9. During the 1960's, network television featured several Western series, and led the Nielsen Television Ratings for six of the ten seasons in the decade. Which popular TV Western series NEVER ended a television season as the #1 rated show?
From Quiz Television in the 1960's ... Remember?
Answer:
Rawhide
"Rawhide" became a Friday night staple on the CBS Network programming lineup, airing for 8 seasons from 1959 until 1966. The series aired 217 episodes and maintained mid range Nielsen Rating throughout its run. In its highest ratings year, "Rawhide" ranked sixth in 1961, with a 27.5 share of the viewing audience for the 7:30-8:30 time slot.
The series presented the stories of a group of 20-25 cowboys, known as "drovers", as they traveled from San Antonio, Texas to Sedalia, Missouri, managing a herd of about 3000 cattle.
The series starred Eric Fleming as the trail boss, Gil Favor, and a then relatively unknown actor, Clint Eastwood, as his right hand man, the ramrod, Rowdy Yates.
Episodes were usually introduced with a brief narration from Gil Favor, and ended with Favor alerting his crew to start the cattle drive after resting the herd and the drovers for the night. The episodes usually ended with Favor, or in some cases with Yates giving the command in a loud voice, "Head 'em up, move 'em out", just as the ending theme music would start to play.
"Gunsmoke" (1955), one of the longest running series in television history, attained the #1 Nielsen Ratings in 1960 and 1961. The series starred James Arness as U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon, who maintained law and order in Dodge City, Kansas for 20 seasons (1955-1975) on the CBS Television Network.
"Wagon Train" (1957), topped the ratings race in 1962. The series aired for eight seasons (1957-1965), and produced 284 episodes.
The series chronicled the the trip of pioneer settlers traveling from Missouri to California, through rough and sometimes hostile territory, in a caravan of covered wagons. Ward Bond starred as Major Seth Adams, the wagon master who lead the group. During the fourth season of the series, Bond was replaced by John McIntire, as the new wagon master, Christopher Hale. Other series regulars included Robert Horton as the trains scout, Clint McCullough, and Robert Fuller as scout Cooper Smith.
"Bonanza" (1959), was another long running Western series, airing 430 episodes in 14 years. The series topped the annual Nielsen Rating for three consecutive seasons (1965, 1966, and 1967). The series centered around a Nevada rancher, Ben Cartwright (played by Lorne Greene), his three sons, Adam (played by Pernell Roberts), Eric, who was known to everyone as "Hoss" (played by Dan Blocker), and Joseph, who was known simply as "Little Joe" (Played by Michael Landon) and their efforts to maintain their huge ranch, The Ponderosa, fighting off strangers, rustlers, hostile towns people, or anybody or anything threatening the wealth and property that they worked so hard for.
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