Line #6 Series/TheDakotas


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dakotas_cast.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:From left to right: Del, Ragan, Vance, & JD.]]
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4	''The Dakotas'' is a western television series that ran for only 20 episodes on Creator/{{ABC}} in 1963. It starred Larry Ward as Federal Marshal Frank Ragan, and Creator/JackElam, Chad Everett and Mike Greene as his three deputies: JD Smith, Del Stark and Vance Porter. The show followed Ragan and his deputies as they tried to keep law and order in the Dakota Territory.
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6	Noticeably darker and more morally ambiguous than many contemporary Western series, ''The Dakotas'' was eventually cancelled due to the episode "Sanctuary at Crystal Springs", in which Del and JD shoot two murderous outlaws inside a church. Viewers wrote angry letters of complaint, and the network pulled the plug.
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9	!! This show provides examples of:
10	* AnAesop: Fairly standard for a TV Western, but these weren’t always warm and fluffy.
11	* AlwaysGetsHisMan: Ragan, to the hilt. Incorruptible and morally certain that the lawful way was the best way to do things.
12	* BeautyEqualsGoodness: Averted. Several beautiful female characters were revealed to be [[TheVamp rotten to the core]]. JD Smith was described as "the ugliest man you ever saw", but was very much one of the good guys.
13	* BerserkButton: Deputy Vance Porter did not like to see anyone small and/or vulnerable bullied or threatened.
14	* BrokenPedestal: JD's mentor from his criminal days, with whom he had a father/son relationship, [[TheCorrupter tries to lure him back to his life of crime]], and is eventually willing to shoot him to save his own skin.
15	* ByTheBookCop: Ragan. He is severe on any of his deputies if they deviate from the letter of the law. Ragan is shown to believe passionately in the civilising effects of law and order in TheWildWest, and believes that lawmen who break the rules are a corrosive force.
16	* CircuitJudge: A fairly rare type appeared in one episode, "Return to Dryrock". He initially seemed to be a very obvious HangingJudge - and was called out by Ragan as such - but actually turned out to be a ReasonableAuthorityFigure.
17	* CluelessDeputy: Averted. All three deputies are competent and skilled.
18	* ConflictingLoyalty: JD has to choose between his wild past and law-enforcing present when his old mentor gets out of jail in "Reformation at Big Nose Butte".
19	* CorruptCorporateExecutive: The Old West variety in "Crisis at High Banjo". Also happens to be Ragan's nemesis.
20	* {{Crossover}}: Ragan and JD started out as characters in an episode of ''Series/{{Cheyenne}}'', and the show spun off from there.
21	* CrusadingWidow: Ragan. His wife was murdered on their honeymoon.
22	* DarkAndTroubledPast: Ragan, whose wife was murdered on their honeymoon. Also, JD Smith. [[MissingMom He lost his mother when young]], and his PreacherMan father was extra hard on him because he was the minister's son. He went off the rails, became a gunslinger, and joined a band of criminals.
23	* DarkerAndEdgier: Much darker than other WesternSeries such as ''Series/{{Gunsmoke}}'' or ''{{Series/Bonanza}}''. Can you imagine Hoss coming out with this line?
24	-->'''Ragan:''' You're gonna get it in the head. I'm not going to count to ten, or three, or any of that foolishness. You're gonna get it ''now''.
25	* DownerEnding: The show was not afraid to have these.
26	* GirlOfTheWeek: Not too many, given the show's short run, but it still managed a couple. One for Del in "A Nice Girl From Goliath", and another for JD Smith in "Trial at Grand Forks".
27	* TheGunslinger: JD Smith used to be one, and these guys pop up repeatedly in many episodes.
28	* HalfBreedDiscrimination: "Red Sky over Bismarck". The man in question is unjustly accused of murder, and the bigoted townspeople are only too keen to believe the accusations.
29	* HeelFaceTurn: JD Smith, who went from gunslinger to deputy.
30	* LoveMakesYouEvil: Averted. Ragan’s wife was murdered on their honeymoon. When he eventually finds the man responsible, it looks like he is going to abandon all his principles and kill him, but he changes his mind at the last minute and stays true to his morals.
31	* MissKitty: A peripheral character in many episodes, and a TemporaryLoveInterest in the episode "A Nice Girl from Goliath".
32	* TheNeidermeyer: "Mutiny at Fort Mercy" is about a tyrannical and insane Army captain whose command of a military prison had become ridiculously cruel and harsh.
33	* OohMeAccentsSlipping: "Terror At Heart River" had some Irish railroad workers with the worst Irish accents ever heard.
34	* PreacherMan: A fairly important character in a few episodes. In this series, [[GoodShepherd he’s usually standing against prejudiced townsfolk]]. JD Smith’s father is also this trope, making him the PreachersKid.
35	* QuickDraw: Just try to outdraw Deputy Smith. Another episode, "Fargo", looks at what happens when encroaching age means a noted quick draw is no longer as fast as he used to be
36	* RebelRelaxation: JD Smith. All the time.
37	* RetiredGunslinger: JD Smith, who is TheLancer. Smith’s readiness to get his hands dirty and breaks the law when necessary contrasts sharply with Ragan’s ‘by the book’ attitude.
38	* RidingIntoTheSunset: The men sometimes do this at the end of episodes.
39	* AStormIsComing: This show is quite fond of using thunderstorms to heighten the tension in fraught scenes. It also liked to have a whistling wind and a barn door banging to create mood.
40	* USMarshal: Ragan, who is also TheHero.
41	* WardensAreEvil: "Mutiny at Fort Mercy" is about a [[TheNeidermeyer tyrannical and insane Army captain]] whose command of a military prison had become ridiculously cruel and harsh.

Context Series / TheDakotas