Cheyenne: The Complete Series (Blu-ray Review)

• Reviewed by: Tim Salmons
• Review Date: May 23, 2025
• Format: Blu-ray Disc
• 

Director

Various

Release Date(s)

1955-1962 (April 22, 2025)

Studio(s)

Warner Bros. Television (Warner Archive Collection)

• Film/Program Grade: B
• Video Grade: A
• Audio Grade: A-
• Extras Grade: D

Review

TV Westerns were commonplace throughout the 1950s and 1960s, with many continuing to see popularity into the 21st century through further re-runs and home video releases. Cheyenne, or The Cheyenne Show as it was titled in its later seasons, was a highly popular Western drama, the first of its kind, that managed to air for seven seasons, making a star out of its leading man, Clint Walker, and eventually spinning off or inspiring other Western TV shows in its wake.

The show’s conventional premise is relatively straightforward: Cheyenne Bodie (Walker) is an altruistic-type of cowboy, roaming the American West and traveling from one place to the next. Riding into many injustices along his way, he often finds himself up against various outlaws, attempting to help those in need and righting the wrongs of the world. The premise is an open canvas, obviously, but the show does manage to find some differentiation in its characters and its stories throughout its seven season run. Bodie is often an imposing presence, built rather large and much taller than nearly everyone he comes into contact with, but equipped with kindness and the desire to help others. It’s part and parcel as to why Clint Walker became a popular television star so quickly. He’s strong, handsome, and appealing, and thoroughly well-cast in the leading role. Both men and women, especially women, fawned over his strong physique and good looks, even when the show continued to air in re-runs many years later.

As for the other players, the show saw a revolving door of guest stars of all sorts, including the likes of James Garner, Rod Taylor, Michael Landon, Dennis Hopper, Peggie Castle, Diane Brewster, Angie Dickinson, Slim Pickens, John Carradine, Richard Crenna, Sebastian Cabot, Alan Hale Jr., Claude Akins, Andrew Duggan, Adam West, Faith Domergue, R.G. Armstrong, Ron Howard, Max Baer Jr., Dawn Wells, Ellen Burstyn, Sally Kellerman, and James Stacy, among others. Many of these and other guest stars also appeared in multiple episodes in multiple roles, as well. L.Q. Jones had a brief three episode stint in the first season as Bodie’s right hand, but as the show progressed and ironed itself out, his character would fall by the wayside.

Cheyenne was also the first drama series to be an hour long, and was originally a part of the Warner Bros. Presents wheel series of programming, sharing time slots with the shows Casablanca and Kings Row, both also airing from 1955 to 1956. Cheyenne was by far the most popular of the three and outgrew its Warner Bros. Presents confines. It was overseen by executive producer and head of Warner Bros. Television, William T. Orr, who would also supervise other shows for ABC Television via Warner Bros., including The Alaskans, Colt .45, Maverick, 77 Sunset Strip, and F Troop. As for Cheyenne, it would spin-off several other shows. At the end of its sixth season, the pilot episode of The Dakotas entitled A Man Called Ragan aired in its time slot. Characters from the show also got their own shows, specifically Bronco and Sugarfoot. However, none had the longevity or the popularity of Cheyenne.

Cheyenne was shot by multiple cinematographers on 35mm black-and-white film, finished photochemically, and presented in the aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The Warner Archive Collection debuts all 107 episodes of the show on Blu-ray from new 4K scans of the original camera negatives, spread out across 30 dual-layered BD-50 discs. Interestingly, the first season of the show was released on DVD by Warner Home Video in 2006, while subsequent seasons were released by Warner Archive from 2011 to 2013. Be rest assured that unless you want to hang on to DVD copies of the show, you can safely retire them. The video quality on Warner Archive’s Blu-ray release of Cheyenne: The Complete Series is outstanding. A mild, organic grain is maintained over a clean and stable picture, with bitrates that sit between 25 and 40Mbps, mostly hovering towards the high end of that range. Opticals and the occasional use of low grade stock footage, which are built into the look of the show, are the only inherent visible flaws. Excellent gradations with deep blacks and impressive grayscale are also on display. It’s sharp, film-like, and exceeds every previous known presentation of the show.

