The Wild Wild West is an American television series that ran on the CBS network from 1965 to 1969. During its four-season run a total of 104 episodes were broadcast. The Wild Wild West blended Westerns – hugely popular on television at the time (Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Wagon Train, Rawhide, etc.) – with spy adventure, which came into vogue in the wake of the highly successful James Bond films, resulting in such spy-oriented series as The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Avengers and Secret Agent.
The Wild Wild West is set in the 1870s and deals with the exploits of James West (played by Robert Conrad) and Artemus Gordon (Ross Martin), two agents of the United States Secret Service who work directly under the command of President Ulysses S. Grant. James West is presented as a sort of "James Bond of the West,"[1] i.e. the handsome, muscular action-hero who is handy with his fists, as well as a dashing "ladies' man." Artemus Gordon is West's partner, a master of disguises and also the inventor of the many gadgets that the two of them use in the course of their adventures. The two men travel about in a private train and use their talents to vanquish the many dastardly villains that threatened the United States – among them, disgraced ex-soldiers seeking revenge against President Grant, power-hungry megalomaniacs, and mad scientists with their brilliant but diabolical inventions. The last group includes the recurring character of Dr. Miguelito Loveless, played by 3'11"[2] Michael Dunn. As series producer Bruce Lansbury stated:
"Jim [West]'s world was one of two-faced villainy, male and female, countless 'Mickey Finns,' and needle-tipped baroque pinkie rings that put him to sleep even as he embraced their dispensers. There were inevitable trap doors, hotel walls that ground their victims to dust or revolved into lush Aubrey Beardsley settings next door, lethal chairs that tossed occupants skyward or alternatively dumped them into dank sewers that subterraneously crisscrossed countless cow towns of the period. And then there was that old Dutch sea captain, leaning in the corner of the swill-hole of a bar, who inexplicably winked at Jim as he entered … Artemus, of course, in one of his thousand disguises."[3]
Ten years after the series was cancelled a made-for-television revival movie, The Wild Wild West Revisited, aired and was successful enough to warrant a follow-up entitled More Wild Wild West (1980), thus bringing the total number of episodes up to 106. However, the movie was more campy compared to the serious tone of the television series. The death of Ross Martin in 1981 ended any plans for another film.[4] In 1999, the theatrical film Wild Wild West, loosely based on the TV series, was released.
The complete run of the series is present below in broadcast order. Included are the episode titles, directors, writers, broadcast dates, production codes, guest stars and the roles they played, and a brief plot synopsis. Also, the various disguises that Ross Martin used in his Artemus Gordon character are listed.
The Wild Wild West was created by Michael Garrison, a movie producer (Peyton Place, The Long, Hot Summer, An Affair to Remember) who had, at one time, co-owned the rights to Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel, Casino Royale.[5] Garrison produced the series pilot episode himself[5] but, once the series was approved by the CBS network, it became necessary to find a more experienced producer to handle the subsequent episodes. Garrison, in the meantime, was moved into the position of Executive Producer.[6]
Collier Young, who hitherto had produced a series entitled The Rogues, was assigned to The Wild Wild West but, after overseeing only three episodes, was replaced due to "a difference in concept between the network and [him]."[7] Fred Freiberger, his replacement, brought the series back on track with adventures featuring beautiful women, strong adversaries, and "something very bizarre."[8] Also under Freiberger the character of Dr. Loveless was created. Loveless became an immediate hit, resulting in actor Michael Dunn being contracted to do four episodes per season.[9] However, after producing ten episodes, Fred Freiberger was replaced by John Mantley, reputedly due to a behind-the-scenes power struggle.[10] Mantley, who had been associate producer on Gunsmoke, produced seven episodes before he too was replaced. Mantley returned to his former position on Gunsmoke while Gene L. Coon took over the production reins for of The Wild Wild West. However, Coon left after six episodes to take a screenwriting assignment at Warner Bros., leaving Michael Garrison to take on double-duty as producer and executive producer for the remainder of the season.[11]
The 28 first-season episodes of The Wild Wild West, all of which were photographed in black and white, were not broadcast in the order that they were filmed. Notably, the early ones produced by Collier Young were moved back in the broadcast schedule in favor of the Fred Freiberger- and John Mantley-produced episodes. The breakdown in broadcast order is thus:
