So I’m watching a few episodes of “Maverick” and I begin to think to myself about how much more enjoyable this series is than a lot of the current stuff on television I’m watching these days. Sure there’s plot holes and a disjointed continuity, but there are only a handful of shows today that I look forward to watching because they are fun, and “Maverick” is right up there with them, and that’s saying something for a series that is over 50 years old.
Many storytelling conventions of the day are present, and you can tell this was produced on the studio’s backlot. The town may be different, according to the plot, but the exteriors begin to look awfully familiar. And those inside sets certainly look like sets. One episode has a brawl take place, and you can tell the close-ups are filmed in the studio for the television series, but the wide shots of the massive group fighting and damage being done are taken from a film. Thing is, this might have worked back in 1957 when technology and knowledge about film techniques weren’t what they are today, but it’s obvious now. And you know what? I didn’t mind it one bit. Why? Because it was fun – an ingredient that is missing in so many television series today.
James Garner stars as Bret Maverick, a man who knows his way around a card table. Set during the “old west” there are a variety of locales, from riverboats to small towns that were visited. Maverick never stayed in any one place too long. With a thousand dollar bill pinned to the inside of his jacket, Bret Maverick always had a way into whatever poker table was near. Often times his wit and his gun were just as quick as his card skills, and what made him such an appealing character was his honesty and integrity. While he knew how to cheat, he rarely did it, and only then it was for a reason.
A few episodes into the season, we are introduced to Jack Kelly’s Bart Maverick. Why? Legend has it the series took forever to get filmed, and production keep falling behind. The solution was to hire a second crew, and a second lead. Much of the scripts were interchangeable for the two characters, with only slight modifications necessary for as to who would be that week’s lead.
Jack Kelly would eventually go on to star in all five seasons of “Maverick” with James Garner leaving after the third season. Garner is clearly the star here, as his charm is a perfect fit for the character. Kelly does a solid job filling in the role of Bart (notice how even the names are similar) but has a different emphasis, a bit more serious.
We also get a couple of recurring characters, noting major, and only for a few episodes, but it’s nice to see that even over 50 years ago there was some attempt at some sort of continuity. I would have preferred more, but that’s personal taste as well as how television storytelling was. Now virtually everything is serialized, which doesn’t always work and feels forced.
Some of these episodes feature shots or scenes that are clearly from a second generation print. “Maverick” didn’t undergo any sort of restoration process, but certainly has been cleaned up a bit. This makes those bits that were scavenged from alternate sources stick out and gives you a feel for what this show looked like when it was in syndication (when I first saw it in the 70s). Suffice to say “Maverick” looks and sounds as good as you could expect a television series from the 50s to appear.
I haven’t finished watching the whole of the first season, with its 27 hour long episodes (with commercials), but am just over halfway through. I don’t see the quality of the series dropping significantly for the rest of this season. Presented over 7 discs, we get no special features but a tri-fold sheet of paper with some episode information. There are no special features, which is a shame. A couple of audio commentaries would go a long way – James Garner is getting up there and has had health problems, and Jack Kelly is no longer with us. There are not many people around that were involved in the series left, so hopefully this will get remedied for the second season set.
“Maverick” is a fun series and a different take on the western. This DVD set of the first season is a welcome addition to any classic television fan.