It’s also worth noting that all of the show’s bumpers and sponsorship cards have been restored, as well, including the third season’s General Electric sponsorship card, ABC bumpers and “This Has Been an ABC Network Television Presentation” closing cards, and seasons five through seven’s The Cheyenne Show title cards. All that’s missing are the Warner Bros. Presents Behind-the-Camera segments from the show’s first season, which is why those episodes run shorter than the rest of the series. They were never meant to be a part of the main program and merely served to highlight other Warner Bros. productions, so their non-inclusion is appropriate.

Audio is presented in English 2.0 mono DTS-HD Master Audio with optional subtitles in English SDH. These are very crisp and clean presentations, outside of a mild hiss during certain episodes. Dialogue is clean and discernible, and the show’s music and score have plenty of heft to them. There are no leftover instances of sibilance, crackle, thumps, or distortion. The audio is limited to a certain extent, but sounds exactly how it should for a television show of its vintage.

The Warner Archive Collection’s 30-Disc Blu-ray boxed set release of Cheyenne: The Complete Series places each season’s respective four to five discs in separate blue Amaray cases (not stacked on top of each other) with inserts featuring artwork from the original DVD season releases on the front, and a list of episodes and their respective air dates on the rear (the cover of each disc also lists each episode and their original air dates). Everything is housed in oversized slipcover packaging. The following episodes, and a single extra, are included on each disc:

DISC ONE (SEASON ONE – EPISODES 1-4)

1. Mountain Fortress (41:47)
2. Julesburg (41:34)
3. The Argonauts (42:26)
4. Border Showdown (40:53)

DISC TWO (SEASON ONE – EPISODES 5-8)

5. The Outlander (42:26)
6. The Travelers (42:53)
7. Decision aka The Black Hawk War (42:03)
8. The Storm Riders (43:24)

DISC THREE (SEASON ONE – EPISODES 9-12)

9. Rendezvous at Red Rock (42:27)
10. West of the River (43:16)
11. Quicksand (45:54)
12. Fury at Rio Hondo (43:00)

• The Lonely Gunfighter: The Legacy of Cheyenne (SD – 13:44)

DISC FOUR (SEASON ONE – EPISODES 13-15)

13. Star in the Dust (42:46)
14. Johnny Bravo (42:36)
15. The Last Train West (43:20)

DISC FIVE (SEASON TWO – EPISODES 1-4)

1. The Dark Rider (41:23)
2. The Long Winter (50:15)
3. Death Deals the Hand (50:24)
4. The Bounty Killers (50:15)

DISC SIX (SEASON TWO – EPISODES 5-8)

5. The Law Man (50:20)
6. Mustang Trail (50:24)
7. Lone Gun (50:10)
8. The Trap (49:57)

DISC SEVEN (SEASON TWO – EPISODES 9-12)

9. The Iron Trail (50:20)
10. Land Beyond the Law (50:26)
11. Test of Courage (50:09)
12. War Party (50:27)

DISC EIGHT (SEASON TWO – EPISODES 13-16)

13. Deadline (50:18)
14. Big Ghost Basin (50:06)
15. Born Bad (50:26)
16. The Brand (50:17)

DISC NINE (SEASON TWO – EPISODES 17-20)

17. Decision at Gunsight (50:28)
18. The Spanish Grant (50:22)
19. Hard Bargain (50:07)
20. The Broken Pledge (50:17)

DISC TEN (SEASON THREE – EPISODES 1-4)

1. Incident at Indian Springs (52:47)
2. The Conspirators (52:51)
3. The Mutton Puncher (52:46)
4. Border Affair (52:48)

DISC ELEVEN (SEASON THREE – EPISODES 5-8)

5. Devil's Canyon (52:45)
6. Town of Fear (52:48)
7. Hired Gun (52:51)
8. Top Hand (52:46)

DISC TWELVE (SEASON THREE – EPISODES 9-12)

9. The Last Comanchero (52:50)
10. The Gamble (52:51)
11. Renegades (52:52)
12. The Empty Gun (52:52)

DISC THIRTEEN (SEASON THREE – EPISODES 13-16)

13. White Warrior (52:45)
14. Ghost of the Cimarron (52:48)
15. Wagon-Tongue North (52:51)
16. The Long Search (52:54)

DISC FOURTEEN (SEASON THREE – EPISODES 17-20)

