The Magnificent Seven (TV series)

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

The Magnificent Seven was a short-lived Western Action Adventure Series that ran on CBS from 1998-1999. Like its film namesake (and origin in The Seven Samurai), it was a story about seven unlikely men (and ultimately heroes) who band together to save a unprotected town (in this case, a isolated village made up of freed slaves and displaced American Indians) who end up sticking around to protect the local town. Unlike the movie, all seven of the main characters survive the pilot episode and are joined by various townspeople for further adventures.

Tropes used in The Magnificent Seven (TV series) include:

Vin: Nice shot, pard.
Ezra: Dreadful. I was aiming to kill him but the mirror was cracked.

    • And later:

Vin: You shoot a cannon pretty well, pard.
Ezra: Dreadful. I was trying to hit Anderson.

  • Badass Longcoat: Chris Larabee Winked at in the Pilot where our first scene of Larabee frames him coming out of the swinging bat-wing doors in afternoon sunlight, wind kicking up his black duster. Oh, and he's also smoking. Almost qualifies as a small Crowning Moment of Awesome.
  • Badass Preacher: Josiah Sanchez, big-time.
    • Up the ante by having him played by Ron Perlman.
  • Big Damn Heroes: Pretty much every episode, whether the move ends out working out for them or not.
  • Bounty Hunter: Vin Tanner used to be one of these.
  • Boxed Crook: How Ezra gets roped into staying.
  • Calling the Old Man Out: Ezra to his mother Maude pretty much every time they meet.
  • Changed My Mind, Kid: Ezra in the pilot
  • Chivalrous Pervert: Buck Wilmington
  • Circuit Judge: Orin Travis
  • City with No Name: The Seven's town is never named onscreen, though the fandom has universally adopted "Four Corners".
  • Clear My Name: Vin is wanted in Texas for a murder he didn't commit, a problem which comes up periodically but is never actually resolved.
  • Combat Medic: Nathan Jackson
  • Cool Old Lady: Nettie Wells of "The Collector".
  • Crusading Widower: Chris
  • Cycle of Revenge: "Vendetta" There's a whole family of crazies from Kansas City complete with suitable black costuming and scary Mom.
  • Disguised in Drag: In "Working Girls", Ezra winds up as this.
  • Driven to Suicide: Nathan's mother. In order to prevent the slave master from selling 7-year old Nathan away from his family, she allowed the man to repeatedly rape her. When she discovered that she might be pregnant with his baby, she went insane and drowned herself.
  • Gold Tooth: Ezra has one.
  • Guns Akimbo: Let's face it, with the exception of possibly Nathan, everyone of the seven is armed to the teeth with not just a signature character gun, but a backup one too. JD is notable for having matching pistols which he frequently fires simultaneously. (Sometimes while flying through the air ala "Hot Fuzz")
  • Gun Twirling Frequent throughout the series- as it is a Western. JD displays some fancy gun work in the Pilot to show he's good enough to join the seven. Totally backfires when he falls off his horse as a result.

JD: Whoa. I hear you fellas are headed for a fight. My name is JD Dunne, and I can ride. Whoa. And I can shoot.

JD: I'll be fine, Buck. Look what I found. Navy colt .44! (Spins the chamber dramatically)
Buck: Don't do that, okay? It can come loose and then it could come out. Put the gun down. You're going to be sheriff?
Buck ends up being right when the gun falls to pieces just when JD needs it.

Nathan: Why would we want to use a cheater?
Chris: Might need one.

Ezra: Well, sir, now that we are rid of that loathsome curmudgeon, you may effect my emancipation.
JD: Huh?
Ezra: Let me out.

  • She Cleans Up Nicely: Casey Wells (JD's crush) with a little help from some of the guys. Due to her Tomboy nature, JD has thought of her more in terms of competition until she shows up in a dress. Backfires when she loses the skirt while tripping in public.
  • Son of a Whore: Buck
  • Southern Belle: Maude Standish, or at least she does a good impression.
  • Southern Gentleman: Ezra Standish.
  • Take Up My Sword
  • Tar and Feathers: Ezra narrowly escapes this in "The New Law" after gambling with an entire clan. Possibly lampshaded earlier in the episode by Vin:

Ezra: As for myself, I'm a few well-played poker games away from owning this saloon. And with no guns in town, there should be fewer ways for disgruntled losers to seek reprisal.
Vin: There's always tar and feathers.

    • And then later that week:

Nathan: Is that tar on your face?
Ezra: Look, we really need to leave this municipality now.
Vin: Make some new friends Back there, Ezra?
Ezra: Uh, I neglected to abide by a fundamental tenet in my line of work. Never gamble with an entire clan. Hyah!

  • What Could Have Been: Originally, the plan was for Buck to die of the injury he receives near the end of the pilot and be replaced by a member of the Confederates who'd sided with the heroes, but the creators liked Dale Midkiff's chemistry with the rest of the cast so much that they rewrote the script to keep him.
  • Where the Hell Is Springfield?: It's never specified what state the Seven's town is in.
  • Yandere: Ella Gaines: Chris's ex-girlfriend, who offs his pregnant wife, Sarah and young son Adam and burns down his ranch because they were impeding her future happiness with him.
  • Young Gun: JD Dunne
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