Product Description
-------------------
ALL 28 ACTION-PACKED EPISODES FROM THE 1ST SEASON. AN UNLIKELY
PAIR OF SECRET SERVICE AGENTS, JAMES WEST & ATRMUS GORDON WORK TO
PROTECT PRESIDENT ULYSSES S GRANT & INVESTIGATE FEDERAL CRIMES IN
THE OLD WEST.
.com
----
CBS had an instant hit on their hands when The Wild Wild West
made its network debut on September 17, 1965. While many of the
popular TV Westerns ( /exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/1023356/${0} )
were running out of steam, series creator Michael Garrison ripped
a page from the Ian Fleming/Sean Connery playbook and conceived
The Wild Wild West as a "James Bond Western," energizing the
genre by combining a traditional Western setting (primarily the
San Francisco region in the 1870s) with the accoutrements of the
genre. It was a foolproof formula, further refined by
producer Fred Frieberger (who later produced the third and final
season of Star Trek), and TWWW held its popular time-slot
(7:30-8:30 on Friday nights) for its entire four-season run.
Smart casting proved to be another source of audience appeal:
While Robert Conrad fit nicely into his role (and tight-fitting
costume) as macho Secret Service agent James West, doing his own
challenging stunts and charming each episode's obligatory
beautiful female guest star, Ross Martin proved an equally
excellent choice to play West's skillful sidekick Artemus Gordon,
a debonair dandy whose mastery of disguises and dialects would
prove essential as they tackled dangerous crime-fighting
assignments from President Ulysses S. Grant.
The series' unique appeal arose from its clever and frequently
bizarre plots. Every episode title began with a variation of "The
Night of..." (including the pilot, "The Night of the Inferno,"
with more unusual titles thereafter), and as Jim and Arte plotted
strategies from the comfort of their tricked-out custom railroad
car, their exploits frequently led them into realms of the
occult, mad science, bizarre inventions, and villains so
eccentrically twisted that they became instant favorites among
the show's growing legion of fans. Best of them all was the
nefarious Miguelito Loveless, first appearing in "The Night the
Wizard Shook the Earth" (original airdate 10/01/65) and played to
perfection by dwarf actor Michael Dunn, a '60s TV regular
familiar to Star Trek fans from his memorable role in the
original series episode "Plato's Stepchildren." A gifted,
intellectual renaissance man (like Ross Martin) with an angelic
singing voice, Dunn was an overnight sensation, guest-starring in
four of the first season's 28 episodes, with six more appearances
in subsequent seasons. Dunn's gleeful malevolence (accompanied by
his mute henchman Voltaire, played by giant actor Richard Kiel)
was an essential addition to the series' sideshow esthetic;
weirdness, humor, gorgeous women, and devious ingenuity (in
plotting, action and gadgetry), became the trademarks that set
TWWW apart from its more conventional TV Western competition.
--Jeff Shannon
On the DVD
For this much-anticipated DVD release, Para has made
above-average efforts to satisfy fans. Virtually every episode
looks and sounds practically brand-new, and with TWWW expert Sue
Kesler serving as DVD co-producer, this seven-disc set features a
wealth of archival extras, many culled from Kesler's own research
as author of the out-of-print guidebook The Wild Wild West: The
Series. In addition to excerpts from audio-taped interviews with
Frieberger, writer (and "Dr. Loveless" creator) John Kneubuhl
(who tells a fascinating story of how Liberace almost
guest-starred on the show), music composer Richard Markowitz, and
special-effects technician Tim Smyth, each episode includes brief
but informative audio introductions by Robert Conrad, who also
appears (with Martin) discussing the show (and their subsequent
TV-movie revival of TWWW) in a 1978 talk-show appearance.
Excerpts from the original music-theme scoring sessions were
found in UCLA's Film and Television archive, and other extras
include a network series promo clip (from a later season, after
TWWW switched to color), a sketch by Ross Martin, a photo
gallery, and even one of Conrad's notorious Eveready Battery
commercials from the late '70s. All in all, this 40th Anniversary
package should give TWWW fans ample reason to celebrate, boding
well for the other season-sets to follow. --Jeff Shannon