Lassie 

The ongoing saga of the Martin family and their beloved collie, Lassie.

Stars:

Lassie, Jon Provost, June Lockhart

Won 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 2 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Lassie	...	Lassie / ... 366 episodes, 1954-1973
Jon Provost	...	Timmy Martin / ... 249 episodes, 1957-1964
June Lockhart	...	Ruth Martin 207 episodes, 1958-1964
Hugh Reilly	...	Paul Martin 170 episodes, 1958-1964
Lassie the Dog	...	Lassie 169 episodes, 1954-1972

Storyline

The ongoing saga of the Martin family and their beloved collie, Lassie.

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Plot Keywords:

one word title | human dog relationship | animal character name as series title | lassie | 1970s | 

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Taglines:

That beloved pet of millions and her young master begin a new season with an exciting adventure that will keep your whole family on the edge of their seats. (season 9)

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Family

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 September 1954 (USA)

Also Known As:

Jeff's Collie

Filming Locations:

Vasques Rocks, Santa Clarita, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lassie Television, Robert Maxwell Associates, Television Programs of America (TPA)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min (591 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

The original Lassie TV show starred the Miller family with Tommy Rettig as Jeff, Jan Clayton as his Mother, Ellen, and George Cleveland as Gramps. The first two seasons of Lassie with the above cast garnered an Emmy award each of those years for best prime time children's show. Lassie never won an Emmy after that. Tommy Rettig was getting too old for the part, so he voluntarily left and was replaced by Timmy and his adoptive parents, the Martins. The critical quality of the show (writing, acting, etc.) began to decline in the third season and suffered considerably when Timmy, the Martins and new producers took over. With the notable exception of a couple of acclaimed Christmas shows the popularity of the dog Lassie and her acting abilities carried the show for many years. She was played by a boy dog called Pal Jr. who was the son of Pal and looked almost identical to the original Pal from the MGM movies and TV pilot show. Lassie's owner and trainer, Rudd Weatherwax, and his two dogs, Pal and Pal Jr., were phenomenal. Their acting abilities as a team were what made the Lassie brand what it was and still is today.

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Crazy Credits

Near the closing credits' conclusion, Lassie lifts her paw up as though she were saying goodbye to the viewers.

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Connections

Referenced in Saved by the Bell: The College Years: Slater's War (1993)

User Reviews

Lassie lives forever but not so little boys

I grew up with the Tommy Rettig "Lassie" series. Looking back on

it, I would say that I was addicted to that show and that I fantasized

that I was the Jeff who lived with Lassie on the Miller farm, not the

Jeff who lived in New Jersey suburbia with a teddy bear. When George

Cleveland died, the show decided that Tommy Rettig was too old to be

Lassie's boy and the scenario was that since Gramps was dead, they had

to sell the farm and go live in a crummy apartment in Capital City

where Mom would get some miserable job and Jeff would simply go to

school. Mom explained all this to Jeff at the kitchen table, adding

that they couldn't take Lassie to live in some crummy Capital City

apartment, so...... I was ten years old when seeing this unfortunate transition. I

remember it felt like it was my life that was being eviscerated. I

never enjoyed the "Lassie" show much after that.