A Man Called Shenandoah

He roams the West meeting all types of people and geting into all types of danger. I watched a few episodes recently and they were well written and intelligent.

I've concluded that he can never find out who he is because he no longer exixts. He's in Hell.

When Robert Horton got done with Wagon Train, he starred in this short-lived t.v. show. It was a Western about a guy who gets shot in the head, gets amnesia and wanders around the West trying to remember who he is.

I barely remember this show, but remember liking it.

It was one of those shows like The Fugitive, or The Guns of Will Sonnett that would give a little hope of finding what the point of what the show was about but would fall just short at the end and dash all your hopes. In Horton's case, it would be finding a clue or almost remembering who he was and then losing it.

It didn't last too long. Perhaps the premise didn't allow for enough development of plot and character.

It's too bad it was only on a season. I had a slight recollection of watching the show when I was 10 years old. Recently, I managed to get a hold of about 18 episodes from someone selling it on the internet.

The show was excellent. A little darker (emotionally speaking) than most Westerns, Robert Horton plays it excellently as a man who has lost his memory and is searching for his history throughout the country. It's the typical Kerouac-ish theme of roaming the country, that was found in so many episodes in the 60s. The plots are good. Horton is good. And the theme song, besides the Bat Masterson theme song, is the best one ever, and I believe Horton sang it himself.

While the theme and darkness somewhat resembles the Fugitve, robert horton was no David Janssen. And in the Fugitive, one got more of a sense of desperation; after all, Kimble was running for his life. What's the worst that happened if Shenandoah didn't find what he was looking for? He still had a good life. That's what subtracted somewhat from the show - the idea that "so what, he lost his memory".

But still, had the show lasted more than a year, other ideas could have been developed. It's a very good original theme, with lots of open space to work with. Not sure why the show didn't go beyond a year, but it's a shame. It was quality, and could have improved even further.

There are several other reviews that are good, and there is really little more to say, except: Robert Horton wrote the lyrics and sang the excellent and somewhat haunting theme song; and, the writing of the episodes was uncommonly good, often leaving moral questions open, and presenting realistic circumstances. The premise itself -- an amnesiac wandering in search of his lost identity -- is inherently weak and could not by itself sustain the series, but Horton's acting and the strength of the writing carry it. The theme song is a classic all by itself. An ill-fated show, but one that was well-done and is still well worth watching.

I would compare this show to Branded. It was a quest western vehicle for an established western star. Both Horton and Chuck Connors were huge stars and easily able to carry the leading roles. It was an interesting time in the life of the TV western. Most of the 50s shows were gone except Bonanza and Gunsmoke, and the new shows were these quest westerns or lavish productions like The Big Valley/High Chaperel/Virginian.