My ranking of TV Westerns. Go ahead and list your rankings
Nov 17, 2018 22:15:33 GMT
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Post by drystyx on Nov 17, 2018 22:15:33 GMT
1. THE VIRGINIAN-great color, great cinematography, credible characters in incredible circumstances, the best of all worlds. I notice that in a lot of the old TV series, there was this same "switch of which character takes center stage", probably due to being able to fit stories into a shooting schedule. I think most of the ones I saw actually feature McClure more than Drury. Also, like most of the old shows, the main characters represented mostly the ethos of the better part of the society, that is to say, they were a conglomerate of the good citizens during stressful events. This was an exciting series. Favorite episode for me: Randy Boone becoming romantically involved with a hot babe and acting coy about it. 9/10
2. THE BIG VALLEY. This had many advantages over Bonanza, particularly for "second sons", since Bonanza was made purely for people who hated "second sons". The stories were good, with all the sons and the mother/daughter combo capable of being attractive romantic leads. There was a sense of equality among them while letting them be different. Good scenery, the horses, and all that good Western stuff. Very good stories, too. Favorite episode for me: The kidnapping of the family being a hoax to force a confession from a war criminal, in which the oldest son was in on, but he didn't tell the family. 9/10
3. THE DAKOTAS. This wasn't on very long. The four Dakotas had their separate characters. My parents used to like Jack Elam the best, claiming they liked him cause he was "so ugly he was cute". My favorite episode was when Chad Everett decided to quit over a harsh experience, and had to deal with it. 8/10
4. 23 Men (or was it 22 Men) an old black and white Western that was short lived, but exciting, with great lead characters. Tough guys with heart and style. My favorite episode: The first one, where the young buck shows off, joins, loses his nerve, then regains it. 8/10
5. WAGON TRAIN was another with switching leads. The stories were probably the best in TV Westerns, very credible, even when they resorted to high octane action. My favorite episode was one where everyone doubts Ward Bond's decision not to go through a pass, sensing a tribe is on the warpath, despite everyone assuring him differently. He reads the signs, and turns out to be right. 8/10
6. RAWHIDE Maybe the closest Clint Eastwood ever got to acting. His character wasn't as one dimensional as the ones he played in later movies., nor as Hollywood. He actually had insecurities and doubts, though he was a fighter. Eric Fleming played a convincing trail boss, due both to acting and writing. My favorite episode was the one they intended to be their big one, the one where a character is actually killed by a geyser in INCIDENT OF THE HAUNTED HILLS. Like most of the old Westerns, the American Indians were treated with great respect, and the bad guys were always evil Europeans. 8/10
7. GUNSMOKE I prefer the older episodes with the gun play. This series was noted for changing with the times, and going non violent in later episodes. The banter between Doc and Festus was priceless. Ken Curtis deserves to be noted for his acting. One can appreciate him when one sees the great range he had in films, not to mention his singing, which is where he got his start. Doc was hilarious in his semi straight shtick. And lets not forget the town drunk and the bartender who were semi regulars. Even though I prefer the gun play episodes, my favorite episode was the pool shark episode in which there is a big character switch at the end, and the young swaggering trouble maker turns out to be the one who respects the old shark more than his own son in law. 8/10
8. BRONCO For me it's a "style over substance" series. It's full of great action, although the characters are more Hollywood than the others I mention, and more one dimensional. Bronco himself was a jackass, purposely getting his men killed in one episode. The action was tops here. My favorite episode was "Four Men and Prayer", their feature episode. 7/10
9. DEATH VALLEY DAYS an anthology piece with lots to like. Usually very non violent. My favorite episode was one of the humorous ones, where a young man gains favor with his future father in law by being a chef who can only cook donuts. 7/10
10. THE RIFLEMAN was great on character, and Paul Fix is awesome as the sidekick sheriff. What's even better is the way the lead actors, who had some clout, were willing to shame themselves a bit, much more than modern day actors, for the sake of the theater. My favorite episode is the one where Micah (Paul Fix) first enters, taking over as sheriff despite being a drunk. 7/10
11. SUGARFOOT is one I vaguely recall. Just decent episodes over all, with a very different sort of hero. 7/10
From here on, I won't elaborate on the moderately good ones, the ordinary ones.
12. LAREDO 6/10
13. LARAMIE 6/10
14. BONANZA 6/10
15. WELLS FARGO 5/10
16. WYATT EARP 5/10
17. CHEYENNE 4/10
18. MAVERICK 4/10
Then to the duller ones.
