Classic TV Westerns- Discussion (Archive)

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  • Quote

    Originally posted by The Ringo Kid@Jan 28 2005, 02:01 PM
    :wacko: I can't say anything about i Dream of Jeannie because I am related to Barbara Eden

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    Hi Ringo -


    Actually Barbara Eden was the best thing on that series (even though NBC wouldn't let her show her naval). What irked me was the dumbing down of the astronauts and the military. I know this was a comedy, but it was done at the expense of those personnel.


    Regards - Jay :stunned:

    Cheers - Jay:beer:
    "Not hardly!!!"

  • Got any pics of Barbra? :lol: J/K!! She was hot though....... I could watch Jeannie all day long :wub::wub: Then she made that TV movie, Harper Valley PTA and blew it for me :lol: :lol:

    Life is hard, its even harder when your stupid!!
    -John Wayne

  • :cowboy: Hi Jay/Viper,


    Jay I agree with you, I hated seeing the Mil and the Astronauts dumbed down as well. I think it was mainly a sigh of the times though--being a program on during part ofthe Vietnam War.


    I think that between the final season and her filming of H.V. PTA, Babs had lost a baby and in her depression lasting several years, she could not function--or so I heard.


    Viper, nope, I don't have any pics of her. I don't think she even knows we exhist. Since my Mother passed away, nobody in the family has worked on the family tree. Shame Barbara divorced Michael Ansara, because though I owuld not be a blood relation, it would have been interesting to have met another TV star of dozens of Westerns and a few Starring roles in others like Broken Arrow.

    Es Ist Verboten Mit Gefangenen In Einzelhaft Zu Sprechen..

  • Hi Ringo -


    Barbara Eden did another piece of fluff shortly after the Harper Valley thing - "Chattanooga Choo Choo" - not noteworthy of anything more than an amusing diversion, but, HOO, BOY, did she look good in those outfits!
    More seriously, she seems to have been active up to the present time and has seemed to age very gracefully.
    We should all have relatives like this!!!


    Cheers - Jay :rolleyes:

    Cheers - Jay:beer:
    "Not hardly!!!"

  • :cowboy: Hi Jay, Very pretty she sure is. I just wish that she knew our branch of the family existed.


    Well, we have her beauty and U.S. Grant's ah well......position to choose between. :)

    Es Ist Verboten Mit Gefangenen In Einzelhaft Zu Sprechen..


  • If she has aged so gracefully and is still gorgeous.......why would you even want her to be your relative?...lol if you catch my meaning.


    -IHW

  • Howdy Folks,
    A classic western finally comes to DVD. Here's the info:

    Wanted: Dead or Alive - Let's Go: Steve McQueen's Wanted: Dead or Alive Hits DVD


    3/22/2005


    In 1958 producer Jack H. Harris was producing a film called The Blob, and had hired a young actor named Steve McQueen to star in the pic. McQueen was paid $3000 for the role, and it was to be the first of a three picture deal. However, the story has it that the production team thought McQueen was difficult to work with, and released him from the commitment to the other two films. Perhaps that's why Harris gave McQueen a "glowing recommendation" to Dick Powell. Powell, you see, was in charge of Four Star Productions, and was putting together a new Western TV series at the time. After the recommendation, Powell asked Harris if he could see a rough cut of The Blob, and was allowed to do so. Powell liked what he saw of McQueen, and hired the future Hollywood legend to play Josh Randall, the lead character of Wanted: Dead or Alive.


    Three seasons playing the famed bounty hunter led McQueen to that legendary status. Before the show's run had ended, he had already played "Vin" in The Magnificent Seven, and went on to be the symbol of toughness and coolness in other hit films like The Great Escape, The Cincinnati Kid, The Sand Pebbles, The Thomas Crown Affair, Bullitt, Le Mans, Papillon, The Towering Inferno, and his final role in The Hunter. Just three months after the 1980 debut of that last film, Terence Steven McQueen succumbed to lung cancer at the age of 50.


