Season 1 Questionnaire

Volume 1, Issue 1


SEASON 1 The Kid Gunfighter Home of the Brave Speak No Evil Bad Blood Black Ulysses Ten-Cent Hero False Colors A Good Day to Die End of Innocence Blind Love The Keepsake Fall From Grace Hard Time Lady For a Night Unfinished Business Decoy Daddy's Girl Bulldog Matched Pair Man Behind the Badge Then There Was One Gathering Clouds Part 1 SEASON 1 WRAP-UP AN INTERVIEW WITH ... ED SPIELMAN SEASON 2 Born to Hang Ghosts

The Rider Review Season 1 Wrap-Up
By Johnny Betts

Ladies and gentleman, I would like to welcome you to the Rider Review Season 1 Wrap-Up. Season 1 was a wild ride, wasn't it? It's what hooked us all as fans. It might not have had top 10 ratings, but it performed very strongly, usually finishing in 2nd place in its time slot on Thursday nights. This is very good considering it had to go head-to-head with "Cheers."

Over 100 people contributed to the questionnaire, and I want to thank all of you. The ages ranged from 16 to 55 years old, with an average age of 30. Readers from Australia, Suomi, Italy, Sweden, England, France, Canada, Spain, Romania, the Netherlands, Singapore, Germany, Peru, and 36 of the 50 United States participated, so I'll go ahead and sing the praises of this questionnaire's scientific accuracy. Oh, and I had ONE guy respond to the questionnaire. God bless you, Brian.

Not only does this wrap-up include my winners for the questionnaire categories, and not only does it include the People's Choice winners, but it also reveals the awards the show won during Season 1. You might be surprised how well it did.

I was originally going to include *every* one of your comments for *every* category, but due to the huge response to the questionnaire, this wrap-up was shaping up to be way too long, and I don't want y'all getting bored. So I'll mainly be posting comments that I can add cute responses to. And this was hard because believe me, I forced myself to cut out a lot of pro-Jimmy and pro-Johnny Betts quotes. But don't worry, if you made any comments, then at least one of 'em will appear somewhere. I'll play it safe and keep things anonymous.

Ready to begin? Yeah, I thought so.

YR SEASON 1 AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS

1990 Emmy Award - WINNER

Outstanding Achievement in Costuming For a Series
Frances H. Hayes - Costume Supervisor
The Kid (Pilot)

1990 Emmy Award - Finalist

Outstanding Achievement in Main Title Theme Music: John Debney - Composer

Western Heritage Award - WINNER

1989 - The Kid, an episode from "The Young Riders", ABC; Ed Spielman, producer; Jonas McCord, Director.

Western Heritage Award - WINNER

1990 - Best Fictional Drama

Houston Film Festival - WINNER

1990 - Best Series/Dramatic

People's Choice Award - Finalist

1989-1990 - Favorite New Dramatic Program

Western Writers of America Award - Finalist

Best Western Television Script of 1989

Silver Spur Award - Finalist

Steven Baum, nominated by Western Writers of America for episode "Ten Cent Hero."

Not bad, huh? Now whenever one of your jerk friends mocks your love for TYR you can say, "Hey, it was an Emmy winning show, so IN YO FACE!"

THE BEST EPISODE OF SEASON 1

This was a tough choice because there were several GREAT episodes (i.e. mutliple "Jimmy episodes") from Season 1. Here are my top 5:

5. Tie - The Kid and Bulldog

The Kid is the episode that hooked me 14 years ago, and it gave us great introductions to the characters. But Bulldog has to be included somewhere in the top 5. Who doesn't love the interaction between Jimmy and Ambrose? "Decoy" was very close to sneaking in.

4. Fall From Grace

I'm starting a petition to get Josh Brolin an Emmy for the scene where he lays the smack down all over Teaspoon and the riders. And how can you not love an episode where Jimmy says, "Oh golly, that’s what I’d expect coming from you, Kid"??? Golly ... bwahahahahaha!

3. Matched Pair

No, the episode title does NOT refer to guest star Chris Penn's man boobs! Penn, however, was one of the best guest stars in the series, and the showdown between Jimmy and Taggart (Penn) at the end is classic.

2. Ten-Cent Hero

This is where things get tough. Ten-Cent Hero could have been my choice for the best Season 1 episode, and on a different day it might be, but today I'm gonna put it at #2. This episode is probably the most quotable of the series, and it's our first chance to really see Jimmy's character develop. Plus, Calder is one of the best YR bad guys. A non-generic bad guy with an actual personality in YR land? It's as rare as an Anna Nicole Smith book-signing at the library. Well, maybe not THAT rare. "Ten-Cent Hero" is a very well-written episode and, quite simply, this is TYR at its best.

So that brings us to the top spot. It could possibly be the best episode of the entire series. It and "Ten-Cent Hero" are definitely in my all-time top 5. The award for Best Episode of Season 1 goes to...

GUNFIGHTER

It's got a GREAT bad guy (Longley), it has one of the best scenes in all of YR history (the first confrontation between Longley and Hickok), and the episode shows a drastic change in Jimmy's character within a 44 minute time period. Jimmy begins the episode as cocky as ever, but by the end of the episode he chokes down all his pride in an attempt to fulfill Emma's wishes. Josh Brolin does a great job showing us how reluctant Jimmy is to apologize to Longley. And when Longley refuses Jimmy's apology, Jimmy goes ahead and takes care of business, but not without being a little humbled by the whole experience.

Simply put, it's one of the best written and best acted episodes of the series. But did you folks agree with me? Let's take a look at the People's Choice (thanks to Johnny's rounding, the percentages might not add up to 100%)...

16.16%
THE KID

8.08%
Gunfighter

2.02%
Home of the Brave

5.05%
Speak No Evil

10.1%
Bad Blood

1.01%
Black Ulysses

10.1%
Ten-Cent Hero

1.01%
False Colors

5.05%
A Good Day to Die

1.01%
The End of Innocence

0%
Blind Love

2.02%
The Keepsake

3.03%
Fall from Grace

2.02%
Hard Time

10.1%
Lady for a Night

0%
Unfinished Business

4.04%
Decoy

2.02%
Daddy's Girl

9.09%
Bulldog

2.02%
Matched Pair

1.01%
The Man Behind the Badge

0%
Then There Was One

5.05%
Gathering Clouds

"The Kid" was number 1, huh? Or did a lot of you folks just leave that as a default choice??? I tried to limit that the best I could. All entries that included "The Kid" as best episode AND worst episode weren't included in the tally. Just a little behind-the-scenes info for you cats. No charge.

I'm a little disappointed that "Gunfighter" only ranked 6th, but I'm proud of y'all for helping lead "Ten-Cent Hero" to a 2nd place tie. One thing that puzzles me is WHY WAS IT TIED WITH "LADY FOR A NIGHT" and "BAD BLOOD"?!?!?!?! How did those two episodes rank so high? How did they rank ahead of "Gunfighter"???? Well, I have a theory.

Since there are SO MANY excellent Jimmy episodes, the votes were more dispersed among the Jimmy fans. But there were only two Lou episodes, so the Lou fans didn't have many choices. Therefore, the voting is skewed! If you tabulate the votes for all the Jimmy episodes, then you'll see that they're the favorite of 1/3 of the readers. Glad I could clear that up. I should've had everybody vote their top 5 episodes. That would have given us a more accurate measure. Man, why am I just now realizing this?!?! Way to go, Johnny. Way to think this thing through. Ah well, you live, you learn, you use a bunch of cliches, everybody thinks you're wise.

