Alias Smith and Jones

This is a pretty decent pilot and a good episode of the show. A great supporting cast enhances the festivities, as usual, including James Drury, Forrest Tucker and Earl Holliman as "Wheat".

"Alias Smith and Jones" was TV's version of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". But instead of being a cheap knock-off, it quickly established itself here as perhaps the last of the great TV westerns, with the creative team that brought us "Maverick" and the great chemistry between its stars, Pete Duel and Ben Murphy.

There are one or two plot holes to this episode, the one that bugs me most is how Wheat and the gang are able to dig such a long tunnel, with wooden support beams no less, in such a brief period of time. But, to truly enjoy TV, isn't it better to suspend one's belief once in a while?

That aside, this is a great beginning to a great, if sadly brief, classic TV series. One of my favorites.

There are some major plotholes but the one I can't get past: Why would anyone be intimidated by Hannible Hayes or Kid Curry as outlaws when they don't shoot anyone? Pointing the gun seems kind of laughable.



It seems the writers overcompensated Kid Curry in his role playing opposite the exceedingly good-looking and overshadower Hannibal Hayes (Duel) because everytime they were in a fix, Kid Curry was the quick-thinker that got them out. As I remember, Hannibal Hayes is supposed to be the brains and Curry is the skill (fast on the gun). But Hayes didn't have one idea that worked (i.e., dropping the safe down a mountain didn't work) nor any skill (couldn't open either of the two safes). Meanwhile Curry saved one or both of them each time, such as when the sheriff attempted to arrest Hayes (Curry went through the back and held up the sheriff), when they escaped jail (Curry had the keys) and at the bar, interestingly enough, the gunmen recognized Curry, not Hayes, as a fellow bad guy. On top of that the girl went after Curry for the date (isn't that Hayes' territory?). And Curry is the one who utters that famous line "Outta this business!"



Yet even after all that, the one I remember most is Hannibal Hayes!