Big Valley - Season 1

This series was on the air when I was one year old. By the time I was old enough to see reruns, I'd bet the show had already done so.The way superhero shows are overwhelming TV this year, Westerns did so in the 60's. By the mid 70's, Westerns simply weren't cool anymore. Perhaps the ceaseless gunfire of Westerns reminded us too much of Vietnam. Enough was finally enough the genre pretty much died.Kids like me were brought up on STAR TREK reruns. What we didn't quite grasp was TREK itself was a form of a Western. A WAGON TRAIN to the stars, as it was pitched to NBC. So when we'd see some old fashioned Western rerunning, we were like, "What's the point?" We have a much better series set in the future instead of stuck in the past. Besides -- all those old Westerns kinda suck, right? They're all corny, full of men, and full of gunplay. Seriously.The thing I had never heard of this series. A western featuring Barbara Stanwyck -- the star of TCM classics like MEET JOHN DOE, REMEMBER THE NIGHT, DOUBLE INDEMNITY, and CLASH BY NIGHT. Since when do Westerns feature a woman? And it turns out not just one woman, but also Linda Evans? I confess as a young dude in the 70's I neither watched DYNASTY or thought Linda was so sexy. But Jesus H. Christ on a moped was this young lady STRIKING in this series. She makes my generation's Farrah Fawcett look silly in comparison.But wait -- there's MORE. My generation will also recognize Richard Long as the Professor from THE NANNY AND THE PROFESSOR. Most kids I knew preferred the Professor from Gilligan's Island, but you'll really like Long in his Barkley role here. Part lawyer, part gunslinger. My generation will really flip out to discover that 'Steve Austin' wasn't an unknown they found to play THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN but the star of this series. If my female peers thought Lee Majors was hot as a Bionic Man, they have no idea who much 'hotter' he was as young Heath Barkley. My wife must fan herself when she watches his episodes.Last but not least is a face I've never seen before. Peter Breck. He plays the final Barkley brother named Nick. Fans of LOST will feel like they know him somehow, because when he smiles, he FEELS just like Sawyer. As if Breck was the father of Sawyer. I kid you not.And so now, if you're still not much of a Western fan, but you're like, "Okay. Really interesting cast. But so what? Isn't this some stupid show where everybody shoots everyone and then they ride off in the sunset?" Nope. Not even close. At the core of this series is a struggle between civility and violence. Brother Jarrod (Richard Long) represents the future of Stockton California, namely: the law. Meanwhile his brother Nick (Peter Breck) will jump at any excuse to get his two black leather fists into a fight. Sweetheart brother Heath (Lee Majors) is sort of what happens when both worlds meet.So what does matriarch Victoria Barkley (Stanwyck) do in this series? The very same thing. Struggle between a desire for grace and civility, but sometimes resorting to violence when all else fails. In Season One her beautiful daughter is about to be raped -- and you've simply never seen so powerful an image as when Stanwyck lifts a shotgun to save her own daughter. No wonder why Barbara took this series.It's fantastic.Now, remember when I said I grew up on TREK reruns? If you did too, one thing you love about those shows are the production values. Great scripts, great acting, and great production values (for the most part in all three catagories). Believe it or not, THE BIG VALLEY is just as good and will be that more rare show where I'll rewatch it again in a few years. (I'm still watching it for the first time, with Season 3 at the moment.)And if you are a student of that first TREK series, you'll see countless guest stars from Trek inside BIG VALLEY. I mean countless. You'll also see countless guest stars who later became big deals. In one episode is Ellen Bursten as a nun (!) and Karen Black as a harlot (!). In another episode is Robert Goulet as a singing Bible salesman scam artist. If you know these names -- trust me -- almost each episode has 'you're kidding me!' casting surprise. And you'll even get to see Captain Kirk himself in an episode shot while TREK was on the air. Too much fun people.The cast is great, the guest stars are a blast, the production values are nearly as good TREK itself -- but what about the stories? TREK mastered the morality tale thing. They really did. No other show touches them. However, believe it or not, BIG VALLEY comes close. And it's really REALLY interesting to watch a matriarchal Western tackle issues that usually are all about patriarchy. That is: a liberal Western.Have you ever seen the movie THE BIG COUNTRY? Where Gregory Peck destroys the Western genre with progressive viewpoints? That's what the BIG VALLEY is. TV's answer to that movie. And as such is an extraordinary moment of television history.The one caveat of this series is that it almost every great guest character never comes back. Audra (Linda Evans) meets a nice guy? You can bet your bippy you'll never see him again. Or that any woman ever stays in the life of these brothers. It's really heartbreaking, because ---- modern television would keep such characters around. Audra would have children. Heath would get married. Nick would fall for Heath's wife. Mom would come and keep things from getting out of hand. The Barkleys of the late 60s had no idea what a dysfunctional family was, which of course is also part of this serie's charm. Still, had they realized the power of kids in a series (think Brady Bunch), this series would have never gone off the air. Even if Barbara had left it. It wouldn't have mattered. The characters were so very strong and interesting.Don't miss this.

