Wyatt Earp and the Cowboy War

My great-great grandfather was a Texas Ranger in Bell County, Texas during the 1870's. He participated in what is believed to have been the last known battle against the Comanche Indians near present day San Saba, Texas. His photograph used to be on display at the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum in Waco, Texas.

I have always been absorbed by stories of Wyatt Earp, Billy the Kid, the James gang...etc. I have read books on those subjects and watched all the documentaries, tv shows, and movies. I've visited Tombstone, Arizona and walked inside the OK Corral. I even visited Jessie James's family home in Missouri. But nothing I've seen or read was as entertaining or informative as "Wyatt Earp and The Cowboy War". It does a deep dive into everything the movies and books never seem to accurately or sufficiently cover. I learned things I never knew before.

It is narrated by Ed Harris, who I'm a big fan of. The reenactments are great and are filmed in a very dramatic and entertaining way. The casting, directing and acting is very well done. I also thought the music and narration were both top notch. I couldn't stop watching it and was sad when ended.

As a TOURGUIDE in Arizona that visits Tombstone often, I was fascinated by the pauses during the programs re-enactments while listening to Ed Harris' explanation of the backstories and politics that were involved with the situation. It was fascinating, surprising, and eye-opening - if not jaw dropping.

Most of us know the Wyatt Earp/Tombstone story and have probably seen the 1993 Kurt Russell/Val Kilmer TOMBSTOME film...This is not a Glamorized Hollywood movie. It's much like a documentary, where the backstory and "dots" connected were jaw dropping at times. It was quite the Spiderweb. You'll watch this and recognize the parallels consistent with today's corruption in the media, with Politicians, and big businesses.

I promise you, you will sit up in your chair, put your hand over your forehead and realize, WOW...SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE!

I've recommended this to my entire team of Tour guides, and they agree - It's very informative, entertaining, fascinating and very WELL DONE!

Well, if you only know Wyatt Earp from the movies, such as Tombstone (which is a great movie, BTW), then this will open your eyes to the complexity of the real Wyatt Earp.

It wasn't all so cut and dried as the movies make it out to be. And events didn't quite go down the way the movies claim. It's actually much more interesting than that!

This docu-drama does a great job of layering in the events, all the way from the local events in Tombstone, to the reverberations they caused politically and economically.

The drama parts are well acted and the story rattles along at a great pace. They manage to end each episode on a cliffhanger, too.

And a special mention for Ed Harris' outstanding narration!

I binge-watched it in one evening and i highly recommend it!

GOOF: Ep3 At 31:33 when Wyatt's lawyer went to answer the door, you can see a digital thermostat with the green glow, on the wall, on the right side of the door.

GOOF: Ep6 when they show horse and carriage up north riding through the city, they horses are on asphalt The storytelling is really good, pulled me in from the start. Has me googling these historic figures and old newspaper clippings. The acting is amazingly good! I don't recognize anyone from the big screen but they are better than most known names.

Narrator comes in at the perfect time with his deep, frontier voice.

I've never been into cowboy stories before but this series might have just have gotten a new fan of the wild, Wild West! Love it!

Although there are plenty of documentaries that do the acting along the way as they're explaining the history, the pacing and overall storytelling is just really fun. It's different than other acting documentaries I've seen for that reason. I especially love how the historical context gives more support to the acting. And they really did a great job casting Wyatt Earp. He's borderline perfect. Even if he is Australian ;)

It's different than other acting documentaries I've seen for that reason. I especially love how the historical context gives more support to the acting. And they really did a great job casting Wyatt Earp.