Welcome to the Wild, Wild West! (take 2)

[happydalek]

It's the 1870's.  President Grant is in office, the American flag only has 37 stars on it, and United States secret service agents James West and Artemus Gordon are dispatched from Washington, DC to maintain law and order in the Old West.  Such was the premise of CBS' The Wild, Wild West, a fantastic program that ran for four seasons starting in 1965.  The first season was (unfortunately) shot in black and white, and the other three were in full color.  But this was no ordinary western, and West and Gordon were no ordinary agents.  The Wild, Wild West is, almost literally, "James Bond on horseback," and beneath its cowboys and Indians exterior you'll find a most wacky, steampunk-y, glamorous and fun bit of television.


Meet James West (l) (Robert Conrad), and Artemus Gordon (r) (Ross Martin):

 

They are secret service agents for President Ulysses S. Grant, and together, they investigate...

...and fight...

...CRIME!!! (In very snazzy outfits)

All from the confines of their very own personal train, the Wanderer:



They both throw good punches:



But, it's usually James (Jim) who gets most of the action. He's very handy with a gun:



He's also got a variety of gadgets and gizmos that Artemus designs for him. Such as his sleeve derringer:



And his trick shoe:



And his trick saddle horn (that contains explosives):



And his trick holster (which dispenses little smoke bombs):




But despite his mad skillz, the old west is a rough (and wacky) place, and Jim often falls victim to the bad guys' nefarious devices, like poison darts...



...and VERY OFTEN, knock-out gas:



When he comes to, the intrepid Agent West usually finds himself tied up to something.

Like ceilings...



...and trees...



...and walls...



...even to the occasional rocket sled,...



...electric chair,...



...straight jacket,...



...and wall-sliding bed.



Naturally, Jim is quite popular with the ladies.

Like:

, and , and

, and ,

and you get the idea. (It was the 60's, after all.)

(Of course, when you walk around looking like this,



a certain amount of bondage and babes must be inevitable.)

But luckily for James, he has Artemus Gordon to watch his back!



Artie is a brilliant chemist, engineer and master of disguise. While James goes off shooting and punching people, getting gassed and tied up, Artie infiltrates and investigates and usually saves Jim's tight, gorgeous backhind in one of his flawless disguises:





And though Artie is quite good with a gun, he's also an ace with a fencing foil:



...and he's a skilled musician



Once in awhile, Artie even shows some skin:



(Well, sort of.)

...and gets some action of his own:



But that doesn't mean that Artie doesn't occasionally find himself in just as much hot water as Jim. They're a team, after all, and they're friends, and they do pretty much everything together.

They go drinking together.



They get scared together,



tied up together,



even go dating together.



They just liked to hang out.



(Sorry, couldn't resist.)

Yes, it's a tough life these guys lead.



A tough life, made so by their outrageous villains whose plans for world domination (or destruction) tended to include outlandish and ahead-of-their-time inventions like EVIL electric fences,



EVIL doubles,



EVIL dart-shooting blowfish,



And just about anything else you can think of, including shrinking potions:



steam-powered robots:



And even, YES!



Green Alien Women!!
Proof that James Kirk has nothing on James West!!



The most persistent and popular of West and Gordon's nemeses was Dr. Michelito Loveless (Michael Dunn), a little man with a great intellect and even greater ambitions.



(You may recognize him from the episode "Plato's Stepchildren" of Star Trek: TOS.)

In fact, a great many guest stars on Wild Wild West were big-name stars,
like Sammy Davis, Jr;



or, like Dunn, had Star Trek: TOS connections. For instance,



KHAN!!! (with a beard!!)

Heck, that last category is enough to warrant a massive picspam post of its own.

Bottom line, The Wild, Wild West is an awesome show for many, many reasons. A real gem of the 1960's, and probably the most successful cross-genre Western til Firefly. Endlessly entertaining, by turns hokey, ridiculous, clever, and salacious, if you like steampunk, James Bond, Westerns, original Star Trek or just happen to be nostalgic for classic television trivia, you can't go wrong with this one. All four seasons of the show are available on DVD.

(And whatever you do, steer clear of the terrible 1999 film "adaptation" starring Will Smith. Not even close.)

 

Comments

[rainshaded]

Oh wow. That looks to be completely awesome. Thank you for this!

[happydalek.livejournal.com]

You're welcome. If I could figure out how to do it, I'd try to make one or two episodes available, but so far, no luck. I know it's available on Netflix. :)

[rainshaded]

*is exceedingly penniless student and banned from spending another non-essential penny by parents*

:(

[happydalek.livejournal.com]

Curses! *starts working on alternatives*

[leoniedelt.livejournal.com]

I did very much enjoy the movie remake with Kevin Kline and Will Smith... :)

[happydalek.livejournal.com]

I remember seeing it when it came out, and I guess it's okay, but just nothing like the television show. What can I say? I'm a purist. (Sort of.) To each her own, I suppose. :)

[stoplookingup.livejournal.com]

OH YAY! Thanks for that! I loved WWW when I was a kid. Jim West made my little prepubescent heart go pitter-pat. But looking at those pix, I must ask: Where is all the Jim/Artie slash?

[happydalek.livejournal.com]

Where is all the Jim/Artie slash?

I KNOW. There are less than a hundred stories for it on ffn, and as far as I can tell, nary a slash fic among them! WWW is the stuff fangirls are made for. :P

(As for prepubescent hearts going pitter-pat, I just can't get over Robert Conrad's sixpack in this show. Woof!)