Why did emma leave young riders

Wonderful cast, unforgettable show

I cannot calculate how many hours I have spent watching this show. You only have to check out the fan sites on the internet to see its impact. This must be one of the best (and best-looking) casts ever assembled. Josh Brolin is intense, sexy and magical as 'James Butler Hickock'. Anthony Zerbe hits just the right note as the wise but eccentric 'Teaspoon'. Ty Miller as 'Kid' is sincere and appealing. Gregg Rainwater plays the sensitive 'Buck', a half-breed torn between two worlds but belonging to none. Travis Fine is remarkable as 'Ike', a bald mute. Could any other actor have pulled off such a role? Brett Cullen is the handsome and fair marshal 'Sam Cain', if only he had stayed beyond season 1! Yvonne Suhor gives and amazing and sympathetic portrayal of 'Louise McLoud', a scared but strong woman trying to make it in a man's world by disguising her femininity. Don Franklin plays the intelligent, funny, but frustrated 'Noah Dickson' - who is very far from the usual stereotypical portrayal of blacks in westerns. Chris Pettiet plays 'Jesse James' at 14, a boy anxious to grow up and be a man but badly needing guidance and a sense of family. The comic relief is provided by Stephen Baldwin who gets all the best lines as the obnoxious but endearing 'William F. Cody' (although you may more often than not be laughing at him, not with him). The first housekeeper was 'Emma Shannon' (Melissa Leo), a woman trying to make it in the west after being deserted by her husband. She becomes a mother figure for the riders, something that most of them were lacking. Later came Clare Wren who played the sexy 'Rachel Dunne' who was a lot tougher and wiser than she looked. Well I don't think I missed anyone out. The show also had fantastic guest stars, excellent shoot-outs, and showed the conflicts that were developing between the north and the south at that time. It also showed the true meaning of love and friendship. It was wonderfully shot and had just the right blend of drama, action, and humor. I guess if you've read this far you already know and love the show. Why not write your own comments here? Oh, and "Try a little Jimmyness".

26 out of 26 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

8/10

The 19th Century Greatest Generation

What do MASH and The Young Riders have in common? It's an interesting answer and you'd guess it immediately if you know your history. Both television series lasted longer than the historical event they were set in. MASH which ran over ten years was longer than the three years of the actual Korean War.

The Young Riders lasted for 3 seasons and in real life The Pony Express was started in 1860 and lasted until the beginning of the Civil War. Technology replaced horses, the telegraph invented almost 20 years earlier finally spanned the continent.

Still for its brief time, The Pony Express which was run under government contract by the famous western freighting firm of Russell, Majors&Waddell certainly earned its colorful place in our history. In doing the television show the producers went back into what used to be done in Hollywood westerns, take some frontier legends and weave plots around the names that had nothing to do with real life.

According to this show Buffalo Bill Cody, Wild Bill Hickok and Jesse James all rode for the Pony Express. Of the group only Cody did in real life and he was all of 14 at the time. Stephen Baldwin was a bit older than the real Cody during his Pony Express period. Of course in the film Pony Express the mature Charlton Heston played Cody and Baldwin was certainly closer than him.

In that same film Forrest Tucker played Wild Bill Hickok. Hickok would have been in his early twenties as Josh Brolin was at the time of the series and he did work for Russell,Majors&Waddell at the time. But he was a teamster, he drove their freight wagons. He was too old to be a Young Rider. In fact that was what the Pony Express looked for, young riders, teenage boys looking for a little adventure and a chance to make a decent wage. To those farm and ranch kids trying to make a living off the land, this was a great opportunity.

A third western legend, a child actually at this time also joined The Pony Express. Young Christopher Pettiet played Jesse James who never had any connection at all with the Pony Express joined the cast in the third and final season. He was a fine young player and his death from a drug overdose in 2000 was a tragic end to a promising career.

The rest of the cast reflected some of the issues of the times. There was a southern kid simply called The Kid who was played by Ty Miller. Gregg Rainwater played an American Indian young rider, Travis Fine was a mute young rider, Don Franklin joined the cast as a runaway slave escaped to the free west in the third season as a young rider.

The most interesting gimmick was Yvonne Suhor who was going in incognito drag. I don't think the rules of The Pony Express expressly forbade women in its employ, but they sure didn't provide any separate accommodations in those relay stations. For about half the first season, no one knew she was a women. Then it finally came out, though at first only relay station manager Anthony Zerbe knew.

