Cimarron Strip is probably the best western TV show ever made. I realize Bonanza was on for so long, as was Gunsmoke, but Cimarron is better in ways those shows weren't. And as much as I like Marshal Dillon, I'll take Crown any day.
This show would probably not be made today. It's too politically incorrect. This is a show featuring a young woman, Dulcey, who, though owning her own establishment, is shown repeatedly serving food to the men while they go off risking their lives for Cimarron and the Indian Territory. She does their laundry! Imagine that! Holy smokes; a grown woman actually going out of her way to support the men in her life, and happy to do it! Dulcey is a feminist's worst nightmare.
Because, I mean, folks, heaven forbid we actually see women doing something that is of use to the men in their world. Men might actually find that attractive, and we can't have that!
Nope, often what we see in today's shows is women working in positions they really have no reason for being in the real world, such as fire-fighter, police, and anything where their lack of physical ability becomes a liability for the men around them who end up working just that extra hard just to see she doesn't come to harm and they don't get hurt or killed in the process. What's more, such female characters are often more ballsier than the men, more qualified than any man around them, and more competent, while the men around them are quite incompetent.
Further, the modern woman portrayed in pop culture finds the kind of domestic work that Dulcey does not only a burden, but drudgery. Unfortunately, she doesn't realize just how powerful Dulcey is. She is cherished and loved by the men around her; they would do anything she asked of them because she is dependable, trustworthy, kind and gentle, and isn't trying to do their jobs for them or show them up somehow. She is civilizing Cimarron by her very presence. In one episode, a bunch of hardened cow-pokes stood up when she approached their table while they were eating, just as she was asking if they were enjoying the meal. Feminists demand a superiority over men; demanding the same courtesy shown to Dulcey, all the while she behaves like a self-centered slut whenever she wants.
The Marshal himself is quite politically incorrect. He has no compunctions about locking you up for any reason. He told a judge that he was the law out in the territory, not the judge. He looks as his job primarily as a peacekeeper, not a strict law-and-order guy. He's a very masculine man; you wouldn't see him doing anything metrosexual. He drinks and smokes and he doesn't care. Though he is even-tempered and calculating, he is also a man of action who wouldn't have a problem railroading a bad guy if he thought he might get off with a technicality. He'd piss on the notion of Miranda Rights, because the idiots that came up with such nonsense fail to understand what a law-man's job is; to protect society.
The others around him, MacGregor and Francis, are polar opposites of who Crown is. MacGregor is a hard-charging, fearless man who often has more guts than brains, and has a strong sense of honor. Francis is an intelligent young man who rather belongs in a newsroom than a Marshal's Office; that while he has the intellect, he is green around the gills and doesn't often know how to handle any potentially troublesome situation. But, they are both strong men in their own ways, not one to back down from a fight, and always supportive of the Marshal.
The stories are rich and complex tapestries with very good character development, and even a continuity that is both subtle and engrossing. Nothing is pure cut and dried, but they promote right over wrong, decency over immorality, and courage over tolerance, all of which are anathema to modern television which would sooner put a homosexual in a position of authority and make it more competent than the most decent human being.
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emdragon
12 years ago
Very well said, Wyldegoose.
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rogerscorpion
10 years ago
I agree completely!
JUST received my boxed set. It's gorgeous!
It isn't so much an interview with Whitman, as a recording of him speaking. There are no questions.
You do know that Whitman held the rights to this, and, for decades, refused to sell them. I'm assuming he finally got a deal he liked, as he is a wealthy & savvy businessman.
Carpe Noctem!
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