User Reviews

Our Mr. Jarrod is in on this one.

Without giving any more clues plot-wise, I'll just say that this one is definitely worth catching.

A classic episode.

Rarely does a TV show rate a "9" on the IMDb - ("I Love Lucy" does!), but I will have to admit that as much as I am enthralled by this show (at 9, my heart would literally beat faster when the opening credits appeared!) that the average show rating - in my humble and trying-to-be-honest-without-prejudiced-mind - is *7.5*.

As a boy, I had pics of Nick, Heath and Jarrod all over my bedroom walls (from the fanzines of the day).

And to this day, I have a rare LP with the music by George Duning.

There. Now watch this great offering!

The plot of this episode of THE BIG VALLEY was a curious one, because it invented a piece of history which (for ought we know) may very well have happened - but nobody has ever found conclusive proof that it did.

At the start we see Victoria Barkley (Barbara Stanwyck) taking a buggy ride with a family friend, General Alderson (Henry Jones). They are discussing some business involving both, and drive back to Victoria's home. But they find the house has been under surveillance by several men who have invaded it - and are holding Victoria, her sons Jarrad (Richard Long) and Nick (Peter Breck) and stepson Heath (Lee Majors), and daughter Audra (Linda Evans) prisoner there. The men are southerners - ex - Confederates who have been tracking down Alderson for years for a variety of claimed war crimes he committed during the Civil War (which they claim he successfully covered up). They intend to kill him for the maiming and killing of their wives, parents, children.

What happens in the episode is that Jarrad (who you recall is a professional lawyer) pleads with the men to at least give the General a chance to defend himself. They have the power of life and death over all the Barkleys and the General, but why can't they allow Alderson to try to show they are mistaken? Although there is grumbling about their plans and possible tricks the ex-Rebels agree.

So we watch these men present their case against Alderson, and the latter and Jarrad trying to disprove the allegations. But Alderson is a very reluctant witness - he is obviously frightened by his situation, and he is more of a protesting whiner than someone who is actually prepared to give meaningful rebuttal to these charges. As he wilts under the glare of these stories, Victoria and the others are amazed by his lack of fight: this is the man they have always respected, isn't it?

The conclusion of this fine episode is what always impressed me. Alderson tries to flee on several occasions (but is constantly caught). These actions don't improve the fall of his stock with the Barkleys any, especially as their lives might be sacrificed if he does flee. Then the court-martial makes it's decision: it declares that Alderson should be hanged. Although Heath and his brothers try one last time to stop this, the ex-Confederates hold them off, and drag Alderson to a tree. And here, Alderson's facade cracks.

He insists that they have gotten the wrong information about him. He was always loyal to the Confederacy, and the proof is that in the winter of 1864 - 65 he met with John Wilkes Booth and several of his conspirators to plot Lincoln's Assassination. Of course this is the final blow to whatever shreds of respect Victoria had for the General, but the final trick comes up. It turns out that Jarrad has been working with the leader of the "Ex - Confederates" (Alan Bergmann) in building up a treason case against Alderson - that the General was suspected of treason against the Union. At the end the General is arrested and taken away.

No doubt there were people who were involved with Booth's conspiracy that we have no real knowledge of. Over the years a Portuguese ship captain named Captain Joao Celestina has been mentioned, and there are theories linking Booth to a Northern set of traitors (led by Secretary of War Stanton and Secret Service Chief Lafayette Baker?) or to Southern leaders (Jefferson Davis and his cabinet, or the raider General John Mosby). But, as far as I know, only this episode of THE BIG VALLEY ever actually dealt with the issue of unknown co-conspirators of John Wilkes Booth.

This is probably my favorite episode of The Big Valley. The way I remember it however, is that it opens with Jarrod bringing the General to the ranch for a visit, and the General comments how he will miss not seeing Nick, as Nick was his second-in-command. After they arrive at the ranch, this band of confederates takes the family hostage - Jarrod, Victoria and Audra are the only ones at home, as Nick and Heath are on a cattle-drive. However, they arrive home unexpectedly, and walk right into the entire mess. Nick is thrilled to see his former commanding officer, and totally dismisses the men's claims that the General was responsible for the massacre. They hold a "trial" and find both the General and Nick responsible and sentence them to hang.

The General being the coward he is, finally admits to being guilty and confesses to everything. Nick is horrified, as he really did not know. This is when you find out that the men are not really mercenaries and that Jarrod had been in on it from the very beginning. It was all a ruse to smoke out the General to get him to confess and it worked quite successfully. What they hadn't counted on was Nick and Heath returning home. Nick was understandingly upset and punched out his brother, but as was always the case with Nick and his temper, he got over it and apologized to Jarrod and all was well.

I have always thought this episode was done exceedingly well, and I never really considered if it was based on a true event. However, I am sure that during the civil war, probably several instances like this took place. I highly recommend this episode to anyone who is a fan of the Big Valley. It should not be missed.