Movin' On (TV series)

Movin' On is an American drama television series. It ran for two seasons from 1974 to 1976 on the NBC network.

For the 2009 UK TV miniseries, see Moving On (TV series).
Movin' On
Photo from the September 1974 series premiere
GenreDrama
Created byPhilip D'Antoni
Barry J. Weitz
Written byStanley Z. Cherry
Phillip D'Antoni
George Kirgo
Ken Kolb
Eugene Price
Barry J. Weitz
StarringClaude Akins
Frank Converse
Theme music composerMerle Haggard
ComposersEarle Hagen
John Scott
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes44[1](+1 TV Movie)
Production
Executive producersPhilip D'Antoni
Barry J. Weitz
ProducersErnie Frankel
Joseph Gantman
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time60 minutes
Production companyD'Antoni/Weitz Television Productions
DistributorPeter Rodgers Organization
Release
Original networkNBC
Picture formatColor
Audio formatMonaural
Original releaseMay 8, 1974 (1974-05-08) –
March 2, 1976 (1976-03-02)
Chronology
Preceded byIn Tandem (TV movie)

Synopsis

Movin' On stars Claude Akins as old-time independent "big-rig" truck driver Sonny Pruitt, and Frank Converse as his college-educated co-driver Will Chandler. The theme song, "Movin' On", was written and performed by Merle Haggard, and was a No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in July 1975.

The series was likened to Route 66 and Cannonball, following a similar format. Episodes usually centered on Sonny and Will, always traveling, becoming involved in the lives of people they met (or met again) in the various places they found themselves.

The pilot episode was a made-for-television movie originally titled In Tandem – a reference to the tandem axles on the tractor and trailer, as well as that they drove as a team, or "in tandem". The movie begins with Will sliding out of control in a truck he was driving, due to poor maintenance of the brakes. After he manages to get the truck stopped, he drives to a truck stop and calls the company to quit his job. He then meets Sonny, a "gypsy" trucker, and they decide to try driving as a team, which works out well.

The truck tractor featured on the pilot episode was a dark green 1973 Kenworth W-925, but was later changed to a 1974 model for the series run. Movin' On was filmed on location all over the United States, including Glen Burnie, Maryland; Mobile, Alabama; Sedona, Arizona; San Diego and San Francisco, California; Buford and Jonesboro, Georgia; Durham and Charlotte, North Carolina; Astoria, Portland, The Dalles, Seaside and Hood River, Oregon; and Norfolk, Virginia. Parts of the series were also filmed in Salt Lake City, Heber and Midway, Utah.[2]

Akins and Converse actually drove the trucks during filming, having been trained and obtaining their chauffeur's licenses (forerunner to the commercial driver's license) prior to making the pilot episode. Executive producers for the series were Barry Weitz and Philip D'Antoni. Akins later went on to appear in another trucking-related TV series, the more comedy-oriented B.J. and the Bear.

Episode list

Pilot (1974)
  • "In Tandem" (May 8, 1974)

