EPISODE: Mr. Henry T.P. Comstock
Reviewed by Ginny
Season 1, Episode #9, originally aired November 7, 1959
Guest Star: Jack Carter
Written by: David Dortort
Directed by: John Brahm
SUMMARY:
Enter the Cartwrights, riding single file along the shore of the lake. They are bending over the water, washing up, when a prospector comes along and starts shooting at them, telling them to get off of his land (Joe is so adorable with his wet hair and his shirt opened most of the way. Unfortunately, some misguided wardrobe person had him wearing a neckscarf, which hangs down, covering his chest).
Music, ride up, cute Joe smile.
It turns out that the prospector had been swindled by Henry Comstock.
Cut to a scene with Mr. Henry T.P. Comstock sitting on a flea-bitten mule named Dorothy, with a noose around his neck.
Cut back to the Cartwrights cutting down trees. This time (yippee!) Joe’s shirt is open to his waist, and no neck scarf to block the view. Adam has his sleeves rolled up to his biceps. Four sweaty Cartwrights. This is where we learn that Ben plants a tree for every one cut.
Meanwhile, Henry Comstock has escaped from the posse and is on the Ponderosa. The Cartwrights hear the posse shooting and go investigate. They see four men shooting at one man and think they should sweeten the odds.
This is one of my favorite scenes: At a half-mile distance, Hoss shoots the hat off one of the guy’s head with his Sharps buffalo gun. Then Adam shoots a hole in one of their canteens with “Hoss’ little old squirrel gun”. In order “to stay living with this family”, Joe tries his luck and hits one of the baddies in the arm; just “one of the things a New Orleans boy learns to do about the time he can walk”. To “show you young whippersnappers”, Ben takes his turn, and Hoss spit on the Sharps for luck, assuring his father he couldn’t miss. Ben splits the barrel on one of their posse’s rifles.
Comstock rides down and introduces himself to the Cartwrights (great view of Joe’s chest!). The Cartwrights come to the conclusion that Comstock was run out of California for claim-jumping. Ben invites him home for dinner. While eating, they find out that Comstock knows John Sutter, and that Sutter is in a bad way because of the gold miners tearing up his land.
Adam offers Comstock a job at their sawmill, but Comstock turns it down, saying he is a merchant. Finding out that there are gold miners at Washoe Diggings, Comstock heads off that way. Hoss goes along to keep an eye on him. Joe asks to go to Dutch Pete’s for a dance. He says he’d like to find a pretty little gal to surprise Adam with. Hoss says there aren’t any within a hundred miles. Joe has one in mind, though.
Hoss takes Comstock to Washoe Diggings, where he promptly starts buying up claims on the “Comstock Lode”.
Joe goes riding into Paiute territory with his bolt of blue silk. A couple of young Paiute braves take him to Chief Winnemucca. We find out that Ben traded a buffalo gun for Cochise. Joe claims that he was there to look at horses and that the silk was a present for his daughter, Saratuchi. After a snack of rattlesnake, Joe makes arrangements with Saratuchi to meet him at the waterfall to go to the dance.
There are about three or four women at the dance, all large and raw-boned. Joe causes a sensation when he enters with Princess Saratuchi, in her blue silk dress. In the middle of a dance, Joe stops and kisses her. During the kiss, her father in walks, with her fiancée, and a few other Piute braves, all in full war paint. Just as Joe is about to get his scalp lifted, here comes Pa and Adam to the rescue. Adam shoots the knife out of Lean Knife’s hand. Ben tells Winnemucca that he will punish his own son, and he should take his daughter home. Winnemucca agrees, and they leave. Our Joe can’t resist trying to steal another kiss on her way out. Adam tells Joe, with a wry smile, that one thing that he likes about him is that he doesn’t care how big a mess he gets himself into, as long as someone is there to get him out. Joe responds calmly with he knew that Adam would be there in time.
Ben tells Joe that they are just in time to march him home. Hoss says that they can’t leave yet; Adam hasn’t had a dance yet, and where did that big fat gal get to? They find her at the bar slugging down shots of rot gut. To his family’s amusement, Adam dances with her.
The miner who sold Comstock half his claim comes bursting in, yelling that he found a gold strike. Comstock assumes that the miner is acting out the scheme he had come up with and sells shares of the claim for $100.00 a piece. By the time Comstock realizes that the strike is real, he has sold his whole claim.
A miner called Old Virginny spills a bottle of whisky and so the whisky won’t be a total loss christens Washoe Diggings as Virginia City.
Joe looks so adorable and young, peeking over the saloon doors as the Cartwrights watch the miners hurry away.
Cut back to the Cartwrights and the prospector at the lake. Ben and the boys give the guy the $25.00 he paid to Comstock.
The Cartwrights ride off into the sunset.
