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In the fifties and sixties, westerns were inescapable.
Be it on the big screen or the smaller one, there was an
overabundance of gun-slinging action. There were westerns
galore on television at the time, though next to the giants
Bonanza and Gunsmoke, many other titles were forgotten –
some of which were true gems of the genre. One such title
is the Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp. ***
This is one of those television series that, a few years
back, got the “best of” treatment on DVD – but no actual
season sets. At long last that wrong has been righted. This
set features all 35 of the half-hour episodes from the shows
first season, 1955-1956, on five DVDs. Plans have been announced
to release the rest of the series in this format, as well.
***
The story here is simple enough – Wyatt Earp keeps the
peace in some of the most lawless towns in the Old West.
Hugh O’Brian stars as the title peacekeeper. An all-star
supporting cast , including Denver Pyle, only sweetens the
deal. While I wouldn’t call this the best western television
series ever made, it is an underrated gem, and I’m glad
to see it finally get its due in DVD season sets. If you’re
at all a fan of the western genre and/or classic television,
this is a set well worth picking up. ---
Image and Sound:
Given that the show is over half a century old, I’m
amazed at how good it looks here. The distributor has done
a good job either preserving or cleaning up these prints,
and the source looks far better than any television series
this old has the right to. The audio track is quite clean
and clear, as well. I was pleasantly surprised by how good
this show looked and sounded on DVD, and my hopes are up
for the later seasons as well.
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| Special
Features: |
In this department, the disc is as dead as a desert
night in the old west. Still, given how many episodes we
get in this set and the condition those episodes are in,
it’s a small price to pay.
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