Westerns

[SimplyMinded]

And the character of Beth is just so toxic and vile and seething with hate, again, a real turn-off.

And then there's John Dutton, who has former ranch hands murdered and their corpses tossed in a ravine (train ride), and then he postures himself as morally superior to others. I can't get behind a character like that.

And really, what the hell?! Murdering ex employees? It's a cattle ranch, not a drug cartel.

Like I said, it has a real ugliness to it.

That's the fantasy/tv show part of it. I agree it's silly and far fetched. Like the son getting involved in full-auto gun shootouts and not having to appear at any kind of hearing or anything, and zero press shouting that a rich rancher's kid/ Gubernatorial candidate's son was involved in something like that with zero repercussions. That would be all over every news outlet in the country within 24-48 hours. It's make believe and I enjoy it for that. I have seen idiots on social media using the "train ride" euphemism in memes, mostly bad ones, but then again people insinuating they're going to do something on social media are usually the last ones who would have the courage to do anything. Oh sure, a nut may slip through, but for the most part folks who think tv and movies are like real life aren't going to be much of a threat to anybody. My advice is to just enjoy it for what it is, harmless fluff entertainment.

 

[Boattale]

I've seen every episode of the first 4 seasons, but I'm NOT a fan. In my opinion, you saved yourself a lot of time.

I watched all of it hoping there would eventually be a rewarding payoff, like the family coming together, but it didn't happen.

The show just has an ugliness to it that turns me off. I don't like seeing shows or movies about family members being at each others throats trying to hurt each other. And the character of Beth is just so toxic and vile and seething with hate, again, a real turn-off.

And then there's John Dutton, who has former ranch hands murdered and their corpses tossed in a ravine (train ride), and then he postures himself as morally superior to others. I can't get behind a character like that.

And really, what the hell?! Murdering ex employees? It's a cattle ranch, not a drug cartel.

Like I said, it has a real ugliness to it.

Another complaint I have, I learned pretty much nothing about life on a cattle ranch. I wasn't expecting a documentary, but after 4 seasons I still don't know the difference between one type of cow/bull or another, or one type of horse or another. I learned that cows will die if they eat alfalfa, and I liked the scene where Walker taught Beth how to ride a horse, and there was one scene where Lloyd complained about having to ride one type of horse instead of another, but that was it as far as inside knowledge of cattle ranching and being a cowboy. And in my opinion, inside knowledge of a subject makes a movie or tv show a lot more entertaining.

I may watch the 5th season when it's available online for free. Actually now that I think about it, probably not.

It's not intended to be a "how to be a cowboy" series. Think more along the lines of "The Godfather goes to Montana".

 

[killgar]

That's the fantasy/tv show part of it. I agree it's silly and far fetched. Like the son getting involved in full-auto gun shootouts and not having to appear at any kind of hearing or anything, and zero press shouting that a rich rancher's kid/ Gubernatorial candidate's son was involved in something like that with zero repercussions. That would be all over every news outlet in the country within 24-48 hours. It's make believe and I enjoy it for that. I have seen idiots on social media using the "train ride" euphemism in memes, mostly bad ones, but then again people insinuating they're going to do something on social media are usually the last ones who would have the courage to do anything. Oh sure, a nut may slip through, but for the most part folks who think tv and movies are like real life aren't going to be much of a threat to anybody. My advice is to just enjoy it for what it is, harmless fluff entertainment.

It's not intended to be a "how to be a cowboy" series. Think more along the lines of "The Godfather goes to Montana".

The show isn't for me. I didn't enjoy it, in fact, just the opposite. And after watching every minute of the first 4 seasons, I don't think anyone can say that I didn't give it a chance. To each their own. If you like it, great for you.

Like I said, I didn't expect a documentary. But a bit more info about cattle ranching, and being a cowboy, in a show set on a cattle ranch, with cowboys, doesn't seem like too much to ask.

And I have described the show as "the Sopranos meets the Big Valley"

 

[SimplyMinded]

The show isn't for me. I didn't enjoy it, in fact, just the opposite. And after watching every minute of the first 4 seasons, I don't think anyone can say that I didn't give it a chance. To each their own. If you like it, great for you.

Like I said, I didn't expect a documentary. But a bit more info about cattle ranching, and being a cowboy, in a show set on a cattle ranch, with cowboys, doesn't seem like too much to ask.

And I have described the show as "the Sopranos meets the Big Valley"

You'd probably like the spinoff "1883" a lot better. i did.

 

[killgar]

You'd probably like the spinoff "1883" a lot better. i did.

You're right, I did. I wish it had been longer .

 

[sgt1372]

You'd probably like the spinoff "1883" a lot better. i did.

Will add this to my "to watch" list.

 

[Billy The Hungry]

Hi folks, I’ve always been partial to westerns and recently found on the free streaming service called Tubi you can watch on your smart TV too, the old series “Maverick”
Now there’s also a newer one called “Bret Maverick” but I would suggest watching the original one first.

