|
Post by alpha128 on Aug 28, 2019 23:12:29 GMT
I've got all the seasons to the show now so I can get to watching them again. If you don't mind me asking, did you get them all on DVD, or some other format, e.g., digital download? The first season DVD set had great special features. The last three season sets skimped on the bonus material, but the episodes themselves looked great.
|
|
|
Post by Prime etc. on Aug 28, 2019 23:36:33 GMT
If you don't mind me asking, did you get them all on DVD, or some other format, e.g., digital download? The first season DVD set had great special features. The last three season sets skimped on the bonus material, but the episodes themselves looked great. It's just episode downloads-although I also got the Gold Key comics. No extras or commentaries.
|
|
|
Post by alpha128 on Aug 29, 2019 0:32:11 GMT
If you don't mind me asking, did you get them all on DVD, or some other format, e.g., digital download? The first season DVD set had great special features. The last three season sets skimped on the bonus material, but the episodes themselves looked great. It's just episode downloads-although I also got the Gold Key comics. No extras or commentaries. None of the DVD releases had episode commentaries. The first season DVD set did have audio interviews with many people who worked on the show. These interviews were originally done by Sue Kesler as research for her 1988 book (which recently got a 30th anniversary reissue). Great stuff!
|
|
vrkalak
Sophomore
@vrkalak
Posts: 509
Likes: 415
|
Post by vrkalak on Aug 29, 2019 1:53:58 GMT
It's just episode downloads-although I also got the Gold Key comics. No extras or commentaries. None of the DVD releases had episode commentaries. The first season DVD set did have audio interviews with many people who worked on the show. These interviews were originally done by Sue Kesler as research for her 1988 book (which recently got a 30th anniversary reissue). Great stuff! Susan Kessler’s book was my first ever Ebay purchase January 1999. Highly recommended for any West nutcase like me and Alpha128. 😎
|
|
|
Post by alpha128 on Aug 29, 2019 2:07:54 GMT
None of the DVD releases had episode commentaries. The first season DVD set did have audio interviews with many people who worked on the show. These interviews were originally done by Sue Kesler as research for her 1988 book (which recently got a 30th anniversary reissue). Great stuff! Susan Kessler’s book was my first ever Ebay purchase January 1999. Highly recommended for any West nutcase like me and Alpha128. 😎 I purchased my copy of Sue Kesler's book via the Intergalactic Trading Post, an Amazon Marketplace Seller, in April 2001. I agree that the book is essential reading for any "The Wild Wild West" fan.
|
|
|
Post by Prime etc. on Aug 31, 2019 8:19:15 GMT
I watched the first Dr. Loveless episode! The Night the Wizard Shook the Earth. The musical scores for these episodes are so good. I didn't realize Richard Kiel did this before James Bond (and Barbary Coast).
Is that Michael Dunn singing?
|
|
vrkalak
Sophomore
@vrkalak
Posts: 509
Likes: 415
|
Post by vrkalak on Aug 31, 2019 9:42:24 GMT
I watched the first Dr. Loveless episode! The Night the Wizard Shook the Earth. The musical scores for these episodes are so good. I didn't realize Richard Kiel did this before James Bond (and Barbary Coast). Is that Michael Dunn singing? Yes, Dunn was quite the singer.
|
|
|
Post by alpha128 on Aug 31, 2019 15:44:54 GMT
I watched the first Dr. Loveless episode! Is that Michael Dunn singing? Yes, Dunn was quite the singer. Before his West appearances, Michael Dunn had a nightclub act in New York where he sang with Phoebe Dorin. Michael Garrison caught their act, and he decided to hire Dorin to play Antoinette, and to incorporate their singing into the Loveless episodes. There's more information about that in this video:
|
|
|
Post by Prime etc. on Aug 31, 2019 20:28:56 GMT
Oh that explains it. I had a feeling that the woman singing with him had some background with him already.
|
|
|
Post by alpha128 on Sept 1, 2019 4:41:48 GMT
Oh that explains it. I had a feeling that the woman singing with him had some background with him already. Yup they were already an established act before they started appearing on West.
|
|
|
Post by alpha128 on Sept 14, 2019 0:50:45 GMT
I thought it odd that the last two episodes of Season 1 both deal with plots to introduce toxic substances into drinking water. "The Night of the Murderous Spring"This is the better of the final two. I thought the scene where the hospital staff kills each other, with the action happening off screen and the horror of the situation being conveyed largely through sound effects, was very well done. "The Night of the Sudden Plague"This is another solid but not spectacular episode. The thing I noticed about this one is how much recycling there is from earlier Season 1 episodes, e.g.: - The fort set appeared earlier in "The Night of the Flaming Ghost"
- H.M. Wynant appeared earlier in "The Night of the Torture Chamber"
- The staircase in the tower is the same set as the staircase from the lighthouse in "The Night of the Howling Light"
Season 1 Recap:Despite growing pains and behind the scenes turmoil, the first season turned out remarkably well. Review Index: (Added 01/16/2021) An episode index, with hyperlinks to each of my reviews, can be found here.
|
|
|
Post by Prime etc. on Sept 14, 2019 8:19:47 GMT
I watched the one with Robert Loggia and the circus!
