The Wild Wild West

This article is about the 1965 television series. For other uses, see Wild Wild West (disambiguation).

The Wild Wild West
File:WildWildWest title card.jpg Title card from the first act of the episode "The Night of the Poisonous Posey"
Genre	Western Spy Adventure Science fiction
Created by	Michael Garrison
Starring	Robert Conrad Ross Martin
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	104 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	50 min.
Production company(s)	Michael Garrison Productions CBS Productions
Release
Original network	CBS
Audio format	Mono
Original release	September 17, 1965 (1965-09-17) – April 11, 1969 (1969-04-11)
Chronology
Related shows	Wild Wild West
External links
[{{#property:P856}} Website]

The Wild Wild West is an American Western, espionage, and science fiction television series that ran on the CBS television network for four seasons from September 17, 1965, to April 11, 1969. Two satirical comedy television film sequels were made with the original cast in 1979 and 1980 and the series was adapted for a theatrical film in 1999.

Developed at a time when the television Western was losing ground to the spy genre, this show was conceived by its creator, Michael Garrison, as "James Bond on horseback." Set during the administration of President Ulysses Grant (1869–1877), the series followed Secret Service agents James West (Robert Conrad) and Artemus Gordon (Ross Martin) as they solved crimes, protected the President, and foiled the plans of megalomaniacal villains to take over part or all of the United States. The show featured a number of fantasy elements, such as the technologically advanced devices used by the agents and their adversaries. The combination of the Victorian era time-frame and the use of Vernean technology has led several steampunk web sites to cite the show as a pioneering influence on the genre. This aspect was accentuated even more in the 1999 film adaptation.

Despite high ratings, the series was cancelled near the end of its fourth season as a concession to Congress over television violence.

Concept

Ross Martin and Robert Conrad

The Wild Wild West told the story of two Secret Service agents: the fearless and handsome James West (played by Robert Conrad), and Artemus Gordon (played by Ross Martin), a brilliant gadgeteer and master of disguise. Their mission was to protect President Ulysses S. Grant and the United States from all manner of dangerous threats. The agents traveled in luxury aboard their own train, the Wanderer, equipped with everything from a stable car to a laboratory. James West had served as an intelligence and cavalry officer in the American Civil War (1861–1865) on Grant's staff; his "cover", at least in the pilot episode, is that of "a dandy, a high-roller from the East". Thereafter, however, there is no pretense, and his reputation as the foremost Secret Service agent often precedes him. According to the later TV movies, West retires from the Service by 1880 and lives on a ranch in Mexico. When he retires, Gordon, who was a captain in the Civil War, returns to show business as the head of a traveling Shakespeare players troupe.

The show incorporated classic Western elements with an espionage thriller, science fiction/alternate history ideas (in a similar vein to what would later be called steampunk), in one case horror ("The Night of the Man Eating House") and humor. Episodes were also inspired by Edgar Allan Poe, H. G. Wells and Jules Verne. In the tradition of James Bond, there were always beautiful women, clever gadgets and delusional arch-enemies with half-insane plots to take over the country or the world.

The title of each episode begins with "The Night" (except for the first-season episode "Night of the Casual Killer", which omitted the definite article "The"). This followed other idiosyncratic naming conventions established by shows such as Rawhide, where each episode title began with "Incident at" or "Incident of," and The Man from U.N.C.L.E., where episodes were titled "The (Blank) Affair."

Episodes

Main article: List of The Wild Wild West episodes

The Wild Wild West
300px The cover of the DVD box set containing the complete run of The Wild Wild West, released by CBS DVD, shows the stars of the series: Robert Conrad (left) and Ross Martin (right).
Genre	Western / Spy / Science-fiction
Created by	Michael Garrison
Starring	Robert Conrad Ross Martin
Theme music composer	Richard Markowitz
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	104 (+2 reunion films)
Production
Producer(s)	Michael Garrison, Collier Young, Fred Freiberger, John Mantley, Gene Coon, Bruce Lansbury
Cinematography	Ted Voigtlander
Camera setup	Multiple
Running time	60 minutes
Release
Picture format	Black and white (season 1) Color (season 2-4)
Audio format	Mono
Original release	September 17, 1965 (1965-09-17) – April 4, 1969 (1969-04-04)
External links
[{{#property:P856}} Website]

The Wild Wild West is an American television series that ran on the CBS network from 1965 to 1969. During its four-season run a total of 104 episodes were broadcast. The Wild Wild West blended westerns – hugely popular on television at the time (Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Wagon Train, Rawhide, etc.) – with spy adventure, which came into vogue in the wake of the highly successful James Bond films, resulting in such spy-oriented series as The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Avengers, and Secret Agent.

The Wild Wild West is set in the 1870s and deals with the exploits of James West (played by Robert Conrad) and Artemus Gordon (Ross Martin), two agents of the United States Secret Service who work directly under the command of President Ulysses S. Grant. James West is presented as a sort of "James Bond of the West," i.e. the handsome, muscular action-hero who is handy with his fists, as well as a dashing ladies' man. Artemus Gordon is West's partner, a master of disguises and also the inventor of the many gadgets that the two of them use in the course of their adventures. The two men travel about in a private train and use their talents to vanquish the many dastardly villains that threatened the United States — among them, disgraced ex-soldiers seeking revenge against President Grant, power-hungry megalomaniacs, and mad scientists with their brilliant but diabolical inventions. The last group includes the recurring character of Dr. Miguelito Loveless, played by 3'11" Michael Dunn. As series producer Bruce Lansbury stated:

"Jim [West]'s world was one of two-faced villainy, male and female, countless 'Mickey Finns,' and needle-tipped baroque pinkie rings that put him to sleep even as he embraced their dispensers. There were inevitable trap doors, hotel walls that ground their victims to dust or revolved into lush Aubrey Beardsley settings next door, lethal chairs that tossed occupants skyward or alternatively dumped them into dank sewers that subterraneously crisscrossed countless cow towns of the period. And then there was that old Dutch sea captain, leaning in the corner of the swill-hole of a bar, who inexplicably winked at Jim as he entered … Artemus, of course, in one of his thousand disguises."

Ten years after the series was cancelled a made-for-television revival movie, The Wild Wild West Revisited, aired and was successful enough to warrant a follow-up entitled More Wild Wild West (1980), thus bringing the total number of episodes up to 106. However, the movie was more campy compared to the serious tone of the TV series. The death of Ross Martin in 1981 ended any plans for another film.

DVD releases

The entire four-season run of The Wild Wild West is available on DVD from Paramount Home Video in both individual box sets of each season as well as a box containing the whole series. Only the latter, however, contains the reunion films.

The Wild Wild West DVD releases
Season		Episodes	Discs	Originally aired	Region 1
	1	28	7	1965–1966	June 6, 2006
	2	28	7	1966—1967	March 20, 2007
	3	24	6	1967—1968	November 20, 2007
	4	24	6	1968—1969	March 18, 2008
Entire Series (box set)		104 + 2 reunion movies	27	1965—1969	November 4, 2008

The complete run of the series is present below in broadcast order. Included are the episode titles, directors, writers, broadcast dates, production codes, guest stars and the roles they played, and a brief plot synopsis. Also, the various disguises that Ross Martin used in his Artemus Gordon character are listed.

Season One: 1965–1966

File:Michael dunn portrait.jpg

Michael Dunn portrayed the brilliant but evil Dr. Loveless in ten episodes of The Wild Wild West.

The Wild Wild West was created by Michael Garrison, a movie producer (Peyton Place, The Long, Hot Summer, An Affair to Remember) who had, at one time, co-owned the rights to Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel, Casino Royale. Garrison produced the series pilot episode himself but, once the series was approved by the CBS network, it became necessary to find a more experienced producer to handle the subsequent episodes. Garrison, in the meantime, was moved into the position of Executive Producer. Collier Young, who hitherto had produced a series entitled The Rogues, was assigned to The Wild Wild West but, after overseeing only three episodes, was replaced due to "a difference in concept between the network and [him]." Fred Freiberger, his replacement, brought the series back on track with adventures featuring beautiful women, strong adversaries, and "something very bizarre." Also under Freiberger the character of Dr. Loveless was created. Loveless became an immediate hit, resulting in actor Michael Dunn being contracted to do four episodes per season. However, after producing ten episodes, Fred Freiberger was replaced by John Mantley, reputedly due to a behind-the-scenes power struggle. Mantley, who had been associate producer on Gunsmoke, produced seven episodes before he too was replaced. Mantley returned to his former position on Gunsmoke while Gene L. Coon took over the production reins for of The Wild Wild West. However, Coon left after five episodes to take a screenwriting assignment at Warner Bros., leaving Michael Garrison to take on double-duty as producer and executive producer for the remainder of the season.

The 28 first season episodes of The Wild Wild West, all of which were photographed in black and white, were not broadcast in the order that they were filmed. Notably, the early ones produced by Collier Young were moved back in the broadcast schedule in favor of the Fred Freiberger- and John Mantley-produced episodes. The breakdown in broadcast order is thus:

• Michael Garrison — Episodes 1, 27 and 28
• Collier Young — Episodes 5, 9 and 15
• Fred Freiberger — Episodes 2-4, 6-8 and 10-13
• John Mantley — Episodes 14 and 16-21
• Gene L. Coon — Episodes 22-26

During this season, The Wild Wild West placed at #23 in the ratings for the 1965-1966 season. One episode of this season, "The Night of the Howling Light", received an Emmy nomination for Best Cinematography.

Series #	Season #	Title	Director(s)	Writer(s)	Airdate	Production code	Artie's disguises
1	1	"The Night of the Inferno"	Richard C. Sarafian	Gilbert Ralston	September 17, 1965 (1965-09-17)	001	A drunken soldier A poor Mexican beggar
Guest stars: Suzanne Pleshette (Lydia Monteran), Victor Buono (Wing Fat/Juan Manolo), Nehemiah Persoff (Juan Manolo/General Cassinello), Walter Woolf King (Colonel Shear), James Gregory (President Ulysses S. Grant), Chet Stratton (Bedford), Bebe Louie (Mei Mei), Phil Chambers (Train Captain), Tom Reese (The Driver), Warren Parker (The Engineer), Clint Ritchie (The Lieutenant), Alberto Morin (The Majordomo) Posing as a rich eastern "dude" traveling west in his own private railway car, Jim goes to Texas track down General Juan Manolo, who is trying to take over the region. ■ This episode (the series' pilot) is formatted differently from all the other episodes of the series. It is the only episode that features the opening credits before the teaser, the only first season episode that features the commercial art break in a cartoon fashion (the remainder of the first season episodes featured them as a textured photograph), and the only episode to place a commercial art break in the bottom center picture. This is also the only episode to feature James Gregory as President Grant.
2	2	"The Night of the Deadly Bed"	William Witney	George V. Schenck and William Marks	September 24, 1965 (1965-09-24)	005	A Mexican peon
Guest stars: J.D. Cannon (Flory), Barbara Luna (Gatita), Dale Van Sickel (Guitar Player), Jose Gallege (Guitar Player), Don Diamond (Bartender), Bill Catching (Angelo), Robert Herron (Captain Jackson), Danica d'Hondt (Roxanne), Anna Shin (Marguerita) West learns that a crazed assassin plans to reclaim Mexico and install himself as the new Napoleon.
3	3	"The Night the Wizard Shook the Earth"	Bernard L. Kowalski	John Kneubuhl	October 1, 1965 (1965-10-01)	006	(none)
Guest stars: Michael Dunn (Dr. Miguelito Loveless), Phoebe Dorin (Antoinette), William Mims (Governor), Harry Bartell (Professor Nielsen), Sigrid Valdis (Miss Piecemeal), Leslie Parrish (Greta), Richard Kiel (Voltaire), Michael Masters (Wrestler) West and Gordon have their first encounter with the brilliant but evil dwarf, Dr. Miguelito Loveless, along with the doctor's two assistants, the lovely Antoinette and the mute and simple-minded giant, Voltaire. Dr. Loveless is planning to take over California from control of Gov. Newton Booth, which the doctor claims rightfully belongs to him through his mother's venerable Ranchero family line. ■ Sigrid Valdis would appear again as "Miss Piecemeal" in the episode "The Night of the Torture Chamber."
4	4	"The Night of Sudden Death"	William Witney	Oliver Crawford	October 8, 1965 (1965-10-08)	007	A clown
Guest stars: Robert Loggia (Warren Trevor), Joel Fluellen (Chief Vanoma), Bill Cassidy (Sterling), Don Gazzaniga (Hotel Clerk), Henry Hunter (Boone), Elisa Ingram (Cosette), Julie Payne (Corinne Foxx), Antoinette Bower (Janet Coburn), Sandy Kenyon (Hugo), Harlan Warde (Foxx), Robin Hoff Jim West is on the trail of counterfeiters ... and almost gets to tangle with crocodiles!. ■ The lagoon from Gilligan's Island is used in this episode.
5	5	"Night of the Casual Killer"	Don Taylor	Bob Barbash	October 15, 1965 (1965-10-15)	003	Actor, a hammy Artemus Gordon
Guest stars: John Dehner (John Avery), Ruta Lee (Laurie Morgan), Dub Taylor (Guard), Bill Williams (Marshal Kirby), Charles Davis (Tennyson), Curtis Taylor (Captain Davis), Ed Gilbert (Hendrix), Mort Mills (Harper), Len Lesser (Mason) Jim and Artie head out west to find the stronghold of a corrupt political boss and return him to Washington for trial. ■ This is the first of three episodes featuring Charles Davis as Jim West's valet, Tennyson. It is also the only episode whose title starts without the article "The."
6	6	"The Night of a Thousand Eyes"	Richard C. Sarafian	Preston Wood	October 22, 1965 (1965-10-22)	008	A dapper gentleman
Guest stars: Jeff Corey (Captain Ansel Coffin), Linda Ho (Oriana), Victor French (Arnold), E.J. André (Proprietor), Don Kelly (Peavey), Jeanne Vaughn (Glory), Janine Gray (Crystal), Barney Phillips (Captain Tenney), Jack Searl (Pilot), Diane McBain (Jennifer Wingate) When ships along the Mississippi are attacked by a gang of pirates known as the "Thousand Eyes", Jim and Artie are sent to investigate. The trail leads to the leader of the gang: Captain Ansel Coffin, a blind man seeking revenge. His gang uses false lights to lead ships astray, crash them, and then plunder them. ■ This episode sees one of the few times where a female character dies. Even more unusually for the series, it happens onscreen.
7	7	"The Night of the Glowing Corpse"	Irving J. Moore	Teleplay: Henry Sharp Story: Henry Sharp and Edmund Morris	October 29, 1965 (1965-10-29)	009	An Irish freight man
Guest stars: Oscar Beregi, Jr. (Dr. Ormont), Jayne Massey (Cecile), Louise Lawson (Blonde), Frank Delfino (Barker), Ralph Roberts (Senator Hastings), Ron Whelan (Consul-General Potez), Marion Thompson (Amelie Charlemont), Charles Horvath (Ironfoot), Phillip Pine (Lt. Armand Renard), Kipp Hamilton (Cluny Ormont) Jim and Artemus are assigned to recover stolen radioactive materials. Their only clue: A set of fingerprints found on the ankle of a pretty secretary. ■Director Irving J. Moore and writer Henry Sharp made their debuts on the series with this episode; Moore directed more episodes than anyone else, and Sharp - who became story consultant from season two - also received writing credit on more episodes than any other contributor.
8	8	"The Night of the Dancing Death"	Harvey Hart	William Tunberg and Fred Freiberger	November 5, 1965 (1965-11-05)	010	The Grand Elector of Saxony
Guest stars: Peter Mark Richman (Prince Gio Carlotica), Eva Soreny (Baroness), Wolfe Barzell (Landgrave), Booth Colman (Perkins), Arthur Batanides (Marius Ascoli), Francoise Ruggieri (Nola), Byron Murron (Major-Domo), Leslie Brander (Princess Gina Carlotica), Lynn Carey (Imposter), Ilze Taurins (Marianna) Jim and Artie are assigned to rescue a kidnapped princess from the Camorra. ■This episode mentions and purports to display "gung fu", perhaps the first time ever on American television, predating The Green Hornet by almost a year and Kung Fu by almost 7 years.
9	9	"The Night of the Double-Edged Knife"	Don Taylor	Stephen Kandel	November 12, 1965 (1965-11-12)	002	A tame Indian A gentle old railroad worker A dead Indian
Guest stars: Katharine Ross (Sheila Parnell), Leslie Nielsen (General Ball), John Barrymore Jr. (American Knife), Elisha Cook Jr. (Mike McGreavy), Jackie Joseph (Girl at General Ball's Camp), Susan Silo (Little Willow), Ed Peck (Merritt), Tyler McVey (Parnell), Vaughn Taylor (Adamson), Harry Townes (Penrose), Charles Davis (Tennyson) Trouble is brewing along the railroad: the local Indians are demanding gold and have threatened to kill five railroad workers a day until it is paid. Jim and Artie find that things are not what they seem to be. ■ The second appearance of Tennyson, this was the second episode to be produced (and therefore the first to be made after the pilot) but the ninth to be aired. This is the only episode where the commercial break freeze-frames arrive in the exact reverse order of the opening titles, and also one of only two episodes (other than the pilot) with a freezeframe order that's never repeated - the other is season three's "The Night of the Cadre."
10	10	"The Night That Terror Stalked the Town"	Alvin Ganzer	Teleplay: John Kneubuhl Story: John Kneubuhl and Richard Landau	November 19, 1965 (1965-11-19)	011	(none)
Guest stars: Michael Dunn (Dr. Miguelito Loveless), Jean Hale (Marie), Phoebe Dorin (Antoinette), Joe Hooker (Mr. Abernathy), Jordan Shelley (Baron Colinelcy), Richard Kiel (Voltaire), Chuck O'Brien (Janus) The second encounter with Dr. Loveless. West is lured into a ghost town filled with lifelike dummies, where Loveless is hatching his latest scheme: The surgical alterization of Janus, one of his assistants. Once done, Janus will look exactly like James West. ■ This episode marks the first time that Artie refers to his "Great Aunt Maude." ■ A headstone lists West's birth date as July 2, 1842.
11	11	"The Night of the Red-Eyed Madmen"	Irving J. Moore	Stanford Whitmore	November 26, 1965 (1965-11-26)	012	Colonel Cross, a German military expert
Guest stars: Martin Landau (General Grimm), Ray Kellogg (Captain O'Brien), Gregg Martell (Otto), Nelson Olmsted (Senator Rawls), Ted Markland (Jack Talbot), Marianna Case (Cloris), Shary Marshall (Jenny), Joan Huntington (Sgt. Musk), Don Rizzan (Trooper), Toian Matchinga (Lola Bracer) An army of fanatics is dedicated to overthrowing the U.S. Government, and it's up to James West to thwart their plans.
12	12	"The Night of the Human Trigger"	Justus Addiss	Norman Katkov	December 3, 1965 (1965-12-03)	013	Austrian Professor Neinindorf
Guest stars: Burgess Meredith (Professor Okrney Cadwallader), Kathie Browne (Faith Cadwallader), Michael Masters (Hercules Cadwallader), Dick Winslow (Piano Player), C. Lindsay Workman (Bartender), Gregg Palmer (Thaddeus Cadwallader), Bill Henry (Sheriff), Robert I. McCord (Sidney), Hank Patterson (Mr. Porter), Vernon Scott (Clerk), Virginia Sale (Aunt Martha), Robert Phillips (Sam), James Jeter (Harry) An insane geologist has developed an elaborate extortion scheme: He has mastered the power to create earthquakes.
13	13	"The Night of the Torture Chamber"	Alan Crosland Jr.	Philip Saltzman and Jason Wingreen	December 10, 1965 (1965-12-10)	014	Art critic Messr. Gaston LaRusse of Sorbon
Guest stars: Alfred Ryder (Professor Horatio Bolt), Henry Beckman (Governor Bradford/Sam Jamison), H.M. Wynant (Durand), Sigrid Valdis (Miss Piecemeal), Nadia Sanders (Helva), Michael Abelar (Guard), Viviane Ventura (Angelique) An obsessed museum curator has his own private designs for the state treasury. ■ This episode features the second appearance of Sigrid Valdis as Miss Piecemeal. Previously she had appeared in "The Night the Wizard Shook the Earth." Jason Wingreen would later appear onscreen in "The Night of the Whirring Death." Although Henry Beckman plays two roles, in the end credits he is only listed as playing the Governor.
14	14	"The Night of the Howling Light"	Paul Wendkos	Henry Sharp	December 17, 1965 (1965-12-17)	015	(none)
Guest stars: Sam Wanamaker (Dr. Arcularis), Linda Marsh (Indra), Dan Riss (Naval Officer), Ralph Moody (Ho-Tami), Kay E. Kuter (Caged Man), Roy Barcroft (Sikes), Clancy Cooper (Trowbridge), Ottola Nesmith (Maggie), E.J. André (Superintendent), Scott Marlowe (Ahkeema) Shades of The Manchurian Candidate: West is held prisoner in a lighthouse by a mad doctor who is using mind control to condition the Secret Service agent into becoming an assassin. ■ Cameraman Ted Voigtlander received a Best Cinematography Emmy Award nomination for his work on this episode. He lost, however, to Winton C. Hoch's photography on Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.
15	15	"The Night of the Fatal Trap"	Richard Whorf	Robert V. Barron and Jack Marlowe	December 24, 1965 (1965-12-24)	004	Mojave Mike, a crusty desert rat
Guest stars: Ron Randell (Col. Francesco Vasquez), Joanna Moore (Linda Medford), Rodolfo Hoyos Jr. (Sgt. Gomez), Don Briggs (Sheriff Cantrell), Dal Jenkins (Luke Dawson), Alan Sues (Matt Dawson), Christian Anderson (Mark Dawson), Joseph Ruskin (Viper Black), Walker Edmiston (Charlie), Charles Davis (Tennyson), Paul Barselou (Bank Teller) While disguised as a notorious outlaw, Jim goes to arrest a Mexican bandit, only to be recognized by the villain's girlfriend. ■ The third and final appearance as Tennyson.
16	16	"The Night of the Steel Assassin"	Lee H. Katzin	Teleplay: Calvin Clements Story: Steve Fisher	January 7, 1966 (1966-01-07)	016	President Grant
Guest stars: John Dehner (Colonel "Iron Man" Torres), Sue Ane Langdon (Nina Gilbert), Roy Engel (President Grant), John Pickard (R.L. Gilbert), Sara Taft (Maria), Bruno Vesota (Bartender), Allen Jaffe (Lopez), Arthur Malet (Dr. Meyer), [S. John Launer] (Mayor), Phyllis Davis (Saloon Girl) After being crippled in an explosion that he blamed on the other men of his regiment, Colonel "Iron Man" Torres has rebuilt himself as a 19th century "cyborg." He is now seeking revenge on those he thinks wronged him — including President Grant.
17	17	"The Night the Dragon Screamed"	Irving J. Moore	Kevin De Courcey	January 14, 1966 (1966-01-14)	017	A coolie on the docks Gen. Sumatra, an armaments expert
Guest stars: Nancy Hsueh (Tsu Hsi), Ben Wright (Col. Allenby-Smythe), Benson Fong (Mo Ti), Richard Loo (Wang Chung), Paul King (Oriental), Beulah Quo (May Li), Vince Eder (Lieutenant), Pilar Seurat (Princess Ching Ling), Philip Ahn (Quong Chu) Jim and Artie are tracking down the smugglers of opium and Chinese aliens. Their trail leads them to a British ex-colonel who is planning to take over the Chinese throne. ■ This episode featured several interracial kisses between Conrad and Pilar Seurat. Seurat, who plays Princess Ching Ling, is a Filipina, not Chinese.
18	18	"The Night of the Flaming Ghost"	Lee H. Katzin	Robert Hamner and Preston Wood	January 21, 1966 (1966-01-21)	018	Drunken whiskey salesman R.P. McGuffey A cavalry soldier
Guest stars: John Doucette (John Obediah Brown), Robert Ellenstein (Luis Vasquez), Lynn Loring (Carma Vasquez), Karen Sharpe (Barbara Bosley), Charles Wagenheim (Shukie Summers), Harry Bartell (Will Glover) Abolitionist John Brown appears to have returned from the grave after being hung by the neck. Jim and Artie are assigned to bring him in.
19	19	"The Night of the Grand Emir"	Irving J. Moore	Donn Mullally	January 28, 1966 (1966-01-28)	019	Sheik Hokar, a minister of the Emir
Guest stars: Yvonne Craig (Ecstasy LaJoie), Richard Jaeckel (Christopher Cable), Robert Middleton (Emir El Emid), Arlene Charles (Emid #1 Girl), Phyllis Davis (Emid #2 Girl), Don Francks (T. Wiggett Jones), Arthur Gould-Porter (George), James Lanphier (Dr. Mohammed Bey), Tom Palmer (Williard Drapeau), Ralph Gary (Clay) West is assigned to protect a visiting despot from Ecstasy La Joie, an assassin armed with a deadly ring and an explosive garter. ■This is one of the few episodes where the majority of the story - or in this case, the entire story - does, in fact, take place all in one night.
20	20	"The Night of the Whirring Death"	Mark Rydell	Teleplay: Jackson Gillis Story: Jackson Gillis and Leigh Chapman	February 18, 1966 (1966-02-18)	020	Opera singer Caruso del Artemo
Guest stars: Michael Dunn (Dr. Miguelito Loveless), Pamela Austin (Priscilla Ames), Barbara Nichols (Bessie Bowen), Phoebe Dorin (Antoinette), Val Avery (John Crane), Norman Fell (Jeremiah Ratch), Richard Kiel (Voltaire), Jesse White (Governor Lewis), Jason Wingreen (Policeman), Sam Flint (Clerk), Chanin Hale (Flo), Richard Reeves (Bailey), Elena Martone (Hostess) The third encounter with Dr. Loveless. This time he's using exploding toys as part of his scheme to make California a kingdom for children. ■ After being mute in his first two appearances as "Voltaire", Richard Kiel gets to speak in this episode. However, this would be the final appearance of "Voltaire" in the series, although Kiel turned up in another role in the episode "The Night of the Simian Terror." This is also the first Loveless episode in which the good doctor escapes at the end.
21	21	"The Night of the Puppeteer"	Irving J. Moore	Henry Sharp	February 25, 1966 (1966-02-25)	021	(none)
Guest stars: Lloyd Bochner (Zachariah Skull), Imelda de Martin (Vivid), John Hoyt (Justice Vincent Chayne), Janis Hansen (Waitress), Wayne Albritton (Harlequin), Walter Painter (Caveman), Jack Tygett (Butler), Len Rogel (Sign Man), Sara Taft (Mrs. Chayne), Nelson Olmsted (Dr. Lake) An attack on a Supreme Court justice leads West and Gordon into a mysterious underground lair filled with deadly life-size marionettes. ■ This episode contains some delightful music by Dave Grusin - his only score for the series.
22	22	"The Night of the Bars of Hell"	Richard Donner	Robert Vincent Wright	March 4, 1966 (1966-03-04)	022	A street preacher Jeremiah P. Threadneedle, dealer in ladies' corsets Aged prison executioner
Guest stars: Arthur O'Connell (Theophilus Ragan), Indus Arthur (Jennifer McCoy), Elisha Cook Jr. (Gideon McCoy), Mickey Golden (Gate Guard), Russ McCubbin (Mr. Quincannon), Whitey Hughes (Prison Guard), Roy Sickner (Driscoll), Paul Genge (Kross), Robert Herron (Borg), Jeni Jackson (Kitten), Milton Parsons (Executioner), Chet Stratton (Adams), Shawn Michaels (Convict Painter) Jim and Artie are assigned to track down a band of outlaws who have centered their operations near a territorial prison.
23	23	"The Night of the Two-Legged Buffalo"	Edward Dein	John Kneubuhl	March 11, 1966 (1966-03-11)	023	A Hawaiian prince
Guest stars: Nick Adams (Prince), Dana Wynter (Lady Beatrice Marquand-Gaynesford), Robert Emhardt (Claude Duchamps), Paul Comi (Vittorio Pellagrini), Al Wyatt (Coach Driver), C. Lindsay Workman (Manager), Clint Ritchie (1st Bandit) West and Gordon are assigned to protect a pleasure-loving prince who is visiting the United States. The prince insists on visiting a plush spa, only to find that assassins are eagerly awaiting his arrival. ■ This is one of only four episodes where the commercial break freeze frames arrive in the same order as the main title; the others are "The Night of the Man-Eating House", "The Night of the Deadly Blossom", and "The Night of the Winged Terror, Part 2."
24	24	"The Night of the Druid's Blood"	Ralph Senensky	Teleplay: Henry Sharp Story: Kevin De Courcey	March 25, 1966 (1966-03-25)	024	(none)
Guest stars: Sam Wade (Robert Perry), Rhys Williams (Dr. Tristam), Don Rickles (Asmodeus), Ann Elder (Astarte), Emanuel Thomas (Butler), Don Beddoe (Professor Robey), Simon Scott (Colonel Fairchild), Bartlett Robinson (Senator Clay Waterford), Susan Browning (Nurse) Jim investigates the mysterious arson death of an old friend. ■The title is something of a misnomer, as there are neither druids nor blood in evidence.
25	25	"The Night of the Freebooters"	Edward Dein	Gene L. Coon	April 1, 1966 (1966-04-01)	025	Col. Hernandez del Valle Santiago y Sandoval Old lady running a cantina
Guest stars: Keenan Wynn (Thorald Wolfe), Maggie Thrett (Rita Leon), William Campbell (Bender), John Sterling (Worker), James Connell (Richard Henry), James Gammon (Egan), Robert Matek (Oldfield), Andre Phillipe (Enrique Leon) While posing as an ex-con, Jim infiltrates a renegade army.
26	26	"The Night of the Burning Diamond"	Irving J. Moore	Ken Kolb	April 8, 1966 (1966-04-08)	026	Count Baron Felix von Schlesweig und Holtzbergen
Guest stars: Robert Drivas (Morgan Midas), Christiane Schmidtmer (Lucretia Ivronin), Vito Carbonara (Serbian Minister), Whitey Hughes (Rudd), Calvin Brown (Clive), Chuck O'Brien (Serbian Guard), Dan Tobin (Thaddeus Baines) West and Gordon investigate the mysterious disappearance of Serbia's Kara Diamond, which leads them into the lair of Morgan Midas. He has mastered a formula that can make him move so quickly that he becomes invisible to the naked eye. ■ Slip-up alert: In the scene where our heroes join Midas as he carries out a robbery, some of the people "frozen" in time are more frozen than others...
27	27	"The Night of the Murderous Spring"	Richard Donner	John Kneubuhl	April 15, 1966 (1966-04-15)	027	(none)
Guest stars: Michael Dunn (Dr. Miguelito Loveless), Phoebe Dorin (Antoinette), Jenie Jackson (Kitten Twitty), Leonard Falk (Attendant), Bill McLean (Hotel Clerk), William Fawcett (Man), Todd Garrett (Child) West and Gordon meet Dr. Loveless for the fourth time. The doctor has now invented a hallucinatory drug which, when used on Jim, makes him believe that he has shot and killed Artie. ■ Once again the lagoon set from Gilligan's Island is used. Leonard Falk is the real-life father of Robert Conrad.
28	28	"The Night of the Sudden Plague"	Irving J. Moore	Ken Kolb	April 22, 1966 (1966-04-22)	028	(none)
Guest stars: Theodore Marcuse (Dr. Vincent Kirby), Eddie Durkin (Frank Doyle), Mark Baker (Barber), Robert Phillips (Lafe), Harvey Levine (Hobson), Nobu McCarthy (Anna Kirby), H.M. Wynant (Coley Rodman), Elliott Reid (Governor Marcus Hawthorne) Upon arriving in Willow Springs, Jim and Artie find that a band of thieves have struck and somehow managing to paralyze everyone in the entire town. ■ The set for the fortress is the same one used for the Cestus III Outpost in the opening of the Star Trek episode titled Arena.

