"Lancer" had a two-season run on CBS from 1968 to 1970, a sort of heyday for westerns on network TV.

It ran in the 7:30 to 8:30 (eastern) slot, which boasted a western adventure series every night of the week on one of the three networks. If it was Monday, you were watching "Gunsmoke" on CBS, Tuesday it was "Lancer," Wednesday NBC's "The Virginian," Thursday NBC's "Daniel Boone" and Friday it was "The Wild Wild West" on CBS.

"Lancer" was a "Bonanza"-esque series that followed the Lancer family on its California ranch -- perhaps you can see the similarities already, but there's more. The Lancers, too, were a family of boys with different mothers being raised by their widowed father, Murdoch. However, "Lancer" added a feminine element with a young girl who became Murdoch's ward after her father, Murdoch's ranch foreman, was murdered.

The most famous name attached was Wayne Maunder, who played the refined and bookish older brother, Scott Lancer. Maunder was coming off a pretty prestigious gig when he joined "Lancer," having played a young Lt.-Col. George Armstrong Custer (prior to Little Bighorn) in the ABC series "Custer."

Scott Lancer's younger brother, the hot-blooded Johnny Madrid Lancer (Madrid was a name he assumed in his wild younger years while living as a gunslinger on the Mexican border) was played by James Stacy. Stacy had a pretty long and distinguished TV career, but his personal challenges gained him more attention. In 1973 -- three years after "Lancer's" cancelation -- he lost his left arm and leg in a motorcycle accident. A few years later, in 1977, he was nominated for an Emmy for starring in the telefilm "Just a Little Inconvenience," about a double-amputee Vietnam veteran who works hard to be able to ski again.

Have a question? E-mail us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Personal replies will not be provided.