Don't listen to the negative reviews

Did you people see the same film I saw?

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

The 1960s brought a fascination with science and real-life NASA space adventure, oceanic exploration ala Jacque Cousteau, the threat of communism and a fixation on foreign espionage, and a renewed love of the old West and cowboy themes. On TV, it led to science-inspired programs like Men Into Space, hugely popular western series like Bonanza and Gunsmoke, ocean-themed programs like Seahunt and Flipper, and spy shows like Secret Agent Man, The Saint, Danger Man, and many others. But the real genius of 1960s producers was in their ability to combine the era's mega-themes into fascinating new forms of entertainment. The movie, The Glass Bottom Boat, was about spies and NASA astronauts. On TV, science and espionage were popular teammates on shows like The Avengers, Man From Uncle, The Prisoner, and Mission: Impossible. Science fiction and oceanic adventure made a great combo on Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. The Wild, Wild West trumped them all, tapping into the themes of western adventure, science fiction, and espionage in a single program that never flagged in its popularity, right until the very last episode (it was ultimately pulled by the network as a nod to a big movement to reduce violence on television).There was actually a fourth leg to the Wild Wild West stool, and that was sheer 1960s whimsy. Like The Avengers and The Prisoner, WWW indulged in the decade's love of the avant-garde, fearlessly and shamelessly creating a netherworld where the bad guy might be a harpsichord-playing mad genius dwarf, or a gaggle of orange alien women who arrive in a fake flying saucer.Add to all of that, beautiful lady co-stars, and a male lead who comes as close to a real live action hero as the small screen has ever seen, and you can only come to one conclusion: The Wild, Wild West truly had it all.

If you think I am going to talk about the stories, the direction, the photography or even the acting, you, my friend, are mistaken. Robert Conrad, who looked like a guy who did 100 pushups every few hours just to break the monotony, did all his own stunts. And that was the show. You tuned in, got cozy with the notion of a bunch of special agents who had their own train (no planes in that era) and reported to the president directly, but really it was all about waiting for the fight scenes. (And the gadgets were something Q's great-grandfather might have thought up.) It was fun and it was reliable. Factoid -- Ross Martin was pushing 50 when this show was done. Not sure whose idea it was to cast Martin as second banana in a role requiring action and stunts, but this put even more pressure on Conrad to deliver the goods each week. And he did.

I have only three TV shows I have seen every episode of: (not in order) 1. Twin Peaks 2. Mystery Science Theater 3000 3. The Wild Wild West I think they all share one thing: innovation. TP broke the rules of TV. Mystery Science Theater won a Peabody; enough said. And my dear favorite of all time, The Wild Wild West simply cannot be copied. Others found that out. The thing that was magic about it is what every great storyteller or magician knows; the magic must be believed to be seen. That's right, you read that right. No I am not dyslexic. We believe Jim and Arte are on that train (The Highlander) and romancing the women, and outwitting the criminals who tie them up only to be outwitted by their cleverness because we believe them. Robert Conrad and Ross Martin had the same chemistry that Laurel & Hardy had; Jack Klugman and Tony Randall had, that Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel had, dare I say that the Marx Brothers had. It's rare. It is almost indefinable, but I would venture to say that they took the fantastic and endeavored to believe it and therefore make us believe it. It takes multiple talents to do that. Conrad's stunts; Martin's multi-talents (playing the violin was real) all sewn up seamlessly in that wonderful theme song. Only if those who create TV had the same dedication. Only Joel Fields' work on The Americans comes to mind as a modern ref where they dig in and strike gold. Bravo Jim and Arte, Mike Garrison and Mr. Lansbury, my Coachman hat will remain floating in the air in tribute to your greatness.

"The Wild Wild West" might be the one series that I consider the most fun ever. If not, it's certainly ONE OF the most fun, along with "Get Smart," "The Maan From UNCLE" and "Burke's Law." How can it not be? After all, it's 007 in boots, spurs and cowboy hat. Mix in ample doses of Louis L'Amour (sort of), Jules Verne & a drop of Conan Doyle and it's easy to see why this series was such a smash for four seasons in a time when the networks were loaded with now-legendary classic shows.Bob Conrad and Ross Martin were the perfect choices to play Secret Service agents James West and Artemis Gordon batting an incredible array of bad guys - and bad gals.Even the music is classic! Quite simply, you really cannot do better than to choose "The Wild Wild West" when it comes time to select a TV show to watch.BTW, after many years, "The Wild Wild West" returned to Southern California TV on May 28 at 7 pm on KDOC-TV.