Season Two: 1966–1967

"Classics of literature, film, and contemporary science were shamelessly commandered as their elements were submurged and made over into a style that was, and still is, unique to television. We sought words and images to convey that style … baroque, outre, tiffany hues, rich crimsons and forest green, all in the mystery of chiaroscuro."

— Bruce Lansbury

The second season of The Wild Wild West continued the basic format of first season, but also made some changes. The most notable of these was that the series was now shot in color, which enhanced the Victorian ambiance of the 1870s setting. Both Robert Conrad and Ross Martin were given modified wardrobes, with Conrad wearing short bolero jackets and tight-fitting pants. There was also a shift in the choreography of the fight scenes, changing the emphasis from karate (largely used in the first season) to boxing.

As in the first season, Dr. Loveless was featured in four episodes. Meanwhile, an attempt was made to establish another recurring villain with the character of Count Manzeppi (played by Victor Buono, who had appeared in the pilot episode). However, the Count was dropped after only two episodes.

Again, as in the first season, 28 episodes were produced for the season. Initially, Michael Garrison continued in the dual capacity as producer and executive producer. However, after seven episodes, the producing chores were handed to Bruce Lansbury, the younger brother of actress Angela Lansbury, and Garrison returned to working solely as the series' executive producer. Garrison died on August 17, 1966, when he fell down a flight of stairs at his home in Bel Aire.

The breakdown between the two producers, as broadcast, is:

• Michael Garrison – Season episodes 1–5, 12 and 14
• Bruce Lansbury – Season episodes 6–11, 13 and 15–28

However, the series continued to be listed as "A Michael Garrison Production in association with the CBS Television Network" in the end credits for the rest of the run.

The Wild Wild West slipped in the ratings during the second season and failed to be among the 25 most popular shows during the 1966–1967 season. However, guest star Agnes Moorehead won an Emmy as Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her performance in the episode "The Night of the Vicious Valentine."

Series #	Season #	Title	Director(s)	Writer(s)	Airdate	Production code	Artie's disguises
29	1	"The Night of the Eccentrics"	Robert Sparr	Charles Bennett	September 16, 1966 (1966-09-16)	034	Aide to President Juarez
Guest stars: Victor Buono (Count Carlos Mario Vincenzo Robespierre Manzeppi), LeGrand Mellon (Miranda), Michael Masters (Titan), Richard Pryor (Villar), Anthony Eisley (Deadeye), Frank Sorello (Pres. Juarez), Andi Garrett (Nurse), Roy Jenson (Vance Markham), Harry Ellerbe (Col. Armstrong), Paul Wallace (Tony) While searching for an undercover fellow agent {who turns up dead}, Jim and Artie arrive at a circus where they find themselves pitted against the Eccentrics, a league of assassins commanded by the vicious Count Manzeppi. ■ Victor Buono, who had appeared in the series pilot, "The Night of the Inferno", returns in this, the first of his two appearances as Count Manzeppi. Anthony Eisley had co-starred with Robert Conrad in an earlier TV series, Hawaiian Eye. Apart from one sentence in the teaser, Richard Pryor (playing a ventriloquist and the voice of his dummy) does not speak with his normal voice for the entire episode!
30	2	"The Night of the Golden Cobra"	Irving J. Moore	Henry Sharp	September 23, 1966 (1966-09-23)	029	East Indian magician
Guest stars: Boris Karloff (Mr. Singh), Audrey Dalton (Veda Singh), Jose De Vega (John Mountain-Top), James Westmoreland (Chandra), Michael York (Cupta), Morgan Farley (Mudjaz), Asoka (Dancer), Sujata (Dancer), John Alonzo (Sarrkan), Simon Scott (Col. Stanton Mayo) Jim West is kidnapped by a maharajah who wants his sons to be tutored in the fine art of killing. ■ This was the first episode of the series to be filmed in color (although the second to be broadcast). The Michael York in this episode is not the famed British actor.
31	3	"The Night of the Raven"	Irving J. Moore	Edward Di Lorenzo	September 30, 1966 (1966-09-30)	032	(none)
Guest stars: Michael Dunn (Dr. Miguelito Loveless), Phyllis Newman (Princess Wanakee), Phoebe Dorin (Antoinette), Howard Hoffinan (War Eagle), Sandy Josol (Chawtaw) The fifth encounter with Dr. Loveless, whose latest diabolical invention involves a powder that miniaturizes people. Jim West and an Indian princess are among his victims. Will a cat bring about the end of Agent West?
32	4	"The Night of the Big Blast"	Ralph Senensky	Ken Kolb	October 7, 1966 (1966-10-07)	030	(None) (Although Martin appears as a robot version of Artie)
Guest stars: Ida Lupino (Dr. Faustina), Patsy Kelly (Prudence Fortune), Mala Powers (Lily Fortune), Robert Miller Driscoll (Lyle Peters), Melville Ruick (Attorney General), Rita D'Amico (Carmen), Michael McCloud (Miklos) Dr. Faustina has created human-like robots that are walking time bombs. One of them looks exactly like Jim West and another like Artemus Gordon. ■Unlike most of the series, this story puts the spotlight firmly on Ross Martin - Robert Conrad has considerably less time on-screen here than in any other episode of the series. Martin was an excellent fencer, which came in handy for the swordfight with the musketeer at Madri Gras. The trickier stunts were performed by Dave Sharp.
33	5	"The Night of the Returning Dead"	Richard Donner	John Kneubuhl	October 14, 1966 (1966-10-14)	035	(none)
Guest stars: Sammy Davis Jr. (Jeremiah), Peter Lawford (Carl Jackson), Hazel Court (Elizabeth Carter), Frank Wilcox (Bill Mott), Alan Baxter (Ned Briggs), Ken Lynch (Tom Kellogg) Jim and Artie confront a ghost rider who seems to be immune to bullets. ■ Parts of this episode were filmed in the caves at Bronson Canyon in the Hollywood Hills.
34	6	"The Night of the Flying Pie Plate"	Robert Sparr	Dan Ullman	October 21, 1966 (1966-10-21)	038	Dirk DeJohn, gem expert Mr. Spock type
Guest stars: William Windom (Ben Victor), Leslie Parrish (Morn), Whitey Hughes (Jerry), Ford Rainey (Simon), Pitt Herbert (Byron Pettigrew), Woodrow Chambliss (Wingo), Cindy Taylor (Pan), Arlene Charles (Alna) A bizarre scheme has West and Gordon involved with a green-skinned girl who emerged from what seems to a spaceship. She claims that her ship needs gold for fuel. ■ This is the first episode where the act-ending freeze-frames take the form of line drawings rather than textured or tinted stills; because the episodes weren't aired in production order, the remaining shows with stills were mixed with shows with drawings. The only episodes after this point to have stills are "The Night of the Bottomless Pit", "The Night of the Ready-Made Corpse" (the final such episode produced), "The Night of the Man-Eating House" and "The Night of the Infernal Machine". This was also the first episode produced after Michael Garrison died.
35	7	"The Night of the Poisonous Posey"	Alan Crosland Jr.	Teleplay: Leigh Chapman Story: Donn Mullally	October 28, 1966 (1966-10-28)	039	Villain Ascot Sam
Guest stars: Delphi Lawrence (Lucrece Posey), Percy Rodriguez (Brutus), Michael Masters (Cyril), Shug Fisher (Sheriff Blayne Cord), Christopher Cary (Snakes Tolliver), Eugene Iglesias (Gallito), George Keymas (Sergei), Hal Lynch (Sam Colburn), Andre Philippe (Ascot Sam), H.M. Wynant (Pinto) The town of Justice, Nevada, is hangout for a group of international criminals headed by Lucrece Posey, who is planning on leading her group into a world-wide criminal organization. Unfortunately for them a certain two secret service agents happen to be passing through, and it's up to the pair to battle them into submission.
36	8	"The Night of the Bottomless Pit"	Robert Sparr	Ken Kolb	November 4, 1966 (1966-11-04)	036	Pierre Gaspard, former legionnaire
Guest stars: Theodore Marcuse (Gustave Mauvais / Hubert Crandee), Joan Huntington (Camille Mauvais), Tom Drake (Vincent Reed), Gregg Martell (Guard B), Ernie Misko (Guard A), Chuck O'Brien (Couteau), Fred Carson (Le Cochon), Seymour Green (Lime), Steve Franken (LeFou), Mabel Albertson (Mrs. Grimes). Jim and Artie infiltrate a prison to rescue a fellow agent from a vicious commandant.
37	9	"The Night of the Watery Death"	Irving J. Moore	Michael Edwards (see note below)	November 11, 1966 (1966-11-11)	040	Swedish sailor
Guest stars: John Ashley (Lt. Keighley), John van Dreelen (Marquis Philippe de La Mer), James Galante (Third Officer), Forrest Lewis (Captain Pratt), Jocelyn Lane (Dominique) Jim and Artie investigate a mysterious dragon-like creature that is blowing up American ships. ■ The writing credits read "Teleplay by Michael Edwards", with no "story by" credit. The DVD packaging for TF1 Video's region 2 release of the series gives script credit for this episode to three writers: Edward di Lorenzo, Lew Garfinkle (the only one of the three to have no on-screen credit on any episode) and Leigh Chapman.
38	10	"The Night of the Green Terror"	Robert Sparr	John Kneubuhl	November 18, 1966 (1966-11-18)	041	Indian woman
Guest stars: Michael Dunn (Dr. Miguelito Loveless), Phoebe Dorin (Antoinette), Anthony Caruso (Bright Star Chief), Paul Fix (Old Chief), Peggy Rea (Wife of Bright Star Chief) The sixth encounter with Dr. Loveless, whose latest scheme involves a chemical that kills plant life and a suit of medieval armor. ■ This is Phoebe Dorin's final appearance as Antoinette.
39	11	"The Night of the Ready-Made Corpse"	Irving J. Moore	Ken Kolb (and Bob Wood, uncredited)	November 25, 1966 (1966-11-25)	037	Bespectacled old man Thomas link (criminal)
Guest stars: Carroll O'Connor (Fabian Lavender), Karen Sharpe (Rose Murphy), Paul Comi (Pellargo Double), Daniel Ades (Colonel Pellargo), Jack Perkins (Golo), Gene Tyburn (Finley), Andi Garrett (Barmaid), Alan Bergmann (Claudio Antille), Patricia Huston (Leda Pellargo) Jim and Artie are assigned to investigate one Fabian Lavendor, a mortician who runs a peculiar side-line business: faking the deaths of wanted criminals. ■Ironically considering the premise, series creator/executive producer Michael Garrison died during production of this episode.
40	12	"The Night of the Man-Eating House"	Alan Crosland Jr.	John Kneubuhl	December 2, 1966 (1966-12-02)	033	(none)
Guest stars: Hurd Hatfield (Liston Day), William Talman (Sheriff) Jim, Artie, and a local sheriff are accompanying a convict back to prison. While resting for the night, Artie has a strange dream where he, Jim, and the sheriff chase their prisoner to an old abandoned mansion which is haunted by the spirit of a dead woman – with a twist ending. ■ This episode has some similarities with a 1945 film, The Picture of Dorian Gray, which also starred Hurd Hatfield. This episode features the smallest cast of the entire series, with the two guest stars the only other people besides Robert Conrad and Ross Martin who appear.
41	13	"The Night of the Skulls"	Alan Crosland Jr.	Robert C. Dennis and Earl Barret	December 16, 1966 (1966-12-16)	043	Funeral officiator at his own funeral A bum A hunchback in an old armory A pompous senator
Guest stars: Donald Woods (Senator Stephen Fenlow), Lisa Gaye (Lorelei), Douglas Henderson (Colonel Richmond), Anne Doud (Lucinda), Michael Masters (Bluebeard), William Bagdad (Prisoner), Calvin Brown (Iron Hook Harper), Francis DeSales (Charlton), Kem Dibbs (Plainclothesman), Robert Herron (Tigo), Quintin Sondergaard (Monk), Madame Spivy (Axe Lady), Sebastian Tom (Samurai) Jim becomes a fugitive on the run after he "shot and killed" Artie. In reality, however, he is tracking down a secret league of assassins. ■ This episode features the first appearance of Douglas Henderson as Colonel Richmond, who will become a recurring character for the remainder of the series.
42	14	"The Night of the Infernal Machine"	Sherman Marks	Shimon Wincelberg	December 23, 1966 (1966-12-23)	031	Herr Ostropolyer, pastry chef
Guest stars: Ed Begley (Judge M'Guigan), Bill Zuckert (Inspector Bulvon), Elaine Dunn (Vashti), Jon Lormer (Vickerman), John Harmon (Moody), Michael Pate (Bledsoe), Will Kuluva (Zeno Baroda), Vito Scotti (Cefalu), Bill Gwinn (Judge) Jim and Artie aid a federal judge whose life has been threatened by a bomb-throwing clockmaker.
43	15	"The Night of the Lord of Limbo"	Jesse Hibbs	Henry Sharp	December 30, 1966 (1966-12-30)	042	Duelist Jack Maitland (no make-up, but a different character)
Guest stars: Ricardo Montalbán (Col. Noel Bartley Vautrain), Dianne Foster (Amanda Vautrain), Harry Harvey, Sr. (Theater Manager), Tyler McVey (Professor), Gregory Morton (Levering), Felice Orlandi (Captain Vincent Scofield), Ed Prentiss (Col. Fairchild), Davis Roberts (Bartender), Will J. White (Robber), Howard Wright (Professor) Jim and Artie encounter Col. Vautrain, a crippled, legless former Confederate officer who has mastered the ability to travel through time. His plan is to go back in time and alter history, thus not only restoring his legs but also having the Confederate Army win the war—by killing Ulysses Grant.
44	16	"The Night of the Tottering Tontine"	Irving J. Moore	Elon Packard and Norman Hudis	January 6, 1967 (1967-01-06)	044	Blond secretary to Dr. Raven Angus MacGordon
Guest stars: Harry Townes (Dr. Robert Raven), Wilhelm von Homburg (Gunther Pearse), William Wintersole (Edward Baring), Henry Darrow (Archduke Maurice), Robert Emhardt (Martin Grevely), Mike Road (Martin Dexter), Steve Gravers (Stimson), Arthur Space (Applegate), Ted Stanhope (Bartender), Lisa Pera (Amelia Maitlin) West and Gordon are assigned to protect Dr. Raven, who is developing a secret weapon and also a member of a tontine, i.e., an investment group whose bylaws state that the last surviving member of the group will receive the group's assets.
45	17	"The Night of the Feathered Fury"	Robert Sparr	Henry Sharp	January 13, 1967 (1967-01-13)	046	Organ grinder Bald Uncle Hansi
Guest stars: Victor Buono (Count Carlos Mario Vincenzo Robespierre Manzeppi), Michele Carey (Gerda Scharff), Hideo Inamura (Benji), Perry Lopez (Dodo Le Blanc), Oliver McGowan (Colonel Armstrong), George Murdock (Luther Coyle), Georgia Schmidt (Scrub Woman), Audrey Lowell (Wanda) Jim and Artie encounter Count Manzeppi again. This time around the count is attempting to acquire a wind-up bird that contains the Philosopher's Stone. ■ This is the last of only two episodes featuring Count Manzeppi, although Victor Buono later appeared in the reunion movie, More Wild Wild West. Michele Carey later appeared in the two-parter "The Night of the Winged Terror" and also as the voice of Effie, the computer, in Robert Conrad's later series, A Man Called Sloane.
46	18	"The Night of the Gypsy Peril"	Alan Crosland Jr.	Ken Kolb	January 20, 1967 (1967-01-20)	045	Uncle Moe, the peddler
Guest stars: Ruta Lee (Zoe Zagora), Ronald Long (Sultan of Ramapur), Arthur Batanides (Scullen), Nick Cravat (Performer), Andi Garrett (Gypsy Girl), Charles Horvath (Gombal), Johnny Seven (Mikolik), Mark Slade (Hillard) The Sultan of Ramapur brings a sacred white elephant as a gift to President Grant. When bandits steal the elephant from Jim and Artie's train the outraged Sultan demands a compensation of $1 million. Events take an interesting turn when Jim follows the trail to a gypsy camp. ■ For once, no one dies in this episode.
47	19	"The Night of the Tartar"	Charles R. Rondeau	Robert C. Dennis and Earl Barret	February 3, 1967 (1967-02-03)	049	Russian immigrant Theodore Rimsky
Guest stars: John Astin (Count Sazanov), Susan Odin (Anastasia), Malachi Throne (Kuprin), Andre Phillipe (Fecdor Rimsky), Martin Blaine (Millard Boyer), Nancy Dow (Tersa), Chubby Johnson (Prospector), Louise Lawson (Miss Minnow), Michael Panaieff (Chekov), Wendy Stuart (Marsha), Walter Sande (Col. Crockett), Larry Anthony (Detective), Lola Bell (Barber) President Grant orders West and Gordon to deliver Rimsky, a political prisoner, to Vladivostok in exchange for Millard Boyer, the American vice-consul. In the course of their duty the two are drugged and end up in Russia—or so it seems.
48	20	"The Night of the Vicious Valentine"	Irving J. Moore	Leigh Chapman	February 10, 1967 (1967-02-10)	048	A Jewish tailor
Guest stars: Agnes Moorehead (Emma Valentine), Diane McBain (Elaine Dodd), Sherry Jackson (Michele LeMaster), Shephard Menken (E.N. Itnelay), Mitzie Evans (Gates), Quinn Cunningham (Minister), Don Delavay (Griffin the Butler), G. Edward McKinley (Curtis Langley Dodd), Walter Sande (Colonel Crockett), Henry Beckman (Paul J. Lambert), Whitey Hughes (Giggling Henchman) Jim and Artie investigate the killings of wealthy industrialists. They find that all the victims are linked to a matchmaker named Emma Valentine. Jim is held captive in Emma matchmaking machine-his ideal woman is a combination of Aphrodite; Helen of Troy and Lola Montez! ■ Agnes Moorehead won the show's only Emmy for her performance in this episode.
49	21	"The Night of the Brain"	Larry Peerce	Calvin Clements Jr.	February 17, 1967 (1967-02-17)	047	Leeto, the henchmen Letto disguised as Artemus Gordon
Guest stars: Edward Andrews (Braine), Margaret Mason (Lola), Phil Arnold (Almeric), Brioni Farrell (Voulee), Allen Jaffe (Leeto), Jay Jostyn (Butler), Don Rizzan (Guard), John Warburton (Arnette) Jim and Artie receive fake newspapers that predict the deaths of their friends which the agents can't prevent from happening. Their investigation pits them against an evil super-genius.
50	22	"The Night of the Deadly Bubble"	Irving J. Moore	Michael Edwards	February 24, 1967 (1967-02-24)	050	An old blind beggar A drunken sailor
Guest stars: Alfred Ryder (Captain Horatio Philo), Judy Lang (Professor Abigail J. Pringle), Nacho Galindo (Pepe), Kai Hernandez (Maid), Nelson Welch (Professor McClennon), Lou Krugman (Blind Beggar/Felix), Whitey Hughes, Dick Cangey (Heavies), Mickey Golden, Robert Herron West and Gordon, investigating a series of mysterious tidal waves off the coast of San Francisco, encounter a fanatical marine environmentalist.
51	23	"The Night of the Surreal McCoy"	Alan Crosland Jr.	John Kneubuhl	March 3, 1967 (1967-03-03)	051	Gunfighter Lightning McCoy
Guest stars: Michael Dunn (Dr. Miguelito Loveless), John Doucette (Axel Morgan), Ivan Triesault (Ambassador), John Alonzo (Lightnin' McCoy), Noel Drayton (Museum Director), Quintin Sondergaard (Gunman), Jorge Moreno (Barkeep) West and Gordon encounter Dr. Loveless for the seventh time. His latest invention can transport real people in and out of the two-dimensional world of paintings. ■ This is the only episode where Loveless appears with no female companion, and also the only episode of the entire series with no female characters at all - "The Night of the Man-Eating House" has no on-screen female presence, but Caroline Day's ghost is a major part of the plot.
52	24	"The Night of the Colonel's Ghost"	Charles R. Rondeau	Ken Kolb	March 10, 1967 (1967-03-10)	052	Ian Gellico Cooper-Featherstone, a big game hunter President Grant
Guest stars: Kathie Browne (Jennifer Caine), Lee Bergere (Colonel Wayne Gibson), Alan Hewitt (Vincent Pernell), Arthur Hunnicutt (Doc Gavin), Roy Engel (President Ulysses S. Grant), Walker Edmiston (Sheriff Tom Hollis), Gordon Wescourt (Bert Caine), Ralph Gary (Chris Davidson), Billy Shannon (Abel Caine) West rides into the town of Gibsonville where he encounters a series of broken neck murders along with arguments over a lost stash of gold. Meanwhile, Gordon is escorting President Grant to dedication of a statue of the late Colonel Wayne Gibson in the very same town.
53	25	"The Night of the Deadly Blossom"	Alan Crosland Jr.	Daniel Mainwaring	March 17, 1967 (1967-03-17)	053	A stevedore A red-suited villain
Guest stars: Peter Hale (Myron Kendrick), Nehemiah Persoff (Adam Barclay), Miiko Taka (Haruko), Pitt Herbert (Levering Mayhew David), George Keymas (Doctor 1), Lou Straley (Doctor 2), Carole Kane (Nurse), Tiki Santos (King Kalakua), Soon-Teck Oh (Houseboy), Reggie Valencia (Palen), Duane Grey (Dock Guard), Mel Prestidge (Polynesian) West and Gordon are assigned to guard the king of Hawaii, who is due to arrive secretly by ship. The deaths of four military officers and the mysterious sinking of the cruiser Youngstown lead them to believe that the king's life may be in danger.
54	26	"The Night of the Cadre"	Leon Benson	Digby Wolfe	March 24, 1967 (1967-03-24)	054	Kelton, a traveling salesman A prison guard
Guest stars: Don Gordon (General Titus Trask), Richard Jaeckel (Sergeant Stryker), Sheilah Wells (Josephine), Ken Drake (Professor Frimm), Tol Avery (Warden Primwick), Vince Howard (Ralph Kleed) Jim impersonates a killer in order to track down General Titus Trask, a renegade army officer with a desire to kill President Grant. ■ Parts of this episode were filmed at Vasquez Rocks.
55	27	"The Night of the Wolf"	Charles R. Rondeau	Robert C. Dennis and Earl Barret	March 31, 1967 (1967-03-31)	055	King Stephan
Guest stars: Joseph Campanella (Talamantes), Lorri Scott (Leandra), Charles R. Radilac (Priest), Jonathan Lippe (Capt. Adam Dushan), Michael Shillo (Dr. Hanska), Eddie Fontaine (Sheriff Twilley), John Marley (King Stefan IX) Jim and Artie's latest assignment is to protect Stefan, a soon-to-be-crowned king. However, the evil Talamantes (with a pack of werewolves) has kidnapped Stefan's daughter, Leandra, and will only release her if Stefan renounces the throne. ■ Several shots feature a more-than-obviously stuffed dog.
56	28	"The Night of the Bogus Bandits"	Irving J. Moore	Henry Sharp	April 7, 1967 (1967-04-07)	056	Mr. Lindsey, a southern artist Mr. Frago, an old-time blacksmith
Guest stars: Michael Dunn (Dr. Miguelito Loveless), Marianna Hill (Belladonna), Patsy Kelly (Mrs. Bancroft), Grace Gaynor (Pearline Hastings), Don "Red" Barry (Rainey), Walter Sande (Col. Crockett), Roland La Starza (Joe Kirby), Charles Wagenheim (Vance Rawlinson), William Challee (Fargo), Murray Alper (Bartender), Troy Melton (Whaley), Charles Fredericks (Drunk), Jack Orrison (Mr. Butcher), Jack Rigney (Mr. Krane), William Massey (Teller), Frank Sully (Telegrapher) The brilliant but evil Dr. Loveless is back for the eighth time with yet another plan to rule the world. His scheme this time around uses mock-ups of the prisons, armories, and the United States Treasury to train his henchmen to take over these resources upon his command.

