Blu-ray Review A Man Called Shenandoah: The Complete Series Blu-ray Review (1 Viewer)

[Josh Steinberg]

A Man Called Shenandoah: The Complete Series is another outstanding presentation of a classic TV western from Warner Archive



A Man Called Shenandoah (1965–1966)



Released: 13 Sep 1965
Rated: N/A
Runtime: 30 min




Director: N/A
Genre: Western



Cast: Robert Horton, Gregory Walcott, John Cliff
Writer(s): E. Jack Neuman



Plot: A man shot and left for dead on the trail is found and revived. With no recollection of his past, he calls himself Shenandoah as he roams the West searching for his identity.



IMDB rating: 7.7
MetaScore: N/A





Disc Information



Studio: MGM
Distributed By: Warner Archive
Video Resolution: 1080P/AVC



Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audio: English 2.0 DTS-HDMA...

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[Robert Crawford]

Something is wrong with this review.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Something is wrong with this review.

There you go, it's fixed.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Ironically, Amazon notified me that my copy will be delivered today. It's too bad I won't have time to watch any of it.

 

[Flashgear]

Thanks Josh for the review. I have the 2018 DVD release, which though completely watchable, was a disappointment in having it's old late 1980s TNT network tape transfers utilized. A physical HD treatment remastered from 35mm OCNs was just a fever dream until recently, so I'll definitely be upgrading to the new Blu. I already have the recent Blu sets of Colt .45 and The Alaskans.

Just as with the Ralph Taeger 1967 TV series treatment for Hondo and producer E. Jack Neuman's series preceding A Man Called Shenandoah, the truly great Mr. Novak (season one), all of those 2017-18 WAC TV releases represented the then-reduced operating budget for the Archive, at least when it came to their last DVD releases. A big letdown from a few years before when we got eye-popping newly struck transfers on DVD of The Dakotas and Gallant Men.

As for me, A Man Called Shenandoah is a pretty good series, often compelling and exciting, albeit with the formulaic restraints, tropes and stereotypes of that era's often seen subset of amnesia stories. But I love Westerns, Robert Horton does a great job and as said in the review, the gallery of guest stars and familiar supporting players are top-notch. Excellent location filming at Lake Los Angeles, Lone Pine and Bishop in the Mojave and Sierras. And the usual great MGM studio facilities of the day. And anything that E. Jack Neuman and Boris Sagal were behind was quality in my book. I hope there's a Blu future for both seasons of the immortal Mr. Novak, among other things!

 

[Wayne Klein]

Glad to see vintage shows coming to Blu. Wish the studios that own The Invaders and It Takes a Thief would get a clue and license them out.

 

[Andrew M]

Are folks watching A Man Called Shenandoah episodes in broadcast order or production number order? Does it matter? I borrowed the set from the San Francisco Public Library.

 

[oldtvshowbuff]

Thanks Josh for the review. I have the 2018 DVD release, which though completely watchable, was a disappointment in having it's old late 1980s TNT network tape transfers utilized. A physical HD treatment remastered from 35mm OCNs was just a fever dream until recently, so I'll definitely be upgrading to the new Blu. I already have the recent Blu sets of Colt .45 and The Alaskans.

Just as with the Ralph Taeger 1967 TV series treatment for Hondo and producer E. Jack Neuman's series preceding A Man Called Shenandoah, the truly great Mr. Novak (season one), all of those 2017-18 WAC TV releases represented the then-reduced operating budget for the Archive, at least when it came to their last DVD releases. A big letdown from a few years before when we got eye-popping newly struck transfers on DVD of The Dakotas and Gallant Men.

As for me, A Man Called Shenandoah is a pretty good series, often compelling and exciting, albeit with the formulaic restraints, tropes and stereotypes of that era's often seen subset of amnesia stories. But I love Westerns, Robert Horton does a great job and as said in the review, the gallery of guest stars and familiar supporting players are top-notch. Excellent location filming at Lake Los Angeles, Lone Pine and Bishop in the Mojave and Sierras. And the usual great MGM studio facilities of the day. And anything that E. Jack Neuman and Boris Sagal were behind was quality in my book. I hope there's a Blu future for both seasons of the immortal Mr. Novak, among other things!

Add Sam Benedict, another Neuman creation.

 

[Flashgear]

Are folks watching A Man Called Shenandoah episodes in broadcast order or production number order? Does it matter? I borrowed the set from the San Francisco Public Library.

I have both the original DVD set and newer Blu-ray of this series. Personally, I don't think it matters much if you just watch the episodes in order on the discs. I don't remember any critical continuity or plot disclosures in A Man Called Shenandoah that disturb the narrative flow because of their strict adherence to not doing so during an age (1965-66) where still many affiliate stations outside of the network microwave net still received the 16mm film chain episodes by courier (where mistakes could happen in airing an episode out of order). At least that's my take on it as I grew up in a smaller city of two stations where both first-run shows and syndicated series would show up in a jumble from one week to the next, except for the shows they received live via microwave network. Same effect lasted a long time till more producers felt comfortable in making two part episodes, because of the hoped-for later syndication with film chain lasting many years later.

Add Sam Benedict, another Neuman creation.

Yes, I forgot about that one, which I have on the WAC DVD set. And that series followed the successful template of E. Jack Neuman having partner Boris Sagal direct the premiere episode. That was a great team!