During this season, The Wild Wild West placed at #23 in the ratings for the 1965–1966 season.[12] One episode of this season, "The Night of the Howling Light", received an Emmy nomination for Best Cinematography.[13]
| "Classics of literature, film, and contemporary science were shamelessly commandeered as their elements were submerged and made over into a style that was, and still is, unique to television. We sought words and images to convey that style ... baroque, outre, tiffany hues, rich crimsons and forest green, all in the mystery of chiaroscuro." | |
| — Bruce Lansbury[14] |
The second season of The Wild Wild West continued the basic format of first season, but also made some changes. The most notable of these was that the series was now shot in color, which enhanced the Victorian ambiance of the 1870s setting.[15] Both Robert Conrad and Ross Martin were given modified wardrobes, with Conrad wearing short bolero jackets and tight-fitting pants (he wore bolero jackets through the first season as well.[16] There was also a shift in the choreography of the fight scenes, changing the emphasis from karate (largely used in the first season) to boxing.[17]
As in the first season, Dr. Loveless was featured in four episodes. Meanwhile, an attempt was made to establish another recurring villain with the character of Count Manzeppi (played by Victor Buono, who had appeared in the pilot episode). However, the Count was dropped after only two episodes.
Again, as in the first season, 28 episodes were produced for the season. Initially, Michael Garrison continued in the dual capacity as producer and executive producer. However, after seven episodes, the producing chores were handed to Bruce Lansbury. Garrison returned to working solely as the series' executive producer. Garrison died on August 17, 1966, when he fell down a flight of stairs at his home in Bel Air.[18] [19] [20]
The breakdown between the two producers, as broadcast, is:[21]
However, the series continued to be listed as "A Michael Garrison Production in association with the CBS Television Network" in the end credits for the rest of the run.
The Wild Wild West slipped in the ratings during the second season, falling to 53rd in the Nielsens for the 1966-67 season.[22] However, guest star Agnes Moorehead won an Emmy Award as Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her performance in the episode "The Night of the Vicious Valentine".
The third season of The Wild Wild West saw a shift away from fantasy and more toward traditional western with the "villains becoming more political and less outrageous."[23] Also, due to serious health problems, Michael Dunn appeared as Dr. Loveless in only one episode during this season ("The Night Dr. Loveless Died").[23]
On January 24, 1968, when The Wild Wild West was near the end of shooting for the season, star Robert Conrad, who did the majority of his own stunt work, was seriously injured when he fell from a chandelier during the filming of the episode "The Night of the Fugitives". Production was shut down for the season and the "Fugitives" was completed and broadcast during the fourth season.[24] [25]
All of the episodes of this season were produced by Bruce Lansbury. Due to Conrad's injury only 24 episodes were made for this season. For its third season, the series rebounded slightly in the Nielsen ratings, moving up to 40th place from the previous season ranking of 53rd.[26]
Due to his injury near the end of filming of the previous season, the fourth season of The Wild Wild West forced Robert Conrad to use a double for any stunt that the studio considered "chancy."[27] On June 26, 1968, during filming of "The Night of the Avaricious Actuary", Ross Martin fell and received a hairline fracture in his shin. As a result, the script for the next episode filmed, "The Night of the Juggernaut", was re-written to have Martin's character, Artemus Gordon, receive a leg injury.[28] [29] On August 17 of the same year Martin suffered a massive heart attack.[30] A five-week hiatus in filming had just begun, but Martin's recovery time was much longer. Nine episodes were filmed without Martin although he continued to have co-star billing in the opening credits. The absence of his character was explained as being on "special assignment" in Washington, D.C.[31]
Ross Martin returned to filming for the final three episodes of the season, which also turned out to be the last episodes of the entire series. The Wild Wild West experienced a precipitous decline in its Nielsen ratings, falling to 87th place out of 92 series for the 1968-69 television season.[32] Due to declining ratings, as well as a crack-down on programs with excessive violence, the series was cancelled after four seasons.[33]
During this season, Ross Martin received an Emmy Award nomination for leading actor in a drama series. All of the fourth-season episodes were produced by Bruce Lansbury.