Zerbe played a colorful western type character who must have felt like he was running a summer camp. But these kids were there to work and their work created a legend that's come down to us today. If the young people of the World War II era are the Greatest Generation of the last century, than those who were in the Pony Express who joined the Union and Confederate Armies of the time in an awful Civil War, were the 19th Century Greatest Generation. The awful tragedy is that this generation was busy killing each other in that the USA be preserved and free for all.

When The Young Riders ended its run, the various cast members left the disbanded Pony Express to whatever destiny their consciences told them where to go. It was a moving finale to the series and something played out across the United States of America and the Confederate States of America in thousands of homes.

Despite some really bad historical inaccuracies, The Young Riders was a fine series and I wish it lasted a bit longer.

12 out of 13 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

10/10

Absolutely Awesome!

It was my favorite TV show in the whole world for the 3 seasons it actually ran and has remained a happily videotaped memory for another 10 years afterwards. They just don't make Western series that good anymore. I could never get enough of it. If it ever comes out as a boxed-set on video or DVD, I'll be the first one in line to buy it.

18 out of 21 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

10/10

The Young Riders

First of all I want to say that I LOVE this show. This was the first new show I watched with my parents as a family on a regular basis, and was second only to The Waltons. The characters are fantastic, it's action-packed, romantic, emotional, and just overall endearing. I believe this show is one of the main reasons that I love American History so much, to this day I search for anything I can find about the Pony Express. And now it has been released on DVD (just season 1 so far), and I have been watching at least one episode a day, reliving the love I felt for this show when I saw it as a young girl who started off simply loving it because it had beautiful horses and a girl that was just as good as the boys.

14 out of 14 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

10/10

great show great cast great stories great outdoor shots

I video taped all of this series back when it was on, never realizing, that so many other people liked it even though it did last 3 seasons.

It really was and is a great series, set in the old west, with lots of beautiful location scenes, and some great actors and great writing and was even recorded in stereo sound. It actually holds up today.

What more could you want?

Except for all 3 years to make it out in beautiful DVD box sets.

Well,they have got the first year out, now how about the rest of this great series! It is up to us to write to Sony Pictures TV and ask for the next 2 years to be released.

16 out of 19 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

10/10

Miss this show

Warning: Spoilers

This was my absolute favorite show when it was on. My favorite characters were Buck and Ike. My twin's favorite characters were Ike and Buck. She cried so hard when Ike died. My brother had to tell her that the actor was just collecting his dough. We are so glad the first season came out on DVD. I hope the next two seasons come out quick. My sister and I just brought the first season and it is almost finished. I plan to keep watching the DVDs. I kept looking for this show to come out on DVD and when my sister typed it in the Netflix site it came up as already on DVD. I wish Gregg was in more movies and I wish I could see Ocean Tribe. I wish that would be on DVD.

5 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Miss this show tremendously

This show was awesome. One of the best of the early 90's. I had the hugest crush on Ty Miller, where did he go? :( I miss him! I'm glad that Josh Brolin, Melissa Leo, Don Franklin, Stephen Baldwin, and Brett Cullen still have good careers going, but where did the others go?? I especially adored Yvonne Suhor, who played Louise McCloud. SIghhhhhhh...... I hope the whole series is on DVD someday. :)

18 out of 24 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

10/10

a wonderful part of my youth

I absolutely loved this show during its time, and still do. I have almost every episode on tape. I am just hoping they'll put them all on DVD or even just video, so that I can finally have all of them. I watched it every day it was on and every rerun they played during 1992-1993. It will always be a fond memory for me!! :o)

5 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Young Riders are missed

I, and many friends, miss this show. While there were many liberties taken in the writing of the show it was very entertaining. The actors did exceptional jobs of expressing the mood and attitudes of the mid 1800's just prior to the Civil War. The Plight of the Native American people was highlighted in several episodes as was slavery. The writers used and developed characters to portray person's trapped in the non-white world. One character, Buck, played by Gregg Rainwater, developed over the three seasons from a relatively minor character of mixed blood to a highly intelligent, well read person who completely broke the misconception of the ignorant drunk Indian. I feel more could have been done with the Civil War aspect of the show but they chose to end it instead. I'm hoping this show will be released to DVD as I would like my children to see it.

