The Wild, Wild West might have been set in the post-Civil War America of the late 19th century, but had elements that suggested not only the influence of, say, Jules Verne, but also Ian Fleming's master secret agent, James Bond. Some might say the series was the forerunner, or the father, of the steampunk genre of fiction.
Federal agents James West (Robert Conrad, ex-Hawaiian Eye) and Artemus Gordon (Ross Martin, ex-Mr. Lucky) were tasked by President Ulysses S. Grant to investigate some of the most bizarre crimes of the era. On a few occasions, the duo were menaced by Dr. Miguelito Loveless (Michael Dunn), who made up for his small stature with a brilliant, though misguided, mind and a love of music. In the opener, however, the villain of the piece is Count Manzeppi (Victor Buono). The season 1 DVD also includes an early appearance by future comedy legend Richard Pryor, for those who might be interested.
Right now, though, here's the intro most people know:
Barry Sonnenfeld's feature film version from 1999, with Will Smith as West and Kevin Kline as Gordon, was understandably a bomb. CBS managed to do a couple of TV-movie reunions that made for more entertaining viewing than that.
Rating: A.
6 comments:
I enjoyed this show - though it wasn't until it was shown on Nick @Nite (and I think it was also on E-Westerns) before I had a chance to see it.
Conrad and Martin were a great team and you're right in making the steampunk comparisons. James Bond was the order of the day, but westerns were still quite popular so some genius at the network thought they'd make a great combo.
A direct descendent of this show would be The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. It had many of the same elements but a bit more tongue in cheek.
As for the film version - yes, like many of the cinematic remakes of classic shows, it wasn't that good; even Will SMith couldn't save it. When the cast was first announced for the film, my dad and I couldn't help but think Smith was miscast - that her might have made for a better Artemus Gordon.
There have been times when I thought I would have liked to have seen a sequel series of sorts. Perhaps Artie's daughter, Artemis Gordon would team up with the son (or daughter) of Jim West and go into some turn of the last century action.
If only someone in Hollywood had your vision. Brisco County is on the docket for down the road for a review, though I believe it didn't even last as long as Wild, Wild West did. It did introduce TV viewers to Bruce Campbell, though.
"Brisco" lasted for one season - but the season lasted for about 30 episodes - longer than the typical TV series.
I had known of Bruce Campbell (thanks to the "Evil Dead" films), although this was the first time I remember her from TV. He truly made the character!
30+ episodes used to be the standard in the early days of television. Brisco County wanted to take us back to those days, but it was on the wrong night.
A very belated correction:
Victor Buono did not play Count Manzeppi in the Wild Wild West pilot.
That appearance was the first episode of Season Two, when the show switched to color.
And that was the show in which Richard Pryor made his acting debut (Pryor plugged this spot on talk shows at the time; he always called his co-star "Victor Bruno").
For the record, Victor Buono is in the original West pilot film from 1965, in black and white (as was that whole season); his role in that show would require a spoiler warning, but that's another story ...
I've checked Wikipedia, and you're right, Mike. Buono only did two episodes as Manzeppi, who ranked 2nd on the villain list behind Loveless.
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