Amazon.com video review:
This is a landmark episode in the genre-bending TV series that crossed Old West action with James Bond espionage. Secret service agent James West
(Robert Conrad) meets his elusive nemesis, the diabolical and diminutive
Dr. Miguelito Loveless (Michael Dunn), who has invented a powerful
explosive "that can bring the nation to its knees." He does not trust his
invention to the government, which wants it for "peaceful purposes." "An
explosion like that in the hands of politicians and generals?" he not
unreasonably asks. "What kind of peace can you expect from the likes of
them? They're vermin." Loveless is a great character: urbane, witty, and
brilliant. Among his inventions that give West and his partner, Artemus
Gordon (Ross Martin), a good chuckle are nascent versions of radio,
television, and penicillin. He steals the show. Also a hoot is West's
custom-equipped stagecoach, which like 007's Astin Martin comes complete
with an ejector seat. As in every episode, West is irresistible to women,
prompting one curious exchange. "Why don't you find me amusing?" a frontier
babe asks. "Because you're 80 percent water," West replies. I don't quite
get that, but at my first chance I'm working it into a conversation.
--Donald Liebenson
Amazon.com video review:
Frontier secret service agent James West
(Robert Conrad) and master of disguise Artemus Gordon (Ross Martin)
are called in when railroad workers are ambushed. Cheyenne Indians are
being blamed for the attacks, but the chief (John Drew Barrymore,
actress Drew's dad) insists, "My people are innocent." So who is
demanding a ransom of $500,000 in gold? If you can get past the
politically incorrect Native American stereotypes (particularly Susan
Silo as a comely squaw), this vintage black-and-white episode from
The Wild, Wild West's inaugural 1965 season offers a passel of
great guest stars, including Katharine Ross (Butch Cassidy and the
Sundance Kid) and Elisha Cook Jr. (The Maltese
Falcon). Surely that can't be Leslie Nielsen in a villainous role
as a vengeful Army general? (Yes, that's Nielsen, and don't call me
Shirley). This program is also available in a three-volume boxed set.
--Donald Liebenson
Amazon.com video review:
He's a supersuave special agent. He has an arsenal of custom-made
high-tech gadgets. Women find him irresistible. James Bond? No, James West,
from the fondly remembered genre-bending TV series The Wild, Wild
West, starring Robert Conrad as a frontier 007. Posing as "the dandiest
dude that ever crossed the Mississippi," West and his partner, master of
disguise Artemus Gordon (Ross Martin), foil diabolical plots to, primarily,
take over the world. This boxed set rounds up three vintage episodes from
the series' inaugural 1965 season. In the pilot, "The Night of the
Inferno," President Grant himself recruits West, "the finest underground
intelligence officer we have," to stop a revolution. Guest stars include Suzanne Pleshette as the proprietor of, um, a gambling house and Victor
Buono as the mysterious Wing Fat. In "The Night of the Double-Edge
Knife," Cheyenne Indians are blamed for a series of attacks on railroad
workers. Guest stars include Leslie Nielsen (playing it straight as an
exiled Army general with a grudge), Katharine Ross, Elisha Cook Jr., and
Drew's dad, John Drew Barrymore. "The Night the Wizard Shook the
Earth" introduces the villain who would be West's most elusive nemesis
throughout the series, the diminutive Dr. Miguelito Loveless (Michael Dunn).
That's Richard Kiel, better known as Jaws on The Spy Who Loved Me, as
his henchman. --Donald Liebenson
