Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

AndersonWhitbeck Barbara Stanwyck, a great actress and a true Star, was the matriarch of the Barkeley family in this series. While Ms. Stanwyck's peers Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Ann Sothern, Olivia De Havilland, etc kept busy in movie horror films to stay in the public eye,Barbara Stanwyck wisely went the route of hit TV show.The Big Valley was produced at Four Star which was an independent firm that produced among other shows The Rogues, Wanted Dead or Alive, The Rifleman, Burke's Law, etc was was co- owned by David Niven, Charles Boyer and Dick Powell who ran the studio and brought it to great success. During Powell's tenure stars such as Steve McQueen, Irene Dunne, Paul Muni, etc either top lined or guest star in Four Star TV series. Four Star and its competitor across town Desilu were independent studios creating some of the more iconic TV shows of the era. This is a great TV show shot at Repbublic Studios now known as CBS Studios with its great western Street a favorite location for Ms. Stanwyck.Richard Long, Peter Breck, Lee Majors and lovely Linda Evans free lancing after leaving MGM played Stanwyck's children, all Stars Four. Guest stars were Van Williams, and other stars comfortable as cowboys such as Brad Dillman, Bruce Dern, etc.The Big Valley with its great music score is a classic TV show from a classic studio, Four Star

Zriter59 Not trying to review any particular episode, but the series:).I saw most of "The Big Valley" during syndication in the early 1970s, and have lately been watching it again on Me TV. I still believe that it is one of the best Westerns produced by American television.The initial plot is intriguing, because Heath (Lee Majors' character) is the illegitimate son of the late Tom Barkley. The wealthy yet hard- working Barkleys eventually concede the evidence and acknowledge Heath as one of their own. Thereafter, we see Jarrod, Nick and Audra Barkley gradually accepting Heath as their brother, as he begins to accept them as his close siblings. Also interesting was Heath's evolving relationship with Victoria. She was not his biological mother, although her late husband was Heath's father. Even so, she promptly begins thinking of him as her son, even as he starts calling her "Mother." During the first season, there's an episode in which Heath and Victoria take a long trip that turns disastrous when he's virtually buried under the wagon. Victoria fights like hell to save him, enlisting an escaped convict (Bruce Dern) to help her. Throughout, she calls Heath "my son."The last scene shows Heath -- exhausted but not seriously injured -- ensconced in Victoria's arms. The late Richard Long portrayed Jarrod, the Barkleys' eldest and a licensed attorney, as strong and steady. Middle son Nick was big, strong and fearless, although emotional and impulsive as well; Peter Breck conveyed those qualities superbly. Linda Evans was at the peak of her young and overwhelming beauty as Audra Barkley. Evans played Audra as an impetuous young woman -- perhaps gullible with potential lovers (like Robert Goulet's Brother Love), yet quite as fearless as the other Barkleys.Then there's "Miss" Barbara Stanwyck as Victoria Barkley. I am such a Stanwyck fan that I should probably recuse myself here. Suffice it to say that this role required strength and force, balanced by charm, humor and at least some vulnerability (some characters -- usually played by Bruce Dern -- slapped or even punched Victoria; yet she kept fighting for the freedom that she eventually won:))BS was also damn sexy, even in her late 50s and early 60s (she was born in 1907). Those splendid cheekbones and that laser-like gaze can still buckle a strong man's knees:).

bkoganbing I just read a biography of Barbara Stanwyck and one thing that was made abundantly clear, the woman really liked westerns. She loved doing them from the earliest time in her career right up to her stint with The Big Valley. In fact one of the great disappointments in her life was not doing a film with John Wayne. Who knows why that didn't happen because the two of them were in sync politically.But she did a bunch of them with co-stars like Joel McCrea, Ronald Reagan, Walter Huston, Barry Sullivan, Ray Milland, etc. So when it came time to choose a television project, Barbara went west.The Big Valley cast her as Victoria Barkley, matriarch of the Barkley ranch with three sons and a daughter to hold the fort against all comers. The pilot of the show introduced her husband's illegitimate son into the household played by young Lee Majors. Her children were Richard Long, Peter Breck, Linda Evans, and Charles Briles.Briles got dropped after eight episodes as the youngest, Eugene. They just sent him off to college in the east and he wasn't heard from again. Reading the IMDb notes on him, I find he got himself drafted. All I can say is BUMMER.Richard Long as Jarrod was also college educated, an attorney, which was a good plot device allowing the show to get off the ranch and into town. Peter Breck was Nick, who was a tough son of a gun. I met Peter Breck a few years before The Big Valley. His family lived in Rochester, New York across from my grandparents house and he was visiting while starring in another shortlived series Black Saddle. My siblings and cousins got to meet him then. A very gracious and nice man.Of course Linda Evans and Lee Majors both had really great careers after the show. Linda as Audra was a sweet and innocent child, not anything like Crystal Carrington. And Lee Majors got to be The Fall Guy and The Six Million Dollar Man after he was Heath Barkley. I would love to have that man's residuals.Richard Long did Nanny and the Professor and tragically died right after the run of that show. He was always a player of great class and I enjoyed seeing him in anything he did.The Barkleys ran into all manner of people and were constantly helping them out of their various predicaments. They were pretty rich of course, as rich as Bonanza's Cartwrights. But I really think they outdid themselves even more than Ben and his sons. Every episode seemed to end with some financial assistance to help somebody get on their feet. I'm surprised Jarrod didn't run for office with all those potential voters available.With Lee Majors, Linda Evans, and Peter Breck still with us and even Charles Briles, I'm not sure why a Big Valley reunion hasn't been attempted. I'd like to see the Barkleys ride the range into the 20th century.

horizonbts I am a 40 something guy and can't believe the rut television has gotten into these days! It disgusts me so much the shows that are on today. One reality show after another and every network jumps on the band wagon. Why can't they be varied and come up with a variety? I jump at every opportunity when a beloved Western comes out on video, its a dying genre unfortunately. Besides Gunsmoke, Big Valley is right there with it as a great classic western. I watch the reruns on cable, but would love to have the complete sets to watch over and over. The story lines are fantastic and always seem to teach us something about values along the way! The characters are solid and the guest stars are faces that we recognize. To me the cinematography for those days was magnificent and very enjoyable to watch too. As a kid I remember watching Gunsmoke, Big Valley, and Bonanza..those were the biggies. I just wish Hollywood would give a western a try again. The last one I can remember was the short lived Magnificent Seven with some great cast members, shame on CBS for not giving it a fare shot. The fan base as I remember tried to encourage CBS to give it another life to no avail, it all fell on deaf ears. Maybe someone will realize there are enough of us baby booms out where who loved the Westerns and are disgusted with Television that they might give it a shot again someday. Heck we are such a big portion of the population that grew up with westerns, maybe they might realize they are onto something. Well I have wrote at different times I guess we all need to ban together and get some attention in Hollywood-till then there are few shows that I watch on TV. Well again I will be the first in line to buy this fantastic Western series when it comes out!