Episode Guide

Regular Characters:
• Ben Turner (voice of Ted Knight)
Leader of the Rescue Rangers; either he or his wife fly Rescue 1, their helicopter
• Laura Turner (voice of Jane Webb)
Married to Ben and mother of Jackie, Susan, and Little Ben; she is a doctor and also regularly flies Rescue 1
• Jackie Turner (voice of Keith Sutherland), eldest of the Turner children
• Susan Turner (voice of Lane Scheimer), the Turners' only daughter
• Ben Turner Jr (voice of Keith Allen), the Turners' youngest son, who is blind
• Gene Fox (voice of Hal Harvey), their Native American friend and member of the Rescue Rangers
• Old Toothless (mountain lion)
• Edgar (crow)
• Groucho (owl)
• Fastback (turtle)
• Robbie (raccoon)
• Musty (skunk)

Episodes:

"Lassie and the Spirit of Thunder Mountain"

One-hour pilot movie presented on the Saturday Superstar Movie. Unscrupulous contractor Aaron Lipton tries to frighten Chief Red Arrow and his Native American tribe away from their ancestral lands on Thunder Mountain, including using savage dogs to stalk the area, enlisting Congresswoman Fielding in his cause. Note: In the pilot, the Turner family does not run a rescue organization; they simply own a ranch near Thunder Mountain. Gene Fox is a member of Chief Red Arrow's tribe. Some of the animals, including the elderly mountain lion Old Toothless, help Lassie defeat the killer dogs, reappear as rescue animals in the subsequent series.

Lassie's Rescue Rangers the series premiered the following September. The Turners now run a rescue organization from their ranch (unlike Thunderbirds, we don't learn where the Turners obtained the money to be able to run the organization). Along with Lassie, all the animals, or at least Robbie the raccoon and a rabbit whose name is unknown, are trained to trail lost persons and otherwise help with the rescues, although Old Toothless gets the (forgive the pun) lion's share of the action.

The series was directed by Hal Sutherland, written by Chuck Menville and Len Janson, with background music by Yvette Blais and Jeff Michael and music and sound effects by Horta-Mahana Corporation, produced by Norm Prescott and Lou Scheimer for Filmation Associates.

"Lost" (09/08/73)

A city-bred boy named Dwayne Johnson is lost on a camping trip, to the horror of his parents Harry and Martha. (The Johnson family are African-American and speak in this odd mixture of Southern accent and 70s slang, especially Dwayne. It's pretty funny today.)

"The Animals are Missing" (09/15/73)

Strange earth tremors send the Rescue Rangers to a valley that isn't as deserted as it seems. Guest characters include Bill Bear.

"The Mystic Monster" (09/22/73)

Susan, Little Ben, and Lassie pursue a mysterious "comet" that contains a luminescent white form. (It turns out to be a cosmonaut whose space capsule crashed in the woods.)

"Lassie's Special Assignment" (09/29/73)

Ben Turner receives a mysterious package containing a tape recorder—shades of Mission: Impossible!—with instructions to rescue a scientist (Dr. Simpson) from enemy agents.

"The Impostors" (10/06/73)

In the midst of a rescue demonstration at a high school, the Turners are confronted by police and put under arrest for robbery—a group of people are pretending to be the Rescue Rangers for their own personal gain.

"Deadly Cargo" (10/13/73)

Two drug smugglers kidnap the rescue animals in order to retrieve a lost package of heroin worth two million dollars.

"Grizzly" (10/20/73)

A tame grizzly named King, recently released to the wild, complicates the Rescue Rangers' problems with a menacing forest fire advancing on the city. Guest characters include Sergeant Kelley.

"Deepsea Disaster" (10/27/73)

Underwater scientist J.W. Smithers, rejected by the Navy, thwarts plans made for Lassie, Jackie, Susan, Gene Fox, and two of the other rescue animals to live in a new Aqualung for several days.

"Black Out" (11/03/73)

The overburdened police call on the Rescue Rangers after a power blackout puts a trucker and a young boy in danger, and a looter takes advantage of the situation.

"Arctic Adventure" (11/10/73)

In Alaska, the Rescue Rangers must find the downed airplane of two firefighters, Larry and Frank, needed to put out ignited gas at a well site near the town of Bear Claw. Then a blizzard develops. Other supporting characters include an Aleutian named Nandi.

"The Sunken Galleon" (11/17/73)

While searching for a missing diver, the Rescue Rangers find a sunken galleon—and an enemy submarine.

"Gold Mine" (11/24/73)

Gene Fox is taken prisoner by Betty and Jason, two criminals who, after being rescued by the Turners, proceed on their mission to rob Fort Knox.

"Rodeo" (12/01/73)

The kids are eager to participate in a rodeo owned by Ben's friend Jerry Carr, but a series of mysterious accidents threatens to cancel the event.

"Hullabaloo in Hollywood" (12/08/73)

While filming a movie in Hollywood, the Rescue Rangers run into trouble.

"Tidal Wave" (12/15/73)

The Rescue Rangers' weekend in Florida is interrupted by the threat of a tidal wave.

Thanks to Dave Koch of the Big Cartoon Database for the titles and the original airdates!