The Young Pioneers (miniseries)
The Young Pioneers was a trial-run ABC western television series about young newlyweds who settle in the Dakota Territory during the 1870s. If the first three episodes had received good ratings the series may have found a place on the network’s fall lineup. The series was based on the plot of Rose Wilder Lane’s 1933 novel "Let the Hurricane Roar", which was reissued as "Young Pioneers" though the main characters names came from her novel "Free Land". In March 1975 the television film "Young Pioneers" was watched by 40 million viewers, so in  December 1975 a second film "Young Pioneers' Christmas" continued the story of homesteaders Molly and David Beaton, and served as a pilot for a planned ABC series. "The Young Pioneers" series aired on Sundays at 7 p.m. The first episode was a two-hour movie, followed by two sixty-minute episodes. Production. The series’ exterior scenes were filmed on the Empire Ranch, near Sonoita, Arizona, with interior shots filmed at the 20th Century-Fox studios in Hollywood. Four sod structures were built for the series, with a house and a barn in both Arizona and California. Ed Friendly, who had  earlier produced the two-hour pilot film for NBCs "Little House on the Prairie", was "The Young Pioneers" producer. Earl Hamner, creator of "The Waltons", was brought in to help with the project. He wanted the series to progress like a novel, with each episode to be a single chapter, and the audience seeing the progression of the nearest town of Wildrose.