The REAL Reason Why WILD WILD WEST Was Cancelled!

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  • Опубліковано 24 гру 2024

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  • @jdsundstrom
    @jdsundstrom  4 роки тому +2

    Thank you for watching! If you enjoyed this video, please LIKE & SUBSCRIBE to my channel. I talk about music, movies and MOSTLY television from the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s. You know...THE GOOD STUFF!

  • @zoperxplex
    @zoperxplex 4 роки тому +62

    "The Wild, Wild West" along with "Star Trek", "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." and "Batman" had the greatest cast of women guest stars to appear on television in all of the 1960s.

    • @jdsundstrom
      @jdsundstrom  4 роки тому +7

      Totally agree, zoperxplex! And on top of that list...at least for me, is Julie Newmar!

    • @arncoo63
      @arncoo63 4 роки тому +3

      Yes even some stars from Gilligan's Island appeared on the Wild Wild West!

    • @dlee645
      @dlee645 4 роки тому +4

      I don’t know why, but actresses back in the 60s seemed more lovely than actresses of today. Maybe it’s because I’m remembering them through the soft lenses of nostalgia.

    • @gallery7596
      @gallery7596 4 роки тому +1

      @@arncoo63 Yup, in one episode "Skipper" Alan Hale got to play a secret service agent.

    • @arncoo63
      @arncoo63 4 роки тому +1

      @@gallery7596 you forgot about Mr Howell in addition of the Skipper being on that same episode of the Wild Wild West!

  • @KailuaDoug
    @KailuaDoug 4 роки тому +12

    Wild Wild West was my all-time favorite show as a kid. I still enjoy catching an episode now and again as a nearly 60-year-old man.

  • @vinniecorleone62
    @vinniecorleone62 4 роки тому +8

    My grandfather & I enjoyed it's initial run throughout the mid to late 60"s, then like yourself I savored them again throughout the syndication of the 70's on TV. Today I love them in Black & White along with glorious color on DVD as I lovingly purchased each season as they slowly became available in the early 2000's & I still rewattch them from my vast classic DVD & Blu-ray library today as all my favorite shows from the 60's, 70's & 80's all on wonderful physical media! I recently discovered your YT channel & quickly subbed as you showcase the very best of the Golden era of television with delightful positive commentary & vibes, keep up the stellar work, it's much appreciated my friend!

  • @jennifermacdougall6115
    @jennifermacdougall6115 4 роки тому +35

    My Grandfather and I would sit in the living room in his wing back chair and eat 5th avenue bars and watch wild wild west the best memories of my summer vacation.

    • @jdsundstrom
      @jdsundstrom  4 роки тому +3

      Wow! Jennifer...I've got to say it, you had a very cool grandfather!

    • @tolfan4438
      @tolfan4438 4 роки тому +1

      I agree with Dave that is such a nice memory to have and to share thank you. Especially the Fifth Avenue bars

    • @aurorarose2836
      @aurorarose2836 4 роки тому

      Oh my 5th Avenue candy bars...brings back memories of my childhood!

  • @michaeltuz608
    @michaeltuz608 4 роки тому +10

    This was my favorite show as a kid in the sixties, and I still love it! For me, it was a comic book come to life, and the chemistry between Robert Conrad and Ross Martin was perfect.
    Every now and then some person or group of people try to blame societies ills upon the entertainment of the masses. What they fail to realize is the fact that pop culture is not causation, it is a reflection of the attitudes of the era in which it is created. It doesn't create our culture, it is a reaction to a world that already exists.

    • @nortondumont9711
      @nortondumont9711 4 роки тому +2

      I think Artie’s dear, old Aunt Maude used to say something similar.

    • @jdsundstrom
      @jdsundstrom  4 роки тому +2

      It seems to happen at least once a decade, Michael. Ahh...memories of Tipper Gore!

    • @michaeltuz608
      @michaeltuz608 4 роки тому +1

      @@jdsundstrom And in the fifties it was Fredric Wertham...

    • @jdsundstrom
      @jdsundstrom  4 роки тому

      @@michaeltuz608 Hence Batman fighting space aliens, traveling back in time and getting married to Batwoman!

    • @toshiojohnston3732
      @toshiojohnston3732 Рік тому

      Typical politics blame something else that has nothing to do with the real world .wild wild west like star trek got the last laugh.

  • @DCMarvelMultiverse
    @DCMarvelMultiverse 4 роки тому +15

    Censorship and bad science should never cancel a show. But it's better than being taken out by a giant spider.

  • @HalfassDIY
    @HalfassDIY 4 роки тому +38

    The government just cant resist screwing stuff up, regardless of the era.

    • @jdsundstrom
      @jdsundstrom  4 роки тому +1

      So very true!

    • @arncoo63
      @arncoo63 4 роки тому

      You know what artdeco 101010 f-k the Government why didn't noboby got out & protested against what the racist Government did against the Wild Wild West at that time & now We're just now finding out about what they did since everybody were protesting against the Vietnam War at that time why didn't anybody did the same for the Wild Wild West being single out of being taking off the program schedule besides there were almost plenty of programs that were violent too why single out the Wild Wild West why the Government had against the WWW?

    • @thomasleonard1625
      @thomasleonard1625 4 роки тому +1

      The Govt didnt order the cancellation if the series. Concerns over violence on TV were legit, however networks controlled their programming.
      WWW had issues with too many injuries. Robert Conrad suffered a concussion & compressed vertebrae and forced an early end to filming season 3 & Ross Martin suffered a broken leg in season 4 (after returning from a heart attack) in addition to several stunt men, all from the stunts and fight scenes on the show. That was a major factor in CBS decission.

