Maverick

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tinker
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Joined: November 25th, 2012, 10:56 pm

Maverick

Post by tinker »

I hope it is okay to start a new thread. I searched and could not find one.

I have just been watching the new DVD's of the second season of Maverick and wondered if anyone else had seen them. Season one was pretty good but the second season was really brilliant. Its amazing despite not very good production values, (indoor sets and stock footage) just how well the series stands up. James Garner was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good as Maverick, getting away with mugging for the camera. ( Not as much as Magnum but pretty good). The stories are funny, some with a really good shock to them. One I watched last night was based on a Richard Sheridan play ( and stared a young Roger Moore who was either not as tall as he looked in James Bond or James Garner really was alot taller than I realised). Very funny episode with Bret exchanging identities with a rich young man who wanted to be loved for himself and not money, while all Bret wanted to do was use the fancy name to gamble at an exclusive casino ( which of course didn't happen). There was also an unusual episode which had Bogart look alike Gerald Mohr in something that was a cross between Gilda and Casablanca.

Another laugh out loud episode was a spoof on Gunsmoke with Marshall Mort Dooley, and assorted lame deputies, old doctors and female saloon keepers who all owned percentage in the saloon, but the percentages never quite added up to 100% . Miss Amy/(Kitty's only lines were to tell Mort to be careful. Maverick defeats Marshall Mort in a gunfight by the simple expedient of staying out of shooting range. Love the way Maverick often wins by calling out the western myths. Bart and Bret have a very funny relationship,loving brothers who take each other out. Bret and Bart are playing cards on a train. Roger Moore leans over to tell Bret that Bart is cheating. Bret replies " Of course he is, he's dealing". And of course there is the famous episode where Bret does nothing but sitting on the porch saying he is working on getting even with the bad guy while Bart does all the running around.


Lots o of pappyisms. I might have to watch it again just to list them all. Fun villains and conmen turning up all over the place. I think Dandy Jim (Efram Zimbalist) is my favourite but Gentleman Jack ( Richard Long) is pretty good too. Clint Eastward is a villain on one episode.

When you remember old series as great you often get disappointed when you see them again. Not Maverick. It really is as good as I remember it.




dee
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[b]How did I get to Hollywood? By train.[/b] (John Ford)
RedRiver
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Re: Maverick

Post by RedRiver »

This is a show I watched regularly as a child; only a few times in recent years. It holds up remarkably well. This is thanks, in large part, to the presence of one extremely likeable player. It's no surprise that James Garner went on to a career that really never got old. This was no one man operation. The writing was fresh, especially for that era. The resolutions surprisingly non violent. Characters so irrascible you can't take any of it too seriously! Most of the old TV westerns look pretty pale by today's standards. Some throw morality in your face like a Sunday sermon. This one rolls right along like the bell ringing riverboat of the delightful theme song. This "legend of the west" still entertains.
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JackFavell
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Re: Maverick

Post by JackFavell »

Ah, Maverick is a gem! I hope these become available on Netflix soon. Of course James Garner is THE draw, but I like Bart too. Great writeup, dee!
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Rita Hayworth
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Re: Maverick

Post by Rita Hayworth »

RedRiver wrote:This is a show I watched regularly as a child; only a few times in recent years. It holds up remarkably well. This is thanks, in large part, to the presence of one extremely likeable player. It's no surprise that James Garner went on to a career that really never got old. This was no one man operation. The writing was fresh, especially for that era. The resolutions surprisingly non violent. Characters so irrascible you can't take any of it too seriously! Most of the old TV westerns look pretty pale by today's standards. Some throw morality in your face like a Sunday sermon. This one rolls right along like the bell ringing riverboat of the delightful theme song. This "legend of the west" still entertains.
Excellent Write-Up of that Show, I love Maverick too.
Maricatrin
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Re: Maverick

Post by Maricatrin »

I don't think I've ever met anyone who said they didn't like Maverick. It's quirky enough to appeal to non-western fans, but in a way is best appreciated by western fans, who'll pick up on all the in-jokes.

"The Rivals", "Shady Deal At Sunny Acres", and "Gun-Shy" are three gems that have been mentioned already, but a few others that come immediately to mind are: "Pappy" (James Garner in a duel role, as his own father), "A Fellow's Brother," which cleverly spoofs nearly very western cliché in the book (you'll see the same jail-bar gag later in "Support Your Local Sheriff"), and "The Saga of Waco Williams", where Bret tries, unsuccesfully, to teach the impossibly heroic Waco that discretion is the better part of valor (the plot was reworked later on "Rockford" with almost as hilarious results in "White on White and Nearly Perfect".)
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movieman1957
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Re: Maverick

Post by movieman1957 »

Quite a few years ago before I had really seen "Maverick" but knew a good deal about it I bought a copy of Clint Eastwood's "Unforgiven." To my surprise in the special features there was a "Maverick" episode he did. It was an episode called "Dual At Sundown."

Since I have only seen whatever Encore Westerns showed but that wasn't very much. I always assumed Rockford was a variation on Maverick. Rockford does have a better form of transportation.
Chris

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RedRiver
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Re: Maverick

Post by RedRiver »

The younger Garner often played a variation on the sly, mischievous schemer. While watching THE ART OF LOVE, my mom said, "Looks like Maverick is up to his old tricks!"
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mrsl
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Re: Maverick

Post by mrsl »

.
I adore James Garner in anything he does and Maverick was his very best. But later in 1981-1982, he made another series named Bret Maverick, which was about Bret, now a ranch owner, and half owner of the Red (something?) saloon in town. His co-star was Ed Bruce and the two of them carried on the tradition of the Maverick style of tongue in cheek dialog and dry humor. I never saw it when it played originally played, but I caught the whole series on the METV channel a couple of years ago. It was truly worth seeing with all the outrageous plans he had for getting certain things done, like a psuedo Sting operation in the saloon, and other choice tidbits. If you have a chance to rent it or get a cheap copy of the DVD 2 seasons, I advise doing so, because you will definitely not be sorry you did.
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Anne


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