Tedfoldol
everything you have heard about this movie is true.
ChicRawIdol
A brilliant film that helped define a genre
Deanna
There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.
Philippa
All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
Robert J. Maxwell
In switching TV service providers there occurred a gap, during which my selection of channels seemed to be limited to about half a dozen -- the Prayer Channel, Home Shopping Network, The News in Urdu, that sort of thing.I happened across Sergeant Preston of the Yukon. It was at least WATCHABLE.True, the values were rudimentary -- good versus evil -- and as easy as it is to watch such a Manichaean story, that's not the way the universe is structured, is it. It doesn't get past Kohlberg's Level 2 stage of moral development, in which you either obey the rules or you don't.Still, it's reassuring to see the distinction played out in a fictional story. It's ritualized, a fixed point in a changing and disappointing world, like a religious service.I used to listen to the program on the radio -- I'm pretty old and we were pretty poor. (The house was always full of winter snow regardless of season and we had to pounce on mice for a meal.) The characters and the trajectory of the story were no longer familiar.What struck me was the sound, the voices, and the musical score. "On, King, ON, YOU HUSKIES!" And the theme music, which I haven't heard for more than half a century. I found myself able to hum along with the theme.The human mind is a very strange thing, even compared to the relationship between Sergeant Preston and his faithful dog King.
Matthew_Capitano
No other actor could have done a better job of portraying Northwest Mountie Policeman Sergeant Preston than did the fine and stalwart actor Richard Simmons.With his faithful dog, Yukon King, Sergeant Preston traveled the countryside of the Northwest Territories bringing peace and justice to that freezing cold region. Always exciting stories and authentic atmosphere which captured the sub-zero temperatures of the north made each episode lots of fun.Highly recommended series for fans of outdoor adventures, as well as to see the excellent acting of ruggedly handsome actor Richard Simmons.
classicsoncall
I'm sure I speak for a lot of folks in my age bracket who grew up in the 1950's when I say that it was probably the greatest time ever to be a kid. Saturday mornings spent with The Lone Ranger, Roy Rogers, Wild Bill Hickok, Sky King, and yes - Sergeant Preston of the Yukon! As another reviewer for this series mentions, the values of a generation were formed by the honesty and integrity of these heroes of the silver screen. Watching these stories today takes one back to a simpler time, and granted, even though things are a lot more complex today, any single episode of any of these shows helps one put things in proper perspective when it comes to telling right from wrong.In many respects, one could categorize 'Sergeant Preston' as a TV Western, in fact, it's included in Harris M. Lentz's 'Television Westerns Episode Guide' for all Western series airing from 1949 to 1996. Just like many other non-traditional Western series are included, such as 'Circus Boy', 'Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin' and 'My Friend Flicka'. The common denominator for all these shows is an unerring principal that good triumphs over evil and honesty is the best policy."Sergeant Preston of the Yukon" aired from September 1955 to September 1958, a three season total of seventy eight shows. It's star was Richard Simmons, somewhat ironic in retrospect as most people today would associate that name with the exercise and weight loss guru who seems to pack on the pounds as he ages. Other than Roy Rogers, Sergeant Preston is the only principal Western TV character I can think of that had two animal sidekicks. Roy of course had Trigger and Bullet, while Preston had Yukon King and Rex. Apparently, King had a much better agent as he appeared in every show, while Rex was primarily featured in the first season with twenty appearances.Recently I've watched a handful of episodes, and with the passage of time, one's expectations wind up taking a hit as it were. The stories are relatively simplistic, sometimes even goofy. Don't take this the wrong way, the same can be said of a couple of my other favorite childhood hero series, The Lone Ranger and Superman. It's just the way things were back in the early days of TV with unsophisticated stories pretty much pitting the good guys versus the bad guys with the white hats always on the winning side. Or in the case of Sergeant Preston, the guys in the red coats. Speaking of which, when I saw these episodes back in the day, it would have been on a black and white TV, but some of the shows I've seen recently were done in color, or at least what passed for color with a somewhat muddied and muted palette.In any event, I can still look back on Sergeant Preston as one of my boyhood heroes with a fond memory. Simmons' character was a staunch, no nonsense individual that commanded respect and admiration, and if it weren't for all that snow and ice, I'd want to follow right in his footsteps.
Bookwus
With these words, Sergeant Preston and his loyal dog, Yukon king always got their man. Played by Richard Simmons, Sergeant Preston patrolled the western reaches of the Canadian frontier in the 1890s. Action and justice in such locales as Yellowknife, Dawson, and Whitehorse were seen each Saturday morning by the same kids who had just finished watching The Lone Ranger and Sky King.
The series episodes featured stories set against the harsh extremes of the Yukon winter and summers in the Canadian Rockies. To match the climate, Preston would trade his dogsled for his horse, Rex. King was along wherever the good sergeant went.Simmons was the perfect embodiment of Sergeant Preston, the pride of the Northwest Mounted. To this day (despite Due South) when I picture a Mountie......it's always Sergeant Preston. And of those of who watched the show as kids, who can forget that stirring theme music and the words with which Sergeant Preston closed each episode, "Well King, this case is closed."