The Big Valley portrayed the adventures of the Barkleys, a wealthy ranch family in California's Central Valley in the 1870s. The Barkley holdings, all 30,000 acres, included mines, vineyards, orchards, cattle, and property in Mexico. "The Big Valley" was the first and only Western TV series built around a strong female character. Another important plot device in the series was the presence of Heath, the illegitimate son of the dead patriarch Tom Barkley. His life experiences, which contrasted so sharply from the other family members, were the source of many story lines. The series debuted on ABC on September 22, 1965.
Victoria Barkley: Widowed 6 years ago and the undisputed matriarch of the clan, often seen with a black hat, skirt, riding crop in hand on her favorite horse, will be played by
KATHYRN JANEWAY.
Jarrod Barkley: The eldest son and lawyer, splits his time between the buisness interests of the family empire and the outside legal interests will be played by
NEELIX.
Nick Barkley: 2nd oldest son who runs the Barkley Ranch Holdings and wears lots of Black hats/vests, will be played by
THOMAS EUGENE PARIS.
Heath Barkley: illegitimate son of the dead patriarch who grew up in poverty and only learned of his Father on his Mother's death bed, will be played by
HARRY KIM.
Audra Barkley: The only (known) daughter who's full of herself and rightly so, will be played by
SEVEN OF NINE.
Eugene Barkley: Youngest son who's prematurely balding and only seen in 8 episodes before he leaves for medical school will be played by
THE EMH
Silas: Butler/Major Domo ( and secret lover to the matriarch???) to the Barkley household will be portrayed by
TUVOK
Miranda: One of only 2 overt lovers of a Barkley who didn't die a horrible and ghastly death. She fell in love with Nick, but had to leave to "help her people" (according to the website I'm stealing all of this stuff from... e
xcept the secret lover stuff, that's
MY invention
) will be played by
B'ELANNA TORRES.
Maria: The only other known lover who didn't die, will leave Heath with a long goodbye, and will be played by
LINDSAY BALLARD.
Sheriff Fred Madden: One of the few law men seen in these here parts, will be played by
CHAKOTAY.
I think Silas will have some competition.
Oh and guess what wiki claims.....
Film columnist Patrick Goldstein reported in the Los Angeles Times in July 2009 that filmmakers Daniel Adams[
and Kate Edelman-Johnson are producing a feature film version of The Big Valley with production to begin in April 2010 in New Mexico and Michigan.
And here I thought I was being "original".
