Ron Perlman Starred In This Forgotten TV Adaptation Of A Classic Western Movie

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This all began with the release of Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai" back in 1954. That film was about a beleaguered and impoverished village in late-16th-century Japan that's besieged by bandits. The villagers know the bandits are going to invade as soon as the harvest season is over, giving them only a short time to prepare. With no money, the villagers travel into the city, hoping to find several samurai-for-hire that will agree to defend their village for food as payment. They only manage to assemble a team of seven ragtag samurai, all desperate for work, and not necessarily the most skilled fighters. Despite this, the seven samurai manage to put their heads down and get the job done. 

Kurosawa's premise of "gathering a small, dedicated group of misfits to defend the village" soon became widespread, and has turned up in multiple movies, TV shows, and other adaptations, all of varying genres. Most notably, in 1960, director John Sturges transposed the "Seven Samurai" premise to the Old West, making the genre-defining Western "The Magnificent Seven," an action-packed film starring multiple huge stars, including Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn, James Coburn, Brad Dexter, and Horst Buchholtz. It was a giant hit, spawning several sequels and remakes of its own. Most recently, readers may recall Antoine Fuqua's 2016 remake that starred Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke, and Vincent D'Onofrio. 

Fewer readers may recall that "The Magnificent Seven" was adapted for television in 1998. The TV series ran on CBS, and lasted for two brief seasons (of nine episodes and 13 episodes, respectively). The series featured the same characters as the 1960 movie, played by new actors. "Terminator" veteran Michael Biehn played the lead character, and eventual "Hellboy" star Ron Perlman was a regular.

Remember the Magnificent Seven TV series from 1998?

The 1998 version of "The Magnificent Seven" was kind of extrapolated from the original movie, but also took characters from some of its lesser-known sequels. Michael Biehl played Chris Larabee, the character played by Yul Brynner in the original movie, but Ron Perlman played a mostly-new character named Josiah Sanchez, which seems to have been a reworking of Levi Morgan, the character played by James Whitmire in the 1969 film "Guns of the Magnificent Seven." 

The other Seven were also a blend of classic and new characters. Eric Close played Vic Tanner, the Steve McQueen character, but Andrew Kavovit played a new gunslinger named J.D. Dunne, who kind of resembled the Buchholtz character from the 1960 original. Dale Midkiff (star of "Pet Sematary" and the time travel TV series "Time Trax," and also one of the best Elvis actors) plays Buck Wilmington, and he seems to have been taken from Colbee, the character played by Warren Oates in the 1966 sequel "Return of the Seven." Perhaps frustrating for "Magnificent" fans, the James Coburn, Robert Vaughn, and Brad Dexter characters were all flattened into a composite figure named Ezra Standish, played by Anthony Starke. 

The seventh of the TV bunch was Nathan Jackson, played by Rick Worthy, extrapolated from Bernie Casey's character in "Guns." 

In the 1960 movie, the Seven were assembled to protect a small besieged village in Mexico from bandits. The 1998 TV series begins when the Seven are gathered to protect a Seminole village from the onslaught of bloodthirsty former Confederates. That plot was concluded by the end of the show's two-episode pilot, and the premise changed for the remainder of the series. 

The premise of the Magnificent Seven made for a good, long-running series

After the pilot, the titular Seven were enlisted again as protectors, essentially serving as a long-term freelance policing force for a single city. The city was a boomtown that was just establishing itself, and the Seven were required to fend off the riff-raff and thieves so that the citizens of this small town could actually thrive and remain on the land. 

To connect the TV series to the original 1960 movie, Robert Vaughn played a local judge. Laurie Holden was the show's notable female lead. Like Miss Kitty in "Gunsmoke," she served as a will-they-won't-they love interest for the Michael Biehn character. Unlike Miss Kitty, she was a reporter and skilled editor of the town's local newspaper. Tyne Daly also had a guest spot. 

The show ran fitfully throughout its two seasons, and seemed to be pre-empted often. The first nine-episode season ran from January through March 1998, skipping weeks here and there. The second 13-episode season didn't debut until January of 1999, but didn't officially conclude until July of 2000, as there was a prolonged break between July of 1999 and May of 2000. The series caused very little stir and generated very little publicity. (At the very least, I don't remember seeing any, and 1998 was right in the middle of my prime TV-watching years.) The show, I have found, did win an Emmy award for its costume design, and its cast is indeed notable. Anything with Michael Biehn and Ron Perlman is going to be worth a look. 

By coincidence, both Biehn and Perlman played notable soldier-like characters in the "Alien" film series. Just for fun, you can read our "Alien" film series ranking as well.