    • @thomasleonard1625
      @thomasleonard1625 4 роки тому

      @@arncoo63 The Govt expressed concerns over the level of violence on TV in general. Networks controlled their programming. The high rate of injuries on the show to stunt men plus both stars lead to the network cancelling. Robert Conrad said as much in several interviews, pointing out how Mannix avoided cancellation despite a similar rate of violence.

    • @arncoo63
      @arncoo63 4 роки тому +1

      @@thomasleonard1625 so what's your point?

  • @donpotochny2261
    @donpotochny2261 4 роки тому +6

    First episode I watched at the age of six was "The Night of the Circus of Death." The first segment when the frame freezes on the lion hooked me for the past 50 years. Although the feds had something to do with the show's cancellation, so did Martin's heart attack and Conrad getting tired of doing the stunts. "The Night of the Fugitive" almost killed him.

    • @jdsundstrom
      @jdsundstrom  4 роки тому

      Thanks for sharing your memories, Don!

  • @pamelamays4186
    @pamelamays4186 4 роки тому +24

    Jim West had the coolest gadgets. My favorite: boot toe switchblade. My second favorite: travel sized zip line.

    • @jdsundstrom
      @jdsundstrom  4 роки тому +2

      Cool gadgets...and even cooler villains!

    • @karlsmith2570
      @karlsmith2570 4 роки тому +3

      Nowadays, those gadgets would be considered "Steampunk"

    • @gallery7596
      @gallery7596 4 роки тому +1

      @ Pamela Mays And he kept a grenade in the removable heel of his other boot.

    • @ronaldschild157
      @ronaldschild157 4 роки тому +2

      I think he also had a lock picking kit in the heel of one of his boots.

    • @karlsmith2570
      @karlsmith2570 4 роки тому

      @@ronaldschild157 I believe so also

  • @h.borter5367
    @h.borter5367 4 роки тому +27

    Over 50 years later, we have worse shows on TV not to mention cable and satellite.

    • @jdsundstrom
      @jdsundstrom  4 роки тому +10

      That's the irony, isn't it, Heidi? The crap on TV today makes The Wild Wild West seem tame!

    • @arncoo63
      @arncoo63 4 роки тому +2

      Did the Government pressured NBC of cancelling the Man From U.N.C.L.E the same way they did with the Wild Wild West?

    • @h.borter5367
      @h.borter5367 4 роки тому +2

      @@jdsundstrom Yes. Very much so. Anything goes now, I guess.

    • @h.borter5367
      @h.borter5367 4 роки тому +1

      @@arncoo63 Don't know. Very good question.

    • @jjryan1352
      @jjryan1352 4 роки тому +2

      It was hard enough finding quality programs for 3 networks, let alone all the cable channels now.

  • @davidswift7776
    @davidswift7776 4 роки тому +22

    Funny they both were villains in early 70’s Columbo episodes... Peter Falk picked some great actors to play villains 👍

    • @jdsundstrom
      @jdsundstrom  4 роки тому +5

      And both of those episodes were great!

    • @davidswift7776
      @davidswift7776 4 роки тому +2

      Dave Sundstrom Columbo:
      #4 Season 1 11/17/71 Ross Martin, I loved Kim Hunter’s role
      #1 Season 4 9/15/74 Robert Conrad at his physical best
      • such an incredible series 👍

    • @robertewalt7789
      @robertewalt7789 4 роки тому +2

      I’m currently watching early Columbo’s on Peacock (free streaming).

    • @davidswift7776
      @davidswift7776 4 роки тому +1

      Robert Ewalt Peacock is great the way they’ve categorized Columbo episodes and show excellent quality versions, uncut. Only ones not listed are the 2 Pilot movies: Prescription Murder with Gene Berry and Ransom for a Dead Man with Lee Grant.

    • @thomasleonard1625
      @thomasleonard1625 4 роки тому +2

      The ratings for Gunsmoke were WAY higher than WWW. Not even close. WWW did do well in syndication through the 1970s-1980s but in terms of who got cancelled GS was #2 show on TV in 1969 and WWW was not in Top 25. It did do well in its lackluster Friday Night Time Slot (and in re runs & in syndication) but comparing to GS was unfair. Plus GS typically wasnt as violent.

  • @mrshifter8220
    @mrshifter8220 4 роки тому +13

    1st......Man I loved that show, the villains were awesome.....Dr. Miguelito Quixote Loveless. The gadgetry was the tops, even better than The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

    • @jdsundstrom
      @jdsundstrom  4 роки тому

      Not quite 1st...but still right there with the first wave! Yep, I loved the Dr. Loveless character. So much so, in fact, that I made a video about Michael Dunn: ua-cam.com/video/pa8L4lAKjuM/v-deo.html

  • @thomasmiller3215
    @thomasmiller3215 4 роки тому +7

    The Wild Wild West was the only show where I didn't object when they broke away for a commercial. They froze the picture turned it into video paint, put it into one of the corners of the screen...so cool

    • @cosmo1eleven855
      @cosmo1eleven855 Рік тому

      Yeah as a kid i remember thinking that was really neat.

  • @pattymerrill2838
    @pattymerrill2838 4 роки тому +3

    One of my all-time favorites and one of the few shows from the past I still enjoy watching!

  • @KoshN
    @KoshN 4 роки тому +33

    Canceling "The Wild, Wild West" for being too violent, was a *ridiculous* thing to do.

    • @arncoo63
      @arncoo63 4 роки тому

      Mac Breck why don't you tell this to the Government now a days they don't even care how We live today!

    • @Zorn76
      @Zorn76 4 роки тому

      The news was more violent at the time, too.

