User reviews

What do MASH and The Young Riders have in common? It's an interesting answer and you'd guess it immediately if you know your history. Both television series lasted longer than the historical event they were set in. MASH which ran over ten years was longer than the three years of the actual Korean War.

The Young Riders lasted for 3 seasons and in real life The Pony Express was started in 1860 and lasted until the beginning of the Civil War. Technology replaced horses, the telegraph invented almost 20 years earlier finally spanned the continent.

Still for its brief time, The Pony Express which was run under government contract by the famous western freighting firm of Russell, Majors&Waddell certainly earned its colorful place in our history. In doing the television show the producers went back into what used to be done in Hollywood westerns, take some frontier legends and weave plots around the names that had nothing to do with real life.

According to this show Buffalo Bill Cody, Wild Bill Hickok and Jesse James all rode for the Pony Express. Of the group only Cody did in real life and he was all of 14 at the time. Stephen Baldwin was a bit older than the real Cody during his Pony Express period. Of course in the film Pony Express the mature Charlton Heston played Cody and Baldwin was certainly closer than him.

In that same film Forrest Tucker played Wild Bill Hickok. Hickok would have been in his early twenties as Josh Brolin was at the time of the series and he did work for Russell,Majors&Waddell at the time. But he was a teamster, he drove their freight wagons. He was too old to be a Young Rider. In fact that was what the Pony Express looked for, young riders, teenage boys looking for a little adventure and a chance to make a decent wage. To those farm and ranch kids trying to make a living off the land, this was a great opportunity.

A third western legend, a child actually at this time also joined The Pony Express. Young Christopher Pettiet played Jesse James who never had any connection at all with the Pony Express joined the cast in the third and final season. He was a fine young player and his death from a drug overdose in 2000 was a tragic end to a promising career.

The rest of the cast reflected some of the issues of the times. There was a southern kid simply called The Kid who was played by Ty Miller. Gregg Rainwater played an American Indian young rider, Travis Fine was a mute young rider, Don Franklin joined the cast as a runaway slave escaped to the free west in the third season as a young rider.

The most interesting gimmick was Yvonne Suhor who was going in incognito drag. I don't think the rules of The Pony Express expressly forbade women in its employ, but they sure didn't provide any separate accommodations in those relay stations. For about half the first season, no one knew she was a women. Then it finally came out, though at first only relay station manager Anthony Zerbe knew.

Zerbe played a colorful western type character who must have felt like he was running a summer camp. But these kids were there to work and their work created a legend that's come down to us today. If the young people of the World War II era are the Greatest Generation of the last century, than those who were in the Pony Express who joined the Union and Confederate Armies of the time in an awful Civil War, were the 19th Century Greatest Generation. The awful tragedy is that this generation was busy killing each other in that the USA be preserved and free for all.

When The Young Riders ended its run, the various cast members left the disbanded Pony Express to whatever destiny their consciences told them where to go. It was a moving finale to the series and something played out across the United States of America and the Confederate States of America in thousands of homes.

Despite some really bad historical inaccuracies, The Young Riders was a fine series and I wish it lasted a bit longer.

Now with each episode I watch as an adult I think this show should be made again. There were some positive themes passed along and great lessons emphasized (often by Teaspoon) in every episode.

I was in my late twenties when I first discovered this show on a cable channel. Coming from a family of western lovers, my brother was already familiar with the show and enjoyed it as well. I had to record many of the episodes due to being in night classes but I always looked forward to getting home to view them. I was so excited to see the first season come out on DVD and hope the next will be out soon.As soon as I purchased it I came home to watch every episode without commercials and having pieces lost to TV interruptions and running out of tape. I know I missed some of the episodes and still cry when I watch the last one. This is wonderful TV that teaches some valuable lessons for young kids today. They should watch more westerns! (And those were some nice looking young men on that show that grew into even nicer looking men)

