Sergeant Preston of the Yukon

With these words, Sergeant Preston and his loyal dog, Yukon king always got their man. Played by Richard Simmons, Sergeant Preston patrolled the western reaches of the Canadian frontier in the 1890s. Action and justice in such locales as Yellowknife, Dawson, and Whitehorse were seen each Saturday morning by the same kids who had just finished watching The Lone Ranger and Sky King.

The series episodes featured stories set against the harsh extremes of the Yukon winter and summers in the Canadian Rockies. To match the climate, Preston would trade his dogsled for his horse, Rex. King was along wherever the good sergeant went.

Simmons was the perfect embodiment of Sergeant Preston, the pride of the Northwest Mounted. To this day (despite Due South) when I picture a Mountie......it's always Sergeant Preston. And of those of who watched the show as kids, who can forget that stirring theme music and the words with which Sergeant Preston closed each episode, "Well King, this case is closed."

Sergeant Preston Of The Yukon like The Lone Ranger created from the minds of George W. Trendle and Fran Striker was a staple of radio for many years. When series radio was coming to an end, the Sergeant brought his team of huskies led by his lead dog King to television and week and after week for three years kids got snow blind watching those wintry episodes. Of course in the tradition of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the sergeant never failed to get his man.

As it was from the folks who gave you the Lone Ranger the show did emphasize clean living and strict family values. Of course what those folks in the frozen north did to get a little comfort on those cold winter nights is best left unsaid.

King was as helpful to Preston as Rin Tin Tin was to Rusty and the rest of the US Cavalry. And during the winter months he was essential. I can't conceive of Richard Simmons ever being forced to eat King as say Polar explorers like Scott, Nansen, Peary, and Amundsen being forced to eat their transportation to prevent starvation.

I may be a bit to jocular and humorous, but Sergeant Preston Of The Yukon was a decent show and for more than just the kid trade. It did evoke some fond memories after seeing some episodes recently.

And still he and Nelson Eddy have in their images set a kind of standard for the men of the RCMP to live up to.

The 78 half-hour episodes of the "kiddie" television adventure series "Sergeant Preston of the Yukon" were originally broadcast on CBS during the 1955 to 1958 broadcast seasons; and in syndication for many years after.

This was one of many transplants to early television from network radio. It was created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker who also put together both the radio and television versions of "The Lone Ranger" and the radio version of "The Green Hornet".

At a time of look-alike westerns filmed on the back-lots of Hollywood, "Sergeant Preston of the Yukon" offered viewers the white landscape of Canada's Yukon Territory. It was actually filmed each winter in the mountains of Big Bear Lake, in southern California.

Like "The Lone Ranger", each week the story's setting and characters were described by the narrator in the opening credits: "Sergeant Preston of the Northwest Mounted Police with Yukon King, swiftest and strongest lead dog breaking the trail in the relentless pursuit of lawbreakers, in the wild days of the Yukon. Back to the days of the Gold Rush, as Sergeant Preston, with his wonder dog, Yukon King, meets the challenge of the Yukon".

The gold rush he is talking about occurred in the 1890's as Canada's desolate western frontier found itself suddenly occupied by a swarm of gold crazed miners, cutthroats, and tenderfeet. It was up to Sgt. Preston (his first name is never used) to track down thieves, murderers, and claim jumpers. The job left him no time for romance even though his Boston Blackie mustache, red uniform, puffed-out trousers, and DI hat must have driven the ladies crazy.

No doubt the education of baby boomers on NWMP lore was responsible for the successful introduction of "Dudley Do-right" to "Rocky and and His Friends/The Bullwinkle Show" (1959-1964).

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

I remember watching this program as a kid. There were no fancy special effects, no blood and gore, just edge of your seat excitement. There was a clear distinction between the good guys and the bad guys, and the good guys won. The dedicated Sargent Preston, and his faithful dog King, fighting the elements and the bad guys. You always knew who the hero was, and the bad guys always got what they deserve. Perhaps if there were shows like this today, children would have a better sense of right and wrong. Clear definitions of right and wrong, where the objective is to bring the wrongdoer to justice, not smash, mutilate or destroy them. No super powers, no high technology, just plain old fashioned using your brain. Clear values and no gratuitous violence.

I have had the great privilege of watching daily episodes of Sergeant Preston on "Grit TV" for the last couple of months. It was one of my all-time favorite TV shows when I was a kid in the '50's. Millions of other kids loved it too -- so much so that Milton Bradley issued a "Sergeant Preston" board game. My brother and I and the neighborhood kids used to play that game all the time. Fast-forward to today: Shortly after I started watching the show on "Grit", I went to eBay and found a copy of the game. It is now in my possession, and will be a cherished possession of mine for the rest of my life. As for the show itself: for those who might remember -- Dick Simmons WAS Sergeant Preston, in much the same way that Clayton Moore WAS the "Lone Ranger". In fact, the two made personal appearances in costume together from time to time. With his handsome good looks, pencil-thin mustache, and resonant voice ("On, You Huskies!!"), no one else could have pulled off that role the way that Dick Simmons did. He was awesome. But of course, the real star of the show was "King". Seeing this show for the first time in color (we only had black-and-white TV in the fifties), I was truly taken by how gorgeous and lovable this animal truly was. You can see it in every scene he is in -- a true scene stealer. It is no wonder that the kids of the 1950's loved him so much. I have read that once the series ended, King went on to a long and happy life in retirement. He earned it for sure.