Quest, The

1 9 7 6 (USA)
15 x 52 minute episodes

This NBC series told the story of two reunited brothers who roamed the Wild West of the 1880s in search of their long-lost sister.

Several years before, Morgan Beaudine (Kurt Russell) and his sister Patricia had been captured by Cheyenne Indians and become separated.

Morgan had been raised by the Cheyenne but was now living in the white man’s world, though he actually trusted the Indians more than he did the whites.

Morgan affected Indian dress, spoke fluent Cheyenne, and understood Indian customs well enough to get them out of dangerous situations when they encountered unfriendly red men. He even had an Indian name, “Two Persons”.

His brother Quentin (Tim Matheson), meanwhile, was educated in San Francisco and planned to be a doctor. Together these two young men set out in search of their sister.

The time seemed ripe for a successful Western when this series premiered. The season before had seen not a single Western on American prime-time network television, for the first time in more than 20 years.

Developed from a 1976 made-for-TV movie of the same title, The Quest featured pretty photography with not-so-pretty violence – when it was first aired pressure groups claimed the series revelled in excessive violence.

There was plenty of action on The Quest but it could not compete with ABC’s new entry opposite it, Charlie’s Angels, and the series lasted just three months.

Morgan ‘Two Persons’ Beaudine
Kurt Russell
Quentin Beaudine
Tim Matheson