The Young Pioneers (TV series)
Encyclopedia
The Young Pioneers is a three-episode ABC
western
television series starring Linda Purl
(born 1955) and Roger Kern (born 1948) in the role of young newlyweds Molly and David Beaton, who settle in the Dakota Territory
during the 1870s
. The program was based on novels of Rose Wilder Lane
, daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder
, whose work inspired NBC
's Little House on the Prairie
starring Michael Landon
. The Young Pioneers aired at 7 p.m. Eastern on Sundays on April 2, 9, and 16, 1978.
The recurring cast included Robert Hays
(born 1947) as Dan Gray, Robert Donner
(1931–2006) as Mr. Peters, Mare Winningham
(born 1959) as Nettie Peters, Michelle Stacy as Flora Peters, and Jeff Cotler (born 1967) as Charlie Peters. A Martinez
(born 1948) portrayed the Indian Circling Hawk. Geno Silva (born 1948) played another Indian, Fool's Crow.
The episodes are entitled "Sky in the Window", "A Kite for Charlie", and "The Promise of Spring".
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
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...
television series starring Linda Purl
Linda Purl
Linda Purl is an American actress and singer, perhaps best known for portraying Ben Matlock's daughter Charlene Matlock in season one of Matlock.-Early life and education abroad:...
(born 1955) and Roger Kern (born 1948) in the role of young newlyweds Molly and David Beaton, who settle in the Dakota Territory
Dakota Territory
The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of North and South Dakota.The Dakota Territory consisted of...
during the 1870s
1870s
The 1870s continued the trends of the previous decade, as new empires, imperialism and militarism rose in Europe and Asia. America was recovering from the Civil War. Germany declared independence in 1871 and began its Second Reich. Labor unions and strikes occurred worldwide in the later part of...
. The program was based on novels of Rose Wilder Lane
Rose Wilder Lane
Rose Wilder Lane was an American journalist, travel writer, novelist, and political theorist...
, daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder was an American author who wrote the Little House series of books based on her childhood in a pioneer family...
, whose work inspired NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Little House on the Prairie
Little House on the Prairie (TV series)
Little House on the Prairie is an American Western drama television series, starring Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert, about a family living on a farm in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, in the 1870s and 1880s. The show was an adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder's best-selling series of Little House books...
starring Michael Landon
Michael Landon
Michael Landon was an American actor, writer, director, and producer. He is widely known for his roles as Little Joe Cartwright in Bonanza , Charles Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie , and Jonathan Smith in Highway to Heaven...
. The Young Pioneers aired at 7 p.m. Eastern on Sundays on April 2, 9, and 16, 1978.
The recurring cast included Robert Hays
Robert Hays
Robert Hays is an American actor and is arguably most well known for his role in the movie Airplane!-Life and career:...
(born 1947) as Dan Gray, Robert Donner
Robert Donner
Robert Donner was an American actor who made many appearances in television series and films in a career spanning more than 40 years.-Early life and career:...
(1931–2006) as Mr. Peters, Mare Winningham
Mare Winningham
Mare Winningham , born Mary Megan Winningham, is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She has been nominated once for an Academy Award, Golden Globe and Drama Desk, 7 times for Emmy Awards , and has also won an Independent Spirit Award and two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations.She is...
(born 1959) as Nettie Peters, Michelle Stacy as Flora Peters, and Jeff Cotler (born 1967) as Charlie Peters. A Martinez
A Martinez
Adolfo Larrue Martinez, III , better known as A Martinez, is an American actor and singer with roles in the daytime soap opera Santa Barbara and the primetime dramas L.A. Law and Profiler.-Early life:...
(born 1948) portrayed the Indian Circling Hawk. Geno Silva (born 1948) played another Indian, Fool's Crow.
The episodes are entitled "Sky in the Window", "A Kite for Charlie", and "The Promise of Spring".