THE WORST EPISODE OF SEASON 1

I didn't hate any episodes from Season 1, but there are some that you should probably watch alone rather than watching with your friends. These five probably WON'T make them fans of the show.

5. Blind Love

Jimmy's out of character, Sam's out of character, and Sarah Downs is a total HORSE FACED WAINCH! There were several good moments, and Sarah's horrible lines provide many laughs, but I think I would label this "The Bizarro Jimmy" episode. This episode is best for those Kid fans who want to try to fool people into not liking Jimmy.

4. Hard Time

From a technical standpoint, this was probably the worst episode of the season. The plot contained more holes than Manuel Noriega's face, and I still scratch my head over how the mouse mysteriously reappeared at the end of the episode. The writer's obviously phoned this turd in, but it's such a fun episode to make fun of! Put it in the "so bad it's good" category. Plus, any episode where Jimmy makes a joke about Kid stealing candy and where the riders try to ride a bike with an oversized wheel can't be all bad.

3. Lady For a Night

Pretty boring stuff for the most part. You ladies will have to forgive me for falling asleep at the mere thought of a Lou/"Robin Colcord from Cheers" romance. The only thing that saved this episode was Jimmy's trip to the dentist. If not for that storyline, this probably would have been the most boring episode of the season. Some of your lady friends might like this episode, but do NOT show it to the guys.

2. Black Ulysses

Actually, this episode is pretty good ... FOR CURING INSOMNIA! The scene where Jimmy and Cody slack off and are asleep against the barn is good, but mostly this episode just drags. And what's up with the title? Why not just name it "Ulysses"? I mean, they didn't name any episodes "White Bulldog," now did they? I have to fight "fast forward temptation" when watching this episode.

And the award for Worst Episode of Season 1 goes to...

DADDY'S GIRL!

Sorry, Buck fans, but this episode produces the biggest stench from atop the poop heap. There's really nothing of significance in this episode. The race at the beginning is all right, but other than that there was NOTHING going on in this episode. It was just boring. At least "Lady For a Night" had the dentist storyline. This episode has, um, Josh's ex-wife and some moron with a neatly trimmed beard.

What did y'all think?

4.08%
The Kid

3.06%
Gunfighter

3.06%
Home of the Brave

2.04%
Speak No Evil

0%
Bad Blood

5.1%
Black Ulysses

1.02%
Ten-Cent Hero

0%
False Colors

3.06%
A Good Day to Die

5.1%
The End of Innocence

11.22%
Blind Love

0%
The Keepsake

0%
Fall from Grace

14.29%
HARD TIME

8.16%
Lady for a Night

5.1%
Unfinished Business

4.08%
Decoy

12.24%
Daddy's Girl

4.08%
Bulldog

3.06%
Matched Pair

6.12%
The Man Behind the Badge

3.06%
Then There Was One

2.04%
Gathering Clouds

Very close! It's interesting that my bottom 5 was very close to the readers' bottom 5. I can't blame you for voting "Hard Time" as the #1 stinker. After all, it is a Kid episode. So congrats, Kid, you won an award! You have the distinction of being the feature character in the readers' least favorite episode of the season.

And notice how "Lady For a Night" finished 4th in the voting. Ah, a little justification. Looks like it was a "love it or hate it" episode. But let me ask just one question: HOW COULD ANYONE VOTE FOR "TEN-CENT HERO" OR "GUNFIGHTER"?!?!?!?! HEATHENS!!!!

THE FAVORITE MAIN CHARACTER OF SEASON 1

Weeeeell, I don't think it's a stretch for me to say that JIMMY is the character that kept me glued to this series for three straight years. He's the young Clint Eastwood of TYR. Let's face it, Jimmy is the guy you want on your side if a fight's goin' down, and isn't that what Westerns are all about? I watch Westerns that have a tough, no-nonsense character, and that is exactly what Jimmy is. Jimmy's the kind of guy who'd use a corncob for toilet paper without so much as a flinch.

Cody is the runner-up. He worked well with Jimmy and had great comedic timing. But what did you fine folks think? I promise I haven't altered the results in any way...

17.82%
Buck

4.95%
Cody

2.97%
Emma

9.9%
Ike

31.68%
JIMMY

14.85%
Kid

10.89%
Lou

2.97%
Sam

3.96%
Teaspoon

Well, the readers have spoken, and you have chosen Jimmy as your favorite rider. Now I could gloat and mock all the Jimmy haters out there, but I'm a bigger person than that. Sure, I may have done something like that about 5 years ago, but I'm 28 now, and I've grown and matured over time. I've come to learn that there's more to life than ... IN YO' FACE! BOOOOOOOOOOYA! JIMMY IS DA MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!!! Can you say 31.68%??? Can you say "more than twice the number of votes Kid got"???? Yeah, I think you can! *Johnny stirs the pot, does the running man dance, and then raises da roof*

Whew, that felt good. There are two things that surprise me about this poll. First of all, Buck finished second??? I honestly thought the majority of the fans broke down into Jimmy and Kid fans, so I'm a little surprised. Do I have more Indian readers than I realized?

And second, why did Cody rank so low??? Where's the love? It's not enough. Makes everything go round and round. OK, I promise, that is the LAST Hanson reference you'll ever get from me. I hope. Anyway, I guess Cody is kind of an "oh, he's my second favorite" character. Cody is by far the most underrated character on the show.

I had my gloat time, so now it's your turn to have a say. Reader comments are in red, and my responses will be in black.

BUCK FANS

Buck was a very sensitive character. He had so many issues in his life and was always torn between two worlds. Not to mention the very cool knife stuck in his boot and his sexy sexy laugh :)

Sometimes a little *too* sensitive with all that angst.

He was underutlized in this and in all subsequent seasons, would have liked to see them use him much more. There was so much of his back story that was never explained.

I do agree that he wasn't used much in Season 1. His job consisted of using his Sixth Sense to track bad guys and popping up out of nowhere to translate Ike's sign. I think what held him back was America's collective yawn when "Daddy's Girl" aired. I prefer Season 2 Buck to Season 1 Buck. He starts to replace some of his angst with a sense of humor.

I'm Buck's biggest fan!!! Even though you ripped on him constantly throughout your reviews, the whole thing was TOO funny!

Thank you, thank you. I'll probably rip on him in the future, but I'm glad to know somebody out there won't hate me for it.

This is a hard question. Buck was my favorite character (noodle arms and all) but Teaspoon and Jimmy were the most valuable in developing the show.

Nobody said these questions would be easy. Johnny Betts challenges your heart, your soul, AND your mind.

Love the mystery about him

CODY FANS

SHHH ... You can't tell Jimmy I said that! j/k

Don't worry, for the right price my silence can be yours.

i think ... oh well ... the character stephen plays is my favourite in any movie

Wow, I didn't think Stephen himself would actually complete my questionnaire! Thanks, Steve-o!

i still have a young riders poster on the back of my closet door!

Do you need my mailing address so you'll know where to send it? Just let me know.

