Customer Reviews

Cheyenne - The Complete First Season

5 star:		(92)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Drifting from job to job, a foreman on a ranch, a trail scout for a wagon train, a recently deputized lawman encountering plenty of villains, beautiful girls, and gunfights. Cheyenne Bodie was a tall, strapping western adventurer in the days following the Civil War.

Cheyenne was based on a movie of the same name starring Dennis Morgan in 1947.

First aired on September 20, 1955 until December 17, 1962 for a total of 7 seasons and 108 episodes.

The cast and crew are:
*Clint Walker (as Cheyenne Bodie)
*L.Q.Jones (as Smitty 1955-1956)
*Russ McCubbin - The Stuntman for Clint Walker

The First season consisted of 15 episodes and they are as follows:
01- Mountain Fortress - Aired 9/20/55
02- Julesburg - Aired 10/11/55
03- The Argonauts - Aired 11/1/55
04- Border Showdown - Aired 11/22/55
05- The Outlander - Aired 12/13/55
06- The Travelers - Aired 1/3/56
07- Decision - Aired 1/24/56
08- The Storm Riders - Aired 2/7/56
09- Rendezvous at Red Rock - Aired 2/21/56
10- West of the River - Aired 3/20/56
11- Quicksand - Aired 4/3/56
12- Fury at Rio Hondo - 4/17/56
13- Star in the Dust - 5/1/56
14- Johnny Bravo - Aired 5/15/56
15- The Last Train West - Aired 5/29/56

I hope all seasons to be released soon after this season. Thank you for reading my review.

Kudos and a big thumbs up to Warner Bros. for releasing the 1st season of Cheyenne. Yes!!!
TV historians will tell you that this program was one of the first of the so-called "adult" westerns broadcast, it debuted just three nights after Gunsmoke.
Clint Walker was the epitome of a western hero,:6'6", rugged, broad-shouldered and a man of few words. The character of Cheyenne Bodie was a loner, a white man raised by the Cheyenne tribe. He roamed the old west, sometimes working as a lawman, wagonmaster,etc, always helping the weak.

Cheyenne, like many classic westerns, is from a bygone era when heroic characters were uncomplicated and always defeated evil in the end.

Lets hope WB contnues to release full seasons of its former stable of classic westerns like Bronco, Maverick, Lawman, Sugarfoot and The Dakotas. It would also be cool to see the release of WB detective shows like 77 Sunset Strip, Surfside Six, Hawaiian Eye and Bourbon Street Beat.

I have about 25 VHS tapes full of episodes of "Cheyenne" that I have taped off of the Good Life TV Network, where it aired from the late 1990's prime time and occasionally on weekend afternoons as well. The episodes were introduced by George Clooney's father, Nick, who usually gave a bit of trivia about the episode, the star, Clint Walker, or one of the many guest stars. As of 2004, the last time I had access to the channel, Clooney was still on the network, introducing "Cheyenne", as well as the other great black & white Warner Brothers westerns from the 1950's and early 1960's, like "Bronco" and "Maverick". The network also showed "Sugarfoot" and "Lawman", but only on weekends without Clooney's introductions.

"Cheyenne" remains my favorite of the old WB westerns, with Clint Walker a very unusual western star, given his immense size. One might wonder why any character would have dared to give him a hard time, but they did, and usually ended up worse for the wear. "Bronco" took over, off and on during Walker's lawsuit against WB. I enjoyed that one, too, as it had a lot of action. But Clint is the man, and I'm glad to see this series reaching DVD.

The first season does not feature the familiar theme song, which I believe does not appear until the second season. The first season theme song is pretty unmemorable, so be prepared for that. Also, you will find the first few shows of the series to be featuring character actor L.Q. Jones as "Smitty", Cheyenne Bodie's somewhat humorous sidekick. Jones is priceless in his own right and one of my favorite western character actors. However, this is Clint's gig, and the producers of the series soon found that out and the Smitty character is gone by the second season. So if you are a fan of the series or good TV westerns, this set is worth it, but in my opinion, the series got even better in the second season and beyond.

And just a note on "Maverick", which will likely be following soon on DVD. In my humble opinion, the opposite is true. My favorite season of "Maverick" is the first season, because I am more of a fan of action in a western than humor, and James Garner's first-season Bret Maverick is a more serious and kick-ass hero than in later seasons, where he loosens up a bit and the happy-go-lucky Maverick most people know and love gradually appears. Also, the vocal version (with words) of the great "Maverick" theme song does not appear in the first season. It's the same melody, but instrumental. In nearly all cases in nearly all of these great WB westerns, any vocal theme song appears only over the ending credits, not at the beginning. At least that is to the best of my recollection.

Warner Bros is riding towards the right direction. The release of the First Season of Cheyenne is not only a wise decision of the studio, but also an essencial one. Cheyenne was the show that led Warner Brothers to be one of the biggest companies producing television series. Cheyenne was the very beginning for the studio, and it was, and still is, an important part in television history. Along with Gunsmoke, Cheyenne established the pattern for other western series to come out of Warner Bros and other studios. Clint Walker was not a good actor, but his massive physical building and his soft way of speaking were perfect for a rugged hero of a western show and he became one of the most remarkable television stars for the genre.
The first season of Cheyenne, in spite of being excellent, was not the best one. The episodes ran a bit shorter because Warner used the final minutes for a "behind-the-scenes", promoting the studio movies. And that pleasing song by William Lava and Stan Jones was absent. Unfortunately the first season had only 15 episodes. Nevertheless, this DVD box is a must for anybody who wants to get in touch with old television shows and learn how good and attractive they were. Let's enjoy the first season of Cheyenne, and hope that Warner Bros releases the second, the third and so on.

