Trackdown

Durring the years when so much of US programming was taken up by Western shows there were many good 'oaters' and this was one of my faves. I was thrilled, then when one year when it was running my Dad took me to the Texas State Prison Rodeo in Huntsville, Texas and the featured entertainment that weekend was Robert Culp appearing as his 'Trackdown' personna. There is not much available on DVD of this show all these years later but I did find one disc with 10 episodes. Video tranfer is so-so but not unwatchable, from ATI Inc Audio Tape Inc).

This show's character was a major departure for standard western characterizations of the late 1950's. And the individual solely responsible for that swing in characterization was the series star, Robert Culp.

Culp played the show's lead character, Texas Ranger Hobey Gillman, as a hip, cool dude; somewhat reminiscent of the then running top rated detective series, Peter Gunn.

Culp gave the character a cool walk 'hip-diddy' walk, and spoke his lines as though he'd taken his responses off the top of his head and, basically, without any thought whatsoever before doing so. He was even cool when someone had the drop on him, or when he outdrew the bad guy. He was just plain 'cool'.

Robert Culp sharpened this image during his tenure in his first television starring role and vehicle. He then deftly transferred it, intact, to the character Kelly Robinson in the 1965 TV espionage hit, "I Spy."

In that top rated series in which he starred with acting newcomer Bill Cosby, to this day, many fans of the show felt that it was Culp's acting demeanor that gave the show it's real appeal.

Unfortunately, Cosby's being the first Black in a television series in a lead role, stole the show from him. Cosby became the viewer draw.

Culp was initially hired to be the 'lead' star in the series, but in the last three years of its run, Cosby was the everyone talked about even though, clearly, he was not the veteran or polished actor Cosby was.

In the final two years, Cosby was even paid more for his participation than Culp was, which did not come out until some ten or more years after the series ended.

Regardless, the series was a good one for its time, even though now quite dated to a younger generation who know little of and care less about the 'Cold War' period of history.

This show while not as well known as bonanza, gunsmoke, rawhide, or the rifleman may be the best of the classic TV westerns. In fact, as much as I like Richard Boone as a show I believe Trackdown is superior to have gun will travel. In thirty minutes you generally have a complex story, well acted, with some moral ambiguity to it. Of course Robert Culp makes the show work in a way few others could, but all in all one of the few fifties shows that still holds up sixty years later.

Robert Culp is the most unique actor I've ever seen. He's one of the most believable characters--no matter what he portrays, from Trackdown to I Spy... Rarely does one see an actor with such natural finesse and brillance.

Hoby Gilman, the Texas Ranger played by Robert Culp, was dry and somewhat unfriendly, just like Robert Culp was in most of his roles. I always liked Robert Culp when I was a kid. Years later, as an adult, I found his characters in most roles were dry and a bit abrasive.

Texas Ranger Hoby Gilman usually expects the worst from people, and often he gets it. Sometimes people turn out to be good, which not only surprises Gilman, but sometimes they make him look like a jerk.

It is interesting that the writers would occasionally show up Gilman by making him look bad, but that was the Adult Western Genre that was popular in the 1950s. Have Gun Will Travel, and Gunsmoke also had the frequent Adult Western theme of realistic stories with unhappy endings.

The stories sometimes felt pretty long even though it was only a half-hour show. Because of Gilman's personality, it seemed like a lot of the stories were fated to live up to his expectations regarding the other characters. Gilman's attitude about people makes it harder to enjoy the stories now, when I watch them as an adult.