BRANDED

'''Branded''' was a Western series which aired on NBC from 1965 through 1966 and starred Chuck Connors as Jason McCord, a United States Army Cavalry captain who had been drummed out of the service following an unjust accusation of cowardice. Notable guest starts included John Carradine, Chad Everett, June Lockhart, and Dolores del Rio. Created by Larry Cohen, the show was produced by Goodson-Todman Productions, who are primarily known not for Westerns or dramatic shows, but for almost exclusively producing game shows such as ''The Price is Right''. Today, the US rights to ''Branded'' are owned by King World, one of very few Goodson-Todman properties not owned or distributed by FremantleMedia. Many stations that carry ''Branded'' today usually schedule the program alongside another King World-distributed program, ''The Guns of Will Sonnett''.
The opening scene of the series was memorable, with McCord's epaulets being ripped off, his uniform having its buttons cut off, and his sabre being broken, while a drum played. He was then sent out of the gates of the fort where this occurred, which were then closed behind him. This scene was repeated each week as the theme song by Dominic Frontiere, which told the background story, and the opening credits, were played. New viewers could easily be brought in on what had been going on, a very common device at the time used in many other programs as well.
In the series, McCord traveled throughout the Old West, continually confronted with people who knew of his notorious reputation for cowardice, requiring him to (according to the theme song) repeatedly "prove he was a man".
The series followed Connors's highly popular series ''The Rifleman'', but did not have that show's longevity. Several episodes were shot in color and edited together for a movie, which was released under the title "Broken Sabre" in 1966.

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''Branded'' in pop culture

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''Branded'' in pop culture

★ ''Branded'' was a minor thematic element in the Coen brothers' film, ''The Big Lebowski''. However, the reference is fictional. The "writer" referred to and the number of episodes are entirely incorrect. The Dude does sing an accurate rendition (albeit a very poor one due to his hungover state) of the show's theme song when the Malibu police apprehend him for reportedly disturbing Jackie Treehorn's estate during his "garden party."

★ The show's opening theme is parodied in two other places. First in an episode of ''"Married... with Children"'' in which Al Bundy is disgraced by his alma mater after the City Championship trophy (as well as many other item's stolen by Students at the same time) is stolen by Al's high school rival "Spare Tire" Dixon (Bubba Smith) while on watch as a security guard.

★ It was also parodied in the feature film when the DJ character is fired as a Warner Bros. security guard.

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