Starring Clint Walker, Cheyenne was the first hour-long Western. Now available on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection, The Complete Series set collects 107 episodes that aired from 1955 to 1962, presented across 30 discs. During its first season, Cheyenne was one of three series rotating as part of Warner Bros. Presents and the original bumpers are included.What’s not included is “A Man Called Ragan,” which concluded the sixth season. It’s an episode of Cheyenne in name only as it was actually the pilot for The Dakotas and Cheyenne doesn’t appear.
Buy Cheyenne: The Complete Series Blu-ray setTaking place after the Civil War, Cheyenne Bodie is a noble man who travels all over the West, even Mexico, taking various jobs as he works for individuals and the government. He has friends all over and helps anyone in need, from an infant who is the lone survivor of a stagecoach attack, in “The Spanish Grant” (S2, Ep 18), to averting the kidnapping of President Grant in “The Iron Trail” (S2, Ep 9). Naturally, that puts his life at risk against many a bad man, including Billy the Kid, who he encounters while helping a Mormon rancher in “The Greater Glory” (S5, Ep 13).
In the first episode, “Mountain Fortress,” he reveals his parents were killed by Indians, but he doesn’t name the tribe. The Cheyenne raised him as if they were his own, so he is sympathetic to their plight rather than bearing a grudge. In “West of the River” (S1, Ep 10) and “The Long Rope” (S5, Ep 1), different information about Cheyenne’s past reveals the producers weren’t strict about continuity.
In the first season, James Garner, who was considered for the role of Cheyenne, appears as three different characters. Other guest stars throughout the series run who TV watchers will be familiar with include Claude Akins, Ellen Burstyn, John Carradine, James Coburn, Angie Dickinson, Alan Hale Jr., James Hong, Dennis Hopper,Connie Stevens,Rod Taylor, Lee Van Cleef, Dawn Wells, Adam West and future Cartwrights from the Ponderosa: Lorne Greene, Dan Blocker, and Michael Landon.
“Duel at Judas Basin” (S5, Ep 7) is a crossover episode with lead characters from shows that rotated with Cheyenne in its fourth season: Tom “Sugarfoot” Brewster (Will Hutchins) and Bronco Layne (Ty Hardin). The latter character/actor is notable because he was brought in after Season 3 when Walker went out on strike for better terms to his contract and was spun-off into his own show when Walker returned.
Sourced from new 4K scans of the original camera negatives, the video has been given a 1080p/MPEG-4 AVC encoded transfer displayed at the program’s original aspect ratio of 1.33:1. In spite of the packaging and menus being in color, the entire series was shot in black and white. Blacks are inky and the image delivers a good spectrum of grays. Fine textures are on display, from costumes and horse hair to detail in various rock faces and land surfaces. Film grain is apparent and increases during daytime exteriors, especially when they shot day for night. The image is clean, free from dirt and damage.
The audio is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono. Dialogue is clear, although some instances of post-production ADR sound flat. The score and effects have solid fidelity and are balanced well in the mix. The track is free of hiss and other signs of age and defect.
The lone Special Feature is available on Season One, Disc 3. The Lonely Gunfighter: The Legacy of Cheyenne (14 min) – A 2006 interview with Clint Walker where he speaks about how he came to Hollywood and about the series. No mention of the conflict between Walker and the studio.
Cheyenne: The Complete Series delivers over 93 hours of classic western TV. Fans will be happy with the quality of the crisp and clean high-definition presentation. The stories are well written even with knowing the hero triumphs. And it certainly helps when that hero is portrayed by the rugged, charismatic Clint Walker.
