Stoney Burke/The Wide Country (1 Viewer)

[Bob Hug]

I’d surely love to see both of these dramas, which were originally broadcast in the 1962-63 season and used the rodeo as a backdrop, get an official studio release but I’d be shocked if that happened. Both had excellent casts; “Stoney Burke” had Jack Lord, Warren Oates, Bruce Dern, and Bob Dowdell (pre-“Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea”), while the “The Wide Country” had Earl Holliman and Andrew Prine. Of the two, my guess is that “Stoney Burke” might have a better chance given the higher profile cast, and it was also made by Leslie Stevens’ Daystar Productions, the same company that made “The Outer Limits.” These just beg for a release from one of the independents.

 

[Michael Alden]

Both fall into the early 60s pit of quality 1 hour black and white dramas languishing in the vaults. While this era was abundant with quality shows, they unfortunately have been relegated to the storage warehouses due to them being black and white and also not having had much exposure in a very long time. I think you could take all of the forgotten and buried show from the 1960-65 time period and put together a network that would be better than anything on the air today, broadcast or cable.

 

[michael_ks]

Well, I'd like to think that my "dream network" would be. And it could even be done exclusively with television series not yet released on DVD. To wit:

Monday

7:00 pm The Invaders
8:00 pm T.H.E. Cat
8:30 pm Route 66
9:30 pm Hong Kong
10:00 pm Saints and Sinners

Tuesday

7:00 pm The Fugitive
8:00 pm The Green Hornet
8:30 pm Way Out
9:00 pm Thriller
9:30 pm Five Fingers
10:00 pm The Lieutenant

Wednesday

7:00 pm The Untouchables
8:00 pm Naked City (1st season)
8:30 pm Sea Hunt
9:00 pm 12 O' Clock High
9:30 pm The Rebel
10:00 pm Trackdown

A couple of shows are outside the '60-'65 range. I'll leave it up to others to fill in the rest of the week's prime time line-up.

I've never heard of "The Wide Country", but have always been intrigued with "Stoney Burke" because it was a Leslie Stevens production and the fact that Dominic Frontiere was the principal composer. In fact, some of his cues were used in OL-63.

 

[Bob Hug]

Michael, "The Wide Country" was broadcast the same year as "Stoney Burke," though I'm unsure if it went head-to-head. In any event, the link below will take you to a fan site that will give you the basics of the show (young Johnny Williams did the theme music). As a youngster I was allowed to watch "The Wide Country" on a regular basis but only recall seeing a few episodes of "Stoney Burke," which really deserves some sort of revival given the talent both in front of and behind the camera. It drives me crazy that quality, well-written and acted dramas like these sit idle in the vaults.

http://www.geocities.com/akeeney274/index.htm

 

[Bert Greene]

I'm quite fond of both series. For a brief while, CBN used to rerun "Stoney Burke" back around 1987, late at night. I'm glad I managed to tape most of the episodes. Having Warren Oates and Bruce Dern as regulars sure added color to the proceedings. A really good series. As for the "The Wide Country," I've only seen about five or six episodes, but I liked it a lot. It seemed a tad more "Route 66-ish" in its approach, whereas "Stoney" really concentrates a lot on the rodeo milieu. Both would be great to see on dvd, but I'm not holding my breath. It's such a shame these types of shows never really get revived. The quality in tv-drama from back then is often quite amazing.

 

[Michael Alden]

Thursday
7:00 pm Trials of O'Brien
8:00 pm Sam Benedict
9:00 pm The Eleventh Hour
10:00 pm The Nurses

Friday
7:00 pm Tightrope
7:30 pm Honey West
8:00 pm Cain's Hundred
9:00 pm For the People
10:00 pm Coronet Blue

Saturday
7:00 pm Calvin and the Colonel
7:30 pm My Living Doll
8:00 pm The Defenders
9:00 pm Channing
10:00 pm East Side West Side

Sunday
7:00 pm Kentucky Jones
7:30 pm Hennesey
8:00 pm Bus Stop
9:00 pm 87th Precinct
10:00 pm Target: The Corrupters

 

[Jeff#]

I saw it on CBN too (the entire series), but on Saturday afternoons in the mid 1980s.

Stoney Burke was an OK show, but nothing great. It was notable for featuring talented character actors who had already been doing films and TV for years (Lord and Oates) and a newcomer at the time (Dern) -- before any of them became famous. But other than that it was kind of average. Stoney never did win that much-coveted championship rodeo belt buckle either.

 

[michael_ks]

Thanks for the link, Bob. Still another show I'd love to be able to see if only for the appearance of some of my favorite character actors (Ed Nelson, Michael Ansara, Claude Akins). Do you by chance have this book on TV westerns? It would seem to be very comprehensive--should have some good information on SB and WC, although perhaps no better than what the net provides:

http://www.oldwestshop.com/The_Offic...n_Round_Up.htm

 

[Bob Hug]

I don't have the book, but it looks like something I might want to get down the line. I wonder, though, whether SB and/or WC would be in this book as they were modern day westerns and don't really fit with the likes of "Bonanza," "The Lone Ranger," etc. -- the shows that focused on the "old" West. Another (relatively) modern day Western that comes to mind is the John Bromfield series of the late 1950s set in Arizona, "Sheriff of Cochise" (later "U.S. Marshal") that reminds me of a Westernized version of "Highway Patrol." A few public domain episodes of this series are floating around on DVD.

