The Western channel on Encore TV

[mrsl]

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Someone last week said they wished they had the Western channel. The one thing you have to be for this channel is a real western fan.

Following is a typical Monday through Friday:

5:00 a.m. to 8:30 or 9:00 a.m. Old TV western series like Maverick, Gunsmoke, Have Gun Will Travel, etc.

9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. all sorts of movies including new ones like Unforgiven ( Eastwood) and old ones like The Unforgiven. (Lancaster/Hepburn)

3:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Hour long TV shows like Cheyenne, The Big Valley, etc. These all change every 6 months or so, but they do start with the pilot and run in order through to when the show was cancelled.

7:00 p.m. through all night are more movies. The movies can be anything like Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, John Wayne circa 1930, or Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns. Also, movies are repeated at least 5 time during a 6 week period, but different ones are added all month long.

Noon Saturday through 5:a.m. Monday a.m. are movies 24/7. There are no commercials, and no commercial breaks. Between movies, often to fill in a 7 or 8 minute time span, they will have Bob Bowes "True West" spots, where they may talk about Old Tucson where a lot of movies were filmed. Tours of Monument Valley. Back stories from some of the TV shows. Right now, they're running stories by the cast of The Virginian.

I love the channel, but I love all western movies, although I get angry a lot at the plight of the American Indian. Beyond that however, my DVR is going sometimes 24/7 because if I'm watching TCM, I'm taping Encore, and vice-a-versa.

So think about it before you order. But I do know that at least one of the digital companies offers it for only $4.99 a month if you have one of the channels like HBO, or MAX.

Right now I'm going to watch the end of My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys, with Scott Glenn and 'our' Ben.

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[MikeBSG]

It is a fun channel. I absolutely love the "Gunsmoke" episodes they show.

[movieman1957]

I've been watching a lot of "Cheyenne" and since the morning news is getting to me I am having fun with "Gunsmoke."

My only problem with the channel is their film selection could use a little broadening. I want to catch "Lawman." I'd be happy to trade some of those old western shows for some of those bad "spaghetti westerns."

[knitwit45]

Talk about BAD spaghetti westerns.....I saw one listed with Henry Silva as an Apache warrior who helps a woman catch the men who "assaulted" her......YIPES!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had forgotten how violent those meatballs were. The movie is "Five Savage Men" and they weren't kidding. Keenan Wynne is the leader, and I don't think I'll ever be able to look at him in the same way ever again. The "assault" was vicious, and detailed....no cavalry to the rescue here. UGH. I wanted to see Henry Silva in action, and fast forwarded thru the worst parts, but this is one stinkaroo from beginning to the miserable, chilling end....

[mrsl]

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Chris and knitwit:

That's why I love this built in DVR system that AT&T UVerse has. I DVR everything now, then I watch when nothing better is on and I can fast forward through commercials, or if a really raw scene comes up, I can ff through that too. Dish Network has a very similar system too. I stay away from spaghetti westerns because of exactly what you described knitty. If it's not a rape, it's such bloody gunfights, I get nauseated watching.
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[movieman1957]

I've been watching "Cheyenne" in order on Netflix. (That's the way I do it.) However, the current run on Encore has the titles listed with "Bronco" and "Sugarfoot." There seems to be quite a few of these in the credits. But I can't seem to catch one where they are actually there. imdb only lists one episode with Ty Hardin (Bronco) in it.

So why all the credits listings when they aren't in the show?

Just curious.

[knitwit45]

Chris, the Yahoo! TV listings for an older show (NCIS, CSI LV) will sometimes list people not in that episode, but older characters that were once mainstays. Very confusing!

[movieman1957]

My guess is that they do the credits once and hang with them whether they are good or not. The closing ones are right but it must be too easy just to leave the opening credits the same through the year.

