Warner Archive will release short-lived adventure drama Lucan on DVD on April 3rd through its manufacture-on-demand program. WBShop.com is accepting pre-orders for $29.99.
Lucan ran for 11 episodes on ABC between September 1977 and December 1978. A pilot telefilm aired in May 1977. It’s currently unknown whether the upcoming DVD set will include the pilot or not.
Here’s the official description from WBShop.com:
Abandoned as an infant in the wild, a young boy is raised by wolves. Discovered in the forests of northern Minnesota at the age of 10, the boy begins the difficult process of learning what it is to be human. Under the tutelage of Dr. Hoagland (John Randolph) at the University Research Center in California, the boy becomes a man (Kevin Brophy) and dubs himself Lucan. The mysteries of his past gnaw at him, and Lucan sets out to discover the secrets of his heritage and his true identity. The dangers of civilization far outstrip that of nature, and Lucan must rely on the instincts and abilities he learned while running with his wolf brothers and sisters. Slowly gathering clues, Lucan’s quest is interrupted by a crime at the research center – a crime for which he is unjustly accused. Now a fugitive, Lucan must stay one step ahead of the lawman (Don Gordon) pursuing him while he still looks for answers. Guest stars include Ned Beatty and Stockard Channing.
Lucan was previously available through Warner Archive’s soon-to-shutter streaming service from May 2013 to August 2016.
I saw a TV movie about a boy raised by wolves, but never saw this series. It sounds interesting, but it probably ends with a cliff-hanger situation, for I doubt the producers planned to finish the story with episode eleven.
TV shows in the 70s rarely had real endings. But being episodic they were also less likely to end with cliffhangers.
By cliffhanger I meant that the crime at the research center was not solved, and Lucan didn’t find out about his birth family and why he ended up being raised by wolves. There would be no resolution to the main problems, so if I watched all episodes I would likely be left wondering what had happened in Lucan’s past.
I was around eleven at the time this came out. I had such a crush on Kevin Brophy who played Lucan. I can’t wait to buy this DVD! Tell me, at the time, was there any fan fiction written? If yes, where could I read it? Also, is the novelization availiable?