The Wild Wild West

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The Wild Wild West is an American Science Fiction/Spy/Western television series that runs on the CBS television network for four seasons (104 episodes) from September 17, 1965, until April 4, 1969. Two television movies were made with original actors in 1979 and 1980, and the series was adapted for a film in 1999.

Developed at a time when western television lost ground to the spy genre, the event was conceived by its creator, Michael Garrison, as "James Bond on horseback." Stipulated during the administration of President Ulysses Grant (1869-77), this series follows the Secret Service agents James West (Robert Conrad) and Artemus Gordon (Ross Martin) as they solve the crime, protect the President, and thwart the megalomaniac criminal's plan to take over all or part from the United States.

The show features a number of fantasy elements, such as technologically advanced devices used by agents and their opponents. The combination between the Victorian time frame and the use of Verne-esque technology has inspired some people to give show credit as one of the "more obvious" origins of the steampunk subculture. These elements are further emphasized in the 1999 film adaptation.

Despite the high ratings, the series was canceled towards the end of the fourth season as a concession to Congress over television violence.

Video The Wild Wild West

Plot

The Wild Wild West tells the story of two Secret Service agents: James West is fearless and handsome (played by Robert Conrad), and Artemus Gordon (played by Ross Martin), a brilliant gadget maker and undercover expert.. Their mission is to protect President Ulysses S. Grant and the United States from all sorts of dangerous threats. Agents travel luxuriously on their own wagon, Wanderer , equipped with everything from stable cars to labs. James West has served as an intelligence and cavalry officer in the US Civil War on Ulysses Grant's staff; His "cover", at least in the test episode, is "cool, high roller from the East." After that, however, there is no pretense, and his reputation as the ultimate Secret Service Agent often precedes him. According to TV movies, West retired from the Service in 1880 and lived on a farm in Mexico. Gordon, who was a captain in the Civil War, was also in show business. When he retired in 1880 he re-emerged as the head of a group of Shakespeare travel players.

This show combines classical Western elements with espionage thrillers, alternative science fiction/historical ideas (in the same vein as what would later be called steampunk), in one case of horror ("The Night of a Human Restaurant") and a lot of humor. In the James Bond tradition, there are always beautiful women, smart gadgets, and delusional arch-rivals with a mad half plot to take over the country or the world.

The title of each episode begins with "The Night" (except for the first season episode of "Night of the Casual Killer", which omits a definite article "The"). It follows other special naming conventions defined by events like Rawhide , where each episode title begins with "Incident at" or "Incident," and The Man from UNCLE , at where the episode is titled "The (Blank) Affair."

Maps The Wild Wild West

Character

Lead

Robert Conrad starred as James West. Before Wild Wild West , Conrad played Tom Lopaka's private eye on the ABC Hawaiian Eye during the four seasons, 1959-63. Conrad claimed to be the 17th actor to test the role of James West. (Rory Calhoun was originally announced for the section.) Conrad performs almost all his own action on The Wild Wild West . "For the first few episodes we tried stuntmen," Conrad explains, "but the setup time slows down production, so I volunteered." All started moving faster when I took the leap and spill. Initially he was duplicated by Louie Elias or Chuck O'Brien.

On January 24, 1968, however, during the filming of "The Night of the Fugitives", Conrad fell 12Ã, ft (3.7 m) from a chandelier to a concrete floor and experienced a concussion. As a result, the series production (which is nearing the end of its third season) ended two weeks earlier. Conrad spent weeks in the hospital, and was experiencing a long-lasting recovery that slowed by dizziness constantly. The episode finally finished and aired during the fourth season, with recordings of the remaining fall. Conrad later told Percy Shain of the Boston Globe, "I have a whole scene in the movie.This is a constant reminder, to be careful.This also reinforces my determination to make this my final year in a series. is enough for this kind of thing. "

Artemus Gordon is played by Ross Martin. Before Wild Wild West, Martin co-starred in CBS series. Lucky from 1959 to 1960, described the sidekick of Mr. Lucky, Andamo. The series was created by Blake Edwards, who also acted as Martin in his films Experiment in Terror (1962) and The Great Race (1964).

Martin once referred to his role as Artemus Gordon "a show-off show" as it allows him to portray more than 100 different characters during the series, and perform dozens of different dialects. Martin sketches his ideas for characterizations and works with makeup artists to execute the final look. Martin told Percy Shain of the Boston Globe, "In the three years of the show, I have played a much wider gamut than even the well-known undercover teacher, Paul Muni and Lon Chaney.Sometimes I feel like one I think I have proven to myself and to the industry that I am the # 1 lead actor in today's movies. "The industry recognizes Martin's work with an Emmy nomination in 1969.

Martin broke his leg in the fourth episode of the season, "The Night of the Avaricious Actuary". He dropped the rifle, stepped on it, and his legs rolled over him. Martin told Percy Shain of the Boston Globe, "In the scene where I was injured, my stand-in tried to finish it.When the skin came out of the gun, it caught it in the eye and burned We still have not finished the scene It must wait until I can move again. "

A few weeks later, after completing the "Fire and Brimstone Evening", Martin suffered a heart attack on August 17, 1968. (This was exactly two years after Michael Garrison died.) Martin's character was temporarily replaced by another agent played by Charles Aidman (four episodes) Alan Hale, Jr. and William Schallert. Aidman said the producers had promised to rewrite the script for his new character, but this was only to scratch the name "Artemus Gordon" and write "Jeremy Pike" (the name of his character). Pat Paulsen is often considered a substitute for Martin, but he actually appears in one episode of Aidman, and his character will be present even if Martin appears.

Criminals

The most impressive swimmer in this event was Dr. Miguelito Quixote Loveless, a brilliant but brave dwarf and megalomaniac described by Michael Dunn. Initially he had two constant companions: a great Voltaire, played by Richard Kiel; and the beautiful Antoinette, played by the real-life singing couple Dunn, Phoebe Dorin. Voltaire disappeared without explanation after his third episode (though Richard Kiel returned in a different role in "The Night of the Simian Terror"), and Antoinette after the sixth. According to the film Wildfire West Revisited, Loveless eventually died in 1880 from ulcers, brought on by frustration because his plan was consistently thwarted by the West and Gordon. (His son, played by Paul Williams, then seeks revenge on the agent.)

