I remember watching this episode for the first time in my teens, watching it with my whole family as part of our weekly Friday Night Movie Night family time.  I went in knowing he was the guest star and being pretty sure he was going to be the bad guy because that was how it had gone with all the eps of other westerns I'd seen him in.  You can imagine my delight when he proved to play not a bad guy, but not even an antagonist!  He plays a hero!  Oh joy, oh rapture unforeseen!

A stranger (Vic Morrow) rides into a town that positively drips ominous foreboding.  No people on the streets.  A saloon filled with toughs who are raucously celebrating the completion of a gallows in the middle of town.  Bad stuff is about to happen here.  Bad stuff has already happened here.

And then we discover that the two men in jail who are going to be hanged that night... are Ben and Adam Cartwright (Lorne Greene and Pernell Roberts).  Those yahoos in the saloon are eager to dance and spit all over their graves.  The stranger finds this disturbing, but he's a quiet guy not looking for trouble.  At least, not looking for this particular trouble.

Actually, he's looking for a group of men who lynched his father and killed a lot of other innocent townspeople a few years ago in Lassiter, Kansas.  Because he never shares his name in this episode, folks take to calling him Lassiter after the town he keeps talking about.  

Thanks to his family history, Lassiter is very sensitive to wrongful hangings, even when they're carried out by the law and not by a lynch mob.  He becomes convinced that Ben and Adam are innocent.  Their conviction hinged on the testimony of one scared hired man and one angry young woman -- and the hired man has been murdered, while the young woman is seeking to punish the Cartwrights for her father's death whether they were actually guilty of killing him or not.

Vic Morrow plays Lassiter with exquisite gravitas.  He's calm, steady, soft-spoken, and unflinching in his quest to find his father's killers and bring them to justice.  He doesn't waste a single movement; every flicker of his eyelids, every sideways glance, every raised eyebrow speaks as much as his dialog ever does.  This is a man who will not fail, and the audience knows it.  The people of this town know it.  Even Hoss and Little Joe Cartwright (Dan Blocker and Michael Landon) realize it, and agree to let Lassiter try to save their father and brother first before they start throwing lead at everyone in sight.

Obviously, Ben and Adam don't hang.  Obviously, the guy trying to get them hung is one of the men Lassiter is trying to find.  Obviously, Lassiter's calm logic and insistence on seeing truth and justice served are what save the Cartwrights.  There aren't any huge surprises here... unless you are used to seeing Vic Morrow play baddies in westerns, and discover to your great joy that he is playing a very good guy indeed here.

You can watch this episode basically anywhere because it's in the public domain.  It's easy to find on streaming platforms, YouTube, DVD, etc.

This has been my contribution to the 11th Annual Favourite TV Show Episode Blogathon hosted this weekend by A Shroud of Thoughts.

In "White Warrior," Cheyenne Bodie (Clint Walker) is leading a wagon train.  I really love wagon train stories (so much so that I wrote one), so that alone would probably make this episode a favorite.  There's something so compelling for me about a group of people who have decided to leave home and family and familiarity behind them and are setting off into what they hope will be a better world.  But they're also stepping out into the unknown, with uncertainty and hard work and a lot of possible dangers around them.  Also, one of my great-grandmothers was born in a wagon train while her family headed to their new home in the Dakota Territory, so that might be part of why they fascinate me.

Anyway, the wagon train Cheyenne is leading has a couple of total creeps in it, Eli Henderson (Peter Whitney) and Matt Benedict (Morris Ankrum) in particular.  Eli Henderson is a trader who wants to bilk settlers and American Indians out of whatever he can by selling them subpar and sometimes illegal goods.  Matt Benedict is a harsh, hateful man who pushes his son Neal (Chuck Courtney) to bully others in order to prove what big and powerful people they both are.  Cheyenne has plenty of trouble keeping the two of them from creating havoc even before the titular character arrives.

