Within the American West, a cursed gun brings misfortune to those that possess it. The pistol’s origins are unknown, however its darkish legend means that the weapon is not man-made. (Spoiler: it’s not.) That is the idea behind “Lifeless Man’s Gun,” a Western anthology collection that aired on Showtime for 2 seasons within the late ’90s. However that is no unusual Western collection, because the episodes’ eerie plots and moralistic twist endings are extra paying homage to those of the “Twilight Zone” franchise than your common horse opera.
The horror and Western genres make for surprisingly compelling bedfellows on “Lifeless Man’s Gun” — and it is far more grim than, say, “The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.,” a weird, horror-lite Western series starring Bruce Campbell that aired on Fox just some years earlier than. For instance, within the episode titled “The Ripper,” a Scotland Yard detective travels to the Outdated West to analyze a collection of murders that time towards British historical past’s most infamous serial killer being the perpetrator. (I am certain you’ll be able to guess which one.) In the meantime, “The Trapper” is extra overtly spooky because it offers with spirits, however most viewers will root for the supernatural entity as the true villain is a human creep. The record goes on.
Different episodes are extra down-to-earth, which is a testomony to the range “Lifeless Man’s Gun” gives. “The Twilight Zone” additionally gives a various vary of tales, and followers of the Western episodes of Rod Serling’s basic present will discover a lot to take pleasure in right here. What’s extra, “Lifeless Man’s Gun” and “The Twilight Zone” have one other factor in frequent — nice casting.
Lifeless Man’s Gun attracted some large actors
“The Twilight Zone” features lots of legendary actors, together with Robert Pink Redford, Peter Falk, Dennis Hopper, Burt Reynolds, and numerous “Star Trek” alumni. Equally, “Lifeless Man’s Gun” is a who’s who of a few of Hollywood’s best, with most episodes that includes recognizable faces from different motion pictures and TV reveals you’ve got seen earlier than.
For a begin, “Lifeless Man’s Gun” was narrated by nation star-turned actor Kris Kristofferson, whose most infamous box office flop almost killed the Western genre, mockingly sufficient. Nonetheless, if his function on “Lifeless Man’s Gun” tells us something, it is that he cannot kill the style as a result of Westerns have by no means actually died — not even within the Nineties, after they had been undoubtedly removed from hip. In fact, Kristofferson can also be remembered for “Blade” (probably the greatest superhero motion pictures on the market), which hit the large display whereas “Lifeless Man’s Footwear” was nonetheless on the air.
Elsewhere, among the present’s different visitor stars embody John Ritter, Henry Winkler, Meat Loaf, Stephen Lang, and Michael Moriarty, all of whom have some severe pedigree. What’s extra, the collection was co-created by Ed Spielman, the showrunner behind each the Nineteen Seventies small display hit “Kung Fu” and the Emmy-nominated “The Younger Riders.” Evidently, “Lifeless Man’s Gun” boasts a variety of expertise in entrance of and behind the digicam, and it is a disgrace the collection is not extra well-known.
