My review of 52 TV WESTERNS edited by SCOTT HARRIS, PAUL BISHOP and ROB WORD

My 4 star review of 52 TV WESTERNS edited by SCOTT HARRIS, PAUL BISHOP and ROB WORD

Fun mix of the fondly-remembered, the quirky and the surprising

Acclaimed authors SCOTT HARRIS and PAUL BISHOP and TV writer/producer ROB WORD have put together reviews of 52 TV Western shows/ TV movies, drawing upon some other writers to help. I’m in here, reviewing one series.

Although the heyday of TV Westerns was 1955-1975 this compendium takes us from early shows like ‘The Range Rider’

Jock Mahoney was THE RANGE RIDER

through long-running staples like ‘Gunsmoke’

James Arness as Matt Dillon in GUNSMOKE

and ‘Bonanza,’ 

one-season wonders like ‘The Westerner’

Brian Keith as THE WESTERNER

right up to date with ‘Godless.’

Michelle Dockery in the woman-centric western series GODLESS

It isn’t intended to be a complete, exhaustive list which would run far beyond 52 series but a look at 52 examples of a form that has managed to be surprisingly diverse.

So there’s spy-western hybrids (‘The Wild Wild West’)

Robert Conrad and Ross Martin in THE WILD WILD WEST

 tongue-in-cheek westerns with anti-hero leads (‘Maverick’)

James Garner in MAVERICK

‘intellectual’ westerns like ‘The Loner’, 

Lloyd Bridges in THE LONER

family westerns (‘Little House on the Prairie’)

and series aiming for gritty authenticity (‘The High Chaparral.’)

What unites the articles is the love the authors have for these shows and their pleasure in describing what makes them different and memorable.

I was pleasantly surprised that this compendium doesn’t lean too much on the well-known but highlights a number of interesting and quirky series I wasn’t familiar with (‘Legend’ ‘The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.’ etc.,)

Richard Dean Anderson in LEGEND

Bruce Campbell portrayed Brisco County Jr. (a person not a place) in THE ADVENTURES OF...

setting me the task of checking them out.

If I have a criticism it’s whether the inclusion of ‘Dead Men’ and ‘Justified’ can be – pardon the pun – justified.

Overall though, in this anthology, the reader can visit fondly-remembered old favourites, shows too ahead of their time to flourish, and newer items helping to keep this form alive. And, most importantly, thanks to the enthusiasm of the contributors and editors, have fun doing it. Recommended. 

Other review of 52 TV WESTERNS:

5 Stars - ‘If you're a fan of TV westerns, I highly recommend this book!’

Find my review on Amazon.co.uk https://www.amazon.co.uk/52-Weeks-TV-Westerns-ebook/dp/B07V8RJJ3K/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr
and Goodreads  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46832785-52-weeks---52-tv-westerns

You can also find 52 TV WESTERNS here: https://www.amazon.com/52-Weeks-TV-Westerns/dp/1079314326/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=52+tv+westerns+scott+harris&qid=1564733832&s=books&sr=1-1

AUTHOR FAVOURITES: THE BOUNTY HUNTERS by MARTYN MARAIS

Martin Marais (writing as Martyn) is like me a Brit writing westerns. He tells me a favourite of his own books is his first, THE BOUNTY HUNTERS.

Michael ‘Tidy’ Callaghan isn’t your average bounty hunter. On arriving at Wellhead, Tidy’s well-trained nose picks up that there might be some trouble brewing in this one-horse town. His cousin-cum-ex-partner Scully arrives on the scene, disguised as a priest and clearly up to no good.

Then Tidy encounters Brett Maverick, casing the bank and alarms bells start ringing. 

With the clock ticking, Tidy only has a small window to discover what Scully’s up to and investigate the true identity of Maverick and what he’s planning before all hell breaks loose. Can Scully and Tidy forget their troubled past and join forces, or is Scully mixed up in the same business as Maverick?

Historical evidence for western bounty hunters is slight, (I’ve blogged before about prototype bounty hunters like TOM HORN and CHARLES SIRINGO) but they’re certainly popular in western fiction!

Naturally the plot, a few bounty hunters turning up in the same remote community, clearly in competition with each other, made me think of Sergio Leone’s ‘dollar’ trilogy, particularly FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE.

Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef in ‘For a Few Dollars More’

That one of the bounty hunters is tracking down seven men brought to mind 7 MEN FROM NOW.

Lee Marvin and Randolph Scott in ‘Seven Men from Now’

Brett Maverick, of course, was the character played by JAMES GARNER in the TV Western series ‘Maverick,’ (19557 – 1962) - when his name was spelled Bret – and its spin off ‘Bret Maverick’ (1981-82.) The show was atypical of TV Westerns of the time in being often comedic and tongue-in-cheek. Its varying leads were a collection of brothers and cousins who made a living as Old West gamblers, and, whilst likable, were not notably heroic. James Garner’s Bret Maverick has sometimes been described as the first TV anti-hero.

In 1994 these shows spawned a movie ‘Maverick’ where MEL GIBSON played the lead.

Reviews of THE BOUNTY HUNTERS:

‘Martin Marais has such an easy and fluid writing style… captivating and entertaining story.’

‘Interesting characters and an ingenious plot keep you reading…a fresh take on the story of the bounty hunter.’

‘Enthralling first novella from an exciting new author… near impossible to put down.’

https://www.amazon.com/Bounty-Hunters-Hunter-Book-ebook/dp/B01MPXMVU5/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=&dpID=51HBQpRydHL&preST=_SY445_QL70_&dpSrc=detail and https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bounty-Hunters-Hunter-Book-ebook/dp/B01MPXMVU5/ref=sr_1_1_twi_kin_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1531297060&sr=1-1&keywords=the+bounty+hunters+martyn+marais