| Harts of the West | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Western |
| Starring | |
| Theme music composer | Clint Black |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 15 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Running time | 60 mins. |
| Production company | The Kushner-Locke Company |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | September 25, 1993 – June 18, 1994 |
Harts of the West is a humorous contemporary Western about a Chicago family moving to a run-down Nevada ranch. The series consisted of 15 hour-long episodes that aired on CBS Saturdays, 9:00 to 10:00 p.m., from September 1993 until June 1994.[1]
Much of the series was shot on location in downtown Mayer, Arizona, a small town near Prescott.[2] Clint Black wrote and sang the theme song, In a Laid Back Way.[1]
CBS scheduled the series between two popular Westerns: Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman and Walker, Texas Ranger,[3] and it received positive reviews. One reviewer wrote "Don’t make the mistake of ignoring Harts of the West",[4] and another stated the show was "One of the fall season's more appealing new series."[3] However, the series left the schedule in January 1994, with a few final episodes being shown in June 1994.[1]
Dave Hart was a lingerie salesman in Chicago who'd always dreamed of being a cowboy. He had named his three children after Western writers and an actor – 16-year-old son Zane after Zane Grey, 15-year-old daughter L'Amour after Louis L’Amour, and 10-year-old son John Wayne (called Duke) after the famous Western star.[5] After suffering a mild heart attack Dave decided to follow his dream, and purchased the Flying Tumbleweed Ranch, sight unseen, after reading a sales brochure published in 1957.[1] Duke is the only other family member in favor of moving out West.[4]
The property is a dude ranch in disrepair, near the town of Sholo, Nevada, population 90. Sholo's business district has a trading post - grocery store run by a Native American named Auggie, and the Hanging Tree Cafe, run by the sheriff, R.O., and his ex-wife Rose.[5]
Dave goes out to the Flying Tumbleweed and is shot at by Jake, a grizzled ex-convict who claims to be the ranch foreman.[4] Jake informs Dave that the man who sold the ranch has died, and his ashes are scattered over the Flying Tumbleweed. The foreman is able to find a group of motley ranch hands, some with a prison record.[5] Dave's wife, Allie, is willing to try ranch life for a while, though the elder children initially have little enthusiasm for the idea.[4]
| No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pilot" | Robert Lieberman | Robert Moloney | September 25, 1993 | |
| After Dave Hart has a coronary episode he follows his dream of being a cowboy and puts a down payment on a ranch shown in a 1957 sales brochure. | |||||
| 2 | "The Right Stuff" | Bill D'Elia | Robert Moloney | October 2, 1993 | |
| Dave hires a former rodeo champ (Mark Harmon), and a moving company loses the Hart’s belongings. | |||||
| 3 | "Guess Who’s Coming to Chow?" | James Hayman | Robert Moloney | October 30, 1993 | |
| Allie’s mother (Diane Ladd) visits the ranch, and is attracted to Jake. | |||||
| 4 | "Dead Man’s Leap" | James Hayman | Chris Ruppenthal | November 6, 1993 | |
| Zane risks his life to try and make friends, and R.O. claims to channel the dead after being struck by lightning. | |||||
| 5 | "Goodnight, Irene" | Bill D'Elia | Jill Gordon | November 13, 1993 | |
| Someone killed Garrel's cow, Irene, plus Allie takes a teaching job and learns that Duke is failing in school. | |||||
| 6 | "Cowboyz in the Hood" | Scott Brazil | Unknown | December 4, 1993 | |
| Marcus brings a troubled teen to the ranch, and Zane follows Cassie to a roundup. | |||||
| 7 | "Auggie’s End" | Greg Beeman | Mark Masucka | December 11, 1993 | |
| Auggie begins to prepare for his death, but Dave tries to convince the man his time to die has not come. | |||||
| 8 | "Jake's Brother" | Bill D'Elia | Jill Gordon | December 25, 1993 | |
| A family feud is rekindled when Jake’s brother (Dale Robertson) comes for a visit. | |||||
| 9 | "Ghost Run" | Neal Israel | Trish Soodik | January 8, 1994 | |
| The local buckboard race becomes a battle of the sexes when Allie competes, and R.O. tries to talk Rose out of entering a beauty contest. | |||||
| 10 | "You Got to Have Hart" | James Hayman | Unknown | January 15, 1994 | |
| When Marcus breaks his leg Dave represents Sholo at the annual local rodeo. L'Amour tells an admirer she's nineteen. | |||||
| 11 | "Home Alone … With Friends" | Greg Beeman | Trish Sookik | January 22, 1994 | |
| Rose kicks out ex-husband R.O. so he moves to the Flying Tumbleweed. | |||||
| 12 | "Hart's Vacation" | Mel Damski | Chris Ruppenthal | January 29, 1994 | |
| During a family camping trip Dave falls down an abandoned mine shaft. After that the Harts are threatened by a bear and a tornado. | |||||
| 13 | "Back in the Panties Again" | James Hayman | James Kramer | June 4, 1994 | |
| When the ranch well runs dry Dave works at a Las Vegas lingerie convention. | |||||
| 14 | "Drive, He Said" | Neal Israel | Robert Moloney | June 11, 1994 | |
| When a trucking company raises the price of shipping livestock to the market Dave organizes a cattle drive. | |||||
| 15 | "Jake and Duke's Excellent Adventure" | Helaine Head | Robert Moloney | June 18, 1994 | |
| Jake wants to celebrate Duke’s 10th birthday with a Native American rite of passage. Allie thinks she's pregnant. | |||||
In 2005 Tango released the Harts of the West series set on DVD.[6] On October 17, 2017 Mill Creek Entertainment released the DVD set Harts of the West The Complete Series.[7]