YOUNG RIDERS, THE: KANSAS (TV)
Summary
One in this Western drama series about a group of young Pony Express riders in the antebellum Nebraska Territory.
In this episode, Teaspoon warns Noah to stay out of Missouri, as it is still a slave state and groups of slave-catchers having been recapturing runaways all over Missouri, though Noah is offended by the suggestion. Elsewhere, at a church, the preacher begs his congregants to take some escaped slaves into their homes to protect them on their journey north, though many are afraid of risking their own safety. Jericho Taylor, the schoolmaster and Noah's former teacher, sternly reminds them all about their own slave ancestors and urges them to show kindness. However, the slave-catchers, led by the sadistic Barnes, then storm the church to reclaim their "property," and Jericho is grabbed. Back in Nebraska, Noah tells Jimmy that he is headed to Kansas, as he wants to reclaim a silver saddle that belonged to his father and is now being held by a shopkeeper; Jimmy soon learns that the saddle has been offered up as a prize in a poker game in Saddle Falls.
Noah, frustrated to hear that the shopkeeper sold the saddle when he did not reclaim it within a month, is shocked to learn of Jericho's capture. As Jimmy and The Kid ride off to help Noah rescue Jericho, Rachel and Lou decide to head to Saddle Falls to see about the poker game. Upon their arrival, Rachel learns that an old acquaintance, J.D. Higgins, has already won the saddle, and Rachel resolves to win it back from him. Jimmy and The Kid observe a protest outside a runaway slave trial, and Noah sneaks into the barn where Jericho and the others are being held; Jericho, refusing to leave his parishioners behind, finds that he cannot bring himself to shoot the slave-catchers. Despite being free, Noah is captured alongside the others, and Barnes smugly tells him to "learn his place." Barnes then tries to sell Jericho, though the prospective buyers are wary of his "book-learning," while elsewhere J.D. plays against Rachel with the help of his "good luck charm" and manservant, Andrew.
Aware that Noah cares for Jericho, Barnes decides to beat the schoolmaster as punishment for Noah's defiance; Lou's eavesdropping reveals that J.D. is in debt to Andrew, who angrily reminds him that he "found him in the gutter." Jimmy visits his sister and brother-in-law in Fort Leavenworth to ask for help from their anti-slavery vigilance committee; they are angered by his six-year absence and point out that Barnes' actions are technically legal within Missouri. The Kid visits Barnes and, pretending to support slavery, requests a job; he fakes a fight with Noah to avoid whipping him. Rachel challenges J.D. to throw the silver saddle into the pot as Lou distracts Andrew,. Elsewhere, Nathan, having been roundly scolded by Celinda, changes his mind and rides out with his posse to assist Jimmy. The Kid works with Noah to free Jericho and the others, and though Noah struggles to shoot Barnes point-blank, Barnes ends up dead after a tussle over the gun. Jimmy bids farewell to his father's grave, admitting that he now understands why he was willing to sacrifice his life for abolition. After a heart-to-heart with Jericho, Noah returns home and is delighted to find that Rachel has won back his father's saddle after all. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: January 12, 1991 4:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:48:30
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:23176
- GENRE: Drama, western
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, western; African-American Collection - Drama; Slavery
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 1989-1992
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Jonas McCord … Executive Producer
- Larry Rapaport … Coordinating Producer
- Ed Spielman … Supervising Producer, Created by
- Christopher Seitz … Producer
- Raymond Hartung … Co-Producer
- Steve Baum … Co-Producer, Writer
- Tony Palermo … Associate Producer
- Virgil W. Vogel … Director
- James L. Crite … Writer
- John Debney … Music by
- Stephen Baldwin … Cast, William F. Cody
- Josh Brolin … Cast, James Butler Hickok
- Travis Fine … Cast, Ike McSwain
- Don Franklin … Cast, Noah Dixon
- Ty Miller … Cast, The Kid
- Gregg Rainwater … Cast, Running Buck Cross
- Yvonne Suhor … Cast, Louise McCloud
- Clare Wren … Cast, Rachel Dunne
- Anthony Zerbe … Cast, Teaspoon
- Barry Cullison … Cast, Barnes
- Richard Roundtree … Cast, Jericho Taylor
- Andrew Marcellous … Cast, Andrew
- Ric San Nicholas … Cast, Nathan Smith
- Jason Kenny … Cast, J.D. Higgins
- Lee E. Wells Jr. … Cast, Robert
- Burney Starks … Cast, Thomas
- Roger Carter … Cast, Preacher