I would just like to correct the review from M Durgin.

The episodes are NOT CUT. The first season of Cheyenne only ran approx 41 minutes each.The balance of the time was used as a promotion filler for Warner Bros.theatrical features.

The familiar theme tune was not introduced until the 2nd season.

Please do not let these inaccurate reviews disuade from buying this excellent series.

For those of us who love good westerns the mid 1950s through early 1960s was a Golden Age. Cheyenne was one of the first -- and definitely one of the best -- series in this golden era of westerns. This outstanding series featured tall, handsome Clint Walker as soft-spoken but tough Cheyenne Bodie, a veteran of the Civil War, who went west after the war for adventure and found plenty of it -- and sometimes some romance too. I hope that this release on DVD of this first season of Cheyenne will be the success it deserves to be and will result in the release of all of the seasons of Cheyenne. If we're lucky maybe we'll eventually get the various seasons of Maverick, Bronco, and Sugarfoot too.

Clint Walker was Cheyenne, and Cheyenne was Clint Walker. No other actor could have brought the humble heroism, class and action to this role. Clint was the gentle giant who young boys of the '50's idolized and young girls dreamed of marrying. Clint's mannerism, acting style, voice and sheer size brought the Cheyenne character to life. This DVD is perfect for those of us old enough to remember the series and to those who we would like to introduce this series to. The best part of the DVD is the recent interview with Clint. Time has indeed taken its toll on this man who once looked looked like a Greek God, but its a joy seeing him for one more time. There are so many more questions that I wished had been asked such as his interest in body building, his excperience in movies, why he felt his career did not take off as James Garner, Steve Mcqueen's etc, and how he spends his time today. Perhaps in future DVDs Clint might agree to sit down for a more extensive interview. In the meantime, may I suggest his terrific website where his fans can avail themselves of some wonderful Cheyenne autographed photos and memorabilia. Happy 80th birthday Clint...and thanks for the memories.

I have been waiting years for this series to come out on anything, vhs or dvd, and finally it has. Clint Walker is Cheyenne Bodie, big and brawny, and ever so easy to listen to. I was a big fan when I was a boy in the 50s when the show first hit television, yes, I'm that old, but let me tell you, they don't make westerns like this anymore.
Cheyenne, the first season, is only the beginning of the iceberg. The series gets better as the years continue into the 60s, but that's another story.
Cheyenne gives us a great insight into the first years of the Warner Brothers television saga, where it produced several famous western series such as Maverick, The Lawman, Colt .45, Sugarfoot, Bronco and, of course, Cheyenne.
Clint Walker brings real life cowboy lessons to the old west in this series and with the help of many top stars, many of them just beginning to rise, like James Garner, L.Q. Jones and Gerald Mohr the first season was a hit all the way.
Cheyenne lets us follow the exploits of Bodie as he goes through troubles ranging from Indians to ranchers trying to take over the entire range. And, of course, he always has a kind word for most, but a stern warning for those who cross him.
This series is a must see, whether you buy it or rent it. Watch them all and enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!!!!

I guess I'm just not picky enough to be a good critic of Television DVD releases. I bought the first season of Cheyenne and have just finished watching a couple of episodes. I enjoyed them very, very much.

The packaging is not space age high tech; but had eye appeal and appeared totally functional.

The video transfer is not the most ultimately remastered, highest definition transfer on the planet; but was clear and perfectly viewable.

The audio wasn't high definition 5.1 Dolby Surround; but came through loud and clear with the dialogue easily discerned, even for my 50 year old ears.

The stories in the first season of Cheyenne were well written and filmed with high standards. (Although some of the lines in the stories will make you chuckle and now seem cliched, we must remember this was 50 years ago and they were new then and reflected the current moral climate.)

So while this first season release isn't perfect, it's highly recommended. What is perfect about Cheyenne, however is the presence of Clint Walker. Let's face it, Clint Walker is "Cheyenne"! He certainly wasn't the greatest actor to ever grace the small screen, but he had a quiet, almost brooding machismo; offering a towering physical presence, combined with an almost gentle elegance. Honor and dignity oozed from Cheyenne. (Geeze, sounds like I have a Man Crush on Cheyenne - so be it.)

By the way, the extra features don't abound but there is a nice, recent interview with Clint Walker, wherein he tells the story of how he got into acting and landing the part of Cheyenne. Clint still comes across as an honest, gentle, caring man. One of the true nice guys that came out of Hollywood.

To close, let me add that Cheyenne is good wholesome entertainment, filled with stories of honor, redemption and courage. And believe it or not, the good guys finish first and the bad guys get what they deserve.

At last we have the start of the Warner Bros. Vault of westerns. According to rumors, we got Cheyenne first because it outsold the Maverick 3 episode disc that was a test item. Since "Cheyenne" was the first of the WB westerns, it makes some kind of sense to release it first. i would have almost preferred an anthology just like in the 50's when we had Cheyenne, Sugarfoot and Bronco in rotation. But then again-no Maverick.
As for the actual package, really great to see Clint Walker back in action. The extra profile and interview are really nice additions. Plus the first season has L.Q.Jones(one of my favorite character/supporting actors in westerns).
Hopefully this is just the first of many releases(imagine Garner doing commentary on Maverick).