BoomerGer
I always watched The Rifleman because I was as old as Johnny Crawford was and I put myself in his shoes. MY dad was always trying to point out that somewhere in each show there was a "point" to be made. That point being made to impress me and help me go thru life without screwing up, which I have so far and I'm now 70! Lucas and Mark made a great team of what you would expect a western series to make during the time of transition to color. I was sorry to see The Rifleman end, but equally excited to see what Branded was all about. Chuck now playing a loner/drifter with all of his hair cut to a butch certainly was different. I often wondered why the sword "broke" when it should have "bent". I often wondered why he just didn't settle down in some quiet, out-of-the-way town and remain anonymous. I wondered why I never saw a lot of the second season episodes. Were they going to cancel the show that quick? I wondered a lot of other things, but there were also many other westerns to wonder about, too. Have Gun, Will Travel was one such with mysterious Paladin and the almost hidden icons and double meanings in the story line. Maverick and The Rebel, and oh so many more. Reading these comments and the description of Rifleman/Branded and reading the comments has made me want to find the Branded series on DVD so I can watch it over again. Heck, I can watch The Rifleman everyday on METV that is available thru DirecTV, but to be able to satisfy my curiosity about watching Branded over again to see what I missed has peaked my curiosity. SEE YA!
classicsoncall
I've been reading with interest the postings by other reviewers for "Branded" and have been chomping at the bit to get my two cents in, but I wanted to complete watching the series before proceeding. Many of the comments seem to be based on a mistaken belief that Jason McCord, the 'coward of Bitter Creek', spent his post-War years traveling the West in an attempt to clear his name. Actually, the events of Bitter Creek were brilliantly told in the second show of the series titled 'The Vindicators'. In the story, it's revealed that McCord's commanding officer, Major James Reed, had been going senile and was mentally incapacitated at the time of the battle. McCord attempted to relieve him of command on that basis, as the Major refused to order a retreat in the face of overwhelming odds against one hundred forty Apaches. As a see-saw argument ensued, Reed was killed by an Apache arrow, and the military camp was over-run. McCord was wounded and remained unconscious for ten days following the battle, and was the only one who survived while thirty one soldiers died.Third in command at Bitter Creek was a soldier named Pritchett who regularly corresponded with his wife, and his letters vindicated McCord. He confirmed that Reed's condition had been growing worse over time. Newspaper reporter Travis (Claude Akins) wanted to tell the true story for the New York Herald, and approached Mrs. Pritchett (June Lockhart) for the letters. McCord also paid a visit to Mrs. Pritchett, and explained why the truth of Bitter Creek must never be told. Major Reed's vision was to secure a lasting peace with the Indian Nations, and if it came out that his judgment was discredited, war-hawk Senators in Congress would use that information to make war on the Indians again. In what has to be one of the most heart rending TV Western episodes ever, Mrs. Pritchett burns the letters and McCord willingly leaves disgraced rather than implicate his former commanding officer for the disaster at Bitter Creek.OK, so that's out of the way. "Branded" came out in 1965, a couple years after Chuck Connors' other successful TV Western, 'The Rifleman' came to an end in April, 1963. One of the interesting and fun things about the early Branded shows is catching the references to the prior series. For example, Connors' TV son Johnny Crawford shows up as a teenage deputy sheriff in Episode #1.7 - Coward Step Aside. At the opening of Episode #1.12 - Very Few Heroes, there's a wooden plank nailed to a tree that has the name 'Lucas' carved into it, that being Connors' name in The Rifleman, Lucas McCain. Then again, in #1.16 - Price of a Name - there's a bank manager who goes by the name Mr. Lucas. Additionally, Connors more than once reminds us of his former prowess with a sawed off shotgun by twirling his broken saber in the manner of Lucas McCain in a number of episodes.With TV transitioning from black and white to color in the early Sixties, "Branded" was no exception, but with a twist. The first season aired in black and white, however there was a three part story mid-way through that was done in color called 'The Mission'. That one featured Connors' real life wife at the time, the gorgeous Indian actress Kamala Devi. She later returned in the second season reprising the same character, but married to a U.S. Senator after having waited too long for McCord to return to her. The second season ran entirely in color.As with most TV Westerns, Branded relied on a great list of guest stars, and this one had quite an eclectic cast. I found singer Tommy Sands to be an unusual choice for a West Point cadet in Episode #1.14 - That The Brave Endure. Along the way, you also had fine actors like Burt Reynolds, John Carradine, Lee Van Cleef, Greg Morris, Bruce Dern, Ben Johnson, Peter Graves and Martin Landau, who was over the top as the brother of John Wilkes Booth in #2.34 - This Stage of Fools. But the most unusual name to show up, and the only time I've ever seen him outside of his American Bandstand element, was Dick Clark!, portraying famed circus impresario, J.A. Bailey, partner of Pat O'Brien's P.T. Barnum in #2.27 - The Greatest Coward on Earth. It wasn't a big role, but it was very cool to see him in the story.In summation, even though I wasn't a regular viewer of this series back in the day, I've become a fan of 'Branded' and Chuck Connors by virtue of a neat six DVD set from Timeless Video that contains all forty eight episodes along with extra material. For those of you who enjoyed "The Rifleman" for it's traditional Western stories, you might want to consider this series for it's more mature themes in a setting that borrows from history during the period right after the Civil War.
mbuchwal
In the moral and cultural wasteland of the 60's, this show was like pure poetry: a distillation of the best of the west. "Branded" is the story of a wandering loner/knight errant who must right wrongs everywhere he goes while on a quest after a seemingly unobtainable goal. Economical, hardboiled, the product of years of testing the action and adventure formula, "Branded" is a summing up of everything that ever worked for motion picture audiences dating back to the first silent film western. Unusually taut performances from the mature Chuck Connors in a role that was tailor made for him. Each episode introduces a new set of characters. No ensemble cast baloney and no hack writing. What I wouldn't give for a show this good today!
raysond
Even though this series is rarely shown in some areas,Chuck Connors follows up on his "Rifleman" series with a western that only ran two seasons on NBC-TV from January 24,1965-April 23,1966 producing 48 episodes and afterwards was never heard from again..until now. "Branded" was the type of show that gave Chuck Connors astounding ability to pass as both hero and villain,but in this one he is regarded as a coward for deserting his troops during an Indian attack,and that is just half on if,but we viewers know differently. I had a chance to check out one of the episodes watching a late night flick on TV,and in this episode Connors is captured by hostile Indians,gagged and bound while being forced to duel to the death,and in another one Connors fights off a gang of outlaws who want to turn him in for money which they want to hang him,but he manages to escape from great danger(this episode was in black and white). All of the scenes have Connors barechested and this a far cry from his days as Lucas McCain on "The Rifleman". However some of the episodes were in color(and they're on videocassette),and it was that macho crap that underlay some westerns and this was one of those shows that didn't last very long.NOTE: During the show's first season,the episodes were shot in black and white(1965-66)while the second season episodes were in color(1966). The show was produced by NO other than game show veterans Mark Goodson and Bill Todman(the guys behind "The Price Is Right")and this was their first try at a weekly series(and the last time they will ever do so).