Season Three: 1967–1968

The third season of The Wild Wild West saw a shift away from fantasy and more toward traditional western with the "villains becoming more political and less outrageous." Also, because of serious health problems, Michael Dunn appeared as Dr. Loveless in only one episode during this season ("The Night Dr. Loveless Died").

"I had a bad injury in '68 … a very serious injury. I had a high-temporal concussion and a 6" linear fracture in my skull. The last two episodes (of that season) were cancelled."

— Robert Conrad

On January 24, 1968, when The Wild Wild West was near the end of shooting for the season, star Robert Conrad, who did the majority of his own stunt work, was seriously injured when he fell from a chandelier during the filming of the episode "The Night of the Fugitives." Production was shut down for the season and the "Fugitives" was completed and broadcast during the fourth season.

All of the episodes of this season were produced by Bruce Lansbury. Due to Conrad's injury only 24 episodes were made for this season. As in the second season, The Wild Wild West did not rank among the 25 most popular shows during the 1967-1968 season.

Series #	Season #	Title	Director(s)	Writer(s)	Airdate	Production code	Artie's disguises
57	1	"The Night of the Bubbling Death"	Irving J. Moore	David Moessinger	September 8, 1967 (1967-09-08)	060	A one-eyed snake-in-the-grass A green-horned liquor salesman
Guest stars: Harold Gould (Victor Freemantle), Madlyn Rhue (Carlotta Waters), William Schallert (Silas Grigsby), A.G. Vitanza (Pima), Timmy Brown (Clint Cartwheel), Val Avery (Brad Logan) The U.S. Constitution document has been stolen by a dangerous revolutionary named Victor Freemantle. West and Gordon are sent to Texas to recover it. Rather than give into Freemantle's ransom demand of $1 million, they decide to infiltrate Freemantle's castle and retrieve the Constitution themselves. In a twist ending however, our heroes find Freemantle is not the mastermind behind the plot! ■ This was the fourth episode filmed for season three, but the first one aired - the score, though predominantly composed for the episode by Jack Pleis, includes tracked-in cues from "The Night of Jack O'Diamonds" and "The Night of the Firebrand," which had yet to air.
58	2	"The Night of the Firebrand"	Michael Caffey	Edward J. Lakso	September 15, 1967 (1967-09-15)	058	Bluebeard, a trapper Canadian patriot, Paul Beaumont
Guest stars: Lana Wood (Sheila "Vixen" O'Shaugnessy), Pernell Roberts (Sean O'Reilley), Len Wayland (Major Jason), Paul Prokop (Clint Hoxie), Russ McCubbin (Briscoe), Zack Banks (Pierre), Paul Lambert (Andre Durain) West travels to Fort Savage to help prevent a revolution in Canada that outlaw Shawn O'Riley has plans to incite. Once there, however, he finds that O'Riley is in control of the fort and is holding the fort's major and his men captive. A glaring error occurs early on in this episode. In the scene where a wagon marked "U.S. Army" is leaving the fort, a white object - actually a car - can be seen streaking by in the background!
59	3	"The Night of the Assassin"	Alan Crosland Jr.	Robert C. Dennis and Earl Barret	September 22, 1967 (1967-09-22)	059	A Mexican soldier A priest Halverson, a fat, old Texan
Guest stars: Robert Loggia (Colonel Arsenio Barbossa), Ramón Novarro (Don Tomas), Carlos Romero (Lieutenant), Nina Roman (Lupita Gonzalez), Phyllis Davis (Lt. Ramirez), Nate Esformes (Perrico Mendoza), Conlan Carter (Halvorsen), Donald Woods (Griswold) West and Gordon disrupt an assassination attempt on Mexico's President Juarez. Their plan is to return to Texas with the assassin they have captured, but first they must deal with the merciless Colonel Barbossa.
60	4	"The Night Dr. Loveless Died"	Alan Crosland Jr.	Henry Sharp	September 29, 1967 (1967-09-29)	065	Dr. Roman De Petritier
Guest stars: Michael Dunn (Dr. Miguelito Loveless / Dr. Liebknicht), Susan Oliver (Triste), Anthony Caruso (Deuce), Robert Ellenstein (Arthur Tickle), Peter Hale (Layden), Chubby Johnson (Sheriff Quail), Jonathan Hole (Bank Manager Welles), Lew Brown (Guard), Deborah Lee (Girl #1), Marty Koppenhafer (Girl #2) West and Gordon arrive in Hayes City where they identify the body of their archnemesis, Dr. Loveless. While there, they meet up with the beautiful femme fatale, Triste, and also Miguelito's "next of kin", Dr. Liebknicht, a Swiss neurologist who strikingly resembles his nephew. ■ This episode features the ninth encounter with Dr. Loveless and the only one from the third season.
61	5	"The Night of Jack O'Diamonds"	Irving J. Moore	Denne Bart Petitclerc	October 6, 1967 (1967-10-06)	057	Pancho, a bandit
Guest stars: Frank Silvera (El Sordo), Mario Alcalde (Fortuna), James Almanzar (Gregorio), David Renard (Enrique), Rico Alaniz (Chico), Louis Massad (Juan), Ref Sanchez (Antonio), Marie Gomez (Isabel) West and Gordon head south of the border with a present for the Mexico's president - a beautiful Arabian horse. However, after their arrival the horse is stolen by a group of outlaw bandits, jeopardizing the relationship between the two countries. ■ Although shown fifth (it first aired only a few weeks after guest star Frank Silvera began his run on The High Chaparral, the pilot for which was scripted by this episode's writer Denne Bart Petitclerc), this was the first episode filmed for season three; it was also the final episode scored by Richard Markowitz. Incidentally, Jim tells Sordo that he's never met President Juarez - yet the two did indeed meet in season two's "The Night of the Eccentrics"!
62	6	"The Night of the Samurai"	Gunnar Hellstrom	Shimon Wincelberg	October 13, 1967 (1967-10-13)	066	Paolo Martinez, a Portuguese sea captain
Guest stars: Paul Stevens (Gideon Falconer), Jerry Fujikawa (Prince Shinosuki), John Hubbard (Clive Finsbury), Jane Betts (Madame Moustache), Thayer David (Hannibal Egloff), Khigh Dheigh (Baron Saigo), Irene Tsu (Reiko O'Hara) While the U.S. State Department is returning a valuable samurai sword to its rightful owner, a Japanese prince, the sword is stolen by a group of assailants. To avoid damaging U.S.-Japan relations, Jim and Artie are assigned to locate the sword and return it to the prince before he commits hari-kari. After a series of various encounters with those after the sword, Jim faces the villain in a dramatic sword fight.
63	7	"The Night of the Hangman"	James B. Clark	Peter G. Robinson and Ron Silverman	October 20, 1967 (1967-10-20)	062	Undercover as a jewelry salesman
Guest stars: Harry Dean Stanton (Lucius Brand), Carolan Daniels (Mrs. Brand), Paul Fix (Judge Blake), Charles Lane (Roger Creed), Martin E. Brooks (Franklin Poore), Sarah Marshall (Eugenia Rawlins), Jesslyn Fax (Mrs. Peacock), John Pickard (Amos Rawlins), Gregg Palmer (Sheriff Jonas Bolt), Anna Capri (Abigail Moss) During a stopover in a small town in Kansas, Jim and Artie become involved in a murder investigation. After a man is found guilty and sentenced to hang, the agents uncover information that points to a frame-up.
64	8	"The Night of Montezuma's Hordes"	Irving J. Moore	Max Ehrlich	October 27, 1967 (1967-10-27)	063	An aged desert guide A Swedish waiter
Guest stars: Ray Walston (Professor Johnson), Jack Elam (Zack Slade), Edmund Hashim (Colonel Pedro Sanchez), Roland La Starza (Jake), Hal John Norman (Indian Guide), Roy Monsell (Dr. Mallory), Eddie Little Sky (Aztec chief), Carla Borelli (Sun Goddess), Ludmila Alixanova (Handmaiden) West and Gordon travel with and Mexico's Colonel Sanchez through the Texan desert in search of the lost treasure of Montezuma. Features the best fight scene at the episode's climax.
65	9	"The Night of the Circus of Death"	Irving J. Moore	Arthur Weingarten	November 3, 1967 (1967-11-03)	068	Ermerson P. Gentry, a Southern gentleman An old cleaning man
Guest stars: Paul Comi (Burt Farnsworth), Philip Bruns (Abner Lennox), Joan Huntington (Mary Lennox), Arlene Martel (Erika), Arthur Malet (Doc Keyno), Florence Sundstrom (Mrs. Moore), Dort Clark (Col. Housley), Morgan Farley (Harry Holmes), Judi Sherven (Priscilla), Merri Ashley (Girl), Sharon Cintron (Secretary), Ernie Misko (Guard), Barbara Hemmingway (Lola), John Armond (Bronzini) West and Gordon attempt to track down the source of the counterfeit money that is appearing sufficient quantities to undermine the U.S. economy, all the while dodging flamethrowers and murderous lions.
66	10	"The Night of the Falcon"	Marvin Chomsky	Robert E. Kent	November 10, 1967 (1967-11-10)	069	Felice Muñez, a Spanish syndicate chief
Guest stars: Robert Duvall (Dr. Horace Humphries/The Falcon), Lisa Gaye (Lana Benson), Ted Knight (General Lassiter), Douglas Henderson (Colonel Richmond), Kurt Kreuger (Heindorf), John Alderson (Clive Marchmount), Joseph Ruskin (Muñez), George Keymas (Balya), Gene Tyburn (Felton), Lynn Wood (Woman), Michele Tobin (Bonnie), Michael Shea (Boy), William Phipps (Marshall), Warren Hammack (Soldier) West and Gordon tangle with a mysterious villain called the Falcon, who has developed giant missiles that can level entire towns.
67	11	"The Night of the Cut-throats"	Alan Crosland Jr.	Edward J. Lakso	November 17, 1967 (1967-11-17)	061	Joe, the piano player
Guest stars: Beverly Garland (Sally Yarnell), Bradford Dillman (Mike Trayne), Jackie Coogan (Sheriff Koster), Walter Burke (Mayor Cassidy), Shug Fisher (Jeremiah), Eddie Quillan (Hogan), Harry Swoger (Bartender), Lou Straley (Clerk), Quintin Sondergaard (Man), Sharon Cintron (Waiting Lady), Marilyn Hare (Lady in Stagecoach) A band of seedy cut-throats are gathering just outside the small town of New Athens and forcing the residents to leave in droves. Their leader is Michael Trayne, back in town after three years in jail. it's up to Jim and Artie to put a stop to Trayne's activities.
68	12	"The Night of the Legion of Death"	Alex Nicol	Robert C. Dennis and Earl Barret	November 24, 1967 (1967-11-24)	070	Aaron Addison, an old man who is about to die A Moroccan
Guest stars: Anthony Zerbe (Zeke Montgomery), Robert Terry (Dan Kittridge), Kent Smith (Governor Brubaker), Douglas Rowe (Attendant), James Nusser (Reeves), Toian Matchinga (Henriette Fauer), Karen Jensen (Katherine Kittridge), Alex Gerry (Judge), Bill Erwin (Jury Foreman), Walter Brooke (Prosecutor), Eli Behar (Warden), Donnelly Rhodes (Captain Dansby) West and Gordon take on a Black Legion of troops who are terrorizing a territory out west. Their leader seems to be their territorial Governor, but there is a more sinister power behind the scenes of all the illegal activities. ■Despite the title, the Governor's troops are referred to throughout as the Black Legion rather than the Legion of Death.
69	13	"The Night of the Turncoat"	James B. Clark	Teleplay: Leigh Chapman Story: Peter G. Robinson and Ron Silverman	December 1, 1967 (1967-12-01)	072	A mailcarrier A longshoreman A waiter
Guest stars: John McGiver (Elisha Calamander), Marj Dusay (Crystal Fair), Douglas Henderson (Colonel Richmond), Dick Cangey (Moke), Ron Brogan (Guard Officer), Frank Cappiello (Teller), Frederick Combs (Elevator Operator), James Driskill (Bartender), Kay Cousins Johnson (Matron), Richard Karie (Keeley), David Frank (2nd Reporter), George Sperdakos (Door Guard), John Armond (Waiter), Noel Swann (Golem), Andy Davis (Hansbury), Bebe Louie (Song), Brad Trumbull (Doctor), Walker Edmiston (Preacher) Jim's temper flares as he seems to be under stress and making many mistakes, resulting in his resignation from the Secret Service. Shortly afterwards he is recruited by some member of the underworld who seeks to capitalize on his misfortune.
70	14	"The Night of the Iron Fist"	Marvin Chomsky	Ken Pettus	December 8, 1967 (1967-12-08)	073	Count Draja
Guest stars: Mark Lenard (Count Draja), Lisa Pera (Countess Zorana), Bill Fletcher (Stark), James Gavin (Sheriff), Fred Stromsoe (Cal), Red West (Roy), Jerry Laveroni (Cass), Whitey Hughes (George), Dick Cangey (Ben), Craig Shreeve (Reporter), Wayne Heffley (Deputy), Troy Melton (Harry), Wilhelm Von Homburg (Abel), Bo Hopkins (Zack), Ross Hagen (Kelso), Ford Rainey (Garrison) Jim is assigned to escort Bosnia's Count Draja through 100 miles of no-man's land to Buffalo Springs where the count will be turned over for extradition. Meanwhile, there is the little matter of the $500,000 the Count hid somewhere in the United States, as well as a band of outlaws determined to set the Count free. ■ A must for locomotive aficionados: the train (both inside and out) has more screentime here than in any other episode, with Artie-as-Draja being transported on it as a decoy.
71	15	"The Night of the Running Death"	Gunnar Hellstrom	Edward J. Lakso	December 15, 1967 (1967-12-15)	071	Jonathan Ashley Kingston, an actor An Italian waiter
Guest stars: Oscar Beregi, Jr. (Colonel Diebolt), Laurie Burton (Alice), Tony Gange (Waiter), John Pickard (Governor Ireland), Don Rizzan (Markham), Britt Nilsson (Joan), Laurence Aten (Desk Clerk), Jerry Laveroni (El Bardhoom), Sherry Mitchell (Silva), Dante DiPaolo (Jeff Smith), Dub Taylor (Pete), Ken Del Conte (Head Guard), Jason Evers (Christopher Kohner), Maggie Thrett (Deirdre), Whitey Hughes (Thug), Karen Arthur (Gerta), T. C. Jones (Enzo/Miss Tyler) A dying man's words lead Jim and Artie to a wagon train of entertainers and an attempt on the life of a princess. This episode features the famous barroom fight scene between Robert Conrad and an uncredited Red West (as a stunt double) that included West being thrown headfirst into the corner of an upright piano - resulting in an injury to West that required 60 stitches!
72	16	"The Night of the Arrow"	Alex Nicol	Leigh Chapman	December 29, 1967 (1967-12-29)	067	Cavalry officer Jonathan Greeley A drunk A scruffy jailbird A dead Indian
Guest stars: Jeannine Riley (Aimee Baldwin), Robert Phillips (Oconee), Robert J. Wilke (Gen. Baldwin), Roy Engel (President Ulysses S. Grant), Frank Marth (Col. Rath), Logan Field (Sergeant), Paul Sorenson (Major Lock), Lew Brown (2nd Guard), William Bassett (Lt. Carter), William Massey (Jailer), Venita Wolf (Lucy), William Callaway (Sentry), Frank Cappiello (Fighter) Jim and Artie are out to find Strong Bear of the Sioux Indians, who is threatening to break the territorial peace treaty.
73	17	"The Night of the Headless Woman"	Alan Crosland Jr.	Edward J. Lakso	January 5, 1968 (1968-01-05)	074	An old sea dog
Guest stars: Theodore Marcuse (Abdul Hassan), Dawn Wells (Betsy Jeffers), Richard Anderson (Commissioner James Jeffers), John McLiam (Tucker), Steve Mitchell (Ringo), Harry Lauter (Marshal), Quintin Sondergaard (Driver), Don Rizzan (Grooves), Pepe Callahan (Jon), Marlene Tracy (Joanne), Sandra Wells (Mary), Marina Ghane (Fatima), Lou Straley (Swanson) Jim and Artie set out to find the mastermind of an operation to destroy the nation's cotton crop through the use of boll weevils.
74	18	"The Night of the Vipers"	Marvin Chomsky	Robert E. Kent	January 12, 1968 (1968-01-12)	076	Ned Buntline
Guest stars: Nick Adams (Sheriff Dave Cord), Donald Davis (Mayor Vance Beaumont), Sandra Smith (Nadine Conover), Red West (Jack Klaxton), Richard O'Brien (Sheriff Tenny), Whitey Hughes (Deputy), Clay Hodges (Boxer), Johnny Haymer (Aloysius Moriarty) Jim and Artie are out to stop a gang of ruthless crooks known as the Vipers who have been looting a string of Kansas towns, robbing banks and killing citizens. ■ Watch out for a comedy of continuity errors featuring Jim's shirt after his fight with Jack Klaxton!
75	19	"The Night of the Underground Terror"	James B. Clark	Max Hodge	January 19, 1968 (1968-01-19)	075	An Englishman Col. Mosley
Guest stars: Nehemiah Persoff (Major Hazard), Sabrina Scharf (China Hazard), Jeff Corey (Tacitus Mosely), Dick Cangey (Carter), Whitey Hughes (Steinlen), Jerry Laveroni (Quist), Red West (Maberly), Douglas Henderson (Colonel Richmond), Kenya Coburn (Madame Pompadour), Louise Lawson (Slave Girl), Terry Leonard (Cope), Gregg Martell (Cajun) During Mardi Gras in New Orleans, West is grabbed by a Major Hazard, the leader of a gang of crippled Civil War prisoners-of-war who are seeking revenge on Mosely, the camp's commandant...yet things do not turn out as they seem... ■ This episode is notable for its fight scene at the end, where Robert Conrad has clearly split his pants!
76	20	"The Night of the Death Masks"	Mike Moder	Ken Pettus	January 26, 1968 (1968-01-26)	077	Emmett Stark
Guest stars: Milton Selzer (Emmett Stark), Patricia McCormack (Betsy), Douglas Henderson (Colonel Richmond), Holly Bane (Stage Driver), Sam Edwards (Station Master), Bobbie Jordan (Fleur Fogarty), Bill Quinn (Dr. Prior), Louis Quinn (Goff), Judith McConnell (Amanda) James West is attacked and knocked unconscious. He awakens in a strange deserted town filled with assailants wearing masks in the likeness of Emmett Stark, an escaped murderer whom West had imprisoned years earlier — and now Stark wants revenge.
77	21	"The Night of the Undead"	Marvin Chomsky	Calvin Clements Jr.	February 2, 1968 (1968-02-02)	078	Beldon Scolville, Jr. Major Brainard of the Corp of Engineers
Guest stars: Hurd Hatfield (Dr. Articulus), Priscilla Morrill (Phalah), John Zaremba (Eddington), Hal Dewindt (Taro), David Fresco (Griseley), Roosevelt Grier (Tiny Jon), Dick Cangey (Guard), Marvin Brody (Player #1), Rush Williams (Player #2), Joan Delaney (Mariah Eddington), Alvenia Bentley (Creole Dancer), Joseph Perry (Bartender), Kai Hernandez (Domino) While tracking down a missing scientist Jim and Artie become involved with a voodoo ceremony and the walking dead. ■ This episode is notable for featuring the most fight scenes in an episode, a grand total of 7.
78	22	"The Night of the Amnesiac"	Lawrence Dobkin	Teleplay: Leigh Chapman Story: Robert Bloomfield	February 9, 1968 (1968-02-09)	064	Dr. Zorbi, a magician
Guest stars: Edward Asner (Furman Crotty), Sharon Farrell (Cloris Colter), Jerry Laveroni (Irish), John Kellogg (Rusty), Kevin Hagen (Silas Crotty), Gil Lamb (Claude), George Petrie (Col. Petrie), Johnny Jensen (The Boy), Jim Nolan (The Warden), Jack Rigney (The Bartender), Don Howorth (The Brute), Sebastian Tom (Masseur) Furman Crotty, a convicted criminal serving time in Leavenworth, demands his release from jail along with a full pardon in exchange for the safe return of a smallpox vaccine. Meanwhile, Jim has been injured in the attack on the stage and is struggling with amnesia. Thus, Artie must find both his friend and the vaccine before a full-scale epidemic hits.
79	23	"The Night of the Simian Terror"	Michael Caffey	Robert C. Dennis and Earl Barret	February 16, 1968 (1968-02-16)	079	Dr. Marvin Gentry
Guest stars: Dabbs Greer (Senator Seth Buckley), Grace Gaynor (Naomi Buckley), Richard Kiel (Dimas), John S. Ragin (Reverend Hastings), Felice Orlandi (Benjamin Buckley), Lori Lehman (Priscilla Hastings), H.M. Wynant (Aaron), Gabriel Walsh (Farmer), James Gavin (Fletcher), Ben Aliza (Caleb), John Abbott (Dr. Von Liebeg), George D. Barrows (Johann) Jim and Artie visit the plantation of a U.S. Senator who has a mysterious family past that involved a scientist's experiments with apes ... and there is also the secret of one of the senator's sons. . ■ Prior to this episode, Richard Kiel had appeared in three first season episodes as Voltaire, the assistant to Dr. Loveless.
80	24	"The Night of the Death-Maker"	Irving J. Moore	Robert E. Kent	February 23, 1968 (1968-02-23)	080	Claude Assir Renard, a French wine expert Ulysses S. Grant
Guest stars: Wendell Corey (Cullen Dane), Angel Tompkins (Marcia Dennison), Roy Engel (President Grant), Arthur Batanides (Sergeant), Nicky Blair (Monk), Michael Fox (Gillespie), Charles Lampkin (Clerk), Joe Lansden (Secret Service Man/Charlie), Britt Nillsson (Girl #1), Gale Warren (Girl #2), J. Pat O'Malley (Brother Angelo) West and Gordon foil an assassination attempt on President Grant. The weapon used in the attempt was one stolen in recent raids on government and territorial armories. ■This is the last episode to have an episode-specific artwork behind the end credits.