    Now, 25 years after his death (during a year that, coincidentally, Jack H. Harris is once again producing The Blob for the big screen), New Line joins distributor Warner Brothers in celebrating the King of Cool's life and career. While WB is working toward a box set release of six of McQueen's films, New Line is planning a June 7th launch of Wanted: Dead or Alive - Season 1:






    Own the hit television series that launched the career of big-screen legend Steve McQueen. Josh Randall (McQueen) was not a typical rough-hewn bounty hunter of the Old West; he was a consummate gentleman who always gave half - or even all - of his reward money to charity. He was a man of few words, and he carried a Winchester sawed-off shotgun, which he wore on his belt and fondly called his "Mare's leg." The 4-DVD set has a cost of $39.92 SRP, running 1008 minutes with lots of extras. Here's a disc-by-disc breakdown of the set:


    Disc 1 - Side A
    EPISODES
    1.The Martin Poser
    2. Fatal Memory
    3. The Bounty
    4. Dead End
    EXTRAS
    Genesis of "Wanted Dead or Alive" (menu text)
    Steve McQueen Bio Part 1 (menu text)
    Color episode of "The Martin Poser"
    Disc 1 - Side B
    EPISODES
    5. Shawnee Bill
    6.The Giveaway Gun
    7. Ransom for a Nun
    8.Miracle at Pot Hole
    EXTRAS
    "The Bounty Hunter" featurette
    Photo gallery
    Disc 2 - Side A
    EPISODES
    9. The Fourth Headstone
    10. Till Death Do Us Part
    11. The Favor
    12. Ricochet
    EXTRAS
    "Life in The Fast Lane" documentary Parts 1 & 2
    Disc 2 - Side B
    EPISODES
    13. Sheriff of Red Rock
    14. Die by the Gun
    15. Rawhide Breed
    16. Eight Cent Reward?
    EXTRAS
    Steve McQueen Filmography (menu text)
    Steve McQueen Bio Part 2 (menu text)
    Color episode of "The Favor"
    Disc 3 - Side A
    EPISODES
    17. Drop To Drink
    18. Rope Law
    19. Six-Up to Bannach
    20. The Spur
    EXTRAS
    "Angel or Devil" featurette
    Photo gallery
    Disc 3 - Side B
    EPISODES
    21. Reunion for Revenge
    22. Competition
    23. Call Your Shot
    24.Secret Ballot
    EXTRAS
    "Life in The Fast Lane" documentary Parts 3 & 4
    Disc 4 - Side A
    EPISODES
    25. The Corner
    26. Eager Man
    27. The Legend
    28. Railroaded
    29. Double Fee
    30. The Kovack Affair
    EXTRAS
    Steve McQueen Bio Part 3 (menu text)
    Color episode of "Six-Up to Bannach"
    Disc 4 - Side B
    EPISODES
    31. Bounty for a Bride
    32. Crossroads
    33. Angels of Vengeance
    34. Littlest Client
    35. The Conquerers
    36. Amos Carter
    EXTRAS
    "Dead End" featurette
    "Life in The Fast Lane" documentary Parts 5 & 6
    Photo gallery


    The DVD comes with video in 4x3 full screen, with black-and-white presentation of all episodes, plus 3 episodes presented in color as extras (the orginal b&w versions are there, too). Sound is the original English Mono, and there are subtitles in English and Spanish.

    Link to this page:
    http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=3150

    All news for this show:
    http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/shownews.cfm?ShowID=4551

    More info on this show:
    Wanted: Dead or Alive



    Copyright 2001-2005

    They'd never forget the day,the stranger rode into town

  • Quote

    Originally posted by Jay J. Foraker@Feb 1 2005, 02:07 PM
    To bring this topic back on track - I noticed that "The Virginian" was mentioned about 3 times, but "The Big Valley" only received one nod.


    Cheers - ;)

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    Jay, I think The Virginian's reputation is starting to grow (finally) after all these years. Don't know why, but maybe it's the over-syndication of well-worn classics like Big Valley, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, etc. I have become a fan after seeing episodes on the Hallmark Channel. It's a 90 minute show, so it didn't get much syndication over the years. Good stories, the ever so cute Roberta Shore (who unfortunately left in the middle of the show's run) and Lee J. Cobb. James Drury and Doug McClure have LOTS of female fans, too. It's good to see this neglected jewel get some fond remembrance and newfound respect. I do like The Big Valley, though.

    "Day off?"
    "Off day."

