The Guns of Will Sonnett

The Guns of Will Sonnett is a Western television series set in the 1870s which ran on the ABC television network from 1967 to 1969. The series was the first production collaboration between Aaron Spelling and Danny Thomas, who would later go on to produce one of ABC's most-memorable hits, The Mod Squad. Today, the series is distributed by King World, and, when telecast, is usually seen in tandem with Branded.

This series starred veteran gravel-voiced character actor Walter Brennan as Will Sonnett, and Dack Rambo as his grandson, Jeff, who were searching for the man in the middle, Will's son and Jeff's father, James. Disgusted with his father's being absent on army-scout business more often than not, James, also called Jim, had disappeared at the age of seventeen. 

A few years later, a baby boy was delivered to Will, with a letter identifying him as James' son, named Jeff. It went on to say that his mother had died in childbirth, and that not very many people get a second chance in life, but this was one for Will. The young boy was raised by his grandfather, who was grateful for the opportunity and did the best that he could.

The elder Sonnett was very capable with firearms and often spoke to strangers about this prowess in a way that intimidated them, frequently closing with the disclaimer, "No brag, just fact," which became a catch phrase with many of the show's younger fans. Apparently Will's absences had been significantly less than total, as he had taught James how to handle a six-shooter, and the younger man had become renown as a peerless gunfighter. Hearing so much of his father's repute, Jeff decided he had to find him, Will agreed, and they rode across the West, looking for their common relative. 

They often arrived at places which had been vacated by James, usually only slightly before their arrival. The places' inhabitants had mixed opinions of James, some seeing him as a ruthless killer, others as the only man brave enough to take the side of justice against other men far more ruthless. The middle Sonnett did in fact appear in several scattered episodes, invariably played by Jason Evers.

Unlike most series with a similar premise, the problem was resolved during the series' run. In the second season finale, Will and Jeff eventually located and linked up with James. The three became lawmen together, Will as town marshal and the other two as his deputies. Had there been a third season for this series, it would have been as a much more conventional Western.

Both seasons of the show, totaling fifty episodes, have been made available on DVD. However, they are the edited episodes distributed by King World. They are transferred from video tape sources and have not been remastered from the original film prints. The color is often faded, and the sound is rather poor. The edits in the episodes were poorly performed and sometimes confuse the plotline.