The Wild Wild West - The Complete Second Season (1965) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)The second season of "The Wild Wild West" looks terrific in its DVD presentation with nice, bold colors. We get all 28 episodes of the second season included in this set. With guest stars such as Victor Buno, Richard Pryor (both in the first episode "Night of the Eccentrics"), Peter Lawford, Sammy Davis, Jr. and William Windom among many others. As with the previous set the season in housed in a cardboard box with discs 1-6 facing each other in slimline DVD holders. The 7th disc is in its own holder.
This season features many episodes for which the series became famous. In "The Night of the Flying Pie Plate" Jim and Artie face lovely green skinned Venusians but quickly discover that these aliens aren't what they appear to be on the surface. "The Night of the Rave" features Dr. Loveless in a plan to shrink the entire human race--except Loveless who will now be a giant and rule humanity. "The Night of the Big Blast" features a doctor who has resurrected the dead and changed them into duplicate of Jim and Artie to kill the President. In "The Night of the Lord of Limbo" Jim must track a kidnapped Artie who appears to have been sent back in time aspart of a plan to change the outcome of the Civil War.
Sadly, it appears that Paramount put all the extras they're going to put out on the first set ofThe Wild Wild West - The Complete First Season This set comes without extras. We get some fantasy themed episodes as usual with "The Night of the Lord of Limbo" in which Jim must find Artie and is taken on a strange journey through time. "The Night of the Surreal McCoy" features Dr. Loveless' evil plan to transport murderers into his faked masterpieces and then use them to kill important people and "The Night of the Big Blast" in which duplicates are created of Artie and Jim from two dead people and sent on a mission to assassinate President Grant.
There are also plenty of episodes that focus much more on more traditional spy western adventure plots but always with an unusual twist. That's what made "The Wild Wild West" so unique; the willingness of the producers/writers to introduce a mix of different genres within the show. As usual Robert Conrad and Ross Martin are both superb in their roles. Conrad did many stunts on the show later earning special recognition from the stuntman's guild.
As with the first season the plots are vary from more conventional James Bond-like episodes to the surreal ones I've mentioned. A pity that no one was asked to provide commentary for any of these episodes. While most of the cast are deceased, we could have used a commentary by someone who studies TV and the impact of the show or, at the very least, someone who knows trivia about the show. I have no complaints for the most part however because Paramount has done a terrific job making sure these transfers look top notch and clean in their presentation here. I didn't find many of the episodes quite as dark here as some of the early black and white episodes of the first set. The Wild Wild West - The Complete First Season

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Wild Wild West - The Complete Second Season (1965)

James West and Artemus Gordon are two agents of President Grant who take their splendidly appointed private train through the west to fight evil. Half science fiction and half western, the Artemus designs a series of interesting gadgets for James that would make Inspector Gadget proud. A light hearted adventure series.

Get 27% OFF

Click here for more information about The Wild Wild West - The Complete Second Season (1965)

Read More...

