The Big Valley: Season 1

 

 

Create your own review

This western gets five stars all the way. My favorite Barkley brother was
Heath played by Lee Majors. In fact any show that Lee was in was my favorite. It is unfortunate that Fox is not going to release the remaining
four seasons. The cast of The Big Valley was unbeatable, all the characters were portrayed to perfection by each cast member. They do not make television like that anymore. The quality of todays shows is well below standards, mine anyway. Here's hoping that The Six Million Dollar Man gets released in Region One in the future. I highly recommend this show to today's generation of viewers.

Filmed back in the days when commercials didn't take up most of an hour slot, these slices of my childhood are mini movies. Like a scent that takes you home to Grandmother's kitchen, the first few notes of The Big Valley theme were timed to greet me as I got home from school and sat with Grandfather for 'his TV'. Although I'm 45, married and have children, Richard Long is still my ideal man. And while he's gone now, these CD's are now "Mom's TV" time. Bring on the rest of the seasons, my dreams can't wait for more Jarrod!

The show is a hit in our home. The characters are strong, the stories are dramatic, and the scenes are shot outdoors with real mountains looming in the background.

Big Valley is an interesting fusion of two genres: the Western and melodrama. But don't think soap opera when you read 'melodrama,' think, instead, of drama within a family where dark and light emotions clash to produce tension between characters that is resolved through a combination of heated verbal exchanges and dramatic action. Couple these potent and poignant emotional moments with six-gun shoot outs, galloping horses, and cowboy hats and the result is satisfying entertainment.

I grew so sick and tired of current TV, with its violence, sexuality, and general celebration of human depravity, that I stopped watching it years ago. Now that some of the old shows are on DVD, I can watch TV selectively--choosing only the best. Big Valley is one such series.

One show in season one stands out: Jubal Tanner. An old man, Jubal Tanner, wants to purchase a piece of land from the Barkleys, who own most of Big Valley. Jubal's wife is buried on the land he wishes to buy. Thirty years ago, after burying her, he promised to settle there someday. Mrs. Barkley wishes to give Jubal the land as a gift because he once did something priceless for her. But when he insists on paying for the property, she agrees. They were obviously very good friends in earlier days. Meanwhile, the Barkley sons have made a proposal at the state capitol to build a dam that will cause a flood to swamp the land the old man has just bought. The sons want the dam because the new lake will benefit the entire population of Big Valley and put revenue in the Barkley's pocket. But doesn't the old man have the right to live on his own land? What about individual property rights? Here is the prime conflict and the cause of the story's mounting tension.

There are some very touching scenes with Jubal, who reveals in a series of scenes the sacrifices he has made over the years in his struggle to earn enough money to buy the property. In one scene he talks to his wife at her grave, now overgrown with weeds. It's been three long decades since he was last there. 'After you died there was a hollowness that came over me that I never was able to fill,' he tells her. Then a civic developer rides up and tells the old man he's trespassing and must leave before the whole valley is flooded. Later, an angry mob of townsfolk who want a water-source try to drive the old man off his land. How will the problem be solved? Will big business win out? Will mob-rule win the day? You'll have to watch to find out.

In every show you get to see the great outdoors: mountain ranges, lakes with wooded shores, lush grassland, and more. I love the scenes where a rider will be shown blazing across a wide-open space on his way to an adventure or away from one. But you see the horse racing for all its worth, often with purple-tipped mountains rising in the background.

Sure some of the dialogue sounds wooden and the situation may, at times, be a bit cliche. The show is not perfect, the morals are not pristine (there wouldn't be any drama if it was), but the way the Barkleys handle the moral quandaries is the reason I keep watching. They are good, but flawed, people who find themselves in a jam and must navigate their way to a resolution that is right and good. Sometimes they succeed, other times they must compromise. It's very compelling. Unlike most current TV, these characters really do wish to do the right thing. When they fail, they usually exhibit genuine remorse. Then they work to right the problem they caused. What a refreshing character trait.

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 4 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

 

5.0 out of 5 stars Big Valley Season 1
I always enjoyed this series on TV and am happy to have them come in DVD. If you like the old westerns you will want this one. Read more

Published 21 months ago by Ladybird

Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

› See all 4 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

Search Listmania!