Although some actors appear in some malicious roles, only one other character has a second encounter with the West and Gordon: Count Manzeppi (played flamboyantly by Victor Buono, who plays again, different villains in the pilot), a cruel genius of "black magic "and crime, which - like Dr. Loveless - has an escape plan in the end. (Buono finally returns in the Wild West Wild as Henry Messenger, a parody of Henry Kissinger, who was finally handcuffed and turned invisible to the evil Paradine.)

Agnes Moorehead won the Emmy for her role as Emma Valentine in "The Night of The Vicious Valentine". Other villains are described by Leslie Nielsen, Martin Landau, Burgess Meredith, Boris Karloff, Ida Lupino, Carroll O'Connor, Ricardo Montalban, Robert Duvall, Ed Asner, and Harvey Korman.

While the authors of the show created their fair share of criminals, they often started off with a nasty, stylish invention of crazy (or madwomen) and then wrote episodes to utilize this device. Henry Sharp, series consultant, will make a preliminary design sketch (eccentricly numbering every sketch "37"), and sketching a writer, who will build the story around him. The episode was also inspired by Edgar Allan Poe, H. G. Wells, and Jules Verne.

Repeating character

• Miguelito Quixote Loveless (Michael Dunn): Ten episodes. The enemy of the agents.
• Colonel Richmond (Douglas Henderson) Ten episodes. Western controllers and Gordon at Secret Service.
• President Ulysses S. Grant: Seven episodes. (James Gregory in pilot, Roy Engel afterwards.)
• Antoinette (Phoebe Dorin): Six appearances. Girlfriend without a lover, often seen playing piano or stringed instruments and singing duets with Loveless.
• Jeremy Pike (Charles Aidman): Four episodes. One of several agents paired up with Jim during Artemus's absence in the fourth season. Appeared in the last episode of Loveless, "The Night of Miguelito's Revenge."
• Tennyson (Charles Davis): Three episodes. Butler/West valet during the first season.
• Voltaire (Richard Kiel): Three episodes. A giant guard without love. (Kiel also plays Dimos Buckley on "The Night of the Simian Terror.")
• Count Carlos Mario Vincenzo Robespierre Manzeppi (Victor Buono): Two appearances. A dark magic master and team leader chosen by the killers. (Buono also plays Juan Manolo in "The Night of the Inferno," the first episode, and Henry Messenger in "More Wild Wild West," the final production.)
• Frank Harper (William Schallert): Another agent who worked with Jim in the fourth season. She appeared in the episode only two part series, "The Night of the Winged Terror." (Schallert appeared in two other episodes as different characters.)

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Production

Creation, writing and filming

In 1954, Michael Garrison and Gregory Ratoff bought the movie rights for Bond's first Ian Fleming novel, for $ 600. CBS purchased TV rights for $ 1,000, and on October 21, 1954 broadcasted an hourly adaptation on the Climax series! , with Barry Nelson playing the American agent 'Jimmy Bond' and Peter Lorre playing as a villain, Le Chiffre. CBS also approached Fleming about the development of the Bond TV series. (Fleming then contributed the idea to NBC The Man From U.N.C.L.E. )

In 1955, Ratoff and Garrison bought the rights to the novel forever with an additional $ 6,000. They propose an idea for a film to 20th Century Fox, but the studio rejects it. After Ratoff died in 1960, his widow and Garrison sold the film's rights to Charles K. Feldman for $ 75,000. Feldman eventually produced the spoof of Casino Royale in 1967. At that time, Garrison and CBS had brought James Bond to television in a unique way.

The premiere episode, "The Night of the Inferno", was produced by Garrison and, according to Robert Conrad, cost $ 685,000. This episode was written by Gilbert Ralston, who has written for a number of episodic TV series in the 1950s and 1960s. In later deposition, Ralston explained that he was approached by Michael Garrison, who "says he has ideas for series, good commercial ideas, and wants to know if I can paste western hero ideas and James Bond types together at the same event. "Ralston said he later created the character of the Civil War, the format, the outline of the story and the nine draft script of the pilot that became the basis for the television series. That is the idea, for example, to have a secret agent named Jim West who will perform a secret mission for President Ulysses S. Grant. (Ralston then sued Warner Bros. over the 1999 film Wild Wild West based on the series.)

As Robert Conrad indicated in his DVD commentary, the show underwent several changes in the manufacturer in its first season. This was apparently due to a conflict between the network and Garrison, who had no experience producing television and had problems in the budget. At first, Ben Brady was crowned producer, but he was diverted to Rawhide, who had his own crisis when starring Eric Fleming stopped at the end of the 1964-65 season. (The series lasted for thirteen episodes before being canceled by CBS.)

The network then employs Collier Young. In an interview, Young says he saw the series as the The Rogues set in 1870. ( The Rogues , which he produced, is about fraudsters who cheat swindlers, like the series of years 1970s Young Switch also claims to have added the word "Wild" to the title of the series, which is simply "The Wild West" in the early stages of production. Young takes three episodes (2-4). The shows featured a butler named Tennyson who traveled with the West and Gordon, but because the episodes were not broadcast in the production sequence, the characters appeared at different times during the first season. Conrad does not regret seeing Young go: "I do not mind, all the guys are creatively the second 'wild' in the title." CBS is doing the right thing. "

Young's successor, Fred Freiberger, returned the series to its original concept. It was in his watch that writer John Kneubuhl, inspired by a magazine article about Michael Dunn, created the heinous criminal Dr. Miguelito Loveless. Phoebe Dorin, who acts as Loveless's assistant, Antoinette, recalled: "Michael Garrison came to see our nightclub action when he was in New York Garrison told himself, 'Michael Dunn will be the most extraordinary criminal. never seen anything like him before, and he's a great little actor and he's so cute.'And, Garrison feels, if Michael Dunn sings in every show, with that girl, it's going to be an amazing villain.He came backstage and he told us who he was and he said he would do a television show called Wild Wild West and we would be called in. We thought, 'Yes, yes, we've heard all that before.' But he called us and the show was a great success, so it started, because he saw the nightclub act. "Loveless was introduced in the sixth episode produced, but the third television episode," The Night the Wizard Shook the Earth. " The character becomes a hit soon and Dunn is contracted to appear in four episodes per season. Due to health problems, Dunn can only appear in 10 episodes, instead of 16 episodes.

