Reviews

This is a story about dysfunctional family from Serbia. Why from Serbia? Because eastern Europe is the only region that can still be portrayed as primitive and uncivilized by the PC culture. Even their family name is .... what else .... Kosovos! Alright, so the show presents various disconnected scenes and dialogs. This is supposedly about a family escaping hunger. Now in this country, they live in a primitive one room shack, and the shack is burning. In another scene, the same shack has a large stone fireplace and a two keyboard theater organ next to it. In yet another scene, that same theater organ was in a different space, but still in that same one room cabin where the same hungry Serbians lived. I am using these examples just to illustrate the silliness. This episode is not worth watching, but how can one know beforehand?

watching, but how does one know beforehand?

This review was tougher to write than expected. The story was ok, the acting was superb, great scenery, good pace and good tone ....it all was just great, so what was the hard part? It was the core concept itself, the idea to pit preacher against a clairvoyant (groom and bride at that!) and then have the Cartwrights be the judges as well as benefactors. This made me think of bullfights and rooster fights, needlessly sponsored and supervised by Hollywood. So I knocked 5 points off for the misguided agenda.

Right in the beginning, Indian chief saved Joe's life. Admirable. Right in the end, Joe is shouting out of his jail window. Pitty. And yet, the official summary says that Joe got stuck in the middle. I think that more accurate description would be that Joe caught the worst from both ends. Even though Joe had a role to play in this episode, it was not about Joe. The episode was ok, another Indian victimized by another white aggressor, and then they kiss and make up.

In the very first show of the 13th season, "The Grand Swing", Jamie messed up big time and Ben had lot of lecturing to do. Well, the lecturing paid off, Jamie learned very well .... almost too well. Now, 12 episodes later, his grandfather from Boston (the only civilized city on Bonanza shows .... /sarc_off) gets to learn about the West, and about Jamie and from Jamie. Jamie performed superbly, both as a character and as an actor! When this young kid Mitch Vogel first showed up on Bonanza to replace the balding and aging Pernell Roberts, Mitch's early performances were disappointing. But Mitch was obviously a quick learner, he turned things around and is now doing great job! Great show to watch.

At first, I thought this was just another of Landon's juvenile scripts, but even if it was, Landon got no credit. Which did him a favor. Briefly, three ruffians are brought in prison wagon to Virginia City for trial, but the judge is too preoccupied to start trial until next day. An opportunist lawyer happens to be by, who insists on the prisoners' rights to be free until trial. Next thing, this lawyer's own wife is caught in choke-hold by one of the ruffians while she is appeasing him. Little Jamie rushes to the rescue and ends up in choke-hold right next to her. In the next scene, the prison wagon door is open, the ruffians are tooting guns, the captors are sniveling and the lawyer is a member of a posse. Ben Cartwright is now doctoring the sheriff's bruises. One of the ruffians tells Ben "this will cost you" (to release the hostages) and Ben - that pillar of morality, who would not appease a terrorist - what did Ben reply? ..... "how much?" !!!!! That's when I pushed the stop button.

Once again, there is a strict father, alone and raising pretty young daughter (isn't this setting getting old by now?). But at least they all work it out in the end, Jamie and Neta click well together and dad even hands them the picnic basket! But the very best part for me was that little joe was NOT in the show ..... even though he got some credits.

Aside from the futile attempt at comedy, there is a pattern about the worst Bonanza shows - they all are written by Michael Landon and directed by Michael Landon. Little Michael did ok as Little Joe, as long as he was told what to say and what to do, much as most of Hollywood should do. In this show he takes credit for writing AND directing Ben Cartwright to be a gumshoe, sheriff's assistant, to find a kidnapped kid. Spooky sounds and bizarre stares wrapped it up for me. I give it 2 stars only because the little kid was really cute.

I had a bad feeling right from the first few tunes. When Bonanza goes funky, the music gives is away in the first 10 seconds. The Bonanza show just wasn't meant to be funny. Just like in the other "funny" episodes, the plot was silly, the events were meaningless. Sandy Duncan was "smashing", but what was that red scarf stunt about? Saving the least for last - the little joe was the main star. With shows like this, it's no wonder that the series ended next season.

Bonanza episodes provided lots of insight into life "back then", be it timber mining, well drilling, Shanghaiing, cattle ranching, nitroglycerin, rabies, extortion, love triangles, you name it. Unfortunately, this was not one of those episodes. This episode is credited as written by little joe, all about little joe, the hero, who once again saved the day. It is annoying to watch repeatedly so much ego on display, over and over.

So many Bonanza shows are packed with activism, they condemn and pass judgement about how people 100 years earlier "should have lived" and they show the way how viewers today "should" see it. Those are the ones I rate 2 or 3, or not at all.

But there are also shows which simply depict how life was at that time, and those are my favorites. Alright, they get spiced up with little adventure, light humor and pretty ladies, but other than that ...... (smile) This episode presented the topic of people dealing with rabies. Medically, prepare for the worst. Amazingly, the only thing that changed today is prevention, but there is still no cure. That makes it an eye opener from different views. Back to the show itself, acting was superb, Mrs. Miles performed her usual best.

First off, he was just Hoss's little brother, and although he did not grow an inch in height (let's not count the 2 inch heels), his ego grew a mile. Now he is even directing the very show in which he is the main star! Not surprising, most of the show revolved about Michael Landon pounding his own chest, either as a character, or actor, or Mr. Big Shot director. I felt sorry for the supporting cast and the production people, who had to endure it.