17. Standoff (52:47)
18. Dead to Rights (52:50)
19. Noose at Noon (52:52)
20. The Angry Sky (52:47)

DISC FIFTEEN (SEASON FOUR – EPISODES 1-4)

1. Blind Spot (50:07)
2. Reprieve (50:11)
3. The Rebellion (50:15)
4. Trial by Conscience (49:41)

DISC SIXTEEN (SEASON FOUR – EPISODES 5-8)

5. The Impostor (49:59)
6. Prisoner of Moon Mesa (49:45)
7. Gold, Glory and Custer: Prelude (50:13)
8. Gold, Glory and Custer: Requiem (51:45)

DISC SEVENTEEN (SEASON FOUR – EPISODES 9-11)

9. Riot at Arroyo Seco (52:16)
10. Apache Blood (49:44)
11. Outcast of Cripple Creek (52:15)

DISC EIGHTEEN (SEASON FOUR – EPISODES 12-13)

12. Alibi for the Scalped Man (50:09)
13. Home Is the Brave (50:13)

DISC NINETEEN (SEASON FIVE – EPISODES 1-4)

1. The Long Rope (52:20)
2. Counterfeit Gun (52:17)
3. Road to Three Graves (52:23)
4. Two Trails to Santa Fe (52:18)

DISC TWENTY (SEASON FIVE – EPISODES 5-8)

5. Savage Breed (52:17)
6. Incident at Dawson Flats (52:21)
7. Duel at Judas Basin (52:23)
8. The Return of Mr. Grimm (52:24)

DISC TWENTY-ONE (SEASON FIVE – EPISODES 9-11)

9. The Beholden (52:25)
10. The Frightened Town (52:20)
11. Lone Patrol (52:20)

DISC TWENTY-TWO (SEASON FIVE – EPISODES 12-13)

12. Massacre at Gunsight Pass (52:25)
13. The Greater Glory (52:23)

DISC TWENTY-THREE (SEASON SIX – EPISODES 1-4)

1. Winchester Quarantine (51:58)
2. Trouble Street (51:57)
3. Cross Purpose (52:10)
4. The Young Fugitives (52:09)

DISC TWENTY-FOUR (SEASON SIX – EPISODES 5-8)

5. Day's Pay (52:08)
6. Retaliation (52:09)
7. Storm Center (52:08)
8. Legacy of the Lost (52:09)

DISC TWENTY-FIVE (SEASON SIX – EPISODES 9-11)

9. The Brahma Bull (52:05)
10. The Wedding Rings (52:07)
11. The Idol (52:11)

DISC TWENTY-SIX (SEASON SIX – EPISODES 12-13)

12. One Way Ticket (52:07)
13. The Bad Penny (52:06)

DISC TWENTY-SEVEN (SEASON SEVEN – EPISODES 1-4)

1. The Durango Brothers (52:09)
2. Satonka (52:12)
3. Sweet Sam (52:13)
4. Man Alone (52:15)

DISC TWENTY-EIGHT (SEASON SEVEN – EPISODES 5-8)

5. The Quick and the Deadly (52:13)
6. Indian Gold (52:12)
7. Dark Decision (52:13)
8. Pocketful of Stars (52:11)

DISC TWENTY-NINE (SEASON SEVEN – EPISODES 9-11)

9. The Vanishing Breed (52:15)
10. Vengeance Is Mine (52:18)
11. Johnny Brassbuttons (52:12)

DISC THIRTY (SEASON SEVEN – EPISODES 12-13)

12. Wanted for the Murder of Cheyenne Bodie (52:15)
13. Showdown at Oxbend (52:11)

The only available extra was included in the show’s first season DVD release, The Lonely Gunfighter: The Legend of Cheyenne. It features in a 2006 interview with Clint Walker, long before his passing in 2018, discussing the history of the show.

From the packaging to the phenomenal video quality, this is without a doubt the finest home video presentation of any TV show in recent memory, especially as old as this one is. It looks absolutely phenomenal, with a very affordable price tag attached to it, besting many other shows that are on DVD only. For fans and newcomers alike, this is a most highly recommended release.

 - Tim Salmons

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