Customer Reviews

The Wild Wild West - The Third Season

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The third season of "The Wild Wild West" rode into town with some changes--the look of the show was spruced up a bit with new wardrobe designs for Robert Conrad's character. Although this season has less of the fantasy/science fiction elements that were a highlight of seasons one, two and we only get one episode with Dr. Loveless, it was still a stellar season with top notch writing and direction. We had some memorable guest stars including Michael Dunn (Dr. Loveless), Robert Duvall and Nick Adams.

Season four is tentatively set for March 18, 2008.

The episodes include:

Disc 1 & 2
The Night of the Bubbling Death
The Night of the Firebrand
The Night of the Assassin
The Night Dr. Loveless Died
The Night of Jack O' Diamonds
The Night of the Samurai
The Night of the Hangman
The Night of Montezuma's Hordes

Disc 3 & 4
The Night of the Circus of Death
The Night of the Falcon (featuring Robert Duvall)
The Night of the Cut-Throats
The Night of the Legion of Death
The Night of the Turn Coat
The Night of the Iron Fist
The Night of the Running Death
The Night of the Arrow

Disc 5 & 6
The Night of the Headless Woman
The Night of the Vipers (with guest star Nick Adams)
The Night of the Underground Terror
The Night of the Death Masks (one of my favs)
The Night of the Amnesiac
The Night of the Undead (involving voodoo)
The Night of the Simian Terror (with a witty reference to Edgar Allen Poe)
The Night of the Death Maker



The third season had less episodes as well 24 compared to the 28 for seasons one and two. The show's level of action sequences--which had always been high--reached a peak during season three which put the show on the radar for a group that protested the level of violence in the show. The result was that with middling ratings and conflict over the high level of action in the show, "The Wild Wild West" was not renewed after the fourth season.

This set comes without extras although the show looks terrific. It would have been nice to have a featurette on the show's production. At least we get a terrific looking presentation for the show.

You're about to experience the third season of "The Wild Wild West" which is producer Bruce Lansbury's new and revised vision of the series: meaning gritty, rough, realistic, Sergio Leone's western Spaguetti-like. The characters of James West and Artemus Gordon have new costumes, especially West and his trailer outfit. Some episodes take place in Mexico: "The Night of the Assassin", "The Night of the Jack O'Diamonds", "The Night of the Montezuma's Hordes" and "The Night of the Headless Woman", some are political as "The Night of the Firebrand" (guest starring Pernell Roberts), "The Night of the Legion of Death" (guest starring Kent Smith and Anthony Zerbe), "The Night of the Arrow" and "The Night of the Underground Terror", and some are still stamped with Michael Garrison's concept of fabulous fantasy: see "The Night of the Turncoat" (guest starring John McGiver as the excentric Elisha Calamander), "The Night of the Death Masks" (written like "The Prisoner" episode "Living in Harmony" and in which Artie guns down Jim in a ghost town called Paradox!), "The Night of the Amnesiac" (guest starring Ed Asner and Kevin Hagen and in which James West looses his memory), "The Night of the Undead" (a mixture of Vaudou and mad scientist intrigue with Hurd Hartfield) and "The Night of the Simian Terror" (with a veiled reference to Edgar A. Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue", guest starring Richard "Voltaire" Kiel). Warning, there's only one Dr. Loveless' offering: "The Night Dr. Loveless Died". One episode reaches the peak of violence for its time: "The Night of the Vipers", guest starring Nick Adams aka Robert Conrad's close friend and Red West.

The third season of "The Wild Wild West" (1967-68) was the most Western-oriented due to budgetary constraints. Though the bizarre fantasies were curtailed, Secret Service agents James West and Artemus Gordon encountered challenging adventures such as "The Night of the Bubbling Death," "The Night of the Jack O'Diamonds" and "The Night of the Falcon" (featuring Robert Duvall as a guest villain). Michael Dunn's return in "The Night Dr. Loveless Died" was a definite highlight and the last memorable Loveless episode. Season Three had its share of clunkers - "The Night of the Firebrand" and "The Night of the Arrow" come to mind - yet the unique chemistry between Robert Conrad and Ross Martin always made the series worth watching.