A handful of Apache warriors meet up with the wagon train and want to trade with Henderson.  While Henderson is wheeling and dealing with them, Cheyenne notices that one young man riding with them (Michael Landon) is a Comanche captive, not an Apache.  He trades a horse for the captive because he knows the Apache warriors will most likely brutally torture and then murder him when they get back to their own people.

Cheyenne frees the Comanche and learns that he speaks English.  He also notices a distinctive scar on the young man's wrist.  Some of the people on the wagon train, egged on by Henderson and Benedict, demand that Cheyenne get rid of the Comanche because they are sure he will kill them all in their sleep.  Why?  Because he's an Indian, and they don't trust Indian.  When Benedict snarls, "He's an Indian.  There's too many of them, anyway," Cheyenne retorts, "That's exactly how they feel about us. Only, they got better reason."

Then Cheyenne drops a little bomb on their let's-hate-the-Comanche party:  the captive he freed isn't Comanche by birth, but by adoption.  The captive confirms this reluctantly -- he is a young white man named Alan Horn who was captured by the Comanche when he was a child and adopted into their tribe through a blood ceremony that left the scar on his wrist.

The settlers still aren't cool with this, even after Cheyenne explains he knew Alan had been adopted by the Comanche because the same thing happened to him as a boy, only he was adopted by the Cheyenne instead.  This is a big part of why I love this episode: we get to hear more about Cheyenne's backstory here than we do in any other episode I have seen.  He was rescued by the Cheyenne after his family was killed by raiders, and they adopted him into the tribe.  But, when he was in his teens, about the same age as Alan, he had to decide for himself where he belonged.  And Cheyenne Bodie decided he wanted to rejoin the white world, even though he never would quite feel at home there or find total acceptance because of his Indian upbringing.

Cheyenne gives Alan Horn the same choice.  If he wants to rejoin the Comanche, Cheyenne will send him on his way with a horse, water, food, and a knife.  If he wants to try living with the white people, Cheyenne will help him find a place in that world instead.  And that is another big reason why I love this episode -- Cheyenne never pushes Alan to decide one way or another.  He lets him make his own choice.  He never even tries to persuade him that one society would be better than the other.

The way this show as a whole treats American Indian characters was pretty revolutionary when it first aired in 1955.  That was the height of the popularity for western shows and movies, and the vast majority of those portrayed the American Indians as nameless, faceless, remorseless enemies.  Of course, there were exceptions.  And, of course, Cheyenne's being raised by a native tribe is often used as a way to make him seem exotic and special.  But the show insists on treating Indian characters with dignity, as intelligent individuals.

Anyway, Alan Horn does find some acceptance in the wagon train, particularly being befriended by Clara Bolton (Randy Stuart) and Lyle Gordon (Richard Garland).  But others are determined to drive him out, especially when he reveals that he overheard Eli Henderson making a deal with those Apache warriors to sell them rifles and ammunition, which is against the law.  Matt Benedict even tries to convince his son Neal to kill Alan Horn just because he was talking to a white girl.

Cheyenne believes and trusts Alan, and of course, the bad guys are stopped, the good guys are rewarded, and the wagon train is able to safely continue on the way to their new homes.  This is a fifties show with a lot of kids in the audience, after all.  But that doesn't keep it from taking a deeper, harder look at issues like trust, kindness, and belonging.  The show as a whole doesn't shy away from difficult subjects, and that's another reason that I love it.

Michael Landon's star was on the rise when he guest-starred in this episode.  In a matter of months, he would be starring on Bonanza and become a household name.  His performance here is understated and lovely, showing his inner conflict mainly through his haunted eyes and hesitant words.

This review is my contribution to the 10th Annual Favorite TV Show Episode Blogathon hosted by A Shroud of Thoughts all weekend long.

I've been crushing on Clint Walker for more than thirty years, so here is one last shot of him looking particularly good in this episode.

