September 22, 1965
6319
While preparing for a major cattle drive bunching the Barkley's herd with those of other ranchers, Heath has major difficulties being accepted as a Barkley, especially by the ranch hands. Then when Nick's former commander in the war comes to visit, Heath is suspicious of him, and with good reason. He is there to cause trouble and steal the herd!! Nick ends up getting shot while on the drive and has to be taken to town, leaving Heath in charge of the drive. Heath ends up saving the day, and finally the hands begin to accept him as a true Barkley.
Write a Recap »I was only 7 when this show originally ran on television, and I really don't remember the first run. I do however remember when it went into syndication in the 70's and I would share episode plots with friends. Even so, this is all pretty new to me now. hide show
Yep, it's all new to me, and since The Big Valley was a color show, and my 13 inch set in my bedroom was a black and white (complete with hoop UHF antenna with tin foil for that extra added reception, which I'm sure didn't really work too well).
I'm not sure that this is a true "pilot" but it is a pretty decent introduction to the series. Thrusting Heath at us from the very beginning is a great way to establish an attachment. Even so, I felt that I just had to take for granted that I knew the other characters. By the end of this first episode I felt pretty comfortable with what was going on.
One of the weakest points of the show, as is with most westerns and action shows on television, and in the movies from this time, are the fight scenes. They tend to be over the top and seem to be fought in double time. I guess the networks couldn't let viewers fall asleep, so they'd somehow squeeze in the brawl.
Even though the whole, "Big company trying to take someones land", has been done to death, I enjoyed this first episode.
Barbara Stanwyck, Richard Long and Lee Majors are standouts and I'm looking forward to the rest of the season.
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millerem99
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