Cheap The Wild Wild West - The Complete First Season (DVD) (Gunnar Hellström, Larry Peerce, Lee H. Katzin, Mike Moder, Bernard McEveety (II), Paul Stanley, Jus Addiss, Lawrence Dobkin, Don Taylor, Richard C. Sarafian) Price
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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, Paramount 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
| CATEGORY: | DVD |
| DIRECTOR: | Gunnar Hellström, Larry Peerce, Lee H. Katzin, Mike Moder, Bernard McEveety (II), Paul Stanley, Jus Addiss, Lawrence Dobkin, Don Taylor, Richard C. Sarafian |
| THEATRICAL RELEASE DATE: | 17 September, 1965 |
| MANUFACTURER: | Paramount |
| MPAA RATING: | NR (Not Rated) |
| FEATURES: | Box set, Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD-Video, NTSC |
| TYPE: | Television, Westerns |
| MEDIA: | DVD |
| # OF MEDIA: | 7 |
| UPC: | 097368881648 |
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Customer Reviews of The Wild Wild West - The Complete First Season
"Great for Family Night." Great for family night. I watched 28 episodes on 7 discs and not one, four letter word in any of them. And no sex. WOW! Each episodes is full of action and drama. The episodes are well written with top acting. <
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>Something for the whole family. The kids will love it and the price is a steal. Try taking the family to the cinema for under $2.00 a movie. It is not going to happen. <
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>Paramount did a great job of digitally remastering each episode. Every <
>DVD has excellent picture and outstanding sound. BUY IT! BUY IT! BUY IT! If you like the wild wild West you will not be sorry. <
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The Wild West Version of James Bond
Spy movies with gadgets were very popular in the 1960's. Westerns were popular, though that popularity was waning by 1965. Michael Garrison combined the still popular western with the newly popular James Bond and created the "Wild Wild West." Robert Conrad was James T. West, the star of the show who did his own stunts and had an array of gadgets at his disposal, many of them courtesy of Artemus Gordon (the late Ross Martin), Jim West's equivalent of James Bond's Q. The show was occasionally campy, but it was fun and imaginative.
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>I had forgotten about many of the stars who appeared in the first season of this series. Though modern audiences may have forgotten many of these stars, they were very well known in the 1960's. Don Rickles played a criminal in one episode. Mild mannered Arthur O'Connell played a very different character in yet another episode. Even Burgess Meredith appeared in an episode. I could spend a page detailing the list of actors who guest starred in the first season of this show; Richard Kiel, Michael Dunn (who appeared in eleven episodes as Dr. Loveless), Nick Adams, Dana Wynter, Yvonne Craig, Richard Jaekel, Philip Ahn, Martin Landau, Leslie Nielson, Katherine Ross, John Barrymore (Drew Barrymore's father), Ruta Lee, Robert Loggia, Suzanne Pleshette, and Victor Buono are just a few of the dozens of guest stars.
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>The 28 stories are extremely varied. There are episodes that are nearly classic westerns. There are other stories that are highly imaginative spy stories. Yet others have a science fiction flavor to them. A few are also surreal in places.
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>Though many of the devices in this first season would eventually become real devices, in many cases the devices would not be invented for many years yet. The best example I can think of is the electric chair, which was not used until at least a decade after the era in which the series is set. Another example is a mobile tank, which did not appear until World War I.
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>Some of the devices used in the series were certainly possible, and appear as though they may have been "borrowed" from James Bond. James West's boots had compartments in the heels that could hide a derringer or other helpful equipment. James West also sometimes had a gun up his sleeve. There were smoke bombs and other high explosives. Perhaps the best device of all was the train on which Artemus and Jim traveled. The train had a small arsenal, a lovely room with a pool table and wet bar, and sundry devices helpful in repelling intrusions. Every western James Bond equivalent should have a train like the one in this series.
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>I was surprised and pleased at the quality of the DVD transfer and the sound. Both were excellent. I am glad the studio decided to release the first season in its original black & white rather than doing an artificial colorizing. There are also numerous extras, several of which I find very fascinating. There is a television interview with Robert Conrad and Ross Martin. There is also an old commercial with Robert Conrad asking you to knock a battery off his shoulder. One of the best features is an introduction to each episode by Robert Conrad.
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>I was a big fan of the television series when it came out. The series has aged. I find it much easier to pick out when sets are used. The special effects in many cases are no longer quite as special. Yet, the series remains charming and frequently very clever. I found myself intrigued by the method that Jim and Artemus used to get themselves out of each, almost impossible predicament.
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>"Wild Wild West" has joined the array of television shows that have become classic television. The show was inspired and creative. The show used its unique premise to come up with plots that few other shows could encompass. I enjoyed every moment of these DVD's and I look forward to watching them again.
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Hard to review...
...because I still haven't received it! First time Amazon's let me down, though.
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