This great series is finally available on DVD collections by seasons. "The Wild, Wild West" was one of the last successful Western television shows, coming on right as the era of the great Western TV show was coming to an end.

Its success was due to the fact that not only was it exciting and action-packed, but it was a curious meld of traditional Western action, espionage, science fiction, and high camp. It was in equal parts a product of its time as a Western, such as "Gunsmoke" and "Bonanza," a semi-serious, lots of camp spy show like "I-Spy," "The Man From UNCLE," and "The Avengers," science fiction like "Star Trek" and "Voyage To The Bottom of the Sea," and sophomoric camp like "Batman." Robert Conrad and Ross Martin made a formidable team as US Secret Service agents James West and Artemis Gordon, as they travelled all over the West in their personal locomotive thwarting the schemes and intrigues of power-mad scientists and ruthless governments.

This show is near and dear to a lot of us who grew up in the mid to late 60's, and it is a joy to watch these episodes and remember that while the world was not a simple, carefree place, our living rooms could be while watching shows like "The Wild, Wild West."

All aboard for the third season (1967-1968) of the Wild Wild West with Jim (Robert Conrad) and Artie (Ross Martin). The next stop...more sci-fi adventure in the Wild Wild West. Here are the action-packed episodes our secret service agents have in store for us:

The Night of Jack O' Diamonds - (Filmed 10/6/67)

The Night of the Firebrand - (Filmed 9/15/67)

The Night of the Assassin - (Filmed 9/22/67)

The Night of the Bubbling Death - (Filmed 9/8/67)

The Night of the Cut-throats - (Filmed 11/17/67)

The Night of the Hangman - (Filmed 10/20/67)

The Night of Montezuma's Hordes @ The Night of Montezuma' s Revenge - (Filmed 10/27/67)

The Night of the Amnesiac - (Filmed 2/9/68)

The Night Doctor Loveless Died - (Filmed 9/29/67)

The Night of the Samurai - (Filmed 10/13/67)

The Night of the Arrow - (Filmed 12/29/67)

The Night of the Circus of Death - (Filmed 11/3/67)

The Night of the Falcon - (Filmed 11/10/67)

The Night of the Legion of Death @ The Night of the Black Legion - (Filmed 11/24/67)

The Night of the Running Death - (Filmed 12/15/67)

The Night of the Turncoat - (Filmed 12/1/67)

The Night of the Iron Fist - (Filmed 12/8/67)

The Night of the Headless Woman - (Filmed 1/5/68)

The Night of the Underground Terror @ The Night of the Brotherhood of Hell - (Filmed 1/19/68)

The Night of the Vipers - (Filmed 1/12/68)

The Night of the Death Masks - (Filmed 1/26/68)

The Night of the Undead - (Filmed 2/2/68)

The Night of the Simian Terror @ The Night of the Beast - (Filmed 2/16/68)

The Night of the Death-Maker - (Filmed 2/23/68)

The action adventure series to end them all. Even four decades later it still sets the standard for action and high adventure. Robert Conrad's stuntwork on the show was legendary (which is probaby why he was the only actor ever inducted into the Stuntman's Hall of Fame). Ross Martin was the perfect partner. With Season 3 Dick Cangey (a former boxer) joined Conrad's stock stunt team (including Red West) and got Conrad to change his fighting technique. This season also features a young Robert Duvall as a villain! Nothing is perfect. Watch closely at the scenes in Night of the Turncoat where Conrad is in a tank and in plain sight in one shot is a man in black scuba gear! You'll also notice from time to time his hair style changes. This resulted from a halt in production when he was seriously injuried on a stunt ( he fell some twenty feet from a chandalier and hit a concrete floor). Look closely at the fights and you will most of the same guys over and over -- Whitie Hughes, Red West, Dick Cangey: Conrad's personal stunt crew for the show. This would be the last really decent season. Season four was the victim of an anti-violence crusade in the aftermath the King and Kennedy assassinations. The fight scenes would suffer to the point of looking ludicrus. Also Ross Martin suffered a heart attack and is missing in parts of season 3 & 4.

