Riders in the Sky (TV series)

1991 American children's TV series

Riders in the Sky

Genre| Western children's comedy
Based on| Characters created by Riders in the Sky
Written by| George McGrath
Directed by| Gary Halvorson
Starring| Riders in the Sky (band)
Narrated by| George McGrath
Country of origin| United States
No. of seasons| 1
No. of episodes| 13
Production
Producers| Chris Plourde, George McGrath, Alan Sacks
Production location| CBS Studio Center
Editor| Robert S. Douglas
Original release
Network| CBS
Release| September 14 (1991-09-14) –
December 7, 1991 (1991-12-07)

Riders in the Sky is an American live-action, animated children's television series starring Western comedy band Riders in the Sky. It aired on CBS in 1991.

## Cast

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* Riders in the Sky – themselves:
* Douglas B. Green – Ranger Doug
* Paul Chrisman – Woody Paul
* Fred LaBour – Too Slim
* Joey Miskulin – Joey The Cow-Polka King
* Al Rodrigo – Senor Senor
* Patrick Bristow – Sourdough

### Puppeteers

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* Julianne Buescher
* Kevin Carlson
* Too Slim - Two Jaws
* Wayne White - Harry Coyote

## Production

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### Development

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Riders in the Sky was originally pitched as a sitcom in which the Riders moved from a frontier town in the American west to Hollywood, California, with most of the humor of the series coming from the trio being "fish out of water". The idea was unappealing to television executives due to the premise sounding too similar to that of The Beverly Hillbillies, and the show was passed on. Later, producer Alan Sacks developed the idea of a children's show starring the Riders and pitched it to CBS executives, who after seeing the Riders perform, were immediately interested.

### Writing and filming

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CBS assigned George McGrath to write the series, although Sacks would later say, "that was a big mistake, we should have had the Riders writing."[1] The series began taping on July 17 and wrapped up on September 14, 1991, the same day it premiered.

### Crew

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* Puppets by the Puppet Studio[2]
* Producers - Chris Plourde, George McGrath, Alan Sacks
* Costume Designers – Jacqueline Saint Anne, Roberta Samet
* Camera Operator – Keeth Lawrence
* Animatronic Puppeteer – Kirk Skodis
* Sound Mixer- Laura King
* Sound Effects Editor – Chris Trent
* Videotape – Scott Tuchman

### Tie-in album

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Main article: Harmony Ranch

A few weeks before the series premiered, Riders in the Sky released Harmony Ranch, their second children's album and their first on the Columbia Records label. The album features characters from the show on the cover and takes its name from the Riders' home in the series.

## Episodes

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1. Saddle Pals (September 14, 1991)
2. Harmony Ranch (September 21, 1991)
3. Horsenapped (September 28, 1991)
4. Save the Buffalo (October 5, 1991)
5. Cook Out (October 12, 1991)
6. Sourdough's Surprise (October 19, 1991)
7. Muley's Revenge (October 26, 1991)
8. Trail Weevils (November 2, 1991)
9. Fool's Gold (November 9, 1991)
10. Bad Brothers (November 16, 1991)
11. Curse of the Mine (November 23, 1991)
12. The Contraption (November 30, 1991)
13. Mail Order Brides (December 7, 1991)

## Home video releases

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The series has never been officially released on any home media, either physical or digital, due to rights issues. This was revealed while answering a question for the "Youth Wants To Know" article on the Riders in the Sky website, with "Ranger Doug" Green stating that "far too many people have a little piece of that series to make a video viable".[3]

## Awards

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* Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design – Won[citation needed]

## References

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1. ^ It's the Cowboy Way!: The Amazing True Adventures of Riders in the Sky. University Press of Kentucky. January 1, 2003. ISBN 081312882X.
2. ^ The Puppet Studio
3. ^ "Youth Wants To Know". February 17, 2005. Archived from the original on February 17, 2005. Retrieved March 27, 2017.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)

## External links

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* Riders in the Sky at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Riders in the Sky

