The Young Rebels

I was an eleven-year-old history buff when "The Young Rebels" premiered in September 1970. Haven't seen it, of course, in nearly 40 years; but I sure LOVED all 15 episodes of this show.

"TYR" was part of a let's-attract-the-young movement by the networks in the late 1960s and early 70s, with dramas featuring youthful characters. Others in this venue that I recall include "The Storefront Lawyers" and "The Young Lawyers." "TYR" was apparently based on the following premise: what the heck, there were teens and early 20-somethings with long hair who were committed to the American Revolution, so let's have a show about them and try to get contemporary kids to watch. Didn't work, unfortunately. Those other youth-oriented dramas didn't last long either.

I would certainly love to see "TYR" again. Of the cast, only Lou Gossett went on (justifiably) to a major career -- -

I loved this show! I was 12 when it aired. As a previous reviewer stated, it got me hooked on history to the point that I minored in it at college.

I remember Rick Ely as being the primary character, but I had a huge crush on Philippe Forquet. His portrayal of General the Marquis de Lafayette was as dashing as I thought he would have been. (Minor trivia, Philippe Forquet was in a "Twice as Nice" shampoo commercial about this time frame.)

It lasted one short season, but stayed in my mind all these years. Seems like each episode lasted about 45 minutes.

Would love to get it on DVD. I wish more shows were on now days as interesting and entertaining as this one was.

I remember watching this show when it originally aired and later when it was show on one of the cable stations--TVLand maybe? I can't remember.

I was a fan of both Rick Ely and Lou Gosset, Jr.

It was interesting seeing events that I'd learned about in history class get a new and different look through the eyes of young people in the 1700's. And there was always a bit a factual trivia at the end of every show.

My favorite episode was the one about the Liberty Bell and I also remember one about Patrick Henry. The wove actually history into the episodes very well.

I'm a history teacher and would love to have this show on DVD to use in my classroom. I remember it well. It got me hooked on American history at a young age. It would be most useful for discussions regarding the way Americans view (and the way American popular culture depicts) the American Revolution and specifically the notion of 'freedom fighters' vs 'terrorists'. It is also an interesting view of the 70's craze for 'relevatism'. I remember being extremely disappointed when it was taken off the air. The acting and the story lines were good. I specifically remember Henry the Ben Franklyn fan and Lafayette that was played by a young Frenchman very well. Of course a young Lou Gossett Jr with hair is certainly worth preserving this show for posterity all by itself! It came out when young people preferred to watch things like Laugh-in and the Partridge Family the year they took the long-running Daniel Boone off the air. Daniel Boone is very similar, especially the first couple of seasons which are available on DVD now, but I rate the Young Rebels a notch above Daniel Boone for current day relevancy.

As a young teen and history buff, I loved THE YOUNG REBELS and recall not wanting to miss one episode when it aired in the 1970s. I somehow was able to watch every First Run episode as I don't think any were repeated before its cancellation. Watching first run episodes of any show in 1970 was tricky as you had to plan to be home for it! Unlike today, when you can watch it on Hulu or buy it on DVD. I was able to videotape all but 2 episodes off the old CBN Channel, but they infuriated me when they edited out the main title sequence and substituted their own 4-second "banner" title sequence to allow more commercial time to air during the broadcast. At least the end credits were intact as I loved the robust, upbeat Yankee Doodle-like music score. The other thing I loved about this show was its serious nature. Unlike shows of today, there was no stupid witty banter between its characters. The 2 paperback novels based on this series were good reads as well.

2016 UPDATE: Most recently, it was announced that all episodes of THE YOUNG LAWYERS which also aired on ABC in 1970 and was promoted in tandem with THE YOUNG REBELS would be released on DVD. So maybe there is hope for fans of THE YOUNG REBELS yet.