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.
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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.
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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.
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The Original Movie Poster The New Television Series Poster.
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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. |
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Chinatown |
Chinese workers from a nearby railroad company come to the boys seeing help when workers start disappearing. |
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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
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Lady Killers |
A pair of female bounty hunters cause trouble for the Seven. |
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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. |
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Penance |
A serial killer descends on Four Corners and one of the town's regulators is the prime suspect! |
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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. |
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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.
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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
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AWARDS
Art Directors Guild |
Year | Result | Award | Category/Recipient(s) |
2000 |
Nominated |
Excellence in Production Design Award |
Television Series
Jerry Wanek (production designer)
John Bucklin (art director)
For episode "Chinatown".
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Emmy Awards |
Year | Result | Award | Category/Recipient(s) |
1999 |
Nominated |
Emmy |
Outstanding Costume Design for a Series
Dan Moore
For episode "Vendetta".
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1998 |
Won |
Emmy |
Outstanding Costume Design for a Series
Dan Moore
For episode "Working Girls".
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