8 out of 8 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

One of My All-Time Favorites

I'm not a fan of westerns or the Fox Family Channel. However, this western entertained me for many hours when it was airing on the Fox Family Channel. It was action-packed, violent, and superbly written. It mixed history with fiction and came up with a nice blend. I wish that some of episodes would be released on dvd but that will probably always be a fantasy.

7 out of 9 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

My all time favorite TV Show!

I'm a huge fan of The Young Riders TV series. I used to watch it with my mom when it aired in Sweden in the beginning of the 90s. I remember a summer when the show aired every week day for a couple of weeks. I was very sick during one of these weeks, I had a really high fever, threw up and was aching everywhere. Well, when The Young Riders came on TV I forgot all about that and I was as healthy as anyone jumping up and down in my bed and feeling great (I even made up lyrics to the theme music that I used to sing as the theme played) and I felt fantastic until the end of the episodes when my throat was killing me and my fever was high as ever. Such good times! :)

Season 1 of the series has finally been released on DVD! To those of you who never watched the show when it aired, I ask you to check it out now. The show's got everything...action, romance, adventure, pretty boys, humor, gun fights, a great theme song, pretty girls etc. It's also a great opportunity to watch the young Josh Brolin and Stephen Baldwin in action. You'll love it, I promise.

PS. Guest stars of season one include Cynthia Nixon (of Sex and the City), Rob Estes, Chris Penn (R.I.P), Fisher Stevens etc.

And in an episode of season two Pernell Roberts (Adam Cartwright of 'Bonanza') guest stars. I personally can't wait to see that episode.

Buy it, then Watch and Enjoy folks!

3 out of 3 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Personal Favorite of Sisters

This was a favorite show for both my sister and I while I was in junior high. She was older and already married with her own family, but I can still remember calling her every Thursday night to remind her that it was going to be on. I was young and so in love with Ty Miller. Teaspoon was also another favorite character of mine. He was always saying something that made me laugh. I have read all of the other comments that have been posted and am with all the other readers in hoping that they put the three seasons that they did make out on DVD someday. So that I can watch the show as an adult and enjoy all of the historical aspects of it instead of drooling over the fine looking men that appeared as actors on the show.

6 out of 6 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Great Show

I grew up watching this show and loved every minute of it. While not very historically accurate, it was great fun and will be missed. While many of the actors involved in the series are still yet unknown, it was full of many talented actors. Jonathan Franklin went on to star in SeaQuest, Stephen Baldwin went on to star in many movies and Anthony Zerbe is an acclaimed actor. This show is worth watching.

3 out of 3 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

8/10

Loved the show

I was in my late twenties when I first discovered this show on a cable channel. Coming from a family of western lovers, my brother was already familiar with the show and enjoyed it as well. I had to record many of the episodes due to being in night classes but I always looked forward to getting home to view them. I was so excited to see the first season come out on DVD and hope the next will be out soon.As soon as I purchased it I came home to watch every episode without commercials and having pieces lost to TV interruptions and running out of tape. I know I missed some of the episodes and still cry when I watch the last one. This is wonderful TV that teaches some valuable lessons for young kids today. They should watch more westerns! (And those were some nice looking young men on that show that grew into even nicer looking men)

6 out of 7 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

10/10

Favorite Show Ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I watched The Young Riders when it first aired on Thursday nights at 8pm. I was 15 and my best friend, who rode horses, would rave about this new western on TV. On her suggestion, I decided to check it out. I was hooked in one episode! The show had such an impact on me; in some weird way, I think it really helped me to grow up into a better/stronger person than I was! Now, 15 years later, as an adult, I just got the DVD of Season 1 for Christmas. I thought I might be embarrassed by my earlier obsession, but I was wrong! I fell in love with the show all over again! There is just some special quality to the characters and their relationships to one another that really sets this show apart. I am really hoping Seasons 2 and 3 get released on DVD. And another thing that hasn't changed: Gregg/Buck is still my favorite character and the hottest/most sensitive rider!

3 out of 3 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Loved this show

Warning: Spoilers

I absolutely loved this show as a kid and was thrilled to see re-runs on STARZ Western recently. On my modern HD TV the effects and backgrounds sometimes seem a little cheesy but the acting and story lines hold up.