EMMA'S FAN

She was the quintessential western woman. Not a caricature, not too glamorous, she got the job done and sometimes her hair got messed up.

I agree. I've always liked Emma, and I thought Melissa Leo fit the part perfectly. She was a very realistic character. It was a shame to see her go. Still can't believe she was only 29 when the show originally aired.

IKE FANS

He's so sweet and cute and irresistible and he expresses so much without being able to talk.

Kind of like me, except for the "without being able to talk" part.

Ike is the man. He's hot and sexy plus he's a sweetheart.

Once again, all words that could be used to describe Johnny Betts. Let's see how long it takes for one of you to send an email telling me to get over myself...

This was really based on the fact that I felt a bit sorry for him; not being able to speak and to have no hair on top of that!

Poor Ike. Now there's even more reason to feel sorry for him - he has to settle for pity points! I agree with you though, Ike was probably the most tragic of the riders. Don't forget how he was required to bump his head or fall off a horse in practically every episode. Gotta give the guy props for actually surviving more than two seasons.

Nuff said. ;)

JIMMY FANS

I actually had a little crush on Josh Brolin when I was a teen. I even tried to find a black cowboy hat just like his when I was on the hunt for one.

I tried to find a jacket just like Jimmy's, and I got one that was pretty close.

Gotta love Jimmy! The show just wouldn't be worth watching without him;)

That's a pretty accurate statement. Cody would've still provided good comic relief, but Jimmy was the backbone of the show.

Are you kidding? What sort of question IS that? Of course Hickok Rules! He's the sexiest, best looking, gun-toting YR in ALL TYR annals! Season 1 just proved the truth of my words. Jimmy portrayed an aura that Kid could only DREAM of possessing!

Kid sucks

Hahaha, very succinct.

One word, and it's "dynamic." Even at the beginning of his arc, the Hickok character is easily the most interesting and shows the greatest change over the course of the season.

This comment totally hits the bullseye. It's all about character development, and nobody developed his/her character like Josh Brolin did.

I do have to admit, I started off (in my teen years) as a huge Ike fan. Now that I have matured, I would categorize myself as a Jimmy fan :)

Very interesting. Much like Jimmy, this reader shows a lot of character development. She grew up, matured, and realized Jimmy was the man. It's a heartwarming story.

Who is cooler than Jimmy?

I can answer that one pretty quickly - nobody.

He's the best. Wonderful personality and so cute! I just wanna be the girl to show that I understand his ways :)

Too bad you weren't there to cut Sarah Downs off at the pass.

Jimmy is and always will be the best.

KID FANS

KIDKIDKIDKIDKID!!!!

Who?

I just didn't like this episode, that's all.

I'm not sure what this has to do with Kid being her favorite character.

Is there anyone better than Kid in any season???? I think not! :)

Actually, yes, there is. Let me just reel off a list of those that are better than Kid in ANY season: Jimmy, Cody, Teaspoon, Sam, Buck, Emma, Ike, Rachel, Noah, and possibly Jesse. Hope that clears things up.

LOU'S FANS

She was shy and kept things interesting with the rest of the "boys."

She was such a kick-[butt] girl doing her own thing in a man's world!! You go girl!!!!

I was wondering when there'd be a "you go girl" in reference to Lou.

Lou just didn't get good writing.

Yeah, watch "Lady For a Night" for proof of that.

kid and lou and jimmy 'triangle' was fun to watch

I like Lou because I think she is a brave girl in a man's world

I'll give credit where it's due - Lou was indeed a brave little squirt.

SAM'S FANS

Sam - a big, strong, tough, good-lookin' guy with a constant three day growth, a gift for natty comebacks and one-liners, and the medical skills to save a downed horse with only his trusty knife and a burning stick. What a guy!

Someone should've hired this woman to write Sam's description for the Season 1 presskit!

Uh ... if I don't choose Sam my dividend check from Brett Cullen will stop coming and I need that 35 cents each month.

Sounds like a little lady from Brett's official website knows where her loyalty lies.

Sam and Emma's relationship should have continued through the next season

I agree. Season 1 should've ended with the wedding, or the Season 2 premiere should've had the wedding. Nothing against Noah and Rachel, but given the choice, I'd take Sam and Emma. Although I do like Rachel's Southern accent.

TEASPOON'S FAN

I loved Teaspoon for his colorful character. Jimmy came in as a close second.

THE MOST VALUABLE RIDER OF SEASON 1

Who was the most valuable rider? Even if he/she wasn't your favorite character, which rider was essential to the show's success?

No surprise here, but my choice is JIMMY. He was the most dynamic character of the season and the most dynamic of the entire series. Jimmy's clearly a different person by the end of the season, and my hats are off to Josh for developing the character like he did. There aren't too many characters on TV that you actually get to watch develop and change, but Josh made sure the Jimmy character wasn't gonna get stale.

Again, Cody is my runner-up. The show would've suffered greatly without his dead-aim comedy relief. How can you not love Cody?

So, were some of you Kid fans able to choke down your pride and admit that nobody was more valuable to the show than Jimmy? Let's see...

6.19%
Buck

8.25%
Cody

3.09%
Ike

52.58%
JIMMY

26.8%
Kid

3.09%
Lou

Whooooooa! Talk about a thorough BUTT KICKING! I'm not surprised though. The writers realized Jimmy's importance also, and that's why about 30% of Season 1 consisted of "Jimmy episodes." Nice showing by Kid, but you just can't compete with Jimmy. I'm glad to see Cody got a little more respect in this category. Your comments...

BUCK AS MVP

Who else could track everyone and everything

It's true, no one could track horse poop quite like ol' Pimp Vest.

Although he wasn't as "prominent" among the riders, he tended to bring some sense and insight to the rest of the crew.

Yes, a ... DUHN DUHN DUHN ... SIXTH SENSE!

CODY AS MVP

Cody = COMIC RELIEF

Similar to how Johnny Betts = COMEDIC GENIUS!

Cody is too hilarious! He really adds to the show with his own brand of humor and wit.

This is true, and it's why I still think Cody was Stephen's all-time best role. He was great in "The Usual Suspects," but Cody is the tops. The tops, I say!

I think he carried most of his weight around there. Jimmy played with his guns too much.

DID NOT!

IKE AS MVP

Even above Kid, Ike is the calmest rider and held them together the best :)

Or maybe Ike's inability to talk just made him *appear* calm, hmmm...

JIMMY AS MVP

Close call between Jimmy and Cody - picked Jimmy because he best portrayed the development of the characters - from the tough boys to *seen-too-much* young men? Cody - well how boring wouldn't the show have been without him?

This is a dead-on definition of Jimmy, and it's true, Cody's personality saved many scenes and episodes.

Jimmy again! Most of the storylines were written around Jimmy. In Season 1 alone, 6 episodes I believe were devoted to Jimmy's character. He IS the man!

Actually, it was 7 episodes, but who's counting? Well, I am apparently.

At some point in this season it stopped being the Young Riders and became the Jimmy Hickock show. (Yuck) Kid ran Jimmy a close second.

Yuck? More like BOOYA!

Unfortunately because most of the episodes revolved around either him or Kid

I think you meant "fortunately." You accidentally placed "un" in front of it. No need to thank me for correcting your mistake, it's all part of my public service.

