The Big Valley (1965–1969)

Victoria Barkley heads her adult brood on the Barkley Ranch in California's San Joaquin Valley, near Stockton, in the 1870s. Heath is the illegitimate son of Victoria's husband, Tom (who is... See full summary »

Creators:

A.I. Bezzerides, Louis F. Edelman

Stars:

Peter Breck, Barbara Stanwyck, Linda Evans

Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 3 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Peter Breck	...	Nick Barkley (112 episodes, 1965-1969)
Barbara Stanwyck	...	Victoria Barkley (112 episodes, 1965-1969)
Linda Evans	...	Audra Barkley (111 episodes, 1965-1969)
Richard Long	...	Jarrod Barkley (109 episodes, 1965-1969)
Lee Majors	...	Heath Barkley (109 episodes, 1965-1969)

Storyline

Victoria Barkley heads her adult brood on the Barkley Ranch in California's San Joaquin Valley, near Stockton, in the 1870s. Heath is the illegitimate son of Victoria's husband, Tom (who is dead at the time of the series). Bank robbers, horse thieves, revolutionaries, and land grabbers keep the Barkleys hopping.

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Plot Keywords:

california | ranch | social justice | sibling relationship | san joaquin valley | 

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Genres:

Western

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 September 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

Big Valley

Filming Locations:

CBS Studio Center - 4024 Radford Avenue, Studio City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Levee-Gardner-Laven Productions, Four Star Productions, Levy-Gardner-Laven

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 60 min (112 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was the only western to be built around a strong, female lead character.

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Quotes

Victoria Barkley: When Nick is pushed, he pushes back with everything he has.

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Connections

Referenced in The Monkees: Monkees in Texas (1967)

User Reviews

Charles Briles - Eugene Barkley

Having worked at ABC and "Saga of the Big Valley" was one of 'our shows' we coordinated between production companies, advertising agencies & network .. as I recall, Eugene's character was not brought back because the story lines worked well with the characters who were always in it .. Peter, Breck, Linda Evans, Richard Long, Barbara Stanwyck, etc. .. there was so much to do with their characters that 'Eugene' was not needed and perhaps there was a contract problem as well . I do not really remember .. it was so long ago . most enjoyable show .. Usually, when you have many 'stars' in a series .. each is set to do X# out of total shows for the year .. back then we were doing a lot more than 22 shows a year as they do now and took less time to make them as well.. sometimes it comes down to money too .. but it also cost a lot less to film shows back then and 'stars' did not get anywhere near the money they make today ... thus less episodes and more commercials today!