Classic TV: How The West Was Won (1977)

As a genre, the Western was dying a slow death on television in the 70's, and it was thought to be over once Gunsmoke was retired to Boot Hill in 1975 after 20 seasons.

Less than a year later, James Arness was back in The Macahans, a 2-hour TV movie for ABC. 13 months later, it went to series as How The West Was Won, which lasted three seasons total, with barely more than two dozen episodes.

Arness top-lined as former Army scout Zeb Macahan, who moved his family from Virginia to Oregon as the series progressed. The supporting cast included Richard Kiley, Eva Marie Saint (season 1), and Bruce Boxleitner (currently on Supergirl chewing up scenery). Because of the lack of episodes, the series hasn't seen the light of day since it ended in 1979.

Arness would land one more series, McClain's Law, for NBC, and would work on some Gunsmoke reunion movies.

Here's a sample intro.



Decent stuff, but there had to be other reasons why, financial or otherwise, why either ABC or MGM was so unwilling to commit to full seasons.

Rating: B-.