Fine, OK, Mr. Betts, I have to say that Jimmy was the backbone of the season, but I wish the other seasons had dealt with the rest of the riders in more detail.

Gotta give you major credit for not dancing around the truth!

Jimmy just rocks! And yes, I admit it, extremely sexy! I like Cody, too, for comic relief.

Kid sucks

I think I see a pattern here...

Who else would I choose? Kid? Jimmy and his Beckwith could run the whole freaking Pony Express single-handedly.

Dare I argue? Nope.

Kid's a wiener.

Dare I argue? Nope.

Although my favorite rider is Buck, I'd have to say Jimmy was the most valuable in the first season. Although they were all very good gunfighters I think Jimmy was the best in fighting situations.

Exactly. Who else would you want on your side during a fight?

OK, you know this isn't my natural answer, but without Jimmy, Johnny wouldn't have watched, and without Johnny the season would never have been reviewed, and without the reviews, well, that's just a world I don't want to think about :)

Now this is just a very insightful, right-on-target answer. Do *you* want a world without the Rider Review? I don't think so. Great comment, Rhian... um, I mean, anonymous reader!

This was not an easy choice because it seemed to be a toss up between Jimmy, Kid, Cody, and Buck.

I know he got my friends watching - everyone liked the 'bad boy.' I however liked goody two shoes Kid! It is interesting to note at a recent get together of uni friends, now some are older they can understand my attraction to the stable, solid Kid.

Did they pat you on the head and condescendingly say, "Um, we now understand your attraction to Kid" and then stifle laughter after saying it? Just curious...

Well I have to put him cause I absolutely love him, but I think all of them were valuable ... even Lou ... ::bah::

I don't know if I'd go *that* far.

The dreaded 'change the stories to suit the actor with the most fanmail' syndrome is paramount to this, unfortunately. Not that the character wasn't great, but there *were* eight other series regulars to play with...

Well, if that's true, then all I can say is THANK GOODNESS FOR THE POWER OF FAN MAIL!

He was the dark brooding hunk that every show needs.

I think Jimmy is the character who shows better how people were in the West, not only gunfighters but human beings too.

Yep. Watching the show, I can actually believe that the real Wild Bill Hickok's young life might have been similar to how Josh portrayed it.

Why would anybody watch the show if Jimmy were not in it?

Maybe to make fun of Kid.

KID AS *snicker* MVP

That's right! I said KID! There would have been no show without him, so he was the most valuable. So there, Johnny Betts.

Oh, there would've been a show all right. The Pilot episode just would've been called "Hickok" instead.

I know Johnny, but the show was originally about him. Yes, Jimmy was valuable too.

True, it was about him for all of one episode and then Jimmy's presence took charge.

KIDKIDKIDKIDKID!!!!

Who?

Kid ... I guess ... It seems like a little more of season one stories evolved around him

Well, let's check ... actually, there were really only three "Kid episodes" during Season 1. I don't consider "The Kid" to be a "Kid episode" because it centered on the group. But even if you claim it's a "Kid episode" then that's only 4. Jimmy, however, had SEVEN episodes. Booya.

Sex-appeal is the most important feature in any western ;)

So why are you choosing Kid then?

Once again ... could any of the others be more valuable?? I mean most of the eps were about him. :)

Jimmy episodes - 7
Kid episodes - 3 (maybe 4, but that's stretching it)

Sometimes it's hard being right ALL the time.

Well, he's the center of the universe, isn't he?

No. He isn't.

'Cause he's the best rider, and the smartest.

Smartest? Did you see him try to read?

LOU AS MVP

She just added that little extra something that made the show wonderful. I loved all the males, (they were all hot) but she was the special ingredient to the perfect stew of characters.

THE MOST EFFECTIVE BAD GUY OF SEASON 1

Longley is my choice. The guy was a cold-blooded killer, and I think we were all just counting the moments until Jimmy took him down. I would've loved to have seen him on multiple episodes. Brad Taggart ("Matched Pair") was great also, but he wasn't as heartless as Longley. Taggart wasn't the kind of bad guy who would shoot you in the back. Longley was the kind of bad guy who, if paid enough, would shoot a 12-year-old in the back, THEN steal his lunch money, and THEN demand an apology from the kid's parents because he wasted a bullet. All he'd need for justification is a homemade "wanted" sign in crayon made by one of the kid's classmates. Great job by Mr. Jay O. Sanders. All the readers say...

4.08%
Gabe Calder

9.18%
Jeffrey Darnell

16.33%
Tyler DimWitt

32.65%
LONGLEY

13.27%
Nickerson

8.16%
Brad Taggart

11.22%
Van Dorne

5.1%
Other

Wow, I'm impressed! I'm glad to see Longley get the respect he deserves as a bad guy. I never thought DimWitt was that great of a bad guy. I just feel he's more of a little weasel. I can see why you ladies might really hate the guy, but the fact that most of you gals could beat him up causes me to yawn at his antics. He's not an intimidating character, and thus not what I would classify as a true Western bad guy. Clint Eastwood wouldn't waste his time belching in the guy's direction. But, that's what makes questionnaires like this so interesting.

And personally, I wish Calder had returned in Season 2 to try to get his revenge against Jimmy. I'm really surprised the writers didn't pursue that. Oh well, let's see who got the write-in votes...

Kathleen Devlin

Best bad guy or worst actress?

That horsey face Sarah chick from "Blind Love"

She definitely deserved to be dragged by that horse for a few more minutes. Or hours.

JD Marcus - I know he wasn't technically the villian but he did create Jimmy's shadow

That's a very good point. Marcus was the type of bad guy who knew he wasn't tough, so he had to do his dirty work "behind the scenes." Too bad Jimmy never got to punch him in the brain.

Kid's brother ... name escapes me ...

Good ol' Jed. Jed was the type of bad guy who was hard to dislike. He was charming, and I think he really meant to fight for what he believed in. But the writers had him kill some innocent people and there you go, he's officially a bad guy. They should've let him stick around for a few more episodes.

THE BEST MARK-OUT REMARK OF SEASON 1

Man, this is tough. Sam's line is very close, and I'm still waiting for a perfect opportunity to use it in real life, but I'm gonna have to go with:

"Sorry, but apologizin' is something I only do on Sundays. Today's Tuesday."

This line and Jimmy's delivery of it perfectly define his character. All right, your turn:

19.19%
Sam Cain with, "That won't matter to you, you'll be the first I drop."

39.39%
Jimmy Hickok with, "Sorry, but apologizin' is something I only do on Sundays. Today's Tuesday."

12.12%
Jimmy Hickok with, "Man sends someone to kill me, I make it my problem."

7.07%
Jimmy Hickok with, "Real heroes learn from doin', not readin'."

12.12%
William F. Cody with, "It’s bad enough when somebody won’t talk to you, with him it’s downright spooky."

6.06%
Teaspoon Hunter with, "If anything like this happens again, you'll have to smoke those through your ear."

4.04%
Other

I'm really surprised that Jimmy's remark won by such a large margin! I'm gonna have to start giving you folks more credit. Let's see what some of y'all had to say...

Gee, Hickok biases much?

Read the Rider Reviews much?

Kid with, "I don't know. But whatever it is I wish you were doing it with her."

"Lead costs money," Kid in "The Kid" when Jimmy calls him out. Talk about not giving Jimmy the time of day.

