Alias Smith and Jones

Alias Smith and Jones is an American Western television series that originally aired on ABC from January 1971 to January 1973. The show initially starred Pete Duel as Hannibal Heyes and Ben Murphy as Jedediah "Kid" Curry, outlaw cousins who are trying to reform. The governor offers them a clemency deal on two conditions: that they keep the agreement a secret, and that they will remain wanted fugitives until the governor decides that they should receive a formal amnesty. Plot Operating primarily in Wyoming Territory (1868–1890), cousins Hannibal Heyes and Jedediah "Kid" Curry (whose boyish face spawned the nickname) are the two most successful outlaws in the history of the West. However, crime-fighting methods are evolving to foil them; safes are becoming harder to crack, trains more difficult to stop, and posses more adept at tracking them down. Heyes, the brains of the Devil's Hole Gang, falls in disfavor with fellow members. Deciding to give up their life of crime, he and Curry learn of an amnesty program founded by the territorial governor. Through an old acquaintance, Sheriff Lom Trevors (James Drury in the pilot, alternately Mike Road and John Russell in the series), they contact the governor, who is unsure of how voters will react if he extends leniency to Heyes and Curry. He ultimately strikes a deal to grant them amnesty for their past crimes, with the stipulations that they must not discuss the agreement with anyone and that they will officially still be wanted men until such time as the governor decides that they deserve full clemency. The cousins reluctantly accept the deal, but find life as law-abiding citizens to be more difficult than expected. Now calling themselves Joshua Smith and Thaddeus Jones, they find themselves tangling with lawmen, bounty hunters, operatives of the Bannerman Detective Agency (a fictional alias for the Pinkerton Detective Agency), and other nefarious figures. They are forced to rely on Heyes' silver tongue, Curry's fast draw, and occasionally a little help from friends on both sides of the law.