'Magnificent Seven' ropes in viewers with a talented cast of cowpokes

REVIEW
	Magnificent Seven CBS Saturdays at 8 p.m.

If she turned on her television, Paula Cole might stop wondering where all the cowboys have gone. With "The Magnificent Seven," all seven of them ride into your living room every Saturday night.

"M7" fills in the 8 p.m. "Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman" slot on CBS until after the Winter Olympics. This program is an ordinary, predictable good-guys-vs.-bad-guys drama in which the good guys always survive.

But what keeps this show perched high on its saddle is a terrific cast of actors that make the story come alive.

The heroic and mysterious leader of the good guys, Chris Larrabee (Michael Biehn), is haunted by his past, but so far all the audience knows is that he lost someone very dear to him. He gathers six other rough-riding cowboys to help defend members of a Native American village.

Each member of the Magnificent Seven has unique personality traits - ranging from the confident, almost arrogant Buck (Dale Midkiff), a real ladies' man who believes his animal magnetism is a "curse," to Josiah (Ron Perlman), who provides the comic relief as a Bible-toting former priest, to Ezra (Anthony Starke), the ex-con turned semi-good guy who is always ready and willing to make a quick buck.

Then there's the naive, but anxious to please, J.D. (Andrew Kavovit), who is forever looking for love in all the wrong places. Rounding out the group are straightlaced Vin (Eric Close) and honest medicine man Nathan Jackson (Rick Worthy). Despite th

Photo courtesy of CBS Photography Michael Biehn stars in "M7."

e apparent stereotyping of the characters, the cast forms a believable ensemble.

Every good cowboy needs a damsel in distress, and in this case, she is the beautiful Mary Travis (Laurie Holden), who has her own sad story to tell. Her husband was tragically murdered while her son watched.

Because of her courageous nature, she refuses to leave the town where she grew up, but not even she can fight the battle alone. She convinces Larrabee and the rest of the troupe to stay and help defend the town against its enemies. Mary and Larrabee have instant chemistry, but as both characters are so troubled by their pasts, getting these two together will take nothing less than a miracle.

"M7" is not exactly magnificent, but there is promise for this gun-toting, saddle-riding tale. Like "Dr. Quinn," the show does justice to the good old Western format. Viewers can only hope that when "Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman" returns to its old time slot, "The Magnificent Seven" won't disappear off into the sunset.

Courtesy of CBS Photography The cast of "Magnificent Seven," the new TV show based on the classic film.

02-05-98