2 Years of the Weird West Emporium!

2 Years ago today I started this website! You know how people say that they can't believe so much time has passed in regards to something? Well that is absolutely true here, I cant believe its been two years. Seriously.

Originally this site had been a personal blog, except I only had one post (About my friend breaking her collar bone in Roller Derby) that I had done about a year previously...and then it just sat and, as blogs sometimes tend to do, it didn't go anywhere.

Then one day I was scouring the internet for a good website about The Weird West. I came across at least one, Steampunk Central which I had been to before. It was from Steampunk Central that I had first heard of the Legend TV series. At the time I re-found it however, the site was closed down, shuttered up, just a bunch of broken links.

Everything else I found online were either pictures, or reviews of Weird West/Western Steampunk media. A few of the movies on these lists got me on the road to the Weird West. Movies like Billy the Kid vs. Dracula and The Valley of Gwangi were some of my first exposure to the genre:



...and of course Wild Wild West:



....but those lists weren't what I was looking for. I was looking for something more comprehensive. Something like Paul Green's Encyclopedia of Weird Westerns except online. So I decided to start the website on my own.

I just reached 50 followers! I wanted to thank each and every one of you for finding my little website interesting enough to bookmark and revisit on occasion. I know the Emporium has been a little quiet lately, unfortunately real life tends to get in the way sometimes, but I'm not going anywhere and the Emporium isn't closing anytime soon (You'll be the first to know if it ever does). Expect some new posts soon. There will be one tomorrow and then maybe one or two next week, but Ill try to keep the posting on my normal non-semi-regular schedule.

Until then however here's to many more years of Weird West Emporium goodness, and Yippee ki-yay, Mamma Jamma!

The Further Adventures of Nicodemus Legend.....sort of.....

There were two Steampunk TV shows, in the early 90s (and have fairly large followings) that I was never able to see. The first is The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne which takes the premise that Jules Verne wrote his famous stories later in life based on the adventures he had as a young boy....It seems like a pretty good idea.

The other one is this, Legend, which featured Richard Dean Anderson and John De Lancie. This is from IMDB:

Ernest Pratt, a dime-store novelist in the old west, lives with his scientist friend Professor Janos Bartok in the small town of Sheridan, Colorado. The people of Sheridan mistakenly believe that Pratt--a drinker, gambler, and womanizer--is the audacious and pure hero of his novels, Nicodemus Legend. Bartok and his associate, Ramos, convince Pratt to assume the Legend persona while supplying him with Legend-like futuristic gadgets that they invent. Together, Bartok and the reluctant Pratt (as Legend), adventure throughout the west solving mysteries, capturing wrong-doers, and even making scientific discoveries.

One thing I was a little surprised about...Who knew Richard Dean Anderson had such good comic timing! This show looks like it could have either been really good, or typical syndication television fare...alas we shall never know...but below is a three part "best of" from the pilot that will give you a taste of what the whole thing was about. Enjoy!