Former American General James Wilkerson (Simon Oakland) seeks to foment civil war between Virginia and Kentucky, with Spain as the beneficiary, and starts the plot in motion with an attempted murder of Dan.
This week's installment is a fine chaser for the previous Revolutionary War excursion. A somewhat plausible plot story allows TV journeyman Simon Oakland (noted for playimg authority figures of varying savvy in the 1970's series "The Night Stalker" and "Black Sheep Squadron"(a showcase hour to play a supposedly wronged soldier who has made the jump to rationalizing treason. Fess Parker is allowed to depart the superman role slightly to portray a wounded man grimly trying to see a mission through, and is willing to use whatever violence is required to get the job done. His mental and physical duel with Oakland glues the hour together well. Cesar Romero (the Joker in Adam West's "Batman") offers a stylish turn ad a colonial Spanish commandant.
The storyline requires another alternative universe jump - taking place post-statehood for Kentucky (1792), it assumes that Kentucky and Virginia would engage in conflict for control of everything from the Chesapeake to the Mississippi, and that the U. S. federal government would be at best an interested bystander.
Likewise, alt-universe thinking is applied to Oakland's character as well. "Wilkerson" is clearly based on Gen. James Wilkinson (1757-1825). Was NBC worried about libel suits from descendants in 1967?! A soldier in U. S. service from the Canada and Saratoga campaigns of the Revolution to the end of the War of 1812, he was also a spy for the Spanish government, which was only discovered by an archivist some twenty years after his death. (One of his near-achievements was betrayal of the Lewis & Clark Expedition.) His treason was suspected, but he always managed to beat the rap while advancing through the ranks. After retiring as senior officer of the U. S. Army, he was U. S. envoy in Mexico City and died peacefully there. This script commingles Wilkinson's attempt to influence Kentucky toward possible union with Spain in 1787-88, and his dancing around the edges of Aaron Burr's 1804-05 conspiracy to set up a personal fiefdom in Louisiana. Wilkinson remained in the U. S. Army throughout all the above; "Wilkerson" is shown as retired and operating privately post-1792. Wilkinson was the epitome of self-interest, and Oakland's character is somewhat unfairly ennobled toward the end.
Continental soldier count - a guard of two, and with at least a nod toward plausibility they are uniformed as blue-yellow Fairfax County militia on duty in Richmond.
Spanish presidio proclamation - always interesting to see a contender for trans-Appalachian hegemony other than the British and Americans enter the fray. About eight Spanish colonial troops are deployed here. In an apparent outbreak of good research, they wear the white-blue uniforms of the Fixed Regiment of Louisiana, present in the Mississippi Valley from the Revolution to the accession of American authority. We also see Spanish horse lancers in action, albeit unsuccessfully.
Another well-done hour of political and historical action. A bit of a comedown from last week; the historical footing is slightly weaker, and no Mingo is along to be a foil for Dan. Still, the combination of chase, flintlock and fistfight action with high political stakes makes the hour another tentpole for Season 3.
