''Sara'' is a 1976
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
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 ...
starring
Brenda Vaccaro
Brenda is a feminine given name in the English language.
Origin
The overall accepted origin for the female name Brenda is the Old Nordic male name ''Brandr'' meaning both ''torch'' and ''sword'': evidently the male name Brandr took root in areas ...
centering around a schoolteacher in
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
in the 1870s. It aired from February 13 to May 7, 1976 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 Entertainmen ...
.
[McNeil, Alex, ''Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present'', New York: Penguin Books, 1996, p. 724.][Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946–Present, Sixth Edition'', New York: Ballantine Books, 1995, , p. 901.]
After ''Sara'' ended, a television movie, ''Territorial Men'', compiled from footage shot for the weekly series, was broadcast on July 30, 1976.
Synopsis
In the 1870s, young, unmarried schoolteacher Sara Yarnell decides to leave behind her dull, predictable life in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, and move to the
Western frontier
The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...
, where she can face new challenges. Answering a newspaper advertisement for a schoolteacher, she settles in
Independence
Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
, Colorado, where she becomes the only teacher in a one-room schoolhouse.
Strong-willed, she fights fiercely against ignorance and prejudice that she encounters in Independence, much to the dismay of some of the more conservative local residents, who had thought they were getting a far more passive schoolteacher. She also believes strongly that education is a necessity and a right – one of her first actions after arriving in Independence is to demand new
readers and a new
outhouse
An outhouse is a small structure, separate from a main building, which covers a toilet. This is typically either a pit latrine or a bucket toilet, but other forms of dry toilet, dry (non-flushing) toilets may be encountered. The term may als ...
for the school – putting her at odds with local residents who view it as an unnecessary luxury.
Her stances and actions have differing effects on the various people in her life in Independence. They offend her landlady, Martha Higgins, and draw mixed responses from schoolboard members Emmett Ferguson, Claude Barstow, and George Bailey, who also is a banker in the town. However, her principles and goals receive the approval of the towns newspaper editor, Martin Pope, and of Saras friend Julia Bailey, who also is Georges wife, as well as of Saras students, which include Marthas daughters Debbie and Emma and George and Julias son Georgie.
[Classic Television Archive Sara](_blank)
/ref>
Cast
*Brenda Vaccaro
Brenda is a feminine given name in the English language.
Origin
The overall accepted origin for the female name Brenda is the Old Nordic male name ''Brandr'' meaning both ''torch'' and ''sword'': evidently the male name Brandr took root in areas ...
...Sara Yarnell
*Bert Kramer
Bert Kramer (October 10, 1934 – June 20, 2001) was an American actor, who was born in San Diego. He appeared in many different television shows including ''Kojak'', ''The Bionic Woman'', ''The Rockford Files'', ''Dallas'', ''Dynasty'', ''Fu ...
...Emmett Ferguson
*Albert Stratton...Martin Pope
* William Phipps...Claude Barstow
*William Wintersole...George Bailey
* Mariclare Costello...Julia Bailey
*Louise Latham
Louise Latham (September 23, 1922 – February 12, 2018) was an American actress, perhaps best known for her portrayal of Bernice Edgar in Alfred Hitchcock's 1964 film ''Marnie''.
Early years
Latham came from Hamilton, Texas. She was from a fam ...
...Martha Higgins
*Kraig Metzinger
Kraig Metzinger (born March 19, 1963) is an American former child actor, who played the role of Maude Findlay's grandson Phillip Traynor on the sitcom '' Maude'' for the show's final season in 1977–1978. He was born in Los Angeles, California. M ...
...Georgie Bailey
*Debbie Lytton...Debbie Higgins
*Hallie Todd
Hallie Todd (born January 7, 1962) is an American actress. She played Penny Waters on ''Brothers,''Jo McGuire on ''Lizzie McGuire,'' and Rhoda Markowitz, Dennis Stanton's assistant, on ''Murder, She Wrote''. She also made guest-starring appearan ...
