show to perform. During its run in the 1973–1974 season, it was reported Dusty's Trail barely made the top 50 shows, a fairly respectable showing for a first-run syndicated program; nonetheless the program was canceled after its lone season, with 26 episodes produced out of an originally planned 30. Observations Each of the seven main characters is derivative of those of Gilligan's Island, a previous series that had been created by Sherwood Schwartz, who had been trying unsuccessfully to sell a Gilligan's Island revival for several years (and eventually succeeded, in animated form, with The New Adventures of Gilligan in 1974). Dusty was based on Bob Denver's Gilligan's Island character, Gilligan. Tucker's role as the wagonmaster was based on The Skipper, originally played by Alan Hale, Jr. The millionaire Brookhavens (Ivor Francis and Lynn Wood) were essentially the same characters as the Howells (Jim Backus and Natalie Schafer) from Gilligan's Island. Music hall singer Lulu (Jeannine Riley) was an adaptation of Ginger Grant, the movie star played by Tina Louise Girl-next-door Betsy (Lori Saunders) replaced farm-girl Mary Ann Summers (Dawn Wells) Andy (William Cort) filled the role of the savant Professor (Russell Johnson) Other elements of the series are reproduced/recycled: The Gilligan's Island shipwreck, following what was meant to be a "three hour tour," is now replaced with a wagon being lost in the wilderness after being separated from the wagon train. The main mission of the plot was to reunite with the main wagon train, mirroring the castaways' attempt at rescue. Head hunters are now replaced by American Indians, who bear resemblance to the Hekawi, a fictional tribe from Forrest Tucker's previous series, F Troop. Criminals were encountered in both series; with Dusty's Trail being bandits and desperados, and occasionally marooned felons would end up on Gillian's island. Home media Several Dusty's Trail episodes, for reasons not entirely clear, were not properly copyrighted; these were among some of the last episodes of a regular TV series (in order of production) to lapse into the public domain, and some of the few to do so that were produced after 1963. Because of this, the show became widely available in reruns and on discount DVDs. On October 12, 2004, Brentwood Home Video released 17 episodes of the series on Region 1 DVD in the United States. References External links Dusty's Trail episodes at the Internet Archive 1973 American television series debuts