I was only 17 years old when this first aired back in 1989. A lot of the Westerns in the 80s had these same old guys that always seemed to be in Westerns. But not this one. It had young beautiful people which appealed to my 17-year-old self.
I just finished doing a rewatch after all these years. It's on Roku.
It's about the Pony Express, which only lasted 18 months and was also near the Civil War start. Which was detrimental to the series length and only lasted 3 seasons of 67 episodes. Although, ironically longer than today's streaming series which tend to have short seasons.
The series consists of Teaspoon, Kid, Hickok(wild Bill Hickok), Cody(Buffalo Bill), Buck, Ike, Lou, Emma, Sam, Rachel, Noah, and Jesse(Jesse James).
Teaspoon played perfectly by Anthony Zerbe, was my favorite character. He was charming, cranky, wise, and colourful. Just an all-around likable fella.
My two next favourites were Buck and Lou.
Buck, played by Gregg Rainwater, was half white and half Kiowa. He was in constant conflict walking two worlds. I also loved that he was so spiritual. I loved his friendship with Ike. He was such an interesting character.
Lou, played by Yvonne Suhor, bucked gender norms by pretending to be male so she could ride with the Pony Express. But as the only girl in the gang, I found her endearing with her glasses and always trying to pull off being male while longing to be very female. She had great scenes with everyone, and I often felt she was sort of like the conscience of the gang. I was so sad to hear the actress passed away a couple of years ago.
Hickok is played by Thanos. I mean Josh Brolin. I think his character had the most centric episodes and screen time. Which was kind of disappointing at times because I wanted to see the more of other characters. Or, let me put it this way, I like it when the whole gang is together in a story backing each other up.
Cody, played by Stephen Baldwin, was pretty much the clown of the gang. Always joking and carrying on.
Ike, played by Travis Fine, had a unique role, in that his character was mute. So he conveyed a lot through gestures and facial expressions. He was Buck's best friend and knew Indian sign language.
Kid, played by Ty Miller, was the all-American clean-cut-looking character always trying to do what was right. I mean they all did, but he was the most vanilla. He had great chemistry with Lou, and their romance was an endearing journey throughout all 3 seasons.
Noah, played by Don Franklin, was a free slave and another interesting character who had a lot of conflicts trying to fit in and at times clashing because he was black. He was not in the first season and came on for the last two.
I liked Emma and Sam. Emma, played by Melissa Leo, would go on to win an Oscar later in life. She was really a very good actress in this series. Sam, played by Brett Cullen, was the marshal who often got the help of Teaspoon and the gang in many situations. They were only there for the first season. Not sure why the actors left.
Rachel, played by Clare Wren, came on in the second season as a mysterious woman who took over as mother of the house from Emma. She was kind and caring.
Jesse, played by Christopher Pettiet, was the infamous Jesse James. He was actually my least favourite character. A hothead and not very likable and frankly annoying. He didn't come on until the last season. I think the actor did a good job with what he was given, but I just didn't connect with the character at all. I read the actor passed away at a very yound age. I was so sorry about that.
This series is light, and not gritty and dark, which is fine by me. Each episode wrapped up nicely. There were themes of bigotry, and racism, especially against blacks and Indians. The approaching war kept getting mentioned as a backdrop to the series. There were also a lot of themes of empathy and compassion, which I think is very important, especially in today's world.
I thought the storytelling was good and the riders were likable. There was a warmth there that I really appreciate, even more today.
The series did not look cheap. You can tell they had a good budget. I mean, the town setting, the horses, the extras as townspeople, the costumes.
I love that there was so much dirt. The riders always dirt on them. You can even see dirt flaring up into stagecoaches. I love this because it seems realistic. The west was rough and dirty. All the riders had scraggly long hair. The Kid was the only clean-cut-looking one.
I was always a little concerned about the horses. There were a lot of stunts with the horses, sometimes seeing them fall on the side, and I wondered if the horses got hurt or died. I hope not. I never heard anything like that.
