By Forris Day Jr.
The Golden Age of television is alive and well in the three disc set “The Adventures of Champion the Wonder Horse: The Complete Series”. The show was inspired by Gene Autry’s radio show. His radio show went on to be a comic book then this television series was created and ran one season on CBS during the 1955-56 season. This was a time when westerns were still all the rage. People couldn’t get enough. Lot’s of big cowboy stars made appearances in the show including Lee Van Cleef who would go on to national fame and appear in Clint Eastwood’s “For a Few Dollars More”.
Although there were 26 episodes created only 23 survive on this three disc set. The series follows the adventures of a 12 year old boy, Ricky North (Barry Curtis), his loyal dog Rebel, and a trusty wild mustang he has named Champion. Champion is indeed a wild mustang and only allows Ricky to ride him. Think of Champion as a horse version of Lassie. Think of Rebel as a dog version of….well…Lassie. Yes young Ricky has it all. He lives with his Uncle Sandy (Jim Bannon) on his farm and gets into all kinds of dangerous adventures that Rebel and Champion help him out of.
I feel pretty sure that although this is a kids series many kids today would not care for it because it is such an old show but who knows. It has all the elements kids love including great animals. Simple story lines make it easy to digest. A bit sugary but still lots of fun for anyone who enjoys westerns. The scenery is awesome. It takes you back to a time when a kid could literally ride a horse off into the landscape and parents did not have to worry.
Loaded with social commentary on work ethic, being honest and polite among many other things. I found it fun to watch and if you enjoy the shows from yesterday you may just fall in love with this lost gem from the mid 50s. It has been restored from the original film prints too, so the picture is clear as ever. Saddle up and watch “The Adventures of Champion the Wonder Horse”.
Rating: 7/10 – “A classic children’s western series”
