USA
/ CBS / x30m-e / June 27,
1960-March 10, 1961
Broadcast Mon.-Fri. 2-2:30
p.m. black and white
"Meet
Gary Donovan, restless wanderer.
His only companions
are romance and adventure,"
purred the ads for this, the
first network serial to air live
from Hollywood. The tag line was
true. Donovan did find both
"companions" in
Crowder, Virginia, where, in the
show's debut, he settled down
and met Lisa Linda Crowder, a
young woman unhappily married to
Loyal, an older descendent of
the towns founder, and Dr. Kit
Aldrich, who fell in love with
him. As he dealt with his
attraction to the medic, he also
developed an interest in
unraveling the mystery behind
the death of Lisas first husband
while working at Loyal's mill
along with Virgil Denker.
Donovan did not have to wait
long for the murder
investigation to produce
results. A deputy arrested Loyal
for the crime, and although he
did not go to jail, Lisa
divorced him anyway and went
after the affections first of
Gary, during a period when he
and Kit were on the outs, and
then of musician David Talton,
who decided to marry Chris
instead. Both the married Chris
and David and the dating Kit and
Gary had rocky on-and-off
romances for months.
A slew of other characters
worked their way into the
action, though they added very
little to the plot in comparison
with the principals. Busybody
Beth Perce made sure to pry her
way into hearing about all of
these details for a time.
In
1961, shortly before the show
was canceled, life became more
pleasant for the citizens of
Crowder. David and Chris were
expecting a child, Lisa had
married again,
this time to a minor character
named Tony, and even Loyal, who
had managed to keep running his
mill following his arrest,
looked to be developing a
romantic image. As for the
restless wanderer, the TV Guide
write-up of the finale said,
"The future looks bright
for Kit and Gary." Maybe
that meant they got to leave
town?
Cast
Gary Donovan.... Robert
Fortier
Lisa Linda Crowder.... Dyan
Cannon
Loyal Crowder.... John McNamara
Dr. KitAldrich..... Jean Byron
Virgil Denker..... Michael Ross
Ellen Denker..... Nancy Millard
Ray Pollard..... Andrew Colmar
David Talton.... Bill Lundmark
Chris Talton (fall 1960-61)....
Ann Daniels
Parker Hill (fall 1960).... Gene
Lyons
Carter Talton, David's dad
(I960).... Byron Foulger
The Deputy (1960).... Sam
Edwards
Beth Perce (I960).... Amzie
Strickland