Ten years after the cancellation of The Wild Wild West Robert Conrad and Ross Martin reunited and reprised their respective roles as government agents James West and Artemus Gordon in a television reunion film, The Wild Wild West Revisited. This film proved to be one of CBS' highest rated specials of the year,[34] thus warranting a second reunion film, More Wild Wild West. The second film, however, proved less successful.[34]
These two reunion movies were produced by Robert Jacks and directed by Burt Kennedy and are notably more comical than the original series.[34]
During its four-year run The Wild Wild West received three Emmy nominations:
| Emmy Awards | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Result | Award | Category | |
| 1965 | Ted Voigtlander for The Wild Wild West Episode: "The Night of the Howling Light" | Nominated | Primetime Emmy Award | Best Cinematography | |
| 1967 | Agnes Moorehead for The Wild Wild West Episode: "The Night of the Vicious Valentine" | Won | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Supporting Actress – Drama series | |
| 1969 | Ross Martin for The Wild Wild West | Nominated | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Lead Actor – Drama series | |
The entire four-season run of The Wild Wild West is available on DVD from Paramount Home Video in both individual box sets of each season as well as a box containing the whole series. However, only the latter contains the reunion films.
| The Wild Wild West DVD releases | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Episodes | Discs | Originally aired | Region 1 | ||
| 1 | 28 | 7 | 1965–66 | June 6, 2006 [35] | ||
| 2 | 28 | 7 | 1966–67 | March 20, 2007 [36] | ||
| 3 | 24 | 6 | 1967–68 | November 20, 2007 [37] | ||
| 4 | 24 | 6 | 1968–69 | March 18, 2008 [38] | ||
| Entire series (box set) | 104 + 2 reunion movies | 27 | 1965–69 | November 4, 2008[39] | ||
The Wild Wild West had six different producers during the course of its four-season run, plus a seventh for the two reunion movies. A breakdown of the episodes and their producers appears in the chart below.
| Producer | Season | TVM | Total | ||||
| One | Two | Three | Four | ||||
| 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | ||
| 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | ||
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 0 | 21 | 24 | 24 | 0 | 69 | ||
| 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| Total | 28 | 28 | 24 | 24 | 2 | 106 | |
The Wild Wild West employed a large number of directors during its run, with Irving J. Moore directing the most episodes (25 total).
Of note is that three episodes were directed by William Witney, who had co-directed many "cliffhangers" during the 1930s and 1940s, including Zorro Rides Again, The Lone Ranger and The Adventures of Captain Marvel.[40] Also among the series directors are Mark Rydell (who would go on to direct On Golden Pond with Katharine Hepburn, Henry Fonda and Jane Fonda) and Richard Donner (later to direct The Omen, Superman, and the Lethal Weapon series).
