''The Legend of Calamity Jane'' is a 1997–1998 animated television series. The series followed the adventures of

Calamity Jane Martha Jane Cannary (May 1, 1852 – August 1, 1903), better known as Calamity Jane, was an American frontierswoman, sharpshooter, and storyteller. In addition to many exploits she was known for being an acquaintance of Wild Bill Hickok. Late ...

Deadwood, South Dakota Deadwood (Lakota: ''Owáyasuta''; "To approve or confirm things") is a city that serves as county seat of Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. It was named by early settlers after the dead trees found in its gulch. The city had it ...

. The episode "I'd Rather Be in Philadelphia" takes place during the opening of the

Centennial Exposition The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair to be held in the United States, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the ...

, establishing the show as being set in 1876. The series had "fuller and richer animation than was customary on Saturday-morning TV." It aired in France and Canada from 1997 to 1998 and in Portugal in 2002. It also aired on the POP TV channel in the UK from 2003-2004. Despite its short run the series developed a

cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

Series run

In the United States, three episodes were aired on

The WB The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture between the Warner Bros. ...

in 1997. The network gave the series heavy promotion, but they quietly pulled it from their line-up after only three weeks. It was stated on Warner Bros.' website that the show would return later in the year, and that '' Superman: The Animated Series'' would be filling in for its timeslot, but this proved to be untrue. The series did run complete in Latin America and several European countries, and was dubbed into languages like French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Swedish and Serbian.

Production

Jennifer Jason Leigh Jennifer Jason Leigh (born Jennifer Leigh Morrow; February 5, 1962) is an American actress. She began her career on television during the 1970s before making her film breakthrough as Stacy Hamilton in ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' (1982). She ...

was originally cast as the voice of Calamity Jane. However, two weeks before the show was to premiere, the producers decided to re-cast the role. Barbara Scaff got the part. None of the dialogue recorded by Leigh was used in the final show. However, due to the short notice, the promotional ads aired on the WB used the lines by Leigh.

Main characters

* Calamity Jane – Although based on the historical frontierswoman, her appearance and background are fictionalized. For example, in the series she knows how to read and write and says she grew up in

Portsmouth, Rhode Island Portsmouth is a town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 17,871 at the 2020 U.S. census. Portsmouth is the second-oldest municipality in Rhode Island, after Providence; it was one of the four colonies which merged ...

and

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

while the real Martha Jane Canary was illiterate and grew up in

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. She also claims to be a member of the

Comanche The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...

tribe. She is depicted as a 24-year-old, green-eyed, pale-skinned redhead who fights on the side of "law and order". She prefers to use a whip and drink milk. She rides a black horse named Dakota. She is voiced by Barbara Scaff. * Joe Presto – He serves as a helpful sidekick to Jane and shows great care and concern for her throughout the series. He prefers not to kill, as evidenced by his shotgun only being loaded with

rock salt Halite (), commonly known as rock salt, is a type of salt, the mineral (natural) form of sodium chloride ( Na Cl). Halite forms isometric crystals. The mineral is typically colorless or white, but may also be light blue, dark blue, purple, pi ...

. He rides a mule named Tessy. He is voiced by

Frank Welker Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American voice actor. He began his career in the 1960s, and holds over 860 film, television, and video game credits as of 2022, making him one of the most prolific voice actors of all time. With ...

. * Wild Bill Hickok – Based on the real

Wild Bill Hickok James Butler Hickok (May 27, 1837August 2, 1876), better known as "Wild Bill" Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West known for his life on the frontier as a soldier, scout, lawman, gambler, showman, and actor, and for his involvement ...

, he is depicted as an old friend of Jane's who helps her on several occasions despite his reservations toward the law. He is voiced by

Clancy Brown Clarence John "Clancy" Brown III (born January 5, 1959) is an American actor. Prolific in film and television since the 1980s, Brown is often cast in villainous and authoritative roles. Brown's film roles include Viking Lofgren in ''Bad Boys'' ...

. * Quanna Parker – Jane's "blood brother" and Chief of the Comanche tribe. He likes existential philosophy. In "Troubled Waters" his tribe become millionaires thanks to finding oil on their land. He is voiced by

Michael Horse Michael Horse (born Michael James Heinrich; December 21, 1949) is an American actor known for his portrayals of Native American characters in film and television. Early life Horse was born Michael James Heinrich near Tucson, Arizona, on Decem ...

. * Captain John O'Rourke – He is a polite, by-the-book officer in the US cavalry who assists Jane throughout the series and is hinted to have romantic feelings for her. In "The Final Curtain" it is revealed he witnessed the

Lincoln assassination On April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was assassinated by well-known stage actor John Wilkes Booth, while attending the play ''Our American Cousin'' at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. Shot in the head ...

as a child and felt responsible because his older brother, who should've been guarding the President, chose to sit by him instead. He is voiced by

Tim Matheson Tim Matheson (born Timothy Lewis Matthieson; December 31, 1947) is an American actor and director. Some of his best-known acting roles include the title character of the 1960s animated ''Jonny Quest'' TV series, Eric "Otter" Stratton in the 197 ...

Episodes

Home media

On October 3, 2022, Texas-based company - Comix.tv launched a

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

campaign to fund a special DVD box set and special edition comic to celebrate the series’ 25th anniversary in 2022. The company previously did a Kickstarter campaign for a DVD release of ''

Stone Protectors Stone Protectors is a 1993 multi-media entertainment property consisting primarily of an action figure line and animated series. The series also had a tie-in video game released for the Super NES and the Sega Genesis. It served as a late attempt ...

'' in 2021 which was successful. It would be the first time the remaining episodes were released in the United States. This campaign was successfully funded with $24,284 on 426 backers. On January 30, 2023, it was announced

Discotek Media Discotek Media is an American entertainment company based in Altamonte Springs, Florida, focused on distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. Formed in 2005, Discotek primarily focuses on licensing retro titles fr ...

will release the series on Blu-ray.https://twitter.com/discotekmedia/status/1620250042060906496 The series is currently available on

Tubi Tubi is an American over-the-top content platform and ad-supported streaming service owned by Fox Corporation. The service was launched on April 1, 2014, and is based in Los Angeles, California. In January 2021, Tubi reached 33 million monthly ...

as of March 31, 2023.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Legend of Calamity Jane, The 1997 American television series debuts 1998 American television series endings 1990s American animated television series 1990s French animated television series American children's animated action television series American children's animated adventure television series Western (genre) animated television series French children's animated action television series French children's animated adventure television series Kids' WB original shows 1990s Western (genre) television series Television shows set in South Dakota The WB original programming Cultural depictions of Calamity Jane Cultural depictions of Wild Bill Hickok