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Episode Guide - Hound Dog
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Title Hound Dog
Episode No: 193 Season: 6
Summary: More chaos and comedy and cousin Muley Clinton Jones returns to the Ponderosa. Any relation to a certain US President, one wonders? He does have rather a knack with the ladies…or Tracey
You’ll like this if: you like classic comedy eps, featuring all the family and with a nice little musical sideline to boot. Plus gratuitous shots of the Cartwrights in their nightwear.
Synopsis: Cousin Muley appears to visit with the Cartwrights. He seems to be Ben’s cousin, although we never discover anything more about him. He brings with him a mixed pack of hound dogs – a basset, a beagle, a bloodhound and A N Other, rejoicing in the names of Flop, Filbert, Fargo and Blue. Chaos soon ensues at the Ponderosa, with the dogs running rampant, and Flop almost taking up permanent residence on the woodbox. The dogs then proceed to howl endlessly, thus depriving our heroes of sleep. Ben banishes Muley and the dogs to the barn, but sleep is still in short supply. So, they decide to make the hounds into coyote dogs, instead of bird dogs and Hoss seems to be the man to help Muley do this. Meanwhile, Tracy and her father are looking for four dogs who were abducted by a “tall passing stranger…” – now, who could that possibly be? Abner seems to be doing it only so that Tracy will feed him.
Hoss and Muley then embark upon training the dogs…with varying degrees of success. At one point, they retreat up a tree to escape from the pack and we make the interesting discovery that Hoss appears to keep his packed lunch somewhere in the vicinity of his left armpit. We eventually learn that Abner was the person who sold the dogs in the first place, but by then, Tracy has fallen head over heels for Muley (well, he is cute!) and it looks like they all – Tracy, Abner, Muley and the dogs – might live happily ever after. But in the final scene, the dogs decide that they like the accommodations at the Ponderosa better!
Clothes: The familiar rig-outs for our four heroes, but with the added excitement of seeing them in their night-attire. Of course, being the Cartwrights, they accessories their dressing gowns etc with trousers and boots…spoilsports! Cousin Muley prefers to wear long johns with his.
Hoss: The familiar green-checked night-shirt is briefly in evidence. Also, when bitten on the bum by one of the dogs, we are treated to the sight of Hoss’ pale-pink undies. Hoss also models up-to-the-minute furry moonboots, showing that you should never, ever throw anything away, as they will come back into fashion eventually. I’m sure some Cartwright descendent is cursing that Hoss didn’t keep those boots…
Joe: Another ep where we see Joe looking cute and sleepy in a nightshirt. However, true fans will relish the first night-time scene when Joe eschews such things and appears sans chemise…whew!! What a glorious sight! Sadly, he finds his nightshirt for his second appearance.
Ben: Ben wears his semi-martial maroon silk dressing gown, but in a slightly different incarnation – this one has maroon lapels, instead of the more normal white ones. Perhaps Hop Sing had a slight accident with the washing that week.
Adam: wears a dark blue dressing gown.
JPM: None! Mind you, after Hoss callously pushes his little brother over at the very end, we can only imagine what tender loving care he was subjected to once the cameras stopped rolling.
Token Female Interest: Tracey. Sue Ane Langdon has clearly watched Calamity Jane too many times and indulges in broad stroke acting, with much rolling of the eyes and disconcerting glimpses of her guns. Has possibly the worst hairstyle ever on the show, rivalling even Emily’s rat-like coiffure with the most unappealing bunches
It’s a bloodless Bullet Wound!
Poor Hoss is in the wars here – bitten in the butt, nearly shot in the butt and possibly has a nasty encounter with a splinter in the butt (just watch when Tracey’s gun fires a shot through the hayloft – the implication is that Hoss is hit, although this is never elaborated upon).
Hoss, Ben and Joe all come croppers, thanks to the four dogs, with Joe doing a magnificent backward somersault downstairs. Only Adam does not end up on the floor – maybe Pernell’s legendary bad back was acting up again?
Marvellous Medicine: Music may have charms to soothe the savage beast – but not these dogs!! They’re even impervious to Hoss’ tender lullaby.
I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing
Bruce Yarnell sings with verve and gusto, showing why he was such a popular Broadway Musical star. Hoss also ventures forth with a little bedtime lullaby for the dogs. Funnily enough, Adam does not sing at all.
Where am I? Ben’s bedroom looks very similar to Joe’s in its MBK incarnation. The bed has nice curlicue pilasters, but it is nowhere as grand as the four poster we see in House Divided. And watch carefully – as he enters the room we catch a brief glimpse of the wash basin and ewer. They look suspiciously as if they might form part of the smudgy red and white china dinner service. Could there possibly be a matching chamber pot in the range?
We learn about the presence of a ‘back porch door’, which Hoss has neglected to fix, thus allowing the dogs to make themselves at home in Ben’s bed. Is this the same back door as Joe later kicks Amigo out of? And note the odd positioning of the dining table in this ep. At times, it looks as though it has almost moved into the sitting room area of the main room and the boys are sitting in unusual positions, with Joe directly facing his father at the foot of the television. A very unusual angle for a dinner-table scene.
Fun and Games
At the start of this episode Joe and Hoss are playing chequers – and Joe cheats outrageously! Ben sees everything, but although he gives Joe a hard look, he doesn’t say a word of reproach – poor old Hoss!!
Later on, Ben and Joe have a game of cribbage – one presumes Ben keeps a very close eye on his hand and the game board!
Continuity; what continuity?: Joe walks over to the staircase carrying a late-night snack – but the plate disappears when he tumbles back down.
And when the hounds first rush into the house, it is clearly Hoss and Ben’s stunt doubles who do the falling, although it is the real Joe who tumbles off the table. But watch closely – the pot of flowers breaks before he falls onto the floor!
Have you been following the plot?
Who exactly is cousin Muley? And why is he wandering happily around the Tahoe wilderness?
Why do the Cartwrights just happen to have some coyote skins around to wrap around Hoss’ ankles?
And why on earth does Cousin Muley find Tracey remotely attractive?
You Might Remember me from….
Cousin Muley:
Possibly the tallest guest star ever to appear on Bonanza (6 foot 5 inches) Bruce Yarnell was unusual. In an era when television actors such as Pernell Roberts attempted to break into the music market, Bruce, an established Broadway star (who even sang with Ethel Merman – and you can’t get more of an accolade than that!), went in the opposite direction and tried his hand at television. In addition to Bonanza, he also appeared in Hogan’s Heroes, The Outlaws and films such as Irma La Douce. Bruce had a glorious, rich baritone voice and sadly died in a plane crash in the 1970s. A prestigious award for baritones is awarded in his memory.
Abner
The ubiquitous Chubby Johnson. Also seen in The Ride, Gallacher’s Sons, The Last Haircut, Ponderosa Explosion, The Gold Detector and Search in Limbo. Usually wears his false teeth, but not in this ep…yuk!
Tracey
Sue Ane Langdon also appeared as Jennifer Flinch in the Many Faces of Gideon Flinch. In her glory days she appeared with Elvis in Roustabout and Frankie and Johnny, but later was seen in shows such as the Love Boat, a sure sign of career trouble.
The Crucial questions no-one asks: Where did Joe and Adam come from at the end? They didn’t appear to be in the yard at the start of the scene. Why were the shutters closed at what appeared to be breakfast time? Were they all so exhausted that sunlight was going to be too bright for them?
You Can Quote Me On That:
“Roy, you’re thicker than molasses today!”
“Sure did, if coyotes ever take ta wearin’ pants.”
“Nice to have a Pa to guide you.”
“Muley Clinton Jones – a great hate just came into me!”