# The Dakotas (TV series)

The Dakotas is an ABC/Warner Bros. Western television series starring Larry Ward and featuring Jack Elam, Chad Everett, and Michael Greene, broadcast during 1963. The short-lived program is considered a spin-off of Clint Walker's Cheyenne.
The Dakotas was cancelled one week after heavy viewer protest over an objectionable scene.

## Synopsis

The series follows the efforts of U.S. Marshal Frank Ragan (Larry Ward) and his three deputies, J. D. Smith (Jack Elam), Vance Porter (Mike Greene), and Del Stark (Chad Everett) as they try to keep order in the Dakota Territory during the Gilded Age prior to statehood in 1889.

## Series history

All four characters initially appeared in an April 23, 1962, episode of Cheyenne entitled "A Man Called Ragan", directors Richard C. Sarafian and Robert Sparr (uncredited), and writers Anthony Spinner (teleplay) and Harry Whittington (story).
However, the degree to which this episode makes The Dakotas a spin-off of Cheyenne is debatable. In the pilot on Cheyenne, the titular character of Cheyenne Bodie never appears. Also, the episode had followed five consecutive weeks of Bronco episodes, broadcast as a part of the wheel series that Cheyenne had effectively become. Moreover, the length of time between pilot and series—almost eight months—further weakened the link between Cheyenne and The Dakotas. The biggest tip-off to viewers as to the parentage of the series was that it had assumed the Monday 7:30 p.m. ET time slot previously occupied since 1959 by Cheyenne.

## Guest stars

Among the many guest stars, George Macready appeared as Captain Ridgeway, with Jeanne Cooper as Rebecca Ridgeway, in the third episode, "Mutiny at Fort Mercy". Chris Robinson was cast as Chino in "Red Sky over Bismarck", with Andrew Duggan as Colonel Winters and Kevin Hagen as a preacher. Warren Stevens and Karen Sharpe played Cain and Angela Manning in the episode, "Crisis at High Banjo"; Robert J. Wilke was cast in the same episode as Judge Markham.
Other guest stars included:

## Cancellation

When viewers saw the program's eighteenth episode, "Sanctuary at Crystal Springs", they were shocked by a scene that depicted the lawmen killing two outlaws in a church, one of whom had caused injury to a pastor, played by Charles Irving, before dying. Calls for The Dakotas to end its run were answered virtually overnight. After just one more episode, the show was pulled. A twentieth episode, entitled "Black Gold", was completed, but was never shown.

## Episodes

Several episode titles refer to geographic place names in the Dakotas.
| No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| | "A Man Called Ragan" | Richard C. Sarafian, Robert Sparr (Uncredited) | Story by : Harry Whittington Teleplay by : Anthony Spinner | April 23, 1962 (1962-04-23) |
| 1 | "Return To Dryrock" | Stuart Heisler | Story by : Robert E. Thompson Teleplay by : Cy Chermak | January 7, 1963 (1963-01-07) |
| 2 | "Red Sky Over Bismarck" | Stuart Heisler | Story by : Harry Whittington Teleplay by : Anthony Spinner | January 14, 1963 (1963-01-14) |
| 3 | "Mutiny at Fort Mercy" | Stuart Heisler | Story by : Leo Lieberman Teleplay by : Leo Lieberman and E.M. Parsons | January 21, 1963 (1963-01-21) |
| 4 | "Trouble at French Creek" | Stuart Heisler | E.M. Parsons | January 28, 1963 (1963-01-28) |
| 5 | "Thunder In Pleasant Valley" | Paul Landres | Story by : Joyce Fierro Teleplay by : S.S.Schweitzer | February 4, 1963 (1963-02-04) |
| 6 | "Crisis at High Banjo" | Stuart Heisler | Cy Chermak | February 11, 1963 (1963-02-11) |
| 7 | "Requiem at Dancer's Hill" | Paul Landres | Peter B. Germano | February 18, 1963 (1963-02-18) |
| 8 | "Fargo" | Stuart Heisler | Story by : Mel Goldberg Teleplay by : E.M. Parsons | February 25, 1963 (1963-02-25) |
| 9 | "Incident at Rapid City" | Allan A. Buckhantz | Nicholas E. Baehr | March 4, 1963 (1963-03-04) |
| 10 | "Justice at Eagle's Nest" | Robert Totten | S.S.Schweitzer | March 11, 1963 (1963-03-11) |
| 11 | "Walk Through the Badlands" | Richard L. Bare | William Mourne | March 18, 1963 (1963-03-18) |
| 12 | "Trial at Grand Forks" | Stuart Heisler | Story by : Sy Salkowitz Teleplay by : Peter B. Germano | March 25, 1963 (1963-03-25) |
| 13 | "Reformation at Big Nose Butte" | Robert Totten | Cy Chermak | April 1, 1963 (1963-04-01) |
| 14 | "One Day In Vermillion" | Allan A. Buckhantz | Dean Riesner | April 8, 1963 (1963-04-08) |
| 15 | "Terror at Heart River" | Stuart Heisler | William Mourne | April 15, 1963 (1963-04-15) |
| 16 | "The Chooser of the Slain" | Richard C. Sarafian, Charles R. Rondeau (Uncredited) | Dean Riesner | April 22, 1963 (1963-04-22) |
| 17 | "Feud at Snake River" | Charles R. Rondeau | Richard H. Landau | April 29, 1963 (1963-04-29) |
| 18 | "Sanctuary at Crystal Springs" | Richard C. Sarafian | Cy Chermak | May 6, 1963 (1963-05-06) |
| 19 | "A Nice Girl From Goliath" | Charles R. Rondeau | E.M. Parsons | May 13, 1963 (1963-05-13) |
| 20 | "Black Gold" | N/A | N/A | Unaired |
* ↑ "A Man Called Ragan" was presented as an episode in season 6 of Cheyenne in 1962

## Home media

On March 24, 2015, Warner Bros. released The Dakotas- The Complete Series on DVD via their Warner Archive Collection. This is a manufacture-on-demand (MOD) release, available through Warner's online store and Amazon.com.