The Virginian

Quite simply, I grew up watching 'The Virginian' and I have to thank it, for being very watchable, and mainly for keeping my attention span for 90 minutes. This was unheard of for a show in those days. It led me to becoming an avid cinema addict, for which I am eternally grateful. Probably my favourite western series, although 'Alias Smith and Jones' threatened to equal it until Pete Duell committed suicide. Great memories, from the early days of colour and BBC2, I believe...

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!

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.

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 ****

I first saw the Virginian in England in the 1960s. It became my favorite Western series. The characters were honest, likable and honorable. The acting was good and the stories were compelling and well written. The show also seemed more subtle and complex than the average western series. The stories usually had a moral message and the good guys always came out on top.James Drury, Doug McClure and Lee J.Cobb were all excellent.

The Virginian came from a time when American TV shows were very popular in the UK.During the 1960s and 1970s we tended to see a lot of American shows in prime-time in Britain, but that changed in the 1980s. This show is being shown on Encore and I'm enjoying watching it in color for the first time.