Product: Classic TV Cowboy Collector's Edition
Rating: 4.0
Solid Sampling of TV Westerns
The 1950s and early 1960s were the heyday of Westerns on television and this collection from Diamond Entertainment provides of nice sampling of the genre. Here's your chance to see Henry Fonda on the small screen in "The Deputy," a largely forgotten half-hour series that was co-created by Norman Lear. You'll also see episodes from several of the classic television Westerns like "The Lone Ranger" and "The Rifleman," among others. The oddity that's included here is "Shotgun Slade," a series that's been described by some as "Peter Gunn meets the Old West." The jazzy score used for the series sounds out of place, but Scott Brady is good in the title role. Here's a rundown of the shows represented in this two-disc collection:Disc 1:The Rifleman (Chuck Conners) - 3 episodesBat Masterson (Gene Barry) - 2 episodesThe Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (Hugh O'Brian) - 1 episodeThe Lone Ranger (Clayton Moore, Jay Silverheels) - 2 episodesDisc 2:Wagon Train (John McIntyre) - 1 episodeThe Roy Rogers Show (Roy Rogers, Dale Evans) - 2 episodesThe Deputy (Henry Fonda, Allen Case) - 2 episodesShotgun Slade (Scott Brady) - 2 episodesIn terms of extras, Diamond Entertainment includes some brief information on each of the shows and the stars, some trivia, and a photo gallery on each of the discs. Reflecting Diamond's status as a "public domain" releasing company, it looks like most, if not all, of the episodes were sourced from 16 millimeter syndication prints, a common practice among companies releasing public domain material. The visual quality of the episodes included on the discs is variable with the worst prints from "The Roy Rogers Show" and the best prints from, surprise, 1949 episodes of "The Lone Ranger." All of the prints are watchable, though you may have to make some adjustments on your TV set for a few of the episodes that have light contrast.This set is very similar to a two-disc set titled "TV Classics Westerns" from another public domain releasing company, Platinum Disc Corporation. The episodes from "Bat Masterson," "Wyatt Earp," "Wagon Train," "The Deputy," and "The Rifleman" are all repeated on both of these collections, suggesting that only a few episodes from most of these series have fallen into the public domain. Still, if you're nostalgic for older television shows that are rarely seen anymore, this collection will satisfy.