  • @Jared_Wignall
    @Jared_Wignall 4 роки тому +7

    I had no clue the government wanted the Wild Wild West cancelled. It is defiantly interesting to hear what the reasoning behind it was.

  • @JAG51020
    @JAG51020 4 роки тому +3

    Love the Wild, Wild West! It was before my time, but watch it today in reruns. Always loved how Artemus would always show up just in the nick of time to get Jim out of a predicament, and you never knew what disguise he'd show up in next! It also amazed me how (Of course, the magic of TV) Jim would always have the perfect tool or weapon for the situation concealed on his person, as if he anticipated every possible scenario, no matter how outlandish it may have been!

  • @waverly2468
    @waverly2468 4 роки тому +2

    Robert Conrad said he was actually relieved when WWW was cancelled after 4 seasons because he was worried that the spectacular fight scenes in many episodes would eventually cause somebody to be seriously injured (as he was when he tried to do a stunt where he was swinging from a chandelier). "Gunsmoke" is being shown on MeTV and I'm surprised that in the earlier seasons with Chester the emphasis is more on adult situations and moral dilemmas that Matt Dillon sometimes faces in his job as marshall. Later it turned into a more traditional western when it became an hour long color show.

    • @jdsundstrom
      @jdsundstrom  4 роки тому

      From what I understand...relieved and still a bit sad.

  • @rparl
    @rparl 4 роки тому +5

    I thought that the disguises Artemis got into were wild and inventive.

  • @rrrailservicehoscalemodelr4734
    @rrrailservicehoscalemodelr4734 4 роки тому +6

    My first school lunch box was The Wild, Wild West!

    • @l.salisbury1253
      @l.salisbury1253 4 роки тому +1

      Here's hoping you still have it! That's worth $$$ today!

  • @cadeevans4623
    @cadeevans4623 4 роки тому +8

    I never knew the government wanted it cancelled Dave I'm a big fan of the wild wild west such a great show I have all 4 seasons on DVD wish it wouldve lasted longer Robert Conrad was the first James bond techniquelly love the show Dave hate that it got cancelled great video Dave 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

  • @mikecowen6507
    @mikecowen6507 4 роки тому +3

    Thanks, Dave! WWW was one of my favorite shows! What are the odds that I was discussing it with a friend 2 days ago? Good timing!

    • @jdsundstrom
      @jdsundstrom  4 роки тому +1

      Okay...I admit it. I overheard the two of you talking! 🙂

    • @mikecowen6507
      @mikecowen6507 4 роки тому

      @@jdsundstrom Lol! You must have *loved* the rest of our chat!
      What was Pastore's gig? This was also around the time he took on Fred Rogers - and surrendered!

  • @sherryg1838
    @sherryg1838 4 роки тому +2

    I loved Wild Wild West! But I discovered it after it was canceled, and watched it in the afternoons after school. I remember all the shows with Dr. Loveless, Michael Dunn was so talented. He could play a villain, yet make me feel sympathy for him. I also remember the show with Sammy Davis Jr., that was a strange one!

  • @darwinbarnes740
    @darwinbarnes740 4 роки тому +2

    Yes our government has been broken for much-much longer than I thought, and I just keep learning more each day. And WWW was another victim, just wow! So thanks for enlightening me on this one Dave.

  • @alfredodoardi2717
    @alfredodoardi2717 4 роки тому +1

    Since it originally aired, myy favorite show, to date. Inspiring, entertaining, creative and educational. I was baffled to find out that other shows used stuntmen- as a fan of Robert Conrad, I had no idea of the concept.

  • @Donna_G
    @Donna_G 4 роки тому +3

    I used to watch Wild, Wild West every week. I didn't think it was all that violent and it wasn't because I was desensitized to violence. I knew it was a TV show and that special effects had to be used to create many of the scenes. When buildings were blown up, only mock-up of the buildings were destroyed.
    But, some groups will never be happy and will want to blame TV shows, movies, even video games and music for the violence that exists. But, the thing to remember is that most of us are not violent by nature.

  • @jameskerlin6081
    @jameskerlin6081 4 роки тому +3

    Robert Conrad was great in just about everything I can remember him in..WW West, Baa Baa Blacksheep, Centennial, and everything else. Gubmint needs to mind it's own business.

  • @WreckingKrew00
    @WreckingKrew00 Рік тому +2

    As a kid back in the 60's this was one of my FAVORITE TV shows. I made sure to be home in time to watch it. It was the first science fiction western in television. Robert Conrad did most of his "stunts"and was a real martial artist ( black belt in karate). When he fought he used real karate techniques and NO fake TV Karate.

  • @supernova1969
    @supernova1969 2 роки тому +1

    Dave, you are amazing! Thanks again for your efforts. This show, along with Wanted Dead or Alive as well as Gunsmoke was my favorite!

    • @jdsundstrom
      @jdsundstrom  2 роки тому +1

      Thank you for your support, super nova!

  • @TheGuyMullins
    @TheGuyMullins 4 роки тому +1

    I am so sorry that I lost contact with your outstanding videos... as always you leave me with a smile... Thank You.

  • @jovanweismiller7114
    @jovanweismiller7114 4 роки тому +1

    Speaking of the length of 'Gunsmoke's' run, I can remember when it was still on radio! When they started telecasting it in 1955 we didn't have aTV yet, so we'd go to my grandparents' to watch it,

  • @PlumbPitiful
    @PlumbPitiful 4 роки тому +4

    I liked how every time they went to commercial the last scene would freeze and turn into a comic strip panel. Wild Wild West was definitely heavily influenced by James Bond. James T. West was more like James T. Kirk though. They both went through women like wildfire! 😊

    • @arncoo63
      @arncoo63 4 роки тому

      Yes just like the Lone Ranger animation that ran on Saturday mornings on CBS in 1966-1969 which was influenced 1 way or another by the Wild Wild West!

