Whiplash “The Solid Gold Brigade”

 

What do you get if you take a Western created by future Star Trek creator Gene Rodenberry, cast Mission: Impossible’s Mr. Phelps [Peter Graves] and set it during Australia’s Gold Rush of the 1850s and actually shoot it Down Under?

Well, you get this intriguing 1960 series.

Graves plays Christopher Cobb, loosely based on the real-life Freeman Cobb of the Cobb and Co. stagecoach line.

This episode is of the formulary variety, it moves at a brisk pace and has surprisingly cold-blooded villains.

The actual locations are a plus with Western tropes appearing with kangaroos and much action taking plus along beach coast adding to the watchability.

What is a little less is, Mr. Graves. Never a compelling actor, here his presence adds little to the proceedings.

One can’t help but think, a stronger lead would put this unusual concoction over the top and be far better remembered today.

Not essential, but well worth viewing at least a single episode for Western television aficionados.