Once upon a time, NBC owned Saturday nights. As of 1983, that distinction now went to ABC. It'd be a while before NBC would take it over again. but in '83, they tried a pair of modern Westerns. Stephen J. Cannell gave them The Rousters, with Chad Everett & Jim Varney, and they were lucky to get 13 weeks. In back of Rousters was a soap, The Yellow Rose, which boasted a star studded ensemble including David Soul (ex-Starsky & Hutch, Here Come The Brides), Sam Elliott, Noah Beery (ex-The Rockford Files), Cybill Shepherd, back then known for her breakthrough in "The Last Picture Show", and, in his first series since Gunsmoke, Ken Curtis.
The Yellow Rose lasted a full season, but no further. The reason why? Fantasy Island. Ballgame over. When my folks would come home from bowling, they would give this a try, then meander back to Fantasy Island, or whatever caught their interest on cable.
Following is a sample of the opener. The title song went to #1 on the country chart for Johnny Lee and Lane Brody.
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