The Loner
Encyclopedia
The Loner is an American
western
series that ran for less than one season on CBS
from 1965
to 1966
, under the alternate sponsorship of Philip Morris
and Procter & Gamble
.
. Lloyd Bridges
played the title character, William Colton, a former Union
cavalry
officer who headed to the American west in search of a new life. Each episode dealt with Colton's encounters with various individuals on his trek west.
Rod Serling
was the series' creator. Longtime TV Guide
critic Cleveland Amory
wrote that Serling "obviously intended [The Loner] to be a realistic, adult Western," but the show's ratings indicated it was "either too real for a public grown used to the unreal Western or too adult for juvenile Easterners." Serling had expressed an open distaste for television Westerns in an editorial that set up the premise for "Showdown with Rance McGrew
," an episode of The Twilight Zone
, in which he as quoted as saying: "it seems a reasonable conjecture that if there are any television sets up in cowboy heaven and any of these rough-and-wooly nail-eaters could see with what careless abandon their names and exploits are being bandied about, they're very likely turning over in their graves - or worse, getting out of them."
In one episode titled "The Oath," Barry Sullivan
played a surgeon who'd lost the use of his right hand and had to give Colton verbal directions on how to remove a gunfighter's ruptured appendix.
In "The Homecoming of Lemuel Stove," Brock Peters
played a black Union soldier returning home to see his father. The soldier made it back to his hometown only to learn his father had been lynched the previous evening by members of a Klan
-like group.
The Loner aired Saturday nights at 9:30 Eastern
. It debuted on September 18, 1965; the final episode aired March 12, 1966; selected repeats continued through April 30th.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
series that ran for less than one season on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
from 1965
1965 in television
The year 1965 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1965.For the American TV schedule, see: 1965-66 American network television schedule.-Events:...
to 1966
1966 in television
The year 1966 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1966.For the American TV schedule, see: 1966-67 American network television schedule.-Events:...
, under the alternate sponsorship of Philip Morris
Philip Morris
- Philip/Phillip Morris :*Altria Group, conglomerate company previously known as Philip Morris Companies Inc., named after the 19th century tobacconist**Philip Morris USA, tobacco company wholly owned by Altria Group...
and Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....
.
Synopsis
The series was set in the years immediately following the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. Lloyd Bridges
Lloyd Bridges
Lloyd Vernet Bridges, Jr. was an American actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. Bridges is best known for his role of Mike Nelson in Sea Hunt, the most-popular syndicated American TV series in 1958...
played the title character, William Colton, a former Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
officer who headed to the American west in search of a new life. Each episode dealt with Colton's encounters with various individuals on his trek west.
Rod Serling
Rod Serling
Rodman Edward "Rod" Serling was an American screenwriter, novelist, television producer, and narrator best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his science fiction anthology TV series, The Twilight Zone. Serling was active in politics, both on and off the screen and helped form...
was the series' creator. Longtime TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
critic Cleveland Amory
Cleveland Amory
Cleveland Amory was an American author who devoted his life to promoting animal rights. He was perhaps best known for his books about his cat, named Polar Bear, whom he saved from the Manhattan streets on Christmas Eve 1977...
wrote that Serling "obviously intended [The Loner] to be a realistic, adult Western," but the show's ratings indicated it was "either too real for a public grown used to the unreal Western or too adult for juvenile Easterners." Serling had expressed an open distaste for television Westerns in an editorial that set up the premise for "Showdown with Rance McGrew
Showdown With Rance McGrew
"Showdown With Rance McGrew" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.-Synopsis:TV cowboy star Rance McGrew is ready to shoot a scene—in which Jesse James shoots him in the back—when he suddenly finds himself in a real Old West saloon...
," an episode of The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)
The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964. The series consisted of unrelated episodes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events; each show typically featured a surprising...
, in which he as quoted as saying: "it seems a reasonable conjecture that if there are any television sets up in cowboy heaven and any of these rough-and-wooly nail-eaters could see with what careless abandon their names and exploits are being bandied about, they're very likely turning over in their graves - or worse, getting out of them."
In one episode titled "The Oath," Barry Sullivan
Barry Sullivan (actor)
Barry Sullivan was an American movie actor who appeared in over 100 movies from the 1930s to the 1980s.Born in New York City, Sullivan fell into acting when in college playing semi-pro football...
played a surgeon who'd lost the use of his right hand and had to give Colton verbal directions on how to remove a gunfighter's ruptured appendix.
In "The Homecoming of Lemuel Stove," Brock Peters
Brock Peters
Brock Peters was an American actor, best known for playing the role of Tom Robinson in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird...
played a black Union soldier returning home to see his father. The soldier made it back to his hometown only to learn his father had been lynched the previous evening by members of a Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
-like group.
The Loner aired Saturday nights at 9:30 Eastern
North American Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
. It debuted on September 18, 1965; the final episode aired March 12, 1966; selected repeats continued through April 30th.
Episode list
| Episode # | Episode title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1-1 | "An Echo of Bugles" (pilot) | September 18, 1965 |
| 1-2 | "The Vespers" | September 25, 1965 |
| 1-3 | "The Lonely Calico Queen" | October 2, 1965 |
| 1-4 | "The Kingdom of McComb" | October 9, 1965 |
| 1-5 | "One of the Wounded" | October 16, 1965 |
| 1-6 | "The Flight of the Arctic Tern" | October 23, 1965 |
| 1-7 | "Widow on the Evening Stage" | October 30, 1965 |
| 1-8 | "The House Rules at Mrs. Wayne's" | November 6, 1965 |
| 1-9 | "The Sheriff of Fetterman's Crossing" | November 13, 1965 |
| 1-10 | "The Homecoming of Lemuel Stove" | November 20, 1965 |
| 1-11 | "Westward, the Shoemaker" | November 27, 1965 |
| 1-12 | "The Oath" | December 4, 1965 |
| 1-13 | "Hunt the Man Down" | December 11, 1965 |
| 1-14 | "Escort for a Dead Man" | December 18, 1965 |
| 1-15 | "The Ordeal of Bud Windom" | December 25, 1965 |
| 1-16 | "To the West of Eden" | January 1, 1966 |
| 1-17 | "Mantrap" | January 8, 1966 |
| 1-18 | "A Little Stroll to the End of the Line" | January 15, 1966 |
| 1-19 | "The Trial in Paradise" | January 22, 1966 |
| 1-20 | "A Question of Guilt" | January 29, 1966 |
| 1-21 | "The Mourners for Johnny Sharp" (part one) | February 5, 1966 |
| 1-22 | "The Mourners for Johnny Sharp" (part two) | February 12, 1966 |
| 1-23 | "Incident in the Middle of Nowhere" | February 19, 1966 |
| 1-24 | "Pick Me Another Time to Die" | February 26, 1966 |
| 1-25 | "The Burden of the Badge" | March 5, 1966 |
| 1-26 | "To Hang A Dead Man" | March 12, 1966 |