sam-468-676831 Review of The Virginian

The Virginian (1962–1971)

The plots are slow moving, but still very good. If you have the patience..

[8/10 · 15 October 2020]

I'm not going to try to sound like a broken record and repeat what the other reviewers have already said about the show, but in hindsight about this series, the people who made this show basically had EVERY single intention to bring you a 90 minute color Western film each week with Commercials. So because of this, the plots aren't always exciting/filled with LOADS of action packed adventure and there is often LOTS of character drama in the series (which honestly makes it seem a little soapy, but then again, art is in the eye of the beholder, if your into that kind of thing, this show is for you) but the one thing to keep mind about this series is that it is TOTALLY for you if you are a fan of 60's Western Films. The 90 minute time slot for this show basically allowed more time for plot & character development, and the people behind this show were fully aware of that and they took full advantage of that. If your into 60's Western Films and have the patience to sit through them then this show is for you. This show is almost like the diet version of 60's Western Theatrical Movies (often with BIG movie stars as guest stars, too many to name in just one review).With the only difference being each episode clocks in at about an hour and fifteen minutes without commercials vs the 2 hour and often times 2 and a half hour or 3 hour Color Western Films of the same era this show was in. Also the show looks INCREDIBLE if you can watch it now if you have a STARZ account (the color on this series EASILY has Feature Film Quality or the equivalent to that). Now I will say that a series like this COULD NOT be done today (a 90 minute weekly episode series where each season produces about 30 episodes a year? Forget about it!). But that's why it's so amazing to watch now! To think that that is how ambitious they were back then to do stuff like that, AND this show lasted for 9 Seasons On top of all of that! Of course the series went through several cast changes over the course of it's 9 year run, with it's only two consistent characters and cast members throughout the entire run of the show being The Virginian (James Drury) and Trampas (Doug McClure). I can't recommend this show enough to ANYONE who enjoys watching 60's Theatrical Western Films. If that's not your thing, I would personally skip this series if I were you.