''The New Lassie'' is an American children and family oriented drama series which aired in first-run
syndication
Syndication may refer to:
* Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system
* Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips
* Web syndication, ...
from September 8, 1989 to February 15, 1992. The series stars
Will Estes
William Estes (; born October 21, 1978) is an American actor known for his role on CBS police drama '' Blue Bloods'' as Jameson "Jamie" Reagan, a New York City Police Department officer and the youngest son of the police commissioner, played by ...
(then using his real name of Will Nipper) as Will McCullough,
Lassie's new master. Real life husband and wife
Christopher and
Dee Wallace-Stone co-starred as Will's parents.
''The New Lassie'' is essentially a sequel to the
1954 series, and was the latest in the line of works featuring the Lassie character, which debuted in the
1943
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured.
* January 4 ...
film ''
Lassie Come Home
''Lassie Come Home'' is a 1943 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Technicolor feature film starring Roddy McDowall and canine actor Pal, in a story about the profound bond between Yorkshire boy Joe Carraclough and his rough collie, Lassie. The film was dire ...
'', followed by several more movies and the aforementioned television series, which ran from 1954 to 1973.
Synopsis
The series centers on the McCulloughs, a middle-class family living in suburban Glen Ridge, California. The McCulloughs are the owners of the then-present-day descendant of Lassie. Real life spouses
Christopher and
Dee Wallace-Stone played Chris and Dee McCullough, with
Will Estes
William Estes (; born October 21, 1978) is an American actor known for his role on CBS police drama '' Blue Bloods'' as Jameson "Jamie" Reagan, a New York City Police Department officer and the youngest son of the police commissioner, played by ...
(credited by his given name of Will Nipper) and Wendy Cox appearing as their young son Will and teenage daughter Megan respectively.
Jon Provost
Jonathan Bion Provost (born March 12, 1950) is an American actor, best known for his role as young Timmy Martin in the CBS series '' Lassie''.
Life and career
Provost was born in Los Angeles. At the age of four, Provost was cast in the film ...
, who starred in the original ''Lassie'' series, portrayed Chris' brother Steve McCullough who was revealed in a later episode to be the adult Timmy Martin in an episode guest-starring
June Lockhart
June Lockhart (born June 25, 1925) is an American actress, beginning a film career in 1930s & 1940s in such films at ''A Christmas Carol'' and '' Meet Me in St. Louis''. She primarily acted in 1950s and 1960s television, and with performances on ...
in a reprisal of her role as Timmy's foster mother Ruth Martin. In the episode titled "Roots", Timmy reveals that he was never officially adopted by the Martins, and thus couldn't go with them to Australia when they moved there (at the beginning of season 11 of the original ''Lassie'' series). Subsequently, he was later adopted by the McCullough family, and began going by his middle name of Steven (Steve).
Cast
*
Will Nipper as Will McCullough
*
Christopher Stone as Chris McCullough
*
Dee Wallace-Stone as Dee McCullough
* Wendy Cox as Megan McCullough
*
Jon Provost
Jonathan Bion Provost (born March 12, 1950) is an American actor, best known for his role as young Timmy Martin in the CBS series '' Lassie''.
Life and career
Provost was born in Los Angeles. At the age of four, Provost was cast in the film ...
as Timmy Martin/Steve McCullough
Guest stars
Guest stars with a Lassie past included
Roddy McDowall
Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall (17 September 1928 – 4 October 1998) was a British actor, photographer and film director. He began his acting career as a child in England, and then in the United States, in ''How Green Was My Valley'' (1 ...
, who had starred in the first movie ''
Lassie Come Home
''Lassie Come Home'' is a 1943 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Technicolor feature film starring Roddy McDowall and canine actor Pal, in a story about the profound bond between Yorkshire boy Joe Carraclough and his rough collie, Lassie. The film was dire ...
'' (1943) and
Tommy Rettig
Thomas Noel Rettig (December 10, 1941 – February 15, 1996) was an American child actor, computer software engineer, and author. He is remembered for portraying the character "Jeff Miller" in the first three seasons of CBS's ''Lassie'' te ...
, who had played Jeff Miller in the early years of the original television series (later syndicated as ''
Jeff's Collie
''Lassie'' is an American television series that follows the adventures of a female Rough Collie dog named Lassie and her companions, both human and animal. The show was the creation of producer Robert Maxwell and animal trainer Rudd Weatherwax a ...
''). Other guest stars included
Leonardo DiCaprio and
Todd Bridges
Todd Anthony Bridges (born May 27, 1965) is an American actor. He portrayed Willis Jackson on the sitcom ''Diff'rent Strokes'' and had a recurring role as Monk on the sitcom ''Everybody Hates Chris.'' Bridges worked as a commentator on the telev ...
.
Episodes
Season 1 (1989–90)
Season 2 (1991–92)
Production notes
The collie featured in ''The New Lassie'' was a fifth generation of Lassie. The dog was trained by Robert Weatherwax, the son of
Rudd Weatherwax
Ruddell Bird "Rudd" Weatherwax (September 23, 1907 – February 25, 1985) was an American actor, animal trainer, and breeder. He and his brother Frank are best remembered for training dogs for motion pictures and television. Their coll ...
who trained the original Lassie. Robert was assisted by his only son Robert Jr.
Syndication
After its cancellation, reruns of ''The New Lassie'' aired on
TV Land Canada in 2007.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:New Lassie, The
1989 American television series debuts
1992 American television series endings
1980s American drama television series
1990s American drama television series
1980s American children's television series
1990s American children's television series
American sequel television series
English-language television shows
First-run syndicated television programs in the United States
Lassie television series
Television series about families
Television series by Universal Television
Television shows about dogs
Television shows set in California