Season Four: 1968–1969

Due to his injury near the end of filming of the previous season, the fourth season of The Wild Wild West forced Robert Conrad to use a double for any stunt that the studio considered "chancy." Unfortunately, the fourth season proved unlucky for co-star Ross Martin. On June 26, 1968, during filming of "The Night of the Avaricious Actuary" Martin fell and received a hairline fracture in his shin. As a result, the script for the next episode filmed, "The Night of the Juggernaut", was re-written to have Martin's character, Artemus Gordon, receive a leg injury. A far more serious event befell Martin later on in the course of the season's filming. On August 17 of the same year he suffered a massive heart attack. A five-week hiatus in filming had just begun, but Martin's recovery time was much longer. Producer Bruce Lansbury had no choice but again have rewrites of the scripts. Ten episodes were filmed without Martin although he continued to have co-star billing in the opening credits. The absence of his character was explained as being on "special assignment" in Washington. For one of these episodes, "The Night of the Tycoons", James West operated solo. For the remaining nine episodes West worked with other agents. These were:

• Charles Aidman as Jeremy Pike (season episodes 10, 12, 13, & 18)
• William Schallert as Frank Harper (season episodes 15 & 16)
• Alan Hale, Jr. as Ned Brown (season episode 17)
• John Williams as Sir Nigel Scott (season episode 21)

Ross Martin returned to filming for the final three episodes of the season, which also turned out to be the last episodes of the entire series. The Wild Wild West was cancelled after four seasons, possibly due to declining ratings (it again did not place among the top 25), but also possibly due to a crack-down on programs with excessive violence.

During this season, Ross Martin received an Emmy nomination for leading actor in a drama series. All of the fourth season episodes were produced by Bruce Lansbury. As in the third season, Michael Dunn made only one appearance as Dr. Loveless in this season.

Series #	Season #	Title	Director(s)	Writer(s)	Airdate	Production code	Artie's disguises
81	1	"The Night of the Big Blackmail"	Irving J. Moore	David Moessinger	September 27, 1968 (1968-09-27)	086	Hans, the German cook President Grant
Guest stars: Harvey Korman (Baron Hinterstoisser), Ron Rich (Dick January), Jerry Laveroni (Ziegler), Roy Engel (President Ulysses S. Grant), Wilhelm von Homburg (Herr Hess), Gilchrist Stuart (Gruber), Martin Kosleck (Count Hackmar), Alice Nunn (Hilda) In Washington the German Consul, Baron Hinterstoisser, announces that he has something very interesting for President Grant to see. West and Gordon find that it is a kinetoscope showing Grant (actually a double) signing a secret agreement with the representative of an enemy nation. Hinterstoisser shows the kinetescope before an attentive crowd but, thanks to West and Gordon, it's not quite what he expects. ■Originally called "The Night of the Deadly Blades", a more fitting title - there's no blackmail in the plot, but Jim and Artie are indeed in danger of being ground to a pulp by bladed rolls at one point.
82	2	"The Night of the Doomsday Formula"	Irving J. Moore	Samuel Newman	October 4, 1968 (1968-10-04)	082	Dr. Crane Mr. Ortuglo, Arab dealer in exotic weapontry
Guest stars: Kevin McCarthy (Major General Walter Kroll), Melinda Plowman (Lorna Crane), Gail Billings (Verna Scott), E.J. André (Dr. Crane), Vince Howard (Bartender), Dick Cangey (1st Guard), Fred Stromsoe (2nd Guard), Red West (3rd Guard), Tommy J. Huff (4th Guard) West and Gordon are assigned to rescue Dr. Crane and his daughter. The doctor has invented a new "doomsday formula" which could spell the end of the United States if it falls into the wrong hands.
83	3	"The Night of the Juggernaut"	Irving J. Moore	Calvin Clements Jr.	October 11, 1968 (1968-10-11)	089	Ellsworth Caldwell, a wealthy Texas gentleman
Guest stars: Floyd Patterson (Lyle Dixon), Gloria Calomee (Lonie Millard), Simon Scott (Theodore Beck), Fred Stromsoe (Hardcase), Peter Hale (Harwood), Byron Foulger (County Clerk), Bart La Rue (Storekeeper), Irving Mosley (Farmer #2), Evelyn Dutton (Nurse #1), Stardedt Kaava (Nurse #2), Stuart Nisbet (Farmer #1), Wild Bill Reynolds (Geezer) Someone is trying to run settlers off their land, buying some of them out, scaring others away, and even murdering those who refuse to leave. An interesting connection between this episode and "The Night of the Golden Cobra" - in both, Simon Scott portrays a man who is obsessed with acquiring land after learning that there is oil beneath it.
84	4	"The Night of the Sedgewick Curse"	Marvin Chomsky	Paul Playdon	October 18, 1968 (1968-10-18)	091	Colonel Doyle of the British Army (retired) A Frenchman
Guest stars: Sharon Acker (Lavinia Sedgewick), Richard Hale (Sedgewick), Maria Lennard (Jessica), Jay Robinson (Dr. Maitland), Arthur Space (Redmond), Frank Campanella (Fingers the Masseur), Gene LeBell (Felix), Kathryn Minner (Old Lady/Aged Lavinia), Red West (Man #1), Dick Cangey (Man #2), Arthur Adams (Desk Clerk #1/Hiram), Lee Weaver (Desk Clerk #2), William Challee (Prisoner #1), Tommy J. Huff (Man #3), Anthony Jochim (Prisoner #3), Brian Nash (Boy) West and Gordon come upon the Sedgewick family, whose members have experienced rapid aging. In an attempt to cure this disorder, their family physician has been kidnapping people afflicted with the same disorder and using them to test a serum he has prepared.
85	5	"The Night of the Gruesome Games"	Marvin Chomsky	Jackson Gillis	October 25, 1968 (1968-10-25)	087	Dr. Raker A saddle bum Rufus Kraus
Guest stars: Robert Ellenstein (Dr. Theobald Raker), William Schallert (Rufus Kraus), Sherry Jackson (Lola Cortez), Robert Patten (Dr. DeForest), Ludmila (Ballerina), Helen Page Camp (Charity), Ken Drake (General Crocker), I. Stanford Jolley (Town Doctor), Reggie Nalder (Count Zendar), Jacquelyn Hyde (Marquesia Bellini), Astrid Warner (Gilda Novak), Gregg Palmer (Bartender), Adolph Caesar (Vidoq), Lee Kolima (No-Fun) West and Gordon are after an evil scientist who has stolen a vial filled with deadly germs, which they must recover before the vial bursts and causes a devastating plague. However, they are sidetracked in the home of Rufus Kraus and are pulled into a night of deadly parlor games.
86	6	"The Night of the Kraken"	Michael Caffey	Stephen Kandel	November 1, 1968 (1968-11-01)	090	A Portuguese fisherman A workman A Swedish repairman
Guest stars: Ford Rainey (Admiral Charles Hammond), Marj Dusay (Dolores Hammond), Ted Knight (Daniel), Jason Evers (Commander Beech), Anthony Caruso (Jose Aguila), Bill Baldwin (Workman), Larry Grant (Aide), Gregg Martell (Bartender #1), Claudio Miranda (Bartender #2), Brent Davis (Lt. Dave Bartlett) In San Francisco, Jim and Artie's friend, Lt. Bartlett, is killed, apparently the victim of a strange tentacled sea creature. It soon becomes apparent to them that an insidious threat is behind Bartlett's killing.
87	7	"The Night of the Fugitives"	Mike Moder (and Gunnar Hellstrom, uncredited)	Ken Pettus	November 8, 1968 (1968-11-08)	081	Hallelujah Harry
Guest stars: Simon Oakland (Diamond Dave Desmond), Susan Hart (Rhoda), Charles McGraw (Baggs), Douglas Henderson (Colonel Richmond), J.S. Johnson (Norbert Plank), Mickey Hargitay (Monk), Gabriel Walsh (Shopkeeper), Bill Baldwin (Hallelujah Harry), Larry Duran (Mexican), Sid McCoy (Tod Warner), A.G. Vitanza (Grady) Jim travels to the town of Epitaph to arrest Norbert Plank, the chief bookkeeper for the corrupt and powerful syndicate that owns the town's mining company. Through Plank, the agents stand to get hold of valuable records about the syndicate's illegal activities. ■ This episode was originally planned for the third season. However, Robert Conrad was seriously injured when he fell from a chandelier while filming a fight scene. Production was shut down and not resumed until the following season, by which time Conrad had recovered. The shot of the fall appears in this episode. (Gunnar Hellstrom directed until the shutdown, after which Mike Moder directed the rest of the episode and received sole credit.)
88	8	"The Night of the Egyptian Queen"	Marvin Chomsky	Paul Playdon	November 15, 1968 (1968-11-15)	083	Captain Hull, formerly of her Majesty's frigate, the Northcumberland
Guest stars: Tom Troupe (Jason Starr), William Marshall (Amalek), Sorrell Booke (Heisel), Penny Gaston (Rosie), Gene Tyburn (Gambler), Morgan Farley (Curator), Hal K. Dawson (Ferret), Walter Brooke (Finley), Kanan Awni (Waiter), Jim and Artie are on the trail of a priceless ruby has been stolen from the eye of the statue of Sun God, Ra, at the San Francisco museum. Their trail leads them to Rosie, a beautiful young dancer, who is wearing the ruby on her toe.
89	9	"The Night of Fire and Brimstone"	Bernard McEveety	Teleplay: Joel Kane and Milton Smith Story: Palmer Thompson	November 22, 1968 (1968-11-22)	092	The elderly Dr. Crane General Robert E. Lee
Guest stars: Robert Phillips (Frank Roach), Bill Quinn (Dr. Emmet Sloane), Leslie Charleson (Dooley Sloane), Dabbs Greer (Captain Lyman Butler), John Crawford (Prof. Philip Colecrest), Charles Macaulay (Zach Morton), Dick Cangey (Rusty), Fred Stromsoe (Lefty), Red West (Chuck), Tommy J. Huff (Pete), Ken Mayer (Hannon) West and Gordon come to the deserted mining town of Brimstone to meet Professor Colecrest, who has made a very important discovery. Their adventures lead them into the underground mines where strange things occur, including an encounter with an aged Confederate soldier who is unaware that the war ended many years before. ■ This was the last episode filmed before Ross Martin's heart attack.
90	10	"The Night of the Camera"	Marvin Chomsky	Ken Pettus	November 29, 1968 (1968-11-29)	094	(None — Ross Martin does not appear in this episode)
Guest stars: Charles Aidman (Jeremy Pike), Pat Paulsen (Bosley Cranston), Julio Medina (Don Carlos), Victor Sen Yung (Baron Kyosai), Walker Edmiston (Langham), Barry Atwater (Gideon Stix) Agents West and Pike are on the trail of an opium gang. They receive some dubious help from Bosley Cranston, a meek and seemingly incompetent agent on his first field assignment. However, Cranston has some special talents that will prove invaluable. ■ Ross Martin does not appear in this episode, as he was recovering from a heart attack at the time of its filming. In his place is Charles Aidman, in the first of four appearances as Jeremy Pike.
91	11	"The Night of the Avaricious Actuary"	Irving J. Moore	Henry Sharp	December 6, 1968 (1968-12-06)	088	Salvadore, a waiter An old gas man
Guest stars: Harold Gould (John Taney), Jenny Maxwell (Billie), Ross Elliott (General Caswell), Emily Banks (Arden Masterson), Steve Gravers (Durkin), Tol Avery (Asa Dempster), Lou Krugman (Hotel maitre d' ), Fritz Feld (Chef), Judi Sherven (Cora Lister), Sharon Cintron (Girl #1), Linda Cooper (Girl #2), Barbara Hemmingway (Fat Lady), Bennett King (Fat Man #2), Frank Simonetti (Fat Man #1), Jack Spratt (Fat Man #3), Ray Dawe (Fat Man #4) West and Gordon investigate a series of explosions that have destroyed several palatial homes. They discover that the destruction is being caused by a giant tuning fork radiating powerful sound waves. ■ Ross Martin was injured while filming the shooting gallery climax where he appears in disguise as a gas man, and a stand-in actor replaced him (from his entrance until they leave the room in act 4 when Martin returns). Unfortunately the stand-in is introduced in extreme close-up before the third act commercial break, and it's more than obvious that it's not Ross Martin...
92	12	"The Night of Miguelito's Revenge"	James B. Clark	Jerry Thomas	December 13, 1968 (1968-12-13)	093	(None — Ross Martin does not appear in this episode)
Guest stars: Charles Aidman (Jeremy Pike), Michael Dunn (Dr. Miguelito Loveless), Douglas Henderson (Colonel Richmond), Peter Hale (Chris), Susan Seaforth Hayes (Delilah), Arthur Batanides (Pylo), Jim Shane (Tiny), Don Pedro Colley (Abbie Carter), Percy Helton (newsstand proprietor), Byron Morrow (Judge Fairlie), Linda Chandler (Lynn Carstairs), Walter Coy (Cyrus Barlow), Peter Bruni (Ivan Kalinkovitch), Johnny S. Luer (Biff Trout), Roy Barcroft (Sheriff), Dort Clark (Theater Manager), Paul Barselou (Storekeeper), Mary Esther Denver (Lady Barber), Wendy Douglas (Saloon Girl), David Montresor (Butler), Margueritte Ray (Mrs Carter) West is joined by Jeremy Pike in this tenth encounter with Dr. Loveless. This time around the doctor is behind a series of kidnappings. His victims are all people he felt had wronged him in the past and now he is plotting his revenge. ■ This is the final Doctor Loveless episode and the only one from season four.
93	13	"The Night of the Pelican"	Alex Nicol	Richard Landau	December 27, 1968 (1968-12-27)	095	(None — Ross Martin does not appear in this episode)
Guest stars: Charles Aidman (Jeremy Pike), Khigh Dhiegh (Din Chang), Francine York (Dr. Sara Gibson), Vincent Beck (Corporal Simon), Lou Cutell (Maj. Frederick Frey), Andre Phillippe (Jean-Paul), Debbie Wong (Kuei), Linda Ho (Chinese Girl #2), James Shen (Quen Yung), Buck Kartalian (Lt. Bengston), Lorna Denels (Jeanne), Holly Mascott (Molly), John Creamer (Col. Kelton Morse), Tommy Lee (Ancient Puppeteer), Ernest Harada (Chinese Man #1), Jonathan Brooks (Sergeant), John Quade (Man), Dirk Harvey (Guard #1), Ellaraino (Amy) West and Pike are on the trail of a stolen a supply of fulminate of mercury from a military arsenal. Their trail leads to the prison at Alcatraz, which has been taken over by the evil Din Chang. ■ The title refers to Alcatraz itself - as Pike tells us, "Alcatraz is Spanish for pelican!"
94	14	"The Night of the Spanish Curse"	Paul Stanley	Robert E. Kent	January 3, 1969 (1969-01-03)	085	A young Mexican An old Mexican
Guest stars: Thayer David (Cortez), Toian Matchinga (Cosina Ramirez), Jorge Moreno (Proprietor), Lou Peralta (Conquistador #1), Fred Stromsoe (Conquistador #2), Joe Pepi (Guard #1), Fred Villani (Morales), Jon Lormer (2nd Elder), Gil Serna (Fernandez), Ted de Corsia (1st Elder), Pepe Callahan (Captain Rojas), Richard Angarola (Allesandro), Edward Colmans (Juan Ramirez) West and Gordon investigate a group of bandits who are attacking and terrorizing border towns. They track the bandits to a Mexican village where the thieves are hiding under the guise of an old Mexican legend about Cortez. Jim and Artie, not believing in the return of the god Cortez, are determined to find their way into the dormant volcano where the thugs are hiding.
95	15	"The Night of the Winged Terror — Part I"	Marvin Chomsky	Ken Pettus	January 17, 1969 (1969-01-17)	097	(None — Ross Martin does not appear in this episode)
Guest stars: William Schallert (Frank Harper), Robert Ellenstein (Dr. Occularis Second), Michele Carey (Laurette), Christopher Cary (Tycho), Jackie Coogan (Mayor Cecil Pudney), Bernard Fox (Dr. Occularis-Jones), Roy Engel (President Grant), Valentin de Vargas (Chaveros), Harry Lauter (Sheriff), Vic Perrin (Prof. Simon Winkler), Norman Leavitt (Mayor Hiram Sneed), Ron Pinkard (Deputy), James Milton George (Judd Brass), Chuck Waters (Tom Brass), Chuck Courtney (Zack Brass), Lillian Lehman (Secretary), Dorothy Neumann (Zenobia Finch) Agents West and Harper investigate a series of disturbing incidents involving a raven that hypnotizes high-ranking officials into committing crimes. The incidents lead the two agents to "The Raven", group led by Thaddeus Toombs and a man called Tycho. ■ The only two-part adventure in the series featured William Schallert as a substitute for Ross Martin, who was still recovering from a heart attack at the time this was filmed.
96	16	"The Night of the Winged Terror — Part II"	Marvin Chomsky	Ken Pettus	January 24, 1969 (1969-01-24)	098	(None — Ross Martin does not appear in this episode)
Guest stars: William Schallert (Frank Harper), Robert Ellenstein (Dr. Occularis Second), Michele Carey (Laurette), Christopher Cary (Tycho), John Harding (Toombs), Valentin de Vargas (Chaveros), Vic Perrin (Prof. Simon Winkler), Roy Engel (President Grant), Frank Sorello (Ambassador Ramirez), Rico Alaniz (Mexican Agent), Julio Medina (Townsman), Zack McWiggins (Agent #1), James McEachin (Agent #2), Peter Hale (Agent #3), Don Ross (Agent #4), Jeraldo deCordovier (Peon), Lisa Todd (Bonnie), Lillian Lehman (Secretary), Annette Molen (Virginia) (Note: Jackie Coogan, Vic Perrin. Lillian Lehman and Roy Engel only appear in the part 1 recap that replaces the usual pre-credits teaser.) Still battling "The Raven", Frank Harper rescues the hypnotized Jim West from assassinating the Mexican Ambassador. West and Harper then continue to infiltrate, undermine, and bring the group to justice. ■ While part one was the last episode to receive an original score (by Robert Prince), part two features tracked-in music from part one and other episodes. This episode, "The Night of the Bleak Island" and "The Night of the Cossacks" also contain tracked-in cues originally written for Hawaii Five-O!
97	17	"The Night of the Sabatini Death"	Charles R. Rondeau	Shirl Hendryx	February 7, 1969 (1969-02-07)	099	(None — Ross Martin does not appear in this episode)
Guest stars: Alan Hale, Jr. (Ned Brown), Jill Townsend (Sylvia Nolan), Bethel Leslie (Melanie/Laura Samples), Jim Backus (Swanson), Don "Red" Barry (Farnsworth/Harry Boorman), Douglas Henderson (Colonel Richmond), Eddie Quillan (Snidley), Ben Wright (Clarence), Ted de Corsia (Johnny Sabatini), Thomas A. Geas (Sheriff Chayne), Red West (Heavy #1), Dick Cangey (Heavy #2) After meeting with the crime czar Sabatini, Jim and fellow agent Ned Brown travel to Calliope, Missouri, where an Army finance officer died after stealing $500,000. ■ This episode features a "Gilligan's Island" in-joke in the tag as well as guest appearances from Alan Hale, Jr. as department chemist/agent Brown and Jim Backus as funeral director Swanson. However, it was by no means the first link to the uncharted desert isle on "The Wild Wild West" - the series had previously borrowed the "Gilligan's Island" lagoon for episodes like "The Night of the Murderous Spring" and "The Night of the Bottomless Pit", and Dawn Wells played Betsy in "The Night of the Headless Woman." In "The Night of the Bleak Island" The teaser showing the boat in a storm was also used in the teaser for Gilligan's Island!
98	18	"The Night of the Janus"	Irving J. Moore	Teleplay: Leonard Katzman Story: Paul Playdon	February 14, 1969 (1969-02-14)	096	(None — Ross Martin does not appear in this episode)
Guest stars: Charles Aidman (Jeremy Pike), Jack Carter (Alan Thorpe), Anthony Eisley (Warren Blessing), Jackie DeShannon (Torrey), Arthur Malet (Prof. Montague), Nicky Blair (Thompson), Benny Rubin (Janus), Vince Barnett (Swanson), Mark Allen (Instructor), Gail Billings (Myra Bates), Bill Monemaker (Thomas), Ron Heller (Wallace), James Ryan (Stevens), Bonnie Hughes (Linda), Walter Kelley (Mint Guard), Bob Dodson (Hardcase), Anthony Aiello (Messenger), Tony Gange (Williams) A melody holds the clue that agents West and Pike need to trap a departmental traitor. ■ This is the fourth and final episode to feature Charles Aidman as Jeremy Pike.
99	19	"The Night of the Pistoleros"	Bernard McEveety	Robert C. Dennis and Earl Barret	February 21, 1969 (1969-02-21)	084	General Rodell
Guest stars: Edward Binns (Colonel Roper), Robert Pine (Lt. Murray), Henry Wilcoxon (Armando Galiano), Perry Lopez (Sanchos), Richard O'Brien (Sgt. Charlie Tobin), Eugene Iglesias (Bernal), William O'Connell (Dr. Winterich), John Pickard (Duty Sergeant), Daniel Ades (Lopez), Jay Jostyn (Major), Sarita Vara (Mariana), Joe Raciti (Barman) West and Gordon head to a lonely outpost where they battle a terrorist gang. The closing scene aboard the train was filmed after Ross Martin's return from his heart attack, as Artie's and Jim's hairstyles are different than those in the rest of the episode.
100	20	"The Night of the Diva"	Herb Wallerstein	Teleplay: Ken Pettus Story: Alf Harris	March 7, 1969 (1969-03-07)	102	Count Vladislav de Raja
Guest stars: Patrice Munsel (Rosa Montebello), Patrick Horgan (Max Crenshaw), Beverly Todd (Angelique), Douglas Henderson (Colonel Richmond), Martin Kosleck (Igor), Patricia Dunne (Ellen Collingwood), Lester Fletcher (Karl Crenshaw), Geraldine Baron (Caroline Mason), Margery MacKay (First Diva), Jorge Ben-Hur (Bartender), Khalil Bezaleel (Deluc), David Constantine (Messenger) West and Gordon investigate the recent disappearance of several opera divas in New Orleans. While there they unravel a plot involving the secret Order of Lucia and also reveal who among their new acquaintances is playing a role on and off the stage. ■ After recovering from his heart attack, Ross Martin returned to filming with this episode.
101	21	"The Night of the Bleak Island"	Marvin Chomsky	Robert E. Kent	March 14, 1969 (1969-03-14)	100	(None — Ross Martin does not appear in this episode)
Guest stars: John Williams (Sir Nigel Scott), Beverly Garland (Celia Rydell), Richard Erdman (Mordecai Krone), Robert H. Harris (Steven Rydell), Lorna Lewis (Helen Merritt), Jon Lormer (Boatman), Pat O'Hara (Jarvis), Jana Taylor (Alicia Crane), Christian Anderson (Servant #2), Gene Tyburn (Mark Chambers), James Westerfield (McAvity), Yvonne Shubert (Girl) To get a diamond for the National Museum, West travels to an eerie island supposedly haunted by a mad dog. While there he becomes reacquainted with an old friend, British detective Sir Nigel Scott. ■ This story was largely a reworking of The Hound of the Baskervilles. Like "The Night of the Winged Terror, Part 2", music from Hawaii Five-O is heard in this episode (notably Jim's fight towards the end). As proof that turnabout is fair play, cues from Richard Shores's score for "The Night of the Sedgewick Curse" can be heard in Hawaii Five-O's "Face of the Dragon". ■ The boat in the opening storm scene is reused footage from the intro to Gilligan's Island. (‘’ The weather started getting rough, the tiny ship was tossed...‘’ ).
102	22	"The Night of the Cossacks"	Mike Moder	Oliver Crawford	March 21, 1969 (1969-03-21)	104	A Russian peasant
Guest stars: Guy Stockwell (Prince Gregor), John van Dreelen (Count Balkovitch), Donnelly Rhodes (Captain Zaboff), Nina Foch (Duchess Sophia), Jennifer Douglas (Princess Lina), Aliza Gur (Maria), Oscar Beregi, Jr. (Petrovsky), Ivan Triesault (Bishop Kucharyk), Norman Leavitt (Sheriff Corby), Luis de Córdova (Priest), Kay Vojkovic (Serving Girl), Sonny Klein (Sorkhev), Nikita Kranz (Grobe), Tim Burns (Cossack #1), Michael Kriss (Cossack #2) West and Gordon become involved in the affairs of the royal family of Karovnia who have traveled to the United States after fleeing from assassins in their homeland. The agents find themselves pursued by the evil Count Balkovitch, who is looking for an icon he needs to possess in order to hold power in Karovnia. ■ The last episode filmed for the series. In an interesting coincidence, the pilot episode features Suzanne Pleshette (Bob Newhart's TV wife in the 1970s), and the final episode produced features Mary Frann (billed here as Jennifer Douglas), who played Bob Newhart's TV wife in the 1980s. This episode is also notable, unfortunately, for the most shameless reuse of footage in the series - Jim's predicament at the end of act 2/beginning of act 3 (being trapped on the crumbling ledge of a pit) is taken directly from "The Night of the Arrow", only with Jeannine Riley edited out!
103	23	"The Night of the Tycoons"	Mike Moder	Teleplay: Louis Vittes Story: Barney Slater	March 28, 1969 (1969-03-28)	101	(None — Ross Martin does not appear in this episode)
Guest stars: Jo Van Fleet (Amelia Bronston), Joanie Sommers (Kyra Vanders), Steve Carlson (Lionel), Tommy J. Huff (Clown Thug), Dick Cangey (Clown Thug), Red West (Clown Thug), Tol Avery (Gorhan), Richard O'Brien (Van Cleve), Lee Duncan (Bartender), E.A. Sirianni (O'Brien), Milton Parsons (Kessel), Nelson Welch (Board Member #5), Virginia Peters (Matron), Mary Garcia (Honey), Mike Mahoney (Head Guard), Buff Brady (Butler), Jerry Mann (Board member #6), Cal Currens (Businessman), Michelle Breeze (Melanie), Kelly Shannon (Girl) West discovers that several members of the Jupiter Corporation have recently died. All were involved in a scheme to dump stock, cause a panic, and make tons of money off of the cheap stock.
104	24	"The Night of the Plague"	Irving J. Moore	Teleplay: Frank Moss Story: Edward Adamson	April 4, 1969 (1969-04-04)	103	Kevin Kemball, an actor
Guest stars: Lana Wood (Averi Trent), William Bryant (Duncan Lansing), Douglas Henderson (Colonel Richmond), Cliff Norton (Drummer), John Hoyt (Guild), Bill Zuckert (Sheriff), James Lanphier (Malcolm), Eddie Firestone (Stillis), Pilar Del Rey (Mexican Matron), Wayne Cochran (Stacey), Steve Raines (Ben), Dan Cass (Olin), Doug Pence (Stagehand), Artt Frank (Drunk Actor), Edward LeVeque (Mexican Peasant), Tyler McVey (Doctor), Flora Plumb (Saloon Girl #1), Jacqueline J. Sayls (Saloon Girl #2), Conrad Falk (Donald, Averi's fiance – who is not at all like Jim West) West deals with the kidnapping of the Governor's daughter while Gordon rushes to find Jim to inoculate him from the disease one of the criminals was carrying. ■ The scene where Jim lowers himself via one of his gadgets in a bid to rescue Averi relies heavily on footage from "The Night of Jack O'Diamonds."