After ten episodes (5-14), Freiberger and executive producer Michael Garrison, according to Variety, went unceremoniously, purportedly due to a power struggle behind the scenes. Garrison was replaced by Phillip Leacock, executive producer of Gunsmoke, and Freiberger was replaced by John Mantley, an associate producer at Gunsmoke . A surprising exchange of both players and crew. Garrison, who owns 40% of the Wild Wild West , knows nothing about the change and is not consulted. He handed the matter over to his lawyers. Freiberger said, "I was fired for finishing what I have rented, I was hired to pull the show together while in chaos." Conrad said, "I was really surprised by it, let's face it, the show is healthy, I think Fred Freiberger is really right in the concept of the show.This is an administrative change, for what reason I do not know."

Mantley produced seven (15-21) episodes then returned to his original position in Gunsmoke, and Gene L. Coon took over as an association producer. At that time, the Garrison conflict with CBS was resolved and he returned to the role of executive producer. Coon, however, left after six episodes (22-27) to write First War, in Warner Bros.'s 1967 film. about the Marines. Garrison produced the last episode of season 1 and the first episode of the second season.

Garrison returns away for the help of Ross Martin, who once revealed that he was very disappointed during the first season that he tried to stop three times. He explained that Garrison "saw the show as a Bond spoof held in 1870, and we all knew where we were standing.Any new producer tried to stamp it on the show and I had a tough fight I fought them line by line in every They know they can not change James West's role so much, but it's an open season on Artemus Gordon because they've never seen anything like him before. "

On August 17, 1966, however, during the production of the new ninth season episode, "The Night of the Ready-Made Corpse", Garrison fell down the stairs in his home, broke his skull, and died. CBS brought Bruce Lansbury, brother of actress Angela Lansbury, to produce the show for the rest of her journey. In the early 1960s, Lansbury was responsible for daytime performances at CBS Television City in Hollywood, then vice president of programs in New York. When he was tapped for Wild Wild West, Lansbury worked with his twin brother, Edgar, to produce a legitimate theater on Broadway.

The first season episodes were filmed in black and white, and their tones were darker. Cinematographer Ted Voightlander was nominated for an Emmy Award for his work on one of these episodes, "The Night of the Howling Light." The next season was filmed in color, and the show became a camping ground.

Wild Wild West was filmed at CBS Studio Center on Radford Avenue in Studio City in San Fernando Valley. The 70-acre land was once the home of Republic Studios, specializing in low-budget movies including Western starring Roy Rogers and Gene Autry and Saturday morning series (the Wild Wild West). CBS has a wall-to-wall lease on the lot that started in May 1963, and produced the Gunsmoke and Rawhide there, as well as Gilligan's Island. The network bought much of the Republic in February 1967, for $ 9.5 million. Started in 1971, MTM Enterprises (led by actress Mary Tyler Moore and her then husband, Grant Tinker) became the main tenant of the Studio Center. In the mid-1980s the streets and sets of the west were replaced with new sound stages and urban facades, including the New York streets seen at Seinfeld. In 1995 the set of lagoons originally built for Gilligan Island was paved to create a parking lot.

Among the iconic locations used for filmmaking are Bronson Canyon ("Night of the Returning Dead" S02E05) and Vasquez Rocks ("Night of the Cadre" S02E26).

Exercise

For the pilot episode, "The Night of the Inferno", the producer uses Sierra Railroad No. 3, a decent 4-6-0 locomotive, an anachronism: Sierra No. 3 was built in 1891, fifteen to twenty years after the series was set. The tape of this train, with 5 replacing 3 on its license plate, was shot in Jamestown, California. Famous for his role as Hooterville Cannonball in the CBS series Petticoat Junction , Sierra No. 3 may appear in more movies and TV shows than any other locomotive in history. Built by Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works in Paterson, New Jersey.

When the Wild Wild West went into series production, however, a completely different train was employed. Locomotive, 4-4-0 named Inyo, built in 1875 by Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia. Originally a wood burner, Inyo was converted into oil in 1910. The Inyo, as well as an express car and passenger car, initially served Virginia and Truckee Railroad in Nevada. They are among the V & amp; which was sold to Paramount Pictures in 1937-1938. The Inyo appeared in many films including High, Wide, and Handsome (1938), Union Pacific (1939), The Marx Brothers' Go West (1940), Meet Me at St. Louis , (1944), Red River (1948), Disney The Great Locomotive Chase (1956) and McLintock! (1963). For Wild Wild West , Inyo's original number plate was temporarily changed from No. 22 to No. 8 so that the train trailer could slip horizontally without the number appearing reversed. A snapshot of a moving and idling Inyo was fired around Menifee, California, and reused in almost every episode. (The Sierra Sierra No. 3 trailer sometimes reappears as well.)

This train is only used for exterior shooting. The luxury interior of passenger cars is built on Stage 6 at CBS Studio Center. (Both Stage 6 or western streets still exist.) Designed by art director Albert Heschong, the reported set cost $ 35,000 in 1965 (about $ 250,000 in dollars 2011). The interior was redesigned when the show switched to colors for the 1966-67 season.

The interior of the railway is also used in at least one episode of Gunsmoke ("Death Train," aired January 27, 1967), and at least in two episodes of The Big Valley ("Last Train to the Fair, "aired April 27, 1966, and" Days of Wrath, "aired January 8, 1968). All three series were filmed at CBS Studio Center and shared other exterior and interior sets. In addition, the interior is used for episodes of Get Smart ("The King Lives?", Aired January 6, 1968) and short-lived ("Funny Money," aired September 8, 1975).

After he ran on the Wild Wild West, Inyo participated in the Centennial Spike of Gold in Promontory, Utah, in 1969. The following year appeared as a replica of the Central Pacific "Jupiter" locomotive on the Spike Gold National Historic Site. The state of Nevada bought Inyo in 1974; it was restored to the vintage 1895 year, including a wider pile of smoke and a new pilot (cow catcher) without a drop coupler. The Inyo is still operating and is featured at the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City. Express cars (No. 21) and passenger cars (No. 4) are also in the museum.

Other locomotives V & ampel veterans, Reno (built in 1872 by Baldwin), were used in two TV films The Wild Wild West . The Reno, which resembles Inyo, is located at Old Tucson Studios.

