Lancer as a series was aired toward the end the period when westerns ruled TV, if it had begun sooner we might now have more eposiodes to look back on. The key to this series for me was Johnny Madrid (James Stacey). His character had a early, for it's time, dark anti-hero element to it. The pilot showcased this best, after all how many good guy characters of that day started out in front of a firing squad? His mood awaiting excution was not hero bravado, it was acceptance for the expected outcome to the life of using a gun he was living. In short, he had all that cool James Dean type rebel image going for him, heck even his gunbelt with it's dual buckles marked him as different, along with that short mexican jacket he wore. The pilot also had that great scene where he faces 5 or 6 opponents (to protect some mexican girl/boy) and he calmly states it isn't a question if they will be able kill him it's just a question of which and how many of them he will take with him. He then stands there waiting for then make their move and no way do you see this as a bluff (he survives due the gunman's boss stepping in to stop the gunplay so everyone saves face and nobody backs down - don't you just love westerns). The only other plot I can remember well was called "The Kid" (I think), again the Johnny Madrid personna was front and center. This one was a morality play about both the cost of revenge and the result of thinking that power/might makes/equals right. Last note, I recall reading that James Stacey commented on being involved in a proposed new series call "The Freebooters" and he felt it would be a kickass part for him. This was prior to his accident so we will never know what might have been and I have seen no other reference to that series. This is a long comment but I felt the need to balance out all the female swooning over Johnny and Scott's looks with a male view of that focuses on the well handled action and character lines of the series.
--Loki
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