Chris has had the bad luck to slouch into the town of Jericho, a scummy nowhere town rotting from the inside.  Folks there have a jolly little set-up: slap a passerby in jail, claim they're a wanted criminal, and get them or their family to pay a ridiculously high bail fee.  If they can't make bail, they get sent to a hellhole of a prison to work as what amounts to slave labor.

You don't even have to guess where Chris ends up.  Of course, the minute they get him inside the prison compound, he makes a gutsy escape attempt, which ends with him getting sentenced to a few days in The Hole.  Which, as you can see, impresses and frightens Chris a great deal.

Those poor prison officials have no idea what kind of a feral critter has just landed in their midst.  I could almost feel sorry for them if they weren't all (except one guard) sadistic bullies.  Especially the Warden (Art LaFleur), who takes Chris's defiant sass as a personal insult and makes it his mission to grind our volatile hero into the dust.

Meanwhile, back in the unnamed town where the Seven keep the peace, Mary Travis (Laurie Holden) is concerned because Chris has been gone for ten days without sending word when he'll be back.  She asks Buck (Dale Midkiff) and a couple of the other guys if they shouldn't start looking for Chris, but Buck is convinced Chris has just holed up in some nice little brothel hotel and will come back when he's good and ready to.

I'm rather annoyed with Buck here because he knows that Mary cares about Chris, but he giggles like a twelve-year-old over how displeased she is when he implies that Chris is staying away from town (and her) for such a reason.  I expect that kind of behavior from J.D. (Andrew Kavovit) because he basically is twelve, but Buck is usually a lot more gentlemanly and kind toward the ladies.  I blame the writers for forgetting this about Buck, not the character himself.

Meanwhile, eight days in The Hole have not sweetened Chris's disposition any.

This ep is never stressful to watch because you KNOW Chris won't crumble under whatever pressure they bring to bear on him.  This is Chris Larabee.  It's honestly kind of a joy to sit back and watch him sass and snarl his way through.

Well, Chris has been out of  The Hole for about half a day before the Lawless Brothers (headed by Don Swayze) find him and try to kill him for shooting their cousin a few years back.

That goes about as well as you'd expect, considering it's three against one.  Chris probably would have taken them all down if one of them didn't have a shiv and slice Chris up with it.

At least he gets taken to the prison hospital instead of thrown back in The Hole.  This whole part where he's handcuffed to a bed, mostly shirtless, would be a little too much fanservice if he wasn't getting the cut across his abdomen sewed up by a shaky-handed prisoner.  That makes it really hard to watch, at least for me.

Back in town, Mary Travis finally convinces the rest of the Seven that Chris's disappearance isn't natural.  Led by Vin Tanner (Eric Close), they ride off to find him.  For a group of guys who have been hired to keep the peace in town, they sure do ride off in all directions and leave it undefended a lot.  Hmm.

The guys ride into Jericho and find it an unpleasant and suspicious sort of place.  Because they are intelligent and savvy that way.  They make themselves at home in the boarding house's barroom. (Hint: boarding houses don't usually have a barroom, so this is a big signal this town is many flavors of wrong.)  Josiah (Ron Perlman) and Vin try to charm some answers out of Jessie (Julianna McCarthy), the sweet old lady behind the bar.

She seems super trustworthy, right?  (Hint: trustworthy little old ladies don't usually tend bar.)

Nobody in town has seen Chris Larabee.  Or heard of Chris Larabee.  However, the sheriff and deputy would really like the Seven to leave town.  Which, of course, makes our guys very, very suspicious.  (Hint: most towns want customers who spend cash money to stay and enjoy the town as long as their money holds out.)

Well, the best way to make these stubborn heroes stay someplace is to tell them to leave.  Is it any wonder I love them all?

Meanwhile, for a guy whose will is supposed to be crumbling under the pressure of the Warden's shiny bootheel, Chris sure is looking mighty pleased with his bad self over how quickly he's worked his way to the top of various pecking orders at the prison.

