"A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty "Hi Yo Silver!" The Lone Ranger. With his faithful Indian companion Tonto, the daring and resourceful masked rider of the plains, led the fight for law and order in the early west. Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear. The Lone Ranger rides again!" 

The Lone Ranger was created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker as a local radio show in 1933, and quickly spread to a nation-wide hookup (it was, in fact, the cornerstone of the then new Mutual Radio Network). On September 15, 1949, the Lone Ranger debuted on television with a series of half-hour films, made in Hollywood especially for the new medium. The Lone Ranger, typical of the first wave of Westerns to hit TV in the early 1950's, had only simple plots -- good guys vs. bad guys -- and there was none of the complex character development that marked the later "adult" Westerns.

Although the Lone Ranger never killed his adversaries, there was always plenty of action, and the show was a great favorite with its young audience. Parents liked it too, because of the lack of overt killing and the hero's faultless grammar -- which in itself was unique for the Old West.