Wyatt Earp and The Cowboy War Series Review: A fairly engaging docuseries for the most part

In the late nineteenth century, twenty years after the beginning of the American Civil War, the southern town of Tombstone, Arizona, entered American public consciousness. The Old West or the Wild West, up until that point, was referenced in mythic tones. Most of what went on there was contained to its geographical confines, barely making it out to the rest of the country. In late 1881, all that was to change.

Director - Patrick Reams  

Cast - Ed Harris, Tim Fellingham, Edward Franklin, Jack Gordon, Peter O'Meara, Alex Price, Christina Leonardi    

Streaming On - Netflix

A stagecoach carrying silver from the west of the country to the east is waylaid by a gang of outlaws. Rich and prosperous, Tombstone is leading the charge of economic development, and big businesses have their eye on trade. Wyatt Earp (Tim Fellingham), one of the town’s lawmen, suspects Ike Clanton (Jack Gordon) and his criminal group called the Cowboys, to be behind the theft. Some of his gang members have taken it upon themselves to stage the crime behind his back. Wyatt and his two lawmaker brothers conduct their investigation and are led to one of the suspects, but he fails to reveal the person who ordered the ambush. Fearing that one of his top men will be ratted out, Ike orders for the latter’s murder. In the midst of all this, businesses are apprehensive about the smooth flow of operations (especially the movement of silver by carriage) and offer Wyatt a $6,000 reward to arrest the man responsible. Wyatt, in turn, makes a deal with Ike, offering him all the money if he can hand over his Cowboy lieutenant. Though Ike readily agrees, the man in question is shot and killed in an independent bar fight. The deal is now off, and Ike is enraged. Word spreads that Ike is bent on killing Wyatt for the betrayal. The Earps and Doc Holiday (a former doctor and sharpshooter who once saved Wyatt’s life) head over to meet Ike and his gang at the O.K. Corral, with an intention to pre-empt what would become the most famous gunfight in the Wild West.

The dramatically re-enacted docuseries (with a fine narration courtesy Ed Harris) fuses several interesting elements to paint a vivid historical picture of the period. Some liberties, notwithstanding, it covers a time in America when the dust from the Civil War had barely settled. The South and North were wary of each other’s intentions, the former still well and truly wanting secession. With an interim President in Chester Arthur (who had taken over following James Garfield’s assassination), the US wasn’t stable either economically or politically. Patrick Reams’s docudrama depicts this part very effectively, interspersing the re-enactment with the views and perspectives of historians and experts. Famed businessman JP Morgan and company Wells Fargo play prominent roles through the narrative. At the time, America was in great debt owing to the big spends of the civil war. Morgan wished to take over the railroads to grow his business network, but needed major funding from England. However, the royal family and others were concerned about investing in a country where instability was rife. The White House put pressure to end tensions in Tombstone, but to no avail; Wyatt and Ike were bent upon vengeance. Wells Fargo paid Wyatt to ensure that their silver trade wasn’t affected. Violence needed to become a thing of the past for the economy to thrive.

Since most of the documentary is re-enacted, with much time spent in building the characters of Wyatt Earp, Ike Clanton and the rest, maybe a fictionalised miniseries based on historical events was the way to go. Wyatt Earp’s grey persona is a highlight of the writing. He may be a lawman who attempts to uphold the faith in justice, but his ego and thirst for vengeance is so big that he comes across as a law unto himself. Tim Fellingham portrays this balancing act well – he isn’t altogether good nor is he altogether evil. Unfortunately, Ike Clanton is a bit of a caricature. He is supposed to be a charismatic man fond of telling tall tales to sway and manipulate people, but he is presented as a terribly one-dimensional villain (with a distinct bad guy look about him). Like Wyatt, the writers should have made him more nuanced.

The docuseries busts the cowboy myth, something that was glorified to no end in Hollywood. Unlike their portrayal on the big screen as slick and stylish gunslingers, they were outlaws who were quite the menace. Despite its sometimes overly dramatic nature, Wyatt Earp and The Cowboy War is a fairly engaging series. It would have been nice if they took less liberty with some key facts, though. For example, the famous gunfight central to the story is shown to have taken place at the O.K. Corral, when in fact, it took place in a nearby area. No mention of this is made by the makers, even in passing.