Here are the highlights - right in the beginning Joe and Hoss are trotting into a store room, each one carrying a quart of nitroglycerin, side-by-side, and they casually set it, side-by-side, on the very top shelf. A cat casually knocks one of the quart-sized bottle of nitroglycerin off that top shelf (cats do that, right?), and what does quick thinking Little Joe do? No, he does not jump out, he jumps inside, to cushion the bottle's fall! Like many others recently, this show is packed with social engineering, but it was tolerable. The highlight was the very ending and that's why I rate it 6 instead of 2. But I can't spoil it, you've got to see it..

Unlike the many Bonanza shows which tease with race issues, mental illnesses, gender, age, and yatti yatta, this one deals with the influeza, and it did it very well. It is a safe subject, after all, who could possibly take the opposing side? Well, they found a contention anyway, the method to cure it. It was a great show to watch, except the acting of Dr. George Woodtree, which bombed. Fortunately, it was very brief.

These social engineering lectures from Hollywood and disguised as western shows would have been more enjoyable to western aficionados as well as more significant for the social activists if they were not so much over the top. The ending also made no sense, it looked like they just ran out of material and had to wrap it up.

It was quite mess. Everyone was an adversary to everyone else. Ben gets shot and needs help, but daughter argues with her father not to help Joe's effort, not even to rent a wagon. But then everyone else argues with everyone else. I ended up clicking the stop button about 4/10 into the show, that's why I give it 4.

I always dislike when reviewers refer to actors' names instead of the character names. It's like they are buddies on first name bases. This show received two reviews of that style. Current political bias in one review was actually quite annoying. The show itself was a good one, admittedly on a weak foundation, but they worked it out. Yes, the good guys won in the end, and I was glad. Good entertainment.

What's happening to Bonanza? This series used to be about a father and three sons, living moral lives in the west. But this theme is rapidly changing into something silly. Gun tooting Little Joe in his 2 inch heels is now taking all spotlights and all credits, even as a writer and director? This may explain why the show expired another season later.

Nearly every Bonanza show starts out dramatic and eventually turns to happy end. This show is different. It started with delightful interaction between Jennifer and Hop Sing. Another notable scene was the wedding announcement by Ben to his sons. The boys' acceptance was worth seeing twice (I did that). Great work. But then events took more negative, almost sinister turn up to the end. There was something missing, it seemed unfinished, as if the writer opened up larger issues, but then the show ran out of time. If there was any positive turn at the end, it was Ben's last words "let's go home, we have a ranch to run".

Another war is over, another father/daughter team, well, not exactly daughter, but the trend is there. Anna played lot of these shows and she was always the best. The best laugh came when the freighter was asked to transport 30 foot beams, and he said "I will have to cut them in half", and he was not trying to be funny.

Every actor in this show did a superb job, but what was this goulash of a show supposed to be? This episode presented as well as a 12 years old girl with her mother's lipstick. I note the new director, which is the likely problem. Still, there were few brief funny moments, so I rate it 3, and pray for better shows in the future.

One quick but reliable warning shot is Bonanza show's music. If it starts out light, comedic and flirty, the show is sure to disappoint, as this one did. Just another old timer with just another pretty daughter, just another show where Joe and Candy compete for a pretty trophy. To borrow some words from Peggy Lee's classic song, "is that all there is?"

Really nice show! The stage is set when it appears that the law lost it, the bad guys have their way and the good guys won't accept it. From that point forward, it is just escalation, each party raising stakes. As is routine in these later Bonanza shows, it takes the little gun tooting cowboy Joe to save the day. Fortunately, his role in this show was forgettable, so I give it high marks anyway.

The story was a confused mess with needless characters and needless diversions. Jenny was an attractive (not pretty, but attractive) confused gall who did not know what to do with her peroxide hair, the sort that might (in real life) make up stories about Lacrosse players or Ryan Seacrest. In the end, little (and I mean little) Joe saves the day, as always, gun tooting while rolling on his back, then dispensing his own morality, and then the show is over. And yet, the show received relatively high marks 7.8. Times they are a changing.

Overall, it was very enjoyable show to watch. It was well thought out and produced, except for some silly details, such as little Joe trying (and failing) to use a breaker bar and sledge hammer (held by the short end) to punch a hole through plank floor loaded with collapsed brick wall, while the smoke flu was just few feet away.

Don Knight's performance was consistently great, but Little Joe's? Not so much. Whatever the action scene, Little Joe was always the Johny-come-lately, and however the scene ended, Little Joe always emerged victorious. I laughed when a courthouse brick wall collapsed on Little Joe and he just got out of the rubble, dusted himself off and continued telling others what to do. Truly annoying.

As it often happens on Bonanza, Ben gets involved in a struggle between right and wrong. Often, the topics are about social justice, races and genders and ethnicity, and it sometimes gets weird and muddy. This show was about plain and simple corruption, and it worked out very well. Couple other comments: 1) It was a nice change not to have to see little Joe much. 2) I DID miss not seeing Hop Sing 3) Why is Simon Oakland playing only the sinister roles?

One of the silliest "humorous" Bonanza shows that I actually finished watching to its end, and that end could not come soon enough. The final disappointment was the very last scene. Some things just aren't worth the time, but how does one know ahead of time? I supposed someone will say the same thing about this review. Oh well, they can score it 3 as well.