I always found the CBS trio of “Gunsmoke,” “Have Gun Will Travel” and “Rawhide” to be the strongest. I have dvd-sets of just about every tv-western that has been officially released. Only missing a handful, like “Restless Gun” with John Payne, and “Cimarron City” with George Montgomery, but I hope to get around to them shortly.
A hefty percentage of tv-westerns are indeed available on dvd. Still some missing-in-action, though. Not available are some of the Four Star Productions items like “Black Saddle,” “Law of the Plainsman,” “Johnny Ringo” and such. Also, two short-lived mid-1960s westerns, “The Loner” with Lloyd Bridges, and “A Man Called Shenandoah” with Robert Horton, have yet to come out. Ditto for a few early kid-oriented westerns from the early-1950s, like “Wild Bill Hickok” and “Kit Carson.” Or, “Steve Donovan, Western Marhsal,” which is particuarly rare, even amongst the bootleg circuit.
But if I’ve grown keen on anything, it’s actually the silent westerns. Recently picked up “Wagon Tracks” (1919) with William S. Hart, along with some similar oldies of Tom Mix, Jack Hoxie, Bob Custer, and such.
***two short-lived mid-1960s westerns, ***
Some of those short lived westerns were merely summer replacements, done away with when the regular TV season started up again in the fall. Anyone remember TATE, The one armed gunman?