Well I was really enthused to throw this disc into the DVD player to see what memorable highlights from the world of TV Westerns would be selected to represent the genre. To say I was left disappointed, even dismayed, is not too much of an understatement. Much was made of the fact that 1959 alone had thirty different Western shows on the air, but considering what might have been offered here, I think I could have done better myself.
Granted, trying to cram this history into a one hour program is an impossible task to begin with. However consider the series that were selected to represent the genre - Bonanza and Gunsmoke were the definite must-haves in the lineup, and with it's emphasis on a strong father-son relationship, The Rifleman passed muster pretty well also. But then you had The Big Valley, High Chapparal and Davey Crockett, a mere five episode series that aired as segments of the Walt Disney hour. The program also touched on The Wild, Wild West, admittedly a favorite of late Sixties fans, but often too involved with sci-fi elements and gadgetry that didn't truly capture the spirit of the shows I used to watch and enjoy as a kid. Where was Rawhide, Wagon Train, Wanted:Dead or Alive, or Lawman? For Pete's sake, where was The Lone Ranger, debuting in 1949 and running an amazing total of 221 shows over it's eight year span?
Then there was the choice of celebrity commentators offering their insights into the programs they appeared in. Johnny Crawford (The Rifleman) and Linda Evans (The Big Valley) were the only actors who had ongoing roles in the series they represented. After that, you had such stalwarts of the TV Western genre as Martin Landau, Ernest Borgnine, Angie Dickinson and Veronica Cartwright. See what I mean? One guest I enjoyed seeing was Robert Culp, but not once was it mentioned that he starred in one of my favorite shows as a kid - Trackdown. I'm surprised he didn't just blurt it out to say, hey, I had a great show too!
The experience makes me leery of sampling the other offerings in the Pioneers series - ones dealing with Sitcoms, Sci-Fi, Late Night and Variety programs. As the previous reviewer for this title suggests, maybe the whole enterprise was just a little late in coming, as we're now a half century beyond TV's Golden Age, and virtually all of it's players are long gone. Still, this should have been a whole lot better, and I can't see fit to grade it any higher than my standard rating of 6, putting it at the level of your average B Western.
Granted, trying to cram this history into a one hour program is an impossible task to begin with. However consider the series that were selected to represent the genre - Bonanza and Gunsmoke were the definite must-haves in the lineup, and with it's emphasis on a strong father-son relationship, The Rifleman passed muster pretty well also. But then you had The Big Valley, High Chapparal and Davey Crockett, a mere five episode series that aired as segments of the Walt Disney hour. The program also touched on The Wild, Wild West, admittedly a favorite of late Sixties fans, but often too involved with sci-fi elements and gadgetry that didn't truly capture the spirit of the shows I used to watch and enjoy as a kid. Where was Rawhide, Wagon Train, Wanted:Dead or Alive, or Lawman? For Pete's sake, where was The Lone Ranger, debuting in 1949 and running an amazing total of 221 shows over it's eight year span?
Then there was the choice of celebrity commentators offering their insights into the programs they appeared in. Johnny Crawford (The Rifleman) and Linda Evans (The Big Valley) were the only actors who had ongoing roles in the series they represented. After that, you had such stalwarts of the TV Western genre as Martin Landau, Ernest Borgnine, Angie Dickinson and Veronica Cartwright. See what I mean? One guest I enjoyed seeing was Robert Culp, but not once was it mentioned that he starred in one of my favorite shows as a kid - Trackdown. I'm surprised he didn't just blurt it out to say, hey, I had a great show too!
The experience makes me leery of sampling the other offerings in the Pioneers series - ones dealing with Sitcoms, Sci-Fi, Late Night and Variety programs. As the previous reviewer for this title suggests, maybe the whole enterprise was just a little late in coming, as we're now a half century beyond TV's Golden Age, and virtually all of it's players are long gone. Still, this should have been a whole lot better, and I can't see fit to grade it any higher than my standard rating of 6, putting it at the level of your average B Western.