The 1999 Wild Wild West movie using Baltimore & amp; Ohio 4-4-0 No. 25, one of the oldest steam locomotives operating in the US. Built in 1856 at Mason Machine Works in Taunton, Massachusetts, later renamed The William Mason in honor of its manufacturer. For his role as "The Wanderer" in the film, the machine was sent to a steamboat on Strasburg Railroad for restoration and repainting. Locomotive taken out for B & amp; O Train Museum in Baltimore "Steam Days".

The Inyo dan The William Mason keduanya muncul dalam film Disney The Great Locomotive Chase (1956).

Gadget

Wild Wild West features many, often anachronistic, gadgets. Multiple recurring devices, such as a weapon of a Western arm or a separate snatcher hidden in the heel of his left and right boot. Others appear in just one episode.

Most of these gadgets are hidden in Western clothes:

• Arm weapons (a Remington Double Derringer), are displayed in many episodes as an unexpected hidden carry alternative to a full-sized, open-sized revolver. In some episodes, the arm that pulled out the device pulled out other useful gadgets, such as a small tin containing acid, iron climbing spikes, knives, and various blades.
• Remington Derringer is desperate. Typically the framework (grip and trigger mechanism) is located on one hollow boot heel, while the double barrel assemblies are located on the other heel; both pieces were tied and locked. The bullet was removed from the secret compartment in his belt, or the chambers had been pre-loaded.
• A loose torch, hidden in the heel of a hollow shoe. ("The Night of the Raven"))
• Lock-pick or passkey hidden under the bolero-style jacket collar.
• The throwing knife is hidden in a pocket on the back of the jacket.
• Various explosive devices (eg smoke bombs, impact flares, gas grenades, anti-lock locks, explosive putty, acid dissolving steel balls, burning wood, etc.) are carried in a suit of pants, belt buckles, hats, a secret compartment in the holster, and an empty heel from one or both boots. Various lengths and types of fuses are sewn to the ends of his jacket or waist pants.
• Flat bare metal spikes (pitons), with cables, wires or wires attached. Pythons fit either muzzle derringer or revolver and fired into wooden beams or walls. West will then use a pulley with a handle to zip-line over the obstacles. The equipment is usually carried in a lot of pockets inside his jacket.
• Small cranes driven by motors. When used in conjunction with pythons and wires, the winch can lift it up, onto the roof of the building for example, or lower it into the hole.
• Thin telescopic gauge rods (similar to modern long car antennas). When fully extended, the West could investigate about ten feet around it. He uses this to investigate and trigger a trap in the Secret Service training room depicted in "The Night of the Janus".
• A spring knife, swing out (switchblade) under the bottom of his boot box. ("The Night of the Glowing Corpse"; "Night of the Fly Pie Pie"; "The Night of the Watery Death")
• A glass cutter with a suction cup. A cut arm is rotated to count the glass in a complete circle and the suction cup is used to remove the cut pieces. ("Night Camera")
• Wire is thin but strong, rolled and mounted in the inner lining of the crown of his hat; The wire has many uses, and is even capable of sawing through steel rods.
• Battery powered drills (or springs), which in one episode are about the size of a large avocado and are used to help the Western escape from a metal cage.
• The Western saddle is fitted with a dynamite mine. ("The Night of the Returning Dead"))
• The kit bag, which when opened inflates a large balloon for shock and disorientation for a few seconds. ("The Night of Fire and Brimstone")
• Miniature player recorder that gives realistic shots when played. ("The Night of Fire and Brimstone")
• A bulletproof vest. ("The Night of the Thousand Eyes"; "The Night of the Glowing Corpse"; "The Night of Dr Loveless Died")
• Tear gas/bomb smoke. ("Dying Night of Dancing")

Take the train:

• Remote controls under a desk that automatically locks the railcar door. {"Night Inferno"}
• Statue of a metal knight on a table that hit the bell when a hidden alarm was triggered.
• A mobile telegraph set is hidden in a fake book set on a table.
• The recording player "Victoria". {Error continuity since it was discovered almost twenty years after the 1870s!}
• Two pistols on a rotary wood stand on a table, activated and controlled by a button in the fireplace. ("Bubbling Death Night")
• Fireplace hides secret escape doors and emergency beacon signals; also has a side rack for chemicals and a primitive telephone funnel for communication with the machine. At least one episode shows a pistol concealed behind the side door panel of the rack ["The Night of the Feathered Fury"].
• Several pistols, rifles, rifles, and other assorted weapons are mounted on the tug panel hidden on the train. A sliding closet located in the same area contains clothing and other useful equipment.
• A panel hidden on a rotary table depending on the episode will show a map of the United States; whiteboard; some pistols on the panel. Depending on the episode, the gun or gun will be hidden under the turntable. One episode shows that once the statue on the turntable is turned upside down, it will unlock the secret panel that hides a small, safe wall. {"Tartar Night"]
• A small glistening disco ball hanging on a table that can lead to hypnosis in a friendly young woman ["The Night of the Tartar"]
• The pool table under the power lines connected to the signal lights at the rear of the railway carriage (the pool tab connected to the wire can turn the lights off if moved). ("The Night of the Inferno"))
• Clockwork-powered capture device used by Gordon.
• Stables for two dove pigeons. In the test episode, the pigeons (named Henry and Henrietta) are placed in a compartment above the door in the same room where the West usually dresses and equips him. In the next episode, the poster pigeon is usually in the compartment above the fireplace.
• A decorative lion head spewing KO gas when triggered. ("The Night of the Big Blackmail"))
• A toy train connected to pieces the size of West and Gordon's head. ("The Night of the Big Blackmail"))
• Elastic wire in clock. ("The Night of the Poisonous Posey")
• A joke of a snake joke on a humidor cigar ("The Night of the Iron Fist")

More gadgets:

