This was my first look at a Sgt. Preston of the Yukon episode in a half century, when I was a small kid. Rather than go into details of the story, let me just make some general observations of watching the show now as a 60-year-old.
I was impressed by the complexity of this story. It was not for little kids. There were good and bad Indians, good and bad white people. There were several motives behind everyone's actions and not always easy to follow.
Richard Simmons as Preston had a very authoritative voice and manner about him which made him a believable Mountie.
Being this early in television, you can tell the closeup shots were in a studio, not in the snowy outdoors. A wind howled all the time but the branches on the trees never moved!
I had forgotten that a good portion of the show is narrated by someone who sounds like he's doing a documentary. Actually it reminded me of several film noirs such as "T-Men" where the narrator explains about government business. Here, the man explains a little about the story, some background, what some of the characters are doing and why. It's different and informative.
Sgt. Preston talked to his lead dog and co-star "King," as if were human. He attaches a note to King and tells him "go see so-and-so over at blah-blah and then watch out for, etc." I expected the dog to say "Okay, boss. See you later." Come on!
The ending was very dramatic, kind of like an "Assault On Precinct 13" charge on a cabin by the Indians, led by bad-guy "Teranga."
"Well, King, I guess this case is solved." Yes, I can remember those familiar closing lines. This was part of the "TV Guide Presents Classic Westerns Vol. 4" DVD and is highly recommended.
I was impressed by the complexity of this story. It was not for little kids. There were good and bad Indians, good and bad white people. There were several motives behind everyone's actions and not always easy to follow.
Richard Simmons as Preston had a very authoritative voice and manner about him which made him a believable Mountie.
Being this early in television, you can tell the closeup shots were in a studio, not in the snowy outdoors. A wind howled all the time but the branches on the trees never moved!
I had forgotten that a good portion of the show is narrated by someone who sounds like he's doing a documentary. Actually it reminded me of several film noirs such as "T-Men" where the narrator explains about government business. Here, the man explains a little about the story, some background, what some of the characters are doing and why. It's different and informative.
Sgt. Preston talked to his lead dog and co-star "King," as if were human. He attaches a note to King and tells him "go see so-and-so over at blah-blah and then watch out for, etc." I expected the dog to say "Okay, boss. See you later." Come on!
The ending was very dramatic, kind of like an "Assault On Precinct 13" charge on a cabin by the Indians, led by bad-guy "Teranga."
"Well, King, I guess this case is solved." Yes, I can remember those familiar closing lines. This was part of the "TV Guide Presents Classic Westerns Vol. 4" DVD and is highly recommended.