The Wild Wild West - General Discussion

[Tom Holmberg]

 

The Bizarre Reason Why 'The Wild Wild West' Was Cancelled

"Rather than take a nuanced and sensible approach to a complex issue, some American politicians were quick to point fingers in any deflective direction they considered favorable. Turning to their televisions, they found the perfect scapegoat in the form of violence depicted in current programming. "

https://collider.com/the-wild-wild-west-cancelled-political/

 

Edited June 23, 2023 by Tom Holmberg

[chessiegal]

In Susan Kesler's book, The Wild Wild West The Series, she reports on an interview Conrad gave to Daily Variety. All the directors were given guidelines to follow in the 4th season on basically reducing the amount of violence. Conrad wasn't wearing a gun. The sound of punches was replaced with music. It wasn't enough.

[chessiegal]

I bought Inside The Wild Wild West by R.M. Cangey, one of the stunt crew that Conrad was friends with. It's not well-written but has some interesting details. I know I've had it for over a year, but just saw today that the book is autographed by Cangey himself. No wonder they were asking an arm and a leg for it when I first found it online! I kept an eye on it and bought it for under $50.

[chessiegal]

Saturday, June 24 MeTV is airing "The Night of Deadly Bubble" at 10 am ET. This is Season 2 Episode 22 which originally aired February 24, 1967.

Quote

Professor McClennan alerts West and Gordon to the fact that a series of recent tidal waves may not be naturally caused. When he is killed before he can elaborate, the agents join forces with Professor Abigail Pringle, McClennan's colleague, and eventually get on the trail of Captain Horatio Philo, a marine biologist with rather extreme ideas on how to ensure the preservation of the world's oceans.

The above recap is from tvtropes The Night of the Deadly Bubble

Artie uses 2 disguises, an old blind beggar and a drunken sailor.

Once again, we have a veteran character actor as the villain - Alfred Ryder who plays the part of Captain Horatio Philo. Ryder appeared on radio, Broadway, movies and tv. He started his acting career at the age of 8. He appeared in over 100 tv shows. This was Ryder's second appearance on West. His first was playing the part of the villain Horatio Bolt in "The Night of the Torture Chamber" Season 1 Episode 13.

The writer for this episode is credited as Michael Edwards, a pen name used by D.C. Fontana who also wrote "The Night of the Watery Death" Season 2 Episode 9 using the same pen name. Fontana had a long career as an American science fiction author and story editor working primarily in television. She also wrote 2 episodes of Star Trek (OS) Season 3 under the pen name Michael Richards.

When West meets Dr. Pringle he discovers she is (gasp) a woman! The following is part of their exchange in the original episode when they first meet.

Quote

West: You're A. J. Pringle? But it's all wrong.

Pringle: Wrong?

West: Dr. Pringle should be a short, overweight, balding, middle-aged professor with a little gray mustache. You're quite beautiful.

Pringle: That's enough, Mr. West. I've heard about you, the man with the velvet charm. But don't let my sex mislead you. I'm a scientist, first, last, and always. Is that understood?

When fetv aired this episode in syndication, they cut the crossed-out dialogue. I expect MeTV will air the same cut syndicated version.

 Philo invites the gang to dinner where every course is made from kelp. 🤢

We learn that Dr. Pringle is a cheap date. She gets blotto after 2 brandies. 🤣She tells Philo that all her mentor's work is safely in her head, which later gets her kidnapped.

Shenanigans ensue, with West and Gordon saving the day once again.

 

 

[chessiegal]

MeTV surprised me. They didn't cut the West/Pringle conversation that fetv did.

[Gharlane]

I don't  remember ever hearing that dialogue being removed. . 

[chessiegal]

1 hour ago, Gharlane said:

I don't  remember ever hearing that dialogue being removed. . 

I've got a recording from fetv where it is removed.

[chessiegal]

Saturday, July 1 10 am ET, MeTV is airing Season 2 Episode 23 "The Night of the Surreal McCoy". It originally aired on March 3, 1967.