This is a wonderful series. I wish there had been more extras. It would have been nice to hear Robert Conrad's comments about his injury (he did his own stunts). During the filming of one episode he fell and suffered a concussion. As a result production shut down two weeks early so this season is a little short. So there are no missing episodes! They were never filmed. The episode (with the fall left in), "The Night of the Fugitives" was shown in the 4th season. Check out Wikipedia's article on Wild Wild West.

This particular season features some significant developments. First of all Jim West has now become almost impossible to defeat in a fight. He even takes on the boxing champ in one of these shows! However, he can be knocked out by any female who smiles while slipping a mickey in his drink. You would think after several "Lost Weekends" in this manner he would refuse ANY drink from a beautiful lady! He also gets shot very well placed in the leg in two of these episodes, and Artemus Gordon joins him in the final one with a leg shot of his own. Artemus develops more of a "French" attitude in dinner engagements with beautiful women and characters of French origin. Season 3 also had better music for action scenes and there is a lot of stagecoach riding, dynamite use, and travel to big and small towns. New Orleans is even in this one as Mardi Gras is in full swing and West is "Don Juan" with Arte' as "Hamlet". Watch what happens to Arte's "Hamlet" skull of Yurick!
The DVD transfer is good and the season is very colorful, in fact I would say an improvement over the last few seasons. Where else can you find the "Paradox Hotel", "Balm in Gilead Mortuary", etc.
The only drawback is one Dr. Loveless adventure, but Jim West was and is always the dominant personality and there is a lot of action. Including an attempted assassination of President Grant. The President is featured in more than one episode and Jim and Arte' receive most of their assignments from a Colonel in charge out West. Very entertaining as usual and good plotting. Well recommended.

And thank heaven for that lousy movie. For all the criticism we can heap on it, at least that turkey renewed interest in this great TV series from the 1960s so that it's now available on DVD. Otherwise it might've been forever lost and forgotten. Wild Wild West has to be the most fun TV show of all time and Season 3 might be the most enjoyable of the whole collection. Sure, the directing got a little sloppy. But it just adds to the fun seeing Robert Conrad with a Jack Lord hairstyle in one scene, and then a modified Beatle haircut in the next. Or when he swims underwater and then surfaces with bone-dry hair. (The Night of the Turncoat).

My favorite episode is Firebrand. Jim and Artemus have to use all their muscle and guile to stop a revolutionary named O'Reilly played by Pernell Roberts from taking over Canada. It's worth watching just to see a very beautiful Lana Wood as Vixen. And the bloopers continue. As O'Reilly and his men leave that doomed fort and ride out the gate, far off in the distance a car is seen driving by. (Heh heh heh...I love it.)

Wild Wild West reflects the mid-1960s well. At that time the old Batman series was setting new low standards for programming and was being handsomely rewarded with sky high ratings. But even the worst programs of the 60s were more entertaining than what's offered today. Despite all our digital technology and hi definition TV a whole generation has been reduced to watching people singing off key and being insulted by judges. Well now you actually have something worth watching on that magnificent big screen. Check out Wild Wild West Season 3 and join the fun.

Absolutely no criticism of the beautiful, near flawless video and audio. What I wish had been added: chapters for each episode; interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, home movies, still photos, production notes, sketches and commentaries by the surviving principals and guest actors. Where's Robert Conrad and Red West? (The stuntman in seemingly nearly episode!) Hopefully in the last season, CBS will loosen up the checkbook a bit. For those disappointed by the absence of extras on the DVD's, try to obtain a copy of The Wild Wild West The series book written by Susan Kesler. This book is the ulimate for behind-the-scenes information about this tremendous show, with a large amount of rare material: sketches, photos, bloopers, etc.