A family western TV series, The Monroes related the doings of five orphans whose parents, Albert and Mary Monroe, drowned when their covered wagon’s wheel broke, and both were swept downstream in the Snake River while on the way to claim land in the Wyoming Territory in 1876.
Eighteen-year-old son Clayt (Michael Anderson Jr.) and 16-year-old daughter Kathy (Barbara Hershey) led their 13-year-old twin brothers Jefferson (Keith Schultz) – called “Big Twin” – and Fennimore (Kevin Schultz) – called “Little Twin”, their 6-year-old sister Amy (Tammy Locke), and their dog, Snow, to their claim and set about making a life for themselves.
Unfortunately, their land was coveted by Barney Wales (Robert Middleton), a rough-neck horse rancher who claimed the valley was his and who wasn’t about to let the kids and their Sioux Indian pal Dirty Jim (Ron Soble – and yes, they called him “dirty” even though they liked him) get in his way.
While the Monroes won the initial battle, they found the Wales’ a constant threat to their safety.
Dalton (James Brolin) and Billy Dan (Tom O’Kelly) were Barney’s rowdy sons, and Lorna (Lisa Jack) was Barney’s beautiful, mute daughter, who, despite her father’s attitude, was sympathetic to the Monroes.
Their other neighbour was Major Mapoy (Liam Sullivan), an Englishman who owned the Mapoy Cattle Company. Ruel Jaxon (James Westmoreland), Sleeve (Ben Johnson) and John Bradford (Buck Taylor) were employees of Mapoy. Sleeve and Ruel, who called Kathleen “Miss Kathleen,” were friends of the Monroes despite some initial scrapes.
Filmed entirely on location in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, all the sets were constructed in snow and rain, using logs and wooden pegs for authenticity.
Not to be confused with the ABC series of the same name (1995) – A tawdry series which focused on a powerful Kennedy-like family headed by William Devane, which ran for just two months before being cancelled.
Clayt Monroe
Michael Anderson Jnr
Kathy Monroe
Barbara Hershey Amy Monroe
Tammy Locke Jefferson Monroe
Keith Schultz Fennimore Monroe
Kevin Schultz Barney Wales
Robert Middleton Dalton Wales
James Brolin Billy Dan Wales
Tom O’Kelly Lorna Wales
Lisa Jack Major Mapoy
Liam Sullivan Ruel Jaxon
James Westmoreland Sleeve
Ben Johnson John Bradford
Buck Taylor
Dirty Jim
Ron Soble
Unfortunately, their land was coveted by Barney Wales (Robert Middleton), a rough-neck horse rancher who claimed the valley was his and who wasn’t about to let the kids and their Sioux Indian pal Dirty Jim (Ron Soble – and yes, they called him “dirty” even though they liked him) get in his way.