• An exploding pocket watch.
• Exploding billiard balls (cue ball in series pilot episodes, but sometimes also other balls).
• The gestures stick with the hidden rapier inside. ("The Night of the Inferno" [pilot episode])
• A gesture that fires a bullet. ("The Night of the Inferno" [pilot episode])
• The stage coach with two ejector seats - one inside and one outside the coach {nod to 007 Aston Martin James Bond}. ("The Night the Wizard Shook the Earth")
• The chemical compound found by Gordon that can support human weight for 20-60 seconds ("Night of the Shining Night"; "The Night of the Big Blackmail"))
• The telegraph mechanism in a stick.
• The inflatable torch disguised as a cigar.
• Incognito mask rubber (similar to Mission Impossible ) for heroes and criminals.
• Bazooka net thrower. ("Big Bang Night")
• Gas mask with air supply 5 minutes. ("The Night of the Glowing Corpse")
• Gas mask. ("Night Pie Pie Fly")
• Sticks that serve as mortars. ("The Night of the Bottomless Pit")
• Gas Knockout in a stick. ("The Night of the Burning Diamond")
• Gas knockout in an apple. ("Brain Night")
• Knockout gas in balloons. ("The Night Dr. Loveless Died")
• Knockout gas in clay pipe ["Deadly Bubble Night"]
• Knockout gas water in a bottle of selzer ["The Night of the Feathered Fury"]]
• Revolver/flare weapon to illuminate the dark cave. ("The Night of the Returning Dead"))
• Magnetic coins that explode when exposed to heat ("Aqueous Death Night")

Criminals often use the same creative gadget, including:

• Devices to trigger an earthquake. ("The Night of the Human Trigger")
• The brainwashing technique uses strong light and sound.
• A cyborg. ("The Night of the Steel Assassin"))
• Android. ("The Night of Miguelito's Revenge")
• A flamethrower cannon. ("The Night of the Flaming Ghost")
• Early firefighter. ("Death Circus Night")
• Puppy-powered human-powered puppets. ("The Night of the Dalang")
• Jars that preserve the human body without body to utilize their inner knowledge and power. ("Druid Blood Night")
• Clothes are treated with chemicals that burn victims. ("Druid Blood Night")
• Germs that disable the victim for 48 hours. ("Evening Plague Night")
• The explosion is strong enough to destroy the city block. ("The Night the Wizard Shook the Earth")
• A metal cage connected to the lightning rod. ("Night of Thousand Eyes")
• Juggernaut, steam-powered tank, shaped wedge with a batter. ("The Night of the Juggernaut")
• Ingredients, made from molten diamonds, which allow a man to move very quickly so it does not look. ("The Night of the Burning Diamond")
• A hallucinogen such as LSD, which can drive humans into pride to kill the madness. ("The Night of the Murderous Spring")
• Cathode ray tube (television) plus prototype aircraft, car, penicillin. (The Night the Wizard Shakes the Earth)
• Torpedo disguised as a dragon capable of orbiting radio signals. ("A Waterproof Night of Death")
• Style terrain that destroys everything in contact with it. ("A Waterproof Night of Death")
• Medicines that are capable of shrinking humans to a height of six inches. ("The Night of the Raven"))
• Exoskeleton shirts of armor. ("Green Terror Night")
• Devices that trigger tidal wave. ("The Night of the Deadly Bubble")
• The sonic tool that allows the painting to be used as a portal to another dimension. ("Night of Surreal McCoy")
• Crystals that, when grown in the brain and destroyed by high-pitched sounds, cause the subject to turn into a criminal. ["" Night of the Winged Terrorism - Part I "" Night of the Terrorist Winged Witch - Part II "]
• A giant eagle cannon, capable of destroying a small town with one shot. ("The Night of the Falcon")
• Giant tuning forks creating a destructive sound wave. ("The Night of the Avaricious Actuary")
• Modified locomotives with big bats to collide with upcoming trains and thwart them. "(Sleep Night Sleep")
• The dead body of a living (similar to the Frankenstein monsters) turns into a human bomb. ("Great Explosion Night")
• A steam-powered spinner. ("The Night of the Big Blackmail"))
• A pair of large metal arms with a lethal electric field. ("The Night of the Eccentrics"))
• Periscope is a great direct action to spy on. ("The Night of the Eccentrics"))
• A flying pie dish "(balloon containing flares). (" Night Pie Pie Night ")
• Knockout gas masks. ("Night Pie Pie Night")
• The gas gun shot. ("Night Pie Pie Night")
• Knockout drug gun ["The Night of the Feathured Fury"]]
• Stage trainers with knockout gas cylinders. ("Night of the Mask"; "The Night of the Diva")
• Hammer bombs. ("The Night of the Poisonous Posey")
• Diamonds end up toxic. ("The Night of the Poisonous Posey")
• The gun organ rotates. ("The Night of the Poisonous Posey")
• Robe from medieval armor. ("Green Terror Night")
• Explosive glass ball. ("Green Terror Night")
• The explosive head of the explosive. ("Green Terror Night")
• Pile that carried the balloons that set fire to the forest. ("Green Terror Night")
• Computer pull-on machine. ("The Night of the Vicious Valentine"))
• The firing gun. ("Brain Night"; "Bogot Bandit Night"; "Night of Terrorism Winged, Part 1")
• Phosgene gas. ("The Night Dr. Loveless Died")
• Artificial iron feet (s). ("The Night of the Glowing Corpse"; "The Night of the Bottomless Pit")
• Minatare Grenade {"Feathery Anger Night"; "The Night of the Tycoons"]
• A $ 500.00 man and woman whose strength has increased by 1000% by robot pulleys implants ["The Wild west Revisted" movie; Spoof of the popular The Six Million Dollar Man and The Six Million Dollar Woman series!]

Theme music

The theme of the main title was written by Richard Markowitz, who previously composed the theme for the TV series The Rebel . He was brought in after the manufacturer turned down two attempts by film composer Dimitri Tiomkin.

In an interview by Susan Kesler (for his book, Wild Wild West: The Series) included in the first season DVD package, Markowitz remembers that the original Tiomkin theme "very, kind, traditional, seems wrong." Markowitz explains his own approach: "By combining jazz with Americana, I think that's what makes it.This takes it from the serious things Tiomkin is trying to do... What I do is basically write two themes: rhythm, contemporary theme, Fender bass and brushes, vamps, for cartoon effects and for West getting himself out of trouble, and the western heraldic outdoor theme over it, so they both work together. "

The session musicians playing on the theme are Tommy Morgan (harmonica); Bud Shank, Ronnie Lang, Plas Johnson, and Gene Cipriano (woodwinds); Vince DeRosa and Henry Sigismonti (French Horn); Uan Rasey, Ollie Mitchell, and Tony Terran (trumpet); Dick Nash, Lloyd Ulyate, Chauncey Welsch, Kenny Shroyer (trombone). Tommy Tedesco and Bill Pitman (guitar); Carol Kaye (Fender bass); Joe Porcaro (brush); Gene Estes, Larry Bunker, and Emil Richards (timpani, percussionist).

