Movin' On

I bought a used Rig in 1974 for $500 down and started cross country trucking. When this show was on, all the truck stop TV lounges were filled with Truckers. We made fun of some things, but we could relate to many of the story lines. Very few of us could afford that KW, but it was nice to dream. But having problems with brokers, Smokies and the public in general were familiar themes. But also there were the good times when people were given and gave help just because they needed it and nothing was expected in return. And my trucking days lasted longer than the series....but only by a couple of years....unlike Sonny, I could not make a lot of money.

I never missed this show. Tuesday nights, at 8 p.m. CST, I was there, waiting for 'Movin' On'. I even took off work one night, to catch it.

With dependable old Claude Akins in the lead, and a catchy theme song by Merle Haggard, I figured this show couldn't miss. And I was quite disappointed when it got cancelled in '76.

Some of the plots were pretty silly - Most notably, the one where Sonny (Akins) makes a statement about truckers being 'The toughest men in America', which gets picked up by the press, and leads to a slug from a Logger, and a stint in Marine Corps boot camp - But there was that certain 'something' that kept me watching.

Akins - Perfect casting, if there ever was any - Fit the role of a gypsy trucker to a tee, and became one of my TV favorites (Though, oddly enough, I never watched 'Sheriff Lobo'). Converse - A heckuva fine Actor - Makes a great sidekick (Too bad he hasn't gone on to bigger and better things), and occasional appearances by Art Metrano and Rosey Grier add comedy relief.

It's not available on tape or DVD, and, judging from it's low popularity, it probably never will be. I can only hope that TV Land, Hallmark, or Trio will show the series, someday.

This was a series about the trials and tribulations of being a long haul over the roads independent trucker. The core role was played convincingly by a rather cummudeonly but still emminately likable Cluade Atkins. The set of Movin On was effectively the open road and all the interesting people and places connected by it.

I think this show was lavishly produced and tried to be very authentic to the world it tried to depict. This show might not have been the ER of its day but even now Moving On is still a charming deversion on a day where you just want a bit of enjoyable wholesome chewing gum for the eyes.

I did rather like the series as it did show a slice of life and I like / needed such shows to aid in my evolving understanding of society. Moving On did follow the formula of a series where the main character was placed in all the predictable scapes a trucker could get into and you watched as he got out of them without being a ripe stinker. The plot lines were exactly as you expected and this show contained few plot surprises. I must admit I was a severely disabled kid who looked forward to seeing this show every week. Thanks to Moving On I came as close as I could to seeing what it was really like to really drive a huge 18 wheel truck over the open roads. I guess for me Movin On will always be a blast in my books! Thanks for the time behind the wheel dude!

This show ruled! I can't believe it lasted only two seasons. The realism was astounding. It may not have been the ER of it's time, but it was certainly the Chicago Hope of it's time. I missed watching Fonzie jump the garbage cans on Happy Days just to watch this show. This show laid ground work for shows like Knight Rider and Love Boat. What else can I say?

I was the ripe old age of 10 when this show came on, but I never missed it. My mother and I used to make time every week to sit down with a bottle of Coca-Cola and watch it. The very first 45 (yes! a vinyl record!!) I bought was the theme song to this show--I thought! I ended up with "Movin' On" by Bad Company! I was very upset. Looking back I don't know why I thought I'd be able to find the theme song to a television show about truckers in the "Top 20" section. Anyway, I would love to watch this again on TVLand, or someplace. It's one of the sadly forgotten 70s shows that were very entertaining, even if they weren't the most popular or well-known.