There were few TV shows that made a greater impression on me growing up than did this classic western, The Big Valley, which ran on ABC from 1965-1969. From its stellar cast featuring the incomparable Barbara Stanwyck as Victoria Barkley, (the matriarch of a close-knit, proud and prominent family in 1878 California,) well-written/action-packed scripts, to stirring music, The Big Valley remains a standout in the barren plains of TV mediocrity.The first TV drama to feature a powerful female lead (a woman the commercials proudly proclaimed had "backbone and bite"), it also dealt realistically with situations formerly taboo for TV. It began by revealing that Victoria's husband, Tom Barkley, a prominent, wealthy cattle rancher now deceased, had been involved in a secret affair leading to the birth of an illegitimate son. In addition to the ranch, the family controlled gold and silver mines, citrus groves as well as logging camps.This five-disc (episodes on "A" and "B" sides) boxed set contains all 30 of the show's first season episodes, including its pilot. A few of these episodes were available years ago on poor quality VHS tapes, but this fantastic release represents the first time that the entire first season of the series has been available to the public in ANY format! As such, most of these episodes have not been seen uncut since the show aired more than 35 years ago.The pilot, which introduces the powerful and proud Barkley family, depicts the conflict when the illegitimate son, Heath, abruptly arrives at the huge Barkley Ranch in the San Joaquin Valley, near Stockton, Calif., in the midst of a range war and claims his birthright.After the recent death of his mother, Heath had learned his father's identify. None of the Barkleys had known of his existence, and it is later revealed that Victoria's husband had broken off the brief affair with Heath's mother and that she had never told him that she was pregnant. Victoria immediately accepts Heath and soon treats him as one of her own sons.In addition to Miss Stanwyck (who performed many of her own stunts despite her age), the cast included Richard Long as eldest son, attorney Jarrod, Peter Breck as son and ranch foreman Nick, Lee Majors as Heath, Linda Evans as daughter Audra, and during its first season, Charles Briles as youngest son Eugene, a character who was dropped without explanation. Napoleon Whiting portrayed the family's servant, Silas, throughout the series.First season episodes included in this set are: (Disc 1, Side A) Palms of Glory; Forty Rifles; Boots with My Father's Name; Young Marauders; (Disc 1, Side B) Odyssey of Jubal Tanner; Heritage; (Disc 2, Side A) Winner Lose All; My Son, My Son; Earthquake!; The Murdered Party; (Disc 2, Side B) The Way to Kill a Killer; Night of the Wolf; (Disc 3, Side A) The Guilt of Matt Bentell; The Brawlers; Judgment in Heaven; The Invaders; (Disc 3, Side B) By Fires Unseen; A Time to Kill; (Disc 4, Side A) Teacher of Outlaws; Under a Dark Star; Barbary Red; The Death Merchant; (Disc 4, Side B) The Fallen Hawk; Hazard; (Disc 5, Side A) Into the Widow's Web; By Force and Violence; The River Monarch; The Midas Man; and (Disc 5, Side B) Tunnel of Gold; and Last Train to the Fair.As of this writing, the studio had not announced what, if any, special features would be included in the boxed set.Just a few of the guest stars in this first season were Andrew Duggan, John Anderson (Richard Dean Anderson's father), Jeanne Cooper (Young and the Restless), Katharine Ross (The Graduate), Charles Bronson, Warren Oates, Martin Landau (Mission: Impossible!), Ron Howard, Anthony Zerbe, Claude Akins, Yvonne Craig (Batgirl), William Shatner (Star Trek), Bruce Dern (Laura Dern's father), Jill St. John, George Kennedy, and James Whitmore.Here's hoping the remaining seasons of this award-wining series will be released ASAP! We can also only hope that this means other studios that own the rights to other worthy vintage westerns, like The High Chaparral, will get the message that there is an appreciative audience anxiously waiting and begin releasing these episodes on DVD complete season boxed sets.

DVD's are in perfect shape. So far I have had no problems. They arrived quickly. Thank You!

