| Gorgrat | 13 Sep 2021 3:30 p.m. PST |
link This was was the original Wild Wild West intro, with cartoon James giving cartoon murderess a haymaker. But the episodes as actually aired have her swooning from his kiss instead. Only, later in season 1 did they change to the version I linked above. Anybody know why? A very cursory search turned up nothing. Personally, while I agree that anyone who tries to knife you in the back deserves what comes, woman or not, I thought the kiss version was a lot more appealing. |
| Covert Walrus | 13 Sep 2021 3:56 p.m. PST |
I thought the kiss version was a lot more appealing. That was the general opinion at the time. Hitting a woman was seen as a no-no under any circumstances by the "Moral Majority" in charge of censorship, so that was replaced. Nowadays, there would be a huge argument between feminists and reasonable people on one side in favor of the punch, against feminists and religious groups against it. Possibly even the LGBTQ+ would object to th kiss as well. |
| Gorgrat | 13 Sep 2021 4:09 p.m. PST |
But it seems the punch replaced the kiss? |
 Editor in Chief Bill   | 13 Sep 2021 5:45 p.m. PST |
To appeal to boys rather than girls? In terms of audience. |
| Gray Bear | 13 Sep 2021 8:44 p.m. PST |
James West was always a gentleman. He would not have slugged a lady. Therefore, the character who tried to knife him as they kissed was not a lady. |
| DyeHard | 14 Sep 2021 9:27 a.m. PST |
I have the box-set some place. And I think they went into this. But basically, a hero punching out a woman, did not sit well with some viewers.
The swooning was also more in-tune with the vibe such as James Bond. Just a note to Covert Walrus:
The "Moral Majority" did not exist at the time, some 20 years too soon. Hitting woman was not censored in this era, Just watch any contemporary show, like Star Trek and you will see men hitting woman all the time, just normally not the heroes. The original intro to Wild Wild West most likely did it to be "edgy" and show how wild the west was. |
| Gorgrat | 14 Sep 2021 9:31 a.m. PST |
Gray Bear Uncomfortable thought… |
| 14Bore | 14 Sep 2021 11:59 a.m. PST |
WWW was a favorite as a kid, so had no issues with his round house before she was going to stick him. |
 Parzival  | 14 Sep 2021 12:07 p.m. PST |
I might point out that in Barney Miller, a show which ran from 1974-1982, domestic abuse of women, while never shown, was often treated as a source of humor!!! And this from a show very much on the "cutting edge" of social commentary in the day. It's now being re-aired by "Family Entertainment TV (FeTV). And while the show is funny (and still alarmingly topical— they recently aired an early episode about violent ambushes of police officers), there are moments when my wife and I cringe— almost always involving crimes against women or involving women. As for the ‘50s, can you imagine "One of these days, to the Moon, Alice!" being treated as light fun in a show today? |
| 45thdiv | 14 Sep 2021 1:10 p.m. PST |
I wish it was available to buy. Wouldn't mind watching it again. |
| Thresher01 | 14 Sep 2021 1:45 p.m. PST |
No need to be gentlemanly to a woman who tries to kill you. |
 javelin98 | 14 Sep 2021 5:40 p.m. PST |
I loved that show! The movie was such a disappointment, even with a great cast. |
| Thresher01 | 15 Sep 2021 1:32 a.m. PST |
Yes, the original series is very, VERY goood. The movie, while fun, was a real let-down, |
| DyeHard | 15 Sep 2021 7:33 a.m. PST |
For 45th Div: The box set is widely sold. One possible source:
link About the movie:
My God! I wanted to walk out. It managed to get the tone completely wrong. Making James West motivated by revenge was so off the mark. (It's not a Charles Bronson movie). It breaks the mystic of cool that made the TV show's James West so compelling. |
| Thresher01 | 15 Sep 2021 11:21 a.m. PST |
She's lucky he didn't shoot her, but it is TV, so……. Thankfully, I didn't go to the theater to pay to watch the movie. Saw it on TV and was unimpressed. The olde episodes from the original series were far, FAR better. |
| javelin98 | 15 Sep 2021 5:49 p.m. PST |
Exactly, DyeHard! It was completely out of character for the TV icon. |
| Oberlindes Sol LIC | 15 Sep 2021 8:30 p.m. PST |
I wonder if it's on streaming somewhere. I loved it as a boy. |
| TheBeast | 21 Sep 2021 8:59 a.m. PST |
The movie was such a disappointment, even with a great cast. On the other other hand, the toys, in parts and in whole, have made it to a lot of game tables… ;->= Actually, as a lad of the period, I was raised strongly indicating striking a woman, lady or not, was definitely improper. Bad-a** women have taught me the naivete of that image. Doug |
| Gorgrat | 21 Sep 2021 8:30 p.m. PST |
^^ I remember the Doctor Loveless giant tarantula. Great piece! With a little modification and a little paint, it became Spider Fuhrer, and was the central evil villain of a weird world war II campaign! |
| Pyrate Captain | 16 Aug 2023 10:05 p.m. PST |
According to the official history of the WWW, the successful show was cancelled in 1969, because it was too violent, or so says the federal government who forced CBS to cancel the show. Meanwhile in the contemporary evening news regarding the Republic of Vietnam……. |
