Review of
Bonanza: Volume Three, Bitter Water,
VHS version
Five out of five stars
It is a basic
premise of the Bonanza series that the Cartwrights are wealthy and honest and
upright citizens. They are respected by most of the other members of their
community. Which naturally leads to the recurring plot device of others being
jealous and resentful of their wealth and prestige.
That is the basis
of the plot of this episode. One of the neighbors of the Cartwrights is an old
friend of Ben’s and by mutual agreement, they share water rights to a stream
that runs through both properties. Todd, the son of the friend, is now an adult
and determined to make his own way in the world. One thing he wants to do is to
sell off his father’s land to the father of his fiancé, an unscrupulous man
that is interested in mining silver. If this were to be done, the stream would
be poisoned and there would be no water for the Ponderosa cattle.
The jealousy in
Todd for Adam Cartwright runs so deep that it comes to a fight between them, despite
the fact they grew up together. Not for the hand of the woman, but simply
because Todd feels inferior and considers it necessary to engage in acts of
false bravado. The mining man is so unscrupulous that when he discovers that
some of his cattle are infected with the deadly Texas Fever plague, he has his
men drive them onto the Ponderosa so that the Cartwright cattle will also be
infected.
While there is
gunplay, the focus is on the interrelationships between Todd, his father, the fiancé,
her father the mining man and the Cartwrights. Of course, when they are challenged, the
Cartwrights stand their ground, even when the odds are against them.
One of the outstanding
features of the best television westerns is that while there is the standard
western action of guns firing and fists swinging, the focus is on the
relationships. The viewers care about the main characters, forming bonds with
them through the screen. In this episode, it is easy to understand why that is
the case for this popular series.
Review of
You Will Go to the Moon,
by Mae and Ira Freeman
Five out of five stars
The library of
the elementary school that I went to had a tattered issue of this book and I
read it over and over again, adding to the tattering. It fired my imagination
to the point where I decided to study astronomy. Eager for more knowledge about
other objects in the universe, I began reading the books on astronomy in the
small library in my hometown.
The plot is
simple, a boy is fascinated by the moon and he is told how he will go there. He
is a passenger in a three-stage rocket that leaves Earth and travels to a giant
space station. From there, he boards another ship that is the lunar lander. It
takes three days to travel to the moon from the space station and some of the
various entertainment activities are listed.
While this
imaginary adventure does not match how the first lunar flights went, it is a logical
rendition of how more routine trips to the moon will be done. A powerful rocket
to a space station followed by a shuttle trip using a reusable ship that lands
next to a dome-shaped permanent base.
This book fired
my imagination and I am sure many others have experienced the same pulsations
of desire to leave Earth and walk and work on the Moon. Someday it will be as
routine as depicted in this book, one can only hope that it is soon.
Review of
The Indians Knew,
by Tillie S. Pine
Five out of five stars
I acquired a
copy of this book at a garage sale when I was very young, and I read it over
and over. It contains a series of basic survival tactics used by the Native
Americans and in many cases taught to the encroaching people of European descent.
There are three sections for each topic, a description of the subject under the
heading, “The Indians knew,” what is done in modern times based on this knowledge
and then a simple experiment/exercise that the reader can perform to illustrate
and reinforce the topic. All of the exercises are easy to understand and safe
to implement.
The Native
Americans survived and thrived on the North American continent for centuries
before the arrival of the Europeans. Unlike in Europe and Asia, famine was
unknown as the people lived in harmony with nature rather than doing all they
could to exploit and “conquer” their new world. This book contains a small amount
of their knowledge and is a worthy addition to any library where multicultural
coverage is considered essential.
Review of
The Old Corral
movie starring Gene Autry and Roy Rogers
Three out of five stars
When you see from
the box that this movie stars Gene Autry and Roy Rogers, it is immediately
clear that there will be a lot of singing. The Sons of the Pioneers are also featured,
increasing the amount of crooning that is done. There is some gunplay and
swinging of fists, but not a great deal and all rather weakly executed. Gene
Autry plays the Sheriff and, in a role out of character for him, Roy Rogers
plays a villain, although not the main or worst one.
The plot is
pretty weak, a female singer is a witness to a gangland killing in the city and
flees the area, going out west by bus. There she is befriended by a man that
recognizes her and wants to make a deal with the mob boss searching for her.
There is also a romantic flame kindled with Sheriff Autry, one of the feeders
of that flame is their singing together.
