Here Come the Brides (1968–1970)

Information from IMDb

Plot Summary
The adventures of a logging work team and the marriageable single women
sent to them in post-American Civil War Seattle in the Washington Territory.

To avoid losing their logging crew, the Bolt brothers bring 100 prospective brides
from Massachusetts to Seattle, using money borrowed from sawmill owner Stempel.
Should one of the girls decide to go home, or should they fail to meet
Stempel's timber quotas, they will still lose their mountain to him.
Written by Ed Stephan

Series Cast
Robert Brown ... Jason Bolt (52 episodes, 1968-1970)
Bobby Sherman ... Jeremy Bolt (52 episodes, 1968-1970)
David Soul ... Joshua Bolt (52 episodes, 1968-1970)
Bridget Hanley ... Candy Pruitt (52 episodes, 1968-1970)
Mark Lenard ... Aaron Stempel (52 episodes, 1968-1970)
Joan Blondell ... Lottie Hatfield (52 episodes, 1968-1970)
Susan Tolsky ... Biddie / ... (47 episodes, 1968-1970)
Henry Beckman ... Capt. Roland Francis Clancey / ... (34 episodes, 1968-1970)
Hoke Howell ... Ben / ... (33 episodes, 1968-1970)
Robert Biheller ... Corky / ... (20 episodes, 1968-1970)
and many more...

Series Directed
Jerrold Bernstein ... (9 episodes, 1968-1970)
Richard Kinon ... (8 episodes, 1968-1970)
E.W. Swackhamer ... (8 episodes, 1968-1970)
and many more...

Series Produced
Bob Claver ... executive producer (52 episodes, 1968-1970)
Paul Junger Witt ... producer (52 episodes, 1968-1970)
Stan Schwimmer ... producer (52 episodes, 1968-1970)
Frank Hill ... associate producer (26 episodes, 1969-1970)
and many more...

Creator
N. Richard Nash

Trivia
Mark Lenard who is famous for portraying the father (Sarek) of Star Trek's Mr. Spock
is playing an ancestor of Amanda Grayson who was Mr. Spock's human mother.

The opening theme music was changed in the middle of the first season
from an instrumental only version, to a version with lyrics.

It can be inferred that the Bolt brothers immigrated to the USA from Scotland
with their parents as young boys; when they receive a surprise visit
from their Uncle Duncan (their father's twin), he reminisces about last seeing
Jeremy as a toddler, and they reminisce about the old family estate in Scotland,
as well as commenting that they never expected him to ever leave Scotland.

Though Bobby Sherman plays the youngest Bolt, he is one month older than David Soul,
who plays the middle Bolt.

Capt. Clancy seems older than Jason Bolt, but in reality Henry Beckman
and Robert Brown are about the same age.
Likewise, Denver Pyle, who played the Bolt brothers' Uncle Duncan,
their father's twin brother, was only six years older than Robert Brown.

The characters & setting were used for the novel Ishmael by Barbara Hambly,
for an enjoyable novel about Spock (of Star Trek) saving the future
by saving one of the characters, but the effort to get there leaves him
an amnesiac & with a leg injury that restricts his mobility.

In response to a couple of the comments on here; one states that Mark Lenard
plays an ancestor of Spock's mother, Amanda Grayson.
This actually comes from the Barbara Hambly Star Trek novel "Ishmael"
and NOT from the series itself. Hambly made that connection at the end of her story.
The other comment is also related to "Ishmael."
This commenter states that Spock is sent back in time to save a character,
when the Klingons send him back through the Guardian of Forever in an attempt
to disrupt the timeline

Filming Locations
Columbia/Sunset Gower Studios - 1438 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
Columbia/Warner Bros. Ranch - 411 North Hollywood Way, Burbank, California, USA

Here Come the Brides is an American comedy Western series from Screen Gems
that aired on the ABC television network from September 25, 1968 to April 3, 1970.
The series was loosely based upon the Mercer Girls project,
Asa Mercer's efforts to bring civilization to old Seattle in the 1860s
by importing marriageable women from the east coast cities of the United States,
where the ravages of the American Civil War left those towns short of men.

Backstory
The producers said the show was inspired by the movie Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
in an interview with LA Times TV critic Cecil Smith.

As a television western, set shortly after the end of the Civil War,
the series rarely featured any form of gunplay, and violence was generally limited
to comical fistfights.
This was in keeping with the restrictions on television violence at the time.
Stories highlighted the importance of cooperation, inter-racial harmony,
and peaceful resolution of conflict.
Plots were usually a mix of drama and humor.
Being one of the first shows targeted at young women,
most of the humor was at the expense of the men, but not particularly bitingly so.

User Review

Greatest Series during it's Time
14 March 2001 | by contone1 (St. Petersburg, FL)

Quote from contone

I Loved the Series. It was a clean wholesome show.

No vulgar language like in the movies today.
I was just a kid and can still remember running to the tv to turn it on each week.
I only wish that the series would come back to television as re-runs.
So many other shows are re-run over and over, year after year,
and yet I haven't seen "Here Come The Brides" re-run ever.
Is there a reason for this?

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