What Will You Find Here?
The purpose of the is page to is provide a brief background to the series. Just click on the word and you will be taken to that section of this page.

History
Televison Series
The Characters
Episode Guide
Awards


HISTORY

"The Seven Samurai"

"The Magnificent Seven" as we know it, is based on a movie made in 1954 called "The Seven Samurai". Basically, the stories are identical - one has cowboys and one samurai.(g)

SUMMARY : A veteran samurai, who has fallen on hard times, answers a village's request for protection from bandits. He gathers six other samurai to help him, and they teach the townspeople how to defend themselves. The film culminates in a giant battle when forty bandits attack the village.



"The Magnificent Seven"

So, in 1960, Hollywood recognised the great formula in the Japanese film and so cast some big name actors and turned it into Western. Yul Brynner, Charles Bronson, Steve McQueen, and Robert Vaughn top the list of stars. As for the story, a group of villagers go in search of someone to defend their village from a group of bandits. Chris Adams (not Larabee) and Vin (No last name given) round up five other men to join them. An interesting fact is that only Chris and Vin's names are transferred to the television series. Below is a list of the actors and their names in the show.

Yul Brynner Chris Adams
Steve McQueen Vin
James Coburn Britt
Horst Buchholz Chico (J.D.'s counterpart)
Charles Bronson Bernardo O'Reilly (Basically Josiah's counterpart)
Robert Vaughn Lee (Ezra's counterpart)
Brad Dexter Harry Luck



The Sequels

Following the 1960 movie, there were several sequels that see Chris Adams standing up for justice.

In the first, "Return of the Seven" (1966), Yul Brynner is back as Chris, but none of the other cast return. The only characters to return with Chris are Vin and Chico (The others, of course, died in the original movie).

In the second sequel, "Guns of the Magnificent Seven" (1969), George Kennedy plays Chris Adams... and Vin and Chico are gone.

In the third sequel, "The Magnificent Seven Ride"(1972), Lee Van Cleef plays Chris Adams who has become a marshal.

               





THE TELEVISION SERIES


Our boys arrive on the scene in 1998! A couple of name changes but the theme of seven men standing up for justice in the face of apparently insurmountable odds is still there. Quality actors, quality scripts. .. just plain quality through and through.

The show was designed to emulate the original movie... even the posters are the same! (g) The television series sports some big name actors and an extremely talented cast. The show is well acted, well directed and the scripts encompass the perfect blend of humour and drama.

Unfortunately, the series was cancelled after its first season. Fans rallied and the show was given a second life. For some reason, the powers in charge could not see the quality and "The Magnificent Seven" was cancelled after its second season - 21 episodes.

John Watson, the producer, has stated that he had already planned out some of the third season and one of the things to happen was the arrival of Vin's father. Fans then focused their attention on convincing MGM to release our boys on DVD... which has happened.

John Watson stayed in touch with fans and in July 2001 he wrote a letter to us all. There used to be a copy on You "The Magnificent Seven" Page but this page is long gone. I wish I had taken a copy of the letter to publish here.


   
The Original Movie Poster                             The New Television Series Poster.





EPISODE GUIDE

In the tables below, you will find some information about the 21 episodes made of this outstanding show. The table includes the following information: Title, two sentence summary, the writers' names and a link to my detailed summary of the episode that includes pictures and sounds.

The Pilot
TITLE SUMMARY CREDIT INFORMATION
The Ghosts of the Confederacy When a small Indian village comes under attack, they hire seven gunfighters to defend them. Meet, "The Magnificent Seven". Produced by : Dennis Stuart Murphy
Written by : Frank Q. Dobbs, Chris Black , John Watson , Pen Densham
Directed by : Geoff Murphy


Season One
TITLE SUMMARY CREDIT INFORMATION
One Day Out West They boys return to town and interrupt a gunfight between the new circuit judge and a local thug. When the judge is shot, the boys decided to bring their own form of justice to the town of Four Corners and end up being hired on a temporary basis. Produced by : Steve Beers
Written by : Josef Anderson
Story by : Pen Densham and John Watson
Directed by : Peter Markle
Working Girls When a working girl is beaten, Buck springs to her aid. As a result, the boys find themselves protecting a wagon load of women all running from the same man. Produced by : Steve Beers
Written by : Melissa Rosenberg
Directed by : Christopher Cain
Sakecracker An ex-convict is given a chance by Mary Travis, but when Terri's old colleges arrive in town, it's up to the Seven to save the day. Produced by : Steve Beers
Written by :Rick Husky
Directed by : T.J. Scott
Witness Mary's son, who witnessed the death of his father, returns to town. The child's return forces those responsible to seek to silence him... not if the Seven can help it! Produced by : Steve Beers
Written by : Melissa Rosenberg
Directed by : Bill Wages
Nemesis A bandit claims knowledge that he feels will enable him to save from hanging... the knowledge? Information about the murder of Larabee's wife and son! Needless to say, Chris isn't a happy man. Produced by : Steve Beers
Written by : Steve Hattman
Directed by : Jerry Jameson
The Collector A rich rancher, who is trying to buy up the territory, bites off more than he can chew when he tries to run an elderly local off her land. Nettie goes to town for help and ends up with seven protectors. Produced by : Steve Beers
Written by : Michael Norell
Directed by : Gregg Champion
Manhunt When a minister's daughter is kidnapped by an Indian, the boys track him down and return the girl safely to her family. The Indian escapes from jail, the girl winds up dead and boys are split over who to believe is to blame. Produced by : Steve Beers
Written by : Tim John and Rick Husky
Directed by : Steve Beers
Inmate 78 The boys go looking for Chris when he fails to return to town. Larabee has been falsely accused and has ended up in a severe prison farm... until the "Larabee Gang" arrive to rescue him. Produced by : Steve Beers
Written by : Robert Franke
Directed by : Gregg Champion


