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

ANDREW McBRIDE interviewed by SCOTT HARRIS

I was recently interviewed by acclaimed western author SCOTT HARRIS for his ‘Friday Forum’ blog, which you can find here: https://scottharriswest.com/forum-featuring-andrew-mcbride/

I talk about westerns and my writing, including my novel‘The Peacemaker.’ Scott very kindly agreed to the interview appearing on my blog also.

Questions in bold.

1.       When—and why—did you first fall in love with Westerns?

As a kid growing up in England in the 60s I fell in love with westerns watching movies and shows on TV. I was particularly taken by ‘The High Chaparral’ TV series, its Arizona location photography and the background of the Apache Wars, which sparked a life-long interest in Native American history and culture.

(I’ve given a fuller appreciation of ‘The High Chaparral’ in an earlier blog:  https://andrewmcbrideauthor.blogspot.com/2017/09/in-praise-of-high-chaparral.html)

In the 70s when I was entering adulthood I had a pal who turned me on to reading westerns, starting with the ‘McAllister’ series by MATT CHISOLM.

2.       Who are your three favorite Western writers?

The first of several impossible questions you’re going to torture me with during this interview. I have to pick three out of the likes of Ralph Cotton, Fred Grove, Louis L’Amour, Glendon Swarthout, Robert MacLeod, A. B. Guthrie Jnr., Lewis B. Patten, Jack Schaefer, Dorothy M. Johnson, Charles Neider etc.? Three who I followed fairly slavishly when I was cutting my teeth on reading westerns were WILL HENRY, GORDON SHIRREFFS and MATT CHISOLM – I devoured Chisolm’s ‘McAllister’ series, and then found out he was British, which inspired me – so let’s go with those three.

3.       Which Western do you wish you’d written?

‘Hondo’ by LOUIS L’AMOUR. In some ways Hondo is the template western hero and I’m sure my main character in all my westerns, Calvin Taylor, owes something to him. Once, to warm myself up for a writing project, I re-wrote the first chapter of ‘Hondo’ and then had to stop myself from re-writing the whole novel! I think that would be an interesting exercise for another Scott Harris-helmed ’52 weeks’ project – get us lesser mortals to follow in the footsteps of the greats and re-write, in our own words, a chapter from a classic western novel.  

4.       What is the most recent Western you’ve read?

I read a few recently that didn’t happen for me so I’m not going to mention them. I also re-read some old favourites. The most recent ‘new’ western I read and liked was ‘Geronimo must die’ by J.R. Lindermuth.
(You can find ‘Geronimo must die’ here https://www.amazon.com/Geronimo-Must-Die-J-Lindermuth-ebook/dp/B06XFZJG5H/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

 and here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Geronimo-Must-Die-J-Lindermuth-ebook/dp/B06XFZJG5H/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

5.       The “Desert Island” question.
          What are your three favorite Western books?

Impossible to say – but as you’ve cornered me I’ll play along. ‘Little Big Man’ by THOMAS BERGER, which deals with tragic events and yet manages to be extremely funny in places, and has subtleties the film lacks;

‘Blood Brother’ by ELLIOTT ARNOLD, which deals with the Apache chief Cochise and had a huge influence on my writing, particularly ‘The Peacemaker’;

and ‘The Buffalo Soldiers’ by JOHN PREBBLE which tackles numerous western clichés in a startling and original way. I don’t think you’ll find a better written western. And Prebble was also a Brit!

(Read my post about ‘The Buffalo Soldiers’: https://andrewmcbrideauthor.blogspot.com/2018/09/andrew-mcbride-on-how-buffalo-soldiers.html)

          What are your three favorite Western movies?
Even more unanswerable than the ‘3 books’ question. But as John Wayne and John Ford were, IMHO, the two most important people in western movie history one would have to be a combination of their talents. Which boils down to a wrestling match between ‘Stagecoach’ and ‘Fort Apache’ – I think I’ll go for ‘Fort Apache’.

John Wayne and Henry Fonda in ‘Fort Apache’ (1948)

‘Ride the High Country’ for its elegiac quality and the wonderful performances of Randolph Scott and Joel McCrea.

Randolph Scott and Joel McCrea in ‘Ride the High Country’ (1962)

‘Hombre’ which is based on a great ELMORE LEONARD novel that almost made it into my ‘best 3 books’ list.

Paul Newman in ‘Hombre’ (1967)

I’ve posted about how ‘Hombre’ – both book and film – influenced my writing: https://andrewmcbrideauthor.blogspot.com/2017/07/giveaway-andrew-mcbride-on-how-book-and.html
6.       Of the books you’ve written, which is your favorite—and why?

