The Loner: The Complete Series

Just about anyone who is a fan or at least knows of Rod Serling is familiar with his two well known TV shows. The "Twilight Zone" which ran from 1959 to 1964 and "Night Gallery" from 1969 to 1973. I recently discovered there was actually a third series created by Serling that aired during the 1965-66 season. And to make it more interesting it was a Western titled "The Loner". It would not go on to acheive the kind of critical acclaim that "Twilight Zone" did or even to a lesser degree that "Night Gallery" would. And while "Zone" and "Gallery" lasted 5 and 3 years on air "The Loner" would ride off into the sunset after just one season. Even so while "Loner" may not have been in the same league as Serling's two anthology series it was still a unique and good show for its genre.In a nutshell Lloyd Bridges (of "Sea Hunt" fame) starred as William Colton, aka The Loner. Colton had fought in the Civil War and when the war ended headed westward looking for some peace and calmness. Alone the way he meets and interacts with people during his travels. Some are strangers. Some he knew from before the war and some he had met during the war. But in each episode Colton is always moving on getting jobs here and there to make a little money for the provisions he needs while he is searching for that peace. In some ways this was your typical kind of tv western but in other ways it different at the same time.Of course not only did he create the show but Serling would also write the majority of the scripts as sell. There were 26 episodes total. Serling wrote somewhere around 15 to 16 of them. Like the typical tv westerns you have shootouts and showdowns and the occasional barroom brawl. The difference was the violence shown wasn't glorified. Whenever Colton used either his guns or fists it was always as the last resort with regret afterwards that he had to use them. The dialog and storylines in the series was certainly deeper and intriguing thanks to Serlings writing. And the episodes could deals with subject matters not always approached in the usual tv western. Racism and bigotry. The treatment of Native-Americans. Even looking at how the Civil War effected the country after the war had ended. It looked at serious issues that most tv programs would not tackle western or otherwise. But of course if you were Rod Serling, one of the greatest, if not the greatest, television writers of all time you had the freedom to approach such issues. And while it might seem strange that Serling would have developed a Western tv series it was not something new for him to write.During its 5 year run there was a few episodes that Rod wrote for the "Zone" that was set in the old west including "The Grave", "Dust" and "Mr Denton on Doomsday". All of these I rate among my favorite TZ episodes. During "Night Gallery" Serling penned a couple scripts set out west including "The Waiting Room" and "Dr Stringfellow's Rejuvenator". Again these are two of my favorite episodes from NG. So Serling had a touch for writing western as well as sci-fi, horror or drama.An added, and I might say appreciated, extra is the special feature included in this set titled "The Wandering Man's Burden: Making The Loner". Running about 30 minutes it looks at the history behind the series and what went into the production of the show.All in all this is a very good series that anyone who likes either Rod Serling or tv westerns will enjoy. I can recommend this set.

"Submitted for your approval:Captain William. Colton. Colton is a good man. A just man. It's 1865. Captain Colton doesn't know it yet, but the war between the North and the South is minutes from ending. The only battle left to fight now will be the battle raging in his mind. If only the war had ended a minute sooner, he may have redeemed herself. But now, it seems that the the only redemption that can be found for William Colton reside beyond the outer region of The Twilight Zone."Okay, this is definitely NOT The Twilight Zone. But the Western series was created and written mostly by Rod Serling. And the pilot plays a lot like a TZ episode. If it had been a part of that classic anthology, Colton would have been driven mad by the memories of all the young boys he'd killed in the war.The Loner only lasted for 26 episodes during the 1965-66 season. Colton was expertly played by Lloyd Briidges (Sea Hunt) He is a man who would much rather fight with his brains than a gun. The Loner was a thinking man's western. Bridges is tired of war, and rarely shoots or kills anyone. He simply rides West. Much like Buz and Tod on Route 66, he is looking for a place to call home and trying to help people along the way.This series suffered from a lack of prominent guest stars, and perhaps it should have been filmed in color. I think Serling could have pulled in a few more name guest stars from his TZ stable. Burdges Merrideth is wonderful in an episode. And some newcomers are sprinkled in. But some of the acting in early episodes could have been better. It might have played better with more of a Spighetti Western approach. Appearances by the likes of Lee Van Clief, Slim Pickens and Lee Marvin wound have been nice. A pre-Graduate Katherine Ross does show up, miscast as an Indian Squa.There are definitely some good episodes here. Shout Factory has packaged it nicely on four dvd's and most of the prints are chrystal clear. Nice price. Entertaining. Nice musical score by Nelson Riddle and Jerry Goldsmith too. If you like Lloyd Bridges, I doubt you'll be disappointed by this forgotten Western from yesteryear. Scott EdwardsUpdate:having viewed all the episodes in this series and the bonus feature on the making of the show, I now understand what killed it. Network politics! When Rod Serling got this on the CBS schedule in 1965, Westerns were on the way out. Serling was at odds with the CBS programming brass at the time. They put the show in a bad time slot. They told Serling they wanted "more movement...more action!" Serling took this to mean more gunfights and violence. That was not the series he wanted to do. So Rod Serling took his battle to the press. This didn't sit well with CBS. They never moved the show to a good time slot, and pulled the plug on it in 1966. It's a shame, because it was a series that was just gaining its identity if not its audience. This show was Serling's last attempt at the western genre. As I stated earlier, it's too bad "The Loner" wasn't given another season in a better time slot. Bridges was fun to watch, as were episodes with Beau, Jeff and Cindy Bridges. Also, watch for Bruce Dern in the final episode.S.E.

