The rodeo scenes--well, rodeo clips, I should say--are great fun! They make me want to head out and find a real rodeo somewhere. And in the beginning of the series, the stories seemed okay, too. After all, how can you go wrong with a supporting cast like Warren Oates and Bruce Dern? But as you watch one episode after another, you realize the shows are almost always the same: Super rich people trying to buy everything they want or everyone they need, while treating everybody around them like dirt; the disgruntled youth who will do whatever it takes, good or bad, to make his parent recognize him; the loser father who pushes his kid unrelentingly to achieve the success that he could not. Plenty of lost souls and tough, misguided kids. Very preachy, and repetitively so. The sermonizing goes on and on. And on. Watch the moral dilemmas in broken families that the lead character Stoney Burke finds necessary to help. And consider the morally bankrupt ne'er-do-well played by Warren Oates. What sane people would let someone hang around with them who constantly lied, manipulated, stole from them, and cheated them? This is one series where you might need the "Pause" button just to take a break, but you will certainly need to keep your finger hovering above "Fast Forward."
However, in spite of the sanctimonious dialog, incredulous characters and behaviors, and the fact that many episodes begin with a long preview of some of the exact scenes that will appear in the episode, there are two good reasons (besides the rodeo action) that make this show worth watching: the camera work and guest stars. The direction and the way the camera makes use of light and shadow and of foreground, background and perspective, shows a mastering in the days of black and white. And (keeping in mind this was filmed in 1962-63) it's a treat to see so many famous faces in the early period of their careers, including Robert Duvall, Dick Clark, James Coburn, Strother Martin, Carol O'Connor, Ed Asner, Jack Weston, Dyan Cannon, Leonard Nimoy, James Mason, and Cloris Leachman in one of the best performances I've ever seen.
Review of Stoney Burke
