User Reviews

The Wild Wild West explodes into it's second season in color and boy does it look great. The sets in the episode look magnificent and wouldn't be out of place in an episode of the sixties's Batman show. The opening credits also have the animated West punching the woman's lights out as opposed to the first season where he kisses her and she swoons away. Fair enough..after all she was trying to kill him. The Eccentrics led by Victor Buono are a great invention and include Richard Pryor as a venquilotrist. There is a certain amount of mystery and unexplained events in this show and the story and other elements really combine to give us a cracking episode and everything that the Wild Wild West would come to represent. Nine stars out of ten

This is a very solid episode, Victor Buonos second guest starring role in the series. I don't think it is an accident that Victor led off this season as well as the pilot episode. He always adds something to any show he appears in - even when he was the strange King Tut on Batman.

Richard Pryor is in this one too, adding to a very strong supporting cast. There is some major magic & illusion in this one, as Buono seems to be step ahead of West & Gordon most of the show. There is lots of top notch entertainment in this episode. This one is a very good show as it includes a real monkey, unlike the pre-fab ones at this time on NBC.

This show was to have a great second season & this started was a prelude to some of the strongest shows to come, & holds it's own with any of them.

Charles Bennett's 'The Night Of The Eccentrics' launched the second season of 'The Wild Wild West' in fine style. It was now in colour, and influences from the 'Batman' series were noticeable. It opens with the death of 'Vance Markham' ( Roy Jensen ), a U.S. agent investigating a murder-for-hire outfit known as 'The Eccentrics'. Jim and Artemus find him, a poster pinned to his back with a knife. At the Echo Amusement Park, which is deserted ( the crowd noise being supplied by a gramophone record ), Jim meets the Eccentrics - travelling sideshow performers including a knife-thrower, a ventriloquist, sharp-shooter, and a strong-man amongst others - who are trained killers. After West beats the latter - 'Titan' ( Mike Masters ) - 'Count Carlos Manzetti' ( Victor Buono ) has him shot. The Count is a flamboyant character who possesses magic powers. He is, for instance, able to appear and vanish in a puff of smoke. Jim is invited to take Titan's place. The Eccentrics' next target will be 'President Juarez' of Mexico ( Frank Sorello ).

Having been 'Juan Manelo a.k.a. Wing Fat' in 'The Night Of The Inferno' ( the pilot episode ), here is Buono again, this time playing a different adversary. He reappeared in a later Season 2 episode 'The Night Of The Feathered Fury'. Poor Jim gets a rough time in this - he is beaten, almost knifed, betrayed by the lovely 'Miranda' ( LeGrand Mellon ), nearly shot by sharpshooter 'Deadeye' ( Anthony Eisley ), falls through trapdoors, and suspended by chemically treated rope over a ring of electrical power. All in a days' work for a Government agent.

Spot The Future Star - the late Richard Pryor gives a creepy performance as ventriloquist 'Villar'.

The good parts are the extensive use of color, and Victor Buono. No, Buono is no Dunn and Manzeppi is no Loveless. But who is? Buono does well enough with what he's given, which is a hammy over-the-top villain who puts the two agents through their paces.

I also like Conrad in this episode, although he's very out-of-character despite previous and subsequent appearance. Jim West doesn't seem to take anything going on too seriously. Granted that makes his disgust with Deadeye and the latter's tendency to gun down unarmed men effective, given his previous jocularity.

The rest is so-so. The Eccentrics' plan doesn't make much sense. Manzeppi has anyone killed (Titan and Tony) who fail him even once. So how does he recruit members? It doesn't seem like working for him gives someone a very good life expectancy. And then Manzeppi goes to take a nap in the middle of an assassination, giving Jim the chance to bait Tony. Then Manzeppi returns and has Deadeye shoot Tony... when Jim's escape gambit didn't even work!

So Manzeppi recruits Jim to become a member on the eve of an important assassination. Huh? And why have Deadeye impersonate Juarez? Just come in through the hidden passageway, shoot Juarez dead when he arrives, and leave. Manzeppi's scheme seems overly-complicated, even with his attempts to make the U. S. appear to give it's blessing to Louis.

Basically the plot is there to give writer Charles Bennett a chance to show off Manzeppi. The opening, with Manzeppi introducing the Eccentrics and Markham being killed, is effective. But the set pieces go on too long. Why can't Jim and Artie just kick in the door. Later, Jim falls down into a cell, escapes with Miranda's help, and the two of them ride to the Wanderer... which is all part of Manzeppi's plan. Lots of screentime gets gobbled up, but to what end? If Manzeppi wants the train, just force Artie to help him..

Why does Artie have a sprained ankle? And Armstrong is a prat. The agents say Manzeppi escaped through a hidden passage, and Armstrong lectures them about taking a vacation so they're not overworked. Glad he never showed up again.

And Richard Pryor as Villar does... what? Other than the thrill of seeing Richard Pryor show up, there's no point to the character. Even the production crew couldn't have been too impressed with Pryor, so they didn't bring him back for Manzeppi's second appearance.

So overall, TNOT Eccentric is okay. But it seems to exist more to show off the show's jump to color and Buono, then any deep characterization or tricky plotting.

But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?

Holy frayed rope!

Will Mr West be able to escape an electrical end?

This seems like one of the better Batman episodes. It's a bit silly but a lot of fun. The episode utilizes over the top acting as well as over the top colors. Much like Batman. As someone who has not yet seen The Wild Wild West beyond this point it will be interesting to see whether it follows the pattern of Batman and becomes too silly by the last season, or if the characters are allowed to maintain their own personality which is really what makes the series worth watching. I most say, victor Buono is as entertaining as ever.

The creator of Wild Wild West, Michael Garrison, takes over as producer as the show moves into season two and into vivid color.

Unfortunately, the vivid color is the only highlight of the episode. I was very disappointed that this weak episode was the one they chose to start the season. The episode is full of silliness, unexplained violations of the laws of physics, and bad acting.

Victor Buono painfully overacts as the villain -- though the writing seems to demand an over-the-top performance. I found him intensely annoying in a way that Michael Dunn's Dr. Loveless never was.

Also, disturbingly, as mentioned above, his character Count Manzeppi does a number of things that appear to be physically impossible, and none of them are explained. In one scene, he observes West through what appears to be a video monitor. He's invented VIDEO, in the 1800s? Worse, the show doesn't bother to explain why or how he invented this, nor how he disappears through what U.S. intelligence experts determine to be a solid wall at the end of the show. (I could list more examples.)

This series requires suspending some disbelief, but when it doesn't even bother to offer half-baked explanations for absurd events, I lose all interest. No episode prior to this one was so indifferent to explanations. It's as though the writers were saying, "Never mind how things happen."

It occurred to me that the episode -- and others starting in season two -- reminded me of another 60s series, Batman. In Batman, all the villains overacted -- it seemed to be a requirement. The plots were dumb, as if meant for children rather than grown-ups. The writers were indifferent to whether events were logical, or laws of physics were violated.

I noticed the departure of Gene Coon as producer, who produced a number of pretty solid episodes at the end of season one. Where did Coon go? He was hired away to do Star Trek (remember that show?), and he was producer of many of its best episodes for two seasons.

Garrison invented this wonderfully imaginative series, and he deserves tremendous credit for that, but as season two began, he seemed to be intent on making it into a more cartoon-like, sillier, less intelligent show.