Anyway, I really enjoyed the rewatch. It was kind of a guilty pleasure back in the day as I appreciated the young beautiful cast. Now I appreciate other things so much more. 8/10.
I just finished doing a rewatch after all these years. It's on Roku.
It's about the Pony Express, which only lasted 18 months and was also near the Civil War start. Which was detrimental to the series length and only lasted 3 seasons of 67 episodes. Although, ironically longer than today's streaming series which tend to have short seasons.
The series consists of Teaspoon, Kid, Hickok(wild Bill Hickok), Cody(Buffalo Bill), Buck, Ike, Lou, Emma, Sam, Rachel, Noah, and Jesse(Jesse James).
Teaspoon played perfectly by Anthony Zerbe, was my favorite character. He was charming, cranky, wise, and colourful. Just an all-around likable fella.
My two next favourites were Buck and Lou.
Buck, played by Gregg Rainwater, was half white and half Kiowa. He was in constant conflict walking two worlds. I also loved that he was so spiritual. I loved his friendship with Ike. He was such an interesting character.
Lou, played by Yvonne Suhor, bucked gender norms by pretending to be male so she could ride with the Pony Express. But as the only girl in the gang, I found her endearing with her glasses and always trying to pull off being male while longing to be very female. She had great scenes with everyone, and I often felt she was sort of like the conscience of the gang. I was so sad to hear the actress passed away a couple of years ago.
Hickok is played by Thanos. I mean Josh Brolin. I think his character had the most centric episodes and screen time. Which was kind of disappointing at times because I wanted to see the more of other characters. Or, let me put it this way, I like it when the whole gang is together in a story backing each other up.
Cody, played by Stephen Baldwin, was pretty much the clown of the gang. Always joking and carrying on.
Ike, played by Travis Fine, had a unique role, in that his character was mute. So he conveyed a lot through gestures and facial expressions. He was Buck's best friend and knew Indian sign language.
Kid, played by Ty Miller, was the all-American clean-cut-looking character always trying to do what was right. I mean they all did, but he was the most vanilla. He had great chemistry with Lou, and their romance was an endearing journey throughout all 3 seasons.
Noah, played by Don Franklin, was a free slave and another interesting character who had a lot of conflicts trying to fit in and at times clashing because he was black. He was not in the first season and came on for the last two.
I liked Emma and Sam. Emma, played by Melissa Leo, would go on to win an Oscar later in life. She was really a very good actress in this series. Sam, played by Brett Cullen, was the marshal who often got the help of Teaspoon and the gang in many situations. They were only there for the first season. Not sure why the actors left.
Rachel, played by Clare Wren, came on in the second season as a mysterious woman who took over as mother of the house from Emma. She was kind and caring.
Jesse, played by Christopher Pettiet, was the infamous Jesse James. He was actually my least favourite character. A hothead and not very likable and frankly annoying. He didn't come on until the last season. I think the actor did a good job with what he was given, but I just didn't connect with the character at all. I read the actor passed away at a very yound age. I was so sorry about that.
This series is light, and not gritty and dark, which is fine by me. Each episode wrapped up nicely. There were themes of bigotry, and racism, especially against blacks and Indians. The approaching war kept getting mentioned as a backdrop to the series. There were also a lot of themes of empathy and compassion, which I think is very important, especially in today's world.
I thought the storytelling was good and the riders were likable. There was a warmth there that I really appreciate, even more today.
The series did not look cheap. You can tell they had a good budget. I mean, the town setting, the horses, the extras as townspeople, the costumes.
I love that there was so much dirt. The riders always dirt on them. You can even see dirt flaring up into stagecoaches. I love this because it seems realistic. The west was rough and dirty. All the riders had scraggly long hair. The Kid was the only clean-cut-looking one.
I was always a little concerned about the horses. There were a lot of stunts with the horses, sometimes seeing them fall on the side, and I wondered if the horses got hurt or died. I hope not. I never heard anything like that.
Anyway, I really enjoyed the rewatch. It was kind of a guilty pleasure back in the day as I appreciated the young beautiful cast. Now I appreciate other things so much more. 8/10.