Customer Reviews

Wanted: Dead or Alive - Season Two

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Second season was the peak in this short lived show, it lasted for only Three seasons and 94 episodes. After placing 16th out of the best 30 TV shows in the First Season, the Second season placed even higher when it placed 9th out of the best 30 TV shows during the period from October 1959 until April 1960, having 28.7% of viewers, according to the Nielsen rating (The Nielsen rating is the percent of all TV-equipped homes tuned to the program on an average night, as measured by Nielsen Media Research).

The Second season consisted of 32 episodes and they are as follows:

37- Montana Kid 9/5/1959
38- The Healing Woman 9/12/1959
39- The Matchmaker 9/19/1959
40- Breakout 9/26/1959
41- Estralita 10/3/1959
42- The Hostage 10/10/1959
43- The Empty Cell 10/17/1959
44- Bad Gun 10/24/1959
45- The Tyrant 10/31/1959
46- Reckless 11/7/1959
47- Desert Seed 11/14/1959
48- Twelve Hours to Crazy Horse 11/21/1959
49- No Trail Back 11/28/1959
50- Man on Horseback 12/5/1959
51- Chain Gang 12/12/1959
52- Vanishing Act 12/26/1959
53- Mental Lapse 1/2/1960
54- Angela 1/9/1960
55- The Monster 1/16/1960
56- The Most Beautiful Woman 1/23/1960
57- Jason 1/30/1960
58- The Partners 2/6/1960
59- Tolliver Bender 2/13/1960
60- A House Divided 2/20/1960
61- Triple Vice 2/27/1960
62- Black Belt 3/19/1960
63- The Pariah 3/26/1960
64- Vendetta 4/9/1960
65- Death Divided by Three 4/23/1960
66- The Inheritance 4/30/1960
67- Prison Trail 5/14/1960
68- Pay-Off at Pinto 5/21/1960

I am very happy that we only have the Third season left before we own the whole set. I hope the 3rd season will follow soon after this season.

Thank you for reading my review and have a wonderful day :)

One of the most memorable and famous characters of the '50's Western genre was Steve McQueen's "Josh Randall", who spoke softly (with the Southern drawl he cultivated in his early days roaming around the South, particularly Myrtle Beach, S.C.) and carried a Big Gun, the sawed-off Winchester lever-action rifle then known as the "Mare's Laig". I remember the excitement each week eagerly waiting for each episode of this great Western.
It's release on DVD has been just too long a wait!
One of my fondest childhood memories was the weekend I spent with my Dad, helping him to hand make my own custom-made leather belt rig from scratch for my toy "Mare's Laig" in time for use as part of a Halloween costume when the plastic original proved to be a poor replica.
With all the second- and third-rate wastage flooding the DVD market lately, it's really great to see SOMEBODY bring back such a great actor in this really great Western!

I have seen most of the episodes for season two and Mcqueen is more comfortable in the character of Josh Randall then he was in season one. In fact some of these episodes are more of a comedy than a drama. In Wanted Dead or Alive Steve Mcqueen shows why he was the top box office star of the 60s and 70s. I must buy for a Steve Mcqueen fan.

Wanted Dead or Alive is one of the best Western shows created during the golden era of TV Westerns in the late 50s and early 60s. In my opinion, Season 2 of Wanted Dead or Alive is the better of than Season 1. I have not seen Season 3 yet so I cannot comment on it. The main reason I prefer Season 2 is due to the change in demeanor and personality of the main character, Josh Randall. In this season, Josh Randall undergoes a major overhaul. In Season 1 he was a pretty normal and straight guy who didn't have much personality. In Season 2, Steve McQueen does a 180 degree turn and makes the Randall character a truly fascinating and somewhat humorous person. His dry sense of humor and perfect delivery of one-liners make the Randall character one of the most memorable and entertaining in TV Westerns history. I suspect this is one of the main reasons why the First Season finished at number 16 in the TV ratings while Season 2 finished at number 9. The plots are extremely well thought out and very suspenseful. If it's possible to put a human face on a bounty hunter, Wanted Dead or Alive does it. Randall's philosophy throughout each episode is basically this: If I bring you in, at least you'll get a fair trial. If someone else finds you, they'll simply kill you and collect the reward money. This makes Randall the bounty hunter seem like a compassionate and caring rescuer in comparison to the other bounty hunters. One strange thing about Season 2 is that near the end of the series, a side kick named Jason is introduced to help Randall track down wanted men. I prefer the show when Randall works alone. Giving screen time to Jason means less screen time for Randall resulting in a decrease of entertainment. Season 2 is well worth the investment. In my opinion, the only western show that surpasses Wanted Dead or Alive in quality is Gunsmoke.

Apparently someone other than consumers reads these reviews, because the packaging people hated from the first season is gone. Instead of a light cardboard wrapper around 4 hard plastic DVD holders kept in place by tape, the new season has the 4 DVDs in flexible plastic, ultra-thin boxes. The DVDs are held securely, but can be easily removed without bending or cracking either the DVD or case.

I'm also happier with single-sided DVDs in this season, instead of the double-sided ones from the first season. Unfortunately, where the first season had 8 DVD sides to work with and numerous extras, this season had only 4 DVD sides of episodes and almost no extras. In fact, there seems to be no subtitles or closed captions, although there is audio in both English and French. While I'm amused by the French language track, I'd prefer subtitles or captions. I would've been happier with an additional DVD or so to allow for extras. Then again, there were so many extras on the first set, maybe they used up all they had.

