Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Tuesday's Overlooked TV: Guns of Paradise


This Western series lasted for three seasons in the late Eighties and early Nineties, and of course we watched it. It was a Western, after all. The opening credits sum things up pretty nicely: Gunfighter Ethan Allen Cord (Lee Horsley) gives up the gun to settle down in the town of Paradise and raise his dead sister's kids. But his violent past continually threatens to catch up to him.

Actually, those opening credits make the series seem a lot more action-packed than I remember it. Mostly it was heart-warming. But there was enough ridin' and fightin' and shootin' to make it interesting enough to watch. At least it wasn't a politically correct snooze-fest like DR. QUINN, MEDICINE WOMAN, the worst Western TV series of all time.

The high point of GUNS OF PARADISE is the first season episode "A Gathering of Guns", which features Gene Barry and Hugh O'Brian reprising their iconic roles as Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp, respectively, and also has the great Jack Elam playing a character named Skragg. Chuck Conners and Johnny Crawford also show up playing a father and son in several episodes, but not Lucas and Mark McCain (for those of you who remember THE RIFLEMAN).

3 comments:

Steve M said...

This was shown over here in the UK , if memory serves correctly, I believe it was simply called PARADISE.

James Reasoner said...

I think in the U.S. the title changed to PARADISE for the third and final season, too.

simba43 said...

It was called "Paradise" for Seasons 1 & 2. The last season, and shortest one, was changed to Guns of Paradise". This was a great show!