  • @Turnbull50
    @Turnbull50 4 роки тому +1

    Shared on the Wild Wild West Facebook Page. Thanks for the video.

  • @aaroncoffman88
    @aaroncoffman88 3 роки тому +1

    Senator Pastore was part of the committee Mr Rogers addressed to gain funding for educational television. A nearly 7 minute speech that won the Senator over and gained 20 million dollars for public television. Fred Rogers was one of those deeply concerned about the level of violence shown on television. As much as I enjoyed shows like the Wild, Wild West; the A-Team, Knight Rider, and others looking at where we are now I have to give credit to their forward thinking ideas and their concern for the mental health of children. Loved the video. Great job

  • @geraldjohnson4013
    @geraldjohnson4013 4 роки тому +2

    The TV shows today are far too violent and graphic and you don't know if your favorite character might get killed off.

  • @capester7278
    @capester7278 4 роки тому +11

    And because of Gunsmoke? Gilligan’s Island got cancelled... 🤯

    • @jdsundstrom
      @jdsundstrom  4 роки тому +5

      I know! So annoying!

    • @arncoo63
      @arncoo63 4 роки тому +2

      What the hell does Gunsmoke has to do with Gilligan's Island being cancelled?

    • @KoshN
      @KoshN 4 роки тому +3

      @@arncoo63 According to Google, Gilligan's Island was cancelled to make its time slot available for the long-running western series Gunsmoke. It was also due to Gunsmoke being a network executive's wife's favorite show.
      I like them both, but I preferred Gunsmoke.

    • @raymondkizer1216
      @raymondkizer1216 4 роки тому

      You can thank William Paley for that.

  • @dorothyschlaefer4447
    @dorothyschlaefer4447 4 роки тому +1

    My mom ordered the the DVD's for my dad. But I guess what they did not realize was that I was going to be so hooked on it. I would go up to my room and put on plays as Jim's sister, Angela, (that was when I still had a crush on him). But soon after watching Ross, I have the biggest crush on him. Love the show!

  • @ronaldschild157
    @ronaldschild157 4 роки тому +2

    That Sen. Pastori is the same U.S. Senator and committee chairman Fred Rogers had to win over to get continued funding for public broadcasting. Mr. Rogers' testimony began with a very skeptical Sen. Pastori barely giving Mr. Rogers the time of day. By the time Mr. Rogers finished, Sen. Pastori enthusiastically announced public broadcasting would indeed receive $20 million of federal money (in late 1960's dollars) to continue operating. That is the power of Mr. Fred Rogers' persuasiveness!

    • @jdsundstrom
      @jdsundstrom  4 роки тому +1

      Never underestimate the power of Fred Rogers!

  • @GeraBrown
    @GeraBrown 4 роки тому +5

    The first great neutering of TV violence actually began with the 1968 season. 1967 was a rock 'em sock 'em year for shows like West, Star Trek, Gunsmoke, and Mannix. But the violent assassinations and riots of 1968 prompted a knee-jerk, throw-them-a-scapegoat reaction, and that strawman was TV violence, Since many episodes were already completed, fascist censors and producers wielded their long knives and whacked away at defenseless celluloid, and those 1968 episodes looked much like their future selves in 1969. West and Trek would not survive for the '69 season. Mannix and Gunsmoke would survive 5 & 6 more seasons, respectively.
    Ironically, Conrad ran afoul of the proto-Tipper Gores again 7 years later as Baa Baa Black Sheep was getting started and the second great violence purge was being unleashed.

  • @jackgrattan1447
    @jackgrattan1447 4 роки тому +3

    1968 was also the year CBS started cutting the "violent" (funny) parts out of the Bugs Bunny/Roadrunner Show.
    Guess they didn't want kids dropping anvils on each others heads.

    • @jdsundstrom
      @jdsundstrom  4 роки тому +1

      1968...the year things started looking up for Wiley Coyote!

    • @arncoo63
      @arncoo63 4 роки тому

      1968 was a horrible year that Our Elder Martin Luther King was assassinated as well as Bob or Robert Kennedy!

  • @marytetreault6715
    @marytetreault6715 4 роки тому

    Loved The Wild Wild West! Got to meet Robert Conrad. He was an absolute gentleman and a doll! Handsomest man ever with a tender, gentle soul.

  • @stillonly35cents
    @stillonly35cents 4 роки тому +3

    Seems like if the gov't was going to get upset about anything, it would be that Jim West's suits were always too tight

  • @kevingiven3463
    @kevingiven3463 4 роки тому +1

    I loved this show as a kid and still enjoy an occasional rerun I have never gotten violent with anyone in my life. I guess it's the Frederick Wortham effect, after censoring comics, they wanted to censor television and probably movies too.

  • @cathialford9604
    @cathialford9604 4 роки тому +5

    You know, Jim & Artie rarely ever killed anyone. They beat up a lot of folks, but that was about it.

  • @davegibson9641
    @davegibson9641 4 роки тому +1

    I watched it in prime time. I loved that show. My parents never had a problem with me watching it. My father was a WWII combat veteran. That show was like Romper Room to him. Conrad was such a good actor in rolls like that. He had the attitude. Once again, proof that CBS was not ruled by Einsteins and still isn’t .

