Branded - The Complete Series starring Chuck Connors! 6 DVD SET - OVER 19 HOURS!

I wish it had gone on longer, I think it's every bit as good as The Rifleman in its own way. I recently got the whole series on DVD. I didn't like the extras of Larry Cohen, a mediocre producer at best, whining about what a problem Chuck Connors was. Apparently he alienated Chuck very early on, talking about how Jason McCord was blacklisted and the show was a metaphor for what was going on in Hollywood with the McCarthy hearings; and Chuck was very conservative and didn't want to be involved in something that he felt smacked of communism. I think a producer should know his star's leanings and not talk about rope in the house of a man who's been hanged, so to speak. Apparently Chuck didn't like playing a man who was called a coward and he wanted to get away from that and Larry Cohen didn't appreciate that attitude, and in this I think Chuck's storytelling skills were spot on. It would be natural as time went on for Jason McCord to live down his reputation, particularly since it was an open secret that the general he loved so much had become incompetent and Jason was covering for him. There were also all the people that Jason helped, and that talk would get around; and President Grant thought very highly of him and that talk would get around. It's a very organic progression that people would start seeing Jason more by his own light and less by his reputation.The show itself could have had better production values, and that really is glaring if you look at an episode of Rifleman and then watch Branded. In fact the first DVD had an episode of Rifleman (Day of the Hunter) and it's painfully obvious that Rifleman had way better filming. Rifleman was like watching film noir in the old west, with that high contrast and the gorgeous use of shadows. An example is The Rifleman episode Ordeal and how Luke's face was highlighted when he's watching Mark sleep and struggling with himself about laying down to die to give his son a chance at life. There was nothing like that in Branded, and it was a little cheesy to keep using the same town set over and over and over.As to the actual stories, again, Chuck had better instincts for storytelling. Larry Cohen spoke rather bitterly about Chuck bringing in writers to redo scripts but it certainly looked to me that as the show went on and Cohen went away, the stories improved. The Assassins was based on a story by Chuck, and that one was very good. And although the show did not have a proper finale, it did wrap up very nicely. Jason lost his girl in Washington because she moved on, understandably so because he was out wandering and hadn't given her anything definite to go by. She married Peter Graves, and she had her nice life in Washington with her big handsome senator husband, and although Jason was upset, he understood she had done what was right for her, and he loved her enough to want her to have the best.And Jason did quite all right for himself. The show wrapped up with him and a pretty blonde newspaper editor planning to build a house and settle down. He had a real good job that would last for years, building a railroad. He sent for Grandpa McCord (beautifully portrayed by John Carradine) and they hung up their sign McCord and McCord. He was in business with his beloved grandfather just like he always promised they would be. His fiance even adopted a little girl so they had a good start on a family. I read somewhere that they turned the three part episode The Mission into a TV movie where Jason got back his commission, but that seems wrong. The army was behind him and he could never have commanded again. There would always be new troops who knew his reputation and didn't trust him. The real ending of Branded was much better, with him finally putting the past behind him and building a home and a family.

On my 9th Birthday, January 24m, 1965, I was introduced to the new CHUCK CONNORS Western series about how a massacre and an incorrect judgement change the life of one man. Chuck Connors as CAPTAIN Jason McCord, a soldier unjustly BRANDED and dismissed from the U S ARMY for the charge of Cowardice.And now, we have the entire series, with bonuses of the creator(s) of this **forgotten** series giving background information, plus a RIFLEMAN episode where Chuck Connor's iconic character, Lucas McCain, is accused of unfounded "Cowardice".The onlsodes have been shorn for roughly two-three minutessode.y flaw in this collection is we are evidently seeing the **Syndicated** episodes, where parts are the episode. But this series is so difficult to come by, that **truncated** episodes are better than nothing.

I remembered the opening and closing music and lyrics from long ago, but not what the series was actually about. Captain Jason McCord (Chuck Connors) has been dishonored and kicked out of the Army on a charge of desertion during combat. That was NOT what happened. But to preserve his Commanding Officer's reputation and the treaties he had worked for, Captain McCord has remained silent regarding his own defense of what happened. His reputation for cowardice has spread nationwide. Everywhere he goes he is forced to prove that he is no coward. He is an excellent actor for the role.

A message pops up onscreen when you start any of these DVDs saying they have been produced from the best sources available but there may be some imperfections - in my opinion and I am certainly no expert, the quality is fairly reasonable but it is not as good as some of the many other DVDs I own that are of TV shows from that era - the video on these DVDs start off in black and white and then about half way through they change to colour (which is always a good thing) - overall I am ok with the picture quality.There are bonus features on each of the 6 discs including an episode of The Rifleman which is pleasing.Now for the negative and it is that the 6 discs are presented in 3 of those slimline plastic cases - 2 discs per case - BUT, because of the narrowness of these cases the spindles are quite small or damaged and as a result, the top disc in each case keeps falling off and in 2 of my cases the bottom disc comes off too! This is just not good enough - why do they persist in using inferior cases like this where there is the obvious potential for DVDs to become scratched/damaged due to movement inside the cases.

Heroes are hard to find these days especially when the hero starts with the reputation of a coward. Jason McCord holds his head high with the knowledge of a clean conscious and a strong character. He is offered a way to clear his name in one episode but finds the "witness" to be a liar and murderer. It requires a trade of his honesty for his reputation. He opts for honesty and will maintain the reputation of a coward and trader rather than forgo his values. As a grandmother, I want my grandchildren to learn that the truth has value worth paying for with pain if needed. These videos will be watched over and over again!The series begins as a black and white film and color is introduced late in the series. No filming flaws noted in all bit the last few episodes. I couldn't deside if my DVD player was getting over heated, if there was dust, or if it was actually in the disk. Overall, I highly recommend this set. I appreciate Amazon for making these quality DVDs available.

I love Branded. The sound and graphics are great. Horver the interview with Johnny Crawford lacked his "spark" and topic was rambing.

This series ran for two years 1965 and 66. As a teenager I was familiar with The Rifleman , but this following series Imissed completely the first time around. This series is well written and on a level somewhat higher than The Rifleman.It was a half hour show , but evidence of the more elaborate plots can be seen in the numerous two or three part shows.Conners , during an act of bravery , is knocked silly and the entire company of Calvary are wiped out. He is the onlysurvivor , but has no recollection of what happened. Furthermore , he is an Army Brat through and through , and even thoughhis commander at the battle was incompetent , he will not speak ill of him for anything. Consequently he is branded as acoward , and with the advent of print media at the time , everywhere he goes , his name and reputation precede him.Good plots , good stories and an endless parade of guest actors. Even " Mark " from The Rifleman has a guest spot as the localSherriffs Deputy. A fine old Western series.

3 stars is all I can give bcause I sdid not recieve this product,yes I did recieve a refund.If they can not supply the product why do they still offer it,I feel that they are playing me as a fool.

While I am pleased to possess "Branded", there are no extras and even a technique for getting back to the list of episodes is lacking,I found the need to stop the DVD then restart it, also the writing lacked the strength of Rifleman.

Not an easy find so I was happy to get them. Production quality not a problem of the sender... I would think it was the best version done for this series so I am happy to have them

I want to confirm that the Series arrived promptly and was exactly as described by the vendor. I am very pleased with my purchase. There was a review I read before I purchased that I found very helpful to me; the shows are from the sixties and are excellent for their time. Again, I am very happy.