Markowitz, however, was never credited for his theme in any episode; it is believed that this was due to legal difficulties between CBS and Tiomkin over the recent rejection of the work. Markowitz did receive "music composed and performed by" credits for episodes he had printed (such as "Hell Bar Night" and "The Crow's Night") or where he provided most of the clues that were tracked (eg in "The Night of the Grand Emir "and" The Night of the Gypsy Peril "). He eventually received a "theme by" credit on both TV movies, which were printed by Jeff Alexander rather than Markowitz (some of the personnel of the series were involved with TV movies).

Graph

The sequence of the title of the animation is another unique element of this series. Created by Michael Garrison Productions and DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, directed by Isadore "Friz" Freleng and animated by Ken Mundie, who designed titles for the movie The Great Race and Secret TV Series, Rawhide, and Death Valley Days.

The screen is divided into four angle panels around a narrow center panel containing "hero" cartoons. The Hero, which looks more like a traditional cowboy than the West or Gordon, faces cliché characters and situations in every panel. In three seasons with color, the overall background is the abstracting of the United States flag, with the left panel blue and the other containing horizontal red stripes.

The original animation sequence is:

• The hero attacks the match, lights the cigar, and starts running in the profile to the right.
• Behind the Hero, in the bottom left panel, a robber retreats from the bank; The hero subjected him with a piece of karate to the rear.
• In the top right panel, cardsharp tries to pull the shovel aside from his shoe, but Hero pulls his gun and the cards drop.
• In the top left panel, a gunman pointed to six shooters in the Hero, who dropped his gun and raised his hand. Hero shot the gunman with his bastard's arm; the sniper's hand fell limp. Hero then quickly grabs his pistol and returns it to his holster.
• A woman in the lower right panels taps Hero in a hat with her umbrella. He pulled her close and kissed her. He pulled the knife but, mesmerized by his kiss, turned and slid to the side of the frame. He gave his hat a tip and walked away with his back to the camera. There are two versions of this sketch; this one appeared during the first season. When the show changes color, the Hero drops the woman with the right cross to the jaw. This variant also appeared on original pilot episodes (including on DVD releases) when the series was titled The Wild West . Nevertheless, James West never hit a woman in any episode, even though he struggled with many people. The closest he comes is when he slams the door against a gun that holds the Countess Zorana evil in "The Night of the Iron Fist". In "The Night of the Running Death" he strangled a woman named Miss Tyler, but "she" was a pulled man (actor T. C. Jones). The original animation, with Heroes winning women with kisses, is a more accurate representation of Western methods than the right cross. Ironically, this is another example of the emphasis on event violence.
• Hero walks into the distance, and the camera zooms in on the panel. The title Wild Wild West appears. The camera then sweeps the pot to the train illustration, with the name Conrad and Martin at the opposite end of the car.

The teaser section of the event is incorporated into The History Channel's Wild West Tech (2003-5).

Each episode has four innings. At the end of each round, the scene, usually a cliffhanger moment, will freeze, and the scene's sketch or photograph fades to replace cartoon art in one of four corner panels. The freeze-frame art style changed during the series. In all first season episodes besides the pilots, the panels were the live actions that were made to evoke 19th century engravings. In season two (first color), the scenes are dissolved into dark colors; from "The Night of the Flying Pie Plate" on, however, the panel is home to the Warhol-like serigraphs of the freeze-frame. The final credit is shown on top of the unique mosaic of each episode except in the last season, when the standard design is used (strangely, in this design bank robbers are unconscious, cardsharp has no cards and the lady is on the ground, but six shooters in the top left panel have returned ). The freeze-frame graph is shot at a facility called Animation Format. The pilot is the only episode where the Hero's center panel is replaced by a sketch of the last scene of an action; in the third round he was replaced by the cruel General Cassinello (Nehemiah Persoff).

During the first season, the title of the "Wild Wild West" series is installed in the Barnum font, which resembles a P.T. which is newer. Barnum. The following season, the title appears in a handwritten version of Dolphin (which resembles a new letter called Zebrawood, Circus, and Rodeo Clown). The name Robert Conrad is also set in this font. Ross Martin's name is set in the Bracelet font (which resembles a new font named Tuscan Ornate and Romantiques). All episode titles, writers and credit directors, guests and credit crews are set in Barnum. During the commercial break, the title "Wild Wild West" also appeared in Barnum.

Date given in series

The series is generally organized during the presidency of Ulysses S. Grant, 1869-77; occasional episodes show a more precise date:

• "The Night of the Glowing Corpse" was established during the Franco-Prussian War of 19 July 1870 - May 10, 1871.
• "The Night of the Steel Assassin" takes place during the July 4th Holiday.
• "The Night of the Eccentrics" occurred four years after the execution of 1867 from Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico, which was 1871
• In "The Night of the Eccentrics" Count Manzeppi humming "Ride of the Valkyries" which was first performed on June 26, 1870.
• "The Night of the Big Blast" takes place during New Orleans Mardi Gras
"The Night of the Man Eating House" states that Liston Day has been in solitary confinement for 30 years and then he was arrested on April 23, 1836. This will make it around 1866 three years before Grant's presidency begins.
• In "The Night of the Brain", Artemus Gordon shows James West newspaper dated July 12, 1872. The western state, "July 12, was an interesting date, but coincidentally tomorrow." After the events described happened, they again got the paper tomorrow and we saw the date: July 14, 1872.
• "Lord Limbo's Night" lasted seven years after the end of the Civil War, making it 1872.
• "The Night of the Tartar" took place five years after the purchase of Alaska in 1867 [i.e.1872]
• "The Night of the Whirring Death" opens with the text of San Francisco 1874 .
The Night of the Returning Death was set 13 years after the start of the Civil War of 1874
• In "The Night of the Flaming Ghost," West says, "If the real John Brown lives, he's nearly 75 now." Brown was born on May 9, 1800.
• In "The Night of the Arrow", a cavalry officer resigned from his commission on April 6, 1874.
• In "The Night of the Avaricious Actuary", the title of the letter displayed on the screen is dated 1875.
• In "The Night of the Underground Terror", the sadistic commander of the POW camp is said to have fled the court for ten years, possibly from the end of the war of 1865.
• In "The Night of the Samurai," Baron Saigo says Admiral Perry took the sword more than 30 years before. Assuming the date of Perry's first visit to Japan (July 8, 1853), that means the episode occurred after 1883 or about six years after the end of the Grant presidency.
• In the "Terror Night Lurking Night", Loveless has a tombstone prepared for the West, showing his birth date as 2 July 1842

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Cancellation and syndication

Some violent episodes for their time, and that, rather than low ratings, end up being the fall of the series (quote?). In addition to gunplay, there are usually two sequences of combat per episode. It was choreographed by Whitey Hughes and performed by Conrad and stuntmen stock companies, including Red West, Dick Cangey, and Bob Herron (which doubled for Ross Martin).

