The Big Valley: Season One

The heyday of small-screen Westerns was already waning when this well-produced series premiered in 1965, but The Big Valley's popularity provided the genre with a much-needed shot in the arm—and sold viewers on two relatively unknown performers who would become mega-stars in the coming years. Set in California's San Joaquin Valley during the turbulent post-Civil War period, The Big Valley revolves around the Barkley family, a rich and powerful clan headed by indomitable matriarch Victoria (Barbara Stanwyck, here still a commanding figure before the cameras), whose sons Jarrod (Richard Long) and Nick (Peter Breck) work the ranch and mines while high-spirited daughter Audra (Linda Evans) gets into mischief of one kind or another. The pilot, “Palms of Glory,” also introduces Heath (Lee Majors), an illegitimate son who arrives at the Barkley spread to claim his birthright. Not surprisingly, the others aren't crazy about accepting him into the family, and that situation underscores the initial shows. Other solid installments from the first season's 30 episodes (presented here in an extra-less five-disc set) include “Earthquake,” in which Victoria is trapped in an abandoned mine shaft with a pregnant woman and one of the clan's enemies; “The Invaders,” in which Heath is shot by outlaws who take over the ranch while Nick and Jarrod are away; and “Last Train to the Fair,” which begins with Audra laid low by appendicitis while onboard a train. Originally conceived as a Bonanza rip-off, The Big Valley evolved into a fine series in its own right and made stars of Majors and Evans. Recommended. (E. Hulse)