Talk about being deathly scared of Jimmy.

It's a tie between Jimmy not apologizing in "Gunfighter" and Cody's remark from "The Keepsake." Sorry, I just can't choose!"

Apology ... NOT ACCEPTED!

THE BEST CLASSIC SCENE OF SEASON 1

Another tough choice. Hmmm... *Johnny thoughtfully strokes his goatee for a few seconds* I'm gonna have to go with the scene from "Ten-Cent Hero" where Sam plays poker and holds the Dead Man's Hand and then Jimmy tells Cody to quit reading and later shoots Marcus' cane and hat. First of all, the fact that Sam was holding the Dead Man's Hand rules. There's great interaction between Cody and Jimmy, Jimmy has several great quotes, I love Jimmy putting Marcus in his place, and I like Buck's "Another day with Jimmy Hickok" quote.

The scene where Longley demands an apology from Jimmy, and the scene where Jimmy lays the smack down and is "fired" are both right at the top. But let's see what the survey says...

32.99%
We're introduced to the riders.

7.02%
Longley demands an apology from Jimmy because of the mud bath his horse gave him, but Jimmy refuses.

14.43%
Sam plays poker and holds the Dead Man's Hand and then Jimmy tells Cody to quit reading and later shoots Marcus' cane and hat.

4.12%
Kid stands up to Sam and says he'll have to deal with the riders before hanging Jimmy.

18.56%
"The Dance." Jimmy hands over his gun, Buck hints at scalping Ike, everybody eats cake, and Kid and Lou have dance fever.

12.37%
Jimmy LAYS THE SMACK DOWN! on Teaspoon and the riders and then is "fired."

1.03%
Cody reads 'The Man in Black' and discusses it with Jimmy and Lou.

3.09%
The showdown where Chris Penn is punked out once and for all by Jimmy.

6.19%
Other

I guess I can't blame you for going with the introduction of the riders. Jimmy and Cody had the best intros. What else did y'all like?

When Kid goes up to Jimmy and knocks him out so he wouldn't draw on Longely (Gunfighter).

Kid's the one who should've been knocked out in that scene! Minding his own business wasn't one of his strengths.

:(((((((((((((((((((( i`m so so sorry................i want to see this movie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Huh?

The scene where Lou tells her father he still has two daughters ... loved that episode.

Or how about the scene where Darth Vader told Kid that he was his father? Totally took me by surprise. Has anyone else noticed that Kid is Luke Skywalker (a whiner) to Jimmy's Han Solo (cool, tough guy)?

Jimmy's "Let's rush 'em" scene in the Kid.

Yes! Great interaction between Jimmy and Cody in this scene. The look on Cody's face as they scuffle is hilarious.

When Kid and Lou at the Dance go outside and dance their special dance!!

Nasty.

In Speak No Evil, when Ike points to Nickerson and the shot fades to that "old-timey" look.

It's a very cool effect. They should've also used that effect when dude took a picture of Calder and his gang.

In Bulldog when the indians appear to help the riders keep the new riders from desecrating an indian burial ground.

Except it was pretty cheesy when they'd show the Indians and then immediately pan over to a wide-grinned Buck. Indian solidarity, we get it. No need to cram it down our throats with a post hole digger.

Emma flirting with Lou. Sorry don't know the ep.

Lou's "coming out" party. That scene's a tad more than creepy because it's also the scene where Buck puts his hand on Ike's shoulder and sports a look on his face that says, "Let's have our own 'coming out' party!"

THE FUNNIEST SCENE/MOMENT OF SEASON 1

Jimmy's "Oh golly" line was probably the funniest quote of the season, and Cody's card game with the passed out bad guys was probably the funniest moment, but overall, I'll have to say that the funniest scene of Season 1 was none other than...

THE BASEBALL SCENE! It could have been a "Classic Scene" contender, but I decided to award it with "funniest scene" honors. All the riders (and Teaspoon) are involved, and the interaction amongst everyone is great. This is a scene that demonstrates the good chemistry the cast had. Scenes like this are why TYR needs to be released on DVD!

12.12%
Kid tries on cologne, everybody gives him a funny look, and Cody says, "Ooooof, nobody light a match."

16.16%
Cody plays cards with a bunch of passed out bad guys.

7.07%
Cody and Jimmy are sleeping against the barn rather than working on it.

11.11%
The riders give Jimmy a hard time about Marcus' novel, and Jimmy draws a carrot on Cody.

43.43%
The riders play baseball!

2.02%
Kid brings Curly the Indian into town and gets nailed in the head with an egg.

3.03%
Jimmy says, "Oh golly, that’s what I’d expect coming from you, Kid."

5.05%
Other

Looks like the baseball scene was fairly popular. There were a LOT of funny scenes in Season 1, as demonstrated by the following comments...

When Jimmy shoots off the Beckwith (?) Volley Shooter and promptly hits the dust. Hilarious.

Better brace yourself, Jimmy!

Sam in his longjohns at Emma's and the Riders staring through the window at him.

Hey! You left out the "flower scene" from "Blind Love!" Never tell Ike a secret...

Please forgive the omission. You're right, that is pretty funny. That scene helped salvage the episode.

I don't remember ever watching the last option. Kid gets nailed with an egg?

Yep. When he was bringing Curly to town, one of the townsfolk threw an egg and it landed upside Kid's head. The angry look on his face is priceless.

Kid tells the "Ladies" that Lou prefers men, and the looks they give her/him. (Fall from Grace)

I liked it when they tried to learn how to ride that ridiculous bike.

That scene helped make "Hard Time" palatable.

In "Speak No Evil" when Kid is climbing the rock to provide a distraction for the others to get away and he looks at how far down the ground is and says, "Me and my big mouth."

Plus, Kid's got a hole in his pants.

I have to vote for the scene (can't remember which episode) where Jimmy, Kid and Cody are trying to fix the wagon wheel with Lou giving directions. That entire sequence is hilarious, especially when Cody "gets distracted" and lets go of the wagon. The looks of Kid and Jimmy's strained faces are priceless and the banter between them all is FUNNY! And of course Jimmy shows why HE is the sexiest rider of them all! He's got the sexiest lines in there!

Someone get this woman some water! That scene was from "Speak No Evil."

Jimmy and Cody fighting with Beau. Fall from Grace?

Yep. That was a great WWF-style brouhaha.

THE FAVORITE GUEST STAR/CHARACTER OF SEASON 1

Ambrose "Bulldog" Merryweather (Fisher Stevens) is very good, but I've gotta say that Chris Penn's portrayal of Brad Taggart in "Matched Pair" was my favorite. Well, either that or Jay O. Sanders as Longley. Sue Ann Leeds (Amanda O'Connell) was my favorite guest actress.

The readers chose Fisher Stevens (Ambrose Merryweather) as the most popular guest character. He received 27.5% of the vote. Rob Estes (Curly) was second with 15.9% of the vote. Others receiving votes:

Sue Ann Leeds as Amanda O'Connell (5 votes), David Soul as The Hawk (5), Chris Penn as Brad Taggart (4), Michael Wren as Red Bear (4), Cynthia Nixon as Annie (3), Jay O. Sanders as Longley (3), Bart the Bear (2), M.C. Gainey as Gabe Calder, Roger Rees as Tyler "Joyce" DeWitt, Jason Adams as Jeffrey Darnell, Lenny Von Dohlen as Lt. "No Pupils" Cassidy, Tom O'Brien as Jed, Kristina "No Relation to Johnny" Betts as Teresa McCloud.