Quote

West and Gordon ensure that the Crown Jewels of Herzburg arrive safely at the Denver museum where they are to be exhibited, only for them to disappear almost immediately from a locked room. The agents become suspicious of Axel Morgan (John Doucette), a wealthy rancher, when Gordon notices that a painting which Morgan donated to the exhibit is a forgery. It soon emerges that Morgan is in collusion with Dr. Loveless. This time the mad genius has invented a way of entering and leaving paintings via the use of sound waves. He's also sent for master gunslinger for Lightnin’ McCoy (John Alonzo), whom he plans to employ in a showdown with West.

The above recap is from tvtropes The Night of the Surreal McCoy

This is the 7th appearance of Dr. Miguelito Loveless, the evil genius who wants to rule the world. It is the last Loveless episode written by John Kneubuhl, who wrote 5 of the previous Loveless episodes. By this time, Kneubuhl said he had tired of writing tv scripts. However, he was contacted by Garrison's secretary, who had fallen in love with a man in Australia. She didn't have enough money to travel to Australia to marry him. She told Kneubuhl she had an idea for a West episode and wanted to write it and sell it to the show. Her idea was people popping in and out of paintings. Kneubuhl told her he would write it and gave her all the money as a wedding present.

This time Loveless is in cahoots with Axel Morgan, a wealthy rancher. Morgan is played by John Arthur Doucette, a character actor who appeared in over 280 film and tv shows from 1941-1987.

The exterior and interior of Morgan's mansion should look familiar to fans of The Big Valley as it's the Barkley mansion. The interior was used in other West episodes.

This episode is unique in that there are no female characters. "The Night of the Man-Eating House" (Season 2 Episode 12) came close, as it had a non-credited female voice.

The pea shooter Loveless uses is the same prop Loveless used in his first appearance in "The Night the Wizard Shook the Earth" (Season 1 Episode 3).

Michael Dunne appeared as Loveless in 10 episodes of West. He was to appear in more, but Dunne's deteriorating health prevented it.

Artemus disguises himself as gun slinger Lightin' McCoy, fastest gun in the west. 

When Loveless sets up a traditional gun duel between the real McCoy and West, we find that James West is the fastest gun.

Edited June 30, 2023 by chessiegal
Additional info

[Guest]

1 hour ago, chessiegal said:

the real McCoy

I see what you did there.

[Tom Holmberg]

On 6/30/2023 at 2:01 PM, chessiegal said:

This episode is unique in that there are no female characters. "The Night of the Man-Eating House" (Season 2 Episode 12) came close, as it had a non-credited female voice.

I've read that there were some personal reasons with Dunn as to why Antoinette, Loveless' frequent companion, didn't appear in this episode.

Edited July 3, 2023 by Tom Holmberg

[chessiegal]

Antoinette's last and final appearance was the previous Loveless episode "The Night of the Green Terror", Loveless' sixth episode. Antoinette does appear in the final 4 Loveless episodes, nor is she spoken of.

[chessiegal]

Martin's stunt double got a workout in TNOT Surreal McCoy. Ziplining and running at full speed to mount a horse, among other things. Martin made a great Lightnin' McCoy.

Conrad enjoyed working with Michael Dunne. He loved the Loveless episodes.

[Tom Holmberg]

On 6/30/2023 at 5:11 PM, chessiegal said:

Antoinette's last and final appearance was the previous Loveless episode "The Night of the Green Terror", Loveless' sixth episode. Antoinette does appear in the final 4 Loveless episodes, nor is she spoken of.

I'm thinking, if its true that there were personal issues between Dunn and Dorin (Antoinette), that maybe Dunne was in a relationship and the woman was jealous of his closeness to Dorin?

Edited July 3, 2023 by Tom Holmberg

[chessiegal]

From what I found on the ever-reliable internet, it wasn't a problem between Dunne and Dorin, but Dunne's new wife. She made him break up their act and not appear on any more West episodes.

Dunne's new wife jealous of Dorin

Edited July 3, 2023 by chessiegal

[Tom Holmberg]

That's what I assumed. It wasn't Dorin, but Dunn's fiance. The marriage date seems about right for this.

