and the skilled rider Lou. Hickok soon challenges The Kid to a shoot-out, and a rivalry grows between the two. The group delivers a number of seven-barreled guns to Emma Shannon, the Sweetwater Station "den mother," and when she takes them into town, she greets the Marshal Sam Cain, who flirts with her.
The group then encounters a rowdy group of thieves who have recently robbed a nearby camp. Later, natives pursue The Kid, but he scares them off with firecrackers. During dinner at Emma's, McSwain is kicked by his horse and Hickok wants to put the animal down, but McSwain frantically stops him and Emma tends to his injury. Lou is then robbed by the thieves, and when The Kid attempts to help, he discovers that she is really Louise, a girl in disguise, and he promises to keep her secret. The group pursues the robbers and, upon realizing that they are outnumbered, sends McSwain back to Emma's for the seven-barreled guns and fires upon the crooks, defeating them. The men are taken into the town jail, but they soon attack the deputy and escape. The Kid seeks advice from Teaspoon about women, and when he wanders off into the woods, encounters the robbers again, and they threaten to kill him. The Kid manages to shoot two of them and escape, but Katy is injured, and a distraught Kid considers putting her down. The Marshal intervenes, however, and helps him remove the bullet from the horse. Later, Louise thanks The Kid for maintaining her cover, and sparks fly between them. Teaspoon congratulates the boys on handling the situation with the robbers, but warns them that their hard times are only just starting. Includes commercials and promos.
The production is briefly interrupted by an ABC News Special Report, delivered by Ted Koppel, regarding a crashed airplane at LaGuardia International Airport.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: September 20, 1989 8:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:00:00
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:15304
- GENRE: Drama, western
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, western
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 1989-1992
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - Actifed cold medication
- TV - Commercials - Burger King restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Century 21 realtors
- TV - Commercials - Chevrolet Geo automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Clorox laundry detergent
- TV - Commercials - Hyundai automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Oldsmobile automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Pizza Hut restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Sears stores
- TV - Commercials - Selsun Blue dandruff shampoo
- TV - Commercials - TV Guide magazine
- TV - Commercials - Toyota Camry automobiles
- TV - Promos - "Anything But Love"
- TV - Promos - "Doogie Howser, M.D."
- TV - Promos - "Free Spirit"
- TV - Promos - "Homeroom"
- TV - Promos - "Mission: Impossible"
- TV - Promos - "Nightline"
- TV - Promos - "Primetime Live"
- TV - Promos - "The Preppie Murder"
- TV - Promos - "The Young Riders"
CREDITS
- Josh Kane … Executive Producer
- Michael Ogiens … Executive Producer
- Ed Spielman … Supervising Producer, Writer
- Harvey Frand … Producer
- Tony Palermo … Associate Producer
- Robert Lieberman … Director
- John Debney … Music by
- Stephen Baldwin … Cast, William F. Cody
- Josh Brolin … Cast, James Butler Hickok
- Brett Cullen … Cast, Marshal Sam Cain
- Travis Fine … Cast, Ike McSwain
- Melissa Leo … Cast, Emma Shannon
- Ty Miller … Cast, The Kid
- Gregg Rainwater … Cast, Running Buck Cross
- Yvonne Suhor … Cast, Louise McCloud
- Anthony Zerbe … Cast, Teaspoon
- Eric Christmas … Cast, Paddy McGirk
- David Marshall … Cast, Scarface
- David Dunard … Cast, Wesley
- Jim Beaver … Cast, Johnson
- Ace Mask … Cast, Henry Lovell
- John Kendal … Cast, Prospector
- Adrian Lopez … Cast, Plainsman
- John-Clay Scott … Cast, Irish Johnny McClarnen
- Glynn Williams … Cast, Deputy Bob
- Ted Koppel