DKosty123 While Gunsmoke predates this one on TV, this series was a watershed of TV's 1960's Westerns. It is the top 90 minute effort of the era. One reason is the cast, as Barbara Stanwyck, and a host of other talented folks make this show a must see just for the acting. The stories are usually very well written western drama. While long term Westerns sometimes get a bit soapy, this one seems to avoid that trap.Epic Western Music- the theme song here and other music enhance the stories and mood of the viewers.This series was and still is a big success. It was not the first, but it does stand out as the biggest effort of network TV to tell stories in the western genre.The actors including Miss Barbara (Victoria Barkley) are all excellent people to cast in a drama. Kudos to the casting director.

Brian Washington When I first began looking at this show seriously, I couldn't help but compare it to "Bonanza", which was far more superior and successful. This is due to the fact that it deals with a powerful family in the Old West as they deal with the various people that cross their paths whether its bank robbers, Indians, desperadoes, Mexican revolutionaries or just the average person. Of course, the big differences are that the lead was not a man, but a woman in the character of Victoria Barkley, played by the incomparable Barbara Stanwyck and the fact that one of her children is a daughter named Audra, played by a young Linda Evans. However, this show is still one of the better character driven western series and has become a classic in its own right.

powers_lily i'm really a 10 year old girl and i absolutely love that show!I'v always wanted to look like Audra.my mom and watch the big valley all the time on encore westerns.we love watching it.we always try to think that Audra and heath really are not related so they can be together.we have the first season on DVD,and we are probably gonna get the rest of it on DVD too.i'm always searching for episodes where there are a lot of Audra/heath moments.my mom and i just watched the Caesar's wife episode.it was pretty good.and i just saw some recent pictures of Linda Evans and Lee Majors,and i felt depressed,but i always think of them in the 60's.Well thats all i have to write,now i think i'm gonna go watch an episode on DVD.bye!

chris-glo When I first saw that THE BIG VALLEY was to be released on DVD, I just could not wait to get Season One. Now I have it - and was not disappointed. I used to watch this show faithfully when it was televised (was totally in love with Nick Barkley!!) and it is just as good, if not better than I remembered it. These stories - they have depth and meaning - some are heart-wrenching - all are great! The performances are way above average (I grew to love Barbara Stanwyck because of this series and have seen almost all of her films thru the years) Ms Stanwyck was so underrated as an actress - to me, she's in the top ten greatest. The others also: Richard Long, Peter Breck (pant-pant), Lee Majors and Linda Evans - all fantastic! I feel so bad that there are no more TV series of this caliber anymore. Thank goodness for whoever is responsible for releasing these old series' on DVD. My only question is.... When do we get Season Two????