"Rawhide" - Old Wild Western TV Adventure

Rawhide was a fine 50s TV show packed with romantic interests, never-ending adventures, always changing sceneries and an interesting show as the fourth longest western tv series (beyond Gunsmoke, Bonanza and The Virginian). Rawhide made top 20 in Nielsen Ratings for it's premiere episode and one of America's top 10 shows.

The Rawhide's storyline about the adventures a North Texans trail boss Gil Favor of a continuous cattle drive (about 3000 head herd cattle) headed to the Sedalia, Kansas market. Gil (starred by Eric Fleming) was assisted crews; a young ranch ramrod scout Rowdy Yates (starred by Clint Eastwood, his first major role), the trail whiskered cook Harkness “Mushy” Mushgrove, scout Wishbone (Paul Brinegar, the one who provides comic relief with “mother” element for Rowdy), old hands scout experts Pete Nolan and Jim Quince, they take adventures and meet people and trouble on the trail. They encounter inconveniences and confronts, they get drawn solving problems and situations in towns, they rescue cattle in dangers in Old West (diseases, injuries, stampedes and lack of water, etc.), but they proved it as a true cowboys in gunfights, brawls and journey on the way. The series made it very realistic and convincing, packed with romance and comic plus a movie-like quality (music in full studio orchestra and scenes view as expansive as West).

The fascinating Rawhide TV series was premiered on January 1959 and end on December 1965 with 8 seasons and 217 episodes, now full 8 seasons available on DVD.

The Rawhide DVD at TV Shows on DVD

Casts:

• Gil Favor, Trail Boss ....... Eric Fleming
• Rowdy Yates ....... Clint Eastwood
• Simon Blake, Scout ....... Raymond St. Jacques
• G. W. Wishbone, Cook ....... Paul Brinegar
• Jed Colby, Scout ....... John Ireland
• Clay Forrester, Scout ....... Charles Gray

"Maverick" - 1950's Western TV Series

The classic Award-winning Western TV series Maverick was started as a straight drama but later turn into comedy streak & sense of humor, catch wide audience and made the series soared top ten place in Nielsen Ratings on it's second season. Maverick is a story about a adventurous gambler Bret Maverick roaming around Old West, migrating from town to town and always looking for a good game. Bret Maverick, played by James Garner, was well known in his dressing and personality, wearing screen-cowboy custom fancy black broadcloth gambler's suit, speaking realistically and being courageous in risking his life. In later seasons he was joined with his brother Bart, Brent, and an English-accent cousin Beau. They all famous gambler, pursuing money and easy life, with their favorite games Poker (5 card draw) and odd cards Three-toed Sloth winning a lot of money but getting them in trouble, and together they find way stay out and leave the town.

Garner's unique charisma and his subtly comedic facial expressions become a cultural western cowboy icon, but critics noted Maverick to be "arguably the first TV anti-hero" which later became a norm in films. Famous episodes were "According to Hoyle" (appearance of Diane Brewster of Cheyenne), "Gun Shy" (spoof of Gunsmoke) and the pilot episode "War of the Silver Kings" (based on C.B. Glasscock's "War of the Copper King", a real life adventure of a copper mine speculator).

Maverick's comedic and sense of humor carried entirely in the show of adventures and misadventures of Mavericks, the series completed 5 seasons with 124 episodes from 1957 to 1962 on ABC, catch now on DVD.

Maverick DVD available at TV Shows on DVD

"Have Gun - Will Travel" - 1950's Western TV Series

One of the most popular and successful TV series as well as in radio version, Have Gun - Will Travel excelled in TV ratings being top #4 show by Nielsen Ratings on its 1st year and #3 in next 3 years and win wide audience.

Have Gun - Will Travel revolves the story about Paladin, a rich-educated man who turned into a professional gun-fighter working as champion-for-hire and preferred to settle problems peacefully and avoid violence but usually provoked but amazingly excelled in gun field. Paladin is a former Army Officer, a West Point graduate, a well-educated man having thorough knowledge in ancient history and classical literature, dressing semi-formal wear and attending operas, and exhibit strong passion for legal principles and the rule of law. But when working, he dressed in black, wore holster and used calling cards with a carried characteristic emblem of chess knight symbolizing him with his fighting movement like in chess board, very versatile and always unexpected. Paladin's typical service fee a thousand dollar making him well-equipped with his large rifle on his horse saddle, a derringer under his belt (save him countless times), a few expensive cigars in his boot and his custom-made, one ounce trigger, perfectly balanced six-shooter gun his main weapon. Paladin's main advantage over enemies was not his impressive equipments, but his rich education which is infallible to relate ancient antecedents to his situations and insight advantages but at the same time avoid violence as much as possible, killing is only the last resort.

