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Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy - Not Good Enough

© Jael Mehr

Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy was CBC's attempt at a cross between Lonesome Dove: The Series and Road to Avonlea. Based on the memoirs of Richard Pearson Hobson, Jr., it follows the 1998 movie of the same name. The series follows Hobson's adventures carving out a place for himself in central British Columbia (near Vanderhoof) with his friend, Panhandle Phillips, and his Vancouver debutante wife, Gloria McIntosh Hobson. Produced by Alliance-Atlantis and Milestone Productions, Nothing Too Good For a Cowboy was an hour-long two-year effort that appeared on CBC television Friday nights at 9:00 PM.

Although played in the movie by "Madison" grad Chad Willett, in the series Rich Hobson is played by Yannick Bisson, who hails from Montreal. Although he has a number of roles to his credit, Bisson (who turns 31 on May 16) was basically unknown until he was picked out of endless possibles to play the role of Rich. He has been nominated for two Gemini awards for his work prior to Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy, and is fortunate to be fluent in both English and French.

Sarah Chalke, as Gloria McIntosh Hobson, is the most recognizable member of the cast, to both American and Canadian audiences. She joined the series Roseanne half-way through, taking over for Lecy Goranson (now known as Alicia Goranson) from 1992 to 1995 when she opted to leave the role of Becky Conner Healy, and then again from 1996 until the show's finale. She's starred in the films Ernest Goes to School (with late actor Jim Varney) and Robin of Locksley (with fellow Canadian actor Devon Sawa), and more recently in the film All Shook Up. All this, and she isn't yet 23!

Winnipeg-born actor Ted Atherton, who will be 38 this year, moved quickly and easily into the role of Panhandle Phillips from a career on the stage. He is particularly experienced with Shakespeare, having starred in a number of Shakespearean plays, including As You Like It, Hamlet and All's Well That Ends Well. A songwriter as well as an actor, it's not unusual to hear Pan singing, particularly in the two-hour movie the series is based on. His most recent movie role was in the 1999 Canadian made-for-television film Joan of Arc with Leelee Sobieski.

The series also features a number of up-and-coming young actors as well as more established actors in recurring roles, including Ben Cardinal (Nelson George) from Rupert's Land, Alaska and The Sentinel, Carmen Moore (Rita George) from Da Vinci's Inquest, North of Sixty and Revenge of the Land, John B. Lowe (Rupert Mowat) from Jake and the Kid, The X-Files and Fourth Horseman, Kimberly Warnat (Kit) from Silverwolf, Bingo, and Warriors of Virtue, Kristian Ayre (Tommy) from Space Cases and New Ghostwriter Mysteries, Peter James Bryant (Robert McDaniels) from Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Reaper, Renae Morriseau (Esther, Rita's sister) from North of 60 and also an independent film producer, Sheelah Megill (Harriet Franklin) from We're No Angels, A Baby of Her Own and Eye Level, and Will Sanderson (Ed, Kit's brother) from Breaker High and Angels in the Endzone.