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Rawhide was a wonderful TV western series. Focusing on a band of trail drovers lead by the trail boss Gil Favor. Most episodes - especially from the first 3 seasons were really character studies of Favor and his men. Guest stars came and went but unlike Wagon Train they seldom dominated the episodes they appeared in. Rawhide was a true, gritty western and Gil Favor stood out as a memorable character never to be forgotten. Thanks to Eric Fleming's performance the show became a massive hit. Of course he was ably supported by a wonderful cast of good actors - Clint Eastwood, Sheb Wooley, Paul Brinegar, Steve Raines, James Murdoch, Rocky Shahan, Robert Cabal. All of these actors left their mark in a piece of television history. Rawhide captured the flavour of that time of the west that no other series has for me, as yet anyhow, managed to do so. Later seasons tended to split the leads and give them individual story lines. For me some of the time this didn't work - the cattle drive and the regulars provided the best stories. However there were still some classic stories and Rawhide remained top drawer affair. The black and white photography added to a bleak, realistic feel that other western series seldom managed to capture. Rustlers, Indians,Commancheroes, beautiful damsels in distress, serial killers, they all showed up to give our heroes problems. The end came for the series quietly when the final season was axed less than half way through. The reason - Eric Fleming had departed and Rawhide was now a head without a body - the gritty realism was gone, Gil Favor commanded respect and exuded authority - he was never infallible and this made him all the more interesting. We shall not see his like again. Watch an episode whenever you can, they seldom disappoint.

Rawhide is my absolut favourite series. I began to watch it, when I was thirteen (one year ago😉). I was fascinated by many things in this series. Especially Eric Fleming as the tough as nails trail boss Gil Favor. It was the first movie/series I ever saw with Clint Eastwood. Since then I am a great fan of him, though I don't like his acting apearance in Rawhide so much. Well, later he became better and better but in the first seasons of Rawhide he is definetly overshadowed by Eric Fleming. (Actualky, in the later seasons too...)

In general the series was kept alive by the different roles and actors but especially by Eric Fleming. When he and five other actors, including Sheb Wooley and James Murdock, the series was dropped after 13 more episodes. Well, they could have known that before fireing the heart and soul of the series.

Rawhide is much better than the most other western series I've seen. Though it's black and white. The storys are very exiting and realistic. It is never boring to watch it, especially when you know Clint Eastwood from his later movies. It's a different as night and day.

Still Eric Fleming is my favourite in this series.

Please watch this series. It's very nice. And try to convey your children, black-and-white-western-series can be more interesting than Spongebob and other s**t.;-) Thanks for reading

Gil Favor is the trail boss of a cattle drive. His and his drovers' job is to drive cattle to market. This involves several hundred kilometres and several months of hard toil. Along the way they encounter all manner of trials, tribulations and adventures.

One of the greatest western TV series produced. It is largely remembered as where Clint Eastwood got his big break but is far, far better than just that. Great stories, all very plausible, all grittily told. No gung ho theatrics.

Moreover, it's not a straightforward shoot-'em-up drama. In fact, gunfights are kept to a minimum, a last resort and most things are sorted out in other ways (sometimes to my irritation!).

No, it's more about life on a cattle drive, the characters involved and the adventures they have. We also occasionally get to see what happens between drives, the preparations and aftermaths of drives and the drovers' home lives. The episodes midway through Season 3 where Gill Favor visits his daughters in Philadelphia are the best of the lot, showing another aspect to his work, especially the sacrifices he must make and how this affects him.

Consistent with the less bellicose approach to a western drama, many of the stories involve potentially controversial subject, sensitively told. Native Americans are not necessarily the villains, this, long before it became fashionable to show a more balanced view on the subject. Other subjects, e.g. Drug abuse, women's rights, racism, injustice, are also handled in a sensitive and balanced manner.

