alan viets
This show had everything you could ever want from a TV Show. Drama, comedy, and action. Even a touch of horror, I can still hear Bradford Dillman creepily calling "Audra". Social biting commentary on issues that were important then, now and forever. Racial tensions, poverty, labor disputes, sexism and ageism. The cast was first class and does not need me to sing their praises. So lets look at the guest stars and bit parts: Charles Bronson, William Shatner, Ronnie Howard, Olivia de Havilland, Richard Dreyfuss, Jo Ann Pflug, Regis Philbin, Cloris Leachman, Karen Black, Harry Dean Stanton, John Carradine, Wayne Rogers, Charles Grodin, George Kennedy, Leslie Nielsen, Joe Don Baker, Anne Baxter, Adam West, Lee Grant, Robert Goulet, Julie Harris, Robert Loggia, Carol Lynley, Ellen Burstyn, Milton Berle, Jill St. John, Buddy Hackett, Katharine Ross, Martin Landau, Dennis Hopper, Warren Oates... But of course my personal favorite was James Gregory as Simon Carter. In Short: Good Family Show, Watch It.
raysond
"The Big Valley" was created by A.I. Bezzerides and Louis F. Edelman and produced by the team of Arnold Laven, Jules Levy, and Arthur Gardner under their production company Levy-Gardner-Laven Productions for Four Star Television. The series originally ran for four seasons at ABC-TV from September 15, 1965 until May 19, 1969 producing 112 episodes in color. This was the first time that Four Star Television(the company founded by Dick Powell that produced Westerns like "Wanted;Dead or Alive", "Lawman of the Plains",and "The Rifleman")produced a weekly television series that was produced and filmed in color and was ABC's answer to "Bonanza" which was on a rival network. The series was without a doubt, big in production,big in bring on top-name guest stars,and big on riveting action and exciting Western adventure each week.The series starred Oscar winning actress Barbara Stanwyck as Victoria Barkley as the widow of a wealthy 19th century California rancher Tom Barkley(whose name was mentioned in various episodes)along with her two sons Jarrod Thomas Barkley(Richard Long),the eldest son who was a respected attorney at law and was highly educated who handled all of the family's legal and business affairs. Nicholas "Nick" Barkley(Peter Breck )was the hot-tempered one who managed the family ranch but also got into fist fights but had a carefree side. Audra Barkley(Linda Evans) was Victoria's only daughter who was self-absorbed, bold and forward. Heath Barkley(Lee Majors) was the illegitimate son of Victoria's late husband who literally had to fight his way into the Barkley home,but was rough and tough on the outside and caring and sensitive on the inside. The youngest Barkley son was Eugene(Charles Briles),a medical student studying a Berkeley(Charles Briles appeared in Season 1 only in eight episodes and then in episode 21 of the series was written out of the show). Silas(Napoleon Whiting)was the family's housekeeper and denture servant.The story lines were indeed well-written that brought in big name directors and big name guest stars ranging from Julie Harris, Cloris Leachman, Colleen Dewhurst, Richard Dreyfuss, Bradford Dillman, James Whitmore, Warren Oates, Charles Bronson, Diane Baker, James Gregory, to Andrew Duggan, Barbara Luna, Julia Adams, Yaphet Kotto, Beah Richards, to Dan O'Herlihy, Kathy Garver, Ron Howard, Katherine Ross, Darby Hinton, Ellen Burstyn, Julie London, Pernell Roberts, William Shatner, Leslie Nielsen, Bruce Dern, Yvonne Craig, Johnny Crawford, Lee Grant, Martin Landau, George Kennedy, Lou Rawls, Maurice Evans, Brock Peters, Royal Dano, Joesph Campanella, Buddy Hackett,and Robert Walker Junior just to name a few of the guest stars that appeared in various episodes of "The Big Valley". Actor Kevin Hagen appeared six times as a guest star in various episodes.The series during it's first season won Barbara Stanwyck the Emmy for Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 1966. She was nominated two more times in 1967 and 1968 and earned three Golden Globe Nominations as Best Television Star(1966,1967,and 1968). Actors Richard Long and Peter Breck as well as Lee Majors received Emmy nominations for their work on the series. The series aired on ABC's prime-time Wednesday night schedule for all of Season 1(1965-1966). The second season saw the series moved to Monday nights for the remainder of it's run(Seasons 2-4 from 1966- 1969). The reason why "The Big Valley" was canceled in it's final season due to poor ratings when it went up against the powerhouse of "The Carol Burnett Show" that clobbered it in the ratings. The show that eventually replaced "The Big Valley" for the 1969-1970 season was the anthology comedy-drama series "Love,American Style" where former "Big Valley" regulars Peter Breck, Lee Majors and Linda Evans made guest appearances.Several great episodes do stand out from this Emmy winning and Golden Globe nominated series ranging from the pilot episode "Palms of Glory",to "The Prize", "Top of the Stairs", "Shadow of a Giant", "A Flock of Trouble", "Earthquake!", "The Death Merchant", "Hell Hath No Fury", "Miranda", "The Iron Box", "Boots with My Father's Name", "Point and Counterpoint", "The Profit and the Lost", "Night of the Executioner","Ladykiller", "The Long Ride", "The Emperor of Rice", "The Murdered Party","The Buffalo Man", "Joshua Watson", "Days of Wrath", "My Son My Son",and the two-parter episode "Explosion!" just to name a few.
mhrabovsky1-1
What a great western....know what I missed the most when I was drafted and sent to Vietnam in the summer of 1966, my family of course and my fiancé, but knowing I would not get to see "The Big Valley" for a whole year until I got back!! Great stories and watching the individual personalities of the Barkley's mesh together through all kinds of crises...Jarrod the cool, suave lawyer who used a lot of wisdom, Nick the brawler, ranch boss and tough guy, Heath the level headed version of Nick who used a little common sense when Nick wanted to use his fists, Audra, oh wow, what teenage boy was not in love with her on the show and the classy Barbara Stanwyck, the matriarch and cool head of the Barkley clan who used her wisdom and extraordinary ability to reason out any crisis. What kind of color film did they use in the series? I have been overjoyed to watch the BV on the western channel since it came back on in December 05 and every episode is crystal clear with brilliant color. Every episode has a lot of current and former Hollywood stars like Coleen Dewhurst, Richard Dreyfuss, Adam West, Julie Adams, James Gregory, William Shatner and many others.....the stories were well written and kept the viewers interest throughout the entire episode. Only thing I could not understand is how so many people came walking through the door of the front of the Barkley home without knocking! Also a couple episodes when they entered the side door and just showed up in the house!! Audra always seemed to get smitten with a lot of handsome men on the show who dumped her in the end...or their relationship had too many holes in it to last. Loved the episode when she loved Bradford Dillman and fell off a cliff and was hanging onto the proverbial tree stuck in the side of the mountain! Oh yes, he threw her a rope and all ended well, ha-ha!! Would love to see a BV reunion with Lee Majors, Linda Evans and Peter Breck reprising their roles.
