MovieChat Forums > Laramie (1959) Discussion > Just watched S2, Ep1....changes...

Just watched S2, Ep1....changes...

posted 9 years ago by ben-thayer
3 replies | jump to latest

Oh, good grief.

They replaced the theme with...with...I dunno what it is, but it's not even close to S1's theme.

And the opening sequence is gone, just an illustration of a cowboy about to draw, standing on what looks like a relay racetrack for track and field events (all the lanes in parallel, converging in the distance), with a town nearby.

But the perspective is kinda skewed...it looks like the cowboy is 50ft tall when compared to the town in the background. Godzilla approaches...

Lame doesn't even begin to describe it.

So no more Hoagy or Robert Crawford, although Crawford really didn't do a lot in the last batch of S1 episodes, his role appeared to already be reduced substantially. In a lot of these episodes he didn't even appear.

[–] DrGlitterhouse 9 years ago

I actually like the new theme song, and I bet the new illustrated opening is shorter than the opening from season 1. It also seems like in the first two episodes, we may have seen more of the town of Laramie in the first two episodes than we saw in all of season 1. It would be nice if there had been some explanation of what happened to Andy and Jonesy because their presence and the feeling of responsibility Slim had for them was the main thing that distinguished him and Jess from each other for me. Plus, who tends the relay station when both Slim and Jess are away (as they were in "Track of the Jackal"), and considering Slim and Jess sleep in the same room now, is Jess now a partner in the ranch?

One thing that felt weird about at least "Queen of Diamonds" is Jess' bigger hat. And to elaborate on my earlier, Slim's moralizing seems a little strange without the context of his acting as a father to his little brother.

EDIT: Went on You Tube and saw the part of "Queen of Diamonds" that I missed and was pleasantly surprised that Andy and Jonesy's absence was explained. Doesn't explain why Slim and Jess now share a room though.

Je suis Charlie Hebdo.

[–] sbarkleys 9 years ago

I'm confused about the music. The original theme music has returned in today's Encore Westerns episode, "Stolen Tribute" (season 2, episode 17). I never could figure out why the change to the second theme in the first place. The first is one of the greatest western themes ever. Losing that theme seemed a crime (even temporarily). I'd love to know the story behind the switch (and switch back).

[–] ben-thayer 9 years ago

I recorded the episode and watched it yesterday. I was surprised when I heard the original theme again. Plus the name of the show looking like a brand is back.

Could be that the producers wanted to show up front that they were making changes to the series and they used the new theme for a while.

My original beef wasn't that the new theme was *bad* per se, but just that they threw the new intro together with the illustration kinda willy-nilly. Maybe there was still a chance that Hoagy would return...I dunno.

But it wasn't that they didn't have time to film a new intro, the one they're using now looks like it couldn't have taken more than a few minutes to shoot. Slim and Jess ride up and wave at each other.

Funny how the new intro was filmed on location where Capt. Kirk fought the Gorn...haha!