Branded

As a "Rifleman" fan, I wasn't impressed with this series too much, even though I've always liked Chuck Connors' work.

The premise, a man who was thought to have abandoned his cavalry brothers in cowardice - but not really, gave the opportunity, like Star Trek, Route 66, The Fugitive and other t.v. shows, for the main character to roam from town to town, place to place, etc., to meet other people and help them deal with whatever crisis they happened to be facing at the time.

The theme song was great and gave opportunity for some wag to come up with alternative lyrics... "Stranded, on the toilet bowl. What do you do when you're stranded without a roll?"

In the moral and cultural wasteland of the 60's, this show was like pure poetry: a distillation of the best of the west. "Branded" is the story of a wandering loner/knight errant who must right wrongs everywhere he goes while on a quest after a seemingly unobtainable goal. Economical, hardboiled, the product of years of testing the action and adventure formula, "Branded" is a summing up of everything that ever worked for motion picture audiences dating back to the first silent film western. Unusually taut performances from the mature Chuck Connors in a role that was tailor made for him. Each episode introduces a new set of characters. No ensemble cast baloney and no hack writing. What I wouldn't give for a show this good today!

I won't say it was the cream of the crop of TV westerns, as far as production goes, but it's premise was...

I disagree most strongly with the first comment, McCord did try to clear his name many times, just not at the cost of others, and McCord, a wronged man, a pariah, would indeed, have to drift from town to town.

If he stayed too long he would likely be strung from a tree...

I too watched this on late night TV, in fact it's still on the New York City ABC affiliate, as a late night time filler.

That's an undeserved legacy.

In the current climate of turning past TV series into big-budget films, this is a no-brainer.

I'd be interested to know if the property's being sought after.

They'd be morons not to include theme song somewhere, it is really stunning.

Branded was no masterpiece that's true, but as a little boy in the 60's, I thought it was great. It had Cowboys, Indians and adventure. You "critics" kill me! We had two or three channels back then and most of us didn't own a color set. This show served a purpose. It entertained. Superman stunk also, but we loved it! Don't tell me you think "The Andy Devine Show" was quality programing. I only saw it in re-runs, but I remember it was rather poorly made. My sister and I still watched it after school. (Ya gotta love Ignatz!) Don't over work everything just to hear yourself talk. Just sit in quiet misery while the rest of us enjoy 30 minutes of pure fantasy.

I always watched The Rifleman because I was as old as Johnny Crawford was and I put myself in his shoes. MY dad was always trying to point out that somewhere in each show there was a "point" to be made. That point being made to impress me and help me go thru life without screwing up, which I have so far and I'm now 70! Lucas and Mark made a great team of what you would expect a western series to make during the time of transition to color. I was sorry to see The Rifleman end, but equally excited to see what Branded was all about. Chuck now playing a loner/drifter with all of his hair cut to a butch certainly was different. I often wondered why the sword "broke" when it should have "bent". I often wondered why he just didn't settle down in some quiet, out-of-the-way town and remain anonymous. I wondered why I never saw a lot of the second season episodes. Were they going to cancel the show that quick? I wondered a lot of other things, but there were also many other westerns to wonder about, too. Have Gun, Will Travel was one such with mysterious Paladin and the almost hidden icons and double meanings in the story line. Maverick and The Rebel, and oh so many more. Reading these comments and the description of Rifleman/Branded and reading the comments has made me want to find the Branded series on DVD so I can watch it over again. Heck, I can watch The Rifleman everyday on METV that is available thru DirecTV, but to be able to satisfy my curiosity about watching Branded over again to see what I missed has peaked my curiosity. SEE YA!