The Big Valley Season One (1 Viewer)

[Doug Wallen]

I have been amazed at the strength of the storylines in this first season. The show hardly seems to be outdated. Most of thes episodes could stand the test of time today as long as they are shown uncut. So many nice character touches that play throughout each episode.

I was suprised at the adult nature of dealing with Heath's background, considering this was 1965. It was not a point just used in the pilot, but used in other episodes as well. Fairly good continuity for a serial western.

This show is much better than my poor recollection of it and tackled some very interesting adult themes. Jarrod had many moral decisions to make, Audra questioning if she led someone on, Heath overcoming his status, etc. Very good entertainment. Where are quality shows like this now?

 

[michael_ks]

The last two posts sums up my impressions of the series very nicely. I also took the show for granted and never really followed it with any regularity, in part because of the jarring commercial breaks. I was willing to put up with this in my youth during the 70's and 80's for "Star Trek" and "The Outer Limits", but not for BV. Now I can see the first season complete and commercial free, in order, and can truly appreciate them as the mini-films they are. My wife and I are enjoying this series as though it were a current show in the tv line-up!

 

[Dave Scarpa]

The Stories and GUest Stars are strong, of course there is a bit of a formula, as the ep usually has someone coming into the Barkley household that one of it's members will have a past with. Still the use of numerous outdoor locations makes this western stand apart from alot of TV Westerns , it just seems Bigger. Also I like how the episodes will usually focus on one of the stars, giving the spotlight to all the characters at one point or another, although Heath Does get alot of eps around him, must be the "Hunk" Factor.

 

[Randy Korstick]

I've oly had a chnace to view the 1st 2 episodes so far. Really enjoying the series again and wanted to comment on how good the color looks. Its not the best color out there but considering its 1965 its the best it has ever looked. Compared to the Gunsmoke color episodes released by Paramount it looks spectacular. Paramount should look at this and be ashamed of the public domain quality color episodes that they released. This is what the color Gunsmokes should have looked like especially since all of them on the Gunsmoke set were released after this, one as late as 1974.