'Four Star Productions series (inc. Zane Grey Theatre)'

[OceanBlue]

Have done a thread search and there isn't an existing thread for the western anthology series Zane Grey Theatre. I was going to add to this thread's title "and the series spun-off from it", however I don't know if The Rifleman (and other series) is classed as a spin-off of Zane Grey Theatre.

A fellow poster recommended me Zane Grey Theatre. Have checked Deep Discount, and only the first three seasons have had physical media DVD releases (there were five seasons in total). There is one episode missing in the second season set (due to legal reasons), a backdoor pilot for series The Rifleman (it's cast included Chuck Connors).

The Rifleman appears to have had several DVD releases in the States.

[cutback73]

Originally Posted by OceanBlue

Have done a thread search and there isn't an existing thread for the western anthology series Zane Grey Theatre. I was going to add to this thread's title "and the series spun-off from it", however I don't know if The Rifleman (and other series) is classed as a spin-off of Zane Grey Theatre.

A fellow poster recommended me Zane Grey Theatre. Have checked Deep Discount, and only the first three seasons have had physical media DVD releases (there were five seasons in total). There is one episode missing in the second season set (due to legal reasons), a backdoor pilot for series The Rifleman (it's cast included Chuck Connors).

The Rifleman appears to have had several DVD releases in the States.

Talking Pictures TV in the UK have recently shown a couple of episodes of this series, an enjoyable season 5 episode from 1961 called Man From Everywhere with Cesar Romero and... Burt Reynolds!!! And a season 4 episode Rebel Range from 1959 with Joan Crawford (sadly not a good episode although she tries to lift the material).

Dick Powell gives a mildly amusing tongue in cheek history lesson at the start of both episodes.

TPTV like to slot these "Four Star" productions in random spots on the schedule (except for Burke's Law which is 5am every day!), so unless you have a wishlist set up for Dick Powell, David Niven etc you're likely to not notice them...

[OceanBlue]

Originally Posted by cutback73

Talking Pictures TV in the UK have recently shown a couple of episodes of this series, an enjoyable season 5 episode from 1961 called Man From Everywhere with Cesar Romero and... Burt Reynolds!!! And a season 4 episode Rebel Range from 1959 with Joan Crawford (sadly not a good episode although she tries to lift the material).

Dick Powell gives a mildly amusing tongue in cheek history lesson at the start of both episodes.

TPTV like to slot these "Four Star" productions in random spots on the schedule (except for Burke's Law which is 5am every day!), so unless you have a wishlist set up for Dick Powell, David Niven etc you're likely to not notice them...

There are some channels I regularly check for anything I'm interested in (regular airings of new episodes of series, and repeats of older series). I watched an episode of The June Allyson Show a few weeks ago on Talking Pictures TV (called "Edge of Fury", it was one of the episodes June Allyson starred in. Daniel O'Herlihy also starred in it).

Yes, Talking Pictures TV have been showing Burke's Law (the original series. There was a later revival) in the early hours of the morning. I spotted yesterday, that Amos Burke - Secret Agent is on next week (however, it could be an alternative title for Burke's Law). They also showed a Harry Guardino-starring series called Monty Nash seveal weeks ago. Going to keep an eye out for when The Dick Powell Theatre is on next (wish these series could get physical media releases).

Thanks for letting me know about the repeats on Talking Pictures TV of Zane Grey Theatre. I'll keep an eye out for any future repeats.

[OceanBlue]

Have checked the IMDb section for the original Burke's Law series, and it appears the third season of the show (there were three seasons in total) saw a change for the series (Gene Barry's character became a spy (hence the show's title changing to 'Amos Burke - Secret Agent').

[OceanBlue]

Another series from the Four Star Productions library, I spotted in the Talking Pictures TV listings recently (and in a similar timeslot in the early hours of the morning). A couple of episodes of one season-only series Saints and Sinners were shown.

[merlinjones]

The Big Valley is a Four Star series and it has been distributed by 20th Century Fox. A peek at wikipedia shows that indeed all but a handful of Four Star shows (Rifleman, Wanted Dead or Alive, Trackdown) are now owned by Walt Disney Company through acquisition of 20th Century Fox (which got the library in 1997 through another acquisition).

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by merlinjones

The Big Valley is a Four Star series and it has been distributed by 20th Century Fox. A peek at wikipedia shows that indeed all but a handful of Four Star shows (Rifleman, Wanted Dead or Alive, Trackdown) are now owned by Walt Disney Company through acquisition of 20th Century Fox (which got the library in 1997 through another acquisition).

Well, so far that's bad news because Disney has shown no inclination of offering up much from the Fox archives, let alone releasing them on disc. I would love for ZANE GREY THEATER and BURKE'S LAW/SECRET AGENT to be completed. The latter was a quick attempt at a cash in on the 60's spy craze and had little of the production values of BURKE'S LAW, but it would still be fun to see again. I believe it was run off the air by another 60's spy show, I SPY, which ran opposite it and, of course, was a far superior series. I would also like to see TRACKDOWN get a release, but I'm not holding my breath. I'm surprised that one never made it to the TIMELESS label when they were putting out so many vintage western series on DVD.