Western Wednesday: The Magnificent Seven TV Series

So it appears while camel riding never caught on in the Wild West and sheep riding unfortunately did, prairie dog racing was never much of a sport, either. Nor break dancing with tomahawks. Cowboys were stuck with Faro, Chuck-a-luck, poker and the ever popular Girls of the Line dancing…

Anyway…For Lone Ranger fans, the old Lone Ranger pulps are being reissued in nice double volumes as of today. Ask for it as your local comic books shop.

Every fan of the Western genre knows the 1960 film The Magnificent Seven is one of the classics, from its rousing theme to iconic heroic storyline. But in 1998 it became a short-lived TV series on CBS, borrowing the music and concept. Basically, a band of seven flawed men come together to provide law in one of the West’s lawless towns. They consist of a gunslinger, a con artist, an ex-bounty hunter, a womanizing gunman, a freed slave turned healer, a former preacher looking to expiate his sins, and an eastern amateur. Robert Vaughn, who starred in the original movie, played a judge in the series and Michelle Phillips, former Mamas & Papas singer, also had a recurring role as the con artist’s mother.

The show was well-written, even had a couple startling moments, one in which someone ended up hanged whom viewers would have thought tagged for a last minute saving by the heroes. It lasted only two half-seasons, 23 episodes, and that’s a shame, because while I don’t think it quite matched the quality of ABC’s The Young Riders, it was still not only one of the few westerns in the ‘90s, but one of the better offerings on TV at the time. It garnered an Emmy and three other Emmy nominations. The show has been released on DVD and I recommend picking it up if you are a Western fan.