AllMovie

Though brief, the period of exploration and expansion known as the Wild West has long had a strong grip on the psyche of the American nation. From the lonely cowboy to the sinister and romantic vision of the outlaw and gunslinger, the iconography of the American West is inextricably bound to Americans' ideas about who they are. Each episode of The Real West examines an aspect of this legendary phase of American history and attempts to divide myth from fact to present a more historical view of this near mythical era. In this particular entry, viewers take a look at a legendary figure of the Wild West, Wild Bill Hickock, a man whose murder gave the name "dead man's hand" to a combination of aces and eights held by the victim at the time of his death. The program is narrated by Kenny Rogers.