YOUNG REBELS, THE - THE COMPLETE SERIES (ABC 1970-71) VERY RARE!!! Rick Ely, Philippe Forquet, Alex Henteloff, Louis Gossett, Jr., Hilary Thompson
Set in 1777, the series revolved around a fictional undercover patriot group called the Yankee Doodle Society based out of Chester, Pennsylvania.
The leader of the group was Jeremy Larkin (Rick Ely), the younger son of Chester's mayor. His associates were Henry Abington (Alex Henteloff), the son of the local pharmaceutical and an inventor/explosives expert who bore a bit of a resemblance to Benjamin Franklin, and the town's blacksmith Isak Poole (Louis Gossett, Jr.), a former slave who had bought his own freedom.
Jeremy's girlfriend, Elizabeth Coates (Hilary Thompson), sometimes accompanied the Society on its escapades. They reported directly to the 20 year old General Lafayette (Philippe Forquet) who occasionally joined their operations.
Covering their activism by pretending indifference to the war effort, they were very effective at spying for the American forces and harassing the British behind enemy lines.
The ABC series was produced by Aaron Spelling. Each episode was loosely based on a historical event. The series ran from September 20, 1970 to January 3, 1971.
The Young Rebels was up against the very popular family shows Lassie and The Wonderful World of Disney on competitors CBS and NBC respectively. Rick Ely and Philippe Forquet became teenage idols and were widely featured in movie and fan magazines. Despite extensive promotion and a large (by television standards of the era) production budget, The Young Rebels failed to garner enough of an audience and was canceled at midseason.
This 8-disc set contains all 15 episodes produced.
Disc 1: To Hang A Hero / Fort Hope
Disc 2: Dangerous Ally / The Infiltrator
Disc 3: Stalemate / Valley of the Guns
Disc 4: The Hostages / The Age of Independence
Disc 5: Suicide Squad / Alias Ben Todd
Disc 6: Father and I Went Down To Camp
Disc 7: Unbroken Chains / To Kill a Traitor
Disc 8: The Ring of Freedom / The Blood of an English