Chris's triumphant smirking lasts for about twelve seconds, right up until the Warden drags a sick prisoner out of the hospital tent and tries to beat him into starting work again.

Chris Larabee won't stand for that.  He may be volatile, smirky, broody, sarcastic, and given to random acts of brash violence, but he has Justice running through his veins.  He cannot and will not stand by and watch a sick man beaten by armed bullies for not being able to stand up.

Ohhh, you can just see the Hero Vibes wafting off him, can't you?

Of course, the Warden beats Chris to the ground for this.  And Chris keeps standing back up, getting between the Warden and the sick prisoner.  His obstinate courage inspires the rest of the prisoners, and they clink their tools against any handy object in aural support, like scruffy, filthy cheerleaders.  Including the Lawless Brothers, who wanted to kill Chris themselves not so long ago.

Meanwhile, back in Jericho, the guys find Chris's gun at a general store.  They set about trying to find real answers as to his whereabouts in various ways, some subtle and some not-so-subtle, depending on if you're Ezra (Anthony Starke) or not.

Meanwhile, back at the prison, the Warden is picking on Chris again.  His cruelty and malice eventually disgust one of his guards (Anthony Lee), who resigns his post in protest.

Doesn't do Chris any good, of course.  Back in The Hole he goes, and this time, the Warden intends to see to it that Chris will never come out alive.

Meanwhile, back in Jericho, the sheriff has found one of those pesky handbills with Vin's name and face on them.  Those do have a way of cropping up at the most inopportune moments.  He thinks if he waves that handbill around, five of his six problems will go away, and he'll be able to toss Vin in prison.

Vin doesn't seem any too perturbed, though.

Neither do any of the others.  The sheriff's expectation that they would scatter at the threat of their compadre's arrest goes completely awry on him.

As a matter of fact, Nathan (Rick Worthy) informs him that they knew all about that particular wanted poster, and it doesn't bother them a bit.

Instead of trying to run, Vin stands up and challenges the sheriff to a duel on the count of three.

Don't you dig how they frame our guys from a low angle in this scene to highlight just how in control of the situation they are?  Don't you also love how many shots of Vin I can cram into this little section since he's my favorite?

Well, the guys break into the prison camp in a reasonably clever way, which I won't spoil for you here.  One thrilling gun battle later, plus an unpleasant incident involving a rattlesnake, and off the Seven go, back home to their unnamed town.

Man, that ep hits so many sweet spots for me!  Wrongful imprisonment, attempted prison escape, a rescue mission, a guy standing up to protect someone helpless, people rallying together against a bully, Chris Larabee handcuffed shirtless to a bed Vin Tanner being ridiculously calm and cool and adorable at the same time -- there is no wonder this is my favorite ep of this show!

I have had such a great time reviewing "Inmate 78" that I think I just might start reviewing the whole series.  There are only 22 eps (here's a list of my 10 favorites, if you are curious), so it wouldn't take me that long, even if I spent two hours on each review like I did this one.

This particular review is my contribution to the 9th Annual Favorite TV Show Episode Blogathon hosted by A Shroud of Thoughts.  I love this event!  It is always such fun to focus on just one episode of a beloved show.

If you're not familiar with Five Mile Creek, I wrote a series overview here a few years ago.  In a nutshell, it's about some Americans who travel to Australia, where they join with some Aussies to start a stage coach line (the Australian Express) and its waystation at Five Mile Creek.  I grew up watching this series on VHS over and over and over again, and this is the episode I've seen more than any other because it's my dad's favorite.  

Conveniently, it's also my favorite, though for rather different reasons than his.  Dad likes it because it's funny.  I like it because it showcases Kate Wallace, a character I have strongly identified with since childhood.  It's definitely funny, but it's also really serious and dramatic, and I like that about it.  (And, yes, I sometimes felt taken for granted as a kid.  I've always been a bit weird.)

(This review spoils pretty much everything in the episode.  Sorry, not sorry.)