* Douglas B. Green
* Paul Chrisman
* Fred LaBour
* Joey Miskulin

Studio albums|

* Three on the Trail
* Cowboy Jubilee
* Prairie Serenade
* Weeds & Water
* New Trails
* Saddle Pals
* Riders Radio Theater
* Riders Go Commercial
* Horse Opera
* Harmony Ranch
* Merry Christmas from Harmony Ranch
* Saturday Morning with Riders
* Cowboys in Love
* Always Drink Upstream from the Herd
* Public Cowboy #1: The Music of Gene Autry
* A Great Big Western Howdy!
* Christmas the Cowboy Way
* Woody's Roundup: A Rootin' Tootin' Collection of Woody's Favorite Songs
* A Pair of Kings
* Ridin' the Tweetsie Railroad
* Monsters, Inc. Scream Factory Favorites
* Riders in the Sky Present: Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier

Live albums|

* Riders in the Sky, Live
* The Cowboy Way
* Riders in the Sky "Lassoed Live" at the Schermerhorn with the Nashville Symphony

Compilation
albums|

* Best of the West
* Best of the West Rides Again
* Cowboy Songs
* Yodel the Cowboy Way
* Silver Jubilee
* Riders in the Sky Live from the Golden Age of Riders Radio Theater

Television|

* Tumbleweed Theater
* Riders in the Sky (TV series)

Radio|

* Grand Ole Opry
* Riders Radio Theater
* Midnite Jamboree

Film|

* Sweet Dreams
* Toy Story 2
* For the Birds

* v
* t
* e

Children's programming on CBS in the 1990s

First-run
animated series|

* Dink, the Little Dinosaur (1989–91)
* Muppet Babies (1984–91)
* The California Raisin Show (1989–90)
* Garfield and Friends (1988–94)
* Rude Dog and the Dweebs (1989–90)
* The Adventures of Raggedy Ann and Andy (1988–90)
* Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990–97)
* Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures (1990–91)
* Mother Goose and Grimm (1991–93)
* Back to the Future (1991–93)
* Where's Waldo? (1991–92)
* Fievel's American Tails (1992–93)
* The Little Mermaid (1992–95)
* Raw Toonage (1992–93)
* Marsupilami (1993–94)
* The All-New Dennis the Menace (1993–94)
* Cadillacs and Dinosaurs (1993–94)
* Conan and the Young Warriors (1994)
* Beethoven (1994–95)
* Aladdin (1994–96)
* Skeleton Warriors (1994)
* Wild C.A.T.s (1994–95)
* Stickin' Around (1994)
* The Adventures of Hyperman (1995–96)
* Timon & Pumbaa (1995–97)
* Santo Bugito (1995–96)
* The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat (1995–97)
* The Mask (1995–97)
* Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1995–97)
* Project G.e.e.K.e.R. (1996–97)
* Franklin (1998–99; 2000-02)
* Anatole (1998–2000)
* Dumb Bunnies (1998–99)
* Flying Rhino Junior High (1998–2000)
* Birdz (1998–99)
* Mythic Warriors (1998–2000)
* New Tales from the Cryptkeeper (1999–2000)
* Blaster's Universe (1999–2000)
* Rescue Heroes (1999–2000)

First-run
live-action series|

* Pee-wee's Playhouse (1986–91)
* Riders in the Sky (1991)
* The Amazing Live Sea Monkeys (1992)
* Beakman's World (1993–98)
* Fudge (1995–96)
* Really Wild Animals (1995–96)
* Bailey Kipper's P.O.V. (1996–97)
* Secrets of the Cryptkeeper's Haunted House (1996–97)
* The New Ghostwriter Mysteries (1997–98)
* Wheel 2000 (1997–98)
* The Weird Al Show (1997–98)
* The Sports Illustrated for Kids Show (1997–98)
* In the News (1997–98)

Rebroadcasts|

* Inspector Gadget (1991–92)
* Cyber C.O.P.S. (1993)
* CBS Storybreak (1993–95, 1996–98)
* Rupert (1999)

Related topics|

* Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue (1990)
* Modern animation in the United States

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