Never much liked 'The Big Valley'…
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Classic TV: The 60s
amyghost — 12 years ago(December 23, 2013 08:58 AM)
when I was a kid, and watching the series now, I find I still don't like it very much. I think it's because of the way the Barkleys are presenteda sort of cod-aristocracy who are basically assumed to rule the area because of their wealth. Everyone seemingly kowtowed to them, and the ones who didn't they apparently had some sort of
droit de seigneur
to administer justice to. Watching this, I used to wonder "Who died and made Victoria Barkley the Queen and her brood The Royal Family?"
Sounds silly, I know (and Barbara Stanwyck was lovely in this, I'll freely admit), but the show's basic premise just turned me off. Oddly enough, the series
High Chaparall
, which had something of the same basic premise in being about wealthy ranchers who sort of ruled their domain, didn't give off this vibe for me and I liked it a lot.
Any other
Big Valley
anti-fans (
) out there? -
3rdrowleft — 12 years ago(December 23, 2013 01:36 PM)
I don't know if I feel as strongly about as you do, but I always found it incredulous that a woman would welcome a son of her husband's extra-marital affair.
But throughout it all, my motto was "Dignity! Always dignity!". -
amyghost — 12 years ago(December 23, 2013 02:18 PM)
That's a good point, and it may have been partly that which also made the series hard to swallow for me. That circumstance wouldn't be too likely in any era, and would have likely been even less so in the 'American Victorian' time period. Especially when a large fortune was involved, an illegitimate offspring would probably not have been so readily accepted by either the matriarch nor the legitimate siblings.
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3rdrowleft — 12 years ago(December 27, 2013 10:44 AM)
Evidently, somebody, either at the production company or the ABC network, felt the same way. Check out those opening credits that match actor with role: Jarrod Barkley, Nick Barkley, Heath, Audra Barkley, Victoria Barkley. Someone somewhere felt Heath wasn't entitled to the Barkley name. What appeal the series holds for me is the guest cast. I'm a character actor type of guy and BV had some of the best. One interesting episode had Ellen Burstyn (then MacRae) and Karen Black.
But throughout it all, my motto was "Dignity! Always dignity!". -
amyghost — 12 years ago(December 28, 2013 06:20 AM)
Think you're making a big to do out of it.
Think I wonder why you bother visiting any of these threads when you obviously have no interest in the topic, and simply want to post a response that you apparently think makes you look smart and in fact makes you look just the opposite. As countless other users on this site have pointed out to you. -
drystyx — 12 years ago(January 23, 2014 08:23 AM)
I think you're missing the whole reason for THE BIG VALLEY. It was BONANZA for the ones that were ostracized by Bonanza, namely the second sons and the mothers. Instead of fat Hoss, now the second son was a romantic male lead. Instead of the widower, the mother was alive to be the matriarch.
That's essentially the difference. THE BIG VALLEY just opened the door to more viewers.
Now go away or I shall taunt you a second time -
mainecoon1995 — 11 years ago(November 07, 2014 02:03 PM)
I liked the show for the most part.
I liked Richard Long the bestthought he was a standout
Peter Breck was very good as Nickkind of a more grownup and beefier Little Joe
Didn't care much for Lee Majors. Just seemed a little arrogant in real life, and that rubbed me the wrong way with his character
Audra was a good beginning role for Linda Evans, but mattered little in the plot
Barabara Stanwyck was a STAR, and yet, she melded nicely with the cast and was extremely believable.
On Bonanza, I could see that some people in town loved the Cartwrights, others resented them. On the BV, it really WAS more like they were owners of the town and the people. Didn't seem quite as realistic.
Plots, for the most part, were very good -
telegonus — 11 years ago(December 13, 2014 03:02 AM)
I never watched
The Big Valley
first run, have seen several episodes in reruns over the years, and it works for me. My avoidance of the series in its first run was my boy to teen "I smell a rat" instinct that it was what we now might call a "girlie" show; and I liked my westerns to be virile, though I did like the Matt-Kitty dynamic on
Gunsmoke
. The Cartwrights struck me as even more upper crusty than the Barkleys, but because they were all guys and didn't put on airs (Adam came close), they seemed more down to earth than the Barkley men, and were somehow able to pull off being seen as "just folks" who just happened to be rich landowners (even as everyone in town knew this wasn't true). Hoss was the exception, and he was the heart and soul of the show. When he died,
Bonanza
died with him. -
GSPdude — 11 years ago(December 13, 2014 07:02 AM)
Like the OP, I also liked the High Chaparall better than The Big Valley, but not quite for the same reasons. I liked my western heroes to be straight shooting, straight talking men of action (Cheyenne, Palladin, etc.). Jarrod was an educated city dude and heath was a brooder with a chip on his shoulder. Nick was OK but was too often portrayed as a buffoon. On the other hand, Big John, Buck, and Manolito all fit my idea of what a western hero should be.
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398 — 11 years ago(December 14, 2014 10:45 AM)
My favorite old western series.
On the Barkley's seeming to run the area because of their wealthwell, that is life-merely realistic.
I find the cast better than any other TV western, and the mother-daughter among the usual three sons really aided the series I think. -
adogzheart — 11 years ago(March 02, 2015 08:25 AM)
Loved Lee Majors but thought Peter Breck overacted at times.
http://www.howfelonscangetjobs.com -
Sandoz — 11 years ago(March 10, 2015 08:14 AM)
I honestly have not seen that series since it aired when I was a kid in the '60sbut I really liked watching it then.
I like High Chaparall, too, although I remember almost nothing about it all.
I absolutely HATED Gunsmoke, thoughused to bore the hell out of me.
"You may think thatI couldn't possibly comment."