galahad58-1
The first season of Wild Wild West is fantastic. The first season is well written and well acted. Robert Conrad is perfect as James West and his character is far smarter and more adventurous than James Bond.The sad thing is that season 2 is dreadful. The stories are terrible, poorly written, with horrible plot lines. If you happen to watch the second season, you wonder how the show continued onto a 3rd and 4th season.I have not had the opportunity to watch seasons 3 and 4 because season 2 created a feeling of disinterest towards the show.I rated the show a 7 - due to season 1. Season 2 would rate a 4.
Hotwok2013
To my certain knowledge The Wild Wild West has never aired here in the UK. I recently purchased the first season on DVD & was so delighted by it I quickly followed up buying seasons 2,3 & 4. I was not disappointed, in fact quite the opposite. The stories are very imaginative, full of gimmicks & gadgets, usually kind of quirky & very entertaining. Despite the title, many of the episode are not really that of a western TV series & it is difficult to pigeonhole. One reviewer called it, "Have Gun Will Travel meets The Avengers". Robert Conrad is fantastic in the lead role of Jim West & his sidekick Artemus Gordon played by Ross Martin is also excellent. It has the additional bonus of guest appearing in many episodes some of the hottest babes in Hollywood at that time. An Internet website entitled "The Women Of The Wild Wild West TV Show" by Eye Of Polyphemus has listed his top 10 beauties who have guest-starred on TWWW. There are so many drop-dead gorgeous women guest-appearing in it he could easily have listed his top 100!. I wouldn't want to give any impression that the glamorous women make the show, however. They do not, but for us males the eye-candy makes a good thing even better!. Some of the villains like Michael Dunn (a dwarf playing Dr. Miguelito Loveless in 10 episodes) & Victor Buono (a superlative character actor playing Count Carlos Manzeppi), make it riveting viewing. Sadly, i have just read that its creator Michael Garrison fell down a flight of stairs at his home during the making of the second season in 1966, fractured his skull & died. Anyway i have no hesitation in saying that it is one of the best TV shows ever made & why it has never aired in the UK is utterly beyond me. I cannot praise it too highly & would recommend it to anyone. (Update. The first season is now showing on the UK Horror Cable Channel).
illusiongenius
I have only three TV shows I have seen every episode of: (not in order) 1. Twin Peaks 2. Mystery Science Theater 3000 3. The Wild Wild West I think they all share one thing: innovation. TP broke the rules of TV. Mystery Science Theater won a Peabody; enough said. And my dear favorite of all time, The Wild Wild West simply cannot be copied. Others found that out. The thing that was magic about it is what every great storyteller or magician knows; the magic must be believed to be seen. That's right, you read that right. No I am not dyslexic. We believe Jim and Arte are on that train (The Highlander) and romancing the women, and outwitting the criminals who tie them up only to be outwitted by their cleverness because we believe them. Robert Conrad and Ross Martin had the same chemistry that Laurel & Hardy had; Jack Klugman and Tony Randall had, that Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel had, dare I say that the Marx Brothers had. It's rare. It is almost indefinable, but I would venture to say that they took the fantastic and endeavored to believe it and therefore make us believe it. It takes multiple talents to do that. Conrad's stunts; Martin's multi-talents (playing the violin was real) all sewn up seamlessly in that wonderful theme song. Only if those who create TV had the same dedication. Only Joel Fields' work on The Americans comes to mind as a modern ref where they dig in and strike gold. Bravo Jim and Arte, Mike Garrison and Mr. Lansbury, my Coachman hat will remain floating in the air in tribute to your greatness.
neosildrake
This is probably one of the best TV-Shows of all times. The actors are brilliant, the stories range from petty crime to world domination schemes and every episode you ask yourself: "What have they come up with this time?" No matter how trivial the plot seems to be, even a simple murder-chase turns into a story filled with hidden deathtraps and very unique methods of killing people. This show has something for everyone and I never ever met a person who didn't like the show... after he/she decided to watch it despite it being from the 60s and not featuring CGI-monsters or tons of blood or sex.They don't make things like this anymore, which is a shame. Not that todays shows are boring but... they can hardly be called unique anymore. I think there's no show out there that can be compared to The Wild Wild West, simply because it has spread its plot-wings so wide. And they actually pulled off the impossible - uniting several genres like western, action, crime, sci-fi, comedy, mystery and supernatural. Never again did it get this wild in the west and it probably never will.The chemistry between the actors was a major factor in the success as were the various villains. I think Michael Dunn and Victor Buono were mentioned by nearly everyone who reviewed and they are right. While you root for Jim and Artie, you cannot help and at least slightly cheer for the eccentric Count Manzappi and especially the genius Dr. Miguelito Loveless too. While you do not want to meet them in a dark alley, you still kinda like them.The movie with Will Smith was terrible. Every character was so... un-WildWildWest-ish. A great disappointment for those who actually knew the series beforehand.To all out there who still haven't seen this: You missed out great TV history. get the DVDs and watch it!