The Wild West adventures of the Barkley family in California's San Joaquin Valley.The Wild West adventures of the Barkley family in California's San Joaquin Valley.The Wild West adventures of the Barkley family in California's San Joaquin Valley.
- Won 1 Primetime Emmy
- 3 wins & 8 nominations total
Browse episodes
Videos4
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. —Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>
- Genre
- Certificate
- TV-PG
- Parents guide
Did you know
- TriviaAccording to "Wildest Westerns Magazine", Peter Breck was able to draw his gun in 16/100 of a second, making the character of Nick Barkley the fastest draw in television history.
- GoofsThe series is apparently set during the administration of Ulysses S. Grant. However many of the years and dates mentioned during the series conflict with this setting.
- Quotes
Nick Barkley: It might do you good to eat a little dust once in awhile.
Jarrod Barkley: I'm a lawyer, remember? I only eat crow.
- Crazy creditsThroughout the series, Lee Majors was always introduced as Heath in the credits, no last name. This was because, even though he was accepted as a member of the family, there was always the question of whether he was a true Barkley or not.
- Alternate versionsSome second season syndication prints now have the first season's main title sequence. While similar in style, they use different shots. Such prints were aired in 2006-2008 on the Encore Westerns Channel and 2007-2009 on the American Life TV Network.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Barbara Stanwyck: Fire and Desire (1991)
Top review
Amazingly similar feelings
After reading the comments of others who love The Big Valley, I feel less unusual for enjoying the old show so much. It totally captured my interest when I was a teenager, and I miss watching it, since I cannot locate it. It should have run longer, but I can understand the actors were afraid of typecasting, or had other plans. I love everything about the show, from the opening music, to the stars, to the clothes, and I really loved that house, especially the staircase. I dream of a house like that one. I was pleased to have Linda Evans go on to Dynasty, and to see Lee Majors as The Bionic Man. I hoped to see more of Peter Breck and the others.
helpful•101
- lisvictoria
- Jan 14, 2003
Details
- Runtime1 hour
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content

Recently viewed
Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.































