It’s common knowledge that Roger Moore rose to fame as the star of the British TV series The Saint before becoming James Bond, but that wasn’t his first lead role on TV. Warner Archive has finally restored and released his U.S. debut as a TV series lead, the 1959-60 series The Alaskans. All 36 hour-long episodes of the show’s sole season are included in this new Blu-ray box set.
Buy The Alaskans: The Complete Series Blu-rayMoore stars as a sly frontier adventurer named Silky Harris, teaming up with his crusty friend Reno McKee (Jeff York) and plucky showgirl Rocky Shaw (Dorothy Provine) for Yukon capers during the 1890s gold-rush era. The show capitalized on Warner Bros’ popular foray into Western-style series, but suffered from their attempts to stage an Arctic series on the Burbank back lot and soundstages, as well as their recycling of scripts from Maverick. Stock footage and miniature photography help to fill in logistical gaps as needed for shots such as avalanches and cracking river ice, while fake snow is liberally dropped on the actors whenever they’re outside. The perfection of the new remasters reveals the seams of the cheesy effects integration, making for some unintentionally laughable moments.
The episodes are generally standalone, aside from a running initial plot thread focusing on the team repositioning from Skagway to more remote frontier areas to be closer to the gold-rush action. The characters are adjacent to the gold rush, not actively engaged in prospecting, determined to make their riches via assisting prospectors as they provide services mostly related to night life. While they’re more likely to be found hosting in the bar than staking a claim, they also engage in traveling missions for cash, such as when Reno tries to transport dynamite through a storm. Rocky also manages to fit a musical performance into most episodes, a bit out of place in a show aimed at young cowboy fans.
It’s a delight to see the young Roger Moore honing his debonair screen charm, even as his attempt at an American accent continually slips. The slick and refined Moore and Provine aren’t at all believable as hardened frontier denizens, with only York actually fitting the bill, but for sheer entertainment value they make for fine screen companions. Other notable guest stars include James Coburn, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., and Lee Van Cleef.
After long being unavailable for viewing in any format, the series has been remastered in 1080p HD from brand new 4K scans of the original camera negatives, and the results are astounding. The black and white image quality is crisp and clear, with rock solid stability and contrast levels and no trace of debris, while the DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono soundtrack is also polished to perfection. There’s simply never been a better opportunity to watch the series as it was intended.
The 36 episodes are spread across 9 discs housed in a thick standard clamshell Blu-ray case, providing easy access and secure storage for the discs. No bonus features are included, although original ad break intros/outros and end credit commercial sponsors are present in each episode. While the lackluster writing keeps it from being a classic, the series has its simple charms and is an impressive showcase for Roger Moore.