 

Time Magazine

Milestones: Dec. 23, 1966

Married. Michael Dunn, 32, actor, whose 3-ft. 10-in. size has stretched into a bright career on stage (The Ballad of the Sad Café), screen (Ship of Fools) and TV (CBS's Wild Wild West series); and Joy Talbot, 28, 5-ft. 4-in. Manhattan model; in Manhattan.

*

This book might be interesting

THE BIG LIFE OF A LITTLE MAN: MICHAEL DUNN REMEMBERED by Kelly, Sherry (written by a family member).

https://www.amazon.com/BIG-LIFE-LITTLE-MAN-REMEMBERED/dp/B00T14O8UE/

 

Edited July 3, 2023 by Tom Holmberg

[Tom Holmberg]

1 hour ago, chessiegal said:

From what I found on the ever-reliable internet, it wasn't a problem between Dunne and Dorin, but Dunne's new wife. She made him break up their act and not appear on any more West episodes.

Dunne's new wife jealous of Dorin

 

"He was married on December 14, 1966 to Joy Talbot, reportedly a burlesque dancer with mercenary motives. (Motion Picture magazine described her as a model, in a photo caption in the March, 1967 issue.) The union was unhappy and ended in divorce after a few years. He had no children."

https://tonova.typepad.com/thesuddencurve/2008/04/the-great-micha.html

 

 

[chessiegal]

I was going through Kesler's book to see if she said anything about Antoinette's disappearance (she didn't) and was reminded of an incident in TNOT Murderous Spring (Season 1 Episode 27) where Dorin's dress got caught in the apparatus that lowered the small boat into the lake. After shooting stopped, when Dunne surfaced, he saw that Dorin had not. He immediately dove back down and ripped her dress, which had 100 buttons down the back, off of her and got her back to the surface. Scary! 

That lagoon is used in several episodes. Kesler says it is the same lagoon seen in Gilligan's Island.

Kesler has a small insert where she says the steam engine was the same one used on Petticoat Junction. Casual browsing hasn't verified this.

[Tom Holmberg]

On 7/3/2023 at 4:04 PM, chessiegal said:

Kesler has a small insert where she says the steam engine was the same one used on Petticoat Junction. Casual browsing hasn't verified this.

The working "Petticoat Junction" train (many scenes were filmed with a prop train built in 1950 for movies and sold to the Barbary Coast Hoyt Hotel in Portland, hence the credit on the show) was Sierra No. 3, a 4-6-0  built in 1891. The train also appeared in a number of Clint Eastwood movies including "Pale Rider" and "Unforgiven."

[chessiegal]

Kesler has other errors in her book, some are typos. One glaring example is her title of Season 1 Episode 11 "The Night of the Red-Eyed Madmen" - she has it titled "Madman".

Others are facts in her recaps. She says Artie's great aunt Maude is first referenced in "The Night That Terror Stalked the Town" (which I now notice she has also incorrectly titled "The Night the Terror Stalked the Town") Season 1 Episode 10. Great aunt Maude makes her first reference in "The Night of the Glowing Corpse" Season 1 Episode 7. I have noted these with sticky notes because I didn't want to write in the book. 😄

[chessiegal]

Saturday, July 8, 10 am ET, MeTV is airing "The Night of the Colonel's Ghost", Season 2 Episode 24.

Quote

West and Gordon are escorting President Grant to San Francisco and make a stopover in Gibsonville, where he has been invited to dedicate a statue of a fallen Union hero. West rides ahead only to find the town deserted; a series of mysterious murders accompanied by equally mysterious organ music has driven most of its inhabitants away. President Grant, however, insists on going through with the ceremony. He gives the agents 24 hours to figure out what's going on and put a stop to it.

The above recap is from tvtropes The Night of the Colonel's Ghost

Gordon has 2 disguises in this episode. The first is Ian Gellico Cooper-Featherstone, big game hunter. Martin's portrayal is spot on funny. The second is President Grant.

Roy Engel plays President Grant in this episode. Other than the pilot, Engel plays Grant in all episodes where Grant appears.