‘The Peacemaker.’ I like all my first five published books, but they were of necessity short, which meant they had to be action-centric, dependent on a fast pace. With a longer book like ‘The Peacemaker’ I could slow down a bit, spend more time on character and atmosphere. I got to play around with a real historical person – in this case Cochise. I was able to write a proper love story. I could provide what John Ford called ‘grace notes’ in his movies, quiet, reflective bits where not much happens but they give the story added texture and depth. I was very grateful to my publishers for letting me do that.

7.       What is the most recent Western you’ve written?
The most recent western item I’ve finished is my short story ‘Spectres at the Feast’ which you were kind enough to include in your excellent ‘The Shot Rang Out’ anthology (which I review here https://andrewmcbrideauthor.blogspot.com/2018/05/my-review-of-shot-rang-out-by-scott.html )

8.       Can you tell us anything about your next book?
I’m going through a slightly frustrating time at the moment. I have one project that won’t die! In other words it’s proving difficult to finish it off. I’m stalled on several others, waiting for responses from publishers etc. I did make a start on a new western, which has an elegiac, end-of-the-west quality and I’m keen to get stuck into it, but tidying up other projects keeps preventing me from having a clear run at it.
9.       If you could go back in time, what would be the time and place in the Old West you’d like to have lived in for a year?
I’d only want to pop back for a few hours. I’m an Alamo buff, so I’d love to solve the eternal mystery of what happened there on the morning of March 6^th 1836, particularly to Davy Crockett. However, if I did find myself in the middle of the final assault on the Alamo I’d like to be both invisible and invulnerable, to avoid all the bullets, cannon balls and bayonets in the neighbourhood!

10.     Is there a question you’d wish I asked?
          The answer?

No. Answering questions 2 and 5 was traumatic enough!

My review of THE SHOT RANG OUT by SCOTT HARRIS AND 51 FRIENDS

Acclaimed novelist SCOTT HARRIS set himself and 51 other authors the challenge of coming up with a 500 word short story with the same 18 word prompt:

‘The shot rang out. I heard her scream at the same time the bottle crashed to the floor.’

The result is the anthology THE SHOT RANG OUT. I’m one of these authors but I’m not reviewing my contribution.

One thing this anthology illustrates is the variety within the Western genre, something that has kept it alive for decades. And how many of these authors skilfully sidestep or eschew clichés to produce playful, original and surprising work. Certainly there’s a lot of saloons and gambling, including a lady gambler who bets a bottle of Napoleon brandy.

But there’s myth-makers too – Wild West shows, travelling players, dime novel writers alongside real western characters like Mark Twain, Calamity Jane and Doc Holliday.

We go from the humorous to the charming to the dark. From the action-packed – ‘Easy Work’ by RICK BREEDEN – to JOHN WHALEN’S ‘The Mescalero Incident’ with its sci-fi and horror elements. We have Mormons, lady outlaws and mail-order brides. Stories seen from the viewpoint of women, children and – in the case of LINDA HERMES’ ‘Hoot’n’Holler’ - two mules. 

VIC ANDERSON writes of the modern west. We get great opening lines – STEPHEN BURCKHARDT's ‘The heat was weighing on me like death on a corpse’ - and mean punchlines.  But CHERYL PIERSON bravely dispenses with a punch line and shows a short story can still hit the mark without one.  ERIC HARPER definitely has the best title. PATRICK MULDOON gives us a poem. Whilst some tales are ‘miniatures’ intensely focussed on one small incident, others like MICHAEL RITT’S ‘The Siren Song of Texas’ effectively pack a novel’s worth into 500 words.

If I was to list all the stories I liked this would be the world’s longest review. It’s difficult to pick favourites from among so many goodies, but three have particularly registered so far:

‘The Long Ride’ by TYLER BOONE flirts with the otherworldly. An outlaw on the run finds himself drinking – literally – in the ‘last chance saloon.’

‘One Last Job’ by RICHARD PROSCH. A lawman burying the pain of loss in alcohol decides to resolve the issue one way, but events steer him to another.

And ‘What Beats Three of a Kind’ by PAUL THOMAS which makes absolutely every word count.

Overall a collection of diverse thinkers having fun, and deceptively quick tales that reveal new layers each time you visit. Recommended.  

Other reviewers of THE SHOT RANG OUT:

‘One of the most unique and enjoyable books I have read in a very long time.’

‘The concept immediately suggests that these 52 stories will be repetitious. Yet nothing could be further from the truth… Short on words, long on pleasure.’

‘There are several stories I would love to see expanded into a full novel.’

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07C2GFV2B/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1523345636&sr=1-1&keywords=the+shot+rang+out+scott+harris

and

 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07C2GFV2B/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1523345888&sr=1-1-fkmr1&keywords=the+shot+ring+out+scott+harris