Reunion movies

Ten years after the cancellation of The Wild Wild West Robert Conrad and Ross Martin reunited and reprised their respective roles as government agents James West and Artemus Gordon in a television reunion film, The Wild Wild West Revisited. This film proved to be one of CBS' highest rated specials of the year, thus warranting a second reunion film, More Wild Wild West. The second film, however, proved less successful.

These two reunion movies were produced by Robert Jacks and directed by Burt Kennedy and are notably more comical than the original series.

Series #	Season #	Title	Director	Writer	Broadcast
105	TVM	"The Wild Wild West Revisited"	Burt Kennedy	William Bowers	May 9, 1979 (1979-05-09)
Guest star: Paul Williams (Dr. Miguelito Loveless, Jr.), Harry Morgan (Robert T. "Skinny" Malone), Jo Ann Harris (Carmelita Loveless), Trisha Noble (Penelope Devaraux, British Intelligence), Jeff MacKay (Hugo Kaufman), Susan Blu (Gabrielle Jackson), Robert Shields (Alan — Miguelito's $600 bionic man), Lorene Yarnell (Sonia — Miguelito's $600 bionic woman), René Auberjonois (Captain Sir David Edney) In 1885, former agents James West and Artemus Gordon are called out of retirement by the secret service to battle Miguelito Loveless, Jr., the son of their old nemesis, who has developed an atomic bomb and also managed to replace the crowned heads of England, Spain, and Russia with exact duplicates who are under his control.
106	TVM	"More Wild Wild West"	Burt Kennedy	William Bowers (credit on some prints: "Teleplay by William Bowers and Tony Kayden; Story by William Bowers")	October 7 & 8, 1980 (two parts)
Guest star: Victor Buono (Dr. Henry Messenger), Jonathan Winters (Albert Paradine Second), René Auberjonois (Colonel Sir David Edney), Avery Schreiber (Russian Ambassador), Dave Madden (German Ambassador), Liz Torres (Juanita), Candi Brough (Daphne), Randi Brough (Yvonne), Harry Morgan (Robert T. "Skinny" Malone), Hector Elias (Spanish Ambassador), Gino Conforti (French Ambassador), Joe Alfasa (Italian Ambassador) In 1890 West and Gordon again come out of retirement to defeat Professor Albert Paradine II, a brilliant madman who seeks world power with weapons of doom.

Emmy Awards

During its four-year run The Wild Wild West received three Emmy nominations:

Emmy Awards
Year	Film	Result	Award	Category
1965	Ted Voightlander for The Wild Wild West Episode: "The Night of the Howling Light"	Nominated	Primetime Emmy Award	Best Cinematography
1967	Agnes Moorehead for The Wild Wild West Episode: "The Night of the Vicious Valentine"	Won	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Supporting Actress – Drama series
1969	Ross Martin for The Wild Wild West	Nominated	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actor – Drama series

Producers

The Wild Wild West had six different producers during the course of its four-season run, plus a seventh for the two reunion movies. A breakdown of the episodes and their producers appears in the chart below.

Producer	Season				TVM	Total
	One	Two	Three	Four
Gene L. Coon	7	0	0	0	0	7
Fred Freiberger	10	0	0	0	0	10
Michael Garrison	3	7	0	0	0	10
Robert Jacks	0	0	0	0	2	2
Bruce Lansbury	0	21	24	24	0	69
John Mantley	7	0	0	0	0	7
Collier Young	3	0	0	0	0	3
Total	28	28	24	24	2	106

Directors

The Wild Wild West employed a large number of directors during its run, with Irving J. Moore directing the most episodes (25 total).

Of note is that three episodes were directed by William Witney, who had co-directed many "cliffhangers" during the 1930s and 1940s, including Zorro Rides Again, The Lone Ranger, and The Adventures of Captain Marvel. Also among the series directors are Mark Rydell (who would go on to direct On Golden Pond with Katharine Hepburn, Henry Fonda, and Jane Fonda) and Richard Donner (later to direct The Omen, Superman, and the Lethal Weapon series).

Director	Season				TVM	Total
	One	Two	Three	Four
Justin Addiss	1	0	0	0	0	1
Leon Benson	0	1	0	0	0	1
Michael Caffrey	0	0	2	1	0	3
Marvin Chomsky	0	0	4	7	0	11
James B. Clark	0	0	3	1	0	4
Alan Crosland, Jr.	1	7	4	0	0	12
Edwin Dein	2	0	0	0	0	2
Lawrence Dobkin	0	0	1	0	0	1
Richard Donner	2	1	0	0	0	3
Alvin Ganzer	1	0	0	0	0	1
Harvey Hart	1	0	0	0	0	1
Gunner Hellstrom	0	0	2	0	0	2
Jesse Hibbs	0	1	0	0	0	1
Lee H. Katzin	1	0	0	0	0	1
Lou Katzman	1	0	0	0	0	1
Burt Kennedy	0	0	0	0	2	2
Bernie Kowalski	1	0	0	0	0	1
Sherman Marks	0	1	0	0	0	1
Bernard McEveety	0	0	0	2	0	2
Mike Moder	0	0	1	3	0	4
Irving J. Moore	7	7	5	6	0	25
Alex Nicol	0	0	2	1	0	3
Lawrence Peerce	0	1	0	0	0	1
Charles R. Rondeau	0	3	0	1	0	4
Mark Rydell	1	0	0	0	0	1
Richard Sarafinan	2	0	0	0	0	2
Ralph Senensky	1	1	0	0	0	2
Robert Sparr	0	5	0	0	0	5
Paul Stanley	0	0	0	1	0	1
Don Taylor	2	0	0	0	0	2
Herb Wallerstein	0	0	0	1	0	1
Paul Wedkos	1	0	0	0	0	1
Richard Whorf	1	0	0	0	0	1
William Witney	2	0	0	0	0	2
Total	28	28	24	24	2	106

Guest stars

During its run, The Wild Wild West featured a large number of notable guest stars. Many of these guests also appeared on Star Trek. These actors and the titles to the episodes of both series that they appeared in are listed below. A video montage of some of these performance can be found on YouTube.

Actor	The Wild Wild West	Star Trek
John Abbott	The Night of the Simian Terror	Errand of Mercy
Sharon Acker	The Night of the Sedgewick Curse	The Mark of Gideon
Larry Anthony	The Night of the Tartar	Dagger of the Mind
Barry Atwater	The Night of the Camera	The Savage Curtain
Emily Banks	The Night of the Avaricious Actuary	Shore Leave
Arthur Batanides	The Night of the Death-Maker The Night of the Gypsy Peril The Night of Miguelito's Revenge The Night of the Dancing Death	That Which Survives
Eli Behar	The Night of the Legion of Death	Dagger of the Mind
Lee Bergere	The Night of the Colonel's Ghost	The Savage Curtain
Alan Bergmann	The Night of the Ready-Made Corpse	The Empath
Antoinette Bower	The Night of the Sudden Death	Catspaw
Kathie Browne	The Night of the Human Trigger The Night of the Colonel's Ghost	Wink of an Eye
William Campbell	The Night of the Freebooters	The Squire of Gothos The Trouble With Tribbles
Fred Carson	The Night of the Bottomless Pit	Operation: Annihilate!
Anthony Caruso	The Night Dr. Loveless Died The Night of the Green Terror The Night of the Kraken	A Piece of the Action
Paul Comi	The Night of the Circus of Death The Night of the Ready-Made Corpse	Balance of Terror
Elisha Cook, Jr.	The Night of the Double-Edged Knife The Night of the Bars of Hell	Court Martial
Jeff Corey	The Night of the Thousand Eyes The Night of the Underground Terror	The Cloud Minders
Chuck Courtney	The Night of the Death Masks The Night of the Winged Terror	Patterns of Force
Yvonne Craig	The Night of the Grand Emir	Whom Gods Destroy
John Crawford	The Night of Fire and Brimstone	The Galileo Seven
Maryesther Denver	The Night of Miguelito's Revenge	Catspaw
Lee Duncan	The Night of the Tycoons	Elaan of Troyius
Michael Dunn	The Night the Wizard Shook the Earth The Night That Terror Stalked the Town The Night of the Whirring Death The Night of the Murderous Spring The Night of the Raven The Night of the Green Terror The Night of the Surreal McCoy The Night of the Bogus Bandits The Night Dr. Loveless Died The Night of Miguelito's Revenge	Plato's Stepchildren
Marj Dusay	The Night of the Kraken The Night of the Turncoat	Spock's Brain
Jason Evers	The Night of the Kraken The Night of the Running Death	Wink of an Eye
Morgan Farley	The Night of the Circus of Death The Night of the Golden Cobra	The Return of the Archons The Omega Glory
Brioni Farrell	The Night of the Brain	The Return of the Archons
Paul Fix	The Night of the Green Terror The Night of the Hangman	Where No Man Has Gone Before
James Gregory	The Night of the Inferno	Dagger of the Mind
John Harmon	The Night of the Infernal Machine	The City on the Edge of Forever A Piece of the Action
Johnny Haymer	The Night of the Vipers	All Our Yesterdays
Robert Herron	The Night of the Skulls	The Menagerie The Savage Curtain
Marianna Hill	The Night of the Bogus Bandits	Dagger of the Mind
Patrick Horgan	The Night of the Diva	Patterns of Force
Vince Howard	The Night of the Cadre	The Man Trap
John Hoyt	The Night of the Plague The Night of the Puppeteer	The Menagerie
Sherry Jackson	The Night of the Gruesome Games The Night of the Vicious Valentine	What Are Little Girls Made Of?
Anthony Jochim	The Night of the Sedgewick Curse	The Menagerie
Bart LaRue	The Night of the Juggernaut	Patterns of Force Bread and Circuses The Savage Curtain
Mark Lenard	The Night of the Iron Fist	Balance of Terror Journey to Babel
Perry Lopez	The Night of the Feathered Fury The Night of the Pistoleros	Shore Leave
John Lormer	The Night of the Infernal Machine The Night of the Spanish Curse The Night of the Bleak Island	The Menagerie The Return of the Archons For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky
Hal Lynch	The Night of the Poisonous Posey	Tomorrow is Yesterday
Ken Lynch	The Night of the Returning Dead	The Devil in the Dark
Barbara Luna	The Night of the Deadly Bed	Mirror, Mirror
Theo Marcuse	The Night of the Sudden Plague The Night of the Bottomless Pit The Night of the Headless Woman	Catspaw
Sarah Marshall	The Night of the Hangman	The Deadly Years
William Marshall	The Night of the Egyptian Queen	The Ultimate Computer
Arlene Martel	The Night of the Circus of Death	Amok Time
Charles Macauley	The Night of Fire and Brimstone	The Return of the Archons
Judy McConnell	The Night of the Death Masks	Wolf in the Fold
Oliver McGowan	The Night of the Feathered Fury	Shore Leave
Ricardo Montalbán	The Night of the Lord of Limbo	Space Seed
Byron Morrow	The Night of Miguelito's Revenge	Amok Time For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky
Reggie Nalder	The Night of the Gruesome Games	Journey to Babel
William O'Connell	The Night of the Pistoleros	Journey to Babel
Susan Oliver	The Night Dr. Loveless Died	The Menagerie
Gregg Palmer	The Night of the Human Trigger The Night of the Gruesome Games The Night of the Hangman	Spectre of the Gun
Leslie Parrish	The Night the Wizard Shook the Earth The Night of the Flying Pie Plate	Who Mourns for Adonais?
Ed Peck	The Night of the Double-Edged Knife	Tomorrow is Yesterday
Jack Perkins	The Night of the Ready-Made Corpse	Bread and Circuses
Vic Perrin	The Night of the Winged Terror	The Changeling Mirror, Mirror
Phillip Pine	The Night of the Glowing Corpse	The Savage Curtain
Paul Prokop	The Night of the Firebrand	Mirror, Mirror
Madlyn Rhue	The Night of the Bubbling Death	Space Seed
Jay Robinson	The Night of the Sedgewick Curse	Elaan of Troyius
Percy Rodrigues	The Night of the Poisonous Posy	Court Martial
Joseph Ruskin	The Night of The Fatal Trap The Night of the Falcon	The Gamesters of Triskelion
Alfred Ryder	The Night of the Torture Chamber The Night of the Deadly Bubble	The Man Trap
William Schallert	The Night of the Bubbling Death The Night of the Gruesome Games The Night of the Winged Terror	The Trouble With Tribbles
Sabrina Scharf	The Night of the Underground Terror	The Paradise Syndrome
Pilar Seurat	The Night the Dragon Screamed	Wolf in the Fold
Judi Sherven	The Night of the Avaricious Actuary The Night of the Circus of Death	Wolf in the Fold
Sandra Smith	The Night of the Vipers	Turnabout Intruder
Maggie Thrett	The Night of the Running Death	Mudd's Women
Malachi Throne	The Night of the Tartar	The Menagerie
Tom Sebastian	The Night of the Amnesiac The Night of the Skulls	Shore Leave
Harry Townes	The Night of the Double-Edged Knife The Night of the Tottering Tontine	The Return of the Archons
Tom Troupe	The Night of the Egyptian Queen	Arena
John Warburton	The Night of the Brain	Balance of Terror
William Windom	The Night of the Flying Pie Plate	The Doomsday Machine
William Wintersole	The Night of the Tottering Tontine	Patterns of Force
Venita Wolf	The Night of the Arrow	The Squire of Gothos
Celeste Yarnell	The Night of a Thousand Eyes	The Apple

Merchandise tie-ins

As with many television series, The Wild Wild West had several merchandise tie-ins during its run. These are listed below.

