Wednesday, March 28, 2007

THE WILD, WILD WEST SEASON 1 DVD REVIEW



A blurb from Paramount about The Wild, Wild West Season 1: THE WILD WILD WEST takes you on the most dangerous, top-secret assignments, given to TV’s first 007s of the frontier. Fight alongside the ever-resourceful ladies’ man, Federal Agent James West and his colorful sidekick Agent Artemus Gordon. Crisscross the country in a high tech railroad car, executing impossible missions assigned to them directly from President Grant.

Finally a fan favorite is now on DVD! One of the best action shows to come out of the 60s was The Wild, Wild West! The series starred Robert Conrad as James West and Ross Martin as Artemus Gordon. A well-done series that was a blend of James Bond and the Wild West. The series starts in 1868 as the intrepid duo keeps the United States as well as the world safe from Villains, Megalomaniacs and Dictators. The first season was filmed in Black & White and this 40th Anniversary set is phenomenally crammed full of extras. Two of the nicest things about this set are an audio commentary by Robert Conrad and all 28 episodes are introduced by Robert Conrad in audio form! The episodes are digitally remastered for crystal clear quality and there is a section that is alternate versions of the theme music from the original tapes along with audio interviews with the creator of Dr Loveless and the composer of the series plus lots more. The information is from a wonderful book on the series by Susan Kesler that also donated the audio interviews.

VIDEO

The video quality is fantastic! Episodes are also uncut.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Audio quality is mono but very clear!

Disc 1- 1. “The Night Of The Inferno”-with Victor Buono and Suzanne Pleshette
2. “The Night of the Deadly Bed”-with J.D.Cannon and Barbara Luna
3. “The Night That Shook The Earth”-with Michael Dunn, Leslie Parrish and Richard Kiel
4. “The Night Of Sudden Death”-with Robert Loggia and Antoinette Bower

Disc 2- 1. “The Night of the Casual Killer”-with John Dehner and Lon Lesser
2. “The Night Of A Thousand Eyes”-with Jeff Corey
3. “The Night Of The Glowing Corpse”-with Phillip Pine and Oscar Beregi
4. “The Night Of The Dancing Death”-with Mark Richman

Disc 3- 1. “The Night Of The Double Edge Knife”-with Leslie Nielsen and Katherine Ross
2. “The Night That Terror Stalked The Town”-with Michael Dunn and Richard Kiel
3. “The Night Of The Red Eyed Madman”-with Martin Landau
4. “The Night Of The Human Trigger”-with Burgess Meredith

Disc 4- 1. “The Night Of The Torture Chamber”-with Alfred Ryder
2. “The Night Of The Howling Light”-with Sam Wanamaker and Ralph Moody
3. “The Night Of The Fatal Trap”-with Ron Randell
4. “The Night Of The Steel Assassin”-with John Dehner and Phyllis Davis

Disc 5- 1. “The Night The Dragon Screamed”-with Ben Wright
2. “The Night Of The Flaming Ghost”-with John Doucette
3. “The Night Of The Grand Emir”-with Yvonne Craig and Richard Jaeckel
4. “The Night Of The Whirring Death”-with Michael Dunn and Richard Kiel


Disc 6- 1. “The Night Of The Puppeteer”-with Lloyd Bochner and John Hoyt
2. “The Night Of The Bars Of Hell”-with Elisha Cook
3. “The Night Of The Two Legged Buffalo”-with Dana Wynter and Nick Adams
4. “The Night Of The Druid’s Blood”-with Don Rickles

Disc 7- 1. “The Night Of The Freebooters”-with Keenan Wynn and William Campbell
2. “The Night Of The Burning Diamond”
3. “The Night Of The Murderous Spring”-with Michael Dunn and Norman Fell
4. “The Night Of The Sudden Plague”-with Theo Marcuse

Extras

Disc 1: Audio Commentary on “The Night Of The Inferno” by Robert Conrad
Original Pilot Opening
Original Pilot Bumpers
Ross Martin Sketch
Pilot Promo
Audio Interview with John Kneubuhl creator of Dr Loveless
Audio Interview with Ethel Winant (Casting Executive)
Audio Intros to each episode on this disc

Disc 2: Audio Intro Blooper
Audio Interview with Fred Freiberger (Producer)
Audio Intros to each episode on this disc

Disc 3: Robert Conrad and Ross Martin on “Every Day” 10/16/78 (08:22)
Audio Interview with John Kneubuhl

Disc 4: None

Disc 5: Audio Interview with Tim Smyth (Special Effects)

Disc 6: Audio Interview with John Kneubuhl
Robert Conrad’s Grandson Tristan Morts (Audio Only)

Disc 7: Audio Interview with John Kneubuhl
Original Network Promo
Theme Scoring Sessions (08:10)
Audio Interview with Richard Markowitz (Composer) (08:55)
Photo Gallery (26 Photos)
Eveready Commercial (0:30)


Verdict

What a great job done on this set! The second season is now available on DVD! If you love classic TV and Wild Wild West, get this set!!! I highly recommend it!



Rating: *****!

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