 

[WaveCrest]

Originally Posted by Bob Hug


Michael, "The Wide Country" was broadcast the same year as "Stoney Burke," though I'm unsure if it went head-to-head. In any event, the link below will take you to a fan site that will give you the basics of the show (young Johnny Williams did the theme music). As a youngster I was allowed to watch "The Wide Country" on a regular basis but only recall seeing a few episodes of "Stoney Burke," which really deserves some sort of revival given the talent both in front of and behind the camera. It drives me crazy that quality, well-written and acted dramas like these sit idle in the vaults.

The Wide Country aired on NBC on Thursday nights at 7.30 pm - 8.30 pm. It's competition in the timeslot on the other networks (ABC and CBS) were as follows:


7.30 pm - 8 pm:


ABC: Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet

CBS: Mr. Ed


8 pm - 8.30 pm:


ABC: Donna Reed Show

CBS: Perry Mason (first half hour of a 60 minute show).


Stoney Burke aired on ABC on Monday nights at 9 pm - 10 pm. It's competition in the timeslot on the other networks (CBS and NBC) were as follows:


9 pm - 9.30 pm:


CBS: Danny Thomas Show

NBC: Saints & Sinners (second half hour of a 60 minute show)


9.30 pm - 10 pm:


CBS: Andy Griffith Show

NBC: Price is Right.


It was shown on ABC, but who owns the rights to Stoney Burke?

 

[JamesSmith]

I really wish the soundtrack to Stoney Burke would come out, it has the source to one of my favorite cues that showed up in The Outer Limits and the Fugitive.


I think.


James

 

[michael_ks]

I really wish the soundtrack to Stoney Burke would come out, it has the source to one of my favorite cues that showed up in The Outer Limits and the Fugitive.


I think.


James

When I spoke with someone at LaLaLand Records (they released OL music a couple of years back) I was informed that Stoney Burke would be next but it hasn't materialized. Can you recall an episode and scene in the Outer Limits where the music cue is heard?

 

[Jack P]

Frontiere's music for "Rat Patrol" was just released by LaLaLand, and one of the cues is the same theme (but arranged differently) in the climactic moment of the final episode of "The Fugitive" when Kimble, Gerard and Chandler walk away after Chandler agrees to testify and clear Kimble.

 

[JamesSmith]

Originally Posted by michael_ks

I really wish the soundtrack to Stoney Burke would come out, it has the source to one of my favorite cues that showed up in The Outer Limits and the Fugitive.


I think.


James

When I spoke with someone at LaLaLand Records (they released OL music a couple of years back) I was informed that Stoney Burke would be next but it hasn't materialized. Can you recall an episode and scene in the Outer Limits where the music cue is heard?

The cues I'm looking for are from "The Guests." George Winston did his own version of it on one of his piano collections. It's great, but I would have liked to have the original take of it in my collection.


James

 

[JohnHopper]

"Stoney Burke" as a music was used on three series:


1. THE OUTER LIMITS
Episodes as "The Sixth Finger" (recycled cues from "Point of Entry"), "O.B.I.T.", "It Crawled out of the Woodwork", "The Zanti Misfits" (cues from "Point of Honor"), "The Bellero Shield", "Specimen: Unknown", "Second Chance", "The Guests","The Chameleon" were tracked with it: despite they had original scores, "The Hundred Days of the Dragon", "The Human Factor", "Tourist Attraction", "Controlled Experiment" and "ZZZZZZ" feature Stoney snippets.


The majority of these cues were melancolic and romantic-oriented ones to highlight the fate and the misery of a character.


Examples:

In "O.B.I.T.": the old Dr. Phillip Fletcher is questioned and reveals a family tragedy and we have a sad cue from "Stoney Burke".

In "The Guests": Tess decides to comes out of the time garden and Wade shouts to forbid her and we have a romantic cue from "Stoney Burke".


2. THE FUGITIVE season 4 features both "The Outer Limits" and "Stoney Burke" music.

3. THE RAT PATROL recycled a lot a cue called "Soames Theme" from an episode of "Stoney Burke" entitled "Point of Honor". That same "Soames Theme" was used for the aggressive martial music in "The Zanti Misfits". Moreover, Frontiere rearranged Stoney cues and turned them into new tracks for the series.

 

[Executive]

Dominic Frontiere's TV music in that era was first-rate!


Stoney Burke was also the first episodic offering from Leslie Stevens' Daystar Productions, and Stevens

hired Frontiere to score The Outer Limits the season after Stoney Burke ended.


It should also be noted that Dominic Frontiere was first hired by Quinn Martin for 12 O' Clock High in 1964,

although the First Season Outer Limits music occasionally re-used there was mainly limited to that war drama's

First Season, when Robert Lansing was the star of the show.