The Lazarus Man

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Lazarus Man
GenreWestern
Created byDick Beebe
StarringRobert Urich
Theme music composerJohn Debney
ComposerCharles Sydnor
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes22 (2 unaired)
Production
Executive producersMichael Ogiens
Norman S. Powell
ProducersJohn Binder
Harvey Frand
Marc Scott Zicree
CinematographyRoss A. Maehl
EditorScott Powell
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time43 mins.
Production companiesThe Ogiens/Kane Company
Castle Rock Entertainment
DistributorTurner Program Services
Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution
Turner Home Entertainment
Release
Original networkTNT
Picture format4:3
Original releaseJanuary 20 (1996-01-20) –
November 9, 1996 (1996-11-09)

The Lazarus Man is an American Western television series produced by Castle Rock Entertainment which first aired on January 20, 1996, and ended on November 9, 1996. Starring Robert Urich as the title character, The Lazarus Man debuted on Turner Network Television and ran for 20 episodes.

Opening narration[]

Something has happened to me which I do not understand.

All I know for certain is I am alive. How I got here? Who I am?
I do not know, but I must've seen or done something,
something terrible to be buried alive, to be left for dead.

I can remember nothing of my life, my friends or my enemies
but the key to my identity lies somewhere out there.

I will search until I find the man I was...and hope to be again.

Plot[]

The setting for the series is Texas following the American Civil War. An amnesiac claws his way out of a shallow grave wearing a Confederate uniform and carrying a U.S. Army revolver. He is haunted by the memory of being attacked by a man wearing a derby. Calling himself Lazarus after the man resurrected by Jesus (John 11:41-44), he sets out to discover his true identity and the reason why he was buried alive.

Near the end of the series, Lazarus is revealed to be James Cathcart, a captain in the US Army and a member of President Abraham Lincoln's personal bodyguard detail. The memory that plagues him is from the night of April 14, 1865, when Lincoln was shot at Ford's Theatre. Cathcart, realizing that the President was in danger, ran to stop the assassin, but was attacked by his superior, the treasonous Major Talley, who wanted to see Lincoln dead.

Cancellation[]

The series first season did well enough to warrant TNT to order a second season. However, the series' production company, Castle Rock Entertainment, cancelled the series after Urich was diagnosed with synovial cell sarcoma in July 1996.[1] Urich later sued Castle Rock for breach of contract. In the suit, Urich maintained that although he was undergoing cancer treatments, he never informed Castle Rock that he would be unable to perform in the series. Castle Rock decided to cancel the series anyway and failed to pay Urich the $1.47 million he was to be paid for a second season.[2]

Episodes[]

Episode Title Aired Plot
1. "Awakening" (Part 1) January 20, 1996 After awaking in a grave with no memory, Lazarus tries to piece his life together.
2. "Awakening" (Part 2) January 27, 1996 Lazarus helps the family who took him in, facing off against a corrupt soldier (Brion James) and his men.
3. "The Palace of Dreams" February 3, 1996 Lazarus meets an eccentric card shark (Carl Lumbly) with a mysterious grudge.
4. "Purgatory" February 10, 1996 Lazarus is recognized by a Civil War veteran (Stephen McHattie) once under his command.
5. "The Conspirator" February 17, 1996 A Federal agent (Tom Mason) with a vendetta against Lazarus has him arrested and sentenced to death.
6. "The Boy General" February 24, 1996 General Custer (Maxwell Caulfield) hires Lazarus to sniff out threats against him from his troops.
7. "The Cattle Drive" March 2, 1996 Lazarus takes up cattle rustling and must fend off enemies who emerge from his hazy past.
8. "Panorama" March 9, 1996 The exhibition of an artist (Anthony Rapp) prompts gunslingers to line up to challenge "The man who can't be killed" -- Lazarus himself.
9. "The Wallpaper Prison" March 16, 1996 Lazarus finds a kindred spirit in a forlorn prostitute (Kate Hodge), stuck at an isolated outpost.
10. "The Catamount" March 30, 1996 A malicious cavalry officer () plans to mete out "justice" near an archeological dig and site of grisly murders.
11. "Among The Dead" April 20, 1996 Lazarus takes refuge in an eerily quiet town with a troubled woman (Jennifer Nash).
12. "The Journal" April 27, 1996 A prospector is murdered after striking it rich, and Lazarus runs into a coverup.
13. "Jehovah and Son, Inc." May 4, 1996 An unbalanced man (Armin Shimerman) shoots a senator with Lazarus's gun.
14. "The Rescue" May 11, 1996 A Comanche man battles the militia over a white woman () raised by his tribe.
15. "The Angel Maker" 1996 Lazarus meets a mail-order bride (Mariska Hargitay) who reminds him of his wife, but with a sinister side.
16. "The Penance" October 19, 1996 Lazarus tries to protect a pacifist sect of farmers from the wrath of cattlemen.
17. "Killer" May 18, 1996 Lazarus takes a liking to a fellow Civil War vet-turned-bounty hunter and becomes his partner.
18. "The Hold-Up" October 12, 1996 When the mining company payroll is taken during a stagecoach robbery, Lazarus is blamed.
19. "The Sheriff" October 26, 1996 An embittered gunslinger (Michael Massee) returns to punish his hometown.
20. "Quality of the Enemy" November 9, 1996 A cynical bounty hunter, contemptuous of the human race, returns to take Lazarus into custody for The Major.
21. "The Tartarus Wheel" 1996 After undergoing hypnosis, Lazarus remembers that he used to be an Army Intelligence officer.
22. "Dance With Shadows" 1996 The Major sets a trap using Lazarus's wife as bait, allowing Lazarus to uncover his past.

[3]

|}[4]

DVD release[]

On February 13, 2018, The Lazarus Man: The Complete Series was released on DVD in Region 1 by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment via their Warner Archive Collection. This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release available via WBShop.com & Amazon.com. The episodes appear out of chronological order on the DVDs. [5]

References[]

  1. ^ Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (2007-10-17). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present (9 ed.). Ballantine Books. p. 776. ISBN 0-345-49773-2.
  2. ^ "Urich suing over 'Lazarus Man'". The Spokesman-Review. April 14, 2000. p. D2. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
  3. ^ TV Guide Episode Listing
  4. ^ [WB DVD release]
  5. ^ "'The Complete Series' of the 1996 Series Starring Robert Urich". Retrieved January 29, 2018.

External links[]

See also[]

Retrieved from ""