  • @joegongora2200
    @joegongora2200 4 роки тому +2

    The Wild Wild West was always a great show and the government has always tried to control what people watch. Perhaps they were busy trying to control TV programming, but were they actually watching what was taking place on the Big Screen ? Because in 1968 movies were becoming more graphic in violence, that's when movie ratings actually came out. For example the movie Bonnie and Clyde, with Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty. That movie was actually violent and things were changing in the box office. Of course shows are always going to be cancelled. It's probably because it's too costly to keep making and influence also plays a large factor.

  • @capester7278
    @capester7278 4 роки тому +2

    Loved this show! Watched it every afternoon at 5pm in the 70s😊👍 Great Video Dave!!!

  • @Zorn76
    @Zorn76 4 роки тому +1

    Among the best opening credits ever for a tv show.

  • @michaelstorm2165
    @michaelstorm2165 Рік тому +1

    Absolutely loved this show! The "violence" was so over the top that anyone who took it seriously and thought it had a causal affect, in my mind, was nuts

  • @johnerwin9024
    @johnerwin9024 4 роки тому +1

    stepbrother LUVD it in reruns; he was swinging/jumping on/off things😄

  • @stevenumerator
    @stevenumerator 4 роки тому +1

    I'm a little late to the party here because it's getting difficult to keep up with all my subscriptions. I keep finding new channels to subscribe to, but I rarely cancel a sub.
    Anyway, thanks for bringing back the good memories of The Wild, Wild West, one of my favorite shows of all time. I still wish -- like my childhood self did -- that I could have a derringer up my sleeve, a throwing knife down the back of my shirt collar, a lock pick on my lapel, a blade in the toe of my shoe, and either an explosive or another derringer in the heel.
    James West, James T. Kirk, and James Bond had me convinced that Real Men must be named "James." :)

    • @jdsundstrom
      @jdsundstrom  3 роки тому +1

      Thanks for sharing your memories, Steve!

  • @jeffmame605
    @jeffmame605 4 роки тому +2

    Why, even today, politicians try to find problems with normal things, while ignoring the real problems!

    • @jdsundstrom
      @jdsundstrom  4 роки тому

      Things haven't changed much over the years, have they?

  • @Jackalski57
    @Jackalski57 4 роки тому +2

    I loved that show! I used to watch them when they came out. Of course you had many other "spy" type shows at the time. It was a big thing. Mission Impossible, Get Smart, Man From U.N.C.L.E., It Takes a Thief, etc.
    The Wild, Wild West had both intrigue AND action! Only The Avengers rated as high in my book!

    • @jdsundstrom
      @jdsundstrom  4 роки тому +1

      The Avengers was great as well!

  • @gmcjimmy3580
    @gmcjimmy3580 4 роки тому +3

    That show was excellent, I wish I could find it in rerun's somewhere.

    • @nortondumont9711
      @nortondumont9711 4 роки тому

      Family Entertainment TV (fetv) airs “The Wild, Wild West” for two consecutive hours Sunday through Friday, starting at 4pm Eastern on Sunday and at 1pm Eastern Monday through Friday.

  • @macconmara7252
    @macconmara7252 4 роки тому +2

    I never watched the Wild Wild West much but you brought back many memories of watching reruns after school and as I git a little older after work. While I was still a teenager I worked the 4 P.M.-12 A.M. shift for a while and when I came home I would watch McMillan and Wife-a show I never watched when it was on originally but boy did I love that show at 1 A.M. in the morning! I had always been a fan Rock Hudson but that show introduced me to Susan Saint James and I have loved and admired her ever since-sorry for going off on a tangent but your videos have that effect on me! LOL!

    • @jdsundstrom
      @jdsundstrom  4 роки тому

      I love it when people go off on tangents! It's one of my favorite things to do as well! We used to watch "McMillan and Wife" on the NBC Mystery Movie.

  • @faithcastillo9597
    @faithcastillo9597 4 роки тому +2

    I loved this show as a kid. I remember having the biggest crush on Ross Martin's clever and creative Artemis Gordon, the man of a thousand faces. I'd have put him up against Lon Chaney any day. Can't you just imagine the face off between those two!?

  • @dannymeilin
    @dannymeilin 4 роки тому

    I bought the wild wild west dvds. All the seasons. Love sharing it with my wife who never saw it. Now I'm interested in getting a darrenger for myself, and still haven't found a decent pair of boots to hide items in the heel. Thanks for sharing.

  •  4 роки тому +1

    In the vaults at Warner Bros I would see the 1 inch reels of this great show! I never did pull off the shelf an episode to play and enjoy but it was always good to know that a great show like the Wild Wild West was there. The movie version was a "HUGE" awful disaster!

  • @adreampainter1
    @adreampainter1 4 роки тому +5

    Shall we discuss the violence of the evening news and Vietnam?

    • @jdsundstrom
      @jdsundstrom  4 роки тому +1

      Yikes! No way, Sarah!

    • @arncoo63
      @arncoo63 4 роки тому

      No what about Combat & Garrison's Gorillas they were about WW2?

  • @thedailydanblog247
    @thedailydanblog247 4 роки тому +1

    Great video Dave one of my favorite shows from back in the day I want one of those sweet wild wild west comic books

  • @dwaynecollins4974
    @dwaynecollins4974 4 роки тому +3

    Agreed, the boot blade was the coolest thing ever

  • @michaelcarter9395
    @michaelcarter9395 Рік тому +1

    This also lead to the cancellation of Superheroes on Saturday Morning in the 60's which is why the SUPERFRIENDS was so educational, rather than action... To appease the censors...

