I remember seeing this TV movie as a child and really enjoying it. I wish it would show up again so I could compare it to the series it fostered.
This is the pilot that ABC passed on. Apparently, they thought the movie to be a little too Maverick-like (a reviewer at the time actually described Davis's lazy student turned drifter to be a cross between Maverick and another Warner Brothers cowboy, Sugarfoot) and wanted a little more action/brawn and a buddy relationship.
Exit Roger Davis, for the time being. Enter Ben Murphy and the second successful pilot, now called "Alias Smith and Jones".
This is the pilot that ABC passed on. Apparently, they thought the movie to be a little too Maverick-like (a reviewer at the time actually described Davis's lazy student turned drifter to be a cross between Maverick and another Warner Brothers cowboy, Sugarfoot) and wanted a little more action/brawn and a buddy relationship.
Exit Roger Davis, for the time being. Enter Ben Murphy and the second successful pilot, now called "Alias Smith and Jones".