Lassie's Rescue Rangers
Lassie's Rescue Rangers is an animated TV show produced by Filmation and featuring Lassie, running from 1973 to 1975.[2] The hour-long pilot, Lassie and the Spirit of Thunder Mountain, was part of The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie.[3]
| Lassie's Rescue Rangers | |
|---|---|
-(DVD).jpg.webp) | |
| Genre | Animated |
| Directed by | Hal Sutherland |
| Voices of | Ted Knight Jane Webb Keith Sutherland Lane Scheimer Hal Harvey |
| Composers | Yvette Blais Jeff Michael |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 15 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producer | Norm Prescott[1] Lou Scheimer |
| Running time | 22–24 minutes |
| Production companies | Filmation Associates Wrather Productions (as Wrather Corp.) |
| Distributor | NBCUniversal Television Distribution (on behalf of DreamWorks Classics) |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Original release | November 11, 1972 – December 22, 1973 |
Summary
In the series, Lassie the collie lives near Thunder Mountain with the Turner family. Ranger Ben Turner (voiced by Ted Knight works with wife Laura (voiced by Jane Webb) and children Susan (voiced by Jane Webb), Jackie (voiced by Lane Scheimer), and Ben Jr. (voiced by Keith Sutherland) as the Forest Force, a ranger-rescue team that protects Thunder Mountain National Park. Lassie is the leader of the Rescue Rangers, a group of wild animals living in the park, working alongside the Turners to help protect the environment and keep it safe for visitors.[4]
The Rescue Rangers were eight animals including Groucho the owl, Toothless the mountain lion, Musty the skunk, and Robbie the raccoon. Also helping the Forest Force was Gene Fox, a Native American, who was Ben Jr.'s, Jackie's and Susan's friend.
Reception
The fifteen-episode season was not well-received. Lassie's trainer, Rudd Weatherwax, said, "That's not Lassie. That's trash."[5] The National Association of Broadcasters agreed: "The manufacturers of this rubbish have incorporated violence, crime and stupidity into what is probably the worst show for children of the season."[5]
Episode list
| No. | Title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | "Lassie and the Spirit of Thunder Mountain" | November 11, 1972 |
| 1 | "The Animals Are Missing" | September 15, 1973 |
| 2 | "Mystic Monster" | September 22, 1973 |
| 3 | "Lassie's Special Assignment" | September 29, 1973 |
| 4 | "The Imposters" | October 6, 1973 |
| 5 | "Deadly Cargo" | October 13, 1973
The team discovers that the couple they rescued from a helicopter crash were transporting explosives. |
| 6 | "Grizzly" | October 20, 1973 |
| 7 | "Deepsea Disaster" | October 27, 1973
Jackie, Susan, Gene Fox, Lassie, Toothless, and Fastback are assigned as the crew of the Aquabase. But will a disgruntled sub designer have his revenge? |
| 8 | "Black Out" | November 3, 1973 |
| 9 | "Arctic Adventure" | November 10, 1973
This adventure focuses on the search for firefighters in Alaska. |
| 10 | "The Sunken Galleon" | November 17, 1973 |
| 11 | "Goldmine" | November 24, 1973 |
| 12 | "Rodeo" | December 1, 1973 |
| 13 | "Hullabaloo in Hollywood" | December 8, 1973
The Rescue Rangers arrive in Hollywood to appear in a movie. But a mysterious phantom is causing problems on the set. |
| 14 | "Tidal Wave" | December 15, 1973 |
| 15 | "Lost" | December 22, 1973
Duane Johnson gets lost on his first camping trip, putting himself and a mountain man called Jake in terrible danger. |
References
- Lentz, Harris M. III (2008). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2005: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture. McFarland p. 302. ISBN 978-0-7864-5210-1.
- Milligan, Mercedes (July 15, 2018). "VFX Artist, Illustrator George Jenson Dies Age 87". Animation Magazine. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
- Miller, Chuck (June 21, 2016). "The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie". Times Union. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
- Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981. Scarecrow Press. p. 167. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
- Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 487–488. ISBN 978-1476665993.