The purpose of
the western environment is to provide the context for most of the songs
performed by the characters. The Sons of the Pioneers are in jail, so they sing
lamenting songs, Autry and Rogers burst out themes related to the west.
Most modern
viewers will find the western where the main characters do more singing than
fighting rather incongruous. Yet, Autry, Rogers and others made their careers
by doing just that and the public enjoyed it. Autry made enough wealth to buy a
major league baseball team. With the high level of graphics and the demand for
intense visual action, it is unlikely that something like the singing cowboy
will ever be viable again.
Review of
The Mountain That Loved a Bird,
by Alice McLerran ISBN 0590468480
Five out of five stars
This children’s
story is an encapsulation of how new mountains are encroached on by nature,
going from the initial bare rock to vibrant green ecosystems. It starts with a mountain
that is sad because it is all bare rock, there are no plants growing on it and
so there are no creatures as well. Finally, the boredom is broken a tiny bit
when a bird lands on the mountain for a short rest. The mountain expresses a
desire for the bird to stay but it can’t. It is looking for a place to build a
nest and without food, water or any nesting materials, it cannot build a nest
on the mountain and live there. Therefore, the bird soon flies away. While it
is not stated, people with knowledge of biology will understand that it almost
certainly left behind a small deposit of organic material.
The bird and its descendants come back each year for a
short time until a seed is brought and deposited in a crevasse. It sprouts and
the roots begin to penetrate the cracks in the rock and start the generation of
new topsoil. In later years more seeds are brought to the mountain and after many
years, what was once only barren rock is now a lush, green forest with many
insects and wild creatures.
It is a
standard section of Earth science to study how new mountains are slowly colonized
by plants, insects and animals until the areas below the tree line are green
forests teeming with wild creatures. This book describes that evolution in an
entertaining and educational way. It may seem to be a fairy tale, but it is in
fact a science lesson.
Review of
American Tale Tales,
by Mary Pope Osborne ISBN 0590464833
Five out of five stars
These tales are
indeed tall, exaggeration is too light a word to use to describe the structure
of the stories in this collection. As an example, here is the second sentence
in the story about Paul Bunyan. “When he was only two weeks old, he weighed
more than a hundred pounds, and for breakfast every morning he ate five dozen
eggs, ten sacks of potatoes, and a half barrel of mush from a whole sack of
cornmeal.” Now that is what you would
call a whopper of an exaggeration.
The real/mythical
people described in these stories are:
*) Davy Crockett
*) Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind
*) Johnny Appleseed
*) Stormalong
*) Mose
*) Febold Feboldson
*) Pecos Bill
*) John Henry
*) Paul Bunyan
Of course, Crockett and Appleseed were real historical
figures, Crockett died a hero at The Alamo and thanks to Appleseed, many pioneer
families found bearing apple trees when they arrived on the frontier. Others
are lightly based on real people where the legend far outpaced their achievements.
This is a fun
book to read, while other cultures may have similar myths, these are based on
the people and environment of European based North Americans.
Review of
Bonanza: Feet of Clay
episode
Five out of five stars
The tender side of Hoss Cartwright
The mother of a
boy in the 8-12 age range dies, leaving him all alone. His father has gone away
and despite his promise to return, has not done so. His only known relative is
an uncle that lives some distance away and it will take many days for him to
arrive. When no one else will take custody of the boy, Ben Cartwright agrees to
care for him.
However, the
boy is into mischief on a regular basis and Ben gets extremely frustrated.
Finally, Hoss tells Ben that perhaps he has forgotten how to talk to young
people. Agreeing with Hoss, Ben allows Hoss to make the attempt to fill the role
of parent. The boy and Hoss hit it off very well after some initial
difficulties.
When two
escaped convicts appear in the area near the Ponderosa, all available men are
mustered to look for them. Leaving Hoss and the boy at the Ponderosa. One of
the convicts is the boy’s father and when they arrive at the Ponderosa, he contacts
the boy, asking him to bring the two escapees some food. There is a violent
confrontation between Hoss and the boy’s father and the outcome turns the boy
against Hoss. Despite his emotional turmoil, Hoss manages to keep his focus on
the boy and there is the inevitable and predictable happy ending.
This episode
has Dan Blocker doing some emotional acting, something that he and the
Cartwrights are not known for. While his acting is not spectacular, it is at
least tolerable, it is most unusual to see a man six-foot-four and over 300
pounds crying. The incongruity of it, makes it work.
