This ABC Western Series Was Doing Great Until One Scene Got It Cancelled (2024)

In the world of television, shows come and often go without hardly any notice at all. We live in an age where "one-season-wonders" are everywhere, and while we expect this sort of thing now with streaming, the same sometimes occurred on the airwaves back in TV's "Golden Age." Back when television Westerns were still the primary source of televised entertainment, there was one show that ran for only 19 episodes before it quickly got the ax, a lesser known ABC/Warner Bros. joint-production called The Dakotas. If you've heard of this one, you may already know the story, but while this show looked like a success at first, it was abruptly cancelled by the network before the first season finished airing. Here's what happened.

The Dakotas (1963)

TV-PG

Western

Set in the Dakota Territory during the late 19th century, this Western TV show follows four U.S. Marshals as they maintain law and order in a rough and untamed land. Each episode presents new challenges and confrontations, highlighting the complexities of justice in a frontier filled with danger.

Release Date

January 7, 1963

Cast

Chad Everett , Larry Ward , Jack Elam , Natalie Trundy , Joan Freeman , Andrew Duggan , George Macready , Dennis Hopper

Main Genre

Western

Seasons

1

What Is 'The Dakotas' Anyway?

Strangely, The Dakotas got its start when the first episode, "A Man Called Ragan," aired as a backdoor pilot on the hit Western program Cheyenne, which had essentially become a "wheel series" of rotating adventures. Cheyenne was the first hour-long television drama, Western or otherwise, that aired for six seasons at the time on ABC. It was also the first series to be produced by a large motion picture studio, in this case, Warner Bros., who wanted to further expand their reach on television. Though Clint Walker starred as Cheyenne Bodie for the majority of Cheyenne, there were a few episodes devoted entirely to other characters and plots, such as "A Man Called Ragan," which aired in April 1962 and starred Larry Ward as Marshal Frank Ragan, Chad Everett as Deputy Del Stark, Jack Elam as Deputy J.D. Smith, and Michael Greene as Deputy Vance Porter. Together, these four men pledged their lives to protect and defend the Dakota Territory from the most heinous outlaws imaginable, and they did a decent job long before Deadwood was ever a thought in our minds.

Since Cheyenne Bodie never appeared in either "A Man Called Ragan" or the later-produced The Dakotas series, the link between Cheyenne and Marshal Ragan's adventures is admittedly a thin one. But it still stands that The Dakotas only existed because of Cheyenne, which would run for seven seasons and 108 episodes total. But once Marshal Ragan and his men hopped on over to their own series, which began airing with "Return To Dryrock" in January 1963, they were a well-oiled machine ready to contribute to the plethora of horse operas already invading television screens everywhere. The Dakotas had a brutality to it that few Westerns at the time openly admitted. It was a bit darker than Cheyenne was, and it wasn't afraid to get gritty when the time came. Marshal Frank Ragan was a by-the-books lawman, but that didn't mean his enemies always fought fairly.

Each episode of The Dakotas was well-produced, and many tackled interesting themes of violence, morality, honor, and the general harshness of frontier living. The show was particularly well-written and gave most of the characters (save maybe Greene's Deputy Porter) compelling arcs that highlighted their own struggles with the ever-growing American West. One of the most notable episodes was "Requiem at Dancer's Hill," in which Ragan and his men hunt down a posse after they unlawfully hang a man before turning him over to the law. It's still considered one of the show's best. Second to that episode is the notorious "Sanctuary at Crystal Springs," which was single-handedly responsible for The Dakotas' abrupt and unforeseen cancellation.

'The Dakotas' Was Cancelled Because of One Violent Act

Airing on May 6, 1963, "Sanctuary at Crystal Springs" followed Deputies Stark and Smith as they are forced to gun down two outlaws in a local church during a funeral service. Written by Cy Chermak, who penned four episodes total of the series, this installment largely dealt with the fallout of this brutal scene, with Stark and Smith having to come to terms with both their actions and the actions of the notorious Barton brothers whom they killed. Stark, in particular, struggles considerably with the violent results, believing himself to be damned for shooting up a church. "I have faith in God, reverend," the deputy admits to Reverend Spencer (Charles Irving). "The question in my mind is, how does He feel about me?" Though they save the lives of many churchgoers, they do so at a cost that caused quite the uproar — one that extended way beyond the events of the actual episode itself.

It turns out that many audiences just couldn't get past the church shooting sequence. Despite the episode's general exploration of matters of faith, redemption, and the terrible weight of violence, many viewers tuned out of the program and never looked back. The Dakotas' most infamous hour was clear in its position regarding the cost of violence and how the taking of a life is serious business, but most didn't seem to make it that far. In Everett Aaker's Television Western Players, 1960-1975: A Biographical Dictionary, the author notes in the Larry Ward section that the show was cancelled before its final episodes even aired. "In its drive for realism in its penultimate episode," Aaker wrote, "a couple of villains were slain in a church, and a priest was held captive, which led to its cancellation following public outcry."

The Dakotas was always a show that meditated on the bleakness of territory living. It never shied from any sort of tragedy or violence before, nor could it be expected to in an episode such as "Sanctuary at Crystal Springs." The balance between the law and chaos was something Marshal Ragan and his men often fought to maintain, though episodes like this one reminded audiences that those ideals could be tougher to integrate than first imagined. Nevertheless, it's Chad Everett and Jack Elam's performances as Stark and Smith that really sell this climactic hour, and offer us a compelling look at the direction the show could have gone had it remained on air. It wouldn't be the only Western series set in the Dakota Territory cancelled before its time, but it would be the first.

'Cheyenne' Had Built a Larger Legacy Beyond 'The Dakotas'

Although The Dakotas itself didn't make it very far on television, airing only 19 of their total 20 produced episodes ("Black Gold" remained unaired though it was completed), the Cheyenne brand continued strong for a number of years. No, Marshal Ragan and his men didn't return together again on the small screen, but Clint Walker's Cheyenne Bodie continued into his seventh season. Alongside Cheyenne, the prime-time Western drama produced two other "spin-off" productions aside from The Dakotas, such as Bronco (which starred Ty Hardin as Bronco Layne) and the Will Hutchins-led Sugarfoot, which got roped into The Cheyenne Show brand of rotating Westerns that the network put together. The three gunslingers, Cheyenne, Bronco, and Tom "Sugarfoot" Brewster, would work together in the Cheyenne episode "Duel at Judas Basin," which expanded the franchise. Dakotas star Jack Elam eventually migrated to Sugarfoot.

Unfortunately, the characters of Frank Ragan and his deputies weren't included in any future crossovers. When The Dakotas was cancelled, that was a wrap for Ragan and his crew, and no connection to Cheyenne would save it. The audiences had spoken, and the series wouldn't be forgiven. Though Stark and Smith make peace with their actions in "Sanctuary of Crystal Springs," the viewers never quite forgave them — at least not some of the more outspoken ones. One more episode of The Dakotas aired on ABC, "A Nice Girl from Goliath," and then the show was officially axed by the network. In an age where Westerns were all the rage and genuinely thought-provoking programs could be hard to come by, it's a real shame that The Dakotas didn't make a bigger impact on the television Western.

The Dakotas is available on Amazon for purchase on DVD.

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