florida87 Review of Wanted: Dead or Alive

Wanted: Dead or Alive (1958–1961)

Maybe Back Than It Was "It" but Now It's Weak, and yes, I Idolize McQueen

[5/10 · 15 March 2007]

Take my review with some grains of salt as I haven't watched the whole series yet (got the entire run from a collector and watching the first season now), and other than vague recollections from youthful viewings (not a good sign that I don't remember more), I'm sorry but I don't see much interest to keep watching "Wanted Dead Or Alive". To clarify my background since most other reviewers here have done theirs, I watch WDOA in the 70's and 80's in the odd repeat on syndicated TV channels, and I only remembered it had Steve McQueen and a cool gun, a sawed off Winchester. With that said, I also watched shows such as Have Gun Will Travel, Bonanza, and The Rifleman, two of which were 30 minute western dramas aired during the same years as WDOA. Unlike WDOA, I remembered a lot of details of those other shows, the reason being, character development. I don't blame McQueen, he was a starting actor, and his persona is clearly evident thankfully or else this would be totally forgettable. But other than the cool intro and ending credits that's all I remember from my youth of this show. 30 minute (really 23 minute when you take out the commercials) are tough to do, they require a really fast intro and usually need some heavy moral dilemma to make a memorable impact as good drama. HGWT and Rifleman did this very well, WDOA does have a little of this but the level of morality and injustice doesn't come close to those other two shows. Maybe its that or maybe its that Josh is a bounty hunter who isn't seen making a whole lot of money like Pallidan does, so the show looses realism. I don't know, I can't put my finger on it, but if the show's selling point is the gun, it looses that point to the other two shows as well, since in the few episodes I've watched recently, I'm really loosing interest, Josh uses the gun as a club more than a gun. Rifleman showed what a man could do with a rifle quick so the point of sawing it off seems really stupid, I'd just use a pistol and also a rifle. Palladin has a wicked creep when he's ready to draw, I do NOT want to mess with him in a draw! Anyway, if your looking for the best of the 30 minute westerns, I'd check out those other two shows first. I'm still a big McQueen fan, when his material is good.