I cannot calculate how many hours I have spent watching this show. You only have to check out the fan sites on the internet to see its impact. This must be one of the best (and best-looking) casts ever assembled. Josh Brolin is intense, sexy and magical as 'James Butler Hickock'. Anthony Zerbe hits just the right note as the wise but eccentric 'Teaspoon'. Ty Miller as 'Kid' is sincere and appealing. Gregg Rainwater plays the sensitive 'Buck', a half-breed torn between two worlds but belonging to none. Travis Fine is remarkable as 'Ike', a bald mute. Could any other actor have pulled off such a role? Brett Cullen is the handsome and fair marshal 'Sam Cain', if only he had stayed beyond season 1! Yvonne Suhor gives and amazing and sympathetic portrayal of 'Louise McLoud', a scared but strong woman trying to make it in a man's world by disguising her femininity. Don Franklin plays the intelligent, funny, but frustrated 'Noah Dickson' - who is very far from the usual stereotypical portrayal of blacks in westerns. Chris Pettiet plays 'Jesse James' at 14, a boy anxious to grow up and be a man but badly needing guidance and a sense of family. The comic relief is provided by Stephen Baldwin who gets all the best lines as the obnoxious but endearing 'William F. Cody' (although you may more often than not be laughing at him, not with him). The first housekeeper was 'Emma Shannon' (Melissa Leo), a woman trying to make it in the west after being deserted by her husband. She becomes a mother figure for the riders, something that most of them were lacking. Later came Clare Wren who played the sexy 'Rachel Dunne' who was a lot tougher and wiser than she looked. Well I don't think I missed anyone out. The show also had fantastic guest stars, excellent shoot-outs, and showed the conflicts that were developing between the north and the south at that time. It also showed the true meaning of love and friendship. It was wonderfully shot and had just the right blend of drama, action, and humor. I guess if you've read this far you already know and love the show. Why not write your own comments here? Oh, and "Try a little Jimmyness".

First of all I want to say that I LOVE this show. This was the first new show I watched with my parents as a family on a regular basis, and was second only to The Waltons. The characters are fantastic, it's action-packed, romantic, emotional, and just overall endearing. I believe this show is one of the main reasons that I love American History so much, to this day I search for anything I can find about the Pony Express. And now it has been released on DVD (just season 1 so far), and I have been watching at least one episode a day, reliving the love I felt for this show when I saw it as a young girl who started off simply loving it because it had beautiful horses and a girl that was just as good as the boys.

It was my favorite TV show in the whole world for the 3 seasons it actually ran and has remained a happily videotaped memory for another 10 years afterwards. They just don't make Western series that good anymore. I could never get enough of it. If it ever comes out as a boxed-set on video or DVD, I'll be the first one in line to buy it.

I absolutely loved this show during its time, and still do. I have almost every episode on tape. I am just hoping they'll put them all on DVD or even just video, so that I can finally have all of them. I watched it every day it was on and every rerun they played during 1992-1993. It will always be a fond memory for me!! :o)

I video taped all of this series back when it was on, never realizing, that so many other people liked it even though it did last 3 seasons.

It really was and is a great series, set in the old west, with lots of beautiful location scenes, and some great actors and great writing and was even recorded in stereo sound. It actually holds up today.

What more could you want?

Except for all 3 years to make it out in beautiful DVD box sets.

Well,they have got the first year out, now how about the rest of this great series! It is up to us to write to Sony Pictures TV and ask for the next 2 years to be released.

After little house or the waltons try were one of my favorite shows it reminds you what family drama used to be like after seeing a few repeats I remembered why its wholesome honest stories with just enough humor and sarcasm while dealing with everyday drama among family members and friends if you miss any of it check it out 🙂

"The Young Riders" lasted three seasons on ABC (1989-92) so it must have connected pretty well with its generally teenage target audience. Created to capitalize on the success of "Young Guns" (1988) it replaced Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, and Lou Diamond Phillips with lower budget young hunks Ty Miller, Stephen Baldwin, and Josh Brolin.

While lacking the intelligent scripting of "Bordertown" another 1989 revisionist Western, "The Young Riders" matched that Canadian series in the production design department. Both are a treat to watch just for the sets and the scenery.

"The Young Riders" is "set in the early days of the Pony Express," just before the Civil War which started in 1861. The Pony Express provided swifter than stagecoach mail service between Missouri and California through a system of single riders rushing between a string of almost 200 relief stations. The idea was to get about 75 miles of riding out of each man, exchanging his horse 5 times during his ride. The concept worked but lasted less than two years before it was replaced by the telegraph.

