Growing up in the 1950s and 1960s I (like so many young
people of the time) watched Westerns on TV. Call it the American Spirit or a
fascination with history (albeit modified and cleaned up), Western TV shows romanticized
the Old West.
The bad guys always lost, the Indians (while noble) were
wild savages-mostly and life on the plains was simple and idealized.
I had my favorites: Gunsmoke, Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp, The
Rifleman, Bonanza, but there were dozens more spread out over the 1940s to the
1970s.
Author Richard West and McFarland Classics present Television
Westerns Major and Minor Series 1946-1978.
Pages are filled with insightful information about the
shows, black and white photos and several Appendix on Timelines, Actors, Emmy
Winners and so forth.
If you’re a fan of the old TV Westerns like I am then be
sure to rustle up a copy to take back to the old homestead.
Quinn Martin, that name may not mean much to today’s television
audience but back in the 1960s and 1970s Quinn Martin was a powerful creative
force to be reckoned with.
Quinn Martin, Producers offers ‘A Behind-the-Scenes History
of QM Productions and Its Founder.
Quinn Martin was responsible for a string of popular TV
shows that featured more adult themes and often broached subject matters other
TV shows of the time avoided.
Never one to turn down a challenge Quinn Martin produced and
co-created some of the most memorable TV shows of any era. Such shows as
Cannon, Barnaby Jones, The FBI, The Invaders, The Streets of San Francisco and
other legendary shows became the templates of many of the shows seen on TV
today.
Involved in all aspects of each show Quinn Martin took part
in selecting actors and actresses, scripts, set pieces: any and everything that
had to do with producing high quality TV programs.
Author Jonathan Etter has done an outstanding job of delving
into the history of QM Productions and the man behind the name.