It may seem incongruous to pose a question like this, since so much has been posted on this forum apparently with the answer being understood. Nevertheless, what are the essentials of a TV series or movie (or book, or play...) that it must meet to qualify as a western?

The most talked-about shows mentioned here obviously should qualify-- "Bonanza", "Gunsmoke", "The High Chapparel", "Maverick", "Lawman", et al. If we assume these are examples, then what do they have in common?.. (1) Set in in the American west, (shall we say, west of the MIssissippi, anayway?), (2) Set in the time period from the Civil War to before the end of the great cattle drives (about 1892), (3) A clear distinction between good and evil, with good always prevailing in the end, (4)While the characters in these works of fiction look forward to a time of greater peace and justice, we the fans look back on these times with admiration for bravery and heroics.

Those are the characteristics of the 5 examples I used, but what of others which do not meet all of these characteristics? Daniel Boone, for intance, is not west of the Mississippi and is about 100 years before these examples, so should it be labeled a western? Personally, I think it should, because it takes place on the western frontier, which just was not as far west at that time, and it still deals with the good v. evil theme in a largely unsettled land (more unsettled than in the classic westerns). And I actually overlooked that Wagon Train is also not in that time period, as it is set in the 1840's, but like DB is also in a more unsettled land.

So then, if the time period is not really an essential of westerns, what about those set in more modern times? The 2 examples I think of are 2 shows I liked as a kid, Sky King and Fury. They are both set on western ranches at times contemporary (1950's) to their run. Should they be regarded as "kiddie westerns" like The Lone Ranger, or simply as dramas aimed primarily at kids?

And finally, some shows have been labeled "quasi-westerns," meaning they have some qualities of westerns, but are thought of as simply 'dramas.' Examples would be Little House on the Prairie, which is a family drama that happens to be set in the 1870's-80's, and Dr. Quinn-- Medicine Woman, which is in Colorado in the 1870's, but is more obviously (than Gunsmoke, Bonanza, etc.) a show of modern themes in spite of its time period.

That's enough for now of my thoughts on the matter. I hope others will share their ideas.

I think every show you mentioned are westerns. It's too bad that not too many are made today.

I think I would make a distinction within the western genre....

"Old West" westerns are those stories of good v. evil set west of the Mississippi during the time period prior to the introduction of the automobile (from the Lewis and Clark expedition to the formal end of the Indian Wars---1803-1890s);

... "Transitional-Day Westerns" are those that are set from 1900 to about 1920/25 (overlapping Buffalo Bill's Wild West shows and the introduction of motion-picture continuities);

... and "Moder-Day Westerns", set during the last eighty-eighty-five years (the entire lifetime of some of our oldest citizens still alive); although there are automobiles, radios, and other trappings of the Twentieth Century, the basic story dynamics still remain.("Sky King" and "Fury" fall into this catagory, as do "Movin' On" and "B.J. And The Bear");

... then, of course, there is the "New Millenium Western", the rudiments of which have yet to be established.

Those are my thoughts, of course, you may agree or disagree as is your wont. But feel free to add or subtract any elements that suit your ideas of the definition of "Western".

Everyone has posted interesting thoughts on the subject of what constitutes a Western. I don't dispute or disagree with any of what I've read. For me, though, it mostly comes down to having some of the elements mentioned, of course, but all in all it's a feeling I get about a TV show or a movie while I'm watching it. The movie "Hud" was set, more or less, during the era that the film was out, the 1960's. So it is a modern Western with quite a combination of the old and the new all on one screen. It was and is one of my all time favorites that I include in the Western genre.

Here are some great quotes from "Hud":

"Well I always say the law was meant to be interpreted in a lenient manner, and that's what I try to do. Sometimes I lean to one side of it, sometimes I lean to the other." -- Hud Bannon (Paul Newman)

"How many honest men you know? You take the sinners away from the saints, you're lucky to end up with Abraham Lincoln." -- Hud (Paul Newman) to his father Homer Bannon (Melvyn Douglas)

"Nobody gets out of life alive." -- Hud (Paul Newman)
Hud (to Lon): "The world's so full of crap a man's going to get into it sooner or later, whether he's careful or not."

"Man like that sounds no better than a heel. Aren't you all? Honey, don't go shootin' all the dogs 'cause one of 'ems got fleas." -- Hud (Paul Newman) to Alma (Patricia Neal)

I suppose we can conclude that the definition of the genre "western" is not really that precise. But that is also true of "drama," "comedy," "mystery," et al. So, similar to "mystery," and how that must always deal with something unknown, around which the action is built-- frequently, but not always, an unsolved murder-- and/or a false conclusion based on reasonable but midleading evidence... the "western" is a good v. evil storyline which takes place where people are largely left to their own safety or solutions due to vast land expanses and/or nature's obstacles (deserts, mountains, rivers, dust storms, heat, snow, ice....).

So then the 'focal point' of westerns is roughly a 50-year time period of the American westward expansion ['wagon trians'] to the end of the great cattle drives, which coincides with the beginning of self-propelled transportation [automobiles, then trucks]. But even though that is the focus, the essentials of a western can still be there long before and long after that haf-century period, including today.

Originally posted by tdr
I suppose we can conclude that the definition of the genre "western" is not really that precise. But that is also true of "drama," "comedy," "mystery," et al. So, similar to "mystery," and how that must always deal with something unknown, around which the action is built-- frequently, but not always, an unsolved murder-- and/or a false conclusion based on reasonable but midleading evidence... the "western" is a good v. evil storyline which takes place where people are largely left to their own safety or solutions due to vast land expanses and/or nature's obstacles (deserts, mountains, rivers, dust storms, heat, snow, ice....).

So then the 'focal point' of westerns is roughly a 50-year time period of the American westward expansion ['wagon trians'] to the end of the great cattle drives, which coincides with the beginning of self-propelled transportation [automobiles, then trucks]. But even though that is the focus, the essentials of a western can still be there long before and long after that haf-century period, including today.

Agreed.

I always look at a western as having a horses. Or as New Englanders say Hosses

This is an interesting thread. I'm glad it was bumped back up from the archives.

If a show like "Little House" aired during the heyday of the TV Western shows, would it be considered a "Western?"

""If a show like "Little House" aired during the heyday of the TV Western shows, would it be considered a "Western?"""

I think it would. I don't know off-hand a TV series of the 50's or early 60's that's a good comparison to LH, but the Ingalls and the townspeople are like many of the characters met by Matt Dillon, the Cartwrights, Pallidan, et al.

Perhaps what makes LH "not exactly a western" would be that the primary conflict is 'man v. nature', not 'good v. evil'.

I think every show you mentioned are westerns. It's too bad that not too many are made today.
I agree with both your statements. The western, sadly, today seems to be a
neglected genre (even by the broadest definition). When I was growing up (in the fifties), on the other hand, the western was the dominant type of television program (a fact that many youngsters today would find hard to believe)! And, not to get on a soapbox, the stars of those shows were good role models: Roy Rogers, The Lone Ranger, The Rifleman, the Cartwrights, Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp, Matt Dillon, and the rest. Heck, even the so-called "bandits" -- the Cisco Kid and Zorro -- were better role models than we have today.

I thought of the recent show "Longmire" as a western. Even though it's set in modern times it has the look and feel of a western. It also has some episodes where you'll see some of the main cast riding horses and of course there are Indians.