HOW THE WEST WAS WON (TV SERIES)

James Arness's Matt Dillon killed plenty on Gunsmoke for twenty long years, and here on HOW THE WEST WAS WON the leading man's still leading but is more a character-actor in the lead: an Indian loving mountain man who hates his own people, the whites, and thinks every Indian belch is worth more white man's gold than... white man's gold...

It's a good show that, for a season and a half, plays out like a miniseries more than a series, but the best stories go to Bruce Boxleitner as the fugitive nephew whose adventures that range from a beautiful sheriff's tough daughter Elyssa Davalos to a gang of classy villains led by Richard Basehart and Tim Matheson are entertaining as it gets... But Arness's stories, including Ricardo Montalbaun as a proud Indian who, again, is better than the evil whites, are one dimensional, which doesn't mean Arness isn't good in the role. He is good. But his stories lack story and are more preaching, so it's the young man's show here, really. Years 1976-1979 Rates: ***1/2