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Branded was no masterpiece that's true, but as a little boy in the 60's, I thought it was great. It had Cowboys, Indians and adventure. You "critics" kill me! We had two or three channels back then and most of us didn't own a color set. This show served a purpose. It entertained. Superman stunk also, but we loved it! Don't tell me you think "The Andy Devine Show" was quality programing. I only saw it in re-runs, but I remember it was rather poorly made. My sister and I still watched it after school. (Ya gotta love Ignatz!) Don't over work everything just to hear yourself talk. Just sit in quiet misery while the rest of us enjoy 30 minutes of pure fantasy.

Was Judge Emmett Sullivan the presiding officer at the court-martial? He was wounded and in a coma for ten days and they did a bum rush on him? Didn't make any sense.

In the moral and cultural wasteland of the 60's, this show was like pure poetry: a distillation of the best of the west. "Branded" is the story of a wandering loner/knight errant who must right wrongs everywhere he goes while on a quest after a seemingly unobtainable goal. Economical, hardboiled, the product of years of testing the action and adventure formula, "Branded" is a summing up of everything that ever worked for motion picture audiences dating back to the first silent film western. Unusually taut performances from the mature Chuck Connors in a role that was tailor made for him. Each episode introduces a new set of characters. No ensemble cast baloney and no hack writing. What I wouldn't give for a show this good today!

The lone survivor of the Battle Of Bitter Creek, an Apache massacre of U.S. cavalrymen, Chuck Conners is falsely court-marshaled for cowardice and desertion. Dishonorably discharged, he's forced to roam the west, taking on odd-jobs, while enduring cruel taunts and unprovoked violence, proving his manhood time and again.

Branded is pretty high-concept for a fairly low-budget thirty-minute show, with a lot of early episodes (under the supervision of series creator Larry Cohen) dealing with the nature of cowardice and what exactly makes a man a man, as well as Connors' attempts to keep the secrets of Bitter Creek, his encounters with various friends and relatives of his deceased men and the inevitable vengeance-seekers among them.

The first season is the more cerebral and ambitious of the two, with much of the action taking place primarily in town and leading to some anticlimactic conclusions to some of the episodes. The second season finds the series upgraded to color, with a bigger budget and better- staged action scenes. It's a bit of a trade-off though, with Connors' past (and the participation of Cohen) pushed to the back-burner. There's still some quality scripts, though in the spirit of a more conventional western series. It does however, provide a serviceable ending to the series.

One of the show's strengths, over only two seasons, is it's virtual army of old and new guest stars: Johnny Crawford, Burt Reynolds, Bruce Dern, Noah Beery, Beau Bridges, Lee Van Cleef, Dick Clark (!), Jay Silverheels, L.Q. Jones, Warren Oates, Ben Johnson, Cesar Romero, Iron Eyes Cody, James Best, Pat O'Brien, John Carradine, John Ireland, Claude Akins, Burgess Meredith, Martin Landau, Angelo Rossito, Pat Wayne, Dick Miller, Victor French, etc.

As the show ended, the producers gathered much of the crew, Connors and Branded guest stars Michael Rennie and James MacArthur for the feature, Ride Beyond Vengeance. Fans of this should definitely check it out.

I won't say it was the cream of the crop of TV westerns, as far as production goes, but it's premise was...

I disagree most strongly with the first comment, McCord did try to clear his name many times, just not at the cost of others, and McCord, a wronged man, a pariah, would indeed, have to drift from town to town.

If he stayed too long he would likely be strung from a tree...

I too watched this on late night TV, in fact it's still on the New York City ABC affiliate, as a late night time filler.

That's an undeserved legacy.

In the current climate of turning past TV series into big-budget films, this is a no-brainer.

I'd be interested to know if the property's being sought after.

They'd be morons not to include theme song somewhere, it is really stunning.

I was but a wee lad of 3 when this show captured some of my brain cells for ever. I remember the title song, and the ripping of his insignia rank, and his sabre being broken. VERY strong images, not unlike the rat patrol and for that matter ANY tv show of the mid-late 60's. The story lines are only sketchy. The fact that the character was given short shrift legally and thereby justice wise haunt me to this day. As a young child my belief in our american justice system stems from these images... Life has sailed down other waters.... for as I have gone through our educational system these idealized morality shows hold the same power, but the promise of a just ending is always infinitely more difficult to achieve. Most of the hard edged shows like this one are not oft replicated... They attempt to acomplish the same storylines today with modern settings, but most late night crime dramas play like soap operas as opposed to the tone and vector of "perry mason" I would like to see this and other series released in their "Entirity" and not edited and slap dashed to be politically and religiously correct, for to alter their impact in that way is to denigrate who and what we are as a nation and a people. Besides what impact other than simple historical and entertainment can these beloved series wield today? Except to offer heroes who truly can not be "bought" to skew the viewing public into another course of attitude, except fond rememberance, and a ready made source of topical discussion.