  • I like The Virginian as well. I also discovered theat the Hallmark Channel is playing hogan's heroes on Sat and Sun. Only its played too early in the morning for me :(

    Es Ist Verboten Mit Gefangenen In Einzelhaft Zu Sprechen..

  • Quote

    Originally posted by The Ringo Kid@Mar 23 2005, 04:18 PM
    I like The Virginian as well.

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    I figured you did, Kid. Probably another show that'll never see a DVD release.

    "Day off?"
    "Off day."

  • Folks,


    It's difficult for me to pick a favorite, but I'll add one I always enjoyed watching as a kid because no one else has mentioned it -- Death Valley Days. I guess I haven't seen an episode of this in at least thirty years.


    -ncb

    My heroes have always been cowboys.

  • Well,

    If you want me to pick one, just one favorite TV Western, I'd have to say The Rifleman. Always liked the show as a kid who saw the show syndicated (it was before my time).

    Even though I like many, this one has a place in my heart. When I was a child, 30 minutes was all I could stand before I had to go out to play, and Chuck Conners handling that rifle was totally cool. I guess the story was alright, but that rifle and the way he twirled it. What can I say?

    Cheers :cool:



    Quote

    "When you come slam bang up against trouble, it never looks half as bad if you face up to it"

    - John Wayne quote

  • :cowboy: Hi Cole, unfortunately for now, that is too true. I am a member of a site caller TV to me and they are very educated on what TV shows are on DVD. I'm thinking that The Virginian has to have a following on Hallmark. I for one am hooked on it. I barely remember seeing a few episodes when I was about 7 yrs old. That till now, was the last time I saw any Virginian episodes.

    Es Ist Verboten Mit Gefangenen In Einzelhaft Zu Sprechen..


  • I tend to agree with Hondo on this one - it was a favorite of mine (it wasn't ahead of my time :D ).

    I would say that in the 8 to about 15 years old range, kids were pretty impressed with the way he handled that rifle.

    In retrospect, after having watched the show on recent DVD release, it seems there was an agenda there that I didn't "see" when I was kid, but is different from my perspective as an adult (of course there were only two episodes on the DVD, so maybe that wouldn't be true if I saw a bunch more). In addition, Chuck Conners seemed to have kind of a grumpy attitude in general. Maybe it's best to not watch some of our old favorites . . . there is the possibility of being disillusioned. On the other side of that coin, I still enjoy the Little Rascals and the Three Stooges (nyuk, nyuk, nyuk :headbonk: ).

    Chester :newyear:

  • It seems the sum total of our experiences, knowledge and memories color our perceptions of our remembrances of things past (I sound like Philosophy 101 here). Western series from our youth (addressing the older members here) are seen with different perspectives than we had when first seen. Mostly production values have improved over the years and some of the old-time series seem a little stiff and stilted now from what we remember. Whatever!!!
    Cheers - Jay ^^

    Cheers - Jay:beer:
    "Not hardly!!!"

  • Quote

    Originally posted by chester7777@Mar 25 2005, 11:23 AM


    In retrospect, after having watched the show on recent DVD release, it seems there was an agenda there that I didn't "see" when I was kid, but is different from my perspective as an adult (of course there were only two episodes on the DVD, so maybe that wouldn't be true if I saw a bunch more).*

    [snapback]15562[/snapback]






    Hey Chester,

    What do you mean by that? Maybe I understand -_- but maybe I don't. :unsure:

    Cheers :cool:



    Quote

    "When you come slam bang up against trouble, it never looks half as bad if you face up to it"

    - John Wayne quote

  • Speaking of old westerns, I remember watching Laredo when I was very small. I don't remember anything about it except it involved Texas Rangers and one of the characters was Neville Brand. Since then whenever he would appear in another movie or television program my family would always call him by his Laredo name, which was 'Reese'. The same thing applied to Doug McClure from 'The Virginian'. Whenever we saw him we always thought of him as 'Trampas'.


    -ncb

    My heroes have always been cowboys.

  • don't know if this hase been done before.i could not find it. since we are all western fans, what tv westerns did you like the most?
    gunsmoke
    have gun will travel
    wanted dead or alive:cowboy:

    ''baby sister i was born game and intend to go out that way.''