Classic Television - Prime Time

The Men From Shiloh*

(*) Formerly The Virginian.

Original channel

NBC

Original run

September 16, 1970 – March 24, 1971

Starring 

James Drury  

Stewart Granger

Doug McClure

Lee Majors 

The Virginian (known as The Men From Shiloh in its final year) is an American Western television series starring James Drury and Doug McClure, which aired on NBC from 1962 to 1971 for a total of 249 episodes. It was a spin-off from a 1958 summer series called Decision. Filmed in color, The Virginian became television's first 90-minute western series (75 minutes excluding commercial breaks). Immensely successful, it ran for nine seasons—television's third longest running western. It follows Bonanza at fourteen seasons and 430 episodes, and Gunsmoke at twenty seasons and 635 episodes.

In season 9, the name of the program was changed to The Men from Shiloh and the look of the series was completely redesigned. Ownership was changed once more, and Colonel Alan MacKenzie (Stewart Granger) took over. In several countries, including the United Kingdom, the show went under the extended title The Virginian: Men From Shiloh. The opening theme song was changed to a new one, composed by Ennio Morricone, and the look of the show was changed reflecting a style similar to spaghetti westerns, which were very popular at the time. The hats worn featured much broader brims and higher crowns. The clothing was also jauntier and more imaginative. These changes brought a better ranking (#18) in the top 30 prime-time shows, after the previous year saw the show slip out of the top 30 rankings for the first time ever. The final season operated on a "rotating lead actor" basis of the four stars, with normally just one lead appearing each week. Two of the four lead actors (Lee Majors and Doug McClure) never appeared together in the last season. The ranch itself played a very nominal part in season 9, with most scripts featuring the four stars away from the ranch. There seemed little that could save it, as the final season brought in several big guest stars to the remaining episodes. The studio and network were set on ending the series, as evidenced by rivals CBS and ABC making demographic moves away from rural-oriented shows. The final episode aired on March 24, 1971, ending the show's nine-season run.