I just saw this episode on the dvd and it's really great. I couldn't help wondering if this was a possible pilot for a spin-off series called Weapons Man.
J.D. Cannon plays a globetrotting expert on all kinds of weapons, especially the antique kind. Cannon's character and his assistant seem more well developed than that of the usual guest star.
Great episode.
Yes, producer Leslie Stevens had hoped to sell the series revolving around J.D. Cannon's character to ABC and used that episode of Stoney Burke as a backdoor pilot for the show. The network passed on the show along with two other pilots that also were episodes of Stoney Burke. Stevens was trying to become another Quinn Martin and have multiple TV series going at once produced by his Daystar Productions company. Ironically, although none of the Stoney Burke pilot episodes went to series, Stevens did pitch a science fiction series to ABC which would become one of the classics of the genre: The Outer Limits, which premiered the following year. Sadly, Stoney Burke didn't make it past it's first season. Although I'm not a fan of westerns, the production values and top notch acting on the show raised it a cut above other TV westerns.
shareYeah, I hear you.
I'm reading the Warren Oates bio and I see that the "Kincaid" episode with Dick Clark was also a pilot. That one went over my head, till I read the Oates bio.
After watching the Burke dvds I also see the great natural lighting effects that were also seen in Outer Limits.
"Kincaid" was another backdoor pilot and the third was to be based on the "Point of Entry" episode and was to be titled "Border Patrol". The Outer Limits Companion has a chapter on Leslie Stevens' pre-OL projects and has a good bit of background on Stoney Burke.
Also forgot to mention that terrific music of Dominic Frontiere. His scores for both shows were probably among the best ever composed for television.