19. BRANDED 3/10 just flailed a lot
20. HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL 3/10 just didn't seem to have good scripts, and came across as rush jobs
21. ALIAS SMITH AND JONES 2/10 was impossible to stay awake through
22. DOCTOR QUINN MEDICINE WOMEN 2/10 tried to be politically correct more than anything, and was laughable.
23. WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE was way too Hollywood in every way, preachy in a very bad way, and just the worst of all worlds 1/10
2. THE BIG VALLEY. This had many advantages over Bonanza, particularly for "second sons", since Bonanza was made purely for people who hated "second sons". The stories were good, with all the sons and the mother/daughter combo capable of being attractive romantic leads. There was a sense of equality among them while letting them be different. Good scenery, the horses, and all that good Western stuff. Very good stories, too. Favorite episode for me: The kidnapping of the family being a hoax to force a confession from a war criminal, in which the oldest son was in on, but he didn't tell the family. 9/10
3. THE DAKOTAS. This wasn't on very long. The four Dakotas had their separate characters. My parents used to like Jack Elam the best, claiming they liked him cause he was "so ugly he was cute". My favorite episode was when Chad Everett decided to quit over a harsh experience, and had to deal with it. 8/10
4. 23 Men (or was it 22 Men) an old black and white Western that was short lived, but exciting, with great lead characters. Tough guys with heart and style. My favorite episode: The first one, where the young buck shows off, joins, loses his nerve, then regains it. 8/10
5. WAGON TRAIN was another with switching leads. The stories were probably the best in TV Westerns, very credible, even when they resorted to high octane action. My favorite episode was one where everyone doubts Ward Bond's decision not to go through a pass, sensing a tribe is on the warpath, despite everyone assuring him differently. He reads the signs, and turns out to be right. 8/10
6. RAWHIDE Maybe the closest Clint Eastwood ever got to acting. His character wasn't as one dimensional as the ones he played in later movies., nor as Hollywood. He actually had insecurities and doubts, though he was a fighter. Eric Fleming played a convincing trail boss, due both to acting and writing. My favorite episode was the one they intended to be their big one, the one where a character is actually killed by a geyser in INCIDENT OF THE HAUNTED HILLS. Like most of the old Westerns, the American Indians were treated with great respect, and the bad guys were always evil Europeans. 8/10
7. GUNSMOKE I prefer the older episodes with the gun play. This series was noted for changing with the times, and going non violent in later episodes. The banter between Doc and Festus was priceless. Ken Curtis deserves to be noted for his acting. One can appreciate him when one sees the great range he had in films, not to mention his singing, which is where he got his start. Doc was hilarious in his semi straight shtick. And lets not forget the town drunk and the bartender who were semi regulars. Even though I prefer the gun play episodes, my favorite episode was the pool shark episode in which there is a big character switch at the end, and the young swaggering trouble maker turns out to be the one who respects the old shark more than his own son in law. 8/10
8. BRONCO For me it's a "style over substance" series. It's full of great action, although the characters are more Hollywood than the others I mention, and more one dimensional. Bronco himself was a jackass, purposely getting his men killed in one episode. The action was tops here. My favorite episode was "Four Men and Prayer", their feature episode. 7/10
9. DEATH VALLEY DAYS an anthology piece with lots to like. Usually very non violent. My favorite episode was one of the humorous ones, where a young man gains favor with his future father in law by being a chef who can only cook donuts. 7/10
10. THE RIFLEMAN was great on character, and Paul Fix is awesome as the sidekick sheriff. What's even better is the way the lead actors, who had some clout, were willing to shame themselves a bit, much more than modern day actors, for the sake of the theater. My favorite episode is the one where Micah (Paul Fix) first enters, taking over as sheriff despite being a drunk. 7/10
11. SUGARFOOT is one I vaguely recall. Just decent episodes over all, with a very different sort of hero. 7/10
From here on, I won't elaborate on the moderately good ones, the ordinary ones.
12. LAREDO 6/10
13. LARAMIE 6/10
14. BONANZA 6/10
15. WELLS FARGO 5/10
16. WYATT EARP 5/10
17. CHEYENNE 4/10
18. MAVERICK 4/10
Then to the duller ones.
19. BRANDED 3/10 just flailed a lot
20. HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL 3/10 just didn't seem to have good scripts, and came across as rush jobs
21. ALIAS SMITH AND JONES 2/10 was impossible to stay awake through
22. DOCTOR QUINN MEDICINE WOMEN 2/10 tried to be politically correct more than anything, and was laughable.
23. WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE was way too Hollywood in every way, preachy in a very bad way, and just the worst of all worlds 1/10
