The Magnificent Seven was a short-lived Western Action-Adventure that ran on CBS from 1998-1999. Like its film namesake (and origin in The Seven Samurai), it was a story about seven unlikely men (and ultimately heroes) who band together to save a unprotected town (in this case, a isolated village made up of freed slaves and displaced American Indians) who end up sticking around to protect the local town. Unlike the movie, all seven of the main characters survive the pilot episode and are joined by various townspeople for further adventures.
Ezra: Dreadful. I was aiming to kill him but the mirror was cracked.
And later:
Vin: You shoot a cannon pretty well, pard.
Ezra: Dreadful. I was trying to hit Anderson.
Badass Longcoat: Chris Larabee Winked at in the Pilot where our first scene of Larabee frames him coming out of the swinging bat-wing doors in afternoon sunlight, wind kicking up his black duster. Oh, and he's also smoking. Almost qualifies as a small Crowning Moment of Awesome.
Driven to Suicide: Nathan's mother. In order to prevent the slave master from selling 7-year old Nathan away from his family, she allowed the man to repeatedly rape her. When she discovered that she might be pregnant with his baby, she went insane and drowned herself.
Guns Akimbo: Let's face it, with the exception of possibly Nathan, everyone of the seven is armed to the teeth with not just a signature character gun, but a backup one too. JD is notable for having matching pistols which he frequently fires simultaneously. (Sometimes while flying through the air ala "Hot Fuzz")
Gun Twirling Frequent throughout the series- as it is a Western. JD displays some fancy gun work in the Pilot to show he's good enough to join the seven. Totally backfires when he falls off his horse as a result.
JD: Whoa. I hear you fellas are headed for a fight. My name is JD Dunne, and I can ride. Whoa. And I can shoot.
This later turns into a wink at Juggling Loaded Guns when JD takes the position of Sheriff:
JD: I'll be fine, Buck. Look what I found. Navy colt .44! (Spins the chamber dramatically)
Buck: Don't do that, okay? It can come loose and then it could come out. Put the gun down. You're going to be sheriff?
Buck ends up being right when the gun falls to pieces just when JD needs it.
I Just Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Ezra gives Li Pong enough money to go back to her family in San Fransisco, even though he wants her to stay with him.
In the Back: Chris to JD, "You don't shoot nobody in the back."
It Works Better with Bullets: Vin, in "The New Law" gets the drop on a thief and takes the bullets out of his gun before "arresting" him.
Parental Abandonment: Maude always dumped Ezra at any relative's house when he was a child, only coming back to get him when she needed his help in a con.
Pocket Protector: Ezra gets shot, but it turns out the large sums of money he was thinking of making off with stopped the bullet. Played for laughs when he decides it's best his friends don't trust him with holding the finances in the future - despite its life-saving capabilities.
The Remnant: The antagonists for "Ghosts of the Confederacy"
Romancing The Widow: Buck and Ezra make a bet on which one of them can get close to a widowed woman on a wagon train, by making nice with the woman's bratty son. Josiah ends up winning.
Ezra: Well, sir, now that we are rid of that loathsome curmudgeon, you may effect my emancipation.
JD: Huh?
Ezra: Let me out.
She Cleans Up Nicely: Casey Wells (JD's crush) with a little help from some of the guys. Due to her Tomboy nature, JD has thought of her more in terms of competition until she shows up in a dress. Backfires when she loses the skirt while tripping in public.
Tar and Feathers: Ezra narrowly escapes this in "The New Law" after gambling with an entire clan. Possibly lampshaded earlier in the episode by Vin:
Ezra: As for myself, I'm a few well-played poker games away from owning this saloon. And with no guns in town, there should be fewer ways for disgruntled losers to seek reprisal.
Vin: There's always tar and feathers.
And then later that week:
Nathan: Is that tar on your face?
Ezra: Look, we really need to leave this municipality now.
Vin: Make some new friends Back there, Ezra?
Ezra: Uh, I neglected to abide by a fundamental tenet in my line of work. Never gamble with an entire clan. Hyah!
What Could Have Been: Originally, the plan was for Buck to die of the injury he receives near the end of the pilot and be replaced by a member of the Confederates who'd sided with the heroes, but the creators liked Dale Midkiff's chemistry with the rest of the cast so much that they rewrote the script to keep him.
Yandere: Ella Gaines: Chris's ex-girlfriend, who offs his pregnant wife, Sarah and young son Adam and burns down his ranch because they were impeding her future happiness with him.
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