The Wild Wild West: Season 4

I have been a fan of the Wild Wild West since I was a kid. It's great to see that all the seasons are finally available on DVD. It won an Emmy and was nominated for 2 Golden Globes!! Like most successful TV shows it got better each year. What is interesting about TWWW is that is was a show that was way ahead of it's time. It was without a doubt the X-Files of the 60's.I firmly believe that the creator of the X-Files(Chris Carter) grew up watching The Wild Wild West! Robert Conrad was a health buff and trained in karate and boxing which allowed him to perform his own stunts that made Secret Service Agent James West that much more realistic. Even Ross Martin was an experienced stage actor which made Secret Service Agent Artemus Gordon believable. The show was an amazing mix of spy, western and sci-fi television and also was the first TV show to cross-mix with other successful TV shows - In episode #97, "The Night of the Sabatini Death", there was a tribute to the TV series, "Gilligan's Island" due to the fact that both Alan Hale Jr. (The Skipper) and Jim Backus (The Millionaire) were guest-starring on the episode. At the very end of the episode, Alan Hale's character said that he's going off to a deserted island for a vacation while a few notes of the Gilligan's Island theme song played in the background! That was cool to watch and again way ahead of it's time.The show's theme as well as the spellbinding music within made the show that much more intriguing and exciting. The humor that was introduced at times also added to the success of the show. On top of all this it introduced other stars into each episode. Robert Duvall, Don Rickles, Alan Hale Jr. Jim Backus, Boris Karloff, Victor Buono, Richard Prior, Jack Elam, Ray Walston, Willam Schallert,Agness Moorehead,Burgess Meredith,Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, Carol O'Connor,Ricardo Montalban,Suzanne Pleshette, John Astin, Martin Landau,Ed Asner,Ted Knight, Richard Anderson,Red West, Martin Brooks,Norman Fell and many more!!!Unfortunately however the movie remake of TWWW in 1999 starring Will Smith/Kevin Kline was an insult to not only the cast and characters of the original TV series but to the original series itself.However it now lives again on DVD and I suggest you check it out for yourself especially if you were a fan of the X-Files.

In the audio commmentary, Robert Conrad says that the series ended because of the concern that too much violence was being shown on television at the time the 4th season was in progress, this being 1968-1969. Sad, because everytime there is an uproar about something happening on TV, shows are cancelled and then within five years shows are worse than they were.I like the series because I saw it to be differnt from the other westerns that were airing in the mid 1960's. The mainstay of shows were human dramas set in a western US setting. The Wild Wild West was free-for-all approach to a western, blending technology, science, science fiction, the occult, adventure, action, pretty young ladies, humor, and wonderful character portrayals by Ross Martin. All of this wrapped up in a mystery to be unravelled as the show progress.Though I haven't seen every episode of the season, it seems that the shows are starting to lose something compared to Season 1. Some of the props and sets have been reused so much that they are instantly familiar, thus somewhat stale. But the plots continue to be interesting. Two of the most disappointing episodes are TOF Bleak Island and TOF Miguelitos Revenge. Bleak Island was fine except the attempt at the end to turn the story back on itself seemed very corny. Miguelitos Revenge was a very poor last episode for such a clever adversary as Dr. Loveless. The plot lacked the intensity of the earlier Dr. Loveless episodes and became poor attempt to introduce a science fiction element. The absence of Antionette and Voltaire was also disappointing. To properly tie up the Dr. Loveless legacy, I would have expected to see the clever Dr. once again plotting to get control of California, which is what he wanted in his first appearance in Season 1.Overall, Season 4 continues the tradition of the series. I wouldn't say it is better or worse than other seasons. The episodes still surprise me when I see the unique blend of elements. The ladies are still incredibly beautiful and Jim and Arty keep finding their way into the lair of the bad guys and putting them out of business.

It was my favourite show to watch on Friday nights. It's as corny as I remember.

The Wild Wild West is the most enjoyable TV show ever. The heroes are brave, resourceful and funny. The plots are mostly incredible. It's just a shame that Ross Martin was ill and so doesn't appear in every episode.

The fantasy/sci-fi element that characterised the previous seasons, especially 2 and 3, are not there anymore.The stories are still good but look more like other westerns.Plus Ross Martin was absent from many episodes due to health issues and he is sorely missed

best tv series ever made

This is an Xmas pressie for a friend but felt I should record that it arrived within 48 hours of ordering - great service!