PROLOGUE

A lot has happened since I last worked on The Rider Reviews.  Josh Brolin has become the mega star I always predicted him to be, Melissa Leo has won an Oscar, Season 1 has been released and re-released, Season 3 has been released for the first time, a TYR soundtrack was released, and Ty Miller has delivered powerhouse performances as a “tech agent” and an “airline pilot.”  Character actor.

Now, do I take full credit for all of the above?  No, I’m not quite that arrogant.  I would say my deserving credit falls somewhere within the 90% range, but this has never been about recognition for me.  It’s about keeping alive the spirit of my all-time favorite TV show; and it’s about you – fellow fans of the show who want to participate in keeping that spirit alive.

As beloved and awesome as my original Rider Reviews were, they were far from perfect.  I originally had to review episodes that were recorded from The Family Channel.  I now have the opportunity to watch and review uncut episodes.  This is my chance to not only finish reviewing the series but also to hone my old reviews into a better product.  Look at this like a Blu Ray Director’s Cut of your favorite movie.  Enough of the prologue.  Let me share a few links with you and then let’s jump to the review goodness:

The Young Riders: The Complete First Season

The Young Riders: The Complete Third Season

The Young Riders Soundtrack

THE KID

The Kid. That’s the name of the very first The Young Riders episode. What are we to infer from this? Well, it seems the writers plan on making The Kid the leader of this group of riders. Ty Miller obviously recognized this. Here’s a rare tweet from Ty I found. It’s from 1989. Note the irony:

“Hey moron, they didn’t have Twitter back in 1989!”

Um, it was a government experiment that only celebrities had access to.  I thought everybody knew this?  Moving on…

Poor Ty. Things changed dramatically, but hey, LET’S NOT FORGET ABOUT U.S. SEALS!!! I haven’t seen the movie myself, but if any Ty fans out there want to send me a copy then I’ll be happy to review it.

So, we see a young man approaching from the distance. I love John Debney’s choice of music that plays as he draws near. He enters town and sees a young woman buying apples. He longs for the apples, but alas, he has no money. I could be mistaken, but I think I heard him mutter, “I would fain have filled my belly with the husks that the swine did eat.” Interesting.

TYR Trivia Bonus: See the mustachioed gentleman peddling apples…

That’s Ed Spielman – TYR creator.  It’s a small homage to his dad who worked in the fruit and vegetable business his whole life.

You’re welcome.

We hear an old man offering $30 to anybody who can last three minutes with Irish Johnny… BETTS!!!! Whoa! How would the writers know that I would one day be reviewing the show? I’m not Irish though, what’s up with that? Ohhh, Johnny McClarnen, oops. Sorry about that.

The Kid wanders into a stable and sees a horse. Now you’ve got to understand that this is not just any horse, nope, it’s one of the best the mustachioed owner has ever had. Kid was looking to buy it, but it was $25 and there’s a good chance (as mustache boy points out) Kid will never see $25. But Kid is determined.

TYR Trivia Bonus: See the mustachioed gentleman who owns the horse… (I’m sensing a mustache theme within the show)

Well, that’s none other than Jim Beaver – Bobby from Supernatural!  Too awesome.

We head back to the boxing where the last guy only lasted two minutes and twelve seconds. Can the Kid last longer? Well, the old man tries to convince him it’s not even worth trying. The Kid – in all his naïveté – asks if he has to beat the big Irish dude. The old man assures him no, he doesn’t have to beat him. He merely has to remain standing after three minutes.

To make a long story short, the Kid receives a pretty good beating. He sells the punches really well too. It actually looks like the Irish guy is pounding him

What happens to Kid when he messes with Jimmy.

pretty good. But he is indeed standing when the old man rings the bell. But listen up, dear reader. The rules were he had to be standing after three minutes, right? Well, good ol’ A-Bomb here decided to track the time and see how long it lasted. Guess what?

IT ONLY LASTED FOR A MINUTE AND 45 SECONDS!!!!! WE’RE NOT EVEN 15 MINUTES INTO THE SHOW AND IT’S ALREADY MISLEADING ITS AUDIENCE!!!!!

The Kid receives his $30 and buys his horse. That’s great and all, BUT THE KID IS A PROVEN FRAUD!!!! He should’ve said, “Whoa, that wasn’t three minutes, what kind of scam are you trying to pull here?” and then demanded the fight continue. I apologize to all the Kid fans out there; I know it’s hard to see a hero fall, but it’s best you know.

I will say other than the one minute and 45 second fraud, this is probably the Kid’s finest moment of the entire series. You gotta admire him for standing his ground and getting what he wanted. Unfortunately, this means his character hit his peak during the first 15 minutes of the very first episode. Where do you go from there?

Commercial (and page) break!

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Leave a Reply