Wildside (American TV series) explained

Genre:Western
Creator:Tom Greene
Composer:Jack Elliott
Country:United States
Language:English
Num Seasons:1
Num Episodes:6
Producer:William F. Phillips
Cinematography:Roland "Ozzie" Smith
Camera:Single-camera
Runtime:48 mins.
Channel:ABC

Wildside is an American television series aired by ABC from March to April 1985. The series stars William Smith, J. Eddie Peck, Howard Rollins, Sandy McPeak, Terry Funk, John D'Aquino, and Meg Ryan.[1]

The series aired for six episodes, from March 21 to April 25, 1985.[2]

Plot

Five outlaws once roamed the U.S. Western territories. The leader and organizer was J. Wendell Summerhayes, while the other members were Brodie Hollister, Varges de la Cosa, Bannister Sparks, and Prometheus Jones.[3] The five outlaws went straight and Summerhayes became the governor of California. The other four men became businessmen in the town of Wildside, CA, and form the "Chamber of Commerce." Brodie's son Sutton was raised in the East by Brodie's wife but traveled to Wildside to be with his father. Although Wildside is normally peaceful, trouble inevitably arises either when criminals come to town or when Summerhayes appeal to his former gang members for help. When their services are needed, the five men don their weapons and go on a "hunting party" to deal with the problem.

The series was produced by Touchstone Television, a then-new division of Walt Disney Productions. Although it featured several shootouts and fistfights per episode, there were very few on-screen deaths. Much of the violence was presented in a stylized and bloodless manner, similar to that of The A-Team.

Characters

CharacterActor
Brodie Hollister, expert marksman. Works as a horse breeder and trainerWilliam Smith
Sutton Hollister, also an expert marksman and learned fencing at an Eastern college. Works with his father raising horsesJ. Eddie Peck
Varges de la Cosa, expert with throwing weapons, favors bolos and knives. Works as a gun salesman, although he despises them personally John D'Aquino
Bannister Sparks, demolitions expert. Runs a mercantile businessHoward Rollins
Prometheus Jones, extremely strong and expert with a lasso. Works as the town veterinarianTerry Funk
Cally Oaks, editor of the Wildside newspaper, attracted to Sutton HollisterMeg Ryan
Governor J.W. Summerhayes, governor of CaliforniaSandy McPeak
Alice Freeze the young and attractive town mortician. Romantically interested in Varges, and intrigued by death.Robin Hoff
Skillet, the long-suffering chef at the town's restaurant.Timothy Scott
Elliot Throgmorton, Cally Oaks' assistant editor.
Zeke, a local boy.Jason Hervey

Reception and cancellation

Wildside was aired as a mid-season replacement and put on Thursday nights against the popular The Cosby Show. Due to low ratings, the series was canceled after one month.

Episodes

Season 1

Notes and References

  1. Book: Brooks . Tim . The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present . Marsh . Earle F. . . 2007 . 978-0-345-49773-4 . New York . 1120 . en . Tim Brooks (historian) . May 28, 2021.
  2. Book: Cotter . Bill . The Wonderful World of Disney Television . Hyperion Books . 1997 . 0-7868-6359-5 . 230–231 . en . June 6, 2021.
  3. News: Grenier . Richard . 1985-03-21 . 'Wildside,' a Western . . 2021-06-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150524170956/http://www.nytimes.com/1985/03/21/arts/wildside-a-western.html . 2015-05-24.