The actor I recognized is Alan Hewitt, who plays lawyer Vincent Pernell. Looking at Hewitt's film and tv credits, I think I probably remember him from being on My Favorite Martian.

This episode has my favorite line of the series. When Artie is demonstrating his "landcrawler" (tank) to Grant and explaining how it works and might replace the need for cavalry, Grant replies "You know, Mr. Gordon, it's men like you who'll eventually take all the fun out of war." 😅

There's a shout out to Grant's love of whiskey. Gordon discovers he is out of an ingredient needed to visualize a message that came by carrier pigeon. He asks Grant if he anything "medicinal" on him. Grant pulls a flask out of his pocket. 

This episode skips the usual ending scene with West and Gordon on the train. It ends when the main protagonist, who was supposed to be dead, is alive but gets killed for real this time at the end.

 

 

[Tom Holmberg]

21 hours ago, chessiegal said:

The above recap is from tvtropes The Night of the Colonel's Ghost

This week's "That Guy" is Arthur Hunnicutt , who usually played "rural" types and guys name "Pops" or just credited as "Old Man".  He did play Butch Cassidy in "Cat Ballou".  ( A "That Guy" is my name for mainly characters actors you've seen many times but you don't know their names so you say "There's that gut!")

[Tom Holmberg]

The Untold Story of Michael Dunn

 

[chessiegal]

Saturday, July 15, 10 am ET MeTV is airing "The Night of the Deadly Blossom", Season 2 Episode 25. The original air date was March 17, 1967.

Quote

West and Gordon receive a summons from Admiral Agnow, chief of Naval Intelligence for the Pacific Fleet, but upon arrival they find that he and his staff have been murdered. An attempt on the agents' lives soon follows. Next day, they are informed by Assistant Secretary of State Levering Davis that the king of the strategically important Sandwich Islands is seeking an alliance with the United States and will soon arrive secretly in San Francisco; the agents must determine who is behind the recent murders and why, as well as the cause of the destruction of the frigate Youngstown, before King Kalakua arrives.

The above recap is from tvtopes The Night of the Deadly Blossom.

Artie has 2 disguises, a stevedore and one of the villain's mooks. 

The episode is a shout-out to the first James Bond film Dr. No that came out in 1962.

James finds himself strapped to a table with a swinging blade pendulum slowly lowering to kill him. The villain Barclay states he was inspired by Poe's short story The Pit and the Pendulum.

I'm not sure what the writers were smoking, but the red suits with white hoods are quite the get-up. Judging from the costumes in the next episode "The Night of the Cadre", they were just warming up.

As usual, West and Gordon prevail, and the King of the Sandwich Islands is spared.

 

[Tom Holmberg]

On 7/14/2023 at 2:16 PM, chessiegal said:

Saturday, July 15, 10 am ET MeTV is airing "The Night of the Deadly Blossom", Season 2 Episode 25. The original air date was March 17, 1967.

The above recap is from tvtopes The Night of the Deadly Blossom.

Artie has 2 disguises, a stevedore and one of the villain's mooks. 

The episode is a shout-out to the first James Bond film Dr. No that came out in 1962.

James finds himself strapped to a table with a swinging blade pendulum slowly lowering to kill him. The villain Barclay states he was inspired by Poe's short story The Pit and the Pendulum.

I'm not sure what the writers were smoking, but the red suits with white hoods are quite the get-up. Judging from the costumes in the next episode "The Night of the Cadre", they were just warming up.

As usual, West and Gordon prevail, and the King of the Sandwich Islands is spared.

 

The red suits were very much a call back to the radiation suits from "Dr No".  Not sure why Barclay's men need to wear anything like those outfits though.

Nehemiah Persoff was very often cast as foreigners from very many different lands, esp. Eastern Europeans, in non-historical series he was often a communist (see "Mission Impossible" the series). And even if not a foreign character, he was usually a villain, often gangsters.  He played Jake "Greasy Thumb" Guzik on "The Untouchables."  Having appeared in over 200 movie and TV roles, he's definitely a "That Guy."

