amexspam
I can warmly recall western TV show tunes such as "Johnny Yuma was a rebel he rode through the west". And "All but one man died. There at Bitter Creek". And who could forget "da-dumb, da-dumb, da-dumb, dumb, dumb,de-dumb, dumb dumb" of The Wild, Wild West. And then there's Bat Masterson with "And those with too ready a trigger, Forgot to figure". And "He wore a cane and derby hat,They called him Bat". The show was okay. Paladin was more cerebral. Maverick was funnier. Cheyenne was pithier. Gunsmoke had a taller leading man. Bonanza had color. Even Yancy Derringer had better writing. But Gene Barry did an okay job of being a gentleman Marshall.
dwright53
This was a fun series that wasn't supposed to be taken seriously. Gene Barry was perfect as the suave Masterson, who apparently made a living playing cards at nearly tavern west of the Mississippi River. It was a preview for his role in "Burke's Law" five years later. Like with all westerns of that era, there is a lot of drinking, fighting, kissing and killing. The bad guys wore black hats and the women were (almost every time)gorgeous -- even if they seem to be wearing 10 pounds of clothes. Watchas well for some guest character actors who later went on to modest successes (like James Best, Louise Fletcher, Ross Martin).It's worth a half hour of your time.
Tapestry6
This was a very cool series and the Western Channel (STARZ) is running the Bat Masterson marathon today 1/6/07. Yesterday they were running the Rifleman marathon with Chuck Conners. They will be airing these episodes daily at 4pm starting tomorrow. Bat Masterson series was short sweet and to the point entertainment. Gene Barry was obviously having fun in this series I know he played a character similar later on, only he changed his horse for a limousine. Each story was self contained. With really bad guys and of course the wimpy henchmen that would give up the information that Bat needed to get the bad guy. I spotted Ross Martin from the original Wild Wild West(Artemus) in one of the shows and as these other shows roll through I am sure a few other character actors will show up. If you get a chance between whatever football games are running take a peek this is entertainment not deep psycho-babble ;)
bndalton
If you like genre bending shows like "Cop Rock," musicals like "Guys and Dolls," your favorite character on Star Trek is Neelix, your favorite reality show is the Bachelor/Bachelloret, you think PeeWee Herman is a genius, or you wish Clint Eastwood would do more movies like Bridges of Madison County, you'll probably like this "Western." Everything Western fans love about Westerns is unintentionally mawked. The only thing missing is a sidekick/butler named Quesso dressed in a bunny suit riding a three legged donkey.