A Journal With Everything

Day 28 Give It A 100 TV Westerns

Westerns. What ever happened to westerns? They were so popular in the 60s, 70's and there were a few in the 80's. I wasn't a big fan of "Bonanaza" because there wasn't a female lead. This show needed a female lead. "Gunsmoke" had Miss Kitty. "The Big Valley" was a favorite of mine. It had two female leads. Victoria Barkley and her daughter Audra Barkley. There were three men who were the brothers who were quite good looking.. I loved the storylines, action and I wanted to be like Audra. I was ten years old and my grandfather and I watched this show together. I liked watching "The Rebel." It starred Nick Adams who wore his southern uniform from the Civil War and I don't mean a fancy officers one. He traveled from town to town and helped people. I fell in love with him when I was five years old. There was "The Guns Of Will Sonnet" and a young man and his grandfather tried to find his father who was an outlaw. They would get close but never found him. "Branded". A cavalary soldier who was stripped of his rank and kicked out of the army for a crime he didn't commit.

"The High Chapparral." A man, John Cannon, his wife, brother and son moved to Arizona and had a ranch and had to fight Apaches. The wife was killed and John Cannon had to married this rich Mexican man's daughter Victoria in order to keep his land. She was twenty years younger and they fell in love. Victoria's brother Manolito moved in with them because his and Victoria's father was over bearing. There were a lot of adventures in this show. I had lived in Arizona when I was four years old and we lived by Tucson where this show was later filmed. I wrote to Linda Crystal who played Victoria and I received an autographed picture of the cast. I will always cherish this. Mark Slade played the son Blue and he was so adorable.

"The Young Riders." These young men rode for the Pony Express. There was a girl Lou who rode with them but pretended to be a boy. Her parents had died and her your younger brother and sister were in an orphanage. She wanted to earn money to get them out to support them. Josh Brolin played in this and he is my favorite. There was a Native American guy, Cody, black guy, a deaf guy, a guy called the kid {who later marries Lou}, the sheriff Teaspoon and Rachael, a woman who was their housekeeper. They had a lot of adventures and they delivered the mail but not in every episode. I watch three hours of this show every Saturday.

There were other westerns and now everyone likes crime shows. Not me. I just watch "Hawaii 5-0." I miss westerns. I am glad to get then to watch them in reruns. The old west. All the men carried a gun. I hope there are others besidess me who loved westerns and misses them.

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