''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 ...

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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
/ref>

Cast

...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

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series is an award presented annually by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It is given in honor of an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leadi ...

nomination for her performance in ''Sara.''

Broadcast history

''Sara'' premiered on CBS on February 13, 1976.IMDb Sara Episode List
/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