The Rousters is an American adventure drama television series about a group of modern-day bounty hunters who are descendants of legendary lawman Wyatt Earp. It aired on NBC from October 1, 1983, until July 21, 1984. Despite advertising claims that this series would "sink The Love Boat" in the ratings, it was canceled in mid-season after only 6 of its 13 episodes had aired, with the remaining shows being burned off during the summer of 1984.
| The Rousters | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Action Drama Tongue-in-cheek humor |
| Created by | Stephen J. Cannell |
| Starring | Hoyt Axton Chad Everett Timothy Gibbs Mimi Rogers Maxine Stuart Jim Varney |
| Opening theme | "Tough Enough" performed by Ronnie Milsap |
| Composers | Mike Post Stephen Geyer |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Stephen J. Cannell |
| Editor | John Elias |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company | Stephen J. Cannell Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | October 1, 1983 – July 21, 1984 |
Premise
editWyatt Earp III (Chad Everett) works as a bouncer for the traveling Sladetown Carnival, run by "Cactus Jack" Slade (Hoyt Axton). Wyatt doesn't care for his embarrassing name or the legacy it represents, but his shotgun-toting mother Amanda (Maxine Stuart) wants to carry on the "family tradition" of keeping law and order through bounty hunting.
Wyatt's brother Evan (Jim Varney) has a penchant for con artistry and bungled repair-work; this character is mostly comic relief. Slade's lion-taming daughter Ellen (Mimi Rogers) is dating Wyatt and tutoring his teenage son Michael (Timothy Gibbs).
Cast
edit- Chad Everett as Wyatt Earp III
- Maxine Stuart as Amanda Earp
- Hoyt Axton as "Cactus Jack" Slade
- Mimi Rogers as Ellen Slade
- Jim Varney as Evan Earp
- Timothy Gibbs as Michael Earp
Episodes
edit| Nº | Title | Directed by: | Written by: | Original air date | PC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Marshal of Sladetown" | E.W. Swackhamer | Stephen J. Cannell | October 1, 1983 | 3000 |
| 2 | "The Carnival That Ate Sladetown" | Joseph Pevney | Stephen J. Cannell | October 15, 1983 | 3101 |
| 3 | "Finders Keepers" | Dennis Donnelly | Mark Jones | October 22, 1983 | 3102 |
| 4 | "A Picture's Worth a Thousand Dollars" | Arnold Laven | Babs Greyhosky | October 29, 1983 | 3103 |
| 5 | "Eye Witness Blues" | Ron Satlof | Babs Greyhosky | December 20, 1983 | 3112 |
| 6 | "Everybody Loves a Clown" | Guy Magar | Frank Lupo | December 27, 1983 | 3104 |
| 7 | "Never Trust a Crystal Ball" | Barry Crane | Terrence McDonnell | June 9, 1984 | 3105 |
| 8 | "Two and a Half Days of the Condor" | Bruce Kessler | Mark Jones & Babs Greyhosky | June 16, 1984 | 3108 |
| 9 | "Slade vs. Slade" | Guy Magar | Babs Greyhosky | June 23, 1984 | 3106 |
| 10 | "Snake Eyes" | Sigmund Neufeld Jr. | Mark Jones | June 30, 1984 | 3110 |
| 11 | "Cold Streak" | Georg Stanford Brown | Jim Carlson & Terrence McDonnell | July 7, 1984 | 3107 |
| 12 | "This Town Ain't Big Enough for the Twelve of Us" | Guy Magar | Mark Jones | July 14, 1984 | 3111 |
| 13 | "Wyatt Earp to the Rescue" | Arnold Laven | Jeff Ray | July 21, 1984 | 3109 |