REVIEWS:
“It always amused me near the start when the boys go up to the Lake and Ben says something about Joe being careful as it is the nearest he has got to a bath in a month, when he is wearing a nicely washed and apparently starched white shirt! Very amusing episode overall and I believe the second episode filmed although shown later than some of the others. Love the scene with the four Cartwrights ignoring the gun and laughing at the audacity of their old 'friend' Henry TP Comstock.” Lyn Robinson
“I do like the family jesting when they are shooting at those men. Joe says he had better give it a try if he wants to stay in this family and Pa besting them all when he shoots.” Marianne
“There are several scenes that raise a smile for me. I love Ben grabbing hold of Little Joe and saying that's the nearest he's come to taking a bath in a month. Joe looks remarkably clean and both his and Pa's shirts are brilliantly white, considering they have been moving cattle. They are dressed identically, must have been to the father/son outfitters. LOL I also love the scene where they all take a turn at using Hoss' gun, and I particularly like the bit when Comstock asks to be struck by a thunderbolt if he's lying, and Joe shoots his rifle, earning a look of disapproval from his Pa. Joe is so cute in this ep and brave, as well as foolish, for visiting Winnemucca's camp as he does. He seems quite at home there, though, and not that bothered by their display of strength. Very cheekily, when Winnemucca is not there, Joe persuades Sara to go to the dance with him. That is not his best ever decision and he very nearly loses his hair when the Paiutes arrive, and a layer off his hide when Pa and Adam arrive LOL, but they all manage a laugh when Hoss introduces Adam to his dancing partner. Comstock's plan backfires on him, but Virginia City gets its name. A lively fun episode.” Little Joe forever Lynne C.
“One of my favorite scenes in Bonanza is the dance scene. I just crack up every time Adam starts dancing with the lady - he jumps right in and joins everyone having a good time. At a time when men in the mining camps would pay $1.00 to look at a woman's boot, it was more historically accurate that there were no women around.” Melissa J.
“My favorite part of this episode (besides looking at Joe's sweaty chest) is the scene where Joe is in the Indian camp. Joe charms the chief in order to get a few minutes with the chief's daughter to set up a meeting. I love the lopsided grin he gives the chief when he admits that he wasn't looking at any of the women except his daughter when he saw them at the river, and the sick look on his face when Joe realizes he is eating rattlesnake.” Susan Grote
“This is one of my favorite episodes from the first season, even though the Cs are still working out the personalities we will grow to love more and more. I agree with those who said this would have made a better pilot, too. I like the playfulness between Pa and Joe by the river in the beginning, and later, I like Joe’s impetuousness in finding a pretty girl to take to the dance, even though he knows this is a dangerous thing to do. He is secure in the fact that his family will come to his rescue should that need arise though, as we find out with his glib comment to Adam after the family does indeed arrive in time. You can also tell that Winnemucca and Ben seem to have a respect for one another when Winnemucca does leave the discipline of Joe up to his father, knowing Ben will take care of any wrongdoing that may have occurred (bet Joe cut plenty of firewood or repaired a lot of fence the next day! lol).“ Leesa
“I haven't watched this one in a while, but I agree with what some others have mentioned, that while the characters personalities were still a bit rough around the edges, it was fun all the same and gave us a good sense of the whole reason behind the name of the show. "Bonanza" does refer to the silver strikes of the area around Virginia City after all, and so few episodes after this even talk about the money that was made and lost with all those claims. Did anyone mention how cute Joe was in this one? How adorable? Oh, one thing that bugs me about this and some other early episodes is Joe referring to himself as a New Orleans boy. I like my Joe born and raised on the Ponderosa which, either by amnesia about his childhood, or by way of coming out of a delusional made up boyhood, gets put aside by around the middle of the 4th season thank goodness. Oh and Joe was very cute and adorable in this. Did I already say that?” Wrenny
“I love love love Bonanza but cringe to watch this. All the characters seem so snotty and mean and cartoonishly abrasive. Joe almost acts like the spoiled, self indulgent, rich suburban high school lothario in a fast Convertible taking the Indian princess to the dance in the turquoise (what a color on color TV!) dress. And his rich daddy and brother’s bail his sorry butt out when he almost starts an Indian war and then they dance. EEEEEEEEEEw I am sure glad they toned THAT down. I am sure glad the Cartwrights were shifted into a caring heroic family who respected their neighbors and rescued people instead of the way they started out.” Robin
“Joe is just too cute in this ep. Exactly how I would expect Joe to act at that age. I found Hoss' comment about the lady being fat to not be in character though. Ben handled it just right and like Lynne, I thought it odd they then went on to dance. After raising two other boys though, I am sure Ben knew Joe meant no harm just acting his age.” Deb
“I liked this episode too. Though I missed the part of about trading a rifle for Cochise. Glad I read this. My favorite scene in this ep is when Joe is "dining" with the Chief and his daughter and discovers he's eating rattlesnake. Pretty funny! Then the Chief leaves to go get a horse for Joe and Joe talks to the Chief's daughter. Joe is so cute when he tells her where to meet him; ML's eyes twinkle.” Nancy