The Virginian The Complete Series One   Starring: James Drury, Doug McClure, Lee J. Cobb and Charles Bickford Acorn Media UK RRP: £59.99 AV9984 Certificate: PG Available 04 April 2011

Medicine Bow may just be like any other cattle town in Wyoming, but this is where the Virginian finally found a home. Spending his time between keeping the ranch running, tackling rustlers and battling general corruption he stands for what is right with a good heart and a fast gun...

The Virginian (1962-1971) was one of the most popular Westerns produced; the whole show ran for two hundred and forty-nine episodes, only being beaten by Bonanza and Gunsmoke. The show was one of the first to be made, in colour, from the beginning.

The show drew its initial inspiration from the novel by Owen Wister and followed the weekly adventures of the Virginian; oddly enough the character was never given a proper name throughout its run. The central character was played by James Drury, though it undoubtedly made Doug McClure (Trampas) a bigger star. The show was different, in that, he Virginian rarely drew his gun, trusting more to his intelligence and moral code. The show also featured Lee J. Cobb, Roberta Shore and Gary Clarke.

Season one has finally been released on DVD with a fully restored picture. The eleven disc set covers the first thirty episodes. The picture does look pretty good, although not all of the damage has been removed, at least not from the review copy, there is the occasional spot but nothing which will spoil your enjoyment.

The last disc contains extras, in the form of interviews with James Drury (45 min, 29 sec), Robert Fuller (11 min, 05 sec), Gary Clark (28 min, 16 sec), Peter Brown (7 min, 49 sec) and Roberta Shore (19 min, 43 sec). Each talk a little bit about themselves before reminiscing about the show.

For a couple of decades the Western was an important part of the television schedule, before the genre fell out of fashion. They were also show, which the big actors of the day, were happy to appear in and The Virginian has a surfeit of established stars and stars in the making popping up as guest players.

Generally the show was intelligently made and the acting good and for those who grew up with the series the release of the first season is something to celebrate.

7

Charles Packer