Surprisingly, he passed away in 2022 at 102 years of age.

[chessiegal]

One syndication cut I noticed in TNOT Deadly Blossom is when West and Haruko are walking toward the cave, they cut out a lot of that walk that included avoiding booby traps. Barclay refers to them avoiding his "man traps". That would make more sense if you had actually seen it.

[Tom Holmberg]

 

Shocking Surprises of The Wild Wild West

 

[chessiegal]

That video has several errors in it. Conrad's accident that gave him the concussion was not caused by him misjudging a distance and falling into the side of a wagon. It happened when he lost his grip when he was swinging from a chandelier and fell 12 feet onto a concrete floor. It is also not correct Conrad was reluctant to do his own stunts after the accident. Production's insurance company insisted that he not do the more dangerous stunts after the accident.

While it is true that Martin drew a sketch of his first character after reading the script for the Pilot, the character did not have glasses and a mustache.

I don't know where they got West having pneumatic shoes that allowed him to walk on walls. He never did any such thing.

[Tom Holmberg]

On 7/18/2023 at 1:25 PM, chessiegal said:

That video has several errors in it. Conrad's accident that gave him the concussion was not caused by him misjudging a distance and falling into the side of a wagon. It happened when he lost his grip when he was swinging from a chandelier and fell 12 feet onto a concrete floor. It is also not correct Conrad was reluctant to do his own stunts after the accident. Production's insurance company insisted that he not do the more dangerous stunts after the accident.

I think that some kind of tape was supposed to go on the chandelier for grip and that the chandelier was supposed to be swung closer to him so that he swung from rather than "fall" onto the the chandelier (so momentum was horizontal rather than vertical).

[chessiegal]

Conrad got hold of the chandelier, but it was not properly prepared, and he lost his grip and fell 12 feet down to a concrete floor.

They show the film of him holding onto the chandelier before he fell.

Edited July 20, 2023 by chessiegal

[chessiegal]

Saturday, July 22 at 10 am ET, MeTV will air "The Night of the Cadre" from Season 2, Episode 26, which originally aired on March 24, 1967.

Quote

The warden of a territorial prison apparently goes mad after hearing a whistle, first setting free a murderer who's about to be hanged, then attacking West and finally dying of unknown causes. An autopsy reveals that a crystal had been implanted in the warden's brain - one which resonates at the frequency produced by the whistle. Since this is the latest in a string of escapes by dangerous prisoners who have made threats against President Grant, West and Gordon set out to track down the escapees and figure out who is behind the mind-control scheme. Their investigation leads them to Sergeant—er, General Trask (Don Gordon), a cashiered military man who is assembling a cadre of killers to wreak his vengeance on the President.

The above recap is from tvtropes The Night of the Cadre.

Artie has 2 disguises in this episode - a prison guard and Kelton, a traveling salesman with a Cockney accent.

Richard Jaeckel, who plays Sergeant Stryker, worked with Conrad on Baa Baa Black Sheep. Jaeckel was a prolific tough-guy character actor.

The writers had the costume department working hard on upping the campy with Cadre uniforms. Artie makes this comment on seeing them: "Great jumping balls of St. Elmo's fire. You didn't tell me this was going to be a costume ball."

We have the gratuitous shot of a shirtless West when he is strapped to an operating table.

Artie makes knock-out gas that helps save the day.

West finally does the villain Trask in by punching him and sending him over a cliff.

[chessiegal]

20 hours ago, chessiegal said:

The writers had the costume department working hard on upping the campy with Cadre uniforms. Artie makes this comment on seeing them: "Great jumping balls of St. Elmo's fire. You didn't tell me this was going to be a costume ball."

This exchange was cut for syndication, in addition to an exchange between West and Gordon before they encountered the Cadre.

Quote

Jim West: Where are we roughly?

Artemus Gordon: I'd say about five minutes away from dying of thirst or alkali poisoning.

Disappointing.

I had forgotten a lot of the filming was at Vasquez Rocks. Hollywood loves that location.

