ARTICLE #1

"So there we are, the camera-totin' SEVENTEEN gang, on the set of a new TV show that takes place out in The Middle of Nowhere, Arizona. On one end of the fake Old West town, us city folk. On the other, the down-and dusty cast and crew, giving us that this-town-ain't-big-enough-for-the-both-of-us stare. Talk about a continental divide. Suddenly, this adorable guy in a fringed jacket breaks from his group. He shyly saunters over, sticks out his hand, and says, "Hi, I'm Stephen Baldwin. Welcome to The Young Riders."

Everyone's suspicions melt away in the warm Arizona sun, and one by one the other cast members come over and introduce themselves. Now I don't know about you, but I've always liked the underdog-so I'm really excited to meet Travis Fine who plays Ike, the smooth-headed mute on the show. Born and raised in Atlanta, Travis always knew he wanted to be an actor. "When I was fourteen, I moved to Minneapolis on my own to go to acting school." A year later he moved to L.A. with his dad and went to Beverly Hills High. Lots of theater and TV credits later, Travis got the Young Riders script. "They made me read Cody first, but I sounded just like Jed Clampett," the nineteen year old says, doing a perfect imitation of the Beverly Hillbilly. "So I asked to 'read' Ike and got the part." And the hair thing? "When Ike was a kid he had scarlet fever and his hair fell out," explains the talkative actor. "People usually ask if I'm a skinhead, then when I say no they think I have cancer!" Is it hard for someone so verbal to be so quiet? "Once a great actress told me that the most important thing an actor can do is listen. This character has taught me how to listen."

On the set, wherever you see Travis, you're likely to see his partner in prime, twenty-five-year-old Gregg Rainwater. Like his character, Buck, Gregg is part Native American. My father's father was part Cherokee and part Osage." Travis walks up and starts bad-mouthing his pal: "Don't believe a word hi says. He's all image." So Gregg is nothing like Buck? "I'm very much like my character," Gregg says, interrupting his decidedly unmute friend. "He's reserved. And I guess I am too." Pause. "Actually I know I'm reserved." Our photographer asks the boys to do a little horseplay for the camera, and the next thing I know they're galloping down Main Street, whooping and hollering. Reserved?

Just then I spy Yvonne Suhor, the only female Young Rider, walking by. Now's my chance to find out what it's like working with these pony boys. "We all get along really well," says the petite actress, adjusting her cowboy hat, "But I'm the runt of the group and I take abuse sometimes." As if on cue, Travis rides up to distract Yvonne with some weird tricks. "See? This is what I have to put up with every day," says the New Orleans native with a laugh. Is this the best job in the world? "Yeah. I get to work in Tucson, which is beautiful; my character Lou is a great role model for women because she's so smart and independent; and," Yvonne adds slyly, "I get to work with five of the most gorgeous guys in the world."

If I had to pick which of the Young Riders was the most likely to become a real cowboy, I'd definitely choose Ty Miller. The guy is a complete lasso freak. Every time I turn around, he's roping some poor fool within his throw range. "I just got into lassoing. Yesterday I roped Steve Baldwin and got him on the ground. I want to try doing it on horseback next." Ty is used to horses: he grew up in Grenada Hills, California, with a horse (Sugar), a sheep, a snake, dogs, cats, and a parrot. After a brief stint in business, Ty decided to try acting. Smart decision, because soon he was showing up in lots of TV shows. When Ty heard about a new series set in the Old West, he knew he wanted a part. In fact you could say it was destiny. "My dad named my after a famous gun-fighter," reveals the twenty-five-year old actor, "He lived in Texas, was an outlaw, and shot a guy in the back for snoring." Funny how no one on the set naps in front of Ty (not that anyone has time-these actors pump out a show every eight days!).

But the busiest of the pony express boys is Josh Brolin, twenty-three. He plays one of the two characters in the series who actually existed back then, Jimmy (Wild Bill) Hickok. To say that Josh is nothing like the volatile, trigger-happy Wild Bill would be an understatement. Besides being the only married-with-child member of the group, Josh is a serious writer. "It's one thing my dad (actor James Brolin) encouraged me to do. He said 'write one line a day'. I have journals from when I was eight years old. It's really interesting to see what I was thinking on this birthday or that day." Is Josh going to encourage his son to keep journals? "Definitely. I admire anyone who takes the time to write, because writing is so fascinating," He says enthusiastically. Then he adds, in his typically easygoing way, "But if it doesn't happen for him, that's okay too." Like I said, Josh is nothing like Wild Bill. But how does this sensitive guy feel about his rather bloodthirsty role on the show? "My character killed a hundred thirty people before he died, which is disturbing. But that's how it was-it's honestly portrayed-and I wouldn't want it any other way."

"Real cowboys are weird," declared our first Welcome Wagon-er, Stephen Baldwin. "They're down-to-earth, good-hearted people. And I'm just not used to that." Oh, he seems to have adjusted to the Tucson lifestyle pretty well. "It's just like my hometown," quips the Long Island, New York native, "except it's twenty degrees hotter and surrounded by four thousand mountains. But besides that…" He flashes those incredible blues at me and laughs. If Stephen's face seems familiar, it's because he looks just like his older brothers, actors Alec, Danny, and William ("We all have that Baldwin puss"). At first, Stephen was interested in a career in opera, but "then I thought, Hey, acting, if Big Al can do it…what the heck." After roles in such notable films as Born on the Forth of July and the upcoming Last Exit to Brooklyn, Stephen got the part of the other real cowboy in The Young Riders, William (Buffalo Bill) Cody. When asked what similarities there are between him and his legendary character, he cracks, "How's the answer everything? Bill was tough and trail smart, and he was a wise guy, which is my most prominent feature." Our photographer asks Stephen to goof for the camera just one more time, and then the day is finally over.

As we're packing up, the actors emerge from their trailers in their 1990s clothes, hop into their four-wheel drives, and wave goodbye as they ride off into the sunset. Fade out.

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How the West Was Won-Article #2