About the short-lived television series "A Man Called Shenandoah"....
First of all,this was not to be confused with the 1965 theatrical motion picture "Shenandoah" that starred James Stewart,Katherine Ross,and Doug McClure.
Actor Robert Horton said once during an interview with TV Guide that he "vowed never to do another television western." After more than eight seasons as Flint McCullough on "Wagon Train"(one of the all-time great television westerns ever made that ran from 1957 until 1965),Horton was back in the saddle once again in this short-lived western series "A Man Called Shenandoah" that originally ran on ABC-TV for 34 episodes,all in black and white from September 13,1965 until its final episode on May 16,1966. The show ran an half-hour. Robert Horton is excellent as a man who lost his memory after he gets shot in the head,gets amnesia,and also is searching for his history throughout the country going from town to town throughout the old west in search for the man who shot him,that is if he can even remember who he was in the first place. This series was in fact little darker,and more emotionally than most of the westerns that came out during the 1960's.
While the theme and dark subject matter somewhat resembles "The Fugitive",let's face it...Robert Horton was no David Janssen. In "The Fugitive",one got more sense of desperation;after all,Kimble was however running for life,and searching for the man who frame him for murder while on the run from the police. In "A Man Called Shenandoah",Horton was just wandering through the West looking for his identity,but still had a good life,but trying to find the pieces of a puzzle that left him without remembering who he is or what was he looking for?
But still the show lasted more than a year,producing 34 episodes. The reason why is got clobbered in the ratings is that ABC,the network that originally ran the series,put "A Man Called Shenandoah" on its Monday night schedule opposite the Emmy-winning powerhouse "The Andy Griffith Show",that was on CBS. However,the show did have a very good original concept,with lots of open space to work with and other ideas that could have developed into a great series. It had quality,not to mention potential. However,several episodes were very good including the pilot episode "The Onslaught",as well as "Requiem For The Second","The Clown", "An Unfamiliar Time","Care of General Delivery",and the final episode of the series "Macauley's Care".
Several directors from Tom Gries,to David Alexander,Murray Golden,along with Nathan Juran,Boris Segal,Jerry Hopper,Vincent McEveety,Harry Harris,Paul Wendkos,Byron Paul,and even Don McDougall to Jud Taylor contribute to some of the episodes for this short-lived series. The guest star roster of this series included some of Hollywood's Best: From J.D. Cannon to Beverly Garland,John Anderson,Warren Oates,to Leonard Nimoy,Lloyd Bochner,Edward Binns,Cloris Leachman,Claude Akins, Kevin Hagen,Sally Kellerman,John Ireland,Charles Horvath,Anne Helm, to Nina Foch,Strother Martin,Jack Elam,Gary Merrill,Steve Brodie and even Antoinette Bower,and Hank Patterson.
When the show ended in 1966,Robert Horton was originally cast to star in an espionage series title "The Magnificent Thief",which was a far cry from the typical TV Western,and his first entry to do a spy show. Unfortunely,Horton was originally cast for the part,but lost it to Robert Wagner.
