There comes a time when you have to ask: What does dad (or grandpa) need for Father’s Day. Normally this question is asked the day before father’s day. You grab an item near the cash register at the drugstore and swear its from the heart. Well this year you can plan ahead with the release of Howdy Kids!! A Saturday Afternoon Western Roundup. It’s a compilation of 24 episodes that aired in an back when TV sets were black and white. Most of the shows selected for the 3 DVDs are those your dad (or grandpa) ponders why they still aren’t on TV. If you watch along, you’ll finally understand the magic of the Red Ryder bb gun in A Christmas Story Here’s the press release from Shout! Factory about what you need to grab instead of a tie:
Los Angeles, CA – On April 9 Shout! Factory will release Howdy Kids!! A Saturday Afternoon Western Roundup, a 3-DVD set including 24 complete episodes of your favorite shows from this enchanting decade of children’s television. Included are episodes from The Lone Ranger, The Range Rider, The Rifleman, The Adventures Of Rick O’Shay, Fury, The Roy Rogers Show, Annie Oakley, The Adventures Of Kit Carson, The Adventures Of Champion, The Cisco Kid, Sergeant Preston Of the Yukon, Sky King, Red Ryder, and Buffalo Bill Jr.
In the 1950s, television was new and exciting and full of imaginative shows for children. One of the most popular and enduring formats was the Western. Great shows like The Lone Ranger, Roy Rogers, Fury, Sky King and many more flooded the airwaves and thrilled a generation of viewers as, without exception, the good guys would triumph over the bad.
Howdy Kids!! A Saturday Afternoon Western Roundup is a collection of some of the best and most loved shows from television’s infancy, a time when the Western was king and it was hard to choose just who you liked best: The Lone Ranger, Range Ryder or Red Ryder.
Howdy Kids!! A Saturday Afternoon Western Roundup (SRP $24.97):
Disc 1:
The Lone Ranger – Premise: The sole survivor of an attack by Butch Cavendish and his gang, The Lone Ranger (Clayton Moore), attempts to maintain law and order in the West with the help of his Indian friend Tonto (Jay Silverheels). Episodes: “The Renegades”/”Six Gun’s Legacy”
The Range Rider – Premise: The Range Rider (Jock Mahoney) and his youthful sidekick, Dick West, (Dick Jones) defend justice during the pioneering days of the Old West. Episodes: “Convict At Large”/”Bullets And Badmen”
The Rifleman – Premise: Rancher Lucas McCain (Chuck Connors), a widower and expert shot with a rifle, tries to bring up his son Mark (Johnny Crawford) in New Mexico in the late 1880s. Episode: “Day Of The Hunter”
The Adventures Of Rick O’Shay – Premise: Rick O’Shay (Steve Keyes) aided by his sidekicks Pawnee (Bob Gilbert) and Gopher (Ewing Brown), takes on injustice wherever it rears its ugly head! Episode: “Stagecoach To Danger”
Fury – Premise: The series depicts the adventures of an orphaned boy named Joey (Bobby Diamond) who is adopted by rancher Jim Newton (Peter Graves) and raised at the Broken Wheel Ranch. Newton gives the boy a black stallion, Fury, to instill in him a sense of responsibility. Episodes: “Killer Stallion”/”Scorched Earth”
Disc 2:
The Roy Rogers Show – Premise: The series follows the adventures of ranchers Roy Rogers and Dale Evans who, with sidekick Pat Brady, help maintain law and order in the contemporary western community of Mineral City. Episodes: Bad Neighbors/The Setup
Annie Oakley – Premise: Sharpshooter Annie Oakley (Gail Davis) and her little brother Tagg (Jimmy Hawkins) assist Deputy Lofty Craig (Brad Johnson) in rounding up bad men near her hometown of Diablo. Episodes: “Sharpshooting Annie”/”Outlaw Brand”
The Adventures Of Kit Carson – Premise: Frontiersman and Indian scout Kit Carson (Bill Williams) and his sidekick El Toro (Don Diamond) roam the West, bringing outlaws to justice and helping those in need. Episodes: Thunder Over Inyo/The Desperate Sheriff
The Adventures Of Champion – Premise: Twelve year-old Ricky North (Barry Curtis), who lived on a ranch in the American Southwest in the 1880’s, had a magnetic attraction for trouble, but fortunately for him, he could always rely on Champion the Wonder Horse to come to the rescue. Episodes: “Hangman’s Noose”/”Bad Men Of The Valley”
Disc 3:
The Cisco Kid – Premise: Follow the exploits of The Cisco Kid (Duncan Renaldo) in the New Mexico territory of the 1890s. Known as the “Robin Hood of the West,” he traveled the range with his trusty sidekick Pancho (Leo Carrillo). Episodes: “Freight Line Feud”/”Ghost Town”
Sergeant Preston Of The Yukon – Premise: Aided by his malamute dog, Yukon King, Sergeant Preston (Dick Simmons) of the Northwest Canadian Mounted Police brings law and order to Canada’s Yukon during the Gold Rush of the 1890s. Episodes: “Crime At Wounded Moose”/”Trapped”
Sky King – Premise: The owner and operator of the Flying Crown Ranch, Sky King (Kirby Grant) soars in his twin-engine Cessna, The Songbird, to bring order to Grover City, Arizona. Episode: “Bullet Bait”
Red Ryder – Premise: Based on a popular long-running Western comic strip, Red Ryder (Jim Bannon) sides with the settlers as they square off against the Cattleman’s Association in this rarely seen pilot. Episode: “Whiplash”
Buffalo Bill Jr. – Premise: Marshal Buffalo Bill Jr. (Dickie Jones) brings order to the town of Wileyville, Texas in the 1890s, assisted by his sister Calamity (Nancy Gilbert) and his adopted father Judge Ben Wiley (Harry Cheshire). Episodes: “Blazing Guns”/”Legacy of Jesse James”