  • @prycerobertson4695
    @prycerobertson4695 3 роки тому +1

    Here's a suggestion for another video: Whirlybirds. I know you're probably too young to remember that show, but it was very popular in the late '50s. Besides lead actors Ken Tobey and Craig Hill, the other "star" of the show was a Bell 47G helicopter. You'll have to thank Lucille Ball for coming up with the idea for this show. An episode of I Love Lucy (that centered on Lucy getting left behind while the Ricardos and Mertzes sail for Europe) featured a Bell 47G helicopter. It wasn't long before Desilu, intrigued by the Bell 47 and its manufacturer, began talks with Bell Aircraft about how the entertainment potential of the Bell 47 might be further developed for a TV audience. The result of this collaboration became Whirlybirds.

    • @jdsundstrom
      @jdsundstrom  3 роки тому +1

      You're right. I don't remember that one. Sounds interesting though! I'll do some research and, who knows, maybe I will find the right story to tell about that show.

    • @marthawelch4289
      @marthawelch4289 2 роки тому

      Just now viewing this video. I loved Whirlybirds too! I have never seen it shown since the original episodes played.
      Lucy did the viewing public some real favors by greenlighting some great TV shows.

  • @jamesdye4603
    @jamesdye4603 4 роки тому +1

    I don't remember this show, and never seen it before it's run on METV. It was a great show, and I have been a Robert Conrad fan since "Black Sheep".

  • @makeminefreedom
    @makeminefreedom 4 роки тому +5

    Will Smith made a joke out of Jim West. I hate remakes especially when they make fun of the classics.

    • @arncoo63
      @arncoo63 4 роки тому +2

      Don't blame Brother Will Smith blame the white producers of the film version of the Wild Wild West. Personally Brother Will Smith should have doing the Matrix instead of the Wild Wild West film!

    • @jdsundstrom
      @jdsundstrom  4 роки тому +1

      Will Smith was just the actor. There are others we can blame for that mess!

    • @jdsundstrom
      @jdsundstrom  4 роки тому

      Exactly, arncoo63!

    • @arncoo63
      @arncoo63 4 роки тому +1

      I even hated the Disney version of the Lone Ranger!

    • @arncoo63
      @arncoo63 4 роки тому

      @@Orrymain1 who really cares? Leave the Brother alone what's done was done let it go!

  • @therongperson
    @therongperson 4 роки тому +1

    To be completely fair, Senator Pastore wanted quality television programming for Americans.
    While on the Senate committee for communications, he heard testimony from Reverend Fred Rogers on the importance of children's programming and Public Television. Mr Rogers managed to secure 20 million for public television from those hearings.
    Censorship in any form is wrong regardless of whose doing it.
    It should be up to the individual what is and is not To be viewed or listened to.
    But with that said I can't regard Senator Pastore too harshly.

    • @jdsundstrom
      @jdsundstrom  4 роки тому

      Agreed. As I pointed out in the video, he wasn't the only politician with concerns.

  • @ThePr8head
    @ThePr8head 4 роки тому +1

    I remember finding The Wild Wild West in the summer of 1983. It came on at 10:00 pm and I watched it every night IT WAS AWESOME. Then school started back up and I had to go to bed at 10:00 pm WWHHHYYYY!!!!! Oh cruel world!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • @gallery7596
    @gallery7596 4 роки тому +2

    Some of the best music ever heard on network television was written for "The Wild, Wild West." Robert Drasnin, Richard Markowitz, Morton Stevens: geniuses all.

  • @mikemathews9277
    @mikemathews9277 4 роки тому +1

    One of my favorite TV Shows as a kid thinking 1870’s technology is extremely advanced..............they came Video Games.

  • @SteveBueche1027
    @SteveBueche1027 4 роки тому +2

    Leave the entertainment to them and the sponsors. If we disagree we won’t watch it. If something becomes popular it reflex’s the people. If the government doesn’t like it then figure out what’s wrong with your leadership.

  • @josetheoriginaltoyhunter2132
    @josetheoriginaltoyhunter2132 4 роки тому +1

    I remember seeing the show in reruns shame that the government pushed the network to cancel them then star trek was also cancel for its violence

  • @kevinmullin9680
    @kevinmullin9680 2 роки тому +1

    Combat got axed at the same time too. Highly rated series.

  • @prycerobertson4695
    @prycerobertson4695 2 роки тому

    Even before The Wild Wild West, there were westerns like The Adventures of Jim Bowie and Whispering Smith, the latter starring Audie Murphy (in his only TV series), that were criticized for onscreen violence. In the case of "Smith", one particular episode, "The Grudge" (the show's second), caught the attention of members of the U.S. Senate Juvenile Delinquency subcommittee, which claimed that the series was excessively violent. A hearing before the subcommittee made the front page of The New York Times on June 9, 1961. With the lights dimmed in their meeting room, members of the subcommittee watched "The Grudge", which featured a young Robert Redford. They saw a story of bloody revenge that included the following: a fistfight, a mother horsewhipping her son, a claim of sexual assault (fabricated) in a hotel room, a story told of a man laughing after shooting another man six times in the stomach, a gunfight ending in injury, and the same mother, at the end, accidentally shooting and killing her daughter instead of her intended target, Tom "Whispering" Smith (or "Smitty", as George (Guy Mitchell), his partner, called him). As the show took place in Denver, when the lights came up, Colorado Senator John A. Carroll called the episode "a libel on Denver". A producer for Revue Studios, which handled the series, defended the program before skeptical senators. The committee staff estimated that 2,500,000 children had watched "The Grudge". The program was soon discontinued, as Audie Murphy himself lost interest in the project.

