''Outlaws'' is an American

science fiction western The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referr ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

which aired Saturday nights on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

from December 28, 1986 until May 30, 1987. The original series began as a 2-hour pilot movie, and was followed by eleven one-hour episodes.

Plot

The story begins in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

in 1899, as Sheriff Jonathan Grail tried to round up the villainous four-man Pike Gang, of which he had once been a member. After cornering the gang in a stormy Native American

graveyard A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

, a bolt of

lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electric charge, electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the land, ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous ...

struck all five men - transporting them 87 years forward in time to 1986. With no way to get back to their original time, the five men agreed to a truce, and started a private investigation/detective agency to pay their bills. The five men, now working as the "Double Eagle Detection Agency," helped right wrongs, protected the downtrodden, and fought off drug lords and gang leaders, all while continuing to operate with 19th-century weaponry, including revolvers and shotguns. Several of the episodes dealt with problems the men faced in the 1880s that had to be resolved in the 1980s. No one knew their real identities, and most people assumed that their old-style clothing and weapons were an affectation. During their first case they met Lt. Maggie Randall, a Houston detective, who became romantically involved with Grail and often helped them in their cases. The series featured crime drama and shootouts, although the heroes never killed anyone, thanks to their superior marksmanship. The show also featured humorous moments. The humor derived primarily from the outlaws' unfamiliarity with 20th-century technology, as well as the contrast between their 19th-century mores and those of the 20th century. Most episodes featured flashbacks, which were done in a sepia tone. Although the pilot episode was one of the most-watched shows that week, future episodes drew fewer and fewer fans. The series' final episode, in fact, featured a "flashback" scene from another television show, '' The Oregon Trail'', in which Outlaws actors

Rod Taylor Rodney Sturt Taylor (11 January 1930 – 7 January 2015) was an Australian actor. He appeared in more than 50 feature films, including ''The Time Machine'' (1960), ''One Hundred and One Dalmatians'' (1961), '' The Birds'' (1963), and ''In ...

and Charles Napier both starred.Stephen Vagg, ''Rod Taylor: An Aussie in Hollywood'' (Bear Manor Media, 2010) p213-217

Characters

Episodes

Low ratings and cancellation

''Outlaws'' was considered a "high concept" series, mixing three separate genres - time travel, the Western, and a detective series. After very high ratings for the series pilot, ''Outlaws'' aired its regular episodes on Saturday nights, where it struggled to find an audience. It was cancelled in May 1987.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0090498, Outlaws 1986 American television series debuts 1987 American television series endings 1980s American drama television series English-language television shows 1980s Western (genre) television series CBS original programming Science fiction Westerns Television shows set in Houston Television series by Universal Television