Episode Guide - War Comes to Washoe
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Title War Comes to Washoe
Episode No: 107 Season: 4
Summary: Nevada is voting for statehood and the civil war causes divisions amongst everyone – even families.
You’ll like this if: You like Joe/Adam angst and dressed up Cartwrights. The boys do look nice all spruced up for the dance they are holding.
Synopsis: The Cartwrights hold a dance at which they have invited an actor called Walter Craigsmuir to recite. Before they know it, an argument has broken out between Northern sympathisers and men with Southern sympathies. Joe is in love with the daughter of Judge Terry, who is for the South. This leads to a quarrel with Adam. Ben sends Adam and Hoss off to mark trees and Joe to check the herd, hoping to keep the quarrelling brothers apart, while declaring that naively that the war will not enter his house.
The action then switches to the voting for statehood, which will mean that Nevada formally sides with the North. Both sides try to enlist Ben’s support and he finally decides that he will support the bid. However, Judge Terry manipulates the voting system and manages to get the Ponderosa a second delegate, knowing full-well that the only person home to take up the delegation is Joe. Terry expects Joe to vote for the confederacy and uses Morvath, his daughter, to try and swing Joe to his side.
We then learn that Craigsmuir is an agent for the British when his manservant is found dead with an incriminating letter in his possession. Adam and Hoss realise that the delegates don’t know the lengths Terry is willing to go to ensure victory for his side. They appear at the convention and Adam is allowed to speak, backed by Joe, and the resulting vote ensures that Nevada joins the union. Joe, of course, loses his love, who says that she cannot leave her father. Strange name – strange girl. She’s passing up Joe to stay with her father? Up until this point she has appeared quite independent and resourceful, and then suddenly she becomes a dutiful little mouse. Oh well, Joe is better off without her.
Clothes:
Adam: In the party scene, Adam is wearing a natty black suit. Later, he has on his usual black, with the custard coloured coat in the night scene.
Hoss: Poor Hoss never has such nice ‘dressy’ clothes as the others. He has on a nasty brown jacket and brown trousers that don’t match. His jacket looks far too warm and rather informal for the evening party held at the Ponderosa. Later, he is in his usual uniform.
Joe: Looks ever so natty in a crisp white shirt and string tie at the party. Later he is seen in his green jacket and tan trousers combination.
Ben: has on a very smart grey suit with a long jacket and his silver brocade waistcoat. Later he is in his aubergine shirt, which must have just been replaced, as it is quite dark. His conchos are present and correct and two of them are even tied at the beginning.
JPM: Not a classic JPM, but lots of lovely scenes with just the two of them, including at the breakfast table where Ben tells Joe that his mother was the most beautiful woman in the world. Ben provides as much fatherly support as he can here, without telling Joe what he should think. However, you can see that Ben is worried that Joe will vote for the confederacy. And tellingly, he refers to Joe as “boy” quite a lot
Token Female Interest: Morvath, who has to have the stupidest name of all the females we meet in Bonanza. She is wearing the blue dress that pops up in so many eps, including Far Far Better Thing amongst others. She also has a large variety of other dresses, mainly in blue and yellow. She seems keener on discussing clothes than on kissing Joe, which should give everyone a hint that she is rather dim.
Marvellous Medicine: None required, unless you count the loving support of his family when Joe is jilted again.
Where am I? The horse trough is up by the barn and Carson City looks suspiciously like Virginia City. Joe sits in Hoss’ usual seat in the breakfast scene, while he plays with his food. Probably the horrid smudgy pattern on the china puts him off his food.
We see the Ponderosa in full party mode – with most of the furniture missing from the great room. Maybe it was tucked away in the downstairs guest bedroom? A band plays merrily away - but are nowhere to be seen. They may be stuffed into the funny gap at the side of the stairs.
Continuity; what continuity?: Morvath tells her father she will just get her bonnet before they ride off to the Ponderosa, yet when she gets there, there is no bonnet anywhere in sight. And since she told her father Joe wasn’t getting back until afternoon, why did they need to leave before she even managed to scoff her corn flakes?
Surely Ben is fighting a loosing battle, as the differences between Adam and Joe and their relative sympathies had already been explored in season 1’s House Divided. And yet he seems rather surprised to hear their bitter argument.
Have you been following the plot?
In many ways, this episode can be seen as a companion piece to House Divided and the North/South debate is once again explored. Interestingly enough, this time it is the love of a young lady, rather than the love of his mother that is swaying Joe’s heart.
The story is based on the real-life exploits of British spy Bill Stewart. So, just to confuse matters, in this episode, the character of Bill Stewart is a Northern supporter…!
The Crucial questions no-one asks:
Does Ben really think that putting some space between Adam and Joe will solve anything in the long term?
What about Hoss? We are given no clue to where his sympathies lie.
Craigsmuir is such an obviously false name that alarm bells should have been ringing long before. “Craig” means “peak” and muir is another word for “Moor” – two rather mutually exclusive descriptions!
Why did Judge Terry feel the need to stand in the middle of the dancers in the opening sequence? Did he feel that was the safest place? Personally, I think I’d have had my back against the wall – less chance of getting knocked over!
Guest Stars
Harry Townes (Judge Terry) also appears in The Mill and The Medal. A well-known character actor, in the 1970s he joined a seminary and became an ordained Episcopalian Minister.
A professional singer (now, why didn’t they make use of that talent?) Joyce Taylor (Morvath) was under contract to Howard Hughes, who stifled her career for several years. She has not acted since 1971.
Barry Kelley (Bill Stewart) was also in Rose for Lotta and Right is the Fourth R. He appeared in numerous TV shows, including Mr Ed, The Virginian and Gunsmoke.
Alan Caillou (Walter Craigsmuir) was also in The Big Jackpot. He was also a writer, producing scripts for the films Flipper and The Man From UNCLE. He served in British intelligence during WWII, where Alan Caillou was one of many aliases he used – his real name was Alan Lyle-Smith.
You Can Quote Me On That
“This war has nothing to do with us…it has already divided my sons”
“You think she is the most beautiful, most wonderful creature that ever lived…well, you’re wrong. Your mother was.”
“The war has come between us.”