A Step Forward In The 60's Western Genre

louiepatti

Are there spoilers in here? Perhaps, I guess, though I'll try to keep them small. . . . With the decade of the sixties awash in westerns of virtually every stripe, it was easy to find the good, the bad and the ugly, as well as the overrated ones like Gunsmoke and Bonanza/Ponderosa. This entry into the genre was more daring and original than most. Set in the era immediately following the American Civil War, it featured a matriarch instead of a patriarch and a lead character that was illegitimate, which back when this show aired was a big deal. The Big Valley started out with so much promise; it was well-cast, well-acted and well-directed. Though it lacked the authenticity of the later series The High Chaparral, this show had heart.

Barbara Stanwyck lit up the screen as Victoria Barkley, the clan's motherly leader. She was a starchy actress wearing her role like a second skin and was convincing as a woman who could be both feminine and tough as nails. Eldest son Jarrod, the calm and suave lawyer, was wonderfully portrayed by Richard Long. The thankless role of hotheaded middle son Nick went to Peter Breck, who handled it well and made the flawed character likable. The third and most sensitive son, the bastard Heath, was acted by the normally wooden Lee Majors, who actually managed to convey some real feelings. Beautiful and high-strung daughter Audra was played perfectly by young and lovely Linda Evans. (The actor playing the youngest son Eugene vanished after only one season---turns out he was drafted, too bad.) With a great cast, good music(especially the theme song), solid direction and production, all that remained to keep The Big Valley great was the writing. At first fine, the scripts began to decline in quality, becoming too formulaic. Victoria soon became more of a prop than a person, what with her constantly being kidnapped or vanishing somehow. Audra's spirited character was watered down to wimpish, as if a girl couldn't be both pretty and strong. Nick and Heath's initial friction wore down too fast and too soon. It would've been nice to see a more gradual growth in their relationship from strained to brotherly, since their early clashes provided the conflict needed for good drama. Jarrod remained generally unchanged and didn't seem to grow much as a character. The youngest boy Eugene left without much fanfare, regret or explanation, which was a pity, because he was good for the show and perhaps deserved a better send-off.

The stories' decline was gradual and there were some good episodes that dealt with racial issues, mental illness, the trauma and horror of war, and day-to-day problems of living in the only partly settled American West. Many fine guest stars abounded, such as Barabra Luna, Marty Allen and Martin Landau, though the regular cast was strong enough to carry the show without much outside help. Unfortunately, the writing's weakness was The Big Valley's Achilles' heel. Even when handled by such a solidly professional cast, the scripts were becoming increasingly lame and the great feeling of angst that had been part of the original show evaporated. Still, decline aside, this program remains one of my favorite Westerns in rerun land. Though not as strongly crafted or consistently good as its later cousin The High Chaparral, The Big Valley was superior to Bonanza/Ponderosa and had far more energy than that venerable dinosaur Gunsmoke. On a scale of one to ten, I'd give this show a seven.

score /10

louiepatti 3 February 2006

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1281960/