The Wild Wild West

tv show

poster for The Wild Wild West

104 total episodes

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4 seasons

First Aired September 17, 1965

Overview

The Wild Wild West is an American television series. Developed at a time when the television western was losing ground to the spy genre, this show was conceived by its creator, Michael Garrison, as "James Bond on horseback." Set during the administration of President Ulysses Grant, the series followed Secret Service agents James West and Artemus Gordon as they solved crimes, protected the President, and foiled the plans of megalomaniacal villains to take over all or part of the United States. The show also featured a number of fantasy elements, such as the technologically advanced devices used by the agents and their adversaries. The combination of the Victorian era time-frame and the use of Verne-esque style technology have inspired some to give the show credit for the origins of the steam punk subculture.

tv poster

The Night of a Thousand Eyes

Season 1 - Episode 6 - 1h 50m

Air Date

October 22, 1965

Overview

Ships along the Mississippi are being attacked by a gang of pirates known as the "Thousand Eyes". After Jim ducks an assassin, an attractive woman, he finds the leader of the Eyes: Captain Ansel Coffin, who was blinded and now seeks revenge. His gang use false lights to lead ships astray and crash them, and then plunder them. Jim is captured by Coffin and manages to escape a cage rigged to a lightning rod. He is blinded by a powder flash, and for a time he is at a decided edge against Coffin (who has long adapted to his blindness). Coffin manages to accidentally kill his wife. Enraged, Jim is saved by his recovering eyesight: he ducks, and Coffin falls into a pit to his death.