I remember this Western series when I was a teen. It was a great series, unfortunately, it was only on tv for one season. The story lines were more than just a shoot'em up Western. Each of the 26 episodes is insightful and entertaining.

It's a mystery why some shows click and others don't. This one should have: Lloyd Bridges was a fine actor, surrounded by other good actors, and Rod Serling (who created and wrote most of the scripts) was as good for television as any scribe the medium had. Having watched most of the episodes, I suspect this series was too introspective for viewers who wanted their westerns as shoot-em-ups (which, like the western genre in general, was dying out by 1966, when "The Loner" was canceled). Because of his character's nature, Bridges is, in most of the episodes, more a reactor than a catalyst for the action; that, too, may have turned off some viewers. "The Twilight Zone" was a perfect vehicle for Serling's social conscience, because it was hidden inside such quirky tales. Although a period piece, "The Loner" is, by comparison, a far more straight-ahead drama: a series of character studies in which the guest stars were allowed to shine a bit more brightly. I also checked the '65-'66 programming schedule: "The Loner" had a weak lead-in and was then scheduled against NBC's "Saturday Night at the Movies" and ABC's "The Hollywood Palace," both of which were well established and very popular. In any case, through the marvel of DVDs, we can now see good things we missed the first time around. "The Loner" is one of them: a cut above most of the network offerings in that era. To top it off, it is graced by a catchy signature theme by Jerry Goldsmith, which, after a second hearing, is nearly impossible to forget.

From Famed Twilight Zone Creator Rod Serling comes The Loner. This Half hour western series features Lloyd Bridges as William Colton roaming The old west Hence The Title as a man in search of his own identity while Given a helping hand To others along The way. Lloyd Bridges at The Time was basically new To Television he was normally cast in supporting leads in movies The classic High Noon being a prime example. of course Bridges would eventually go onto a long association with TV with The classic series Sea Hunt. Though here in The Loner Rod Serling perfectly casts Lloyd Bridges in is first ever Television role. like The Twilight Zone filmed in stark black and white which in it's own way manages To set The Tone and style of The series. as we all know Rod Serling was a prolific writer which clearly shows Through The Quality of each of The Loner's stories. basically its The Twilight Zone moved To The old west without The shock endings. like many TV series of The Time The episodes feature familiar faces in Guest roles for The series look out for a pre Hawaii Five-O Jack Lord, Forbidden Planets Leslie Nielsen, and Land Of The Giants Deanna Lund. now as a life long fan of Deanna it was a pleasant surprise for me To see her Turn up on The Loner and very Good she is in it Too. Lloyd Bridges real life sons Jeff and Beau Bridges as Teenagers can be seen in one classic episode while all 26 episodes offer excellent picture and sound. for me its one of Those series That looks better for being filmed in black and white. A short extra in a way offers a short Making The Loner featuring contributions from Lloyd's son Beau. with a memorable Theme Tune To boot The Loner is a True classic in The same Tradition as all The other classic TV western series comes Highly recommended.

Hi l think will be a good series as Lloyd bridges who is the star makes good westerns

Very good series with lloyd Bridges

Great, almost forgotten series from Rod Serling. Good quality picture for its age, very happy with this.

Brilliant classic western film series