Year	Item(s)	Manufacturer or Publisher
1966	Paperback novel by Richard Wormser	Signet Books
1966	Board Game	Transogram Co.
1966(?)	Ross Martin and Robert Conrad Note Pads	Top Flight Paper Co.
1966	Secret "Sleeve Gun"	Ray Plastics
1966–1969	Gold Key Comic Books (7 issues)	Western Publishing Co.
1969	Lunch Box and Thermos	Alladin Co.
Notes ^a This item was not marketed with the series' name. However, The Wild Wild West was the only television series at the time that featured the item.

References

Books

• (Cangey was a stunt man on the series.)

Webpages

• The Wildest Home Page in the West. Wayback Machine archived page of now defunct fan page.
• The Wild Wild West — World Wide Web Page. Wayback Machine archived page of now defunct fan page.
• An episode guide
• Another episode guide.
• A list that attempts to place the episodes in a chronological order.

External links

• The Wild Wild West at IMDb
• The Wild Wild West at TV.com

Characters

Leads

Before The Wild Wild West, Robert Conrad played private detective Tom Lopaka in ABC's Hawaiian Eye for four seasons (1959–63). In November 1964, he was making the film Young Dillinger (1965) with Nick Adams, Victor Buono and John Ashley (all of whom would later guest star on The Wild Wild West) when his agent sent him to CBS to audition for the West role. Conrad claimed to be the 17th actor to test for the part. Others tested included Robert Horton, Ray Danton and James "Skip" Ward. Conrad also claimed that John Derek left the audition without testing.

Conrad performed nearly all of his own stunts in the series. "For the first few episodes we tried stuntmen," Conrad explained, "but the setup time slowed production down, so I volunteered. Things started moving quicker when I took the jumps and the spills. We started meeting the budget." Early on, he was doubled by Louie Elias or Chuck O'Brien.

On January 24, 1968, however, during filming of "The Night of the Fugitives" near the end of the third season, Conrad fell from a chandelier onto the stage floor and suffered a concussion. "A little gymnastics — chandelier work," he later explained. "I didn't chalk up properly and I went 15 feet to the concrete and fractured my skull. I was in intensive care for 72 hours, with a six-inch lineal fracture of the skull and a high temporal concussion." As a result, production of the series ended two weeks early. Conrad spent weeks in the hospital and had a long convalescence slowed by constant dizziness. The episode was eventually completed and aired early during the fourth season, with footage of the fall left in. Conrad later told Percy Shain of the Boston Globe, "I have the whole scene on film. It's a constant reminder to be careful. It also bolstered my determination to make this my last year with the series. Four seasons are enough of this sort of thing." Thereafter, Conrad was doubled for the dangerous stunts, but still participated in fight scenes.

Prior to The Wild Wild West, Ross Martin co-starred in the CBS series Mr. Lucky from 1959 to 1960, portraying Mr. Lucky's sidekick, Andamo. The series was created by Blake Edwards, who also cast Martin in his films Experiment in Terror (1962) and The Great Race (1964).

Martin once called his role as Artemus Gordon "a show-off's showcase" because it allowed him to portray over 100 different characters during the course of the series and perform dozens of different dialects. Martin sketched his ideas for his characterizations and worked with the makeup artists to execute the final look. Martin told Percy Shain of the Boston Globe, "In the three years of the show, I have run a wider gamut than even those acknowledged masters of disguise, Paul Muni and Lon Chaney. Sometimes I feel like a one man repertory company. I think I've proven to myself and to the industry that I am the No. 1 character lead in films today." The industry acknowledged Martin's work with an Emmy nomination in 1969.

Martin broke his leg in a fourth-season episode, "The Night of the Avaricious Actuary," when he dropped a rifle, stepped on it, and his foot rolled over it. Martin told Percy Shain of the Boston Globe, "In the scene where I was hurt, my stand-in tried to finish it. When the shell ejected from the rifle, it caught him in the eye and burned it. We still haven't finished that scene. It will have to wait until I can move around again."

A few weeks later, after completing "The Night of Fire and Brimstone", Martin suffered a heart attack on August 17, 1968 (this was exactly two years after the show's creator, Michael Garrison, died). Martin's character was replaced temporarily by other agents played by Charles Aidman (four episodes as Jeremy Pike), Alan Hale, Jr. (as Ned Brown) and William Schallert (two episodes as Frank Harper), and West worked solo in two other episodes. Aidman said the producers had promised to rewrite the scripts for his new character, but this simply amounted to scratching out the name "Artemus Gordon" and penciling in "Jeremy Pike" (his character's name). Pat Paulsen (one episode as Agent Bosley Cranston) is frequently thought of as a Martin substitute, but he, in fact, appeared in one of Aidman's episodes and his character would have been present even if Martin had appeared. Martin returned to work in mid-December and appeared in the final three episodes to be filmed.

Villains

Doctor Loveless and Voltaire

Ida Lupino as Doctor Faustina

The show's most memorable recurring arch-villain was Dr. Miguelito Quixote Loveless, a brilliant but petulant and megalomaniacal dwarf portrayed by Michael Dunn. Initially he had two companions: the towering 7'2" Voltaire, played by Richard Kiel; and the beautiful Antoinette, played by Dunn's real-life singing partner, Phoebe Dorin. Voltaire disappeared without explanation after his third episode, but Kiel returned in a different role in "The Night of the Simian Terror". Antoinette vanished after her sixth episode due to demands by Dunn's jealous real-life wife.

According to the television film The Wild Wild West Revisited, Loveless eventually dies in 1880 from ulcers, brought on by the frustration of having his plans consistently foiled by West and Gordon (his son, played by Paul Williams in the TV film, subsequently seeks revenge on the agents).

Although several actors appeared in different villainous roles, only one other character had a second encounter with West and Gordon: Count Manzeppi, played flamboyantly by Victor Buono. Manzeppi was a diabolical genius of "black magic" and crime, who—like Dr. Loveless—had an escape plan at the end. Buono played a different villain in the pilot episode, and also returned in More Wild Wild West as "Dr. Henry Messenger", a parody of Henry Kissinger.

Agnes Moorehead won an Emmy for her role as Emma Valentine in "The Night of the Vicious Valentine". Other villains were portrayed by Leslie Nielsen, Sam Wanamaker, Martin Landau, Burgess Meredith, Boris Karloff, Ida Lupino, Carroll O'Connor, Ricardo Montalban, Robert Duvall, Ramon Novarro, Ed Asner, Jo Van Fleet, William Windom, Delphi Lawrence, Susan Oliver, Anthony Eisley, H.M. Wynant, Harvey Korman, Yvonne Craig, Percy Rodrigues, and Robert Loggia.

While the show's writers created their fair share of villains, they often started with the nefarious, stylized and sometimes anachronistic inventions of these madmen (or madwomen) and then wrote the episodes around these devices. Henry Sharp, the series' story consultant, would sketch the preliminaries of the designs (eccentrically numbering every sketch "fig. 37"), and give the sketch to a writer, who would build a story around it.

Recurring characters

• Dr. Miguelito Quixote Loveless (Michael Dunn): Ten episodes. The agents' nemesis.
• Colonel Richmond (Douglas Henderson) Ten episodes. West and Gordon's control officer in the Secret Service.
• President Ulysses S. Grant: Seven episodes (James Gregory in the pilot; Roy Engel thereafter).
• Antoinette (Phoebe Dorin): Six appearances. Loveless' female companion, often seen playing a piano or string instrument and singing duet with Loveless. Dorin and Dunn (Loveless) had a real-life nightclub act, "Michael Dunn and Phoebe", in which they sang and exchanged banter. According to Dorin, while filming the episode "The Night of the Murderous Spring", her costume became entangled in machinery used to drag a boat she and Dunn were in under water. Dunn did not hesitate to follow her down and help her escape.
• Jeremy Pike (Charles Aidman): Four episodes. One of several agents paired with Jim during Artemus' absence in the fourth season. Appears in the final Loveless episode, "The Night of Miguelito's Revenge."
• Tennyson (Charles Davis): Three episodes. West's butler/valet during the first season.
• Voltaire (Richard Kiel): Three episodes. Loveless' silent, giant bodyguard (Kiel also played Dimos Buckley in "The Night of the Simian Terror").
• Count Carlos Mario Vincenzo Robespierre Manzeppi (Victor Buono): Two appearances. A master of dark magic and leader of a handpicked teams of assassins. (Buono also played Juan Manolo in "The Night of the Inferno," the first episode, and Henry Messenger in More Wild Wild West, the final production.)
• Frank Harper (William Schallert): Another agent who worked with Jim in the fourth season. He appears in the only two-part episode in the series, "The Night of the Winged Terror". (Schallert appeared in two other episodes as different characters.)

Production

Creation, writing and filming

In 1954, director/producer Gregory Ratoff purchased the film rights to Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel, Casino Royale, for $600. CBS, meanwhile, bought the TV rights for $1,000, and on October 21, 1954, the network broadcast an hour-long adaptation on its Climax! series, with Barry Nelson playing American agent "Jimmy Bond" and Peter Lorre playing the villain, Le Chiffre. CBS also approached Fleming about developing a Bond TV series. Fleming later contributed ideas to NBC's The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

In 1955, Ratoff and Michael Garrison formed a production company to make a Casino Royale film, with Ratoff set to direct and 20th Century Fox set to distribute. Production stalled when Ratoff and Garrison could not obtain financing. In 1960, Hedda Hopper reported that Ratoff's film would star Peter Finch as Bond. But Ratoff died that December and his widow sold the film rights to producer Charles K. Feldman for $75,000. Feldman and director Howard Hawks were interested in making Casino Royale with Cary Grant as Bond. Eventually Feldman was offered $500,000 and a percentage of the profits to let Harry Saltzman and Cubby Broccoli make the film with Sean Connery. Feldman turned them down, and eventually produced the spoof Casino Royale in 1967. By then, Garrison and CBS had brought James Bond to television in a unique way.

The series' pilot episode, "The Night of the Inferno", was filmed in December 1964. It was produced by Garrison and, according to Robert Conrad, cost $685,000. The episode was scripted by Gilbert Ralston, who had written for numerous episodic TV series in the 1950s and 1960s. (Western novelist and screenwriter Clair Huffaker also worked on the concept.) In a later deposition, Ralston explained that he was approached by Michael Garrison, who "said he had an idea for a series, good commercial idea, and wanted to know if I could glue the idea of a western hero and a James Bond type together in the same show." Ralston said he then created the Civil War characters, the format, the story outline and nine drafts of the pilot script that was the basis for the television series. It was his idea, for example, to have a secret agent named Jim West who would perform secret missions for President Ulysses S. Grant. Ralston later sued Warner Bros. over the 1999 theatrical film Wild Wild West, which was based on the series.

As indicated by Robert Conrad on his DVD commentary, the show went through several producers in its first season. This was apparently due to conflicts between the network and Garrison, who had no experience producing for television and had trouble staying on budget. At first, Ben Brady was named producer, but he was shifted to Rawhide, which had its own crisis when star Eric Fleming quit at the end of the 1964–65 season. Rawhide lasted another 13 episodes before it was cancelled by CBS.

The network then hired Collier Young. In an interview, Young said he saw the series as The Rogues set in 1870 (The Rogues, which he had produced, was about con men who swindled swindlers, much like the 1970s series Switch). Young also claimed to have added the wry second "Wild" to the series title, which had been simply "The Wild West" in its early stages of production. Young's episodes (2–4) featured a butler named Tennyson who traveled with West and Gordon, but since the episodes were not broadcast in production order, the character popped up at different times during the first season. Conrad was not sorry to see Young go: "I don't mind. All that guy did creatively was put the second 'wild' in the title. CBS did the right thing."

Michael Dunn as Doctor Loveless.

Young's replacement, Fred Freiberger, returned the series to its original concept. It was on his watch that writer John Kneubuhl, inspired by a magazine article about Michael Dunn, created the arch-villain Dr. Miguelito Quixote Loveless. Phoebe Dorin, who played Loveless' assistant, Antoinette, recalled: "Michael Garrison came to see [our] nightclub act when he was in New York. Garrison said to himself, 'Michael Dunn would make the most extraordinary villain. People have never seen anything like him before, and he's a fabulous little actor and he's funny as hell.' And, Garrison felt, if Michael Dunn sang on every show, with the girl, it would be an extraordinary running villain. He came backstage and he told us who he was and he said he was going to do a television show called The Wild Wild West and we would be called. We thought, 'Yeah, yeah, we've heard all that before.' But he did call us and the show was a fantastic success. And that's how it started, because he saw the nightclub act." Loveless was introduced in "The Night the Wizard Shook The Earth," the show's sixth produced, but third televised episode. The character became an immediate hit and Dunn was contracted to appear in four episodes per season. Because of health problems, however, Dunn only appeared in 10 episodes instead of 16.

After 10 episodes (5–14), Freiberger and executive producer Michael Garrison were, according to Variety, "unceremoniously dumped," reputedly due to a behind-the-scenes power struggle. Garrison was replaced by Phillip Leacock, the executive producer of Gunsmoke, and Freiberger was supplanted by John Mantley, an associate producer on Gunsmoke. The exchange stunned both cast and crew. Garrison, who owned 40% of The Wild Wild West, knew nothing about the changes and had not been consulted. He turned the matter over to his attorneys. Freiberger said, "I was fired for accomplishing what I had been hired to do. I was hired to pull the show together when it was in chaos." Conrad said, "I was totally shocked by it. Let's face it, the show is healthy. I think Fred Freiberger is totally correct in his concept of the show. It's an administrative change, for what reason I don't know."

Mantley produced seven (15–21) episodes, then returned to his former position on Gunsmoke and Gene L. Coon took over as associate producer. By then, Garrison's conflict with CBS was resolved and he returned to the executive producer role. Coon left after six episodes (22–27) to write First to Fight (1967), a Warner Bros. film about the Marines. Garrison produced the last episode of season 1 and the initial episodes of season 2.

Garrison's return was much to the relief of Ross Martin, who once revealed that he was so disenchanted during the first season that he tried to quit three times. He explained that Garrison "saw the show as a Bond spoof laid in 1870, and we all knew where we stood. Each new producer tried to put his stamp on the show and I had a terrible struggle. I fought them line by line in every script. They knew they couldn't change the James West role very much, but it was open season on Artemus Gordon because they had never seen anything like him before."

On August 17, 1966, however, during production of the new season's ninth episode, "The Night of the Ready-Made Corpse", Garrison fell down a flight of stairs in his home, fractured his skull and died. CBS assigned Bruce Lansbury, brother of actress Angela Lansbury, to produce the show for the remainder of its run. In the early 1960s Lansbury had been in charge of daytime shows at CBS Television City in Hollywood, then vice president of programming in New York. When he was tapped for The Wild Wild West, Lansbury was working with his twin brother, Edgar, producing legitimate theater on Broadway.

The first season's episodes were filmed in black and white and they were darker in tone. Cinematographer Ted Voightlander was nominated for an Emmy Award for his work on one of these episodes, "The Night of the Howling Light." Subsequent seasons were filmed in color and the show became noticeably campier.

The Wild Wild West was filmed at CBS Studio Center on Radford Avenue in Studio City in the San Fernando Valley. The 70-acre lot was formerly the home of Republic Studios, which specialized in low-budget films, including Westerns starring Roy Rogers and Gene Autry and Saturday morning serials (which The Wild Wild West appropriately echoed). CBS had a wall-to-wall lease on the lot starting in May 1963 and produced Gunsmoke and Rawhide there, as well as Gilligan's Island. The network bought the lot from Republic in February 1967 for $9.5 million. Beginning in 1971, MTM Enterprises (headed by actress Mary Tyler Moore and her then-husband Grant Tinker) became the Studio Center's primary tenant. In the mid-1980s the Western streets and sets were replaced with new sound stages and urban facades, including the New York streets seen in Seinfeld. In 1995, the lagoon set that was originally constructed for Gilligan's Island was paved over to create a parking lot.

Among iconic locations used for filming were Bronson Canyon ("Night of the Returning Dead" S02 E05) and Vasquez Rocks ("Night of the Cadre" S02 E26).

The TV movies used Old Tucson Studios and Apacheland Studios in Tucson, Arizona and Gold Canyon, Arizona respectively.

Train

Conrad and locomotive Sierra No. 3. The number plate was changed to 5 for the pilot episode.

For the pilot episode, "The Night of the Inferno", the producers used Sierra Railroad No. 3, a 4-6-0 locomotive that was, fittingly, an anachronism: Sierra No. 3 was built in 1891, 15 to 20 years after the series was set. Footage of this train, with a 5 replacing the 3 on its number plate, was shot in Jamestown, California. Best known for its role as the Hooterville Cannonball in the CBS series Petticoat Junction, Sierra No. 3 probably appeared in more films and TV shows than any other locomotive in history. It was built by the Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works in Paterson, New Jersey.

When The Wild Wild West went into series production, however, an entirely different train was employed. The locomotive, a 4-4-0 named the Inyo, was built in 1875 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia. Originally a wood-burner, the Inyo was converted to oil in 1910. The Inyo, as well as the express car and the passenger car, originally served the Virginia and Truckee Railroad in Nevada. They were among the V&T cars sold to Paramount Pictures in 1937–38. The Inyo appears in numerous films including High, Wide, and Handsome (1938), Union Pacific (1939), the Marx Brothers' Go West (1940), Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), Red River (1948), Disney's The Great Locomotive Chase (1956) and McLintock! (1963). For The Wild Wild West, Inyo's original number plate was temporarily changed from No. 22 to No. 8 so that footage of the train could be flopped horizontally without the number appearing reversed. Footage of the Inyo in motion and idling was shot around Menifee, California, and reused in virtually every episode. Stock footage of Sierra No. 3 occasionally resurfaced as well.

These trains were used only for exterior shots. The luxurious interior of the passenger car was constructed on Stage 6 at CBS Studio Center. Designed by art director Albert Heschong, the set reportedly cost $35,000 in 1965 (over $290,000 in 2021 dollars). The interior was redesigned with lighter wood when the show switched to color for the 1966–67 season.

The train interior was also used in at least one episode of Gunsmoke ("Death Train," aired January 27, 1967) and in at least two episodes of The Big Valley ("Last Train to the Fair," aired April 27, 1966, and "Days of Wrath," aired January 8, 1968). All three series were filmed at CBS Studio Center and shared other exterior and interior sets. Additionally, the train interior was used for an episode of Get Smart ("The King Lives?", aired January 6, 1968) and the short-lived Barbary Coast ("Funny Money," aired September 8, 1975).

After her run on The Wild Wild West, the Inyo participated in the Golden Spike Centennial at Promontory, Utah, in 1969. The following year it appeared as a replica of the Central Pacific's "Jupiter" locomotive at the Golden Spike National Historical Site. The State of Nevada purchased the Inyo in 1974; it was restored to 1895 vintage, including a wider smoke stack and a new pilot (cow catcher) without a drop coupler. The Inyo is still operational and displayed at the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City. The express car (No. 21) and passenger car (No. 4) are also at the museum.

Another veteran V&T locomotive, the Reno (built in 1872 by Baldwin), was used in the two Wild Wild West TV movies. The Reno, which resembles the Inyo, is located at Old Tucson Studios.

The 1999 Wild Wild West film adaptation used the Baltimore & Ohio 4–4–0 No. 25, one of the oldest operating steam locomotives in the U.S. Built in 1856 at the Mason Machine Works in Taunton, Massachusetts, it was later renamed The William Mason in honor of its manufacturer. For its role as "The Wanderer" in the film, the engine was sent to the steam shops at the Strasburg Rail Road for restoration and repainting. The locomotive is brought out for the B&O Train Museum in Baltimore's "Steam Days".

Both the Inyo and The William Mason appeared in the Disney film The Great Locomotive Chase (1956).

Gadgets

The Wild Wild West featured numerous, often anachronistic, gadgets. Some were recurring devices, such as West's sleeve gun or a breakaway Derringer hidden in his left and right boot heels. Others appeared in only a single episode.