[Tom Holmberg]

On 7/21/2023 at 1:10 PM, chessiegal said:

The writers had the costume department working hard on upping the campy with Cadre uniforms. Artie makes this comment on seeing them: "Great jumping balls of St. Elmo's fire. You didn't tell me this was going to be a costume ball."

These types of uniforms were still in use in Europe at the time (some of Britain's Guard still wear gaudy dress uniforms along these lines). 

[Tom Holmberg]

On 7/22/2023 at 10:10 AM, chessiegal said:

I had forgotten a lot of the filming was at Vasquez Rocks. Hollywood loves that location.

Luckily they didn't run into Gorn while they were there.

[chessiegal]

 

[chessiegal]

On Saturday July 29 10 am ET, MeTV is airing "The Night of the Wolf". 

Quote

West and Gordon are escorting Prince Stefan as he returns to the country from which he was exiled 15 years ago - he is now heir to that country's throne. On their journey West is attacked by a wolf, a type of animal not normally found in the area, and a storekeeper is apparently killed by one. The agents soon realize that Stefan's life is in danger, both from his own poor health and from the machinations of his Arch-Enemy Talamantes, who is able to control wolves... and people. The agents must protect Stefan and his daughter, Leandra, and ensure that the crown does not fall into the wrong hands.

Disguises used by Artie:Captain Dushan, Cavalry Officer (at 6:15) King Stephan(47:05)

The above recap is from tvtropes. The Night of the Wolf

The villain, Talamantes, is played by Joseph Campanella. Mannix fans will recognize him as Lew Wickersham, the head of Intertect, featured in the first season of the show. The ratings for the first season were so poor, CBS was going to cancel it. The show was produced by Lucille Ball's Desilu Productions. Lucille stepped in and said she felt viewers were not connecting with all the computers solving crime and had them change the show to have Mannix being a PI working for himself. Ratings improved and Mannix ran for 8 seasons.

We see West wrestling with an obviously fake wolf at some points.

Stephan was to be crowned the head of Croatia. At the time the show was set, Croatia was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and did not have its own Monarchy. 

This is not one of my favorite episodes. I think it's because almost everything is shot in the dark. 

[Tom Holmberg]

23 hours ago, chessiegal said:

This is not one of my favorite episodes. I think it's because almost everything is shot in the dark. 

Well, it was the "Night of..."

Campanella was really doing a Bela Lugosi impression, while everybody else either didn't have an accent or barely had one.

[chessiegal]

In one of the scenes with a live "wolf" on top of West, I think I saw enough of his face that it was Conrad's stunt double, Jimmy George.

On 7/23/2023 at 3:59 PM, Tom Holmberg said:

Luckily they didn't run into Gorn while they were there.

I see that one of the creators of Gorn was Gene c****. c**** was one of 8 producers during West's turbulent first season. Another Star Trek connection is Fred Freiberger, who produced the 3rd and final season, also had a short stint as producer of WWW.

[chessiegal]

Primetimer's filter won't let me spell Gene's last name. It's C$$n where $ = o.

[Tom Holmberg]

On 7/28/2023 at 2:57 PM, chessiegal said:

Stephan was to be crowned the head of Croatia. At the time the show was set, Croatia was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and did not have its own Monarchy. 

 

The Kingdom of Croatia existed until 1868, the last King being Franz Joseph I. After 1868, it became the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia.  Franz Joseph I continued as king of the expanded kingdom.  (Austria was ruled by an Emperor who was superior to a mere king.)

[chessiegal]

This is what IMDb says:

Quote

From 1869 to 1918, Croatia was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and had no indigenous royalty.

The Night of the Wolf

[Tom Holmberg]

Making of the "Wild, Wid West"

https://cinemascholars.com/james-bond-on-horseback-the-making-of-the-wild-wild-west-1965-69/

 

[chessiegal]

Wikipedia has this to say about the locomotive(s):

Quote

Train[edit]

Conrad and locomotive Sierra No. 3. The number plate was changed to 5 for the pilot episode.

