Movin' On (TV series)
Movin' On is an American drama television series. It ran for two seasons from 1974 to 1976 on the NBC network.
| Movin' On | |
|---|---|
Photo from the September 1974 series premiere | |
| Genre | Drama |
| Created by | Philip D'Antoni Barry J. Weitz |
| Written by | Stanley Z. Cherry Phillip D'Antoni George Kirgo Ken Kolb Eugene Price Barry J. Weitz |
| Starring | Claude Akins Frank Converse |
| Theme music composer | Merle Haggard |
| Composers | Earle Hagen John Scott |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 44[1](+1 TV Movie) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Philip D'Antoni Barry J. Weitz |
| Producers | Ernie Frankel Joseph Gantman |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company | D'Antoni/Weitz Television Productions |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | May 8, 1974 – March 2, 1976 |
| Related | |
| In Tandem (TV movie) | |
Synopsis
Movin' On stars Claude Akins as old-time independent "big-rig" truck driver Sonny Pruitt, and Frank Converse as his college-educated co-driver Will Chandler. The theme song, "Movin' On", was written and performed by Merle Haggard, and was a No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in July 1975.
The series was likened to Route 66 and Cannonball, following a similar format. Episodes usually centered on Sonny and Will, always traveling, becoming involved in the lives of people they met (or met again) in the various places they found themselves.
The pilot episode was a made-for-television movie originally titled In Tandem – a reference to the tandem axles on the tractor and trailer, as well as that they drove as a team, or "in tandem". The movie begins with Will sliding out of control in a truck he was driving, due to poor maintenance of the brakes. After he manages to get the truck stopped, he drives to a truck stop and calls the company to quit his job. He then meets Sonny, a "gypsy" trucker, and they decide to try driving as a team, which works out well.
The truck tractor featured on the pilot episode was a dark green 1973 Kenworth W-925, but was later changed to a 1974 model for the series run.[citation needed] Movin' On was filmed on location all over the United States, including Glen Burnie, Maryland; Mobile, Alabama; Sedona, Arizona; Phoenix, Arizona; San Diego and San Francisco, California; Buford and Jonesboro, Georgia; Durham and Charlotte, North Carolina; Astoria, Portland, The Dalles, Seaside and Hood River, Oregon; and Norfolk, Virginia. Parts of the series were also filmed in Salt Lake City, Heber and Midway, Utah.[2]
Akins and Converse actually drove the trucks during filming, having been trained and obtaining their chauffeur's licenses (forerunner to the commercial driver's license) prior to making the pilot episode. Executive producers for the series were Barry Weitz and Philip D'Antoni. Akins later went on to appear in another trucking-related TV series, the more comedy-oriented B.J. and the Bear.
Episode list
Pilot (1974)
- "In Tandem" (May 8, 1974)
Season 1 (1974–1975)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "The Time of His Life" | Walter Doniger | George Kirgo | September 12, 1974 |
| 2 | 2 | "Roadblock" | John Peyser | Robert Lewin | September 19, 1974 |
| 3 | 3 | "Grit" | Hy Averback | William Putman | September 26, 1974 |
| 4 | 4 | "Lifeline" | John Peyser | James Menzies | October 3, 1974 |
| 5 | 5 | "The Trick is to Stay Alive" | Michael O'Herlihy | Dan Ullman | October 10, 1974 |
| 6 | 6 | "The Cowhands" | Paul Stanley | Eugene Price | October 24, 1974 |
| 7 | 7 | "The Good Life" | Richard Benedict | George Kirgo | November 7, 1974 |
| 8 | 8 | "Games" | Charles S. Dubin | Stephen Kandel | November 14, 1974 |
| 9 | 9 | "Hoots" | Michael O'Herlihy | Jim Byrnes | November 21, 1974 |
| 10 | 10 | "Good for Laughs" | Sutton Roley | Mann Rubin | November 28, 1974 |
| 11 | 11 | "High Rollers" | Leonard Horn | Ken Kolb | December 5, 1974 |
| 12 | 12 | "Goin' Home: Part 1" | Paul Stanley | George Kirgo | December 12, 1974 |
| 13 | 13 | "Goin' Home: Part 2" | Paul Stanley | George Kirgo | December 19, 1974 |
| 14 | 14 | "Antiques" | Charles S. Dubin | Eugene Price | December 26, 1974 |
| 15 | 15 | "Explosion" | Richard Newton | Jack March | January 2, 1975 |
