PrintSci-Fi Westerns
Saddle up for the stars with these outer-space Westerns.
EnlargeCowboys & Aliens is hardly the first marriage between the sci-fi and western genres, but it is certainly the most high-profile wedding we've seen in a while. George Lucas has never been shy about the influence that The Searchers and other westerns have had on his films, but since Star Wars also has plenty in common with samurai films and war movies, we decided to find a few examples with a little more cowboy to the mix. So grab your laser pistol and saddle up for the stars as we look at some great (and some not-so-great) examples of space cowboys.
Five Big-Screen Sci-Fi Westerns
The Valley of Gwangi (1969)
Now, call me crazy, but if I found a live Tyrannosaurus rex in the desert, maybe the circus wouldn’t be the first place I’d take him. But some people have no common sense, so when cowboy Tuck Kirby (James Franciscus) learns of a forbidden valley in the Mexican desert where dinosaurs still roam, he decides to head out and lasso a few of the critters for his struggling Wild West show. As you can imagine, everything turns out great and the dinosaurs come right along without incident.
Westworld (1973)
Written and directed by Michael Crichton (of Jurassic Park fame), Westworld is a cautionary tale about the perils of entrusting firearms to robots that look like Yul Brynner. All joking aside, this film is often counted as a forerunner of The Terminator and other dystopian killer-robot stories — who could ever forget Brynner's plastic face peeling back to reveal the coldblooded circuitry underneath? Rumor has it that a Westworld remake with Russell Crowe is in the works for 2012— no word yet on whether he'll play the robot.
Battle Beyond the Stars (1980)
Richard Thomas (John-Boy of The Waltons) plays the lead as Shad, the heroic warrior who scrapes together a misfit band of seven heroes to defend his small planet from ruthless bandits. Sound familiar? Yes, folks, it’s The Magnificent Seven in space — complete with Robert Vaughn playing an alien version of his Lee character from the now classic Western film. A young man named James Cameron developed many of the special effects for Battle Beyond the Stars, but you might be more familiar with two of his other movies: Titanic and Avatar.
Back to the Future Part III (1990)
When Marty McFly takes his time-traveling car back to the Old West, he must work with Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) to find a way back home. This family-friendly fare is replete with western film references and was even shot near the same place as Clint Eastwood’s Pale Rider. Texas blues group ZZ Top makes a cameo appearance.
Oblivion (1994)
Oblivion takes place in the year 3031 in a run-down (but still high-tech) outer space mining town. The town of Oblivion is terrorized by a snakelike alien named Redeye. When Redeye kills the only law in town, the sheriff’s son reluctantly takes up the mantle. Look for George Takei, whose character Doc Valentine has a habit of making thinly veiled Star Trek jokes — you’ll undoubtedly recognize Takei as Mr. Sulu from the show. This 1994 film played the film festival circuit but never saw general release and was condemned to the direct-to-video treatment. It still pops up now and then under the alternate title Welcome to Oblivion and was re-released on DVD in 2010. Just be sure you’re oblivious to the fact that it’s a stinker.
5 Small-Screen Sci-Fi Westerns
As western TV shows flourished in the late ’50s, the popularity of science fiction emerged as its main rival for the attention (and eyeballs) of little boys and girls everywhere. It was inevitable that the two should bleed together in more ways than one, and it didn’t take long for them to collide. The 1968 season of Star Trek actually had Captain Kirk and company beaming down to a virtual Old West town in the now-classic episode “Spectre of the Gun.” Our guess is it’s just a matter of time before the trend comes back again — here are a few TV shows that tried to combine lasers and lassos.
The Wild Wild West (1965 – 69)
The 1999 film Wild Wild West starring Will Smith and Kevin Kline was a real dud, but the same can't be said for the TV show starring Robert Conrad and Ross Martin as secret agents in the Old West with a penchant for technology. The series ran for one season in black-and-white and three more in color before moving on to a lengthy syndication stint that lasted decades. Cable TV networks like TV Land helped carry its popularity well into the 1990s. Known for its lighthearted humor and endless stream of high-tech gadgetry (including invisible electric fences, walking sticks with a secret telegraph inside, and steam-powered robots), the original easily outshines its big-screen incarnation.
Outlaws (1986 – 87)
This short-lived CBS series put an interesting twist on the time-travel angle, sending the characters forward in time instead of backwards. When Sheriff Jonathan Grail and a gang of outlaws are struck by lightning, they jump from 1890s Texas into 1980s Houston. Setting aside their differences, they join together to do the only logical thing: start a detective agency and fight crime. The show featured Rod Taylor and Charles Napier, who also starred in the 1976 – 77 TV series The Oregon Trail, and faired poorly.
The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. (1993 – 94)
The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. may have only lasted one season, but character actor Bruce Campbell still cites the title character (bounty hunter Brisco County Jr.) as one of his favorite roles ever. A large number of the show’s 27 episodes revolve around the powers of the orb — a strange device of unknown origin — as Brisco attempts to save the day. There’s a lot of humor and cliffhangers on this show, and the relatively kid-friendly tone makes the eight-disc DVD set a great way to introduce skeptical youngsters to all the thrills that westerns have to offer.
Legend (1995)
Actor Richard Dean Anderson had a hard time breaking free of his MacGyver shadow in this sci-fi western with a literary bent. The show follows Ernest Pratt (Anderson), a writer famous for creating the dime novel hero Nicodemus Legend, and the action that ensues as the author decides to bring his fictional character to life. With some help from scientist Janos Bartok (John de Lancie), Pratt’s adventures as Legend take him across the West and are full of various literary and historical references. Shot in Arizona, the series suffered from poor ratings on a badly managed network: The show was canceled along with a slew of other UPN offerings during the network’s fledgling year.
Firefly (2002 – 2003)
Like the aforementioned Brisco County, the Fox network took a gamble on this outer space drama that only lasted one season. Creator Joss Whedon's vision was to follow the story of a group of people living in the aftermath of a civil war in what he described as "a Stagecoach kind of drama with a lot of people trying to figure out their lives in a bleak pioneer environment." The result, which combines the conventions of the Old West with the visual appeal of Star Trek, was popular enough with fans to spawn a full-length feature film (2005's Serenity) after Firefly was canceled.