Brian Keith and Pernell Roberts both got multiple votes. Problem is, they don't show up until Season 2. Dante Green also got a vote, but he was in Season 2 as well. Here are a couple of comments I'd like to respond to:

In "Speak no Evil" ..... the man Ike followed, that had been in Nickerson's gang. Name??

Not sure who you're talking about. I could go back and rewatch the episode to try to figure exactly which guy you're referring to, but I really don't see that happening.

The guy who played Ulysses in 'Black Ulysses.' That character gave Kid the most to do since his first infamous introduction.

And that's a good thing???

Thompson ... always Thompson

Hahaha, I think you mean "Tompkins."

um, I liked that alcoholic dude who ended up being a totally ineffectual lawyer for Sam when he gets put on trial for something.

Hahaha, that's just funny.

THE WORST GUEST STAR/CHARACTER OF SEASON 1

Sarah "Horse Face" Downs from "Blind Love." Ugh. I'm still sad that her character wasn't killed off. Not surprisingly, a whopping 81.7% of you agreed with me. More than a couple of you didn't like Kathleen Devlin (Alice Adair).

Kathleen Devlin ... is she really an actress?

Not since '92 it seems.

Can I also include with Sarah Downs her dumb-luck husband, and their sudden departure to Montana or Dakota or wherever?

No you cannot, because I think you mean *Annie's* goofball husband in "Gathering Clouds." Sarah's husband was the guy who framed Jimmy in "Blind Love." Now that I think about it, season 1 sure didn't shed a good light on husbands!

I would like to make an early nomination for John Christian Graas, even though he didn't appear until season 2.

John Christian Graas, the one kid actor who was more annoying than the "little Sam" character in "Gunfighter" who said "I will" about 37 times.

Captain "Fonz" Lewis

You mean you didn't love his feathered mullet???

Scar-face - can we say a tad overdone in signaling who the bad guy was.

How to Make an Effective Young Riders Bad Guy Tip #12 - Give him a scar ... baaaaaaaaaad!

What's her name who played Grace in "Fall from Grace."

Good ol' Robin Strasser, the Susan Lucci wannabe.

Sarah Downs weasel of a husband!

The demon-eyed girl from Decoy (don't remember her name but she was S-C-A-R-Y!)

Meg Foster, she sure was perfect for the role of Evil-Lyn in the cheesy 1987 He-Man movie.

lmao what a choice!

Thanks, I really put a lot of thought into this category, so it's always nice when people appreciate my efforts.

I dont remember Sarah, but to be honest I can't give you another name, sorry!

Whoa, you don't remember Sarah???? Lucky! How did you manage to erase her from your memory? We'd all like to know!

Tyler DeWitt (sorry, just didn't like him)

No apology necessary.

The German Nanny in Bad Blood

THE WORST LINE UTTERED DURING SEASON 1

"Don’t shoot. I sweeeear I’m not a tree." I challenge you to find me one YR fan that didn't cringe when Sarah Downs uttered this dreadful line. What were the writers thinking??? Had they not received their paychecks and this was a warning about what kind of material they could come up with if sufficiently ticked off? Is it really any surprise that 92.5% of you agreed with me? What else were y'all thinking...

"Is he hurt? Is he hurt bad?" (Gunfighter)

A nice, stupid quote by a typically stupid nonessential guest character.

Boy YOU really didn't like [Sarah] ...... did you??

Whatever gave you that idea???

Lou with, "What should we do, Kid?" in "The Kid" (when they were all hiding on the rock).

The one where Sarah says -- "Good idea. You never know when one of those MEAN trees is gonna sneak up on you from behind!" UGH!

Oh yeah, man, I bet one of the writers dated Sarah in high school and she really burned him, so he got his revenge by feeding her these awful lines.

Anything Alice Adair spoke in character. Who told that woman she could act?!

It seems like it was more of a case of her asking Josh if he'd let her attempt to act. However, if Alice Adair is reading this and wants to do an interview for my webpage, then let me just say that ALICE ADAIR IS THE BEST ACTRESS OF ALL TIME!

Anywhere Kid tries to lead the riders.

I would vote for the Sarah line, except I have to vote for the line neither you or I could figure out -- when in "Home of the Brave," Kid's about to blast Buck and Ike forces the gun down and Kid says, "Err gwunuh ereipmmm ump." I have to vote for that one.

I need to go back and watch this with closed captioning!

voice overs

Voice overs? Do you have special editions that I don't have???

All of Mr. Tompkin's racial slurs toward Buck.

KID'S WORST MOMENT OF SEASON 1

It's when Kid spooned with a prisoner in "Hard Time." Man, I can see it so clearly now - Kid lying in a fetal position and Richard (his fellow prisoner) sidling up next to him and spooning. SOMEBODY GET THIS IMAGE OUT OF MY HEAD!!!!! But hey, I don't speak for everybody. Or do I...

10.64%
Kid only lasted 1 min 45 seconds against Johnny McClarnen instead of the required 3 minutes.

9.57%
Kid lies and says he has no family so he can work for the Pony Express.

12.77%
Kid thinks he can determine where Cody spends his eternity.

26.6%
Kid spoons with a prisoner.

23.4%
Kid didn't have a bad moment!

17.02%
Other

Ah, it turns out that I *do* speak for the people! Despite the efforts of a much-dillusioned 23.4% segment of the YR community.

All the Kid moments are BAD moments. Ugh

Hmm, you know, I know he had bad moments, but I just don't think his worst was one of these.

Whoa, you mean there were Kid moments worse than these??? Scary thought.

Kid sacrifices Ike to the Kiowa in "Home of the Brave"

Yeah, that was a pretty bad back-stabbing moment for Kid.

I liked the spooning. I almost picked the 1 min 45 sec. Kid was deceptive from the start.

all of the above, really

Good point.

when kid was crying for his horse in THE KID

Or just whenever Kid cried.

Kid shows up half beaten to pay for his horse.

Actually, in my opinion, that was probably his best moment. He fought for something he really wanted. *swallows pride* I gotta give him credit.

Each and every time Kid opens his mouth to whine ... oh, wait.

Kid *is* a worst moment

Ooooooooooh.

Kissing Lou, he should have let Jimmy had the little narcissist.

Rowr!

Every little moment in that fringed outfit.

Make that "gay fringed outfit."

the big ol' rip in his pants as he scales the side of the mountain ... i don't need to see THAT much of Kid, really!

Nobody does, my friend, nobody does.

When he's moaning, looking like he downed one too many the night before, after he got beat up by the Irish dude in "The Kid"

Every scene where Kid's hair appeared bigger than his head, how did he get his hat to stay on!

Hahaha, that's just funny.

Kid wanting to shoot Buck (Home of the Brave)

His unfortunate blandness in every bad-written scene he's in. Didya ever get the feeling the 'Kid' character was going to be the Alpha male of the series, and then 'Jimmy' walked in (or over)?

It was more than a feeling. Jimmy came in, showed everybody that he was the stud of the show, and took control.

All of Kid's moments were bad!!!! Pardon me: Kid IS a bad moment!