[mrsl]

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Someone said Clint Walker had a salary dispute with WB and tried to pull out for a while, so WB came up with Sugarfoot and Bronco to fill in until the dispute was settled. However it turned out isn't important now, but as it developed, the three shows rotated just as the Bret/Bart/Brent Maverick series did. I'm sure they will get to the Bronco and Sugarfoot shows sooner or later. I never cared a lot for Sugarfoot, but I did like Bronco Lane, though Sugarfoot may easily appeal more to me now in my dotage.
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[movieman1957]

I read that while looking into it. That happened in 1958 and these few I've seen lately seem to come later. (Today's aired in 1961.) It's funny that by now it is called "The Cheyenne Show." Leads one to think comedy or variety.

[jdb1]

I find all those old ABC Network Westerns hard to sit through now. The cheap production values, the fake-looking stunts, for the most part weak scripts, and the wildly anacrhonistic fashions all give me a pain. The one and only Warners gunshot sound effect used no matter what kind of gun was fired -- give me a break. If it weren't for the appeal of the stars, even un-buff Sugarfoot, I would never bother now. They all did have really good theme songs, though.

A good exercise is to watch something like Lawman or Cheyenne, and then watch similar in execution but far superior Have Gun Will Travel. Note the difference between a fill-the-time script, and a literate script; journeyman directing and cinematic directing; a pretty star, and a really good and charismatic actor. Go, Paladin!

[pvitari]

One of the best shows I saw on The Western Channel was Peckinpah's The Westerner, which starred Brian Keith as a saddle tramp wandering the west accompanied by his faithful dog Brown. One recurring character was a pal played by John Dehner. Unlike a lot of Westerns, this was a realistic look at life in the old west, with an average guy screwed-up hero who has a past he regrets and not all that much to look forward to. It tackled all sorts of issues that other shows wouldn't go near at the time. Unfortunately the ratings were low and it only lasted 13 episodes.

One of those companies that releases old TV shows should get the rights and release all the episodes in a box set.

A press release about the broadcast of the series:

http://www2.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stor ... 708&EDATE=

Westerns Channel Adds Rarely Seen Infamous 1960 Television Series 'The Westerner' to Sam Peckinpah Event in July

Part of Channel's 24-Hour Marathon Including Original Documentary

ENGLEWOOD, Colo., June 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Sam Peckinpah's "The Westerner" was way ahead of its time in 1960 and lasted only a half season. The Westerns channel has acquired all 13 uncut episodes of this extraordinary overlooked series to add to the upcoming July retrospective look at Peckinpah's film legacy in the genre for which he is most famous -- the Western. The pilot episode "Jeff" kicks-off the Peckinpah marathon on Saturday July 24th at 7:30 p.m., which culminates with the original documentary "Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade" premiering on Sunday July 25 at 8:00 p.m. Subsequent episodes of "The Westerner" will begin airing on Westerns in August every Saturday at 5:30 p.m. with an encore on Sunday at 11:30 a.m.

"The Westerner," which originally ran Friday nights on NBC starred Brian Keith (later to star in Peckinpah's first feature "The Deadly Companions") as Dave Blassingame, a hard-edged cowboy who rides into a filthy border town to rescue a young woman he'd known years before -- now a prostitute who's working in a grimy saloon involved in a seemingly sadomasochistic relationship with her domineering boss/sometimes lover. It's pretty heavy stuff, considering it was competing with shows like "Leave it to Beaver," "Ozzie and Harriet," "My Three Sons" and "The Andy Griffith Show." This ain't Mayberry country -- this is "Peckinpah's Playhouse" and nobody's playing nice.

As the show's producer, Peckinpah oversaw every aspect of the series from pre-production to airdates. He began assembling the actors and crewmembers who would work with him throughout his career, such as Dub Taylor, Warren Oates, Slim Pickens, Katy Jurado, R.G. Armstrong, and cinematographer Lucien Ballard (The Wild Bunch). Directors included Peckinpah, Andre De Toth (House of Wax), Bruce Geller (producer "Mission Impossible" and "Mannix"), and Elliot Silverstein (Cat Ballou). The teleplays were written by Peckinpah, Geller and Jack Curtis ("Rawhide").

