'Scourge of the West' is an engaging debut for this wacky but short-lived sitcom, which takes place towards the end of the Civil War. A bumbling captain, Wilton Parmenter (Ken Berry), is assigned to oversee the remote Fort Courage, where the Sergeant, Morgan O'Rourke (Forrest Tucker) and his goofy sidekick, Randolph Agarn (Larry Storch) are busy with several schemes. When they receive word that an officer is coming to do an inspection, they make arrangements with their partners in crime, the Hekawi Indians, to stage an "attack" to make things look good.
For a debut episode, this is pretty action-packed. The energy level is high, and the actors are all in top form, delivering one zinger after another. One has to assume that there will be more time for plot & character development in subsequent episodes. But this is good fun from a very un-P. C. age. One highlight was in seeing veteran Edward Everett Horton as a dopey Hekawi medicine man. The lovely Melody Patterson is also a real highlight as feisty trading post operator "Wrangler Jane". And James Hampton is a hoot as the bugler, Hannibal Dobbs.
All in all, this was pleasingly irreverent and a good jumping-off point for further shenanigans.
Seven out of 10.
For a debut episode, this is pretty action-packed. The energy level is high, and the actors are all in top form, delivering one zinger after another. One has to assume that there will be more time for plot & character development in subsequent episodes. But this is good fun from a very un-P. C. age. One highlight was in seeing veteran Edward Everett Horton as a dopey Hekawi medicine man. The lovely Melody Patterson is also a real highlight as feisty trading post operator "Wrangler Jane". And James Hampton is a hoot as the bugler, Hannibal Dobbs.
All in all, this was pleasingly irreverent and a good jumping-off point for further shenanigans.
Seven out of 10.
