The Yellow Rose

I saw this programme for the first time last year when a friend in the US kindly sent me a copy of the whole series. Now I'd like to tape my own (the quality of the copy is not wonderful) but as far as I'm aware, this show never gets shown in the UK. Why??? It's great! I love it! Maybe it's because I love the cast, or the storylines, or the area it's set in, or maybe all three, but I adore this programme! I don't know why it didn't last for more than 22 episodes, it deserved much better.

This is an excellent series. There are generations of viewers who love Westerns. The Yellow Rose was a welcome departure from the type of TV series and programs that were popular in the '80's. The Yellow Rose not only had good stories in a modern day ranch setting, it also presented some excellent famous actors from the 1940's and 1950's in the story lines. Many people I knew in Texas and other states looked forward to this series weekly, including myself. We were so disappointed when the series was canceled. All the main characters were excellent in their roles. If you love Westerns, horses, ranch life, Texas or just love Sam Elliott this series is for you.

I saw every episode of the TV series and loved every minute of it. It had a killer cast and was well written. When you put Sam Elliott, David Soul, Edward Albert together in lead parts then add Sybil Shephard and Susan Anspach you have the ingredients for a very good series. The addition of supporting cast members such as Noah Berry, Ken Curtis improved the mix. The story line was interesting although it vaguely copied Big Valley by having an unknown half brother show up to claim his part in the family ranch. The fact that the half brother had been in the Huntsville prison was an interesting way to explain his late arrival to the ranch. It definitely added an edge to the rest of the storyline. Why did it not last more than one year? It was on opposite Fantasy Island! Ugh! This is one series I would love to see released on DVD.

I was deployed to Qatar twice in the last year (2003-2004) and a TV station in Qatar was showing it (they love American TV Series) and I got hooked on this show. I didn't know anything about it but it was on during the weekends (for Qatar that is Thurs and Friday) on America Plus which is a satellite network carried in all the hotels and U.S. Facilities in the Persian Gulf region. It got to the point that I planned my days around the show, lame as that may sound. It really appealed to the 70's American image that I missed being 6000 miles from home. That show is one of the few things I miss about not being there (I don't miss the summers). I liked all the actors and the storyline while corny at times was entertaining. I never saw it when it originally aired but would buy the DVDs if they came out.

I only saw a few minutes of this series on TV Land recently, and can not fathom why TV Land was running daily reruns of a 16 year old show that only lasted for 20 episodes in the year 2000. Maybe it was so everybody could see Sam Elliot. He is an awesome actor.