agentmelton
The Virginian first aired in September of 1962. It was the only western at the time to be in color with a full 90 minute format. It's lengthy time slot allowed for extensive character development and deep plots. The show attracted many famous guest stars of the time because of the amount of screen time that each would be allotted. Because of the shorter time of many westerns, guest stars were not allowed much screen time, as the time was badly needed for developing the central characters. However in The Virginian, there was plenty of time for everyone. The Virginian (James Drury) is the tough minded foreman of Shiloh Ranch, Medicine Bow, WY. He and his top hands especially Trampas are friends who help each outer out in times of trouble. Being weighted down with his many responsibilities, the foreman generally has a more serious nature to his character, and at a glance, might even seem standoffish. However, at heart, he was really a kind and generous person. *His true name was never revealed in the run of the show, which allowed for a sense of mystery to his character.Trampas was the fun loving cowboy who was the top hand at Shiloh for the entire 9 years of the show's run. Doug McClure succeeded in playing his role to perfection. He was an underrated actor who really did quite well. He was by far the most developed character in the series, and McClure was so popular that he along with James Drury were the only characters to appear as regulars for the entire run of the series. There were many more characters. A total of five ranch owners owned the ranch from 1962-1971. Their families came and passed with them, and many of them left no explanation as to their leaving. The producers rather chose to let the viewers imagine what might have been the destiny - or fate of the characters. The Virginian was the third longest running western in television history. Unfortunately, this show is overshadowed by the more famous and popular shows, Bonanza and Gunsmoke. Thanks to syndication by popular channels and DVD releases by Timeless Media Group, this show can now be enjoyed by people of all ages from everywhere.
dogsavvy
I'm a new fan. A lot of the shows finally airing on Encore or TvLand I've never seen. I'm glad I came home early one day & got the tail end of an episode of the Virginian. The characters grab you quick. It's hard not to be drawn in by James Drury's portrayal of The Virginian. His good lucks, ultra polite manners & always doing the right thing is wonderful. I really don't grow tired of watching this show. I bought Season I & II & often times take them with me to work & listen to them at my desk on a portable DVD player. Any time I bring the Virginian DVD's I end up with a passel of coworkers who drag their lunches & chairs into my office & offer to share lunch if they can watch with me during lunch hour!! Even some of the youngsters get drawn in & say, "Man, he's a cool dude" :) It's nice to be able to sit down & watch something that there are no age limit to who can watch. My husband's young grandson all the way up to my 88 yr old Grandma love it.And how many modern shows can you let the kiddies & adults without worrying that anyone would be offended??? I don't know if this is a spoiler or not but the abrupt cast changes left our household a little upset but so long as James Drury's in there we hope they keep putting the whole show out on DVD because the show is much loved & will be watched & shared for many years to come!!!! It's highly recommended viewing. I love Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Loredo, Cheyenne, The Daniel Boone Series & now The Virginian is fast becoming my favorite! Every time I watch I fall a little more in love with The Virginian.
rcj5365
"The Virginian" was without a doubt one grand amazing ambitious series which made use of its first class actors and some of the most magnificent piece of location Technicolor photography ever assembled for a brilliant television series which kept its viewers tuned in for 90 minutes during the impressive nine seasons that it stayed on the NBC-TV network from its premiere in 1962 until its final episode in 1971.Based on the classic novel by Owen Winsler,the series is set on the Shiloh Ranch in the Wyoming Territory of the 1800's and the goings on within the town of Medicine Bow. In its early years,and within the first five seasons,the series had five main characters:Judge Henry Garth(Lee J. Cobb),the owner of the Shiloh Ranch,which was a great big cattle ranch in Wyoming who was also the not only the town Judge but the District Attorney as well;his innocent young teenage daughter Betsy (Roberta Shore);the Virginian(James Drury),his heroic foreman Trampas (Doug McClure),and the assistant ranch hand Steve(Gary Clarke). The relationship between these five individuals,as they were developed and testing were providing the most affecting and amusing moments,and later on during this series new characters would be added on to provide support. It was also during the early years of the show that "The Virginian" was rise to the top of the Nielsen ratings,and to anyone's surprise rack up several Emmy nominations for actors Lee J. Cobb and James Drudy not to mention the show's theme song for musical composer Percy Faith. During its initial run,the show was always in the top ten and it stood shoulder to shoulder among the television Western giants like "Gunsmoke","Bonanza",not to mention "Rawhide",and the courtroom drama "Perry Mason".The series gave us strong,intelligent stories,which could be either tragic or light-hearted,and most often the direction was either imaginative,and sometimes even poetic,but still this series was one action-packed show full of unexpected excitement and breathtaking suspense along with some comedical support in some of the episodes which were directed with excellent timing by some of the best in the business. However,throughout its entire run,only actors James Drudy and Doug McClure stayed on the series until the final episode in 1971. As for the special guest stars on this series,this show had them,and some of them appear in either one or two episodes within the 90 minute time frame. In some of the episodes you got to see Hollywood greats like Bette Davis and Lee Marvin and in some episodes you get Charles Bronson, James Coburn,Richard Anderson,Telly Savalas,Arthur Hunnicutt,John Dehner,David Hartman,Lee Majors,Pippa Scott,Stewart Granger,Diane Baker, Inger Stevens,Harry Morgan,Brian Keith,George C. Scott,Pete Duel,Hari Rhodes,Harrison Ford,and the list of the guest star roster goes on and on with very familiar actors doing the "Stagecoach" routine each week.As the series went on the issues of the day were very informal subjects ranging from injustice,racial prejudice,individual responsibility and the necessary for compromise were explored,and during the final years of the series the name of "Shiloh" came to stand for something for the virtues of tolerance,compassion,and courage and optimism as well the respect of mankind were the objectives of the day,and this show delivered the goods. Compared to other Western shows of that era,"The Virginian" was well acted and for one,it had a lot of heart and like other shows it knew exactly when to call it quits beforehand. Most recently,this series is now on The Hallmark Channel,and for those who never seen this series,it is a worth seeing every weekend where Hallmark shows back to back episodes of this series. Not to missed!NOTE:"The Virginian" was produced by Revue Studios/Universal Television and it produced an astounding 249 episodes,all in color during its impressive nine year run on the NBC Network.