I don't know if this counts as a spoiler but better safe than sorry.

I saw an earlier reviewer said Teaspoon was the only person who knew Lou was a girl but that's wrong. In fact, Teaspoon was the last person at the station to find out. The first person to know was Kid.

3 out of 3 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

10/10

The Young Riders

Hi everybody, I'm from czech republic, so first I must excuse my English. I love this show. I saw Seasons 1 and 2 in my country when I was a child, but never more. I couldn't forget it. I want to buy DVD, but I have a problem with English "cowboy's" speak. Can anybody tell me, if on DVD are subtitles? I don't find it. Maybe in edition for Europe? I know, you don't need them, but maybe for deaf people. I try to find them in net but without purpose. My English is good only to know what is the matter, but I don't understand any "joke or hint". Everybody here love this series, so you will understand what I mean and how much I'm unhappy. Pleas help me!!! Daniela

2 out of 2 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

10/10

I love this show that nobody ever remembers

I wasn't old enough to stay up until 9 pm to watch Young Riders on Thurs nights so I would tape it. I went to Catholic school and every Friday morning we'd go to church. I'd sit in church and all I could think about was getting home to watch Young Riders after school. The crazy part is nobody ever seems to remember the show. It was such a great show too! I loved every episode and was devastated when it went off the air. Hopefully they release the whole series on DVD someday!

1 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Not Western but human drama show

I was touched when I saw this show first approximately 10 years ago. I think I was in junior high or high school at that time. I still remember the moment that one white guy chose to die and native people decided to kill him respectively in their ritual way. Speaking of the atmosphere of the show, I didn't really care about the shooting scenes themselves in general and also in this show, but the reasons why they fought were adorable. People in the show could die for their dignity, which was similar to part of the Samurai spirit in Japan hundreds years ago. Well, the shooting scenes didn't have much percentage in the show, though. Anyway, what I'm saying is that this show has stories and it is not like the just-shoot-them-all-because-they-are-bad "masterpiece" Western movies. I really hope this show will come out on DVD.

2 out of 2 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

The best series ever made!

This series has everything going for it - action, adventure, comedy,tragedy, romance and I even learnt about history. Each character is different and well defined and the actors were well cast. I enjoyed the various by-plays between the characters and guests. What a shame the Pony Express only lasted for 18 months otherwise we may have been able to enjoy this series for more than the three wonderful seasons that it ran for.

1 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

It's now on Odyssey channel!!

I read through the user comments, and have to say I agree with them all. I remember the show when it was on, but only became a fan of it when I was flipping through channels a few months back and caught an episode on the Odyssey channel. I'm now addicted and watch it every day. Just thought anybody interested would like to know.

1 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

10/10

Entertaining and Down to Earth

Just recently discovered this TV show on Amazon Video. Sounded interesting so decided to give it a chance. Couldn't turn it off since. There has been much said about how this show is a copycat of Young Guns. Having been a teenage girl when Young Guns debuted, I, of course, was in love with the movie and all the actors. Now being halfway through the third and finale season of The Young Riders, I have to say with absolute honesty, this show IS NOT a copycat of Young Guns. It is it's own show and should be viewed that way. Sometimes cheesy, often times funny, this shows deals with a lot of different issues of that time period and I found I very entertaining and interesting.

1 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

1/10

Worst TV series of all time

Little Joe, Ben, and Hoss , of Bonanza fame, would literally roll over in their graves, if they would have to endure just one episode of the,"Young Riders ". I am just lost for adjectives to describe how bad this show was and remains. The acting is atrocious and with the insertion of historical western figures such as, Bill Cody and yes, a young Jesse James, leaves one to simply ask, why?

2 out of 12 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Question on The Young Riders TV series

I was a huge fan of this show & I watched almost every episode. Does anyone know if there are any intentions of this coming out on DVD because I would so be the very first one to buy it. I wasn't a fan at first because I thought it was just an attempt to make the movie "Young Guns" into a TV series, but when I found out it wasn't I thought I would watch an episode or two. It wasn't that long before I found myself hooked on the series. I couldn't wait for the summer when they would replay the episodes that I had missed. I don't think I ever missed an episode after that. So if this was to come out on DVD I know I would be one of the first ones to buy it. If anyone has any info. on this one way or another please let me know.

4 out of 6 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink