Enter Mark Twain

Season 1, Episode 5, Aired
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Episode Summary

Sam Clemens arrives in Virginia City as a reporter at the "Territorial Enterprise". Soon, the Ponderosa is crawling with the curious after Clemens writes an outrageous story about a "Wild Man" spotted on the ranch. The Cartwrights and Clemens quickly become allies to fight a crooked judge running for office. Clemens gets beaten for his unflattering stories of the candidate who's plotting a land grab at the Ponderosa.moreless
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Fan Episode Reviews (1)

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  • Sam Clemens comes to town to write for the Territorial Enterprise, just before a judicial election. A local railroad tycoon is trying to buy the election for his "pet judge", so he can steel the Ponderosa. The Cartwrights and Clemens have other ideas!moreless

    8.5
    "Great"
    By midniteeve, May 25, 2006 Report Abuse
    This episode has lots of different elements: Drama, action and lots of comedy. There are also some real history elements thrown in. This particular installment is somewhat unigue, as well, in that a non-Cartwright character plays a larger role than any other the series regulars.

    One of the more comic scenes, that is very memorable, is one which takes place at the Cartwright dinner table, after Adam has brought home a boy he found wandering the ranch. After Adam caught sight of the homeless youth, he attempted to run from him, eventually tumbling down the side of a ravine and knocking himself unconscious. Adam bring him home, slung over the front of his horse and hands him over to Hop Sing to clean him up. During dinner, Hop Sing comes in from the wash house, all in a tizzy. It seems the "boy" Adam brought home has turned out to be a girl! Adam's reaction and expressions are priceless!

    Another moment that I particularly enjoy, every time I watch this one, is the monologue of Clemens, while the Cartwights are defending him and fighting off the bad guys at the newspaper office. Clemens is thinking out loud about the river boats traveling along the Mississippi River and hits upon his inspiration for his pen name, Mark Twain. I don't know if this is an hisorically accurate account of how he came up with it, but it is a great bit of dialogue!moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • Scenes for this episode were filmed at Janss Conejo Ranch, Conejo Valley, California. Edit
    • Saloon of choice: The Bucket of Blood Edit
    • The company that Lash owns is the Sierra and Nevada Railroad. Edit

  • Notes

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    • Edmon Ryan was credited as Edmund Ryan. Edit
    • This is the first of three episodes that feature Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain. Edit

  • Quotes

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    • Hoss: (to Sam Clemens) I don't know about that name Mark Twain. It seem to me like that I've heard a lot better names than that before. You sure that's a fittin' name for a writer? Edit

  • Allusions

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    • Sam: Now, back a couple of months ago, I was in California, a place called Calaveras County and the folks there seemed to think that they wanted to hold a, sort of a...a little frog jumping contest.
      Mrs. Billington: Yeah, I heard about it. You're the fellow who thinks up all that junk. Signs himself Josh.
      Sam is referring to the famous story The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras Country, which has become one of Mark Twain's most beloved short stories. Edit
    • Mark Twain (1835-1910)
      Worked for the Territorial Enterprise newspaper from 1861 to 1864. Edit

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