A long, long time before the mantle of Batman was donned by a man named West, there was another West with similar heroic convictions, a similar taste for exotic gadgetry and the uncanny ability to have whatever is necessary at just the right time to get himself out of a jam. That West was James T. "Jim" West (Robert Conrad), an agent in America's Secret Service back in the old West and the main character in The Wild, Wild West. Actually, while the show is set in the old West, it only predates Adam West's Batman television show by a year. In fact, in "The Night of the Assassin," there is even a scene that has Jim West coming out of a secret passageway... through a grandfather clock. In addition to the similarities between The Wild, Wild West and the later airing Batman television show, James T. West of The Wild, Wild West seems to share an affinity for the ladies with another "James T.", specifically, James T. Kirk from Star Trek, another television show that began a year after The Wild, Wild West. For that matter, Jim has a certain knack for pressure points that make Spock's Vulcan "death grip" look slow.

Not even James T. West can save the world alone, however. Luckily, he doesn't have to; he has Artemus Gordon (Ross Martin) - a man of a million faces and a brilliant inventor who provides a multitude of gadgets that help Jim West make it though his many adventures alive. In a old West version of the Batcave and the Batmobile all in one, Jim West and Artemus Gordon have a specially equipped train that features a multitude of secret compartments and booby traps that make it a useful mobile headquarters to the good guys and dangerous for any unwelcome guests.

The typical plotline has Jim going in search of a criminal, and getting himself into trouble, typically involving a lovely, yet bad, woman. Just when it looks like he's at the end of his rope, One of the baddies turns out to be Artemus in disguise. Things get tight a few times, with a couple of brilliant escapes involving zip-lines and grappling guns or similar whistles and bells and, in the end, the good guys win. Formulaic? Perhaps, but nevertheless, a great show.

The Wild, Wild West is a fun combination of James Bond meets the old West with a duo every bit as dynamic as Batman and Robin, but less campy. If you can get around the implausible gadgets, The Wild, Wild West is simply a good time.