The Rousters
The Rousters is an American adventure drama television series about a group of modern-day bounty hunters who are descendants of legendary lawman Wyatt Earp. It aired on NBC from October 1, 1983, until July 21, 1984. Despite advertising claims that this series would "sink The Love Boat" in the ratings, it was canceled in mid-season after only 6 of its 13 episodes had aired, with the remaining shows being burned off during the summer of 1984.
| The Rousters | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Action Drama Tongue-in-cheek humor |
| Created by | Stephen J. Cannell |
| Starring | Hoyt Axton Chad Everett Timothy Gibbs Mimi Rogers Maxine Stuart Jim Varney |
| Opening theme | "Tough Enough" performed by Ronnie Milsap |
| Composers | Mike Post Stephen Geyer |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Stephen J. Cannell |
| Editor | John Elias |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company | Stephen J. Cannell Productions |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | October 1, 1983 – July 21, 1984 |
Premise
Wyatt Earp III (Chad Everett) works as a bouncer for the traveling Sladetown Carnival, run by "Cactus Jack" Slade (Hoyt Axton). Wyatt doesn't care for his embarrassing name or the legacy it represents, but his shotgun-toting mother Amanda (Maxine Stuart) wants to carry on the "family tradition" of keeping law and order through bounty hunting.
Wyatt's brother Evan (Jim Varney) has a penchant for con artistry and bungled repair-work; this character is mostly comic relief. Slade's lion-taming daughter Ellen (Mimi Rogers) is dating Wyatt and tutoring his teenage son Michael (Timothy Gibbs).
Cast
- Chad Everett as Wyatt Earp III
- Maxine Stuart as Amanda Earp
- Hoyt Axton as "Cactus Jack" Slade
- Mimi Rogers as Ellen Slade
- Jim Varney as Evan Earp
- Timothy Gibbs as Michael Earp
Episodes
| Nº | Title | Directed by: | Written by: | Original air date | PC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Marshal of Sladetown" | E.W. Swackhamer | Stephen J. Cannell | October 1, 1983 | 3000 |
| During a very busy week at Sladetown, Wyatt has to bring down a trio of armored-car-heisting brothers; help a woman find her daughter, who's run away because her mother's drunken boyfriend is physically abusive; put a stop to both an insurance defrauder's bogus claim that he hurt his neck after falling off one of the carnival's merry-go-rounds, and to Evan's own money-making scams; and locate Mickey the lion after he gets loose from his cage. | |||||
| 2 | "The Carnival That Ate Sladetown" | Joseph Pevney | Unknown | October 15, 1983 | 3101 |
| 3 | "Finders Keepers" | Dennis Donnelly | Unknown | October 22, 1983 | 3102 |
| 4 | "A Picture's Worth a Thousand Dollars" | Arnold Laven | Babs Greyhosky | October 29, 1983 | 3103 |
| 5 | "Eye Witness Blues" | Ron Satlof | Unknown | December 20, 1983 | 3112 |
| 6 | "Everybody Loves a Clown" | Guy Magar | Frank Lupo | December 27, 1983 | 3104 |
| 7 | "Never Trust a Crystal Ball" | Barry Crane | Terrence McDonnell | June 9, 1984 | 3105 |
| 8 | "Two and a Half Days of the Condor" | Bruce Kessler | Unknown | June 16, 1984 | 3108 |
| 9 | "Slade vs. Slade" | Guy Magar | Babs Greyhosky | June 23, 1984 | 3106 |
| 10 | "Snake Eyes" | Sigmund Neufeld Jr. | Unknown | June 30, 1984 | 3110 |
| 11 | "Cold Streak" | Georg Stanford Brown | Jim Carlson, Terrence McDonnell | July 7, 1984 | 3107 |
| 12 | "This Town Ain't Big Enough for the Twelve of Us" | Guy Magar | Mark Jones | July 14, 1984 | 3111 |
| A band of thieving Gypsies are tossed out of the circus. Evan, Amanda and Wyatt go after them because one of the hubcaps they swiped contains a hidden microchip containing the design of a high-tech toy. | |||||
| 13 | "Wyatt Earp to the Rescue" | Arnold Laven | Jeff Ray | July 21, 1984 | 3109 |