For the pilot episode, "The Night of the Inferno", the producers used Sierra Railroad No. 3, a 4-6-0 locomotive that was, fittingly, an anachronism: Sierra No. 3 was built in 1891, 15 to 20 years after the series was set. Footage of this train, with a 5 replacing the 3 on its number plate, was shot in Jamestown, California. Best known for its role as the Hooterville Cannonball in the CBS series Petticoat Junction, Sierra No. 3 probably appeared in more films and TV shows than any other locomotive in history. It was built by the Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works in Paterson, New Jersey.

When The Wild Wild West went into series production, however, an entirely different train was employed. The locomotive, a 4-4-0 named the Inyo, was built in 1875 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia.[28] Originally a wood-burner, the Inyo was converted to oil in 1910. The Inyo, as well as the express car and the passenger car, originally served the Virginia and Truckee Railroad in Nevada. They were among the V&T cars sold to Paramount Pictures in 1937–38. The Inyo appears in numerous films including High, Wide, and Handsome (1938), Union Pacific (1939), the Marx Brothers' Go West (1940), Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), Red River (1948), Disney's The Great Locomotive Chase (1956) and McLintock! (1963). For The Wild Wild West, Inyo's original number plate was temporarily changed from No. 22 to No. 8 so that footage of the train could be flopped horizontally without the number appearing reversed. Footage of the Inyo in motion and idling was shot around Menifee, California, and reused in virtually every episode. Stock footage of Sierra No. 3 occasionally resurfaced as well.

The Wild Wild West

Susan Kesler wasn't completely wrong about the locomotive.

[chessiegal]

Attention all Dr. Loveless fans. Our diminutive evil-genius is back with his 8th appearance on the show Saturday, August 5 at 10 am ET on MeTV, "The Night of the Bogus Bandits". This is Season 2 Episode 28 (Season 2 finale) that originally aired April 7, 1967.

Quote

Dr. Loveless has started up a "training institute" for bank robbers. His gang pulls off a series of successful operations but none of the bills taken turn up in circulation, which results in West and Gordon being called in to investigate. Only when, against Loveless' orders, one of the bandits retains and spends some of the money do the agents get a lead. It soon becomes apparent that knocking over banks is only the first stage in the mad doctor's plans...

The above recap is from tvtropes. The Night of the Bogus Bandits

Artie has 2 disguises in this episode - Mr. Lindsey, a painter, and Mr. Fargo, a blacksmith.

Patsy Kelly makes her second appearance on the show as Mrs. Bancroft who runs a boarding house. Kelly chews up the scenery just as she did in her first appearance in "The Night of the Big Blast" (Season 2 Episode 4) where she played Prudence Fortune, the mother of Artie's love interest.

The town of Turquoise uses the set of Dodge City in Gunsmoke, including the exterior and interior of the jail and Miss Kitty's saloon.

The training institute Loveless creates is the Learning Institute for Advanced Research (LIAR) 😉.

When Loveless opens a courtyard door he does a slight W.C. Fields impression.

 IMDb says that at about 22 minutes a car can be seen passing behind the maid Pearline.

Artie imparts some Aunt Maude wisdom at the end of the episode.

Quote

Artie: Uh, if your highness will permit me, it looks very much like we've lost.
Loveless: Yes, it does, doesn't it?
Artie: Uh, well, as my old Aunt Maude always used to say to me, "Artemus, if you can't win the game the next best thing is to upset the chessboard."
Artie proceeds to manually disable the communications array - by chucking himself at it.

We'll see what gets cut for syndication edits.

[Tom Holmberg]

The Hidden Secrets of The Wild Wild West!

 

 

 

[chessiegal]

Saturday, August 12 at 10 am ET MeTV is airing Season 3 premiere "The Night of the Bubbling Death", original air date September 8, 1967.

Quote

West and Silas Grigsby (William Schallert), a U.S. Archive curator, arrive in the Panhandle Strip, where Gordon awaits them in disguise. A freelance revolutionary named Victor Freemantle (Harold Gould) has possession of the U. S. Constitution and demands sovereignty of the area and $1 million in exchange for its safe return. Facing interference from Freemantle's associates, as well as extremely elaborate measures put in place to protect the stolen document, West and Gordon set out to foil the villains' schemes.