I would tear up listening to the theme song . The show was about honor and thought tolerance . I sure wish it was available to watch on the net. .

One problem with this series, in my opinion, is that there was never a real detailed explanation of what occurred at "Bitter Creek". It was briefly mentioned that McCord's unit was under the command of a General Reed, who apparently was senile. When the attack began Reed was relieved of command by Jason McCord but it was too late and the entire unit was massacred . However throughout the two seasons the show aired, there was never an explanation why McCord was discovered miles away from the scene of the battle and why he never offered a defense at his court martial. Like "The Fugitive" Branded should have offered a series finale. For example the discovery of another survivor of "Bitter Creek" who could have cleared McCord of the charges that resulted in him being cashiered out of the Army.

Another problem, which is not Chuck Conner's fault, is that he was in the minds of many TV viewers, he was still Lucas McCain, the Rifleman. Once an actor is stereotyped it is difficult to shake that role.

Even though this series is rarely shown in some areas,Chuck Connors follows up on his "Rifleman" series with a western that only ran two seasons on NBC-TV from January 24,1965-April 23,1966 producing 48 episodes and afterwards was never heard from again..until now. "Branded" was the type of show that gave Chuck Connors astounding ability to pass as both hero and villain,but in this one he is regarded as a coward for deserting his troops during an Indian attack,and that is just half on if,but we viewers know differently. I had a chance to check out one of the episodes watching a late night flick on TV,and in this episode Connors is captured by hostile Indians,gagged and bound while being forced to duel to the death,and in another one Connors fights off a gang of outlaws who want to turn him in for money which they want to hang him,but he manages to escape from great danger(this episode was in black and white). All of the scenes have Connors barechested and this a far cry from his days as Lucas McCain on "The Rifleman". However some of the episodes were in color(and they're on videocassette),and it was that macho crap that underlay some westerns and this was one of those shows that didn't last very long.

NOTE: During the show's first season,the episodes were shot in black and white(1965-66)while the second season episodes were in color(1966). The show was produced by NO other than game show veterans Mark Goodson and Bill Todman(the guys behind "The Price Is Right")and this was their first try at a weekly series(and the last time they will ever do so).

The 48 half-hour episodes (13 in B&W, 35 in color) of the western "Branded" originally aired from 1965-66 on NBC. Although some sources (insert Walter Sobchak here) believe there were 156 episodes.

The premise was set out each week in the title song: "All but one man died, there at Bitter Creek, and they say he ran away.."Branded"..marked with the coward's shame. What do you do when you're "Branded", you fight for your name. He was innocent, not a charge was true, but the world would never know.."Branded"..scorned as the one who ran away. What do you do when you're "Branded" and you know you're a man? Wherever you go for the rest of your life you must prove you're a man."

The series was creator Larry Cohen's attempt to incorporate the themes of "They Came to Cordura" into an episodic format and to capitalize on Chuck Conners' fading "Rifleman" fame. Conners plays Army Captain Jason McCord (Gary Cooper's character in the film) who as the song says was the only man to survive an Indian attack at Bitter Creek, Wyoming. He was knocked out but the Army thinks he ran and hid (a smart move considering the alternative). So the Army dramatically strips him of rank and drums him out at the beginning of each episode.

Poor Jason is left to wander the west Caine-like (insert "Kung Fu" here) with the broken half of his saber. Like Richard Kimble he hopes to find someone who saw what actually happened at Bitter Creek who can clear his name. Unlike "The Fugitive" there is no wrap-up episode but the song has already revealed his innocence so there is no real loose end to worry about.

If this ponderous mess wasn't the worst television western of all time it is certainly in the running. This level of pompous nonsense would not be seen again until the early episodes of "Battlestar Galactica". As Mad Magazine liked to point out, each episode made you regret that Conners had not made it out of the minor leagues to become the Dodgers' first baseman.

"Branded" is one of the few television westerns that would be a good candidate for MST3K treatment. The bad writing has become legendary over the years and was satirically incorporated by the Coen brothers into "The Big Lebowski":

Walter (looking at his hero "Branded" writer Digby Sellers in an iron lung): "Does he still write? "

Pilar, Sellers' Housekeeper: "Oh no no, he has health problems".

Lebowski addicts looking for mock-fest laughs will not be disappointed by this DVD collection.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

As a "Rifleman" fan, I wasn't impressed with this series too much, even though I've always liked Chuck Connors' work.