Looks like more than one fan had this feeling. You poor Kid fans are probably seething right now. Hold on, Jimmy gets the roasting next...

When he acted like a jerk about Lou going with them in "The Kid" (after he learned her "secret")

His obsession with Katy

That *was* pretty creepy.

ANYTHING that involved he and Lou, hands down!

Anytime Kid showed up in his girly hat and boots was a REALLY BAD Kid moment!

JIMMY'S WORST MOMENT OF SEASON 1

Hmmmmmm, let me think about this one for a few minutes. Ummmm, well, I guess I'll go with "Jimmy inexplicably falling in love with Sarah Downs." That was just way out of character for Jimmy, and I didn't buy it for a second. Josh, however, toughed it out and did the best he could with the material. So it wasn't really all bad, you know?

66.67%
Jimmy inexplicably falling in love with Sarah Downs.

21.57%
Jimmy didn't have a bad moment!

11.76%
Other

Well, I guess that's pretty decisive. And let it be noted that I'm quite sympathetic with the 21.57% of the voters who realize how difficult it is to declare that Jimmy actually had what could be called a "worst" moment. Let me make fun of some comments now...

[Regarding the Sarah thing] Even real men make bad choices.

The Sarah thing was just temporary insanity.

That's true, that's a very good point.

All you can think of is one moment?

*thinks for a moment* Well, there are a few times where Jimmy should've punched Kid but didn't, so you can include those as well.

Pretty much all Season 1 moments were bad for Jimmy. He didn't really become likeable til later in the show.

I'm surprised you'd say that because I think most people prefer Season 1 Jimmy. He was at his best when he was arrogant and ready for a fight.

Bawling over the fat guy's death! I almost puked when I watched that!

Anywhere Jimmy tried to be funny. I just didn't think it worked for him.

No big surprise here, but I thought it worked well, especially when he'd make jokes about Kid stealing candy, etc.

Jimmy Episode 1 through Episode 20...

All right, time to remove those Kid blinders.

Every moment his hair was greasy! ;-D LOL

Yet again, I don't see why everybody claims his hair was greasy! Did you not see all the times when he obviously just stepped out from under a hair dryer???

When he went off on Teaspoon and everyone else in "Fall From Grace" -- I do not like that Jimmy, I do not like him Sam I am.

I LOVED when he laid the smack down on everybody! That was a great scene, and I totally bought into it. I'm fighting hard to retroactively get Josh Brolin an Emmy for that scene.

Any moment Jimmy is in is a bad Jimmy moment.

Whoops, I think you accidentally typed "Jimmy" instead of "Kid." That's all right, we all make mistakes.

Every time he acted like a 5-year-old with severe impulse control problems.

Hmm, are you sure you're not referring to Kid? You know, the guy who threw a chair across the room right in front of Teaspoon. The same guy whose big mouth kept getting him in deeper trouble in "Hard Time." Yes, you must be referring to Kid.

Gathering Clouds part 2 -- He saves Kid's life instead of sparing us all that whining in season 2.

The guy was nice to a fault I suppose.

Jimmy falling in love with Emma when she's obviously taken by Sam. At least a guest star will go away eventually.

Jumping off the [darn] raft when he didn't know how to swim!

Hey! You can't knock the guy because he's chivalrous!

YOUR OPINION OF THE SEASON 1 RIDER REVIEWS

Wondering what others thought about the reviews? Not really? Oh well, let's take a look anyway:

58.95%
Loved 'em! Can't wait for Season 2!

13.68%
I liked 'em all right. I'll probably continue to read.

13.68%
*shrugs shoulders* I read 'em if I have time.

1.05%
Hated 'em! Johnny Betts is a "rude, abnoxious" jerk who should be "punced" in the face!

4.21%
The Rider Re-what?

8.42%
Other

Awww, I feel so loved! And I know that the one person who "hated" the reviews, voted that way because she so loves the "punced" remark. If I've learned anything it's that I need to make the reviews even more controversial. I've gotta try to find at least ONE person who wants me "punced" in the face. I don't want to fill this wrap-up with everybody's praise for the reviews, so I'll try to limit this to just a few selected comments:

Just put them out more frequently and stop fawning over crybaby Jimmy.

Putting them out more frequently may be possible, but I don't know about your second request. That's a bit much to ask, don't ya think?

Go easy on the Kid. Please

Well, since you asked nicely then I will stop making fun of Kid. From now on I'll make sure to shower him with endless praise and ... NAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! Come on, you know you love when I rip on your man!

i have only one complaint: you're slow, betts!!

Slow but methodical. A dog's bowel movement takes mere seconds, but a masterpiece? A masterpiece takes time to craft.

I really liked them, I just got too busy with real life to keep up so I'm now rather far behind. Someday I'll finish school and maybe get to catch up.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, WHOA! Back the truck up ... school??? You're putting school ahead of the reviews??? I admire your ability to advance in life, but there is such a thing as priorities. Real life, schmeal life as I always like to say.

LLLOOOOOOVVVEE them. Need the rest to add to my collection...

I recommend printing the reviews in color and bounding them in leather.

i really liked 'em.. but they are really LONG.. lol.. honey, i've got too many pies stickin' to my fingers.. lol.. still read em though..

Yeah, that's right, I have you under my control! Muhaha ... muhahaha ... muhahahaHAHAHA! *Johnny twirls his goatee and tries to find a cheshire cat to hold*

Johnny Betts, Genius without Parallel

Try as I might, I simply can't argue with this profound statement. And NO, I did NOT enter that myself! Thank you very much. This is proof that some of you readers are obscenely intelligent.

YOUR OPINION REGARDING THE LENGTH OF THE REVIEWS

13.33%
Too long

8.89%
Too short

77.78%
Size doesn't matter (in regard to the reviews)!

Most people seem to agree - there's no such thing as too much of a good thing! But for those of you who thought they were just a tad too long, I'll be keeping your suggestions in mind. However, I don't seem to be keeping this wrap-up very short. Since it's running a little long, once again, I'm gonna post only a few comments. I'm just trying to make sure everybody gets a comment in! The Bettster is all about treatin' the fans right:

The length is perfect! It's not book length, and it's not just a couple pages! Kid sucks.

I'm gonna officially say that yes, this particular reader DID have a pattern!

I need short reviews because of limited time.

Or maybe you need long reviews and an unlimited amount of time ... hmmmmm?

How can you put a limit on words in a review?

It's like trying to stop the rain by putting an umbrella amongst the clouds.

Keep them up! I haven't laughed that hard in AGES -- and I'm a Buck fan!

All right, one order of more Buck bashing coming up. Got it!

Just keep 'em funny, don't forget to bash everyone equally!

Johnny Betts - Equal Opportunity Basher

Too much Jimmy, all I want to do is [b-word] slap him. He whines too much about his reputation. Don't like it change your name and get on with it.

You can change your name, but you can't change your reputation. Kind of like how you can pick your nose, and you can pick your friends, but you can't pick your friend's nose. That's not true though. I'm pretty sure that you could technically pick a friend's nose if you tried.

Seriously Johnny, if it doesn't take me three days to read, it's too short! I expect a novel for each review from now on!

All righty then. 250+ page reviews are on the way!

Don't let the readers clamoring for instant gratification in the form of quick reviews sway you. These are the funniest things in the YR fandom, and, as there is a finite number of episodes, I want them to be as long as you can stand to make them.

