Empire “The Day the Empire Stood Still”

 

This is the pilot episode of the 1962 TV series.

My entry point was to view the work of guest star Charles Bronson—quite able here, as a matter of fact.

It is a “modern” western set on a large ranch in New Mexico in 1962. A ranch owned by Constance Garrett [played by Terry Moore] and oversaw by square-jawed ranch foreman Jim Redigo [played by Richard Egan.]

We also have a young Ryan O’Neal playing Constance’s son Tal Garrett.

I was unfamiliar with the show but was struck that it reminded me of today’s Yellowstone franchise.

All the elements are there—powerful family, the pressures of running a ranch and still making it profitable—add in some outside soap-opera elements [in this episode a trial for murder] and allow Western can-do, stick-to-itiveness to be the backbone of the narrative thread.

It may lack the large production values of Yellowstone, and the narrative approach is a bit less overtly garish, but…I’ve never quite connected with Yellowstone, whereas I found this time-capsule of a “modern” Western a bit more compelling. There is something reassuring in its commitment to ideals with no amoral overlay.

I shall watch more. It is no classic but neither is Yellowstone.

Biases revealed—judgement offered.

Make of that what you will.