Classic TV Westerns (2 Viewers)

[jayembee]

Technically, I wouldn't call The Wild Wild West a western*. It just happened to take place in the same time period as many westerns. It was basically a spy program. Would you call F Troop a western?

Yes, I'd call F Troop a Western. It's about a cavalry troop that interacts with the local Indian tribe. What's not "Western" about that? Is it because it's a sitcom instead of a drama that you (apparently) don't think it's a Western?

And I'd call The Wild Wild West a Western. It uses many of the same tropes as traditional Westerns. You are correct that it's "basically a spy program", but there's no reason why it can't be both a Western and a Spy Program. By your reasoning, one could argue that Gunsmoke is basically a police drama rather than a Western because the main character is a law enforcement officer who fights criminals, and it "just happens to take place in the same time period as many Westerns".

There are always disagreements about what does or doesn't belong in a given genre. The way I look at it, "genre" comes from the same root as "general" and "generic", and as such, it's meant to indicate a set of elements based on their similarities rather than their differences. I think The Wild Wild West has more in common with Bonanza and Have Gun Will Travel than it does with The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and 24.

 

[jayembee]

Incidentally, there are also instances in which I think of modern-day-set shows as Westerns because while they may be set in the "present day", they have the tone of traditional Westerns. Longmire and Justified are two examples. Same with films. Bad Day at Black Rock, to use the most obvious example, is set Post-WW2, but everything about it screams "Western".

 

[Wiseguy]

Yes, I'd call F Troop a Western. It's about a cavalry troop that interacts with the local Indian tribe. What's not "Western" about that? Is it because it's a sitcom instead of a drama that you (apparently) don't think it's a Western?

And I'd call The Wild Wild West a Western. It uses many of the same tropes as traditional Westerns. You are correct that it's "basically a spy program", but there's no reason why it can't be both a Western and a Spy Program. By your reasoning, one could argue that Gunsmoke is basically a police drama rather than a Western because the main character is a law enforcement officer who fights criminals, and it "just happens to take place in the same time period as many Westerns".

There are always disagreements about what does or doesn't belong in a given genre. The way I look at it, "genre" comes from the same root as "general" and "generic", and as such, it's meant to indicate a set of elements based on their similarities rather than their differences. I think The Wild Wild West has more in common with Bonanza and Have Gun Will Travel than it does with The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and 24.

You're probably right. I suppose my opinion Is tempered by the fact that I generally don't care for westerns but I did like WWW.

 

[SimonTemplar]

Could any Gunsmoke fans here please tell me if CBS fixed the wrong episode problem from Season 2 when they released the complete series set?

 

[ScottRE]

Could any Gunsmoke fans here please tell me if CBS fixed the wrong episode problem from Season 2 when they released the complete series set?

Nope, these are straight reissues of the original releases repackaged in the Mega Packs in the complete set. The season 2 episode is still included as a special bonus feature in season 4.

 

[Wiseguy]

MeTV Is getting close to the end of the half-hour Gunsmokes. Does anyone know why they have skipped the last 10 episodes in the past and wonder if they will again?

 

[JohnHopper]

For those interest in The Wild Wild West, find my review of the pilot episode “The Night of the Inferno”.
More episode reviews to come …

Tributes To Your Favorite Classic TV Stars

IMO the funniest thing about this series revolves around the writers perception as to how kids should communicate with one another. It was their reality and they in turn, made it ours. In this episode the same rock ’n roll music theme can be heard each time we see Wally's inimitable haircomb...

www.hometheaterforum.com

 

[jimmyjet]

i dont think of the wild wild west as a western, either. the search button is not working for me. apparently seasons 5&6 of wagon train are out of print. was there ever a time when all 8 seasons could be purchased ?

 

[smithbrad]

i dont think of the wild wild west as a western, either. the search button is not working for me. apparently seasons 5&6 of wagon train are out of print. was there ever a time when all 8 seasons could be purchased ?

Not as a single set, but yes, all seasons have been available as individual season sets in the past. However, that isn't really the best way to watch, the Timeless/Shout! sets were always of questionable quality. If you don't mind streaming, STARZ has all seasons currently in HD and they look great (except for some episodes in the early seasons that are still SD, but they still look much better than the DVDs). I believe it was on Prime/FreeVee as well, but it doesn't look like it now.

 

[jimmyjet]

thanks, i dont do any streaming of any kind. i just need to wait until good sets come out. we do have a lot of shows that we can watch.

i have watched a few episodes on youtube, but the endings are often cut off.

i am probably not as fussy as some of you about the quality, but the ones on yt look like the old tv that we used to watch - where you can hardly make out the faces !!