Most of these gadgets are concealed in West's garments:

• Sleeve gun (a Remington Double Derringer), featured in many episodes as an unexpected concealed carry alternative to his openly carried full-sized revolver. In some episodes, the ejecting arm of the device dispensed other useful gadgets, such as a tiny squirt can containing acid ("The Night of Montezuma's Hordes"), iron climbing-claws, a knife ("The Night of the Watery Death"), a pulley ("The Night of the Bubbling Death") and various blades.
• A breakaway Remington Derringer. Usually the frame (grip and trigger mechanism) was located in one hollowed-out boot heel, while the double-barrel assembly was located in the other heel; the two pieces snapped together and locked. Bullets were dispensed from a secret compartment in his belt buckle, or the chambers were pre-loaded.
• A breakaway blowtorch, hidden in the hollowed-out boot heels. ("The Night of the Raven")
• Lock pick or passkey concealed under the lapel of the Bolero-style jacket. ("The Night of the Avaricious Actuary")
• Throwing knife concealed in a pocket inside the back of the jacket.
• Various explosive devices (i.e. smoke bombs, impact flares ("The Night of the Avaricious Actuary"), gas grenades, anti-lock key ("The Night of the Golden Cobra"; "The Night of the Simian Terror"), explosive putty ("The Night of the Returning Dead"; "The Night of the Egyptian Queen"; "The Night of the Spanish Curse"), acid-dissolving steel ball ("The Night of Montezuma's Hordes"; "The Night of the Tycoons"), wood-burning chemical ("The Night of the Deadly Plague"), impact explosive ("The Night of the Vipers"), etc.) carried in his jacket pockets, belt buckle, coat buttons, hat, a secret compartment in his holster and the hollowed-out heels of one or both boots. Various lengths and types of fuses were sewn into the hem of his jacket or the waistband of his pants.
• A grappling hook attachment for his rifle. ("The Night of Montezuma's Hordes")
• A grappling hook mechanism with a piton. ("The Night of the Juggernaut")
• A grappling hook/spindle combination silent pistol. ("The Night of the Camera")
• A glass cutter. ("The Night of the Camera")
• A flat metal barbed climbing-spike (piton) with an attached cord, cable or wire. The piton fit the muzzle of either his Derringer or revolver and was fired into a wooden beam or wall. West would then use a pulley with a handle to zip-line above obstacles. The equipment was usually carried in his jacket's many inside pockets. ("The Night of the Bubbling Death"; "The Night of the Headless Woman"; "The Night of the Fugitives")
• A set of a six-shooter pistol and Winchester Carbine decorated with metal stubs. ("The Night of the Inferno"; "The Night of Montezuma's Hordes"; "The Night of the Cut-Throats")
• A small, hand-held motor-driven winch. When used in conjunction with the piton and wire, the winch could either hoist him upwards, to a building's roof for instance, or lower him into a pit. ("The Night of the Bubbling Death"; "The Night of the Headless Woman"; "The Night of the Fugitives"; "The Night of the Camera"; "The Night of the Tycoons")
• A thin, telescopic probing rod (similar to a long modern-day car antenna). When extended fully, West could probe approximately 10 feet around him. He used this to probe and trigger traps in the Secret Service training room depicted in "The Night of the Janus".
• A spring-loaded, swing-out knife blade (switchblade) beneath the toe-box of his boot. ("The Night of the Glowing Corpse"; "The Night of the Flying Pie Plate"; "The Night of the Watery Death"; "The Night of the Amnesiac")
• A glass cutter with a suction cup. A cutting arm rotated to score the glass in a complete circle and the suction cup was used to remove the cut piece. ("The Night of the Camera")
• A thin but strong wire, coiled and fitted in the inner lining of the crown of his hat; the wire had multiple uses and was even capable of sawing through a steel bar.
• A battery-powered (or spring-driven) electric drill that, in one episode, was roughly the size of a large avocado and used to assist West's escape from a metal cage.
• West's saddle horn was booby-trapped with a dynamite bullet shell. ("The Night of the Returning Dead")
• A kit bag which, when opened, inflated a big balloon to shock and disorient enemies for a few seconds. ("The Night of Fire and Brimstone")
• Bulletproof vest. ("The Night of the Thousand Eyes"; "The Night of the Cadre"; "The Night of the Glowing Corpse"; "The Night Dr. Loveless Died"; "The Night of the Arrow")
• Tear gas/smoke bombs. ("The Night of the Dancing Death")
• Package of burnable material capable of burning through locks or the bottom of man-sized birdcages. ("The Night of the Simian Terror"; "The Night of the Gruesome Games")
• A small windup noise buzzer/maker. ("The Night of the Fugitives"; "The Night of the Sabatinii Curse")
• A put together wind-up lifter. ("The Night of Miguelito's Revenge")

Aboard the train:

• A remote control under a revolving table that automatically locked the door of the rail car. ("The Night of the Inferno") Similarly, a concealed panel above the revolving table that would either display a blackboard ("The Night of Miguelito's Revenge") or a map of the United States ("The Night of the Vicious Valentine"), but also concealed several pistols mounted on the panel. ("The Night of the Brain") Depending on the episode, a pistol ("The Night of the Arrow"; "The Night of the Egyptian Queen") or a shotgun (The Wild Wild West Revisited) would be hidden under the revolving table top. One episode showed that, after the statue on the revolving table-top was turned upside down, it would unlock a secret panel concealing a small wall safe. ("The Night of the Tartar").
• A metal knight statue on the desk that struck a bell when a hidden alarm triggered it after the train window was broken. ("The Night of the Egyptian Queen")
• A Chinese box that made a whistling sound like a firework — a "present" From Dr. Loveless. ("The Night Dr. Loveless Died")
• An early warning system on the back door of the rail car which activated the rail car's parlor lights. ("The Night of the Arrow)
• A mobile telegraph set concealed in a false book set on the desk. ("The Night of the Bubbling death", "The Night of the Brain")
• A "Victorian" record player (an anachronism since this was invented nearly 10 years later – 1888).
• Two pistols on a wooden swivel-stand on desk, activated and controlled by a knob on the fireplace. ("The Night of the Bubbling Death")
• The fireplace concealed a secret escape door and an emergency flare signal; it also had concealed side panels for chemicals and a primitive phone mouthpiece for communication with the engine ("The Night of the Brain") and a case of fake jewels ("The Night of the Egyptian Queen"). At least one episode showed a pistol concealed behind a side shelf door panel. ("The Night of the Feathered Fury") On either side of the fireplace were Decorative lion heads that spew out knockout gas when triggered. ("The Night of the Big Blackmail")

• Several pistols, rifles, shotguns and other assorted weaponry were mounted on a concealed pull-down panel on the laboratory section of the train. A sliding closet located in the same area contained clothes and other useful paraphernalia. ("The Night of the Inferno")
• A small mirrored ball that hung over the desk and could be used to induce hypnotic suggestions to amiable young women. ("The Night of the Tartar")
• Overhead billiard scoring wire and beads that connected to signal lamps on the back of the railroad car (to turn the lights off as needed). ("The Night of the Inferno")
• Cages for two carrier pigeons (named Henry and Henrietta). In the pilot episode, the cages were located above the door in the same room where West usually dressed and equipped himself. In subsequent episodes, the carrier pigeons were usually located in a compartment above the fireplace. In one episode, a carrier pigeon is carried within a valise. ("The Night of the Colonel's Ghost")
• A toy train set along with life-sized cutouts of West's and Gordon's heads. ("The Night of the Big Blackmail")
• A wooden model of an armored tank (based on the tank in "The Night of the Doomsday Formula"). ("The Night of the Colonel's Ghost")
• A surprise joke snake in the cigar humidor. ("The Night of the Iron Fist")
• A life-size dummy of Artemus Gordon. ("The Night Dr. Loveless Died")
• A Bunsen burner in the laboratory car that, when turned up, activates an outside distress flare. ("The Night of the Falcon")
• A miniature piano. ("The Night of the Cut-throats"; "The Night of the Janus")
• A ventriloquist's dummy used by Artemus Gordon to throw his voice. ("The Night of the Shedwick Curse")
• A souvenir Aztec goddess mask. ("The Night of Montezuma's Hordes")
• An "unwanted" souvenir book called Encyclopedia of Party Games. ("The Night of Gruesome Games")
• A pair of candlesticks. ("The Night of the Egyptian Queens")
• A typewriter. ("The Night of the camera")

Other gadgets:

• Elastic wire in a watch. ("The Night of the Poisonous Posey")
• An exploding pocket watch.
• Exploding billiard balls (the cue ball in the series' pilot episode, but sometimes other balls as well). ("The Night of the Inferno" (pilot episode); "The Night of the camera")
• Cue stick with a rapier hidden inside. ("The Night of the Inferno" (pilot episode))
• Cue stick that fires bullets. ("The Night of the Inferno" (pilot episode))
• Stagecoach with two ejector seats (one inside and one outside the coach (a nod to James Bond's 007 Aston Martin) and a hook to immobilize killers. ("The Night the Wizard Shook the Earth")
• A chemical compound invented by Artemus Gordon that could support a man's weight for between 20 seconds to one minute. ("The Night of the Glowing Corpse"; "The Night of the Big Blackmail")
• An explosive compound invented by Artemus Gordon that goes off when exposed to heat. ("The Night of the Juggernaut")
• An anti-lock explosive. ("The Night of the Golden Cobra"; "The Night of the Kraken")
• A telegraph mechanism in a cane.
• A lock pick in a cane. ("The Night of the Shedwick Curse")
• A blow torch disguised as a cigar.
• A miniature blowtorch. ("The Night of the Turncoat")
• A miniature grenade. ("The Night of the Doomsday Formula")
• A miniature record player that plays realistic gunshots ("The Night of Fire and Brimstone") or music ("The Night of the Doomsday Formula").
• A combination flare and whistle. ("The Night of the Doomsday Formula")
• Clockwork-powered lock-picking device key opener for locks. ("The Night of the Cadre"; "The Night of the Arrow"; "The Night of the Headless Woman"; "The Night of the Vipers")
• Rubber mask disguises (similar to Mission Impossible) for both agents ("The Night of the Brian") and villains ("The Night of the Pelican").
• A net-throwing bazooka. ("The Night of the Big Blast")
• A cane that doubles as a mortar. ("The Night of the Bottomless Pit")
• Diving helmet. ("The Night of the Kraken")
• Gas mask with a five-minute air supply. ("The Night of the Glowing Corpse")
• Gas mask. ("The Night of the Flying Pie Plate")
• Knockout gas in a cane. ("The Night of the Burning Diamond")
• Knockout gas in a ball. ("The Night of the Brain")
• Knockout gas in a box ("The Night of the Pelican")
• Knockout gas in a balloon. ("The Night of the Cadre"; "The Night Dr. Loveless Died"; "The Night of the Kraken")
• Knockout gas in a clay pipe. ("The Night of the Deadly Bubble"; "The Night of the Headless Woman")
• Knockout gas in glass dejohns. ("The Night of the Cadre")
• Knockout gas water in a seltzer bottle. ("The Night of the Feathered Fury")
• A revolver bullet/flare to illuminate a dark cave or call for help. ("The Night of the Returning Dead"; "The Night of the Arrow")
• A magnetized coin that explodes when exposed to heat. ("The Night of the Watery Death")
• A cigar that, when thrown to the ground, produces shock and smoke effects. ("The Night of the Colonel's Ghost")
• Shock/stun smoke pellets. ("The Night of the Vipers")
• Wine bottle/smoke/shock grenades. ("The Night of the Bubbling Death")
• Wine bottle/joke snake. ("The Night of the Bubbling Death")
• Wine bottle/smoke. ("The Night of the Bubbling Death")
• Escape basket. ("The Night of the Bubbling Death")
• Hammer/jimmy kit concealed in jacket. ("The Night of the Bubbling Death")
• Smoke screen escape packet. ("The Night of the Bubbling Death")
• Smoke screen in a prop human skull. ("The Night of the Underground Terror")
• Burning strips to destroy metal bars. ("The Night of the Undead"; "The Night of the Simian Terror")
• Trick wagon. ("The Night of the Cadre"; "The Night of the Fugitives")
• A mechanical wind up butterfly/bomb. ("The Night of Miguelito's Revenge")
• A mechanical snake. ("The Night of the Spanish Curse")
• A mechanical wind-up bomb ("The Night of the Spanish Curse")

The villains often used equally creative gadgets, including:

• A device to trigger earthquakes. ("The Night of the Human Trigger")
• Brainwashing techniques using intense light and sound. ("The Night of the Steel Assassin"; "The Night of the Howling Light")
• A cyborg. ("The Night of the Steel Assassin")
• Androids. ("The Night of Miguelito's Revenge")
• A flamethrower cannon. ("The Night of the Flaming Ghost")
• An early flamethrower. ("The Night of the Circus of Death")
• Life-size steam-powered puppets. ("The Night of the Puppeteer")
• Jars that preserved disembodied human brains to draw upon their knowledge and psychic force. ("The Night of the Druid's Blood")
• Chemical-treated clothing that burned its victims. ("The Night of the Druid's Blood")
• A germ that paralyzes its victims for 48 hours. ("The Night of the Sudden Plague")
• An explosive powerful enough to destroy city blocks. ("The Night the Wizard Shook the Earth")
• A metal cage connected to a lightning rod. ("The Night of a Thousand Eyes")
• The Juggernaut: a steam-powered, wedge-shaped tank with a battering ram. ("The Night of the Juggernaut")
• A potion, made from liquefied diamonds, which enabled a man to move so fast as to be invisible. ("The Night of the Burning Diamond")
• An LSD-like hallucinogen, capable of driving men into fits of killing madness. ("The Night of the Murderous Spring")
• A cathode-ray tube (television), plus prototypes of the airplane, the automobile and penicillin. ("The Night the Wizard Shook the Earth")
• A torpedo disguised as a dragon capable of homing on a radio signal. ("The Night of the Watery Death")
• A force field that disintegrates anything that comes in contact with it. ("The Night of the Watery Death")
• A drug capable of shrinking a man down to a height of six inches. ("The Night of the Raven")
• An exoskeleton suit of armor. ("The Night of the Green Terror")
• A device that triggers tidal waves. ("The Night of the Deadly Bubble")
• Automatic barred doors. ("The Night of the Deadly Bubble"; "The Night of the Undead", "The Night of the Fugitives")
• A potion that turns humans into zombies. ("The Night of the Undead")
• A sonic device that allowed paintings to be used as portals to other dimensions. ("The Night of the Surreal McCoy")
• Crystals that, when surgically implanted inside the brain and shattered by a high-pitched noise, caused the subject to turn into a criminal. ("The Night of the Cadre"; "The Night of the Winged Terror — Part I"; "The Night of the Winged Terror — Part II")
• A giant falcon-shaped cannon, capable of devastating a small town with a single shot. ("The Night of the Falcon")
• A giant tuning fork that created destructive sound waves. ("The Night of the Avaricious Actuary")
• A recording phonograph. ("The Night of the Avaricious Actuary")
• A locomotive modified with a large battering ram to collide with oncoming trains and derail them. ("The Night of the Deadly Bed")
• Re-animated human corpses (similar to the Frankenstein Monster) turned into human bombs. ("The Night of the Big Blast")
• Dungeons. ("The Night of Montezuma's Hordes"; "The Night of the Spanish Curse")
• A pair of revolving blades. ("The Night of the Big Blackmail")
• A steam-powered piston used to block entrance to safes. ("The Night of the Big Blackmail")
• A pair of large metal hands with a deadly electric field. ("The Night of the Eccentrics")
• A large, live-action periscope for spying. ("The Night of the Eccentrics")
• A flying "pie plate" (a balloon filled with flares). ("The Night of the Flying Pie Plate")
• Knockout gas in a door knocker ("The Night of the Headless Woman")
• Knockout gas masks. ("The Night of the Flying Pie Plate"; The Night of the Egyptian Queen)
• Knockout gas pistols. ("The Night of the Flying Pie Plate"; The Night of the Egyptian Queen)
• Knockout drug pistol. ("The Night of the Feathered Fury")
• Stagecoaches with knockout gas tubes. ("The Night of the Masks"; "The Night of the Diva")
• Bomb gavel. ("The Night of the Poisonous Posey")
• Poison-tipped diamond. ("The Night of the Poisonous Posey")
• Revolving gun organ pipes. ("The Night of the Poisonous Posey")
• A robotic suit of medieval armor. ("The Night of the Green Terror")
• Explosive glass bulbs. ("The Night of the Green Terror")
• Explosive mace head. ("The Night of the Green Terror")
• Balloon-borne powder that sets forest fires. ("The Night of the Green Terror")
• A computer-dating machine. ("The Night of the Vicious Valentine")
• A drug that renders its victims immobile for five minutes. ("The Night of the Braine")
• A backwards-firing pistol. ("The Night of the Brain"; "The Night of the Bogus Bandits"; "The Night of the Winged Terror – Part 1")
• An ejection chair-seat. ("The Night of the Brain"; "The Night of the Hangman")
• Doubles of world leaders. ("The Night of the Brain"; The Wild Wild West Revisited)
• Steam-powered wheelchair with rockets and impaling spikes. ("The Night of the Brain")
• A magnetic sea mine. ("The Night of the Kraken")
• An undersea fortress. ('"The Night of the Deadly Bubble"; "The Night of the Kraken")
• Copies of the White House rooms. ("The Night of the Brain"; The Night of the Big Blackmail")
• Windows with sliding bars/barriers. ("The Night of the Raven"; "The Night of the Colonels Ghost"; "The Night of the Fugitives")
• Swinging axe pendulum. ("The Night of the Deadly Blossom")
• A combination flare and whistle. ("The Night Dr. Loveless Died")
• 2 wireless remote controlled rockets ["The Night of the Steel Assassian"]
• Anti-ship rockets. ("The Night of the Deadly Blossom"; "The Night of the Pelican")
• A circus cannon that can be used as an escape vehicle. ("The Night of Miguelito's Revenge")
• Phosgene gas. ("The Night of the Shedwick Curse"; "The Night Dr. Loveless Died")
• Booby-trapped knife/chair. ("The Night of the Tottering Tontine"; "The Night of the Falcon")
• Armored wagon with cannon. ("The Night of the Vipers")
• Heavy iron artificial leg(s). ("The Night of the Glowing Corpse"; "The Night of the Bottomless Pit")
• A booby-trapped bed. ("The Night of the Inferno'; "The Night of the Shedwick Curse")
• A revolving wall/bed. ("The Night of the Shedwick Curse")
• An anti-aging serum that instead turns those who are injected with it 50 years older. ("The Night of the Shedwick Curse")
• Large bird cages/prisoner cages. ("The Night of the Feathered Fury"; "The Night of Miguelito's Revenge"; "The Night of the Simian Terror"; "The Night of the Gruesome Games"; "The Night of the Diva")
• Grenades. ("The Night of the Pelican")
• Miniature rockets. ("The Night of the Brian"; The Night of the Gruesome Games")
• Miniature grenades. ("The Night of the Falcon"; "The Night of the Feathered Fury"; "The Night of the Tycoons")
• Bulletproof armor. ("The Night of the Spanish Curse")
• An amplified drum. ("The Night of the Spanish Curse")
• A $600.00 man and woman whose strength has been increased 1,000% via robotic pulley implants (The Wild West Revisited, a spoof of the popular The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman TV series)

Theme music

The main title theme was written by Richard Markowitz, who previously composed the theme for the TV series The Rebel. He was brought in after the producers rejected two attempts by film composer Dimitri Tiomkin.

In an interview by Susan Kesler (for her book The Wild Wild West: The Series) included in the first season DVD boxed set, Markowitz recalled that the original Tiomkin theme "was very, kind of, traditional, it just seemed wrong." Markowitz explained his own approach: "By combining jazz with Americana, I think that's what nailed it. That took it away from the serious kind of thing that Tiomkin was trying to do...What I did essentially was write two themes: the rhythmic, contemporary theme, Fender bass and brushes, that vamp, for the cartoon effects and for West's getting himself out of trouble, and the heraldic western outdoor theme over that, so that the two worked together."

Session musicians who played on the theme were Tommy Morgan (harmonica); Bud Shank, Ronnie Lang, Plas Johnson and Gene Cipriano (woodwinds); Vince DeRosa and Henry Sigismonti (French horns); Uan Rasey, Ollie Mitchell and Tony Terran (trumpets); Dick Nash, Lloyd Ulyate, Chauncey Welsch and Kenny Shroyer (trombones); Tommy Tedesco and Bill Pitman (guitars); Carol Kaye (Fender bass); Joe Porcaro (brushes) and Gene Estes, Larry Bunker and Emil Richards (timpani, percussion).

Markowitz, however, was never credited for his theme in any episode; it is believed that this was due to legal difficulties between CBS and Tiomkin over the rejection of the latter's work. Markowitz did receive "music composed and conducted by" credits for episodes he had scored (such as "The Night of the Bars of Hell" and "The Night of the Raven") or where he supplied the majority of tracked-in cues (such as "The Night of the Grand Emir" and "The Night of the Gypsy Peril"). He finally received "theme by" credit on both of the TV movies, which were scored by Jeff Alexander rather than Markowitz (few personnel from the series were involved with the TV movies).

Graphics

The animated title sequence was another unique element of the series. Created by Michael Garrison Productions and DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, it was directed by Isadore "Friz" Freleng and animated by Ken Mundie, who designed the titles for the film The Great Race and the TV series Secret Agent, I Spy, Rawhide and Death Valley Days.

The screen was divided into four corner panels abutting a narrow central panel that contained a cartoon "hero". The hero looked more like a traditional cowboy than either West or Gordon, and from each corner panel encountered cliché western characters and situations that never appeared in the show. In the three seasons shot in color, the overall backdrop was an abstracted wash of the flag of the United States, with the upper left panel colored blue and the others containing horizontal red stripes.

The original animation sequence is:

• The hero strikes a match, lights a cigar, and begins walking in profile to the right.
• Behind the hero, in the lower left panel, a robber backs out of a bank; the hero subdues him with a karate chop to the back.
• In the upper right panel, a cardsharp tries to pull an ace of spades from his boot, but the hero draws his gun and the cardsharp drops the ace.
• In the upper left panel, a gunman points a six-shooter at the hero, who drops his gun and puts his hands up. The hero shoots the gunman with his sleeve Derringer; the gunman's hand falls limp. The hero then quickly retrieves his own gun and puts it back in his holster.
• A woman in the lower right panel taps the hero on the hat with her parasol. He pulls her close and kisses her. She draws a knife but, mesmerized by his kiss, turns away and slumps against the side of the frame. He tips his hat and walks away with his back to the camera. There were two versions of this vignette; this one appears during the first season. When the show switched to color, the hero knocked the woman down with a right cross to the jaw. This variant also appears in the original pilot episode (included on the DVD release) when the series was titled The Wild West. Despite this, James West never hit a woman in any episode, although he grappled with many. The closest he came was when he slammed a door against the shotgun-holding evil Countess Zorana in "The Night of the Iron Fist". In "The Night of the Running Death", he slugged a woman named Miss Tyler, but "she" was a man in drag (actor T. C. Jones). The original animation, with the hero winning the woman over with a kiss, was a more accurate representation of West's methods than the right cross. Ironically, it is another example of the emphasis on violence of the show.
• The hero walks away into the distance and the camera zooms into his panel. The title The Wild Wild West appears. The camera then swish pans to an illustration of the train, with Conrad's and Martin's names on the ends of different cars.

This teaser part of the show was incorporated into The History Channel's Wild West Tech (2003–05).

Each episode had four acts. At the end of each act, the scene, usually a cliffhanger moment, would freeze, and a sketch or photograph of the scene replaced the cartoon art in one of the corner panels. The style of freeze-frame art changed over the course of the series. In all first-season episodes other than the pilot, the panels were live-action stills made to evoke 19th-century engravings. In season 2 (the first in color) the scenes dissolved to tinted stills; from "The Night of the Flying Pie Plate" on, however, the panels were home to Warhol-like serigraphs of the freeze-frames. The end credits were displayed over each episode's unique mosaic of scenes. In the final season, however, a generic design was used under the end credits. Curiously, in this design, the bank robber is unconscious, the cardsharp has no card and the lady is on the ground, but the six-shooter in the upper left-hand panel has returned. The freeze-frame graphics were shot at a facility called Format Animation. The pilot is the only episode in which the center panel of the hero is replaced by a sketch of the final scene of an act; he is replaced by the villainous General Cassinello (Nehemiah Persoff) at the end of the third act.

During the first season, the series title The Wild Wild West was set in the font Barnum, which resembles the newer font P. T. Barnum. In subsequent seasons, the title appeared in a hand-drawn version of the font Dolphin (which resembles newer fonts called Zebrawood, Circus and Rodeo Clown). Robert Conrad's name was also set in this font. Ross Martin's name was set in the font Bracelet (which resembles newer fonts named Tuscan Ornate and Romantiques). All episode titles, writer and director credits, guest cast and crew credits were set in Barnum. During commercial breaks, the title "The Wild Wild West" also appeared in Barnum.