The Wild Wild West: The Complete Series Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)"The Wild Wild West" was a terrific show. CBS/Paramount has released the series in this entire season format. The show looks extremely good and the extras (only on season one except for the "bonus disc" but we'll get to that in a moment)are good as well. The big issue is the packaging. The box is certainly attractive look but it's basically the size of a board game box. When you open the inside the 27 discs are split into seasons 1 & 2 and 3 & 4 in what appears to be 2 cardboard "saddle bags" where they slide into it and are held in place with tiny cardboard inserts. The discs could be pretty easily scratched in this cheap packaging. Whoever designed this should be sent back to design 101--it's clever IF the quality of the materials were good but they're not--and it is a pain if you want to store this with some of your other DVD season sets. The saddle bags are sunk into a plastic older again making it look a bit like a board game (which is perhaps the purpose). There is a strip reprsenting the pix from the opening along the top. There is also a booklet that notes what episodes are on each disc.
The "bonus" disc has the two TV movies which should have been included as an extra on the fourth season box set (but was withheld so fans would have to double dip to get the two TV movies). Although the box claims they have been digitally restored, they look like simply transfers and while they don't necessarily look bad, they could have used the clean up given to the season sets. There are lots of white streaks and splotches that appear on the first TV movie and the openining 10 or 15 minutes for the 1980 sequel looks WORSE with the image a bit muddy and image quality darker than the 1979 TV movie. I was never a huge fan of the TV movies as they are more in line with "Support Your Local Sheriff" the movie starring James Garner. That's because both TV movies were written and directed by the same team who did that movie and "Support Your Local Gunfighter". It's nice to see both Robert Conrad and Ross Martin in their roles again but both movies while they have the humor that was characteristic of the series, certainly lack something. The producers must have gotten a bargain on stock footage for nuclear bombs exploding as it appears several times in both TV movies.
The first TV movie "The Wild Wild West Revisited" features Dr. Loveless' son (played by Paul Williams)planning to take over the world with replicas of the leaders of every major nation in the world. Both West and Gordon are called back retirement to prevent Loveless from using an atomic bomb (or something similar)that he has created planeted in the major nations of each country where he has replaced the leaders.
The second TV movie "More Wild Wild West" features the duo pulled out of retirement again to prevent Albert Paradine II (Jonathan Winters) from using his invisibility device from taking over the world.
Both films have nice supporting casts, some clever gags and nice interplay between Conrad and Martin but are a bit uninspired failing to capture the flavor of the original series at all.
I think it stinks that CBS/Paramount chose to release the TV movies only in the "The Complete Series" as they rightfully should have been included as part of the second, third or fourth season sets as an extra there. Regardless, my advice is to burn a copy when you're watching it on TV vs. ponying up additional cash for a package that while it looks nice isn't very sturdy.
If you haven't purchaed the other season sets this is an affordable one stop shop but the box itself is cumbersome and the materials a bit shoddy in my opinion (although it looks quite nice).

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Wild Wild West: The Complete Series

James West and Artemus Gordon are two agents of President Grant who take their splendidly appointed private train through the west to fight evil. Half science fiction and half western, the Artemus designs a series of interesting gadgets for James that would make Inspector Gadget proud. A light hearted adventure series that was a fan favorite.

Get 18% OFF

Click here for more information about The Wild Wild West: The Complete Series

Read More...

The Wild Wild West - The Fourth Season Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Witness if you will the fourth (1968-1969) and final season of "The Wild Wild West", still produced by Bruce Lansbury and that continues his updated and rugged treatment of the series with the paranoid political tales: "The Night of the Doomsday Formula" (guest starring Kevin McCarthy as the fanatical General Kroll) and "The Night of the Pistoleros" showing a future nations' conflict triggered by Mexican look-alikes of American military officers.
You will meet James West's new partners because Artemus Gordon is sent to Washington: secret agent/master of disguises Jeremy Pike (played by Charles Aidman) in four episodes ("The Night of the Camera", "The Night of Miguelito's Revenge" that is the last Dr. Loveless' offering, "The Night of the Pelican", "The Night of the Janus" that is Charles Aidman's best performance as Baron Klaus Esterhauser and in which we catch a glimpse of James West's training academy), secret agent/master of disguises Frank Harper (played by William Schallert) in the two parter "The Night of the Winged Terror", and chemist/agent Ned Brown (played by Alan Hale Jr) in the gloomy "The Night of the Sabatini Death".
Moreover, we will again foray into the off-centered and the macabre fantasies as the Hammer Productions-like "The Night of the Sedgewick Curse" dealing with the theme of the fountain of youth, the tribute to the classic "The Phantom of the Opera" in "The Night of the Diva" (Robert Conrad even sings "Buffalo Gals" with his friends Richard Cangey and Red West) and a veiled reference to Conan Doyle's "The Hound of the Baskervilles" in "The Night of the Bleak Island", and two Jules Verne-oriented ones in "The Night of the Kraken" (which highlights a Captain Nemo type of character) and "The Night of the Winged Terror, Part I & II" (describing a secret organization of subversive mad scientists ruled by a hypercephalic mastermind).
One episode, directed in late season 3, depicts Robert Conrad's tragic fall while performing his stunt: "The Night of the Fugitives" (guest starring Simon Oakland).

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Wild Wild West - The Fourth Season

James West and Artemus Gordon are two agents of President Grant who take their splendidly appointed private train through the west to fight evil. Half science fiction and half western, the Artemus designs a series of interesting gadgets for James that would make Inspector Gadget proud. A light hearted adventure series.

Get 20% OFF

Click here for more information about The Wild Wild West - The Fourth Season

Read More...