Season 1 (1974–1975)
No.
overall 		No. in
season 		Title Directed by Written by Original air date
11"The Time of His Life"Walter DonigerGeorge KirgoSeptember 12, 1974 (1974-09-12)
22"Roadblock"John PeyserRobert LewinSeptember 19, 1974 (1974-09-19)
33"Grit"Hy AverbackWilliam PutmanSeptember 26, 1974 (1974-09-26)
44"Lifeline"John PeyserJames MenziesOctober 3, 1974 (1974-10-03)
55"The Trick is to Stay Alive"Michael O'HerlihyDan UllmanOctober 10, 1974 (1974-10-10)
66"The Cowhands"Paul StanleyEugene PriceOctober 24, 1974 (1974-10-24)
77"The Good Life"Richard BenedictGeorge KirgoNovember 7, 1974 (1974-11-07)
88"Games"Charles S. DubinStephen KandelNovember 14, 1974 (1974-11-14)
99"Hoots"Michael O'HerlihyJim ByrnesNovember 21, 1974 (1974-11-21)
1010"Good for Laughs"TBATBANovember 28, 1974 (1974-11-28)
1111"High Rollers"TBATBADecember 5, 1974 (1974-12-05)
1212"Goin' Home: Part 1"TBATBADecember 12, 1974 (1974-12-12)
1313"Goin' Home: Part 2"TBATBADecember 19, 1974 (1974-12-19)
1414"Antiques"Charles S. DubinEugene PriceDecember 26, 1974 (1974-12-26)
1515"Explosion"TBATBAJanuary 2, 1975 (1975-01-02)
1616"Landslide"TBATBAJanuary 16, 1975 (1975-01-16)
1717"Fraud"Seymour RobbieMichael FisherJanuary 30, 1975 (1975-01-30)
1818"Ammo"TBATBAFebruary 6, 1975 (1975-02-06)
1919"Tattoos"Michael O'HerlihyStory by : John G. Wilson & Ken Kolb
Teleplay by : Ken Kolb		February 13, 1975 (1975-02-13)
2020"Ransom"TBATBAFebruary 20, 1975 (1975-02-20)
2121"The Price of Loving"TBATBAApril 2, 1975 (1975-04-02)
2222"Weddin' Bells"TBATBAApril 9, 1975 (1975-04-09)

Season 2 (1975–1976)
  1. "The Stowaway" (September 9, 1975)
  2. "From Baltimore to Eternity" (September 16, 1975)
  3. "The Toughest Men in America" (September 23, 1975)
  4. "The Elephant Story" (September 30, 1975)
  5. "A Home Is Not a House" (October 7, 1975)
  6. "...To Be in Carolina" (October 14, 1975)
  7. "Will the Last Trucker Leaving Charlotte Turn Out the Lights?" (October 21, 1975)
  8. "General Delivery Raleigh" (November 4, 1975)
  9. "The Big Wheel"(November 11, 1975)
  10. "Prosperity Number One" (November 16, 1975)
  11. "Please Don't Talk to the Driver" (November 25, 1975)
  12. "The Long Way to Nowhere" (December 9, 1975)
  13. "Breakout" (December 16, 1975)
  14. "Love, Death and Laura Brown" (December 23, 1975)
  15. "The Old South Will Rise Again" (January 6, 1976)
  16. "Witch Hunt" (January 16, 1976)
  17. "The Big Switch" (January 20, 1976)
  18. "Woman of Steel" (January 27, 1976)
  19. "Living It Up" (February 10, 1976)
  20. "No More Sad Songs" (February 17, 1976)
  21. "Full Fathom Five" (February 24, 1976)
  22. "Sing It Again, Sonny" (March 2, 1976)

Home media

On September 20, 2017, the first & second seasons of Movin' On were released on manufactured-on-demand DVD by Allied Vaughn & Pro Classic TV.[3]

DVD Name Ep # Release Date
The Complete First Season 22 September 20, 2017
The Complete Second Season 23 September 20, 2017

The CB radio boom of the mid-1970s, figured into a merchandising tie-in for the show, and Movin' On-brand walkie-talkies, which worked on CB channel 14, were marketed to children.

During the series, truck drivers on the CB would say that they were going to "do it like Pruitt". After the series ended, the phrase became "do it like Pruitt used to do it." This phrase could still be heard occasionally 30 years later.[4]

References
  1. "Meet The Man Who Saved Movin' On - Television Obscurities". tvobscurities.com. 18 May 2016. Archived from the original on 28 September 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  2. D'Arc, James V. (2010). When Hollywood came to town: a history of moviemaking in Utah (1st ed.). Layton, Utah: Gibbs Smith. ISBN 9781423605874.
  3. Lambert, David (September 20, 2017). "Movin' On - Claude Akins Stars in 'Season 1' and 'Season 2' DVDs The mid-70s NBC show is now available as MOD titles". TV Shows On DVD. tvshowsondvd.com. Archived from the original on September 21, 2017. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-05-26. Retrieved 2016-05-31.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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