| 16 | 16 | "Landslide" | George Fenady | Ken Kolb | January 16, 1975 |
| 17 | 17 | "Fraud" | Seymour Robbie | Michael Fisher | January 30, 1975 |
| 18 | 18 | "Ammo" | George Fenady | Robert C. Dennis | February 6, 1975 |
| 19 | 19 | "Tattoos" | Michael O'Herlihy | Story by : John G. Wilson & Ken Kolb Teleplay by : Ken Kolb | February 13, 1975 |
| 20 | 20 | "Ransom" | Alex Grasshoff | Stephen Kandel | February 20, 1975 |
| 21 | 21 | "The Price of Loving" | Seymour Robbie | Eugene Price | March 6, 1975 |
| 22 | 22 | "Weddin' Bells" | Michael O'Herlihy | George Kirgo | March 13, 1975 |
Season 2 (1975–76)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | 1 | "Stowaway" | Corey Allen | Gwen Bagni & Paul DuBov | September 9, 1975 |
| 24 | 2 | "From Baltimore to Eternity" | Allen Reisner | Jimmy Sangster | September 16, 1975 |
| 25 | 3 | "The Toughest Men in America" | Lawrence Dobkin | David Harmon | September 23, 1975 |
| 26 | 4 | "The Elephant Story" | Leo Penn | Stanley Z. Cherry | September 30, 1975 |
| 27 | 5 | "Home is Not a House" | Jack Priestley | Story by : Karl & Terence Tunberg Teleplay by : Jimmy Sangster | October 7, 1975 |
| 28 | 6 | "...To Be in Carolina" | Michael Schultz | Gwen Bagni & Paul DuBov | October 14, 1975 |
| 29 | 7 | "Will the Last Trucker Leaving Charlotte Turn Out the Lights?" | Ernest Pintoff | Glenn Schiffman | October 21, 1975 |
| 30 | 8 | "General Delivery" | Leo Penn | David Harmon | November 4, 1975 |
| 31 | 9 | "The Big Wheel" | Allen Reisner | Jimmy Sangster | November 11, 1975 |
| 32 | 10 | "Prosperity #1" | Corey Allen | Ron Bishop | November 18, 1975 |
| 33 | 11 | "Please Don't Talk to the Driver" | Jack Priestley | Jimmy Sangster | November 25, 1975 |
| 34 | 12 | "Long Way to Nowhere" | Jerry Jameson | David Harmon | December 9, 1975 |
| 35 | 13 | "Breakout" | Lawrence Dobkin | Jimmy Sangster | December 16, 1975 |
| 36 | 14 | "Love, Death and Laura Brown" | Lawrence Dobkin | Nancy Greenwald | December 23, 1975 |
| 37 | 15 | "The Old South Will Rise Again" | Bob Kelljan | Jimmy Sangster | January 6, 1976 |
| 38 | 16 | "Witch Hunt" | Jack Arnold | Orville H. Hampton | January 13, 1976 |
| 39 | 17 | "The Big Switch" | Allen Reisner | Jimmy Sangster | January 20, 1976 |
| 40 | 18 | "Woman of Steel" | Lawrence Dobkin | Phyllis & Robert White | January 27, 1976 |
| 41 | 19 | "Living It Up!" | Anton M. Leader | Jimmy Sangster & Ernie Frankel | February 10, 1976 |
| 42 | 20 | "No More Sad Songs" | Bob Kelljan | Jimmy Sangster | February 17, 1976 |
| 43 | 21 | "Full Fathom Five" | Leo Penn | Jimmy Sangster | February 24, 1976 |
| 44 | 22 | "Sing It Again, Sonny" | Jack Arnold | Story by : Stanley Z. Cherry Teleplay by : Jim Allen | March 2, 1976 |
Home media
On September 20, 2017, the first & second seasons of Movin' On were released on manufactured-on-demand DVD by Allied Vaughn & Pro Classic TV.[3]
| DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| The Complete First Season | 22 | September 20, 2017 |
| The Complete Second Season | 23 | September 20, 2017 |
References in popular culture
The CB radio boom of the mid-1970s, figured into a merchandising tie-in for the show, and Movin' On-brand walkie-talkies, which worked on CB channel 14, were marketed to children.
During the series, truck drivers on the CB would say that they were going to "do it like Pruitt". After the series ended, the phrase became "do it like Pruitt used to do it." This phrase could still be heard occasionally 30 years later.[4]
References
- ^ "Meet The Man Who Saved Movin' On - Television Obscurities". tvobscurities.com. 18 May 2016. from the original on 28 September 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
- ^ D'Arc, James V. (2010). When Hollywood came to town: a history of moviemaking in Utah (1st ed.). Layton, Utah: Gibbs Smith. ISBN 9781423605874.
- ^ Lambert, David (September 20, 2017). . TV Shows On DVD. tvshowsondvd.com. Archived from the original on September 21, 2017. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
- ^ . Archived from the original on 2016-05-26. Retrieved 2016-05-31.
External links
- Movin' On at IMDb
- "In Tandem" at IMDb
- Movin' On at epguides.com
- Movin' On web site - managed by the show's original producers with stories of production and many photo images