After he suffered a concussion movie "The Night of the Fugitives," the network insisted that Conrad postpone the double. (His chair on the set was recently written: "Robert Conrad, former stuntman, retired by CBS, January 24, 1968.") "[W] he I am back for my fourth season is limited to what I can do for reasons insurance, "Conrad explained. "So I agreed and gradually I did all the fights but could not do anything five feet off the ground and of course that went out the window." He was doubled by Jimmy George. Often, George will start acrobatics, like falling high or dive through a window, then land behind a box or turn off the camera, where Conrad is hidden and wait to finish the action smoothly. This same way is sometimes used by Ross Martin and Bob Herron.

It's a dangerous job. Hughes recalled: "We had a lot of collisions, we used to say, 'Roll down the camera and call an ambulance.'" Conrad recalled in 1994, "His injuries start at the top.Richrad Conrad: 6 inch skull fracture, temporal concussion, paralysis partial, Ross Martin: broken leg, broken skull for Red West, Broken leg for Jimmy George, Broken arm for Jack Skelly, and Michael Dunn: head injuries and spinal bones He's doing his own stunts and on and on. "

After the 1968 assassination Dr Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy, President Lyndon Johnson created the National Commission on the Cause and Prevention of Violence. One of his questions was whether violence on television was a contributing factor to violence in American society. (This also includes graphic news coverage from the Vietnam War.) The television network, anticipating these allegations, moved to reduce violence on their entertainment program prior to the start of the 1968-69 season. Television reporter Cynthia Lowrey, in an article published in August 1968, writes that Wild Wild West is one of a series of actions watched by network censorship for excessive violence scenes, even if the violence is all in enjoyment. "

However, despite CBS's mandate to bring down the chaos, "The Night of the Egyptian Queen" (aired on November 15, 1968) may contain the fiercest barroom fights of the series. A memo later attached to the shooting script "The Night of Miguelito's Revenge" (aired December 13, 1968) reads: "Note to Director: The producer respectfully requests that no violent action be described in the script or discussed earlier... especially stay away from unwarranted advertisements, such as slaps, pointing firearms or other weapons on a character (especially in close proximity), kicks and use of furniture and other objects in a fight scene. "Strict limits are placed on the so-called amount "violent acts" in the last episode of the season (and thus the series). James West rarely wore weapons, and rather than the usual punches, a fight involving throwing, parrying or blocking the body of criminals.

In December 1968, executives from ABC, CBS and NBC appeared before the President Commission. The most spicy of commissioners, Rep. Hale Boggs (D-La.), Denouncing what he calls the "Saturday morning theme of a children's cartoon show" that allows "good people to do anything in the name of justice." He also sued CBS for displaying sadism in the primetime program ( Wild Wild West later identified as an example). However, the congressman, praised CBS for a 25% reduction in the mainstream violence program compared to the other two networks.

Three months later, in March 1969, Senator John O. Pastore (D-R.I.) Called the president of the same network before the Senate communications subcommittee to be scolded by the public on the same subject. At Pastore's insistence, the networks promised a much tougher industrial self-censorship, and Surgeon General began a $ 1 million study for television effects. Congress concerns are shared by the public: in national polls, 67.5% of 1,554 Americans agree with the hypothesis that TV and film violence promote violence in real life.

In addition, the National Association for Better Broadcasting (NABB), in a report finally released in November 1969, was ranked "Wild Wild West" as one of the cruelest series on television.

After being criticized by two committees, the networks rushed to eliminate violence from their program. Wild Wild West received notice of its cancellation in mid-February, even before the Pastore committee convened. Producer Bruce Lansbury always claims that "It is a sacrificial lamb... It goes with 32 or 33 sections which at that time were almost broken, but always won the time period." This was confirmed by an article by Associated Press reporter Joseph Mohbat: "Events such as ABC's Outcasts and NBC's 'Outsider', which relies heavily on violence, are aborted.The CBS kills 'The Wild, Wild West' despite high ratings, due to criticism It's seen by the network as a gesture of goodwill. "The networks play it safely afterward: of the 22 new television shows that debuted in the fall of 1969, no western drama or detective; 14 is a comedy or variation series.

Conrad has been critical of Pastore for years, but in other interviews he admits that it may be time to cancel the series because he feels that he and the cast members are pushing their luck. He also felt that the role had hurt his skills. "In many roles I was a tough guy and I never made much progress," Conrad explained. " Wild Wild West is an adventure action I jump off the roof and spend all my time with stuntmen than any other actor I think that's the role it asks The role has no dimension other than what it is - a caricature of a That's a comic character. "

In the summer of 1970, CBS repeated several episodes of Wild Wild West on Monday at 10 pm. as a summer substitute for the Carol Burnett Show. This episode is "The Night of the Bleak Island" (airing July 6); "The Night of the Big Blackmail" (July 13); "Kraken Night" (July 20); "The Night of the Diva" (July 27); "Night of the Simian Accident" (3 August); "The Night of the Bubbling Death" (August 11); "The Night of the Returning Dead" (17 August); "The Night of the Falcon" (24 August); "Underground Terror Night" (31 August); and "The Night of the Sedgewick Curse" (7 September). Surprisingly, no one presented Dr. Loveless.

