Le Virginien

Compared to other Westerns, the Virginian was a latecomer to British television screens. Preceding it from the late 1950s were Cheyenne, Wagon Train, Rawhide and the like. Initially, all were shown in black and white on very small screens. Although the Virginian was novel in being 75 minutes long and in colour, the team which created it seems to have come from the former era. Blips overlooked in monochrome stand out like a sore thumb in colour, particularly now, when played on the huge screens we have in our homes.

Watching Seasons 3 and 4 (on DVD) for the first time in 50 years, and catching up on Seasons 1 and 2 on Freeview, I was intrigued by the contradictions. There was the ambitious use of acting royalty like Bette Davis and George C Scott, and yet for interior shots, the scenes of the outside world as seen through open doorways, are painted backdrops which look amateurish.

Given my love of Westerns, it's surprising just how unengaged I was initially with the Shiloh regulars. Betsy was close to my age at the time but I didn't identify with her at all. It's like when you read a novel - there needs to be a character with whom you can empathise, one you trust to lead you into the story. For me, that did not happen until Season 3 when Emmett Ryker rode into town. The experience was like Guy Fawkes night, the fireworks those of wit and humour. It was such a clever script. In those days, with no internet to consult, there was no way of finding out if he would appear the following week. There were no video recorders either so if you missed a programme that was it - gone. But he did become a regular, and therefore so did I.

Why Ryker? Sure, Clu Gulager is easy on the eye, but being handsome doesn't necessarily make a person or a character attractive. He was intriguing. Ryker's awkward childhood, his chequered history, are laid bare in that first episode, giving his character instant depth. You understand how his experiences have sharpened his survival instincts and his intellect. At a turning point in his life, he hits the ground running, inner conflict hot wired into him. The mystery is not who he was in the past but who he is going to become in the future as he takes on the role of upholding the law he was sometimes on the wrong side of. In later episodes the scriptwriters refrained from throwing him into doomed love affairs like the ones Doug McClure and James Drury had to endure, which was another huge plus.

With Gulager driving the performance, Ryker is never, ever boring. He had two good years on the Virginian, but then when Season 5 opened on tv, he just wasn't there. For weeks and weeks he was a no show. My interest in watching dwindled and I sought solace with Manolito Montoya over at the High Chaparral. I never went back. Until now.

Watching The Virginian episodes again, knowing how little time the actors and production team were given to create them, it's truly amazing what they managed to achieve. Season 3 in particular is very good. But the gruelling schedule must have taken a toll because from Season 4 onwards, the turnover of regular cast members is constant. Some long absences and disappearances remain unexplained which, with time invested following the story arcs of certain characters, can be frustrating for the viewer. If you've never see the Virginian before, you could do worse than start with Season 3 and see where you want to go from there.

This was an ambitious series, which made use of first class actors and magnificent location photography.

In its early years the series had five main characters: Judge Garth, owner of Shiloh, a great cattle ranch in Wyoming; his innocent young daughter Betsy; the Virginian, his heroic foreman; and two likeable ranch hands, Trampas and Steve. The relationships between these five, as they were developed and tested, provided the most affecting and amusing moments.

The series gave us strong, intelligent stories, which could be tragic or light-hearted, and often the direction was imaginative, sometimes even poetic. Issues such as injustice through prejudice, individual responsibility and the necessity for compromise were explored, and 'Shiloh' came to stand for the virtues of tolerance, compassion, courage and optimism. Compared with earlier Western series, The Virginian was amazingly deep yet subtle.

As the series ran on over the years it created a hopeful vision of a society slowly progressing towards order and peace.

This series (The Virginian) is truly amazing. It ran for 9 long seasons, a total of 249 episodes. The Virginian (James Drury) and Trampas (Doug MaClure) stayed through the entire series. There were a number of Owners of the 'Shiloh Ranch' located near Medicine Bow, Wyoming in the late 1800's. The daughters and/or nieces of the owner were a series of lovely actresses. Owners included Lee J. Cobb, Charles Bickford, and John McIntyre (and his real-life wife, Jeanette Nolan). John Dehner was also the owner for a (mercifully) short period.

Although there were many, many writers and a very long list of directors, the series was very fluid. Top name actors were guest stars week after week, and somehow the episodes were always very enjoyable. When you stop to think that they basically produced a 90 minute movie every week, 30 weeks a year, it is remarkable that each week was unique and entertaining. Various sensitive topics were handled in a real-to-life manner.

This series remains, in my opinion, one of if not the greatest series ever presented on TV. I would watch every episode again, and with great enjoyment!

Good series, it's sad it's been kinda forgotten. It's easy to write it off as another 'Bonanza' knockoff-Big Valley, High Chapperell, for example, but it wasn't that, not at all. In one episode, you get to see Lee J Cobb, Richard Anderson, Harry Morgan, Arthur Hunnicutt and a host of other Very familiar character actors doing the 'Stagecoach' routine-while McClure, Drury and co weren't exactly chopped liver either.

It had heart, it was well acted and was on forever. I would watch this over Bonanza any day.

*** outta ****

This was my favourite TV western when I was a child, and I believe it was much more superior than the other TV westerns of the 70s. The casting and acting was first rate, so to was the cinematography. The story lines were realistic, gritty and strong. The character of the Virginian and Trampas worked well together and the chemistry between the actors was evident. While the Virginian was the strong silent type, Trampas was the wild and reckless one. Each episode had a wide array of character actors who began their acting careers on this show. I find it strange that of all the TV westerns this seems to be the only one that is not available on either VHS and/or DVD. I only wish the entire series plus The Men from Shiloh were available on DVD.