The premise, a man who was thought to have abandoned his cavalry brothers in cowardice - but not really, gave the opportunity, like Star Trek, Route 66, The Fugitive and other t.v. shows, for the main character to roam from town to town, place to place, etc., to meet other people and help them deal with whatever crisis they happened to be facing at the time.

The theme song was great and gave opportunity for some wag to come up with alternative lyrics... "Stranded, on the toilet bowl. What do you do when you're stranded without a roll?"

I barely remember this show except for the song and breaking the sword. After many episodes of 'Forged in Fire' it's obvious that swords can be snapped.

The sad part of Branded is that back then a coward was pretty well unable to live a decent life. In the modern era he'd be elected President.

This follow-up to Chuck Connors' fondly remembered series "The Rifleman" isn't even in the same league as that show, though it had far more production values, bigger casts, and did a lot of location work, as opposed to "The Rifleman," which was shot almost entirely in a studio. The stories in "The Rifleman" were what really made the show, and the relationship between Lucas McCain and his son. In "Branded," Connors' character, Jason McCord, doesn't have any kind of relationship with anybody; he drifts from town to town and from situation to situation, and the viewer really has no clear idea as to what exactly he's doing or where he's going. "The Rifleman" had a core story: an ex-gunfighter trying to make a life for himself and his son on a small ranch, and running into people and situations which, in one way or another, tried to prevent him from doing that. In "Branded," Jason McCord is cashiered from the army for cowardice--which, we're told, was untrue--and pretty much drifts around the west. He doesn't try to gather facts to prove his innocence, or find people who can testify for him, or anything that you'd think a person falsely accused of cowardice would try to do. He just wanders around, making you wonder exactly what the point of this show is. Apparently the producers didn't quite know, either; in one multi-part episode, they had McCord working as a secret agent for President U.S. Grant and trying to break up an organized crime ring!

Connors did his best, but the trite story lines and the general aimlessness of the show finally did it in. It only lasted two seasons. That was enough.

This series is being rerun on INSP network and it sure looks like it was recorded on KINESCOPE and not film or video ,,,, looks cheap

I used to watch this show on the usual circuit of bad late night television. I will not glorify it; it only lasted two seasons because it was not a great show. It was respectable, however, and had a theme song that made it memorable.

"All but one man died..."

I always watched The Rifleman because I was as old as Johnny Crawford was and I put myself in his shoes. MY dad was always trying to point out that somewhere in each show there was a "point" to be made. That point being made to impress me and help me go thru life without screwing up, which I have so far and I'm now 70! Lucas and Mark made a great team of what you would expect a western series to make during the time of transition to color. I was sorry to see The Rifleman end, but equally excited to see what Branded was all about. Chuck now playing a loner/drifter with all of his hair cut to a butch certainly was different. I often wondered why the sword "broke" when it should have "bent". I often wondered why he just didn't settle down in some quiet, out-of-the-way town and remain anonymous. I wondered why I never saw a lot of the second season episodes. Were they going to cancel the show that quick? I wondered a lot of other things, but there were also many other westerns to wonder about, too. Have Gun, Will Travel was one such with mysterious Paladin and the almost hidden icons and double meanings in the story line. Maverick and The Rebel, and oh so many more. Reading these comments and the description of Rifleman/Branded and reading the comments has made me want to find the Branded series on DVD so I can watch it over again. Heck, I can watch The Rifleman everyday on METV that is available thru DirecTV, but to be able to satisfy my curiosity about watching Branded over again to see what I missed has peaked my curiosity. SEE YA!

I thought the premise behind this show was pretty good. Seems like the unjustly accused man going from town to town to solve other people's problems while trying to clear his name was a pretty popular theme for television in the sixties. I didn't get to see too many of these episodes, but what I saw was pretty good. Did Jason McCord ever clear his name? I never found that out. That was a great theme song. And I will now give you the lyrics to the alternate version. These are correct and they go with the rhythm.

Stranded, stuck on the toilet bowl.

What do you do when you're stranded and you haven't got a roll? To prove you're a man You must wipe with your hand Becaaauuuuussseee....you're stranded.

A local channel in my state is currently rerunning the show (it has done that before), and I found out that it's one of the several shows produced by Mark Goodson & Bill Todman that's not a game show proving that Goodson/Todman is not all game shows. In fact I found out that they produced Archie's TV Funnies, the original Sabrina the animated series, and the Don Rickles show just to name a few. But I just like to know why was the show distributed by Kingworld International (ala Wheel, Jeopardy, Hollywood Squares & Oprah to name a few)? Because as you've seen, none of the Goodson/Todman game shows are distributed by Kingworld, they are distributed by Pearson Television (now called Fremantlemedia). Please let me know.