  • @wiseguymaybe
    @wiseguymaybe 4 роки тому +1

    I remember Ross Martin talking about that on I think it was either the Merv Griffin or was it the Mike Douglas show, I can't remember. He said the same thing that it was canceled because of the violence and when CBS regretted it later it was to late. I may not remember the talk show but I definitely remember the interview.
    In any case James West was what I wanted to be as a kid. He took on a group baddies bigger than he was in single combat, had secret trick guns and smoke bombs in his clothes, I loved it as a kid. However it had certain goth elements in some of the shows. One particular episode did scare me as a kid, though. It was an episode where Dr. Loveless put a certain chemical in the water at a party he was giving and all the guest went insane and killed each other. They never showed the reaction, but you could hear the screams behind the door. Being the 60's they left it to your imagination what they might have done to one another. That scared me to the point I didn't want to drink water anymore...although I had to.

  • @margarethill4793
    @margarethill4793 Місяць тому +1

    When a first my mother had cable TV 1985 Wild Wild West used to came on W TBS Atlanta

  • @lynnpoole7830
    @lynnpoole7830 4 роки тому +1

    Great show! I loved the gadgets and Gordon's disguises. And the gorgeous ladies! It was an introduction into SteamPunk.

  • @stupidhat1779
    @stupidhat1779 4 роки тому

    I have a few vague memories of the original run but caught most episodes in syndication.
    I am smiling thinking of all the episodes my best friend and I renacted.
    I was always Artimus Gordon, it was the disguises!

  • @bajaborracho9139
    @bajaborracho9139 Рік тому +1

    Dr. Lovelace was the creepiest little villain on TV!

  • @vcole7611
    @vcole7611 4 роки тому

    My favorite TV western of all time. At the time my sisters and I were watching The Time Tunnel on ABC which aired at the same time. One night it was preempted, so we looked for something else to watch ... and came across WWW. We never watched TT again.

  • @oldnerdreviews
    @oldnerdreviews 4 роки тому +1

    LOVED the show. I was over at Walmart and found all 3 seasons of it for only $5 a piece!

  • @toddfowler4017
    @toddfowler4017 4 роки тому +2

    One of my all time favorites Mr. Dave! Bill Paley was in charge of CBS at the time, and he hated Gilligan's Island! But his wife loved Gunsmoke, need I say more!! Gunsmoke stayed and Gilligan left!!! I always thought Gunsmoke was more violent than T.W.W.W.! Look at the opening sequence!! A gunfight, and a man is shot dead! The gun violence in the late 60's was bad, admittedly, but you found more of that on Gunsmoke than T.W.W.W.!! You gotta love it, a show about the government, in part done in by the government!!!

    • @jdsundstrom
      @jdsundstrom  4 роки тому

      There's definitely some irony there, Todd!

    • @arncoo63
      @arncoo63 4 роки тому

      Sounding like Art really imitating Life far as the Government was concerned at that time how they used Gunsmoke and the Wild Wild West figuring which shows was the most violent 1 and they ended up dropping the WWW in 69! Wouldn't be surprised they the Government did the same thing to the Man From UNCLE in 68!

    • @toddfowler4017
      @toddfowler4017 4 роки тому

      @@arncoo63 It's sad, Ross Martin h ad just come back from the heart attack! For that reason alone it would have been nice to see another season or two!!

    • @arncoo63
      @arncoo63 4 роки тому

      @@toddfowler4017 yes surprised that Mr Ross Martin came back after experiencing a heart attack & still managed to finish the series until it ended in 69 & even managed lived through the 70s appearing on Columbo, Sanford and Son, the Mod Squad movie & even the WWW tv movies up until his death in 1981 at 61 he would have been 100 years today and Bob Conrad possibly around 90 years old today!

    • @toddfowler4017
      @toddfowler4017 4 роки тому

      @@arncoo63 I consider myself a knowledgeable fan, and I see you are as well! I remember the Sanford&Son episode. Ross played an oil sheik. "It is my own beard!" RIP Ross Martin and Bob Conrad.

  • @gideondingle9363
    @gideondingle9363 Рік тому +1

    I grew up watching this show.It's 1 of my favorite shows and it had 1 if the best themes songs.

  • @cloudcity4194
    @cloudcity4194 4 роки тому +1

    Gunsmoke was WAY MORE VIOLENT than the Wild Wild West. Wild Wild West was clearly camp vs. Gunsmoke. But just goes to show you, perception IS reality and who you know is more important than what you know. I LOVED Wild Wild West. One of my favorite shows of all time!

  • @dalekmoon
    @dalekmoon 4 роки тому +1

    Great show, Great Theme Song and Great Time Slot. The Wild Wild West was holding all the cards at that time in the 60's.

  • @brendakrieger7000
    @brendakrieger7000 4 роки тому

    Thanks for the information😎

  • @magdatorruellas9122
    @magdatorruellas9122 4 роки тому +2

    I had such a school girl crush on Ross Martin's character Artemis....even though Robert was the obvious hunk, even back then I liked an intelligence forehead and smarts.....

  • @funzjag
    @funzjag 4 роки тому +2

    " Wild , Wild , West " 19th Century technology with 20th Century results. I loved the show, but who came up with the idea to name a Male character Artemis? Maybe that was why he was so tough, it was a " Boy Named Sue " effect.

    • @jdsundstrom
      @jdsundstrom  4 роки тому +1

      I hadn't thought of that. Perhaps that's why he was called Artie most of the time!

    • @funzjag
      @funzjag 4 роки тому +1

      @@jdsundstrom Could be , I read a lot of Greek and Roman mythology when I was a kid. So, a man with the name of a godess was irritating to me. I definitely could get past it to watch the show. The show was definitely an over the top, action , adventure, and dispite the name anomaly, very macho.