Disguises used by Artie: One-eyed Gunslinger (12:25); Honest Johns, Liquor Salesman (16:50)

Above recap by tvtropes. The Night of the Bubbling Death

 Two actors that I recognized are Harold Gould who played Rhoda Morgenstern's father on MTM and Rhoda and Miles on Golden Girls, and William Shallert who will always be Patty Duke's father in my mind.

I laugh at West's line that if the girl of the week, Carlotta, could shoot as well as she kissed, he was in trouble.

We see West using his pulley contraption to get across bubbling acid. I read that when he used that they attached a wire to Conrad so they could pull him wherever he needed to be.

I also like the plot twist at the end where Silas Grigsby (Shallert) turns out to be a bad guy foiled with the guns on the table activated by a foot pedal.

It's the television debut of former football player Timothy Brown who plays Clint Cartwheel.

[Tom Holmberg]

The Best of Artemus

 

 

[chessiegal]

Saturday, August 19 at 10 am ET MeTV is airing "The Night of the Firebrand". This is Season 3 Episode 2, original air date September 15, 1967.

Quote

West arrives at Fort Savage just ahead of an angry group of Iroquois. The fort's commanding officer, Major Jason (Len Wayland), has dispatched a report about operations in the area by a Canadian revolutionary named Sean O’Reilley (Pernell Roberts). However, West finds that the fort is already under O’Reilley's control and that the rebel is being assisted by Shiela "Vixen" O’Shaugnessy (Lana Wood), a senator's daughter who had been reported kidnapped. West manages to prevent the fort from being blown up while Gordon sets about infiltrating the revolutionary group; together they work to foil O’Reilley's plans, which they must do within 48 hours if they want to prevent a massacre.

Disguises used by Artie: Ted Bloom/Bluebeard, Trapper(14:15); Jacques Beaumont, Canadian Emissary from Durain(33:30)

The above recap is from tvtropes The Night of the Firebrand

Some may remember Pernell Roberts as the eldest Cartright son on Bonanza who left for greener acting pastures. Roberts and Conrad would work together 11 years later in Centennial.

The girl of the week Shiela is played by Lana Wood, sister of Natalie Wood.

We get shirtless West strung up and getting a chance for Conrad to show off his athletic ability.

As usual, Ross Martin does a great job with his 2 disguises.

West uses a Vulcan nerve pinch to knock out Sheila several times.

My biggest quibble with this episode is when Gordon reads the beginning of Lord Byron's poem "She Walks in Beauty", he makes an error. Here is the beginning:

Quote

She walks in beauty, like the night

Of cloudless climes and starry skies;

And all that’s best of dark and bright

Meet in her aspect and her eyes;

Thus mellowed to that tender light

Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

Gordon says "aspects" instead of "aspect". There really is no excuse for that error.

Other than that error, I thought it was a fun episode.

Edited August 18, 2023 by chessiegal
correct a date

[Tom Holmberg]

On 8/18/2023 at 4:37 PM, chessiegal said:

Meet in her aspect and her eyes;

It sounded to me like he did say "aspects", but the closed captioning said "aspect".

[chessiegal]

11 minutes ago, Tom Holmberg said:

It sounded to me like he did say "aspects", but the closed captioning said "aspect".

He definitely said "aspects". I noticed it the first time I saw the episode. Seems closed captioning knew better!

They did some major syndication cuts on this episode. So disapponinting.

[chessiegal]

"The Night of the Firebrand" major syndication cut: When O'Reilley and Vixen are riding out of the fort and they hear the explosion of the one case of dynamite, O'Reilley thinks about it and decides it wasn't as loud as all the dynamite they lit. He sends 2 men on horseback back to check on it. West hears them coming and climbs into a tree, swings down with a rope and knocks both of them off their horses. He then strings them upside down from a tree and tells them if they yell for help the Iroquois will hear them and kill them. That whole sequence was cut.