Many older people will say that they don't make television the way they used to. If you love the combination of action, adventure and history, this is true in a way. These days you can choose from legal dramas, cop shows, comedies and many other genres but there aren't that many shows that use the old Wild West as setting anymore. If you need a change, it might be time to try watching classic TV Westerns online.
Back in the Fifties, the Western was a very popular and ubiquitous genre on television. For Halloween, kids dressed up like Roy Rogers, the Lone Ranger or Zorro. A hugely popular show of its time and still regarded as one of the top Westerns in history was 'Gunsmoke'.
The end of the decade saw two series that starred actors who would go on to much greater things. One of the stars of 'The Alaskans' was a young Roger Moore, who later became famous as Bond, James Bond. The cast of 'Rawhide' included Clint Eastwood, who would become the hero of many a classic Western film before taking on his most iconic role, that of Dirty Harry.
The Sixties was a good time for the Western on television too. Shows such as 'Gunsmoke' and 'Bonanza', which both started in the Fifties, carried on throughout the decade. Popular new shows included 'The High Chaparral'. 'The Big Valley' had a cast that would become big names too, such as Barbara Stanwyck, Lee Majors and Linda Evans.
The genre went into a decline during the next two decades. The long-running shows from the Sixties came to an end and with a few exceptions, such as 'How the West Was Won', the traditional gun-slinging Westerns weren't very popular anymore. There were shows that offered a new take on the traditional genre, though, for instance by using modern settings or making their heroes more gentle, such as Grizzly Adams.
The Western genre tends to be very male-oriented and women normally have small, supporting roles. There were two notable exceptions, though. In the Seventies, 'Little House on the Prairie', with 'Bonanza' star Michael Landon, made a household name of the young Melissa Gilbert, who played the main character. Former Bond girl Jane Seymour played a strong female role model in 'Dr Quinn: Medicine Woman' in the Nineties.
The Western has been finding renewed popularity since the arrival of the twenty-first century. While most of these more recent shows can't really be called classics yet, one that made history was 'Firefly', created by Josh Whedon. 'Firefly' was the first real space Western, which combined everything that people love about traditional Westerns with a futuristic, outer-space setting. It has a cult following and its fans, who call themselves Browncoats, are as loyal as Trekkies are to 'Star Trek'.
You'll be able to stream many of the most popular Westerns online. Some sites will charge a small membership fee while others are free of charge. All you need to do is find a show you'd like to see, cook up some cowboy beans and enjoy a great night in.
Back in the Fifties, the Western was a very popular and ubiquitous genre on television. For Halloween, kids dressed up like Roy Rogers, the Lone Ranger or Zorro. A hugely popular show of its time and still regarded as one of the top Westerns in history was 'Gunsmoke'.
The end of the decade saw two series that starred actors who would go on to much greater things. One of the stars of 'The Alaskans' was a young Roger Moore, who later became famous as Bond, James Bond. The cast of 'Rawhide' included Clint Eastwood, who would become the hero of many a classic Western film before taking on his most iconic role, that of Dirty Harry.
The Sixties was a good time for the Western on television too. Shows such as 'Gunsmoke' and 'Bonanza', which both started in the Fifties, carried on throughout the decade. Popular new shows included 'The High Chaparral'. 'The Big Valley' had a cast that would become big names too, such as Barbara Stanwyck, Lee Majors and Linda Evans.
The genre went into a decline during the next two decades. The long-running shows from the Sixties came to an end and with a few exceptions, such as 'How the West Was Won', the traditional gun-slinging Westerns weren't very popular anymore. There were shows that offered a new take on the traditional genre, though, for instance by using modern settings or making their heroes more gentle, such as Grizzly Adams.
The Western genre tends to be very male-oriented and women normally have small, supporting roles. There were two notable exceptions, though. In the Seventies, 'Little House on the Prairie', with 'Bonanza' star Michael Landon, made a household name of the young Melissa Gilbert, who played the main character. Former Bond girl Jane Seymour played a strong female role model in 'Dr Quinn: Medicine Woman' in the Nineties.
The Western has been finding renewed popularity since the arrival of the twenty-first century. While most of these more recent shows can't really be called classics yet, one that made history was 'Firefly', created by Josh Whedon. 'Firefly' was the first real space Western, which combined everything that people love about traditional Westerns with a futuristic, outer-space setting. It has a cult following and its fans, who call themselves Browncoats, are as loyal as Trekkies are to 'Star Trek'.
You'll be able to stream many of the most popular Westerns online. Some sites will charge a small membership fee while others are free of charge. All you need to do is find a show you'd like to see, cook up some cowboy beans and enjoy a great night in.
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