  • @mrbr549
    @mrbr549 4 роки тому +3

    The Wild, Wild West was one of my favorite shows of that era. The Will Smith version was a slap in the face to the original. That version is mostly forgotten by most (and rightly so). It's not a huge shock to hear that even back then Democrats in the government were meddling in people's lives, and making mountains out of molehills. That hasn't changed to this day.

    • @jdsundstrom
      @jdsundstrom  4 роки тому

      The committee had senators from both parties in it.

    • @mrbr549
      @mrbr549 4 роки тому +2

      @@jdsundstrom That may be true,but it was initiated under a Democrat President's administration, Senator John Pastore (D) requested that the Surgeon General form a committee, Senator John Pastore (D) chaired the Senate Subcommittee on Communications, and had a great deal of power over the FCC, the federal agency that censors radio and television. I understand your stance, but this is history, and was implemented by Democrats.

  • @ecayari
    @ecayari 4 роки тому +1

    Loved that show. I can't believe that the US Government wanted to cancel it. Honestly ,compared to Adam West fight scenes in Batman, Robert Conrad's fight scenes were better and not lousy.

    • @jdsundstrom
      @jdsundstrom  4 роки тому +1

      Conrad was an accomplished stuntman. West, despite being the best Batman ever, was not.

    • @calvinkatt662
      @calvinkatt662 4 роки тому

      Batman was canceled a year before WWW was. If it had still been around, I'm sure it would have been targeted for it's violence as well.

  • @toshiojohnston3732
    @toshiojohnston3732 Рік тому +1

    And in the 50s it was comics,elvis,james dean etc nothing really changes.

  • @crzrck
    @crzrck 4 роки тому +1

    That was played in reruns not Chicago shoe HF Channel wfld-tv channel 32. I used to watch it after school just like you. What a great show. I wish I could make things like this again but they can't there is no longer any talent in Hollywood worth talking about that can write stuff like this

  • @seanledig1431
    @seanledig1431 4 роки тому +1

    Even as a kid, I thought the complaints about violence in TV and movies were both hypocritical and wrong. I remember when I was 10, arguing with my father about TV shows I liked, such as "Planet of the Apes," "Shazam," and "The Six Million Dollar Man."
    He didn't want me watching those shows because of the "violence," but I could sit with him and watch NFL football where real human beings inflict serious, crippling injuries on each other.

    • @jdsundstrom
      @jdsundstrom  4 роки тому +1

      Same here. Also, my dad enjoyed boxing...which I've always thought was a bit barbaric.

    • @seanledig1431
      @seanledig1431 4 роки тому +1

      @@jdsundstrom Yes! That's exactly what I'm talking about!
      Personally, I like boxing and football, but I hate hypocrisy! If someone is going after pretend violence, then you should go after the real thing, too.

    • @seanledig1431
      @seanledig1431 4 роки тому +1

      @@jdsundstrom These days, I love action/adventure movies and TV shows. I love UFC and NFL. I hold several black belts. I'm also extremely proud of the fact that I haven't been in a street fight for 35 years.

    • @jdsundstrom
      @jdsundstrom  4 роки тому +1

      @@seanledig1431 I must admit to loving football as well. Like boxing, the UFC is a bit much for me. I just hate to see people REALLY get hurt. I've never had a problem with the pretend violence on TV on shows like The Wild Wild West. Good job on staying out of trouble for over 35 years, my friend!

  • @mikebull7775
    @mikebull7775 4 роки тому +1

    Loved that show too!

  • @robertmartin8762
    @robertmartin8762 Рік тому +2

    Tis Irish Bob saying hello Dave
    Classic entertaining show when tv was great. James Bond as a western.
    Loved Mission Impossible as well. Damn fine shows where there was no graphic violence, blood, gore, cursing etc. Not like today's crop of crap television.
    Also enjoyed Avengers and U.N.C.L.E. series.
    Irish Bob wishes all who enjoyed the grand era of television well in life
    😇🤗😎🍀☘️🇮🇪🇨🇵🦾🩺🥂

  • @Beachdudeca
    @Beachdudeca 4 роки тому +1

    Robert Conrad was such a Stud !

  • @chrispetersen4863
    @chrispetersen4863 4 роки тому +1

    I loved this show!
    How ironic... the man who was, according to many, behind those historic deaths calls for an investigation into violence on tv to throw people off the scent...

    • @jdsundstrom
      @jdsundstrom  4 роки тому

      Government is full of ironic moments.

    • @chrispetersen4863
      @chrispetersen4863 4 роки тому

      @@jdsundstrom Hehe, So very, very true! Keep up the great content Dave! We enjoy it!

  • @wildforthecats661
    @wildforthecats661 2 роки тому +1

    West was the scapegoat. One “violent show had to go. CBS execs wife loved Gunsmoke, so it was saved and Wild was cancelled.

    • @jdsundstrom
      @jdsundstrom  2 роки тому

      Gilligan's Island was the show that was cancelled so that Gunsmoke could survive. CBS President Bob Paley's wife couldn't imagine a world where she couldn't get her James Arness fix. 🙂

    • @wildforthecats661
      @wildforthecats661 2 роки тому

      @@jdsundstrom GI was canceled in 1967, West not until 1969. According to Susan Kessler’s WWW book it was West.

  • @edwinkirkland8856
    @edwinkirkland8856 4 роки тому +3

    Wild,wild west brilliant show

  • @Madmax35744
    @Madmax35744 4 роки тому +1

    Interesting- Ross Martin-Martin Luther King. Robert Conrad- Robert Kennedy

    • @jdsundstrom
      @jdsundstrom  4 роки тому

      Holy crap, Batman! I had never realized the weird name connection!