THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (TV)
(1998-1999)
Ghosts of the Confederacy (Pilot)
Summary by Helen Chavez
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Michael Biehn (Chris Larabee), Eric Close (Vin Tanner), Dale Midkiff (Buck Wilmington), Ron Perlman (Josiah Sanchez), Andy Kavovit (J.D. Dunne), Anthony Starke (Ezra Standish), Rick Worthy (Nathan Jackson)
Laurie Holden (Mary Travis), Kurtwood Smith (Col. Emmett Anderson), Tony Burton (Eban), Michael Greyeyes (Imala), Daragh O'Malley (Capt. Francis Corcoran), Ned Romero (Tastanahi), Siena Goines (Rain)
Plot Summary
In a small, lawless town in the middle of the Colorado Territory of the 1870s, seven men are drawn together by a diverse whim of Fate.
Chris Larabee (Michael Biehn), a black-clad gunslinger walking the edge between life and death after the brutal murder of his wife and son three years earlier, comes together with a quiet but deadly ex-bounty hunter called Vin Tanner (Eric Close) to go against a lynching party and save the life of Nathan Jackson (Rick Worthy), an ex-slave with a talent for healing.
Watching as they fight to prevent Nathan's hanging is a greenhorn from the East, J.D. Dunne (Andy Kavovit), a young man drawn out west after the death of his mother by the pull of the far-fetched stories in dime novels.
As they celebrate saving Nathan's life, they are approached by the Chief of a Seminole Indian village, asking them to help defend the village against a band of marauders, renegade Confederate soldiers left over from the Civil War and hell-bent on destruction. Their leader, Colonel Anderson, a madman driven by an addiction to laudanum, is convinced the village has a hidden gold mine and is determined to discover its whereabouts.
Chris' old friend Buck Wilmington (Dale Midkiff) drops - literally - into the equation, a skilled gunman and dyed-in-the-wool ladies' man, and the number is swelled by the rather dubious addition of Ezra Standish (Anthony Starke), a dandified gambler from the South with a penchant for derringers and a talent for deception.
The final member of this eclectic little band is Josiah Sanchez, an ex-preacher with the reputation of having killed a lot of men. At first refusing to join them, content to carry on rebuilding the remains of an old church - his 'penance' - he then decides to join the fray.
The ensuing battle forges a tenuous link between the seven men, and as they join together to protect the Seminole community they begin to find out a little about themselves and what makes them a force to be reckoned with.
Chris' single-minded pursuit of the murderers that killed his family; Vin's battle against the bounty placed on his head for a murder he didn't commit; Nathan's long-standing difficulty with his slave heritage; Ezra's acquisitive nature and uncharacteristic soft spot for children; Buck's love of all women and his deeply ingrained sense of honour; J.D.'s determination to stand up for himself in a big, bad world, and Josiah's mysterious past that threatens to surface on occasion and destroy him - all of these things help to create a unique group of men whose destiny is to stand together to bring law into an untamed land.
And so the Magnificent Seven come into being, a diverse and rather unlikely band of brothers, whose relationship with each other and the violent world around them is explored in the episodes that follow.
Josiah Sanchez (Ron Perlman)
Josiah Sanchez is the oldest member of the Magnificent Seven, and perhaps the most complex.
Josiah's past weighs heavily upon him - his rebuilding of a ruined church is a result of some unspecified penance, although Nathan tells his new friends that it is rumoured Josiah has 'killed a lot of men', and he refuses at first to join the embryonic Seven. His steady, determined sorting and stacking of stones is the first indication of his character - steadfast, sturdy and strong-willed.
When Vin Tanner offers him a 'helluva fight', Josiah, after pausing for only a moment, answers;
"Hell? Already been there …"
But the rest of the Seven don't give up, and when they return next day, Josiah is waiting by his ruined church, ready to join them. His reason? He has seen a sign - crows, he says, a sign of death. Whose death? "Probably mine," is his enigmatic answer.
As the story unfolds, Josiah's character begins to take shape - a man with a dark and mysterious past, someone who is no stranger to violence and death. He is well-armed and fully capable of defending himself to the full, although killing a man is not something he does with relish.
But despite this armament, the revelation comes when he tells Ezra;
"Was a priest once - but had a little trouble turnin' the other cheek."
A man at odds with his beliefs, Josiah is calmly philosophical about his own mortality, and prefers to meet death on his own terms.
It soon becomes evident that Josiah's calm wit and sheer tenacity of spirit is a boon to the Seven. In the first battle against Anderson and his men Josiah is badly wounded in the right leg. Preferring to give solace to a dying man, Josiah fails to inform his friends until he collapses from loss of blood. When asked why he didn't tell them he was wounded, his reply is simple and direct.
"You didn't ask."
His crows haven't claimed him yet …
But Josiah certainly isn't out of the fight. Bloody but unbowed, he shows another side of his character - that of a man with a great capacity for humour and alcohol. Demolishing what appears to be a goodly proportion of a bottle of whisky, he turns to Buck and JD.
"I'm a spiritual man … sometimes I turn to the wrong kind of spirits …"
This is followed by a huge roar of laughter from the ex-preacher, the sudden humour easing away the horror of the battle they have just endured.
He is also non-judgmental, listening as Ezra tells him of his cons, posing as a bogus preacher, spouting hellfire and brimstone and raking in the collection money. All was going well, Ezra explains, until he tried to 'save' the mayor's daughter. Josiah's only comment?
"Savin' souls has its hazards …"
But perhaps the greatest indication of Josiah's character comes in the final battle, as Anderson and his men batter the Seminole village, leading to a showdown with the Seven. Buck Wilmington, in a bid to save J.D.'s life, is cut down by Anderson's sabre.
Without a thought for his own safety, Josiah comes to his aid, intending to haul Buck out of the line of fire. Too late, he sees Anderson's men bearing down upon them both and flings his body over Buck's, shielding him from more harm - and takes a bullet in the side for his pains.
But thanks to Nathan's care he survives, and when the rest of the Seven finally leave the Seminole village, he stubbornly rides to join them, ignoring Nathan's exasperated comments that the ride could kill him.
The Seven have finally become One.
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Josiah Sanchez is a big man, and therefore he needs a big horse. His mount is a blaze-faced sorrel Quarter Horse gelding called Quincy. The animal carries a big-horned Mexican saddle and colourful bed-roll. Josiah himself wears charro pants and a serape, hinting at a link with Mexico that goes beyond having a Mexican surname.
He is also heavily armed - he carries an 1876 Winchester carbine .45.75 and an 1875 Smith & Wesson Schofield .45 revolver, coupled with a bone-handled knife of Green River type, with a swept-back blade about 11 inches in length.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Trivia
Both Buck Wilmington and Josiah Sanchez were fated to die in the Pilot, one of their places being taken by Daragh O'Malley, who played Francis Corcoran. The chemistry between the seven actors, however, led to their being kept in the series, and Buck and Josiah became integral and unforgettable members of the Magnificent Seven.
The rough-and-tumble fight between Buck and J.D. over J.D.'s hat was ad-libbed by Dale Midkiff and Andy Kavovit.