Journey to the rough 'n' rowdy West and join the misadventures of
two outlaws as every Season One episode of Alias Smith and Jones
comes to DVD for the first time! Kid Curry (Ben Murphy) and
Hannibal Heyes (Pete Duel) are two ex-bandits who just want to
walk the straight and narrow. But before the governor will give
them amnesty, they're going to have to live their lives as
Thaddeus Jones and Joshua Smith, avoid the bounty hunters on
their trail, and discover the criminals who are only too happy to
blame crimes on their old personas! Created by Glen Larson
(Magnum P.I., Knight Rider, Buck Rogers) and co-starring such
legendary guest stars as Susan Saint James, it's the TV Western
that shows why the West was so wild!
Bonus Content:
Disc 1 - Alias Smith and Jones Season One:
* Pilot: Optional Audio Commentary by Writer/Creator/Producer
Glen A. Larson
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This warm, comedic western appeared on televisions a year after
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was a surprise blockbuster.
Both lighthearted Westerns follow two outlaws who have won the
hearts of the public. In TV bandit version, it's because "they
never killed anyone" while being ever-so-charming as they steal
from banks and trains. In the pilot episode (which aired as a TV
movie in January 1971, followed two weeks later by the series),
the premise is set: Hannibal Heyes (Pete Duel) and 'Kid' Curry
(Ben Johnson) want to go straight when they discover the governor
is offering amnesty, a historical fact. However, it's stipulated
they need to go "straight" for a year before amnesty will be
given. So they rename themselves Joshua Smith and Thaddeus Jones
as they attempt to go straight, but lawmen--unknown of the secret
deal--are on their heels. Usually the pair goes out of the way to
stop a crime from other bandits. A good double-cross is usually
thrown in too. Heyes/Smith is the brainier one with an eye for
the ladies. Curry/Jones is more brawny (a relative term),
possessing the proverbial "fastest in the west." Highlights
of the 14 episodes includes "Wrong Train to Brimstone," as the
two board a train of detectives looking for Heyes and Curry, and
"A Fistful of Diamonds" where we don't know who is conning who.
The revolving door of guest stars is pretty impressive. Susan St.
James, Earl Holliman, and Forest Tucker appear in the pilot.
Later shows find Burl Ives as a gambler, Susan Strasberg as a
casino owner, Fernando Lamas as a mentor of Heyes', Keenan Wynn
as a stationmaster who captures the bandits, plus Juliet Mills,
Patrick Macnee, L.Q. Jones, Slim Pickens, Sam Jaffe, and J.D.
Cannon, who appears in several episodes as a detective on the
trail. Add those talents to the easygoing charm of the two stars,
and even the thinnest story is enjoyable to watch.
This was the first show Glen A. Larson (Magnum, P.I. , Knight
Rider) created and produced. His copy of the Butch formula (and
the some extent, the previous comedic TV western Maverick) worked
well enough for the struggling ABC network to quickly order a
second season (the show was especially a hit with the younger
set). However, by the end of 1971, the tragic suicide of Duel
made the show a dead end, despite the addition of Sally Field and
instantly recasting Smith with Roger Davis (who supplied the
show's opening narration up to that point). A flash in the pan
(50 episodes) seen year later holds up well enough, and has been
preserved to supply an excellent picture quality. --Doug Thomas