TV Critics Lawrence Laurent writes, "The return of the Wild Wild West even for a summer re-run is not surprising.CBS has never really wanted to cancel this series, because more than four years of running began in 1965 , Wild Wild West has become a strong winner in the rating.The cancellation comes mainly because CBS officials are worried about the criticism of the violence on television and to a lesser extent because Robert Conrad has grown a little tired with the role of James West.Since the rankings of last autumn CBS hopes to have maintained the Wild Wild West. None of the replacements were done nearly as well and, as a result, all Friday programs suffered. "

That fall CBS put the program into syndication, giving it a new life at local stations across the country. This makes the antagonist of the lobby more violent, because the program is now broadcast on weekdays and often after school. One group, the Foundation for Television Improvement (FIT), filed a lawsuit on November 12, 1970, to prevent WTOP in Washington, D.C., from broadcasting the Wild Wild West late in the afternoon at 4 pm. The lawsuit was brought in Washington, D.C., specifically to get government and media attention. The lawsuit says the series "contains fictional and horror violence harmful to the mental health and wellbeing of small children", and should not air before 9 pm. WTOP vice president and general manager, John R. Corporan, was quoted as saying, "Because programs specifically targeted at children are broadcast in the afternoon by three other TV stations, it is our goal to fight programs with non-directed programs in children. "US District Court Judge John J. Sirica, who later led the Watergate thief trial and ordered US President Richard Nixon to submit a White House tape, dismissed the lawsuit in January 1971, referring FIT to bring their complaint to the FCC. FIT appealed, but a year and a half later the US Court of Appeals upheld the decision of the district court that rejected the lawsuit on the grounds that FIT did not run out of the administrative efforts available to them. At that time, WTOP has stopped broadcasting the series altogether. At that time, the show aired about 57 other local stations across the country, including WORC in New York and WFLD in Chicago.

In October 1973, the Los Angeles-based National Association for Better Broadcasting (NABB) reached an important agreement with KTTV, a local station, to clean up 42 violent cartoon programs, including Mighty Mouse, Magilla Gorilla, Speed ​​â € " Wild Wild West, The Avengers, Batman, Man from UNCLE, Roy Rogers, Wanted Dead or Alive, and The Lone Ranger. In Los Angeles, such an event opens with a warning announcement: "Parents - we want to let you know that due to violence or other harmful elements, certain parts of the following program may not be suitable for children." NABB hopes to use the cartoon ban and warning announcements as a model for similar agreements with other local stations.

At that time Wild Wild West was running at 99 local stations. Its ongoing popularity throughout the 1970s prompted two television movies, Wild Wild West West Revisited (1979) and More Wild Wild West (1980) (see below). In the spring of 1985, the original series was still done at 74 local stations.

In the late 1980s this series was still seen at local stations in Boston, Hartford, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Los Angeles, among other cities. Significantly, WGN (Chicago), which performed at 10 am on Sunday, became nationally available on cable television.

In 1994, the Wild Wild West began operating on Saturday at 10 am on Turner Network Television (TNT), which prefers color episodes to black and white shows. The series is downgraded from WGN soon after. Hallmark Channel aired this series in 2005 as part of Western Saturday's slate, but fell after just a few weeks. In 2011 the series begins running weekdays and/or weekends on MeTV, then Sunday on the Heroes and Icons digital channel. In 2016 Wild Wild West returned to MeTV on Saturday afternoon. On January 1, 2018, MeTV began running back weekday work days, beginning with a second season episode (color). It also airs in the UK (in 2015) on the Horror Channel on Sky channel 319, Virgin channel 149, Freeview 70 channels and Freesat 138 channels.

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Episode

List of episodes

Movies TV

Conrad and Martin reunited for two television movies, (aired May 9, 1979) and More Wild Wild West (aired 7-8 October 1980). Revisited introduced Paul Williams as Miguelito Loveless Jr., the son of the enemy agents. (Michael Dunn, who plays Dr. Loveless in his original show, died in 1973). Loveless plans to replace clones for European heads and crowned US Presidents. (This plot is similar to the second-season episode "The Night of the Brain".)

Most of the exterior shooting takes place at Old Tucson Studios where there are still many "Old West" buildings and railways and functioning railways. Interior shot at CBS Studio Center. Ross Martin said: "We do many of the same sets in the studio, including the old railroad interiors, we use guns and gimmicks and the same outfit - with little waistlines, the script, unlike the old show, is played tight for comedy. us to be ten years older than when we were last seen.There's more laughter than adventure. "

More Wild Wild West was originally conceived as a rematch between agent and Miguelito Jr., but Williams was not available for the film; his character was changed to Albert Paradine II and played by Jonathan Winters - this explains why the story begins with various clones of the murdered Paradine (the first film ends with Loveless after cloning himself and placing a double around the world). Paradine planned the world's conquest using a formula for invisibility (remember the first season episode of "The Night of the Burning Diamond").

The two TV movies were much busier than the TV series, though Conrad and Martin played their roles directly. Both films were directed by veteran comedy Western director Burt Kennedy and written by William Bowers (in the latter case with Tony Kayden, from a story by Bowers); both Kennedy and Bowers did not work on the original series. Wild Wild West Revisited takes an agent to a town called Wagon Gap. This is a nod to Abbott and Costello's Wender Widow of Wagon Gap (1947), which is based on the care by Bowers and D. D. Beauchamp of the short story by Beauchamp.

Conrad once revealed that CBS intends to conduct an annual TV revival Wild Wild West. Variety in his review of the first TV movie, concurred: "Some more films in this case, at reasonable distances, can work in the future." Ross Martin's death in 1981, however , ending the idea.

Conrad was later quoted in Cinefantastique about these films: "We all got along well with each other when we did this, but I'm not happy with them just because the CBS imposed many restrictions on us, they never got to the level of what has been we did before. "

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Home media

The first season of Wild Wild West was released on DVD in North America on June 6, 2006 by CBS Home Entertainment (distributed by Paramount Home Entertainment). Though it's touted as a special 40th anniversary edition, it comes 41 years after the debut 1965 show. Robert Conrad recorded audio introduction for all 28 episodes of the first season, plus a commentary song for the pilot. The set also features an audio interview by Susan Kesler (for her book, Wild Wild West: The Series), and a 1970s recording of Conrad and Martin on a daytime talk show. The second season was released on DVD on March 20, 2007; the third season was released on 20 November 2007; and the fourth and final season was released on March 18, 2008. None of the next season's set contains bonus material. A set of se

Source of the article : Wikipedia