The West Old & New Vol. III Issue IV April 2014 | Page 16

The Virginian
1962 - 1971
The Virginian (known as The Men From Shiloh in its final year) is an American
Western television series starring James Drury and Doug McClure, which aired on
NBC from 1962 to 1971 for a total of 249 episodes. It was a spin-off from a 1958
summer series called Decision. Filmed in color, The Virginian became television's
first 90-minute western series (75 minutes excluding commercial breaks). Immensely successful, it ran for nine seasons—television's third longest running
western behind Bonanza and Gunsmoke.
Set in the late nineteenth century, and loosely based on the 1902 novel by Owen
Wister, the series revolved around the tough foreman of the Shiloh Ranch, played
by James Drury. He and his top hand Trampas (Doug McClure) were the only
characters to remain with the show for the entire run. As in the book, the foreman
went only by the name "The Virginian." The Virginian's real name was never revealed in the nine years the show was on the air. The series was set in Medicine
Bow, Wyoming. Various references in the first season indicate that setting is about
1898 - in episode 5, "The Brazen Bell," guest star George C. Scott quotes from
Oscar Wilde's The Ballad of Reading Gaol, which was first published in 1898, in
episode 7, "Riff Raff," several of the main characters join Theodore Roosevelt's
James Drury
Rough Riders, the volunteer cavalry unit formed in 1898 and in episode 11, "The
Devil's Children," the grave marker for one of the characters that dies in the episode states 1898 as the year of death. The series circled around the foreman's quest to maintain an orderly lifestyle at
Shiloh. The ranch was named after the two day American Civil War Battle of Shiloh, Tennessee. The Virginian's white
Appaloosa was named Joe D., and Trampas' buckskin horse was named Buck. As the show progressed, Trampas became the more developed of the characters, and it continues to be the role for which actor Doug McClure was best
known.
In season 9, the name of the program was changed to The Men from Shiloh and the look of the series was completely redesigned. Ownership was changed once more, and Colonel Alan MacKenzie (Stewart Granger) took over. In
several countries, including the United Kingdom, the show went under the extended title The Virginian: Men From Shiloh. The opening theme song was changed to a new one, composed by Ennio Morricone, and the look of the show was
changed reflecting a style similar to spaghetti westerns, which were very popular at the time. The hats worn featured
much broader brims and higher crowns. The clothing was also jauntier and more imaginative. These changes brought a
better ranking (#18) in the top 30 prime-time shows, after the previous year saw the show slip out of the top 30 rankings
for the first time ever. The final season operated on a "rotating lead actor" basis of the four stars, with