High Mountain Rangers
High Mountain Rangers was an American adventure drama series about a group of highly trained wilderness search and rescue/law enforcement officers in Tahoe, Nevada.
| High Mountain Rangers | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Action |
| Created by | Robert Conrad David J. Kinghorn |
| Directed by | Joan Conrad Robert Conrad |
| Starring | Robert Conrad |
| Opening theme | "High Mountain Rangers" performed by Lee Greenwood |
| Composer | Robert Folk |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 12 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Joan Conrad |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production companies | A. Shane Company with Sibling Rivalries Black Sheep Productions |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Original release | January 2 – April 9, 1988 |
| Related | |
| Jesse Hawkes | |
It starred Robert Conrad as Jesse Hawkes and also starred his two sons, Christian Conrad and Shane Conrad. Robert's daughter Joan was the executive producer. 12 episodes were broadcast, from January 2 until April 9, 1988 on CBS, before the show was cancelled. The series also had a spin-off titled Jesse Hawkes.
The series was centered on Jesse Hawkes, an ex-Marine who started the High Mountain Rangers 35 years before the pilot. He retired after hauling his long-time nemesis, murderous criminal mastermind T.J. Cousins, to justice. Spared the death penalty on a legal technicality, Cousins instead was given life imprisonment without eligibility for parole. Meanwhile, Jesse's eldest son Matt tries out for the HMRs and eventually becomes the team's #2 Ranger...after Merlin (guest star Rick J. Porter as Ranger "Merlin" Pierce) who succeeded Jesse as director. Then Cousins gets broken out of jail by a drug dealer needing his mountain skills, and fatally ambushes Merlin. Now, as the team's third director, Matt urges his father out of retirement to help the Rangers recapture Cousins.
Cast
Each Ranger had a CALL SIGN (ie TOP GUN, MERLIN, FLYING TIGER); this was used whenever the HMRs were in the field.
- Robert Conrad as Jesse "Top Gun" Hawkes
- Christian Conrad as Matt "Flying Tiger" Hawkes
- Shane Conrad as Cody Hawkes
- Russell Todd as Jim "Flash" Cutler
- Pa Neumüller (billed as P.A. Christian) as Robin "Frostbite" Kelly
- Timothy Erwin (Robert Conrad's real-life son-in-law) as Izzy "the Pocatello Kid" Flowers
- Eugene Williams as Tim "Black Magic" Hart
- Tony Acierto as Frank "White Eagle" Avila
- Guest star Rick J. Porter as Ranger "Merlin" Pierce
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Only Place to Live" | Unknown | Unknown | January 2, 1988 |
| 2 | "Old Friends, New Friends" | Unknown | Unknown | January 9, 1988 |
| 3 | "The Trial of Jesse Hawkes" | Unknown | Unknown | January 16, 1988 |
| 4 | "The Competitors" | Unknown | Unknown | January 23, 1988 |
| 5 | "War Games" | Unknown | Unknown | January 30, 1988 |
| 6 | "The Run of Her Life" | Unknown | Unknown | February 6, 1988 |
| 7 | "Mr. Right" | Unknown | Unknown | February 13, 1988 |
| 8 | "Sacred Ground" | Unknown | Unknown | February 20, 1988 |
| 9 | "The Wild" | Unknown | Unknown | February 27, 1988 |
| 10 | "Ordeal" | Unknown | Unknown | March 5, 1988 |
| 11 | "Asylum" | Unknown | Unknown | March 19, 1988 |
| 12 | "Matt's Choice" | Unknown | Unknown | April 9, 1988 |
References
- Tim Brooks; Earle F. Marsh (24 June 2009). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. Random House Publishing Group. p. 611. ISBN 978-0-307-48320-1.