The Wild Wild West

The Wild Wild West was an American TV show that ran from 1965 to 1969. It was made into two movies with the original cast in 1979 and 1980 and remade in 1999 with a new cast and story. (See Wild Wild West.) The Wild Wild West told the story of the country's first two Secret Service agents - James West, the charming gunslinger (played by Robert Conrad), and Artemus Gordon, the brilliant gadgeteer and master of disguise (played by Ross Martin for most of the series run, except when recovering from a heart attack during Season 2) - in their unending mission to protect president Ulysses S. Grant and the United States from all manner of dangerous threats. The show incorporated classic Western elements with an espionage thriller, as well as science fiction/alternate history ideas (in a similar vein to steampunk) and plenty of comedy. In the finest James Bond tradition, there were always beautiful women, there were always arch-enemies -- and there were always half-insane plots to take over the world. Robert Conrad insisted on performing his own stunts, which included leaping onto a 2nd-storey balcony, and running in front of a team of horses.