Distinctly Montana Magazine

92 D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A M A G A Z I N E • FA L L 2 0 2 3 age ever, while playing the original Genesis Sonic the Hedgehog game, imagine that its first level, entitled "Green Hills Zone," took place in Montana? Probably not. Too many palm trees and loop-de-loops. Incidentally, hedgehogs are not native to North America, and though they've been introduced to New Zealand through travel, they've never made a foothold in the Rocky Mountain West. COPPER CREEK BEST OF THE WEST (1981-82) In the early eighties, ABC sur- veyed the televisual landscape and tried to cast the bones. What, in the era of Post-It notes, Princess Di, and DeLo- reans, would Americans want to watch on TV? Finally, their augury completed, they de- cided it was a Western sitcom set in the Wild West town of Copper Creek, and populat- ed by a fitfully amusing cast of oddballs. With Joel Higgins as a Civil War veteran turned unlikely U.S. Marshall, who must contend with the likes of the Calico Kid, played by guest star Christopher Lloyd. During the year in which it graced the airwaves, Best of the West would see supporting turns by Andy Griffith, Slim Pickens, and the late great Betty White. Unfortu- nately, the show's pilot was pre-empted on the West Coast for a special Thursday night football game between the Dolphins and the Steelers, and it struggled to find its footing thereafter. The show, and indeed the town of Copper Creek, disappeared from the airwaves in August of 1982. If you try hard enough you can still watch two of the episodes on YouTube as of the time of this writing, and hear the tinny laugh track for yourself. HARMONVILLE OPEN RANGE (2003) A pre-Yellowstone Kevin Cost- ner returned to the Western with Open Range, directing and starring in the story of a former gunslinger turned old-fashioned cowboy who has to take up his violent ways again when the town of Har- monville, and his way of life, are threatened by a megaloma- niacal English cattle baron. At first, Harmonville is a stand-in for every Western town you've ever seen, the occupants all noble if sometimes hapless townsfolk, beautiful spinsters who might just redeem our hero, and black-hatted villains ripe for a lead slug or two. But, like Brigadoon or Twin Peaks, Harmon- ville is also a town where magical, impossible things can happen without anyone seeming to notice, like when Costner fires his six-shooter 16 times without reloading, and no one declares it a miracle. • Commercial Property Inspections • Radon Testing • Thermal Imaging • Meth, Mold, and Asbestos Testing • Water Testing • Sewer and Septic Scopes • Roof Inspections • Help with New Construction and New Construction Defects 406-626-HOME (4663) • www.inspect406.com Missoula • Hamilton • Kalispell • Helena • Butte ICC CERTIFIED CODE INSPECTOR IN ADDITION TO HOME INSPECTIONS, WE OFFER: TWO YEARS IN A ROW VOTED BEST HOME INSPECTION COMPANY IN MONTANA 2023 2022

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