The series tried to get a boost from historical connections while not allowing historical accuracy to constrain it in any significant way. Rather than have the group of young riders be a bunch of average Joe's they give the viewer a young Buffalo Bill Cody (who actually rode for the Pony Express), Bill Hickok (who did not ride for the Pony Express), and in season two Jesse James (who was only 11 years old and probably didn't know that the Pony Express existed). If this sounds like an extremely lame idea then you are most likely older than Jesse.

Rounding out the hunks is a character named "The Kid" (Miller) who is technically the star judging by the amount of screen time he received. The non-hunks include Lou (Yvonne Suhor) - who is a girl pretending to be a boy, Buck Cross (Gregg Rainwater) – who is an Indian with many wilderness skills; and Ike (Travis Fine) who was kicked in the head by an horse early in the series and exhibits many signs of dementia.

One would expect the life of a pony express rider to be a lonely one but these guys always (insert "every single day and night" here) seem to be just hanging around together, with little attention paid to transporting the mail. The idea of the system was for a rider to travel as light as possible and to avoid any confrontation or complication. Yet on the rare occasions when one of these youngsters actually manages to mount his/her horse with the mail they almost always manage to somehow get entangled in something more urgent than completing their route. Such is the penalty for skimping on imaginative screenwriters.

But if you don't know any better or if you can suspend disbelief many of the episodes can be entertaining. The first season was clearly the best. In large part because it included Melissa Leo, as a kind of den mother to the boys, who becomes a little too fond of young Cody. Leo was already a very polished actress and her scenes were generally the best ones in each episode.

Probably the best scene of the entire series was the first kiss between Miller and Suhor. It has enough charm and surprise to rank it among the top five television kisses of all time.

"The Body Count" issue: as you watch the pilot episode you will think that the violence level of the series is going to be in the style of "The A Team" (mega fighting and shooting but no real casualties). But it's not long before the thing morphs into another "The Rifleman", with the corpses piling up all around the ranch, the town, and the prairie. During its three-year run the young riders manage to kill more people in gunfights than died in all the Indian wars combined. Although the ultra-violence is pretty antiseptic it is often quite lame with a lot of stuff happening off scene. When they do attempt a big action sequence it is so cheaply staged that you will wish it had happened off screen.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

I watched The Young Riders when it first aired on Thursday nights at 8pm. I was 15 and my best friend, who rode horses, would rave about this new western on TV. On her suggestion, I decided to check it out. I was hooked in one episode! The show had such an impact on me; in some weird way, I think it really helped me to grow up into a better/stronger person than I was! Now, 15 years later, as an adult, I just got the DVD of Season 1 for Christmas. I thought I might be embarrassed by my earlier obsession, but I was wrong! I fell in love with the show all over again! There is just some special quality to the characters and their relationships to one another that really sets this show apart. I am really hoping Seasons 2 and 3 get released on DVD. And another thing that hasn't changed: Gregg/Buck is still my favorite character and the hottest/most sensitive rider!

This is the for the person asking about the song: The song was that goes "that's the way it's gonna be little darling"...

Well, it was bothering me too because I wanted to know as well! So I did me a little research and some digging and came up with an answer.

The song is called "The Horses" and was originally done by Kenny Loggins of Loggins & Messina fame.

That was the version used on the show.

However, the version used in the movie Jerry Maguire, which you also asked about, is by Rickie Lee Jones. It's an soft-rock kinda cover tune.

I hope that helped!

I, and many friends, miss this show. While there were many liberties taken in the writing of the show it was very entertaining. The actors did exceptional jobs of expressing the mood and attitudes of the mid 1800's just prior to the Civil War. The Plight of the Native American people was highlighted in several episodes as was slavery. The writers used and developed characters to portray person's trapped in the non-white world. One character, Buck, played by Gregg Rainwater, developed over the three seasons from a relatively minor character of mixed blood to a highly intelligent, well read person who completely broke the misconception of the ignorant drunk Indian. I feel more could have been done with the Civil War aspect of the show but they chose to end it instead. I'm hoping this show will be released to DVD as I would like my children to see it.