| Director | Season | TVM | Total | ||||
| One | Two | Three | Four | ||||
| Justin Addiss | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Leon Benson | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Michael Caffrey | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | |
| 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 11 | ||
| James B. Clark | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | |
| Alan Crosland, Jr. | 1 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |
| Edwin Dein | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Harvey Hart | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Gunner Hellstrom | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Jesse Hibbs | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Lee H. Katzin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Lou Katzman | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| Bernie Kowalski | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Sherman Marks | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Bernard McEveety | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| Mike Moder | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | |
| 7 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 25 | ||
| Alex Nicol | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | |
| Lawrence Peerce | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Charles R. Rondeau | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Richard Sarafinan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Ralph Senensky | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Robert Sparr | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| Paul Stanley | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Don Taylor | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Herb Wallerstein | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Paul Wedkos | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| Total | 28 | 28 | 24 | 24 | 2 | 106 | |
During its run, The Wild Wild West featured a large number of notable guest stars. Many of these guests also appeared on Star Trek. These actors and the titles to the episodes of both series that they appeared in are listed below.[41] A video montage of some of these performance can be found on YouTube.[42]
| Actor | The Wild Wild West | Star Trek | |
| The Night of the Simian Terror | Errand of Mercy | ||
| The Night of the Sedgewick Curse | The Mark of Gideon | ||
| The Night of the Tartar | Dagger of the Mind | ||
| The Night of the Camera | The Savage Curtain | ||
| Emily Banks | The Night of the Avaricious Actuary | Shore Leave | |
| The Night of the Death-Maker The Night of the Gypsy Peril The Night of Miguelito's Revenge The Night of the Dancing Death | That Which Survives | ||
| Eli Behar | The Night of the Legion of Death | Dagger of the Mind | |
| The Night of the Colonel's Ghost | The Savage Curtain | ||
| Alan Bergmann | The Night of the Ready-Made Corpse | The Empath | |
| The Night of the Sudden Death | Catspaw | ||
| The Night of the Human Trigger The Night of the Colonel's Ghost | Wink of an Eye | ||
| The Night of the Freebooters | The Squire of Gothos The Trouble with Tribbles | ||
| Fred Carson | The Night of the Bottomless Pit | Operation -- Annihilate! | |
| The Night Dr. Loveless Died The Night of the Green Terror The Night of the Kraken | A Piece of the Action | ||
| The Night of the Circus of Death The Night of the Ready-Made Corpse | Balance of Terror | ||
| The Night of the Double-Edged Knife The Night of the Bars of Hell | Court Martial | ||
| The Night of the Thousand Eyes The Night of the Underground Terror | The Cloud Minders | ||
| Chuck Courtney | The Night of the Death Masks The Night of the Winged Terror | Patterns of Force | |
| The Night of the Grand Emir | Whom Gods Destroy | ||
| The Night of Fire and Brimstone | The Galileo Seven | ||
| Maryesther Denver | The Night of Miguelito's Revenge | Catspaw | |
| The Night of the Tycoons | Elaan of Troyius | ||
| The Night the Wizard Shook the Earth The Night That Terror Stalked the Town The Night of the Whirring Death The Night of the Murderous Spring The Night of the Raven The Night of the Green Terror The Night of the Surreal McCoy The Night of the Bogus Bandits The Night Dr. Loveless Died The Night of Miguelito's Revenge | Plato's Stepchildren | ||
| The Night of the Kraken The Night of the Turncoat | Spock's Brain | ||
| The Night of the Kraken The Night of the Running Death | Wink of an Eye | ||
| Morgan Farley | The Night of the Circus of Death The Night of the Golden Cobra | The Return of the Archons The Omega Glory | |
