Harts of the West

Pleasant, short-lived TV dramedy about Dave, a Chicago salesman who decides to buy a ranch after he has a heart attack. His family, especially his kids (whom he's named after Western actors and characters), aren't too thrilled about his dream of being a cowboy, but they go along with it. In the pilot, Beau Bridges' mother is featured in a dream sequence where his character is about to be hanged. Bridges' father Lloyd, had a reocurring role as a ranch hand. Diane Ladd appeared occasionally as Dave's crusty mother-in-law. The show wasn't in a good time slot; add that to its leisurely pacing and odd characters, and that's probably why it didn't last long.

I loved this show what little I was permitted to see by the network heads. This country needs shows of this type. Sorry if it didn't have sex, violence or bad language every 5 seconds NOT!!!. In fact we really need more shows like it not less. The actors and crew worked very hard to be thrown in the trash heap so easily. To pre-empt a show of quality for garbage should not be allowed to be a sign of the times. We even seem to needs sex, violence and bad language on sports shows like we had to endure on the Super Bowl game half time show. Why does Hollywood think Movies like 'The Passion Of Christ' is still so popular? 'The Walton's' are still seen in re-runs, so is 'Gunsmoke', 'The Dick Van Dyke Show' and 'The Honeymooners'. TV Land is a very popular channel to all ages.

A great family show with a cast of quirky characters headed by Beau Bridges, his father Lloyd and a great underrated actor, Stephen Root. Was a fun show to watch with the family that had interesting stories and funny story lines such as when Dave and his family moved into town there were finally enough people in town to get the town put on the map. Show had cattle drives, rodeos and great guest stars such as Mark Harmon as rodeo clown Sunset Sam Carver. More care by the network in finding an audience and it might have been a hit. I know...I worked on the show.

It is easy to see why this show only lasted 15 episodes; the storylines are obvious and predictable, and the producers apparently couldn't make up their minds whether to make a zany country comedy, a'la Green Acres, or a conventional family "dramedy". Although some of the dialogue contains genuine wit, a good cast is generally wasted on the weak plots. Picture quality is lacking also; while bright and colorful, the sharpness (or lack of it) resembles an upscaled VHS tape. At the time of writing this, the series is available on Amazon's Prime streaming service; if you're a Prime member, I'd recommend watching there rather than shelling out the money for the DVD set. While not a terrible show, it's not exactly a classic either.

I thought that this series was really great. Humour, action, love and great scenery. I can't believe that they stopped making this after only the first season. I only just found it on Amazon Prime to stream and was really getting to enjoy it. No blood or swearing ( such a lovely change these days ).