画像は綺麗です。しかし、英字幕なので絵を観ながら楽しんでます。

The Complete First Series Of Legendary Western Series The Big Valley. With It's Roots Clearly In The Tradition Of Other Classic Western Series Such as Bonanza and The High Chaparral. The Big Valley Introduced TV viewers To The Barkley family carving a name for Themselves building and running a ranch in The west of The 1870s. of course The series is more widely known These Days for introducing Lee Majors & Linda Evans To TV viewers Evans would later find fame in Dynasty while Majors would captivate TV audiences as Steve Austin in The Six Million Dollar Man. alongside Peter Breck and The ever popular Richard Long completing The cast is movie veteran Barbara Stanwyck as Victoria Barkley. Stanwyck brought a Touch of class To The Big Valley lifting it a notch above The other western series of The Day. The first few episodes clearly They are pushing Their new star Lee Majors as The episodes revolve around Him. like other series The Big Valley as it's fair share of Guest stars adding To The whole proceedings from William Shatner, Charles Bronson, Yvonne Craig, & Martin Landau To name a few. The Big Valley Season One comes spread over eight Disc's nicely packaged with The stars on The front jacket brief episode Details are listed within each individual DVD sleeve. The episodes However have not been remastered with slight print Distortion varying from episode To episode. But This is minor really and it's probably just me used. To seeing everything Digitally remastered These Days and for The price for a whole season of episodes This is Excellent value for your money. The Days of TV Western series are long since gone This collection is an Excellent reminder of The TV Western's Golden era.

No entiendo por qué no hay posibilidad de ver la serie con subtítulos. Lo ideal sería poder disponer de subtítulos en español, más cuando en la primera temporada y en la mitad de la segunda existen, pero, a falta de éstos, al menos debería poder disponer de subtítulos en inglés.Es una serie que se emitió en España y venía con el doblaje sudamericano, por lo que no entiendo el problema.

De toutes les séries westerns diffusées sur le petit écran,dans les années 60 et 70,"The BIG VALLEY" est incontestablement la meilleure et la plus aboutie. A mon avis,elle devance de loin "Bonanza" (parue en France en DVD),"HIGH CHAPARRAL","THE VIRGINIAN" ou même "RAWHIDE"(fin des années 5O ) que l'on vient de ressortir des limbes en France. Les 30 épisodes d'une durée de 50 ',qui composent cette saison 1, sont plus qu'excellents et surtout il y a la présence de Barbara Stanwyck,qui n'a jamais autant mérité ici ,que le qualificatif de "Reine de la Prairie".Elle est tout simplement fabuleuse et fascinante..Elle est plus majestueuse que jamais. Pour ceux qui n'ont jamais eu l'occasion de découvrir cette saga,car c'en est une,voici en quelques mots ce dont il s'agit.: Virginia Barkley (B.Stanwyck),veuve du mythique Tom Barkley est à la tête de la famille composée comme suit: Jarrod (Richard Long,décédé en 1974,d'une crise cardiaque ,à l'âge de 47 ans.)),l'intellectuel devenu avocat,qui n'hésite pas à se servir de ses poings ou de son six-coups lorsque sa famille est en danger. Nick(Peter Breck,décédé en 2012,à l'âge de 82 ans),le "dur",qui suit son instinct mais écoute néanmoins les avis de son frêre ainé. Audra (Linda Evans,toujours de ce monde, ) ,la romantique et sentimentale jeune soeur,qui est l'objet de toute l'attention de la famille. Eugène,le cadet,étudiant ,qui n'apparaît que de façon épisodique. Et enfin,Heath (Lee Majors,toujours présent parmi nous.),le "batard" ,beau ténébreux,"écorché" vif,accepté et adopté par les Barkley comme faisant partie des leurs. Dans chaque épisode,la loyauté,l'honneur,le respect de la parole donnée,l'amitié,la solidarité envers les siens,ont une place prépondérante.Si j'osais,je dirais "les valeurs" ,un mot tellement galvaudé par nos pseudos "élites" ,qu'il signifie,aujourd'hui, tout le contraire de ces vertus. De plus,dans chaque épisode on a la surprise de voir apparaître les "Guests Stars".Pour les afficionados du cinéma américain ,ils pourront revoir Andrew Duggan , Kathryn Ross , Robert Walker Jr , Charles Bronson , Warren Oates , Martin Landau , Rodolfo Acosta , Nancy Olson , Claude Akins , Diane Baker , William Shatner , Bruce Dern , Albert Salmi , George Kennedy , James Whitmore , Royal Dano , L.Q.Jones , Chips Rafferty ,Tom Tryon ,Richard Anderson,etc. Malgré ses 50 ans d'âge,l'image 4/3 couleur est superbe.La bande son est uniquement en anglais sous titréé anglais. La musique est de George Dunning ,un vétéran du western. En résumé,d'autres l'ont déjà dit ,25 heures de bonheur pour moins de 15 euro. Additif: que cela nous change des séries actuelles où l'on nous assomme avec l'étude au microscope de gouttes de sang,de bouts de verres,de morceaux d'ongles,de préservatifs, de débris humains,de résidus de peaux,etc,etc.