...Emma Higgins
* Albert Henderson...Samuel Higgins
Production
Michael Gleason created ''Sara'', and George Eckstein
George Eckstein (May 3, 1928 – September 12, 2009) was an American writer and television producer whose career spanned three decades, from the early 1960s through the late 1980s. Eckstein was a producer of many popular television programs such a ...
was its executive producer
Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...
. Richard J. Collins
Richard J. Collins (July 20, 1914 – February 14, 2013) was an American producer, director and screenwriter prominent in Hollywood during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. He worked on several notable television programs including '' Bonanza'', ...
produced the show. Episode directors included William F. Claxton, Lawrence Dobkin
Lawrence Dobkin (September 16, 1919 – October 28, 2002) was an American television director, character actor and screenwriter whose career spanned seven decades.
Dobkin was a prolific performer during the Golden Age of Radio. He narrat ...
, Daniel Haller
Daniel Haller (born September 14, 1929) is an American film and television director, production designer, and art director.
Life and career
Haller was born in Glendale, California on September 14, 1929. He studied at the Chouinard Art Institu ...
, Gordon Hessler
Gordon Hessler (12 December 1925 – 19 January 2014) was a German-born British film and television director, screenwriter, and producer.
Biography Early Years
Born in Berlin, Germany,Ephraim Katz, Katz, Ephraim. ''The Film Encyclopedia'', Harp ...
, Alf Kjellin
Alf Kjellin (; 28 February 1920 – 5 April 1988) was a Swedish film actor and director, who also appeared on some television shows.
Biography
Kjellin underwent two changes of names in his early days in Hollywood. The first studio for which he ...
, Stuart Margolin
Stuart Margolin (January 31, 1940 – December 12, 2022) was an American film, theater, and television actor and director who won two Emmy Awards for playing Evelyn "Angel" Martin on the 1970s television series ''The Rockford Files''. In 1973, h ...
, Leo Penn
Leonard Francis Penn (August 27, 1921 – September 5, 1998) was an American actor and director and the father of musician Michael Penn and actors Sean Penn and Chris Penn.
Early life
Penn was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, the son of Russi ...
, Joseph Pevney
Joseph Pevney (September 15, 1911 – May 18, 2008) was an American film and television director. , Michael Preece
Michael Preece (born September 15, 1936) is an American film and television director, script supervisor, producer, and actor best known for directing television series ''Dallas'' and ''Walker, Texas Ranger'' and films ''The Prize Fighter'' and '' ...
, Jud Taylor
Judson Taylor (February 25, 1932August 6, 2008) was an American actor, television director, and television producer.
Early years
Born in New York City, Taylor graduated from the University of California, Berkeley.
Career
Taylor is perhaps best ...
, and William Wiard. Writers included Gleason, Pietra Mazza, Robert Pirosh
Robert Pirosh (April 1, 1910 – December 25, 1989) was an American motion picture and television screenwriter and director.
In 1951, he was nominated for another Academy Awards, Academy Award for the screenplay ''Go for Broke! (1951 film) ...
, Katharyn Michaelian Powers, Elizabeth Wilson, and Jerry Ziegman. Lee Holdridge
Lee Elwood Holdridge (born March 3, 1944) is a Haitian-born American composer, conductor, and orchestrator. A 18-time Emmy Award nominee, he has won two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Daytime Emmy Awards, two News & Documentary Emmy Awards, and one S ...
composed the shows theme song, "Saras Theme."
''Sara'' was based on the novel ''The Revolt of Sarah Perkins'' by Marian Cockrell.
Brenda Vaccaro received a nomination for her performance in ''Sara.''
Broadcast history
''Sara'' premiered on CBS on February 13, 1976.[IMDb Sara Episode List](_blank)
/ref> It drew low ratings and was cancelled after the broadcast of its twelfth episode on May 7, 1976.
On July 30, 1976, CBS broadcast a made-for-television movie, ''Territorial Men'', compiled from footage shot for the weekly series.
Episodes
Sources
References
{{reflist
External links
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074051/?ref_=tt_ch
CBS original programming
Television series by Universal Television
1976 American television series debuts
1976 American television series endings
1970s Western (genre) television series
English-language television shows
Television series set in the 1870s
Television shows set in Colorado