Saturday, November 15, 2008

The Wild Wild West: The Complete TV Series

What you are looking at is a grown man's refusal to let go of his inner child. I have been eyeballing The Wild Wild West dvds for the past couple of years and finally went ahead and bought the whole kit and caboodle... all four seasons packaged together. And what's great about this collection is that it includes the TV reunion movies, The Wild Wild West Revisited (1979) and More Wild Wild West (1980). As I see it, I'm doing my part to help stimulate the economy. Ninety smackeroos for the boxed set.

Watching this show as a kid, I was of course mesmerized by all the gadgets and stunts of Jim West (Robert Conrad), but now I can appreciate the interplay with and significance of West's partner, Artemus Gordon (Ross Martin). I've only just begun watching, and I'm curious to see how long my wife can stay tuned since this isn't her cup of tea. But I expect to be highly entertained for all 85 hours.

18 comments:

Lana Gramlich said...

You know...I'd never even heard of that show until the more recent movie came out! Whatever happened to Robert Conrad, anyway? It seems like he was everywhere, then he just vanished...I'll have to check IMDB.

Barrie said...

Enjoy! And thank you for helping the economy!

Randy Johnson said...

I loved this show myself when I was young. Of course my young was actually the first run of the show(I'm old).
I guess I may have to buy this one myself after Christmas. I like that it included the reunion movies. My U.N.C.L.E. set didn't include The Return movie( I bought the DVD that had been out and managed to fit it into the briefcase with the rest.

Scott D. Parker said...

Absolutely loved this show, back in the day and now. I still remember the first (?) reunion movie starred Paul Williams as the son of Migeleto Loveless (sp?) and he had figured out how to make an atomic bomb. Loved the anachronistic stuff, too. Might it be argued that Wild Wild West is steampunk? David, I'm quite envious.

David Cranmer said...

Lana, You're right, when I was a kid, he was a big star and then he vanished. Another great show was Baa Baa Black Sheep where he played 'Pappy' Boyington. What I didn't realize was Larry Manetti who played Rick on Magnum was a half brother of Conrad.

Barrie, I do my part :)

Randy, I was going to just buy the first season but I also wanted the reunion movies which are not available seperately. These companies have quite the racket to get customers to buy the same product more than once.

Scott, I barely remember The Wild Wild West Revisited and I didn't see the second one. I'm looking forward to watching them... I just checked Wikipedia which said there was a plan to revive the series but Ross Martin had a heart attack playing tennis in '81. That's too bad because the show was prematurely scrapped because of pressure groups complaining about the violence.

G. B. Miller said...

One of my favorite western series that I can never quite find on television anymore.

My dad got me hooked into the series when I was in my late twenties.

Something about those freaky late 1960's television series still resonate with me even to this day.

Feel the same way about Night Gallery as well.

I'm jealous.

Scott D. Parker said...

Night Gallery! Just last Christmas, Santa brought my wife the complete Night Gallery DVD. As a Twilight Zone fan, I had only a vague memory of NG as a kid. I'll admit NG suffers when compared to TZ but they are both still good.

David Cranmer said...

Ah yes, Night Gallery! Even though it often gets compared to TZ, I agree that on its own, it's a great show. Rod Serling lived in Ithaca, NY, close to my hometown, and in his shows, there are quite a few references to the area which is cool.

Joshua said...

very nice man. grats and let the inner child play a while :)

Charles Gramlich said...

Definitely an enjoyable show. One of my favorites. I wanted to be James West when I was little. And hey, I finally bought myself a cowboy gun all these years later.

David Cranmer said...

Josh, I will let the little tyke run wild and I'm already at the first Dr. Loveless episode!

Charles, West certainly had an interesting arsenal of weapons and that train was something else. And government issue!

Anonymous said...

I believe he carried a Remington derringer and don't forget that cue stick.

pattinase (abbott) said...

I watched this a lot as a teenager and always enjoyed the camaraderie as much as the plots.

David Cranmer said...

RReynolds, The cue stick and exploding ball was in episode 1. I believe your right he carried a Derringer and of course a shotgun.

Patti, Thats what really stands out to me as an adult. These men cared about each other and had a friendship that was lacking in the Will Smith film.

Barbara Martin said...

We must be on some kind of wavelength. Just about every post there's some nostalgia from my childhood here. Oh I envy you the set...but I can wait for Santa.

I loved that show for all those interesting gadgets, and an introduction of sorts into fantasy.

David Cranmer said...

Barbara, I do think we are simpatico on pop culture. I'm four episodes in and I'm loving it. Dr. Loveless is without a doubt a highlight but I'm also appreciating Artemus Gordon and his countless disguises.

Scott D. Parker said...

Even as a kid, as cool as James West was, I gravitated toward Artemus. One, the name was something classical coupled with an ordinary English last name. And the disguises! Loveless is truly the best villain. My next fav was the guy who played King Tut on the Batman TV series.

David Cranmer said...

Scott, you're so right about Artemus. I'm also glad they did not over use him in the series. Sometimes he just pops in for almost a cameo appearance at least in the first season.