 

[smithbrad]

Understood. I wasn't into streaming for quite a while, but when classic series started streaming complete in HD, far better than what is on disk, I could no longer ignore it. CBS/Paramount shows are as good on disk as SD allows. The Virginian on disk is quite good, as are the WB westerns. However, many of the other Timeless/Shout! titles like Wagon Train, Laramie, and Tales of Wells Fargo have disk releases that are highly questionable, whereas the streaming versions are excellent. Of course, you need to source out where the HD versions are streaming, because some streaming sites have the same questionable quality as the disks.

 

[jimmyjet]

i do want to own everything that i watch. i dont recall all the various definitions. but i think i will be satisfied with "relatively good" dvds. if a set gets a reasonably good okay from the site participants, it will almost always be good enough for me !! but when you refer to it as "a questionable release", then i should probably wait for something better - LOL.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Any recommendations to TV channels that play classic Western TV shows?

 

[benbess]

Any recommendations to TV channels that play classic Western TV shows?

Starz has The Virginian, Wagon Train, Laramie, Tales of Wells Fargo, etc.

 

[Bob Gu]

There's GRIT and a new OTA western channel OUTLAW. OUTLAW is a Warner/Discovery outfit and shows mostly Warner western movies and TV shows.

They are showing some short-lived series like The Cowboys, based on the John Wayne movie, The Rounders with Pat Wayne and The Yellow Rose, which I think was a soap, but it had a nice cast.

https://www.tvoutlaw.com/schedule

 

[The 1960's]

Starz has The Virginian, Wagon Train, Laramie, Tales of Wells Fargo, etc.

That's what makes Starz, although at a cost, so wonderful, because it's commercial free and the media is unedited. The Cable networks like INSP, FETV, and the OTA networks like GetTV, GRIT and others are so inundated with commercial spots it's just brutal to watch even where the content is uncut, unless you DVR everything which I do. Last time I watched GetTV live I seem to recall the spots were about 8 minutes long.

There's GRIT and a new OTA western channel OUTLAW. OUTLAW is a Warner/Discovery outfit and shows mostly Warner western movies and TV shows.

They are showing some short-lived series like The Cowboys, based on the John Wayne movie, The Rounders with Pat Wayne and The Yellow Rose, which I think was a soap, but it had a nice cast.

https://www.tvoutlaw.com/schedule

Thanks Bob. Didn't know about this one. It's on RNN 48.4 here in NY which still says HSN on my receivers because I hadn't rescanned. Yet another diginet obliterated with commercials but I now have my DVR's set to record The Cowboys, The Rounders and The Yellow Rose. Never seen any of these!

 

[bmasters9]

The Cable networks like INSP, FETV, and the OTA networks like GetTV, GRIT and others are so inundated with commercial spots it's just brutal to watch even where the content is uncut

That's why I couldn't enjoy the apparently remastered third-, fourth- and fifth-season episodes of Emergency!, even though they look better than what's on Universal's DVD releases-- the commercials out the yin-yang (that's why, as bad as the DVD prints look, they are, IMO, still the best option to enjoy that NBC medical/action series of the 70s).

 

[The 1960's]

That's why I couldn't enjoy the apparently remastered third-, fourth- and fifth-season episodes of Emergency!, even though they look better than what's on Universal's DVD releases-- the commercials out the yin-yang (that's why, as bad as the DVD prints look, they are, IMO, still the best option to enjoy that NBC medical/action series of the 70s).

Ben, Emergency is on Peacock. Have you checked what they have there? I don't subscribe.

 

[bmasters9]

Ben, Emergency is on Peacock. Have you checked what they have there? I don't subscribe.

We had Peacock at one time, but didn't think to look.

 

[oldtvshowbuff]

That's what makes Starz, although at a cost, so wonderful, because it's commercial free and the media is unedited. The Cable networks like INSP, FETV, and the OTA networks like GetTV, GRIT and others are so inundated with commercial spots it's just brutal to watch even where the content is uncut, unless you DVR everything which I do. Last time I watched GetTV live I seem to recall the spots were about 8 minutes long.

Thanks Bob. Didn't know about this one. It's on RNN 48.4 here in NY which still says HSN on my receivers because I hadn't rescanned. Yet another diginet obliterated with commercials but I now have my DVR's set to record The Cowboys, The Rounders and The Yellow Rose. Never seen any of these!

Now if the WB could pull out Temple Houston from its vaults for a 4K remastering to be aired on Outlaw.