The show was absolutely brilliant for 3½ seasons. When Sheb Wooley left halfway through Season 4 more than his character, Pete Nolan, was lost. The series revolved around the four main characters - Favor (played by Eric Fleming), Rowdy Yates (Clint Eastwood), Wishbone (Paul Brinegar) and Nolan (Wooley). The four characters complemented each other well and the chemistry between the four was great, giving the series a character-based as well as plot-based feel to it. With Wooley leaving the stories became more plot- and less character-orientated.

Even worse, Pete Nolan was initially replaced by Clay Forrester (played by Charles H Gray), a generally irritating sort of character. The producers quickly saw the error of their ways and reduced Forrester/Gray's screentime (and eventually phased him out altogether) while increasing the weight towards other characters like Mushy (James Murdock), Quince (Steve Raines) and Hey Soos (Robert Cabal) but the vibe of the Favor-Yates-Wisbone-Nolan partnership was never recaptured.

Towards the end, the writers also resorted to making some of the characters one-dimensional, e.g. Mushy the klutz, Wishbone the curmudgeon, Favor the hard-nosed, single-minded boss. This allowed the writers to essentially recycle the same scenes and dialogue over and over again, e.g. Wishbone overreacting and yelling at Mushy for something he's done wrong, Favor yelling at his drovers for slowing up the drive. The character side of the writing became quite lazy.

The plots also became rather formulaic. There were essentially about five or so broad plots that got recycled with some adjustments and character changes. The nice little touches of Season 3 - the non-trail stuff - are nowhere to be seen.

The final few seasons were still decent viewing but the brilliance of the first 4 seasons was gone. The series should probably have ended after about six seasons but the show kept going until the producers decided to get rid of Favor/Fleming and make Yates (Eastwood) the main character. Several other long-serving characters were also removed making for a new look but empty-feeling Season 8. The CEO of CBS, the network that owned the show, was so appalled at the thought of Rawhide without Eric Fleming that he pulled the plug only 13 episodes into Season 8.

Season ratings: S1-2 9/10, S3 10/10, S4 9/10, S5-6 8/10, S7-8 7/10.

TCM have just started showing Rawhide every night recently here in the UK and i've never seen it before, even though i'm a big Clint Eastwood fan, so i thought i'd give it a watch.

What can i say, i'm totally hooked on it now, i think i held some unfounded prejudices about shows from that era being a bit slowly plotted or not hardhitting or dramatic enough, well i was well off the mark there. The plots are really involving, the way Gil and Rowdy get drawn into these situations is really believable.

The moral issues and even social ones that are addressed are always at the forefront of the plots and many are still relevant today. I can see why its been so popular over the years.

I'd recommend this to anyone who likes westerns, beyond that i'd say anyone who appreciates moral dramas, thats twice i've used that word now and thats because the central characters have very admirable morals, particularly Gil Favor.

I hate to sound corny, but i think its a good point, its re-assuring in a way to see that kind of attitude, in amongst the more "morally questionable" entertainment (that i do enjoy as well) of todays TV.

"Head 'em up, move 'em out" awesome.

These were simple, friendly stories about the same Old West you may have read about as a kid. Did it really exist? Who cares? The time and place these video plays were set in is made of the same clay and light as the one where "The Twilight Zone" was set. Both relied on a degree of attention to plot and character by the viewer as necessary to the presentation of morality plays you don't see anymore. What do you do when the local sherriff threatens to hang your man when his townfolk are desperate to find the rustler taking their livestock, but you know he's not guilty? How do you cope with a proud boss when you need his best judgment, but only you know his wife has run off with another man? This is where the stories that, for a while, we thought of as "cliche'" originally came from. That was before we thought of anything not based on jiggle or teen angst as too much trouble to think about. (Though, lately, "reality" shows have relieved us of having to think at all.)

If you want to be reminded of just what a great storytelling medium TV can be, watch this show (currently on the Hallmark Channel, c. 2003). Be warned, though: you'll be spoiled for such fare as "Fear Factor" and "Dawson's Creek," thereafter. Maybe even for "Buffy," though I know you don't believe that.