The Dakotas

I was 8 years old when this was on. I don't remember too much about this show other than Jack Elam as J.D. Smith. I thought his character was real cool. He wasn't physically handsome like the other "good guys" on television at the time but the way that he portrayed his character and the way he walked made this 8 year old boy take notice. I just watched an episode that I have on tape and realize that this was a well-made western. Too bad that it didn't last longer.

I have just watched 15 episodes of The Dakotas, This is a group of men that the public was not ready for. These guys were awesome. The episode that started their demise "Sanctuary at Crystal Springs" where the TV public wrote in and complained to take it off the air. This was due to the shooting that JD and Dale did inside of the "Church" That was going too far said the public. But, remember the priest in his remarks to Dale in the Church. "Nothing goes on in here unless God permitted it to happen". 1963 TV public, God led them there for what reason I do not know, but he did. This should have been the longest running western in the 60's As a boy, age 9 in 63' I was not happy when it went off the air. So I have spent the last few years searching for those episodes, I have 5 more to locate.

Well what does one say, others have said it all! Like the other contributors I saw The Dakotas in my mid teens, thought it was the best western to date, and, of course it was the great Jack Elam that made the show! J D Smith could have been a good feature film story. Oh if only Peckinpah had used Jack Elam more (in Pat Garrett & ...) and earlier - imagine Jack partnering Warren Oates, especially in The Wild Bunch as the Gorch brothers.

But to details. Now, in Oct 2007 I have realised an old ambition and got hold of all 20 episodes that were shown. Look on ebay if you want them.

A little research shows there is a fair bit of misinformation around, but Wikipedia is a good start, together with this site and Classic TV Archive.

21 episodes were made in all, the last, number 20, Black Gold was not transmitted in the US. The first, number 0, A Man Called Ragan was first shown in the US in 1962 as part of Cheyenne.

But what about the UK? I'm sure it was on Sat night, 8 or 9pm and that the series started with number 0, possibly retitled as The Dakotas. So all the web info appears to relate to the US. I recall complaints in the UK about the violence, but was the series terminated early in the UK as well? Or was it all shown. what happened in the UK, was it bought, leased/rented/syndicated or is there a copy, maybe of the full set lying in a vault somewhere? 16mm versions of some episodes are available on US ebay, suggesting that is how Warners distributed it. So is there a Warner Bros archive? So you guys in the UK try and remember when you saw it, it might be traceable. You guys in the US, what about it? These 16mm versions came from somewhere. The thought of a full set of high quality print DVDs is tantalising.

This series is probably the greatest memorial and testament to one of the west's finest character actors, so for Jack's sake...........

I've always loved westerns. Some shows I can remember well from the late 60s, while other earlier shows are just vague and fond memories, or forgotten over the decades. I couldn't recall what category The Dakotas came under - forgotten or never seen - but as Jack Elam was a long time favourite actor of mine I decided to get a couple of episodes on DVD. I was stunned. The episodes were gripping, atmospheric, hard-edged. Jack Elam was brilliant in it. I'd have to say that I never saw the series in the 60s, as it's not one easily forgotten. I have since acquired all the episodes and am still watching them. There hasn't been an episode that has disappointed me yet. What a shame there were only 20 of them. What a shame.

_The Dakotas_ was very good. Its ratings were not good, as I recall. Another of my recollections is that it faced stiff competition in its time slot. It was also launched as the "adult western" craze was receding. Some of the scripts were thought-provoking. Jack Elam was terrific. I suspect it could be run today in Fance and be a hit with intellectuals at least, owing to its penchant for ambiguity and ambivalence. Not your standard western, n'est-ce pas!