This one-hour western drama was created by Michael Gleason as a series vehicle for Broadway star Brenda Vaccaro. Based on Marian Cockrell's novel, "The Revolt of Sarah Perkins," the series was set in the 1870s and depicted Sara Yarnell, a young, unmarried schoolteacher who moves from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Independence, Colorado, where she becomes the only schoolteacher in a one-room schoolhouse.
Sara was portrayed as strong-willed and determined; committed to education for all, and exposing ignorance and prejudice...extremely progressive values for the 1870s frontier. Leaving her dull existence in the East to teach in the West, she becomes quite the surprise to the school board who had expected a docile, submissive woman. At the time, a young, attractive, unmarried woman traveling alone to the Western frontier would be nearly unthinkable unless it was for prostitution, which is how UCLA professor Allan Yarnell convinced Vaccaro to take the role. She had the character name changed from Perkins to Yarnell in honor of the professor.
The series premiere saw Sara facing a crisis of conscience when a 10-year-old girl (a so-called "half breed") becomes the focus of the townspeople's rage after years of conflict with Indigenous peoples. Sara insists that the girl has a right to an education, which puts her at odds with the town.
From here, the show explored Sara’s struggles to teach the children and adults of a growing town in a ruthless territory. The cast of "Sara" also included Bert Kramer as Emmett Ferguson, Albert Stratton as Martin Pope, William Phipps as Claude Barstow, William Wintersole as George Bailey, Mariclare Costello as Julia Bailey, Louise Latham as Martha Higgins, Kraig Metzinger as Georgie Bailey, Debbie Lytton as Debbie Higgins, and Hallie Morgan as Emma Higgins. The series was produced by Richard Collins (Bonanza, Matlock) and Lee Holdridge composed the show's theme music, "Sara's Theme". Creator Michael Gleason went on to give us Sword of Justice and Remington Steele.
Brenda Vaccaro received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for her performance in the series, but it performed poorly in the ratings against Donny & Marie. 12 episodes aired before the series was taken off the air. Although I find no reruns for Sara, two episodes ("Code of the West" and "When Gentlemen Agree") were re-edited into the TV movie 𝙏𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙈𝙚𝙣, airing July 1976. Although no episodes of Sara seem to have ever surfaced, Territorial Men is available on Tubi at the time of posting. Watch Territorial Men (1976) - Free Movies | Tubi