| Brioni Farrell | The Night of the Brain | The Return of the Archons | |
| The Night of the Green Terror The Night of the Hangman | Where No Man Has Gone Before | ||
| The Night of the Inferno | Dagger of the Mind | ||
| John Harmon | The Night of the Infernal Machine | The City on the Edge of Forever A Piece of the Action | |
| The Night of the Vipers | All Our Yesterdays | ||
| Robert Herron | The Night of the Skulls | The Cage Charlie X The Savage Curtain | |
| The Night of the Bogus Bandits | Dagger of the Mind | ||
| Patrick Horgan | The Night of the Diva | Patterns of Force | |
| Vince Howard | The Night of the Cadre | The Man Trap | |
| The Night of the Plague The Night of the Puppeteer | The Cage | ||
| The Night of the Gruesome Games The Night of the Vicious Valentine | What Are Little Girls Made Of? | ||
| Anthony Jochim | The Night of the Sedgewick Curse | The Cage | |
| Bart LaRue | The Night of the Juggernaut | Patterns of Force Bread and Circuses The Savage Curtain | |
| The Night of the Iron Fist | Balance of Terror Journey to Babel | ||
| The Night of the Feathered Fury The Night of the Pistoleros | Shore Leave | ||
| John Lormer | The Night of the Infernal Machine The Night of the Spanish Curse The Night of the Bleak Island | The Cage The Return of the Archons For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky | |
| Hal Lynch | The Night of the Poisonous Posey | Tomorrow is Yesterday | |
| The Night of the Returning Dead | The Devil in the Dark | ||
| The Night of the Deadly Bed | Mirror, Mirror | ||
| The Night of the Sudden Plague The Night of the Bottomless Pit The Night of the Headless Woman | Catspaw | ||
| The Night of the Hangman | The Deadly Years | ||
| The Night of the Egyptian Queen | The Ultimate Computer | ||
| The Night of the Circus of Death | Amok Time | ||
| Charles Macauley | The Night of Fire and Brimstone | The Return of the Archons | |
| Judy McConnell | The Night of the Death Masks | Wolf in the Fold | |
| Oliver McGowan | The Night of the Feathered Fury | Shore Leave | |
| The Night of the Lord of Limbo | Space Seed | ||
| The Night of Miguelito's Revenge | Amok Time For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky | ||
| The Night of the Gruesome Games | Journey to Babel | ||
| The Night of the Pistoleros | Journey to Babel | ||
| The Night Dr. Loveless Died | The Cage | ||
| Gregg Palmer | The Night of the Human Trigger The Night of the Gruesome Games The Night of the Hangman | Spectre of the Gun | |
| The Night the Wizard Shook the Earth The Night of the Flying Pie Plate | Who Mourns for Adonais? | ||
| Ed Peck | The Night of the Double-Edged Knife | Tomorrow is Yesterday | |
| The Night of the Ready-Made Corpse | Bread and Circuses | ||
| The Night of the Winged Terror | The Changeling Mirror, Mirror | ||
| The Night of the Glowing Corpse | The Savage Curtain | ||
| Paul Prokop | The Night of the Firebrand | Mirror, Mirror | |
| The Night of the Bubbling Death | Space Seed | ||
| The Night of the Sedgewick Curse | Elaan of Troyius | ||
| The Night of the Poisonous Posy | Court Martial | ||
| The Night of The Fatal Trap The Night of the Falcon | The Gamesters of Triskelion | ||
| The Night of the Torture Chamber The Night of the Deadly Bubble | The Man Trap | ||
| The Night of the Bubbling Death The Night of the Gruesome Games The Night of the Winged Terror | The Trouble with Tribbles | ||
| Sabrina Scharf | The Night of the Underground Terror | The Paradise Syndrome | |
| The Night the Dragon Screamed | Wolf in the Fold | ||
| Judi Sherven | The Night of the Avaricious Actuary The Night of the Circus of Death | Wolf in the Fold | |
| The Night of the Vipers | Turnabout Intruder | ||
| The Night of the Freebooters, The Night of the Running Death | Mudd's Women | ||
| The Night of the Tartar | The Cage (voice only) The Menagerie | ||
| Tom Sebastian | The Night of the Amnesiac The Night of the Skulls | Shore Leave | |
| The Night of the Double-Edged Knife The Night of the Tottering Tontine | The Return of the Archons | ||
| The Night of the Egyptian Queen | Arena | ||
| The Night of the Brain | Balance of Terror | ||
| The Night of the Flying Pie Plate | The Doomsday Machine | ||
| William Wintersole | The Night of the Tottering Tontine | Patterns of Force | |
| Venita Wolf | The Night of the Arrow | The Squire of Gothos | |
| Celeste Yarnell | The Night of a Thousand Eyes | The Apple |
Some guest stars who appeared only on The Wild Wild West were:
Some guest stars who only appeared on Star Trek were:
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