Another character, Hey Boy, is the card bearer of Paladin's calling card with a notable chess knight emblem with inscription: “Have Gun – Will Travel... Wire Paladin, San Francisco". And a memorable quote from the series:

“I don't think you got a very good look at this gun while you had it. The balance is perfect. This trigger responds to a pressure of one ounce. If you look carefully in the barrel you'll see the lines of the rifling. It's a rarity in a hand weapon. This gun was handcrafted to my specifications and I rarely draw it unless I mean to use it. Would you care for a demonstration?”

Great adventures of Paladin in Western TV Series "Have Gun - Will Travel” was aired from 1957 to 1963, completed 6 seasons and total of 225 episodes now available on DVD.

Have Gun - Will Travel DVD on TVAddicts.TV

- "Zorro" - Over 85 Years of Action Adventure

From the term "fox" in Spanish, Zorro is a fictional nobleman, master swordsman, and the romantic defender of justice. The man in black custom with Spanish cape, the flat-bimmed Andalusian-style hat, the black cowl mask covers from eye level up to the head and equipped with a pistol (in the original story), a braided leather single tailed whip "bullwhip" and a sharp pointer sword "rapeir" which he often use to leave a mark "Z" by three quick cuts. Zorro learned his skills like acrobatics from swinging on ship masts, his fencing from Spanish master Manuel Escalante, various tricks from gypsies and a ship's cook and his disguising pattern from swashbuckling pirate. Zorro's two horses, Tornado the black one and Phantom the white horse.

Zorro is the secret identity of Don Diego de la Vega, born in the 1790's, son of Asturian Captain Don Alejandro de la Vega and lived in Spanish-ear California. His mission, with the help of his fathers mute and deaf servant Bernardo, they defend the weak and fight the landowning nobility "the Caballeros", the pompous Don Rafael Montero and the corrupt tranny of the Spanish governor.

Zorro was first appeared in the 1919 serialized pulp magazine All-Story Weekly with the title of The Curse of Capistrano | Zorro. Walt Disney produced the 1957 TV Series of Zorro, with the story in 1820's, Don Alejandro requested Don Diego to return in Monterey, California and to help ending the evil reigning of corrupt local military of vicious Spanish commandant, Captain Monastario. The huge fans of this Zorro tv series, tuning every Thursday night at 7:30, recalls the very popular lyrics:

Out of the night, when the full moon is bright, comes a horseman known as Zorro.
This bold renegade carves a Z with his blade, a Z that stands for Zorro.

Zorro, the fox so cunning and free.
Zorro, who makes the sign of the Z.

Riding his black stallion with lightning sky background, the words echoed,

Zorro...Zorro...Zorro...

The Disney's anthology TV series live-action of Zorro was played by Guy Williams, completed 3 seasons with 83 episodes, aired from 1957-1959 on ABC, now available on DVD at TVAddicts.tv

.:: The "Centennial TV Miniseries" - 1978 ::.

Marked as on of the longest and most ambitious television project at that time with huge budget ($25 Million) most complicated (employed four directors, five cinematographers, five producers with almost 100 speaking parts, several hundred extras and spanning 26 & 1/2 hours of television viewing.

Centennial was based on the best-selling novel with the same title by James A. Michener, a story history of a fictional town of Centennial, Colorado under settling of American West from late 18th century to the present (1970). People came to Centennial for gold, freedom and crime for many generations among memorable frontiersmen, trappers, Indians, ranchers, cowboys, and farmers from long ago and took a 100 years for murder cases to be solved. Packed with various adventures, affairs, opportunists, tragedy, violence, dubious Western progress and racial injustice just for the name of destiny.

Full 26 & 1/2 hours tv miniseries of Centennial now on DVD available at TVAddicts.tv