Contrary to what Amazon's description says, this set is B&W, not colorized. I'm grateful they were wrong.

Season One was a little barebones, as if Fourstar is testing the water with it's new star. Season Two is more sophisticated and ambitious. It also just gets better as the season progresses. McQueen fully shapes out his character and is beginning to become too big a star for a mere TV screen. However, he certainly displays his generosity as the intriguing and original character of Jason (played by Wright King) is introduced and is a part of the Wanted: Dead or Alive cast for several episodes. King is surprisingly likeable and interesting onscreen, considering he is sharing it with Steve McQueen. Perhaps McQueen was working on Never So Few and somewhat preoccupied, but hats off to him for allowing another character to play on his turf. Normally, I would just be annoyed that the writers would decrease my man McQueen's role for some upstart, but Wright King is really excellent in his character and I found myself looking forward to the next episode that continued the "Jason" storyline. Maybe this was an idea for another spin-off, as Josh Randall from "Trackdown". Too bad it never happened; I think it would have been good.

Film icon Steve McQueen returns as bounty hunter Josh Randall, in the second season of Wanted Dead or Alive. Things get of to a slow start, as Randall is at first involved more in domestic matters than in corralling outlaws. The producers may have wanted to emphasize the character's human side, however things soon get back to familiar ground, with Randall also employing a six gun, as well as his trademark mare's leg, in the pursuit of wanted men. The quality of the writing is mostly good, but does slide bit at times, as Randall finds himself in some clichéd situations that he mostly avoided in season one.

Rarely injured in season one, Randall takes a slew of bullets in season two. Fortunately he's a fast healer. At the end of `Reckless' (Episode 46), Randall gets shot in his left arm, then in the very next episode (`Desert Seed'), he gets shot again in the precredit opening scene. He is nicked on the arm in `Pariah' (Episode 63), and then his skull is grazed in `Vendetta' (Episode 64). In `Jason' (Episode 57) he takes his most serious hit, and is taken out of action. This episode, introduces the character Jason Nichols (Wright King), a lawman who wants Randall to help him to become a bounty hunter. The writers finished off Season Two, teaming Josh with Jason Nichols, in nine of the last twelve episodes. Perhaps giving Randall a partner was a change the writers were contemplating making in season three. If so, it is fortunate that it did not happen, as Josh Randall operates best alone. Jason Nichols, while mildly likeable, does not really have particularly good chemistry with Randall.

Some noteworthy episodes include, `Black Belt', where on the trail of a man who is an expert in karate, Randall receives a blow that almost kills him. An interesting situation arises in `Tolliver Bender', where Randall uses Jason Nichols as collateral, to `borrow' a condemned man so he can testify and save the life of a friend. In `The Tyrant', Josh helps free a town from the grip of a dictatorial marshal. Running afoul of the law, Randall ends up working in a gold mine in `Chain Gang'. `The Monster' is a farfetched tale where an elephant is apparently being used as a tool for robbery. `Vendetta' is a poorly written adventure, where after Josh has his prisoner taken from him by a deranged army officer. He is conscripted by the army to relieve that same officer of command. In `Prison Trail', Josh and Jason face danger while escorting four prisoners to Leavenworth prison.

The thirty two episodes of Season Two are on four single sided discs with eight episodes each. The episodes now have chapter stops. No colorized versions this time. The lone bonus is the short featurette, The Women of Wanted Dead or Alive, which unfortunately doesn't have much substance. Women are an interesting subject, as Randall doesn't have much time for the ladies. He has no inclination to settle down, and women often appear just for decorative purposes. When a female is actively involved in the story, unfortunately for Randall, she often turns out to have bad intentions toward him. Females who murder are a common occurrence on this program, perhaps serving as a reflection of Randall's ethical code.

If you liked the first season, Season Two delivers much of the same. The writing, while still creative, shows signs of taking the easy way out, and Josh gets shot up a lot. Giving Randall a companion was an experiment with mixed results, and he would be back on his own, for the final season of Wanted Dead or Alive.

As a Steve McQueen fan and remembering WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE from television when I was a kid, I was a little disappointed in Season One. It was a little perfunctory and McQueen was just starting his career. Considering that often the first season of any show can be a little weak until it establishes itself and its characters, I ordered the second Season and was glad I did so. McQueen's character was more developed and had more edge, the stories were more about bounty-hunting than the helpful saddletramp that McQueen was mainly in the first season, and overall the packaging was much better and the disks were one-sided (not double-sided as with the first season). Now I wish someone would bring out the other great Four Star Films, Inc show - RIFLEMAN - in its entirety and in a professionally done package rather than the Chinese version of 23 disks mostly recorded from TV that is available now. I will be buying Season 3 of WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE.

Wanted: Dead or Alive - Season Two
wanted dead or alive ! i have been waited 30 years for this and season 1
love old time tv western ; it is tv at it's best ,brings you back to a time when it was worth turning on your tv set!
i look forward to geting box set season 3 next!

Steve McQueen's star started to shine with this fun series about an 1800's western bounty hunter. I became a big fan of his and he never has diminished as the prototype of an upbeat action hero. He was successful in motion pictures after this series and in my opinion earned his stripes in "The Great Escape", "The Magnificent Seven" and Bullett with his rugged portrayals of a "different" but very admirable and upbeat hero.