I noticed that Robert Conrad could be quite athletic. He does some jumps at the end which did not look like a stunt man to me. Last week I watched EXPERIMENT IN TERROR which interestingly enough had Ross Martin in disguises.
|
|
|
Post by alpha128 on Sept 14, 2019 13:42:19 GMT
I watched the one with Robert Loggia and the circus! I noticed that Robert Conrad could be quite athletic. He does some jumps at the end which did not look like a stunt man to me. Robert Conrad used to say, "I do all my own stunts". To which Ross Martin would reply, "And I do all my own acting." And it was (mostly) true, Conrad did do the majority of his own stunts. And sometimes with near-fatal results. This video is very well done overall, but the author does mix up the episode titles. Conrad's fall from the chandelier occurred during "TNOT Fugitives": As Sue Kesler explained her book The Wild Wild West, the Series:
|
|
vrkalak
Sophomore
@vrkalak
Posts: 509
Likes: 415
|
Post by vrkalak on Sept 14, 2019 20:18:06 GMT
I think about “the fall” every January 24th.
|
|
|
Post by Prime etc. on Sept 26, 2019 19:27:11 GMT
Anyone seen the tv pilot DARK INTRUDER starring Leslie Nielsen as a millionaire eccentric who investigates the paranormal in 19th century San Francisco? He has a dwarf assistant. It was a Hitchcock-produced film. Came out a few months before the first episode of the Wild Wild West but it occurs to me that the spy movie shtick is also an element of it.
|
|
|
Post by alpha128 on Sept 26, 2019 21:58:01 GMT
Anyone seen the tv pilot DARK INTRUDER starring Leslie Nielsen as a millionaire eccentric who investigates the paranormal in 19th century San Francisco? He has a dwarf assistant. It was a Hitchcock-produced film. Came out a few months before the first episode of the Wild Wild West but it occurs to me that the spy movie shtick is also an element of it. I've never heard of "Dark Intruder" until now. I will be resuming my TWWW rewatch with Season 2 in the not too distant future.
|
|
|
Post by Prime etc. on Sept 27, 2019 2:00:21 GMT
|
|
vrkalak
Sophomore
@vrkalak
Posts: 509
Likes: 415
|
Post by vrkalak on Oct 8, 2019 23:10:11 GMT
Anyone seen the tv pilot DARK INTRUDER starring Leslie Nielsen as a millionaire eccentric who investigates the paranormal in 19th century San Francisco? He has a dwarf assistant. It was a Hitchcock-produced film. Came out a few months before the first episode of the Wild Wild West but it occurs to me that the spy movie shtick is also an element of it. I've never heard of "Dark Intruder" until now. I will be resuming my TWWW rewatch with Season 2 in the not too distant future. Any update from the Echo Amusement Park?
|
|
|
Post by alpha128 on Oct 8, 2019 23:25:00 GMT
I will be resuming my TWWW rewatch with Season 2 in the not too distant future. Any update from the Echo Amusement Park? No, I still haven't gotten back to Season 2 yet. But I will!
|
|
|
Post by alpha128 on Oct 12, 2019 16:34:04 GMT
"The Night of the Eccentrics"I finally had a good opportunity to resume my TWWW rewatch, with "The Night of the Eccentrics". Some observations on this episode: - I noticed that the toy clown that served as a prison for James West in "The Night of the Whirring Death" is present (in living color!) in the opening scene.
- Speaking of the opening scene, despite the switch to color, they were able to use lighting effectively to create a tense atmosphere.
- The first scene at the Eco Amusement Park reminded me of the similarly deserted, with piped in sound, mining town from "The Night That Terror Stalked the Town".
- The iconic music when Jim fights Titan is, IIRC, heard for the first time here. But it won't be the last time!
- There is some kind of production trickery apparent whenever Tony "throws" his knives around Jim. The first time there are raised squares on the wall behind Jim, and each of the two knives ends up in the dead center of each square. The same trick is used again when West is in an upright box, but the squares are less visible the second time. And in President Juarez's house, there are what look like slots in the door before a single knife is "thrown".
- Generally though, the tricks, especially the Count's magic tricks, are well done.
- Apparently they didn't have the time or money for all the optical effects. The circular band of "electricity" disappears as the Count and the Eccentrics leave, although the sound effects keep going.
- I really love this show!
|
|