On this day in 1988: 𝙃𝙄𝙂𝙃 𝙈𝙊𝙐𝙉𝙏𝘼𝙄𝙉 𝙍𝘼𝙉𝙂𝙀𝙍𝙎 debuted on CBS-TV.
This adventure-drama series centered around a group of highly trained wilderness search and rescue/law enforcement officers in Tahoe, Nevada. The series starred Robert Conrad as Jesse "Top Gun" Hawkes and also featured his sons Christian and Shane Conrad as Matt "Flying Tiger" Hawkes and Cody Hawkes, respectively. Robert Conrad's daughter, Joan, served as the executive producer. Each ranger had a call sign which was used when the HMRs were in the field. Other members of the cast included Russell Todd as Jim "Flash" Cutler, P.A. Christian as Robin "Frostbite" Kelly, and Timothy Erwin as Izzy "the Pocatello Kid" Flowers.
The series debut had been preceded by a TV movie pilot airing April 19, 1987, which featured Jesse Hawkes, an ex-Marine who founded the High Mountain Rangers 35 years prior, coming out of retirement to track down criminal T.J. Cousins (Tom Towles), who had escaped from prison and fled into the mountains. The escape scene in the pilot was filmed at Folsom Prison, and because the permit was only for one day, two crew members, Tim Forrest and Larry Mahan, were recruited to take the place of two injured stuntmen.
The series was filmed on location at places like Bear Valley and Lake Tahoe. The Bear Valley Sheriff's office was used as the Ranger station in the pilot. 12 one-hour episodes were produced in addition to the pilot film. High Mountain Rangers also had a short-lived 6-episode spin-off series in 1989 titled 𝙅𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚 𝙃𝙖𝙬𝙠𝙚𝙨.
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