Season Two
TITLE SUMMARY CREDIT INFORMATION
The New Law It looks like the end of the Seven. The boys are disbanded by Four Corners' new marshal. However, when the marshal gets in over his head, our boys return. Produced by :Lynne Symons and Steve Beers
Written by : Melissa Rosenberg
Directed by : Christopher Cain
Sins of the Past Vin's past catches up with when a marshal arrives and drags him out of town in front of his companions. Naturally, Chris has no intention of sitting by and watching it happen... which makes for some great action! Produced by : Lynne Symons and Steve Beers
Written by : Steve Hattman
Directed by : Gregg Champion
Love and Honor Inez is threatened by someone from her past and Buck, ever the gallant knight in shining armour, comes to her aid. Unfortunately, he finds himself involved in a sword fight, not a gun battle, in his bid to protect Inez's honour. Produced by : Lynne Symons and Steve Beers
Written by : Rob Wright
Directed by : Gregg Champion
Vendetta Chris' father-in-law arrives in Four Corners being pursed by a family wanting revenge. Chris is placed in a difficult position as he is forced to protect a man he has never liked. Produced by :Lynne Symons and Steve Beers
Written by : Mark Haskell Smith
Directed by : William Wages
Wagon Train Parts One and Two Judge Travis orders the boys to accompany a wagon train when it is evident there may be trouble. The small group are hounded by a wealthy landowner laying claim to their land. Produced by :Lynne Symons and Steve Beers
Written by : Melissa Rosenberg
Directed by : Christopher Cain
The Trail The boys prevent Nathan's father from being lynched but that is not the end of his troubles. The elderly man is put on trial for murder. Ezra's mother is in town and also having legal problems.
Chinatown Chinese workers from a nearby railroad company come to the boys seeing help when workers start disappearing.
Achilles A stray bullet from J.D.'s gun kills a local forcing J.D. to leave Four Corners. Vin enters a poetry competition. Produced by :Lynne Symons and Steve Beers
Written by : Mark Haskell Smith
Directed by : Gordon Lonsdale
Lady Killers A pair of female bounty hunters cause trouble for the Seven.
Serpents Mary and the Governor clash on the proposal of statehood. When a hired assassin is found dead with $10 000, the boys must find out who was the target.
Penance A serial killer descends on Four Corners and one of the town's regulators is the prime suspect!
Obsession When a woman from Larabee's past re-enters his life, Chris decides to leave the Seven and settle down with her... but Vin has doubts about her and set out to investigate.




CHARACTERS

The men that make up the Seven have very specific and recognisable traits. As a matter of fact, if you choose any good (action) story, you will mind a combination of these very familiar personalities. Take, for example, Disney's version of "The Three Musketeers", starring Kiefer Sutherland, Charlie Sheen, Oliver Platt and Chris O'Donnell. We have the serious leader mourning his lost past. We have the comic lady's man who keeps us smiling through both his boisterous actions and his witty comments. We have the eager, naive kid who is taken under the wing of his more experienced companions and who learns that being a hero isn't all that it appears. We have the preacher who is questioning his faith, but not his love of God. Thus, in Athos I see Chris. In Porthos, Buck. In Aramis, a combination of Buck and Josiah and, of course, D'Artagnan is J.D... all of which explains why "The Three Musketeers" is probably one of my favourite movies!

Below, I have described the Seven characters in "The Magnificent Seven" series. All of us see different traits in the guys, or at the very least, like to emphasize some over others. I am no different. These are my reflections on the boys. They may or may not agree with yours entirely. That's okay. It is just one of the many reasons why Mag 7 is so popular. We can see in the boys what we want to see. Cannon we can't change, but fannon has taken the boys in as may diverse directions as their are writers portraying them.




Click on each character name to be taken to my character analysis.

Chris Larabee

Vin Tanner

Buck Wilmington

Ezra Standish

Josiah Sanchez

Nathan Jackson

John (J.D.) Dunne




AWARDS
Art Directors Guild
YearResultAwardCategory/Recipient(s)
2000 Nominated Excellence in Production Design Award Television Series
Jerry Wanek (production designer)
John Bucklin (art director)
For episode "Chinatown".
 
Emmy Awards
YearResultAwardCategory/Recipient(s)
1999 Nominated Emmy Outstanding Costume Design for a Series
Dan Moore
For episode "Vendetta".
 
1998 Won Emmy Outstanding Costume Design for a Series
Dan Moore
For episode "Working Girls".
 



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© April 2000 Aussie Lass.

This page is for fan enjoyment and review. All pictures, audio and video remain the property of their original owners. Fanfiction - The distinctive way the story unfolds, the specific dialogue and unique situations are mine. No infringement of copyright is intended. I am making no money from this site... I wish! (g)