When the show premiered on September 30, 1960, television audiences simply had never seen anything like it before -- a program that focused week after week on prostitution, rape, adultery, and grisly murders. It had a "hero" who faltered at every critical moment, made wrong decisions, and went on drunken sprees -- basically a hero who wasn't a hero at all. The President of NBC couldn't wait to cancel it, and in the end, Peckinpah called it a "successful failure."

According to Peckinpah biographer David Weddle, "The Westerner easily qualifies as the best half-hour Western series in the history of television -- no other contender even comes close."

"The addition of this rarely seen, fascinating curio to our July event adds a ribbon to the package and should be a true treat for Peckinpah fans," says Robert Leighton, president of Starz Encore Entertainment.

As part of the July 24-25 marathon, Westerns presents Peckinpah's "Major Dundee," "The Ballad of Cable Hogue," "Junior Bonner," "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid," "Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia," the pilot of "The Westerner," and the original documentary "Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade," exploring the Western films he directed. Those interviewed include actor/director Billy Bob Thornton, Benicio Del Toro, film critic's Roger Ebert and Elvis Mitchell, actors who worked with Peckinpah such as Harry Dean Stanton, Stella Stevens, L.Q. Jones, R.G. Armstrong, director Paul Schrader, personal assistant Katy Haber, and others. The personal side of Peckinpah will feature interviews with family members, sister Fern Lea, son Mathew, plus exclusive home movies and photos.

Westerns, whose slogan is "Saddle Up with the Legends(R)," is part of the Starz Super Pak and is available on cable and satellite systems throughout the country. Film and television cowboy icon Dennis Weaver has hosted the channel since 1997.

[mrsl]

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Judith:

I have no dispute with anything you have to say about the old WB western shows, but my interpretation of them is fun and a lot of giggles. Actually, often when someone gets shot, I look for blood that isn't there, which oddly is one of the reasons I prefer the oldies -- unlike today when blood is spurting everywhere, but that is how badly my mind has been warped by today's movies and TV. Sadly, thinking if I, at 65 have had my mind twisted in this way, I don't feel bad about complaining about violence affecting children. My goodness, if I'm looking for something bad, what is a 12 year old boy looking for in a horror movie?

But I digress, and I apologize. I see certain stories/plots rewritten several times for different shows. Abductions of nieces, or daughters/wives, plans for bank robberies, innocent men charged for stage coach robberies, or murders. You, as the audience know that if the abductee or innocent man is Cheyenne, Paladin, or the Virginian, all will be well by end of show, because after all, they've already filmed next weeks' show. I saw Kitty (Amanda Blake) wearing the same dress that Mara Corday wore in a movie, and the red plain jacket over the blue skirt that Laura Ingels wore, was on a lady in the background today on the Virginian. I've also seen Randolph Scott's horse several times in different movies and shows. His horse had the longest tail recorded at the time - it brushed the ground at times, and I've seen him often, so Randy wasn't the only one who rode him.

So, you see Judith, that's a lot of my pleasure in watching these old shows. I don't expect every one to have the same ideas that I have, but it is fun for me. Try putting yourself in mind of that little teenybopper who had a crush on that gorgeous hunk of male that you waited all week for, and you might enjoy the old shows better.
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[jdb1]

If you look for it, you'll also see the big light-colored horse that Lorne Greene rode in Bonanza in many other TV westerns and movies. I try to spot that horse the way we kids used to try to spot Whit Bissell in everything on the screen.

Oh, yeah, and I forgot about Hoss' hat, which was supposedly the same hat Bob Hope wore in Paleface, only on Hoss it didn't look oversized.

[JackFavell]

I started looking up movie and TV horses and their riders when I got interested in Ben Johnson. Certain horses were known for different things, like certain ones did falls, others were good jumpers. Here are a few sites you might enjoy:

http://www.wildwestweb.net/horses.html

http://horsefame.tripod.com/stunt3.html

http://www.fiftiesweb.com/horses.htm

http://www.b-westerns.com/hoss.htm