I wasn't old enough to stay up until 9 pm to watch Young Riders on Thurs nights so I would tape it. I went to Catholic school and every Friday morning we'd go to church. I'd sit in church and all I could think about was getting home to watch Young Riders after school. The crazy part is nobody ever seems to remember the show. It was such a great show too! I loved every episode and was devastated when it went off the air. Hopefully they release the whole series on DVD someday!

Just recently discovered this TV show on Amazon Video. Sounded interesting so decided to give it a chance. Couldn't turn it off since. There has been much said about how this show is a copycat of Young Guns. Having been a teenage girl when Young Guns debuted, I, of course, was in love with the movie and all the actors. Now being halfway through the third and finale season of The Young Riders, I have to say with absolute honesty, this show IS NOT a copycat of Young Guns. It is it's own show and should be viewed that way. Sometimes cheesy, often times funny, this shows deals with a lot of different issues of that time period and I found I very entertaining and interesting.

Hi everybody, I'm from czech republic, so first I must excuse my English. I love this show. I saw Seasons 1 and 2 in my country when I was a child, but never more. I couldn't forget it. I want to buy DVD, but I have a problem with English "cowboy's" speak. Can anybody tell me, if on DVD are subtitles? I don't find it. Maybe in edition for Europe? I know, you don't need them, but maybe for deaf people. I try to find them in net but without purpose. My English is good only to know what is the matter, but I don't understand any "joke or hint". Everybody here love this series, so you will understand what I mean and how much I'm unhappy. Pleas help me!!! Daniela

I'm glad Gregg Rainwater is featured here,same with his 97 movie Ocean Tribe which I haven't seen,but hope to real soon on video or tv movie channels,such as Sundance,Cinemax,or Independent Film Channel.

I love this show, I remember watching it when i was a kid. As soon as i heard the music i would run into the living room sit down and not move for the whole 60 minutes. Of course I'm a typical girl and my favest young rider was Kid of course. but as i look back on it, buck is the best. I bought season 1 when it came out and have watched every episode 5 times and made all my friends at least watch one episode. I have collected all the pics i can of the show, and have made a young rider collage. I even want to collect a toy horse look alike of every young riders horse. i know this may be considered a little obsessive but this is really the only thing i have of my childhood that i hold onto. Well if any of you feel as i do you will understand. I would love to here your comments please talk to me fellow fans if you can. [email protected]

I LOVED this show when I was little!!! I had the mad 11 year old hots for Josh Brolin. I still have my old poster and my autographed pictures of the whole cast, Josh Brolin and Ty Miller packed away somewhere. (Sigh) they were so dreamy...... And I totally remember the theme song. It didn't have any words, but I could hum it for you!!! I haven't seen it many years, so who knows if it's actually as good as I remember. But here's a neat little bit of trivia. There was a song used in an episode about a little boy in a wheelchair (think it was guest star Brian Bonsall, but I'm not positive). I don't remember the words, but the chorus started with "that's the way it's gonna be, little darling" that was also used in the movie Jerry Maguire. I had always remembered the song from the show, but never heard it again until the movie came out. How's that for useless knowledge!!

Little Joe, Ben, and Hoss , of Bonanza fame, would literally roll over in their graves, if they would have to endure just one episode of the,"Young Riders ". I am just lost for adjectives to describe how bad this show was and remains. The acting is atrocious and with the insertion of historical western figures such as, Bill Cody and yes, a young Jesse James, leaves one to simply ask, why?

This was a favorite show for both my sister and I while I was in junior high. She was older and already married with her own family, but I can still remember calling her every Thursday night to remind her that it was going to be on. I was young and so in love with Ty Miller. Teaspoon was also another favorite character of mine. He was always saying something that made me laugh. I have read all of the other comments that have been posted and am with all the other readers in hoping that they put the three seasons that they did make out on DVD someday. So that I can watch the show as an adult and enjoy all of the historical aspects of it instead of drooling over the fine looking men that appeared as actors on the show.

Enough said. Why did they ruin the show by getting rid of the first Emma???