Temple Houston Annual [1966]

[1965] Annual. Original price 9/6.
96 pages. Full colour contents.
World Distributors (Manchester) Limited.

Based on the US television series starring Jeffrey Hunter.

Cover photograph (uncredited).

Contents:

 2 UNTITLED endpaper; illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

 4 Indicia

 5 Temple Houston Annual title page; illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

 6 Contents illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

 7 The Road to Valhalla text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

19 Boots & Saddles feature by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

20 The Civil War feature by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

21 Justice Before Breakfast text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

33 The Judgment of Houston text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

47 The Sheriff Who Rode Alone feature by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

48 The Battle board game; illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

50 Nobody's Children text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

61 Paleface - Go Home! text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

75 Headgear feature by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

76 War Clubs feature by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

77 The Picture that Lied text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

87 Sleeping Dogs Tell No Lies text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

94 UNTITLED endpaper; illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

It is something of a minor miracle that the Temple Houston television series was as entertaining as it managed to be, given numerous obstacles which it had to overcome in getting to the screen, but - as both history and a western - it lacks a certain something. The sole annual based on the series is similarly constrained by a host of problems, most of which are inherited from the show. The production was rushed, inconsistent in tone, and contained numerous historical inaccuracies, and its annual is (comparatively) leisurely, uneven... and filled with more historically inaccuracies than an average Blackadder episode.

Ignoring facts isn't entirely a bad thing, giving creators the opportunity to elaborate and heighten known events for dramatic purposes. Unfortunately the author(s) don't stretch their meagre facts quite enough to create a sense that real-life circuit-lawyer Temple Houston, Jeffrey Hunter's character, is the cultured badass with a silver tongue he is meant to be. It is the minor, and unexplained, alterations which are the most telling - Temple isn't married, while the real Houston was married by the age of 23. An acceptable break, perhaps, as it gives the series room to explore romantic entanglements, but not addressing the fact is a point of contention.

Characters based on people of note should be presented with their life story intact, and not a shadowy semblance of their history. By depriving the character of aspects which were present in Houston's life, we are deprived of seeing the manner in which he approached different situations. The more facets present, the greater an understanding we can have of his assumed roles. Large additions and subtractions to his story reinforce the feeling that something is wrong. A reader could end up looking for cracks in the story rather than admiring the surface varnish.

It was probably the snazziest piece of gentlemen's haberdashery that had ever been paraded on the dirt streets of Lindley, Texas, and Temple Houston felt that by wearing it that bright morning he was raising the social tone of his adopted town several degrees. Always a sharp dresser, Houston's taste might have been considered on the flamboyant side, but then the Houstons were flamboyant stock, as the history of Texas showed. The fancy, brocaded silk waistcoat had set him back many good dollars. But every cent had been worth it, he decided, as he strolled along the boardwalk acknowledging with a flourish of his stetson the envious glances of the men and admiring ogles of the ladies. If you intended to be the town's best lawyer, Temple chuckled to himself, you have to advertise. The waistcoat, which put all other waistcoats in the shade, was a mighty good billboard of his qualities.

Straight from the start of The Road to Valhalla, the sense of playfulness which marked the second half of the series is brought to the fore, with the strutting peacock aspect of the character being highlighted. There is ample evidence of his propensity for what might be considered garish clothes, and this is actually a boon to the depiction here.

The major problem with the series - and, by extension, the annual - is that there is no sense Houston is a multi-lingual, extremely erudite, well-read walking legal encyclopedia. We instead get stories of a sickly horse which an entire town is wagering its financial future on, in what must be one of the dumbest stories to appear in a western context. By not depicting how sharp, and how fast, Houston's mind is, we are kept at arm's length from him, and distanced from anything resembling drama.

It is truly disappointing that so little is accomplished with so much material available.