Dates given in the series

The series is generally set during the presidency of Ulysses S. Grant from 1869 to 1877; occasional episodes indicate a more precise date:

• "The Night of the Glowing Corpse" is set during the Franco-Prussian War of July 19, 1870 – May 10, 1871.
• "The Night of the Eccentrics" takes place four years after the execution in 1867 of Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico, i.e. 1871. This is supported by a reference to President Benito Juárez, who stepped down in 1872.
• In "The Night of the Eccentrics", Count Manzeppi hums "Ride of the Valkyries" which was first performed on June 26, 1870.
• "The Night of the Man Eating House" states that Liston Day has been in solitary confinement for 30 years and later that he was arrested April 23, 1836. This would put it around 1866, three years before the Grant presidency began.
• In "The Night of the Brain", Artemus Gordon shows James West a newspaper dated July 12, 1872. West states, "July 12, that's an interesting date, but it happens to be tomorrow." After the events described happen, they again get tomorrow's newspaper and we see the date: July 14, 1872.
• "The Night of the Lord of Limbo" takes place seven years after the end of the Civil War, making it 1872.
• "The Night of the Tartar" takes place five years after the 1867 purchase of Alaska [i.e., 1872]
• "The Night of the Whirring Death" opens with the caption San Francisco 1874.
• "The Night of the Returning Death" is set 13 years after the start of the Civil War [i.e., 1874]
• In "The Night of the Flaming Ghost", West says, "If the real John Brown had lived he'd be almost 75 years old by now." Brown was born May 9, 1800.
• In "The Night of the Arrow", a cavalry officer resigns his commission as of April 6, 1874.
• In "The Night of the Avaricious Actuary", the heading of a letter shown on screen is dated 1875.
• In "The Night of the Underground Terror", the sadistic commandant of a prison camp is said to have escaped justice for 10 years, presumably from the end of the war in 1865.
• In "The Night of the Samurai," Baron Saigo says Admiral Perry took the sword over 30 years earlier. Assuming the date of Perry's first visit to Japan (July 8, 1853), that would mean the episode takes place after 1883, or some six years after the end of the Grant presidency.
• In "The Night that Terror Stalked the Town", Loveless has a headstone prepared for West, showing his birthdate as July 2, 1842.
• In "The Night of the Kraken", there is an assassination attempt on Admiral David Farragut, who died in 1870.

Cancellation

Some episodes were considered violent for their time and that, rather than low ratings, ultimately was the series' downfall. In addition to gunplay, there were usually two fight sequences per episode. These were choreographed by Whitey Hughes and Conrad and performed by Conrad and a stock company of stuntmen, including Red West, Dick Cangey and Bob Herron (who doubled for Ross Martin).

After Conrad suffered a concussion falling from a chandelier in "The Night of the Fugitives," the network insisted that he defer to a stunt double (his chair on the set was newly inscribed: "Robert Conrad, ex-stuntman, retired by CBS, Jan. 24, 1968"). "[W]hen I came back for the fourth season, I was limited to what I could do for insurance reasons," Conrad explained. "So I agreed and gradually I did all the fights but couldn't do anything five feet off the ground and of course that went out the window." He was doubled by Jimmy George. Often, George would start a stunt, such as a high fall or a dive through a window, then land behind boxes or off-camera where Conrad was hidden and waiting to seamlessly complete the action. This common stunt technique, known by filmmakers as "the Texas Switch", was often used by Ross Martin and his double, Bob Herron.

It was hazardous work. Hughes recalled, "We had a lot of crashes. We used to say, 'Roll the cameras and call the ambulances!'" Conrad recalled in 1994, "The injuries started at the top. Robert Conrad: 6-inch fracture of the skull, high temporal concussion, partial paralysis. Ross Martin: broken leg. A broken skull for Red West. Broken leg for Jimmy George. Broken arm for Jack Skelly. And Michael Dunn: head injury and a spinal sprain. He did his own stunts. And on and on."

As a result of the April 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King and the June 1968 assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, President Johnson created the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence. One of the questions it tackled was if violence on television, including graphic news coverage of the Vietnam War, was a contributing factor to violence in American society. The television networks, anticipating these allegations, moved to curtail violence on their entertainment programs before the September start of the 1968–69 television season. Television reporter Cynthia Lowrey, in an article published in August 1968, wrote that The Wild Wild West "is one of the action series being watched by network censors for scenes of excessive violence, even if the violence is all in fun."

However, despite a CBS mandate to tone down the mayhem, "The Night of the Egyptian Queen" (aired November 15, 1968) contains perhaps the series' most ferocious barroom brawl. A later memo attached to the shooting script of "The Night of Miguelito's Revenge" (aired December 13, 1968) reads: "Note to Directors: The producer respectfully asks that no violent acts be shot which are not depicted in the script or discussed beforehand. Most particularly stay away from gratuitous ad-libs, such as slaps, pointing of firearms or other weapons at characters (especially in close quarters), kicks and the use of furniture and other objects in fight scenes." Strict limits were placed on the number of so-called "acts of violence" in the last episodes of the season (and thus the series). James West rarely wears a gun in these episodes and rather than the usual fisticuffs, fight sequences involved tossing, tackling or body blocking the villains.

In December 1968, executives from ABC, CBS and NBC appeared before the President's Commission. The most caustic of the commissioners, Rep. Hale Boggs (D-Louisiana), decried what he called "the Saturday morning theme of children's cartoon shows" that permit "the good guy to do anything in the name of justice." He also indicted CBS for featuring sadism in its primetime programing (The Wild Wild West was subsequently identified as one example). The Congressman did, however, commend CBS for a 25% decline in violence programming in prime time compared to the other two networks.

Three months later, in March 1969, Sen. John O. Pastore (D-Rhode Island) called the same network presidents before his Senate communications subcommittee for a public scolding on the same subject. At Pastore's insistence, the networks promised tighter industry self-censorship and the Surgeon General began a $1 million study on the effects of television. Congress's concern was shared by the public: in a nationwide poll, 67.5% of 1,554 Americans agreed with the hypothesis that TV and movie violence prompted violence in real life.

Additionally, the National Association for Better Broadcasting (NABB), in a report eventually issued in November 1969, rated The Wild Wild West "as one of the most violent series on television."

After being excoriated by the two committees, networks scrambled to expunge violence from their programming. The Wild Wild West received its cancellation notice in mid-February, even before Pastore's committee convened. Producer Bruce Lansbury always claimed that "It was a sacrificial lamb … It went off with a 32 or 33 share which in those days was virtually break-even but it always won its time period." This is confirmed by an article by Associated Press reporter Joseph Mohbat: "Shows like ABC's 'Outcasts' and NBC's 'Outsider', which depended heavily on violence, were scrapped. CBS killed 'The Wild, Wild West' despite high ratings because of criticism. It was seen by the network as a gesture of good intentions." The networks played it safe thereafter: of the 22 new television shows that debuted in the fall of 1969, not one was a Western or detective drama; 14 were comedy or variety series.

Conrad denounced Pastore for many years, but in other interviews he admitted that it probably was time to cancel the series because he felt that he and the stuntmen were pushing their luck. He also believed the role had hurt his craft. "In so many roles I was a tough guy and I never advanced much," Conrad explained. "Wild Wild West was action adventure. I jumped off roofs and spent all my time with the stuntmen instead of other actors. I thought that's what the role demanded. That role had no dimension other than what it was—a caricature of a performance. It was a comic strip character."

The series was shown in the United Kingdom on the ITV network starting May 5, 1968. It was reasonably popular, but has not been seen on British terrestrial television since the early 1980s.

Syndication

In the summer of 1970, CBS reran several episodes of The Wild Wild West on Mondays at 10 p.m. as a summer replacement for The Carol Burnett Show. These episodes were "The Night of the Bleak Island" (aired July 6); "The Night of the Big Blackmail" (July 13); "The Night of the Kraken" (July 20); "The Night of the Diva" (July 27); "The Night of the Simian Terror" (August 3); "The Night of the Bubbling Death" (August 11); "The Night of the Returning Dead" (August 17); "The Night of the Falcon" (August 24); "The Night of the Underground Terror" (August 31); and "The Night of the Sedgewick Curse" (September 7). Curiously, none of these featured the most frequent and popular villain, Dr. Loveless.

TV critic Lawrence Laurent wrote, "The return of Wild Wild West even for a summer re-run isn't surprising. CBS-TV was never really very eager to cancel this series, since over a four-year run that began in 1965 the Wild Wild West had been a solid winner in the ratings. Cancellation came mainly because CBS officials were concerned about the criticism over televised violence and to a lesser degree because Robert Conrad had grown slightly weary of the role of James West. Ever since last fall's ratings started rolling in, CBS has wished that it had kept Wild Wild West. None of the replacements have done nearly as well and, as a result, all of the Friday programs suffered."

That fall, CBS put the program into syndication, giving it new life on local stations across the country. This further antagonized the anti-violence lobby, since the program was now broadcast weekdays and often after school. One group, The Foundation to Improve Television (FIT), filed a suit on November 12, 1970, to prevent WTOP in Washington, D.C., from airing The Wild Wild West weekday afternoons at 4 pm. The suit was brought in Washington, D.C., specifically to gain government and media attention. The suit said the series "contains fictionalized violence and horror harmful to the mental health and well-being of minor children", and should not air before 9 pm. WTOP's vice president and general manager, John R. Corporan, was quoted as saying, "Since programs directed specifically at children are broadcast in the late afternoon by three other TV stations, it is our purpose to counter-program with programming not directed specifically at children." U.S. District Court Judge John J. Sirica, who later presided over the trial of the Watergate burglars and ordered U.S. President Richard Nixon to turn over White House recordings, dismissed the lawsuit in January 1971, referring FIT to take their complaint to the FCC. FIT appealed, but a year and a half later the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the district court decision dismissing the suit on the grounds that FIT had not exhausted the administrative remedies available to them. By then, WTOP had stopped broadcasting the series altogether. At that time, the show was in reruns on about 57 other local stations across the country, including WOR in New York and WFLD in Chicago.

In October 1973, the Los Angeles-based National Association for Better Broadcasting (NABB) reached a landmark agreement with KTTV, a local station, to purge 42 violent cartoon programs, including Mighty Mouse, Magilla Gorilla, Speed Racer and Gigantor. Additionally, the NABB cited 81 syndicated live-action shows that "may have a detrimental influence on some children who are exposed to such programming without parental guidance or perspective" when they are telecast before 8:30 p.m. This list included The Wild Wild West, The Avengers, Batman, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Roy Rogers, Wanted: Dead or Alive and The Lone Ranger. In Los Angeles, such shows opened with a cautionary announcement: "Parents — we wish to advise that because of violence or other possible harmful elements, certain portions of the following program may not be suitable for young children." The NABB hoped to use the cartoon ban and warning announcement as a model for similar agreements with other local stations.

By then, The Wild Wild West was running on 99 local stations. Its ongoing popularity throughout the 1970s prompted two television movie sequels, The Wild Wild West Revisited (1979) and More Wild Wild West (1980) (see above). By the spring of 1985, the original series was still carried on 74 local stations.

In the late 1980s, the series was still seen on local stations in Boston, Hartford, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Los Angeles, among other cities. Significantly, WGN (Chicago), which carried the show at 10 a.m. on Sundays, became available nationally through cable television.

In 1994 The Wild Wild West began running on Saturdays at 10 a.m. on Turner Network Television (TNT), which preferred the color episodes to the black and white ones. The series was dropped from WGN soon after. Hallmark Channel aired the series in 2005 as part of its slate of Saturday afternoon Westerns, but dropped it after only a few weeks.

While the series became scarce on television, each season was released on DVD, beginning with season 1 in 2006 and concluding with the final season early in 2008 (see below). In 2014, it was announced that the series was being prepped for Blu-ray.

In 2006 the series began running weekdays and/or weekends on MeTV, then Sundays on the Heroes and Icons digital channel. In 2016, The Wild Wild West returned to MeTV on Saturday afternoons. On January 1, 2018, MeTV began running the series weekday afternoons again, starting with second season (color) episodes. It also airs in the United Kingdom (as of 2015) on the Horror Channel on Sky channel 319, Virgin channel 149, Freeview channel 70 and Freesat channel 138.

Television films

Conrad and Martin reunited for two satirical comedy television film sequels, The Wild Wild West Revisited (broadcast May 9, 1979) and More Wild Wild West (broadcast October 7, 1980).Revisited introduced Paul Williams as Miguelito Loveless Jr., the son of the agents' nemesis. Loveless planned to substitute clones for the crowned heads of Europe and the President of the United States. This plot is similar to the second-season episode "The Night of the Brain", which featured a different villain.

Most of the exteriors were filmed at Old Tucson Studios where there are Western sets and a functioning steam train and tracks. Interiors were shot at CBS Studio Center. Ross Martin said, "We worked on a lot of the same sets at the studio, including the interiors of the old train. We used the same guns and gimmicks and wardrobes – with the waistlines let out a little bit. The script, unlike the old shows, is played strictly for comedy. It calls for us to be ten years older than when we were last seen. There are a lot more laughs than adventure."

More Wild Wild West was initially conceived as a rematch between the agents and Miguelito Jr., but Williams was on tour and unavailable for the film; his character was changed to Albert Paradine II and played by Jonathan Winters. This explains why the story begins with various clones of Paradine being murdered; the first film ends with word that Loveless had cloned himself five times. Paradine planned world conquest using a formula for invisibility, recalling the first-season episode "The Night of the Burning Diamond".

Both TV films were campier than the TV series, although Conrad and Martin played their roles straight. Both films were directed by veteran comedy Western director Burt Kennedy and written by William Bowers (in the latter case with Tony Kayden, from a story by Bowers); neither Kennedy nor Bowers had worked on the original series. The Wild Wild West Revisited takes the agents to a town called Wagon Gap. This was a nod to the Abbott and Costello film, The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap (1947), which was based on a treatment by Bowers and D. D. Beauchamp of a short story by Beauchamp.

Conrad once revealed that CBS intended to do yearly TV revivals of The Wild Wild West. Variety, in its review of the first TV movie, concurred: "A couple of more movies in this vein, sensibly spaced, could work in the future." Ross Martin's death in 1981, however, put an end to the idea. Conrad was later quoted in Cinefantastique about these films: "We all got along fine with each other when we did these, but I wasn't happy with them only because CBS imposed a lot of restrictions on us. They never came up to the level of what we had done before."

Home video

The first season of The Wild Wild West was released on DVD in North America on June 6, 2006, by CBS Home Entertainment (distributed by Paramount Home Entertainment). Although it was touted as a special 40th anniversary edition, it appeared 41 years after the show's 1965 debut. Robert Conrad recorded audio introductions for all 28 first-season episodes, plus a commentary track for the pilot. The set also featured audio interviews by Susan Kesler (for her book, The Wild Wild West: The Series), and 1970s era footage of Conrad and Martin on a daytime talk show. The second season was released on DVD on March 20, 2007; the third season was released on November 20, 2007; and the fourth and final season was released on March 18, 2008. None of the later season sets contained bonus material.

A 27-disc complete series set was released on November 4, 2008. It contains all 104 episodes of the series, as well as both reunion telefilms.

On May 12, 2015, CBS Home Entertainment released a repackaged version of the complete series set, at a lower price, but did not include the bonus disc that was part of the original complete series set. On June 13, 2016, the bonus disc was released as a standalone item.

In France, where the series (known locally as Les Mystères de l'Ouest) was a big hit, all four seasons were released in a DVD boxed set before their U.S. release. The French set, released by TF1 Video, includes many of the extras on the U.S. season 1 set and many others. "The Night of the Inferno" is presented twice – as a regular episode in English with Conrad's audio commentary, and in a French-dubbed version. All of the episodes are presented in English with French subtitles and several episode titles differ in translation from the original English titles. For example, "The Night of the Gypsy Peril", "The Night of the Simian Terror" and "The Night of Jack O'Diamonds" respectively translate as "The Night of the White Elephant", "The Night of the Beast" and "The Night of the Thoroughbred". Both TV movies are included as extras, but only in French-dubbed versions. The set also features a 1999 interview with Robert Conrad at the Mirande Country Music Festival in France.

Theatrical film adaptation

Main article: Wild Wild West

Warner Bros. optioned the film rights to The Wild Wild West in 1992. Mel Gibson was cast as James West, with Richard Donner set to direct from a screenplay by Shane Black (Donner had directed three episodes of the original series). In 1997, as the film was still being developed with other directors, writers and stars, Gilbert Ralston, who wrote the TV pilot, sued Warner Bros. over the upcoming feature film based on the series he helped create. Ralston died in 1999 before his suit was settled; however, Warner Bros. paid his family between $600,000 and $1.5 million.

In 1999, a theatrical feature-length film co-produced and directed by Barry Sonnenfeld was released as Wild Wild West (without the definite article used in the series title). Loosely based on the original series, the film re-imagined James West as a Black man (played by Will Smith), and Artemus Gordon (played by Kevin Kline) was portrayed as egotistical and bitterly competitive with West. Significant changes were also made to Dr. Loveless (played by Kenneth Branagh). No longer a dwarf, he was portrayed as a legless double amputee confined to a steam-powered wheelchair (similar to that employed by the villain in the episode "The Night of the Brain"). Loveless, whose first name was changed from Miguelito to Arliss, was a bitter Southerner who sought revenge on the North after the American Civil War.

Robert Conrad was reportedly offered a cameo as President Grant, but turned it down when the producers wanted him to read for the part. He was outspoken in his criticism of the film, which was now a comedic showcase for Will Smith with little in common with the original series. He was not opposed to casting a Black actor as Jim West: "The African-American casting of that role is probable and should not be an issue," Conrad said. "I think the casting of (Will) Smith is the issue. I appreciate his popularity. However, I'd prefer an actor with more athletic prowess. He's a good comedian but just not my choice to play my role. Best would be a Wesley Snipes body with a Denzel Washington head." Conrad was also offended by the racial overtones of the film. "There is a reference in it to a racial slur," Conrad said. "I hope it's not in the final version. I said, 'Why are we going in this direction. Why not just play James West black without explaining it?' He also criticized the casting of Branagh as a double amputee, rather than a little-person actor, in the role of Loveless. "Michael Dunn did such a great job playing Dr. Loveless, and he was by far the best villain on the show," Conrad said. "There are so many talented dwarfs but they wanted Kenneth Branagh." In a New York Post interview (July 3, 1999), Conrad stated that he disliked the film and that contractually he was owed a share of money on merchandising that he was not paid. He also had a long-standing feud with producer Jon Peters. "He was dating my 17-year-old daughter," Conrad explained, "saying he was divorced when he wasn’t."

Conrad later took special delight in accepting the Golden Raspberry Awards for the film in 1999. It was awarded Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Screenplay, Worst Original Song (for the song "Wild Wild West" by Smith) and Worst Screen Couple.

In 2009, Will Smith apologized publicly to Conrad while doing promotion for Seven Pounds:

I made a mistake on Wild Wild West. That could have been better. ...No, it's funny because I could never understand why Robert Conrad was so upset with Wild Wild West. And now I get it. It's like, 'That's my baby! I put my blood, sweat and tears into that!' So I'm going to apologize to Mr. Conrad for that because I didn't realize. I was young and immature. So much pain and joy went into [my series] The Fresh Prince that my greatest desire would be that it's left alone.

— Will Smith, Total Film magazine, Feb. 2009, Issue 151, pp. 120–125, Will Smith: The Total Film Interview, by Lesley O'Toole, Future Publishing Ltd., London, England

In other media

The series spawned several merchandising spin-offs, including a seven-issue comic book series by Gold Key Comics, and a paperback novel, Richard Wormser's The Wild Wild West, published in 1966 by Signet (ISBN 0-451-02836-8), which adapted the episode "The Night of the Double-Edged Knife".

Books

In 1988, Arnett Press published The Wild Wild West: The Series by Susan E. Kesler (ISBN 0-929360-00-1), a thorough production history and episode guide.

In 1998, Berkeley Books published three novels by author Robert Vaughan – The Wild Wild West (ISBN 0-425-16372-5), The Night of the Death Train (ISBN 0-425-16449-7), and The Night of the Assassin (ISBN 0-425-16517-5).

In 2019, Epic Press published a new novel by Joseph Covino, Jr, paying tribute to the series with a novel faithful in both style and spirit, Night of the Nobility Cult: A Wild, Wild Western.

Comics

In 1990, Millennium Publications produced a four-issue comic book miniseries ("The Night of the Iron Tyrants") scripted by Mark Ellis with art by Darryl Banks. A sequel to the TV series, it involved Dr. Loveless in a conspiracy to assassinate President Grant and the President of Brazil and put the Knights of the Golden Circle into power. The characters of Voltaire and Antoinette were prominent here, despite their respective early departures from Dr. Loveless' side in the original series. A review from the Mile High Comics site states: "This mini-series perfectly captures the fun mixture of western and spy action that marked the ground-breaking 1960s TV series." The storyline of the comics miniseries was optioned for motion picture development.

In the 75th volume of the French comic book series Lucky Luke (L'Homme de Washington), published in 2008, both James West and Artemus Gordon have a minor guest appearance, albeit the names have been changed to "James East" and "Artémius Gin".

Television

When Robert Conrad hosted Saturday Night Live on NBC (January 23, 1982), he appeared in a parody of The Wild Wild West. President Lincoln states his famous quip that, if General U.S. Grant is a drunk, he should send whatever he is drinking to his other, less successful generals. Lincoln dispatches West and Gordon (Joe Piscopo) to find out what Grant drinks. They discover that Grant is held captive by Velvet Jones (Eddie Murphy).

Soundtrack album

On July 11, 2017, La-La Land Records released a limited edition 4-disc set of music from the series, featuring Richard Markowitz's theme, episode scores by Markowitz, Robert Drasnin, Dave Grusin, Richard Shores, Harry Geller, Walter Scharf, Jack Pleis and Fred Steiner and Dimitri Tiomkin's unused theme music.

Contemporary merchandise

As with many television series, The Wild Wild West had several merchandise tie-ins during its run. These are listed below.

Year	Item(s)	Manufacturer or Publisher
1966	Paperback novel by Richard Wormser	Signet Books
1966	Board Game	Transogram Co.
1966(?)	Ross Martin and Robert Conrad Note Pads	Top Flight Paper Co.
1966	Secret "Sleeve Gun"	Ray Plastics
1966–1969	Gold Key Comic Books (7 issues)	Western Publishing Co.
1969	Lunch Box and Thermos	Aladdin Co.
Notes ^1 This item was not marketed with the series' name. However, The Wild Wild West was the only television series at the time that featured the item.

Proposed revivals

On October 5, 2010, Entertainment Weekly reported that Ron Moore and Naren Shankar were developing a remake of The Wild Wild West for television, but the project apparently stalled. In December 2013, Moore told Wired that "Wild Wild West and Star Trek were two of my great loves. I watched both in syndication in the '70s. Wild Wild West was really interesting, that combination of genres—a Western and secret agent, and they dabbled in the occult and paranormal. I really wanted to do a new version for CBS. I still think it's a great property. Someday I hope to go back to it."

A pastiche webseries titled Back to the Wild Wild West began production in November 2011, but apparently has been stalled.

See also

• Weird West
• The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.

External links

• The Wild Wild West at IMDb
• List of Episodes (Televised and Produced Order)
• Historical Chronology (Fictional) for The Wild Wild West
• Fan site for The Wild Wild West