Bret is picked clean and stranded in Sunny Acres by the burg's arrogant banker, so he puts together an M Team of con artists, led by brother Bart, to take down and embarrass the handle-barred buzzard...
Bret, seeking buried Confederate treasure in Elwood, Kansas, keeps running afoul of U.S. Marshal Mort Dooley. The marshal keeps running Bret out of town. Bret, in turn, keeps outwitting the lawman.
Bret rides into Bent City with Waco Williams, a man he encountered out on the trail. Waco, while not seeking a fight, won't run away from one, either. As a result, Waco's life is threatened more than...
Bret and Bart Maverick (and in later seasons, their English cousin, Beauregarde) are well-dressed gamblers who migrate from town to town always looking for a good game. Poker (five-card draw) is their favorite but they've been known to play such odd card games as Three-toed Sloth on occasion. The show would occasionally feature both or all three Mavericks, but usually would rotate the central character from week to week.Written by
John Vogel <jlvogel@comcast.net>
Filming seemed to take place in a limited number of spots, so you see some very familiar scenery repeating both within and between episodes. Be prepared for a chase scene passing the same trees and rocks several times, as well as certain scenes cropping up in stories supposedly hundreds of miles apart. Standard stuff for its day. See more »
Quotes
Bret Maverick:
As my old pappy used to say, you can be a gentleman and still not forget all you know about self-defense.
See more »
I still remember as a lad when Maverick made its debut on the ABC network. It was on Sunday nights at 7:30 and with that early half an hour start, it knocked the stuffings out of Ed Sullivan and Steve Allen who had their shows begin at 8:00 in the Nielsen ratings.
Maverick was unlike any western that had been on television before. Previously you had heroes stand tall and tangle with villainy head on. Maverick was no coward, but he never went looking for trouble and he never would look for a face to face confrontation if a little back channel maneuvering would work as well.
The show started the precedent that Law and Order, Criminal Intent is using now to give star Vincent Donofrio some rest with having Chris Noth and another female partner solve crimes on alternate weekends. James Garner was the original Bret Maverick and later Jack Kelly was brought in as brother Bart. Later on we had cousin Beau and another brother Brent played by Roger Moore and Robert Colbert.
Those last two we never even see the episodes with them. James Garner wanted a feature film career and Maverick helped launch him in one. His best efforts have always been when he's played a variation on Maverick and that would include his later hit series, The Rockford Files.
Unfortunately Jack Kelly never got the same break as Garner. But Bart was also pretty good at thinking on his feet as well. Still he was good performer and the Bart episodes do hold their own. And the shows they did together, pure magic.
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I still remember as a lad when Maverick made its debut on the ABC network. It was on Sunday nights at 7:30 and with that early half an hour start, it knocked the stuffings out of Ed Sullivan and Steve Allen who had their shows begin at 8:00 in the Nielsen ratings.
Maverick was unlike any western that had been on television before. Previously you had heroes stand tall and tangle with villainy head on. Maverick was no coward, but he never went looking for trouble and he never would look for a face to face confrontation if a little back channel maneuvering would work as well.
The show started the precedent that Law and Order, Criminal Intent is using now to give star Vincent Donofrio some rest with having Chris Noth and another female partner solve crimes on alternate weekends. James Garner was the original Bret Maverick and later Jack Kelly was brought in as brother Bart. Later on we had cousin Beau and another brother Brent played by Roger Moore and Robert Colbert.
Those last two we never even see the episodes with them. James Garner wanted a feature film career and Maverick helped launch him in one. His best efforts have always been when he's played a variation on Maverick and that would include his later hit series, The Rockford Files.
Unfortunately Jack Kelly never got the same break as Garner. But Bart was also pretty good at thinking on his feet as well. Still he was good performer and the Bart episodes do hold their own. And the shows they did together, pure magic.