DURING THAT PERIOD of roughly 1957-68, the Western truly ruled the airwaves. At one point there must have been 50+ series going on the 3 networks; and we tried to watch 'em all! IN ADDITION TO those on CBS, NBC and ABC, we had all of those that were living in Syndicationland. Distributed to local stations on a market basis, the shows would be seen at different days and times in the various cities they contracted with; sometimes in the early slots and in other venues after the late news programs.
THE APPARENT KING of the suppliers in this syndicated method was Ziv Television Productions. Their pre-eminence in the field was supported by such titles as: THE CISCO KID, I LED 3 LIVES, SEA HUNT, SCIENCE FICTION THEATRE and HIGHWAY PATROL. To this distinguished roll call of TV history, was added MacKENZIE'S RAIDERS.
STARRING THE DURABLE Richard Carlson, the series had a most interesting premise. It is a Western with the subject of the U.S. Cavalry's having a great deal of problems along the Rio Grande; where Bandits from Mexico are preying on towns and people North of the river. Following their plundering, the bad guys return south to the sanctuary of their own country; international law being their benefactor.
ENTER THE SECRETARY of WAR who, through the Army's Chain of Command, give secret orders to Colonel Ronald S. MacKenzie. THe Colonel was to secretly head up covert actions with his men; crossing the Rio Grande in pursuit of these banditos and were to take whatever means necessary in eliminating the need for further complaint by the U.S. citizenry. In short, it was a sort of an ongoing "Commando" action.
WE WELL REMEMBER scenes with Mr. Carlson & Company, out on night maneuvers, their faces darkened; albeit in full uniform. The stories were as varied as could be expected with such a thin premise; but, the filming of the horsemen in pursuit of and dealing with the wrongdoers were well done and action-full.
AS WAS THE rule with all ZIV Television Productions, MacKENZIE'S RAIDERS sported good music. In both the area of the Opening & Closing theme and the incidental music it was memorable.*
BEING BASED ON a real person and incident, could not help to keep the show in production for more than its initial season of 1958-59. Oh well, Go Figure!
NOTE: * As examples of our point about memorable musical themes, just consider the following series' themes: SEA HUNT, HIGHWAY PATROL and SCIENCE FICTION THEATRE. In some cases, the music is more remembered than the series.
THE APPARENT KING of the suppliers in this syndicated method was Ziv Television Productions. Their pre-eminence in the field was supported by such titles as: THE CISCO KID, I LED 3 LIVES, SEA HUNT, SCIENCE FICTION THEATRE and HIGHWAY PATROL. To this distinguished roll call of TV history, was added MacKENZIE'S RAIDERS.
STARRING THE DURABLE Richard Carlson, the series had a most interesting premise. It is a Western with the subject of the U.S. Cavalry's having a great deal of problems along the Rio Grande; where Bandits from Mexico are preying on towns and people North of the river. Following their plundering, the bad guys return south to the sanctuary of their own country; international law being their benefactor.
ENTER THE SECRETARY of WAR who, through the Army's Chain of Command, give secret orders to Colonel Ronald S. MacKenzie. THe Colonel was to secretly head up covert actions with his men; crossing the Rio Grande in pursuit of these banditos and were to take whatever means necessary in eliminating the need for further complaint by the U.S. citizenry. In short, it was a sort of an ongoing "Commando" action.
WE WELL REMEMBER scenes with Mr. Carlson & Company, out on night maneuvers, their faces darkened; albeit in full uniform. The stories were as varied as could be expected with such a thin premise; but, the filming of the horsemen in pursuit of and dealing with the wrongdoers were well done and action-full.
AS WAS THE rule with all ZIV Television Productions, MacKENZIE'S RAIDERS sported good music. In both the area of the Opening & Closing theme and the incidental music it was memorable.*
BEING BASED ON a real person and incident, could not help to keep the show in production for more than its initial season of 1958-59. Oh well, Go Figure!
NOTE: * As examples of our point about memorable musical themes, just consider the following series' themes: SEA HUNT, HIGHWAY PATROL and SCIENCE FICTION THEATRE. In some cases, the music is more remembered than the series.