Here's a gal who knows what she wants! Don't be surprised to see this quote emblazoned on future reviews. She makes a good point - the reviews will one day end, and then where will we be? People will be asking me to go back and make the reviews longer, but unfortunately, it'll be too late. I'll close the door, turn off the light, and sadly say, "I'm sorry, but the music and the reviews don't play here anymore."

The camera will pan over to the distraught reader's face, and then it'll pan back to me. I'll watch the reviews riding off into the sunset, I'll slowly lift my hand in a goodbye gesture, and I'll softly say, "Ride safe, reviews." The scene will then fade to black as Sarah McLachlin's "I Will Remember You" plays. I won't lie to you folks, it's gonna be sad.

Can you tell I'm writing this on a Friday?

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Just to sum up everything else: the majority of you want more of the JBSLD, more Johnny Betts stories (particularly in relation to the episodes), more screenshots w/ captions, more Rider Beat, more mention of bloopers, more "deleted scenes," and more trivia. Yep, you want more of everything!

Multiple readers requested more mock interviews (I'm sorry, Rhi) and a handful of you mentioned that you'd like to actually read the articles in the Rider Beat. You know, that's not a bad idea. I'll have to think of a way to coincide a review with the Rider Beat articles. Could be interesting. One dear reader suggested interviewing Kid while simultaneously giving him a noogie and a wedgie. I'll try to arrange that.

A couple of you also suggested allowing for "after-review" comments. That's a good idea. I like the suggestion of having a "Submit Your Own" caption section. I'm sure y'all would have plenty to say. I'll work on incorporating these ideas into the Season 2 reviews.

In regard to "Reader Awards," "Reader Observations," "How This Episode Changed Your Life," etc, the majority of you said to keep 'em in, but a good number of you didn't care one way or another. I'll work on revamping these sections for the Season 2 reviews. Don't worry, I'll figure out something.

Before we leave, let's take a look at a few final comments. All of y'all made GREAT comments, and it's been hard narrowing down which few I'll include here. If you haven't been heard from yet, then you will be here. Thank you to everybody for your input, suggestions, and kind words. And special thanks to the Kid fans for stickin' this out.

por favor se que es dificil pero ya he olvidado mucho del ingles (mal hecho desde luego) podrian enviarme las cosas en español.muchas gracias.

This reader is saying that English is difficult for her, and she's forgotten most of the English she knew. So she asked if I would send her the questionnaire in Spanish. Let me just respond with, No veo eso el suceder.

My one suggestion would be to STOP MAKING FUN OF KID! (okay, well, we know THAT will never happen so how about this one: Make more fun of Jimmy! Hee hee):)

Everybody saw that I have the potential to make fun of Jimmy (just read the "Blind Love" review), and believe me, there are some Season 2 episodes where I'll give Jimmy his due. I'm sure the Kid fans are salivating at the thought.

They are the best thing to come into the fandom, hands down. I especially like it when you belittle Kid and dumb readers. Also, you can clearly see that even Jimmy flaws are flawless. I also like the 'arrogant' tone. It tickles my funny bone.

I just HAD to include this insightful, thought-provoking, and stimulating comment.

You're an inspiration to TYR Fanfic writers everywhere!!! And stuff.

I've always sought to be the best I can be when it comes to "and stuff." Thanks, little one, for letting me know I've succeeded.

the queen approves highly, no need for improvement. :)

Well, if the queen approves, then who am I to argue?

did I mention Kid sucks?

I think you did. Somewhere near the beginning of the wrap-up? Maybe?

I think that you have a unique place in the TYR community...

I'm all about being unique. Well, that and keepin' it real. *taps chest with side of the fist and then kisses fingertips*

How 'bout I see them more often than once every two months? :)

Aww, there near the end I was shootin' out about one a month! But OK, I'll produce a review more often than once every two months. I'm confident I can handle that!

Not about the reviews - I noticed that there wasn't a category for the worst scene in season one ... I would like to nominate the scene where Buck is offering the Pate to the four elements in "Daddy's Girl." It's almost embarassing to watch.

Oh, it's more than "almost," it *is* embarrassing to watch. Consider the scene nominated.

Love the reviews, never laughed so much before - even when I first heard Kevin Costner's British accent (or lack of it) in "Robin Hood Prince Of Thieves."

Wow, thank you, when I make somebody laugh harder than something Kevin Costner-related then I *know* I've made it!

it is not about the reviews, i just want to tell u not to hate me too much `cause i know nothing about this "young riders" and i only answered `cause i liked the questions and i promise i will try to learn more about this.:P"

Haha, I gotta admit, I don't know what to make of this comment. I'm not sure where she found out about my questionnaire ... possibly from the Stephen Baldwin yahoo group. In any case, I'm glad you liked the questions, and I hope you're able to find out more about "The Young Riders!"

Johnny, I am a hard core Kid fan, and I just have one thing to ask. Next season, when the time comes for your review of "Color Blind," I want you to take no prisoners when it comes to Kid and that evil known as Scumantha. Is it just a coincidence that the episode titles for the episodes with Sarah Downs and Scumantha both have the word Blind in it? I think not. Anyway, love the reviews!

Welp, there you have it, folks, a personal plea from a Kid fan to make fun of Kid! You know I will not and CANNOT LET HER DOWN! Don't blame me, I'm just doing what the fans want...

Yeah; one of these days, Johnny, you will remove your blindfold and realize Kid is the bomb, NOT Jimmy!I just hope we are all there to hear you admit it!

Can we see a show of hands of everybody who can see this happening? Anybody? No? Oh well. That would make for an interesting poll though: What do you think it would take to turn Johnny into a rabid Kid fan?

I love your reviews. I love TYR, but I'm the first one to admit it was not the best written or acted show out there. I chose to overlook the bad and concentrate on the good, namely Kid and Lou.

But wait, I thought you said you were concentrating on the *good*? Now I'm confused.

Keep up the great work!!!

Will do.

I don't really know much about the reader reviews yet since I'm new in the club, but I'll learn more soon ... I hope.

I don't know much about the "reader" reviews either, but I can give you some info on the RIDER reviews! Oh, and since you probably aren't familiar with my sense of humor, then please understand that I'm just messin' with you.

Going back and scanning the reviews to help make my questionnaire, I noticed in Matched Pair, in the interview with Jimmy, he says "Johnny Betts? that name sounds familiar..." Hahaha ... I never noticed that before. I didn't see that episode and I don't think I read the review before.

Hahaha, that's a GREAT inside joke on my part. I'm surprised no one else picked up on it. Have no idea what we're talking about? Well, you have to figure out the mystery yourself...

Thanks for keeping all of us informed and entertained!

Welcs.

And with that we'll go ahead and call season 1 a wrap. Thanks again for all your help and all your comments. Season 2 is coming very soon, and I WILL NOT BE HOLDING BACK! Go ahead and prepare yourself now because it's gonna be crazy. If you're interested in taking part in the "Rider Review Participation Program" then email me for details. I still need someone whose first episode of choice is "Born to Hang." If I don't find anyone, then it's gonna go to someone who put it in her top three.

Y'all will hear from me again SOON! You can count on that.

Things haven't changed: this is still my opinion, and you could still be wrong.