‘The Twilight Zone’s Rod Serling Created an Underrated Western Series

As with fellow legendary families like the Barrymores and Fondas, the Bridges are undeniably acting royalty in Tinseltown, with father Lloyd Bridges trailblazing his way in the entertainment industry and sons Beau and Jeff following in his talented footsteps. The big and small-screen star appeared in over 150 feature films throughout his more than 50 years in the business, starring in a slew of hits like Sahara, High Noon, Airplane!, and Hotshots! (among countless others) and programs including Sea Hunt and The Lloyd Bridges Show during his sensational career. In 1965, Bridges continued his television takeover when he headlined the shamefully underrated Western The Loner.

Created by trailblazing producer and screenwriter Rod Serling, the mastermind behind the groundbreaking sci-fi horror series The Twilight Zone, The Loner focused on former American Civil War soldier William Colton as he sets out on a treacherous quest across the country to start a new life and is faced with many hurdles and obstacles along the way. The series ran for just one season before it was shockingly canceled despite garnering positive reviews upon its initial debut and touting a commanding performance by seasoned star Bridges; let’s explore the little-known Western and why it’s an underappreciated gem.

Rod Serling’s Severely Underrated ’60s Western Series

Legendary television producer and screenwriter Rod Serling is perhaps best known for creating and presenting the small-screen cultural phenomenon The Twilight Zone, a trailblazing sci-fi horror series that ran from 1959 to 1964 and is widely regarded as one of the greatest shows of all time. After the cancelation of the mind-bending hit, Serling decided to try his hand at a new genre and subsequently came up with the 1965 Western The Loner, enlisting the talents of Hollywood staple Lloyd Bridges to portray the lead character William Colton in the black-and-white original. Set after the American Civil War, the former cavalry captain embarks upon a treacherous trek through the American west to start a new life, with the series chronicling his many adventures.

Film and TV staple Lloyd Bridges had famously appeared in a slew of cinematic hits prior to starring in The Loner, with the seasoned performer having had prominent roles in movies like Sahara, Little Big Horn, and High Noon as well as in programs such as Sea Hunt and The Lloyd Bridges Show. Throughout its entertaining 26-episode run, William Colton finds himself contending with various adversaries and hurdles while on his epic journey including outlaw gangs, stagecoach robbers, fellow war veterans, and dangerous fugitives, all-the-while trying to help out innocent people in need as he wrestles with the trauma he experienced as a soldier.

Bridges delivered a powerful and stoic performance as the haunted lead hero, who is plagued by the horrors and bloodshed that occurred during the war and sets out to rediscover his purpose in life and make a positive impact on those around him. The first (and shockingly only) season of The Loner premiered on September 18, 1965, and featured appearances by famous faces like Leslie Nielsen, Jack Lord, Katharine Ross, and Beau Bridges (Lloyd’s eldest son), attracting a positive response from critics but ultimately receiving low ratings during its run. Many felt the series was too realistic and mature for audiences, who instead wanted escapist action out of their Westerns.

CBS had even requested that Serling incorporate more exciting action sequences and lower the character interaction, but the famed television titan refused to comply despite poor ratings and lackluster fan reviews and instead stuck to the original tone and message he had first envisioned. As a result, the last episode of The Loner aired on March 12, 1966, with popular TV Guide critic Cleveland Amory writing at the time that Serling “obviously intended The Loner to be a realistic, adult Western” but the show’s underwhelming ratings instead proved that it was “either too real for a public grown used to the unreal Western or too adult for juvenile Easterners.”

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Bridges & Serling Bounce Back and Find Further Success

Though The Loner was unable to live up to the high-hopes of both Rod Serling and Lloyd Bridges, both talented men nonetheless went on to spectacularly bounce back from the Western misstep and found immense success on both the big and small screen. In 1969, Serling returned to his anthology TV roots and both created and presented Night Gallery, a spine-tingling series that included horror and macabre stories (in contrast to The Twilight Zone’s sci-fi offerings) while running for three seasons and featuring star-studded appearances of actors like Joan Crawford, Roddy McDowall, Diane Keaton, and Vincent Price.

During the ensuing decade, Serling wrote the screenplays for films like The Man and Time Travelers while narrating documentaries, including The Mysterious Monsters and UFOs: Past, Present, and Future, though the Hollywood trailblazer’s life came to a saddening end after he suffered from a series of three heart attacks and subsequently passed away at 50-years-old following open-heart surgery. He left behind a profound legacy and fiercely helped form television industry standards while becoming a modern pop culture icon, with his sci-fi masterpiece The Twilight Zone remaining a touchstone in television over 60 years later.

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Similarly, Bridges dominated the world of television and starred in made-for-TV movies such as The Love War, Haunts of the Very Rich, and This Year’s Blonde, while also memorably appearing in the critically-acclaimed miniseries Roots and How the West Was Won. He enjoyed a massive career resurgence in the ’80s and showcased his comedic side in fan-favorite parody films like Airplane! and its sequel, Hot Shots!, and Jane Austen’s Mafia!, with his other notably screen credits being in Cousins, The Wild Pair (alongside son Beau), Honey, I Blew Up the Kid, and Joe Versus the Volcano.

After an illustrious acting career spanning over 60 years and more than 150 feature films to his name, Bridges passed away on March 10, 1998, at 85, with his two talented sons, Beau and Jeff Bridges, continuing to follow in their revered father’s footsteps and carrying on the family legacy by appearing in a slew of celebrated movie and television shows. Both of Bridges’ charismatic children have crafted their own stellar Hollywood resumes and between the two share a total of three Golden Globes, five Primetime Emmys, and an Academy Award, further proving that the apple doesn’t fall far from the acting tree.

The Loner is currently unavailable for streaming.

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