Ian Parnham is another of the Black Horse Western writers. As I. J. Parnham he has written 18 westerns for the imprint. When asked to compose something western based for the build up to Wild West Monday Ian looked away from the plains and up to the stars to offer us this look at the Star Trek western themed episodes. The first paragraph can be read here and following the link below will take you to the rest of the piece.
Thanks Ian
Wagon Train to the Stars
With the imminent arrival of a new generation playing the iconic roles of Captain James Tiberius Kirk, Spock, McCoy et al, it's a good moment to consider Star Trek's contribution to the western genre. 
In many ways it's a negative one. Gene Roddenberry sold the series to the studios with the tag line that it would be a Wagon Train to the stars. This was a good pitch. In fact it was so good that when eventually the series became popular tv producers became more interested in making western serials set in space than they did in making western serials set in the American West.
Of course not all the blame for the reduction in the number of westerns made can be laid at Star Trek's feet (I blame Star Wars for that). So let us consider the times when the series acknowledged its roots and made authentic western episodes.
GO HERE TO CONTINUE WITH THE ARTICLE
Visit the Archive later today for our popular Wild West Roundup which includes news of the latest threat to The Alamo....
1 comment:
I was watching The Matrix last night and the western gunfight was so prominently featured there when Neo and Mr. Smith square off in the subway. They even had paper blowing across like tumbleweeds.
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