It was a piece of creative genius in 1965 to meld the western and spy genres, adding in a liberal dose of science fiction and even fantasy elements, to make The Wild, Wild West one of the most distinctive and unique action adventure hours on television. There's no denying that by the fourth season in, a lot of the innovation was already de rigeur and that a certain feeling of lethargy had begun to creep into some of the episodes. We know going into each episode that Jim West will romance a comely miss, sometimes a real damsel in distress, at others part of a nefarious plot to do him in. We know that his sidekick Artemus Gordon will adopt any number of remarkable disguises, from a foppish elderly Brit to a Wild Bill Hickock type, replete with shoulder length hair and a handlebar mustache. We also know that there will be one set piece per episode featuring some kind of wild contraption that will hopefully dazzle the senses. The fourth season actually seems a little restrained in this final regard, though such episodes as Night of the Juggernaut with its careening pointy-noised vehicle and Night of Miguelito's Revenge (featuring the return of best-ever nemesis Dr. Loveless), with it steam powered robot, fare better than most.

What's fun about this final season is the parade of unusual guest stars, including two well-known comedians. Harvey Korman plays a power-mad (is there any other kind?) German villain in the season opener with nary a trace of camp or winking to the audience involved. About halfway through the season Pat Paulsen, who must have just lost his bid to win the 1968 presidency courtesy of his fake candidacy on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, plays a more obviously comic role as a bumbling secret service agent who nonetheless has a hidden talent or two up his sleeve. We also get such fun choices as Ted Knight and Mickey Hargitay in various episodes. On the distaff side, the most interesting casting choice is probably Jackie DeShannon, who was then a Top 40 recording artist. And just as the third season featured well-known silent film star Ramon Navarro, this season features early film stalwart Henry Wilcoxon. What will strike many astute viewers who sit down and watch the entire season is the absolutely remarkable regular casting of African Americans in supporting roles throughout this season. This certainly could not have been by chance.

As I mentioned in my review of the third season of Wild, Wild West, it's also interesting to hear the pervasive influence of Lalo Schifrin's epochal Mission: Impossible score on the underscoring choices for this show, however "wrong" those choices might seem considering West's timeframe. I'd add to my original observation that Schifrin's Mannix had since become quite popular, so, as improbable as it may sound, we also get brass-driven jazz waltzes at times this season. I've always found it lamentable that Richard Markowitz never got credit for his brilliant theme music for Wild, Wild West (though he is credited for individual episodes he scored). Markowitz provided one of the all-time great themes of 1960s television, when great themes were the order of the day, and his contribution to setting just the right tone (no pun intended) right off the bat cannot be underestimated.

The DVD

Video:
Strangely, this fourth and most recent season of The Wild, Wild West fares fairly poorly when compared to the other seasons. There's quite a bit of damage throughout the season, with more than occasional scratches and abrasions. Grain is fairly evident as well, and is simply overpowering in some abysmal source shots of West and Gordon's locomotive. Colors and saturation are fine, though they don't seem to be as vivid to my eye as the third season. It's all perfectly watchable, and probably the best that could be mustered from the original elements, but it is a tad disappointing.

Sound:
The remastered mono soundtrack is nicely robust, with great fidelity throughout everything from the required fight sequences to quieter dialogue moments.

Extras:
Yet again, nothing. The first season's sales must have been really disappointing for Conrad's informative introductions not to have been sustained for subsequent releases.

Final Thoughts:
The Wild, Wild West will always be loved for its then radical reimagining of two disparate genres, the western and the spy drama. With its focus on the fantastic, and with equal doses of bevvies of beauty and maniacal evil-mongers, it remains as much fun to watch today as it was during its original broadcast run. Recommended.

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"G-d made stars galore" & "Hey, what kind of a crappy fortune is this?" ZMK, modern prophet