Bordertown: The Complete Series

This half hour series originally ran on CBN (The Family Channel) from 1989 until 1991. It was filmed on a tight budget in British Columbia and had a mostly Canadian cast and crew. It's unlikely that U.S. viewers will be familiar with most of the actors, including the leads (Richard Comar, John H. Brennan, and Sophie Barjac). Still, it's well-acted, and the stories are interesting. There's a lack of pretension about the series that makes it refreshing when compared to many other modern-day Westerns...Since it was made for a network that was owned by Pat Robertson, there's no swearing or sex, but there is a surprising amount of violence. In fact, it reminds me of "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" with the violence amped up. (One of the main characters is a beautiful female doctor.)...Maybe it seems like a strange comparison, but it also reminds me (on a superficial level) of HBO's "Deadwood" (which contained plenty of swearing, sex, and violence). For example, the primary setting is a very muddy frontier town; there's a large cast of recurring characters; and there's as much emphasis on character as on action. However, as I said, "Bordertown" lacks pretension. It's hard to get into much depth in 23 minutes and on a low budget, so its storytelling scope is more narrow than "Dr. Quinn" or "Deadwood." But there's something very likeable about how the series sets its modest goals and fulfills them...As for the DVD's, you couldn't ask for a better price ($12.95 for 78 episodes). There are 13 episodes on each of the six disks. All six disks are on one spindle in an oversized case. The episode titles are listed on the back of the DVD set, but there are no air dates or episode descriptions included. Considering the number of episodes that are packed onto each disk, the picture and sound quality are excellent, but there are no subtitles or closed captioning.

My wife and I used to watch this when it was on television many many years ago. When I noticed that there was this video collection, and it was cheap, we figured to go and get it.There is 6-1/2 hours of video on each DVD (13 episodes on each 4 disks). So the compression that was used to get this down to fit the 4 DVDs was a lot. All of the complaints about the video quality are correct — it's terrible.There is no subtitling, so be warned if you want/need it.The acting is pretty bad, some worse than others, the best is OK.The writing is fairly lame, you can see plot points an hour in advance and when you consider this is a 30 minute show, that says a lot.One of the amusing things that my wife and I found is that essentially EVERY bad guy is from the US. The Canadians are almost always presented as saints.And speaking of which, Canada's history is checkered with very bad history towards blacks, Chinese, Mexicans, etc. The difference is that they pretty much cleaned up their act, those of us in the US, well, it's mixed. But as you look at the residents of "Bordertown," they all live in harmony singing koombaya.This is not the only place where history sort of gets in the way of the story line. There was one episode with Teddy Roosevelt that had him as a pathetic boxer. While not of olympian quality, Roosevelt could hold his own in the square circle. But facts sort of got in the way of the story so facts/history be damned, full speed ahead.Despite all that, there is a certain simple pleasure watching this show. It's light material (very light) but if that's what you want/need at the end of the day, you'll probably complain about all the things that I've done and still be kinda-sorta satisfied.

Bordertown is a show that was made before the internet existed. It is about a town on the US / Canadian border that has a lawman from each of the Countries operating with euqal authority.On the US side is Marshall James Craddock, a rough hewn, stand-up, no-nonsense, fearless and imposing legend who is not afraid to throw away the lawbooks in pursuit of whats right...On the Canadian side is Corporal Clive Bennet, a tea-toatlin', jelly-spined, stuffed shirt, politically correct by-the-book sorta guy.The chemistry between them is excellent and makes for some very interesting stories.I would definitely rate this show with 5 stars, however, I give this product only 4 stars. The quality of the DvD's are pretty good considering that I am watching these shows on todays technology. The problem is that on each disk there is an episode that locks up whatever device I am watching it on. I have tried them on my PC/DvD/ Xbox 360 and 2 DvD players it always happens at the same point in the same episode.... There are no diret or scratches on the DvD's so I have to think the problem is with the data...Even with the frustration the lock-up causes I am happy with this purchase. 10$ for 30 hours of quality television that won't make you stupid to watch is a great bargain.I would feel very differently about the whole situation if this was a 30$ set.... but it isn't, so 4 stars :)EDIT: Amazon gave me a refund on this because of the messed up disc. I am going to re-order the set and hopefully I will have no issues....I am upping my rating to 5. It's true I had some hassle, but, this show is soooooooooo good, and 10$ for the series is an amazing value........if you like Westerns you will love this show... It is really that good... I love watching Jack clown that silly "Oatmeal Savage" of a mountie lol!

I really like that series when it was on tv and I am very happy to be able to still do today. It is interesting to imagine the life in a town on the frontiere like that. The character of Jack, Marie and Clyde were at the center of the series and their relationship brought a very interesting side to it all. The scenery is fantastic too.

Great series! Good clean entertainment without foul language and nudity that so many show seem to think is necessary. You don't really have to watch the shows in any particular order. It's just a good old fashioned, fun show to watch.

Disappointed over the clarity of the picture. Also, a couple of the episodes are missing due to a fault in the second disc.

WORKED GREAT, VERY HAPPY

Part of a collection of newer westerns for hubby.