Classic TV Westerns (1 Viewer)

[Neil Brock]

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

I'm pretty sure I've had all of The Rounders for years but The Cowboys is a very rare show which hasn't been seen in decades and I think I might have gotten one, maybe two episodes at the most from film over the years.

 

[The 1960's]

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

Bob I recorded both episodes of Outlaw (1974) this morning. A few questions and observations.

1. The first episode which aired was the final episode of the series, S1.E12 ∙ Requiem for a Lost Son (May.08.1974) and the second was the first episode of the series, S1.E1 ∙ David Done It (Feb.06.1974) Was this the beginning of the second time around being aired?

2. The quality looks like very nice remastered prints. True?

3. Without using a stopwatch, there were two commercial breaks during S1.E1 ∙ David Done It (Feb.06.1974) which in total lasted between 9-11 minutes. Without knowing the runtime of half-hour programming in the 70's, I'm assuming these are extremely edited. True?

4. Finally I don't like the same technique that AntennaTV uses where the ends credits of the first episode and the beginning of the second episode are shrunk into split screens.

I want to watch a few more before forming an opinion of the series. Looking forward to The Rounders and The Yellow Rose
tomorrow morning.

Thank again for heads-up!

 

[Bob Gu]

Neal, the OUTLAW station started on Jan. 1st. I noticed it when I was re-scanning, in late Feb. I had a heck of a time finding the OUTLAW web site. (I kept on getting some Outlaw country music site. Outlaw country music, really??) GRIT and OUTLAW are pretty lame channel names. OUTLAW should be called THE WARNER BROTHERS WESTERN CHANNEL.

1.) It might be the third run if the Cowboys started in January and they ran more episodes on Saturdays or other days. Why?

2.)Remastered. Most likely. Neil Brock said above The Cowboys were not shown for decades.

3.) Nine minutes of commercials would make 21 minutes of show time. I am pretty sure a 'half-hour' network show was still 25 mins. 30 secs. in 1974. Just time speeding would make it 23:30. These are definitely edited and maybe time sped too. I started recording them but was going to wait until I get all 12, before I watch them. At 21 minutes each it shouldn't take long.

4.) The whole shrunken credits thing is very awful. Especially the treatment of the fun end credits music these shows had. On GRIT you never hear the whole vocal Bat Masterson theme, the Tombstone Territory vocal and whistle, or the jaunty end theme of Tales of Wells Fargo.

I think The Cowboys was the last network half-hour western to premiere. Dirty Sally, Jan-Apr. 1974. had 14 episodes but started earlier and finished sooner than The Cowboys, Feb.-May 1974. Dirty Sally reruns ended in July 1974 and The Cowboys reruns ended in Aug of 1974 , in case you are taking notes.

 

[The 1960's]

Neal, the OUTLAW station started on Jan. 1st. I noticed it when I was re-scanning, in late Feb. I had a heck of a time finding the OUTLAW web site. (I kept on getting some Outlaw country music site. Outlaw country music, really??)

Ha ha. As soon as I added TV, as in OutlawTV it was easy to find. How about tvoutlaw? That makes sense. But it's really Outlaw The Western Channel | TV Western Channel. Identity crisis.

GRIT and OUTLAW are pretty lame channel names. OUTLAW should be called THE WARNER BROTHERS WESTERN CHANNEL.

Hah! Warner hasn't exactly advertised this channel. Buried here in NY on 48.4 formerly HSN. Can you imagine the disgust on the faces of housewives who tuned in on the 1st looking for their favorite shopping channel only to find Outlaw?

1.) It might be the third run if the Cowboys started in January and they ran more episodes on Saturdays or other days. Why?

Copy. I noticed the three rarities air on weekends. Weekdays, no shortage of F-Troop, Kung Fu, Longmire and Bonanza.

2.)Remastered. Most likely. Neil Brock said above The Cowboys were not shown for decades.

Copy!

3.) Nine minutes of commercials would make 21 minutes of show time. I am pretty sure a 'half-hour' network show was still 25 mins. 30 secs. in 1974. Just time speeding would make it 23:30. These are definitely edited and maybe time sped too. I started recording them but was going to wait until I get all 12, before I watch them. At 21 minutes each it shouldn't take long.

Not too bad?

4.) The whole shrunken credits thing is very awful. Especially the treatment of the fun end credits music these shows had. On GRIT you never hear the whole vocal Bat Masterson theme, the Tombstone Territory vocal and whistle, or the jaunty end theme of Tales of Wells Fargo.

Thank goodness all those are available on DVD, streaming and physical media.

I think The Cowboys was the last network half-hour western to premiere. Dirty Sally, Jan-Apr. 1974. had 14 episodes but started earlier and finished sooner than The Cowboys, Feb.-May 1974. Dirty Sally reruns ended in July 1974 and The Cowboys reruns ended in Aug of 1974 , in case you are taking notes.

Interesting. That's the second time in a week someone has mentioned Dirty Sally (1974). My entire lifetime I never heard of it. Now twice in the same week.

Thanks Bob!

 

[Neil Brock]

Dirty Sally is a pretty bad show. It's only of interest due to being spun off from a Gunsmoke episode. A few years ago, when CBS Home Video still existed, that was one of the shows their deal making person was pushing for a licensing DVD sale. But that person isn't there any more, nor is CBS Home Video!

 

[Neil Brock]

I have a friend across the street who gets the channel (I can't do OTA due to facing wrong direction and a big building in my line of sight). I'm wondering if its worthwhile to bring one of the DVD recorders over to record Cowboys and the episodes I'm missing of Rounders. Hearing how badly cut they are and I'm also wondering if now that they're remastered, maybe Warner Archive will release them.