October 29, 1960
Unknown
When Joe brings the daughter of a local tycoon to the carnival, she goes missing. Will they find her before it's too late?
Write a Recap »Over-complicated for a "Bonanza" episode, the situations also put the writing and staging in a pretty bad light. hide show
Joe and Hoss search a carnival for the abducted daughter of a wealthy local.
There's never a lot to most "Bonanza" episodes and in a way this is no exception, but it strays from the series' strength and shows its age badly. A carnival has come to the Comstock, and the evil knife thrower and the owner conspire to kidnap the free spirited young lady who accompanies Little Joe to the festivities - and hold her for ransom. There's a number of twists, the long-suffering carnival woman who loses her life doing the right thing, a gigantic strong man to serve as a foil to Hoss, a cryptic fat lady who knows all, and a bearded woman who has a comedic attraction to Joe.
At the same time, the dialog is stilted, the search is all over the map with characters ducking under about 50 canvas tent flaps and, still, there is really not a lot of sense of excitement built up by it all.
"Bonanza" can be entertaining, this one falls flat on its face, though its interesting to watch in the context of Westerns of the time.
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