Legend

I loved the show when it was on. I never missed an episode. Unfortunately, they canceled it. That seems to happen a lot to TV shows that are original and brilliant like this one.

I am something of an amateur history buff and the idea of a show set in the late 1800's Colorado that looked forward to the things we take for granted today was incredible. How many young men were attracted to travel west back then because of dime-store novels like those produced by Nicodemus Legend? Of course, the truth never quite lived up to the fiction.

Now that "The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr" is out on DVD, will Paramount see the light and release this series on DVD?

If there ever was a show that deserved a fair chance to find its audience, or for its audience to find it, it was Legend. It had everything going for it. Everything except network executives with the discernment to recognize what they had. Anderson and de Lancy were the perfect actors for the roles of Pratt/Legend and Bartok, and the chemistry between them was pure magic. I haven't enjoyed a show with such an outrageous premise and sly humor since The Wild Wild West.

I place Legend in the small and sad category of TV shows that truly died before their time.

This ranks up there as one of my 3 all-time favorite series. They could not have picked a better cast, from the charming leads to the quirky minor characters. Anderson obviously had a ball playing Legend, and he is an absolute scream to watch. The writing was also delightful, with all sorts of goofy little touches. The bank robber episode gave me the biggest laugh I've ever had watching a tv show. Kudos to everyone involved with the series! It is truly one of television's greatest gems. And to UPN - since you saw fit to deprive us of this wonderful series, at least have a heart and bring it back for an occasional tv movie.

As webmaster of The Unofficial Nicodemus Legend Page (please use a search engine if you want to find it, as IMDB requests that URLs not be included), I've been in a position to learn much about "Legend" in the five years since its untimely demise. This was a show almost universally loved, yet killed when a station not yet available in most of the country couldn't get ratings. Richard Dean Anderson and John DeLancie both cite "Legend" as among their favorite projects of all time. It is my hope that Paramount (or whoever currently holds the rights to this program) will eventually release the episodes to videotape. Or better yet, maybe some company could get the rights to a new series. Given a chance to GET the audience (which UPN never gave it) this is a show that could be very successful.

Like everyone else who's posted here, I reveled in "Legend." It was one of the few TV shows on any network that I made an effort to see every week. I've also been kicking myself for ten years that I didn't record it when it aired! John de Lancie & Richard Dean Anderson had wonderful chemistry, & it was obvious how much fun RDA had, finally getting to flex his comedic muscles after seven years as straight-arrow MacGyver.

The bright side, if any, to "Legend"s cancellation is that it freed Richard Dean Anderson up to work on "Stargate SG-1" the following year. How drab would television be had he not gone down _that_ path? The first time de Lancie showed up on "Stargate SG-1," I giggled & thought "It's Bartok!"