Thursday, May 30, 2024

The Lone Ranger TV show

 

Got this fun set recently.  The Lone Ranger was probably my second live action masked hero I ever saw, after Batman.  I knew who he was, but it wasn't until many years later I learned about his origin.  I never knew how many episodes of that 50s television show there were, though I did notice his face changed for a while.  That was weird for a kid to see.  The show aired early in the morning, so I would watch it while getting ready for school, or having my breakfast (Quisp!).  I don't recall seeing color episodes, but my memory of those days of yore is quite hazy nowadays.  I did wonder why some old coot prospector showed up all the time when the Ranger should have been in all the action.  The Ranger didn't have a secret identity, so he could be the Ranger all the time!

However, I am sure that Clayton Moore (and John Hart) enjoyed playing other characters in disguise.  It would give them a chance to do more comedy and other emoting.  Poor Tonto, he never got to wear a disguise.  Jay Silverheels was great, and he seemed to be a partner, rather than a sidekick.  He did seem to get beat up a lot, though.  There were 221 episodes made, and two full length movies.  All from 1949 to 1958!  It also spawned two cartoon versions, plus same rather poor movies.  This set is the first two seasons, which is 78 episodes.

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