"The Virginian: The Complete First Season" (Timeless, 1962-63, 11 discs, interview featurettes, tin collectible box, $79.99).
In 1962, "The Virginian" debuted as the first 90-minute Western, churning out 30 color episodes each year, often filming on location for expansive shots of the great outdoors.
This was back when 30- to 60-minute black-and-white Westerns were the standard, as was shooting on the studio lot. But "The Virginian" was filmed like a movie, something that allows the series to hold up remarkably well in this gorgeously remastered DVD set.
The 30 episodes here, each running about 75 minutes, generally revolve around one of the central characters and a guest star.
Lee J. Cobb gets top billing as Judge Henry Garth, owner of the enormous Shiloh Ranch in Medicine Bow, Wyo. (said in one episode to take up half the state). Cobb's co-stars are James Drury as the title character, foreman of the ranch; Doug McClure and Gary Clarke as ranch hands; and Roberta Shore as Betsy, the judge's teenage daughter.
But the show also boasted A-list guests and sterling up-and-comers. Season 1 features Bette Davis, George C. Scott, Ida Lupino, Lee Marvin, Robert Duvall, Vera Miles, Edward Asner and many more.
"I was put under contract when I was 18," Shore said by phone from her Salt Lake home, "and I was 18 or just 19 when I started playing Betsy as a 14-year-old, with no makeup and pretty basic clothes to make me look like a little kid."
Shore was often shooting segments of two or three episodes at once, which was important to keep the 90-minute program on schedule for weekly airings, but it also presented some challenges. "I'd have to run from scene to scene on one stage, change my blouse and run to another stage down the road a ways."
But it was also enjoyable work, Shore says, and she learned a lot from Cobb and the others. "It was wonderful to be there. I was awestruck every day. And I loved Lee J. Cobb. He had such a dry wit.
"With the guys (Drury, McClure and Clarke), I was the butt of a lot of jokes. I was very young and na?e, though not quite as na?e as they thought. They teased me a lot but they were always nice.
"We had a lot of fun on the show — but it was hard work, especially when we went on location. I would have a 5 o'clock call in morning for hair and makeup, and that was back in the days when you had to sit under the dryer for an hour. Then we'd work until 6 or 7 or 8 at night. It was a great growing-up time for me."
Even when they weren't on location, the cast and crew felt as if they had been transported to the Old West. "The whole Universal backlot was filled with places for cattle, and there was the big sign, 'Welcome to Shiloh Ranch,' and there were parts of the ranch there, the bunkhouse.
"Universal did so many Westerns at that time that there was a whole backlot just for those shows."
Shore's favorite episode, however, is clearly from the third season, "The Evil That Men Do," with guest star Robert Redford. "I believe 'The Virginian' was one of the first TV shows that Robert Redford did. He had just come from Broadway, where he did 'Barefoot in the Park,' and the episode featured me. I got to kiss him … on the cheek.
"He was great, a very nice person, and it was very exciting to meet him." (And although Season 3 is not yet on DVD, you can see the Redford episode online at YouTube in seven 10-minute segments.)
When Shore left "The Virginian" after three years, "we all remained friends. Then Lee left (after Season 4), and Gary was gone (after Season 2) — so I wasn't the only one who left early." The show ran for nine seasons, the last under the title "The Men From Shiloh."
Shore hopes "The Virginian" has a long life on DVD. "What a great show, and people have been e-mailing me how much they love it."