I had never heard of this term until the LA Times mini crossword this morning.
Apparently,
A horse opera, hoss opera, oat opera or oater is a Western film or television series that is clichéd or formulaic, in the manner of a (later) soap opera or space opera .
Who knew?
I have heard the phrase, and while I couldn’t have put that fine of a point on it, I pretty much knew that.
Some of us grew up with that term…staple of family entertainment and Saturday morning TV. And the original Star Trek was called a Space Opera or Wagon Train in space.
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