I generally play an episode at dinner and while my wife isn’t too keen on it she does watch it along with me.

G2

Used to watch westerns, a lot. It was also how my ex father in law and I used to bond - we would make Treet sandwiches and watch westerns. Or that old show Kung Fu. I miss him, he was a good man. He treated me well even through the divorce.

 

[sgt1372]

You'd probably like the spinoff "1883" a lot better. i did.

Just started watching "1883" and it's WAY BETTER than "Yellowstone."

I know that the suggestion wasn't for me but thank you for it just the same.

 

[SimplyMinded]

Just started watching "1883" and it's WAY BETTER than "Yellowstone."

I know that the suggestion wasn't for me but thank you for it just the same.

PS: My grandmother on my mother's side was born in a small mining town in the Sierras in 1886. Don't know anything about her mother, my great great grandmother but she must have arrived here in this country sometime around 1883 and, if this show is true to the period, I am hoping to learn a bit of what life was like then from watching it, even if it is fictionalized.

I think we all absolutely need more Isabel May. That girl stole the show imho. Not just because she's cute as a bug's ear but she has acting chops and it showed. I think that she's got a great career ahead of her.

 

[sgt1372]

I think we all absolutely need more Isabel May. That girl stole the show imho. Not just because she's cute as a bug's ear but she has acting chops and it showed. I think that she's got a great career ahead of her.

Agreed but her beauty is a distraction, especially when all of the other women are made up to look so plain.

Don't think she's a natural blond. Didn't know they dyed their hair on the frontier in the 1880's. Would fit the part better IMO as a brunette, especially since she's the only woman with such striking blond hair on the show.

But her voice over naration is compelling. It's not just the script which she, of course, didn't write but the quality of her voice gives it impact

 

[SimplyMinded]

Agreed but her beauty is a distraction. Don't think she's a natural blond. Didn't know they dyed their hair on the frontier in the 1880's. Would fit the part better IMO as a brunette. But her voice over naration is compelling.

I dunno, you don't often see freckles like that on a brunette.

 

[sgt1372]

I dunno, you don't often see freckles like that on a brunette.

I'm just going by the eye brows and the dark roots. Could be crude and talk about carpets and drapes but I won't go there. LOL!

FWIW, my mother had black hair/fair skin and she had a lot of freckles.

Update: Episode 5 revealed that her underarm hair (at least that's authentic to the period) was brown too.

 

[sgt1372]

Also just watched "The Revenant" again last night. I think it's a great movie and deservingly won multiple Oscars and other film awards.

Another unique "western" movie that I found (and still find) hard to watch because of the raw violence depicted in the film, even though I'm not adverse to seeing violence on the screen.

It's just that the intensity of the violence shown in "The Revenant" is so raw and that it strikes a deep emotional cord which makes it hard (at least for me) to keep watching w/o turning my eyes away occasionally just for emotional relief.

DiCaprio won a Best Actor Oscar for his role in the film and Tom Hardy should have won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor as well.

There's something about Hardy that enables him to personify "evil" (or at least a very dangerous, "off center" character so well) as he did in the TV series "Taboo" and in the movie series "Venom."

Well worth watching if you haven't seen it before or watching again if it's been awhile since you watched it last.

 

[sgt1372]

I think we all absolutely need more Isabel May. That girl stole the show imho. Not just because she's cute as a bug's ear but she has acting chops and it showed. I think that she's got a great career ahead of her.

Just watched Episode 4 of "1883" entitled "The Crossing" which ends as Elsa plays Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" on an abandoned piano, that had to be jettisoned in order to cross the river ahead, while a number of the immigrants drown because they do not know how to swim.

Just chilling . . . and Elsa's ending narration just makes it more so.

What a great TV show -- western or not!!!!

Update 06/25/2022: Just finished watching the 10th and final episode of "1883."

A little melodramatic at the end and the show focuses a bit too much Elsa & not enough on others but it's a shame that the producers cancelled any plans to continue the show and instead invested their time/$ in further producing "Yellowstone" which is a far less interesting and compelling show to me.

There are a couple of flashbacks to "1883" in Season 4 - Episodes 1 and 8 -- of "Yellowstone" but it's just not enough.

 

[Ebbtide]

Tom Hardy as Alfie Solomans in Peaky Blinders was epic. Though not a western

I'll watch Lonesome Dove over and over.
Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones.... great.

Duvall did another movie about an aging rancher and his grandson.... they go off and have a Mexican adventure... pretty good.

My search results sucked.... there was a good western about 2 aging cowboys trying to find work as the modern times were overtaking them.
Keith Carradine and Sam Elliot? Stacy Keach? One gets to settling down in town and the other wants to head out on the trail....
Great story about getting old(er) that I didn't appreciate as a youth.
It ends with the hero jumping his horse over the new ranch owner and his wife's Model T...