7.4 /10 1 Votes7.4
6.8/10 TV Theme music composer Hal Hopper Final episode date 30 December 1971 Number of seasons 1 | 8.1/10 IMDb Starring Rod TaylorDennis Cole First episode date 16 September 1971 Number of episodes 13 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Written by Jim ByrnesJames L. HendersonDouglas HeyesStephen KandelSamuel RoecaJoe Ruby & Ken Spears Directed by Richard DonnerLee MaddenRobert TottenHerb Wallerstein Similar The Oregon Trail, Felony Squad, Barbary Coast, The Guardians, Bracken's World | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
bearcats tv intro
Bearcats! is an American Western television series broadcast on the CBS television network during the Fall 1971 television season. It starred Rod Taylor and Dennis Cole as troubleshooters in the period before America entered World War I.
Contents
- bearcats tv intro
- Synopsis
- Cast
- Reception and cancellation
- DVD release
- International broadcasts
- References
Bearcats! was produced by Filmways Inc. (which previously produced many series including The Addams Family, Mister Ed, The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, and Petticoat Junction). It was co-produced by Rodlor, Rod Taylor's production firm.
Synopsis
Set in 1914, somewhat later historically than a traditional Western, the stories center around the heroes' use of a 1914 Stutz Bearcat automobile. Although autos were common in America in 1914, a $2,000 sports car would have been very rare in the more remote areas of the American west. How the heroes paid for this expensive ride was rather unusual, as well. They undertook work which could be considered "private security" for a prosperous clientele, and rather than charging a traditional fee, they extracted from the client a blank check, with the amount charged to be determined by just how difficult or dangerous the job proved to be once it was completed. "If you can put a price on it, you don't need them badly enough." Typical adventures included learning who was setting fire to oil wells, unraveling a plot where German Deutsches Heer soldiers dressed as American troops raided Mexican border towns hoping to force Mexico into a war with the U.S., and stopping mercenaries from sabotaging medical supplies being sent overseas to the Allies in World War I.
Its time period also allowed the use of props not usually seen in typical westerns, including airplanes, a WWI tank, machine guns, and a number of period automobiles.
Cast
Reception and cancellation
Bearcats!, despite a large promotional campaign prior to its premiere and having a loyal fan base, lost in the Nielsen ratings to both The Flip Wilson Show on NBC and a more traditional Western, Alias Smith and Jones, on ABC, and was cancelled midseason. (This marked the last time, as of 2013, that two Westerns broadcast by major U.S. networks have competed in the same time slot for viewers, marking a milestone in the decline of the Western series era in U.S. network television programming.)
DVD release
On May 14, 2013, Timeless Media Group released Bearcats! – The Complete Series in a three-DVD set in Region 1 for the very first time. The 90-minute pilot episode "Powderkeg" is not included.
International broadcasts
The series was shown extensively overseas, including Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Its pilot film, Powderkeg, was released as a theatrical feature overseas.