EPISODE: Springtime

Reviewed by Susan Grote

Episode #68, Season 3, Originally aired October 1, 1961

Guest Stars: John Carradine, John Qualen

Written by John Furia, Jr.

Directed by Christian Nyby

SUMMARY:

The episodes opens with Hoss trying to get a wagon full of log rails through a mud hole, and ends up with the wagon bogged down and the team of horses running off. Hoss shows up to join his brothers, who are stacking other log rails (for some unknown reason),  which sets off a round of bickering between the three Cartwright boys, The argument gets out of hand, and the boys start swinging at each other. The fight ends up with Adam and Hoss trying to get at each other, smashing Joe in between them in the process.

Meanwhile, Ben is in Virginia City meeting an old friend named Jebediah. Now Ben should have known immediately that there was going to be trouble, because there always is when one of his old friends shows up! Jebediah is portrayed as a miserly old man right away, negotiating a lower price for renting a buggy from the livery stable by pointing out all the buggy's flaws. He also has a tendency to quote old adages, such as "Waste Not, Want Not", which Ben finds mildly amusing at the time (this will change!). Ben decides to take Jebediah out to meet his sons, whom Ben describes as industrious, disciplined and polite young men.

Back at the mud hole, Adam, Hoss and Joe are trying to get the wagonload of log rails out of the muck. They are pushing against the wagon when it suddenly lurches forward, propelling Adam and Joe into the mud. Hoss laughs at the sight, and Adam and Joe pull him into the hole. This starts one of the funniest fight scenes of the series, with each of the boys pulling the others down into the mud as they wrestle, throw pieces of sludge at each other, and splash around in the water. Ben and Jebediah arrive on the scene and Ben is embarrassed and angered to see his sons wrestling in the mud like schoolboys. As Ben is yelling at the boys to stop, Joe tosses a piece of wood in the general direction of Hoss, but misses and hits Jebediah in the foot.

Ben wades into the mud and breaks up the fight. He emerges from the hole followed by each of his sons. Adam, Joe and Hoss are now wearing wet, muddy clothes which cling tightly to their bodies as they walk forward...um, sorry! Got distracted there!! Ben and his sons find Jebediah on the ground, clutching his sore foot and expressing his antagonism toward the Cartwrights loudly. Ben is now even angrier at his boys, who look appropriately ashamed.

Everyone returns to the Ponderosa, and while Ben and the doctor (not one of the doctor Martins...how do we know he's a real doctor?) are tending to Jebediah, the boys wait downstairs. When Ben and the doctor come downstairs, the doctor (who may or may not be a quack) tells everyone that Jebediah's foot is only bruised, but since he's an older man, there's no telling what complications could arise (see? He can't even diagnose a bruised foot properly). After the doctor leaves, Ben rails at his sons for their childlike behavior. Hoss and Adam observe that they've been through a hard winter, full of rain and snow, and they haven't been off the ranch for weeks. Joe comments that "Right now, I'm sick of the Ponderosa". As soon as he says it, Joe knows he made a BIG mistake. He winces as Ben yells and delivers the line that every parent tells a child at least once in their life, which is, "As long as you live in my house, you'll do what I say".

Ben then decides that, as punishment, the boys will take on whatever tasks Jebediah had planned to handle while in the area. Jebediah is listening at the top of the stairs, and happily skips back to bed (obviously not badly injured but the fake doctor couldn't tell that), ready to give Ben's sons the worst jobs he has. Reluctantly, each of the boys agrees to do a job for Jebediah - Joe is suppose to get a squatter to leave some land Jebediah owns, Hoss is suppose to buy a ranch that Jebediah wants, and Adam is suppose to evict a couple from their ranch because they owe Jebediah back rent.

When Joe arrives at the shack which the squatter has built on Jebediah's land, he sternly tells the old man who lives there to leave. The old man calmly tells Joe that he doesn't think he will. In a scene that foreshadows Joe's conversations with Meena's father Luke, Joe becomes flustered as he tries to tell the squatter why he has to leave, but the man counters each argument with one of his own. The old man also tells Joe that Joe needs to learn to relax and enjoy the beauty of nature. As the squatter walks away from him, Joe angrily follows him and steps into a rope bear trap. He ends up hanging upside down from a tree while the squatter tells him to think about what he's doing. After the commercial (during which time Joe was presumably let down from the tree), Joe is bare foot and relaxed, fishing from a stream with the old man. The two are talking about the beauty of nature and the benefits of relaxing when Joe's fishing line starts to dip. Joe excitedly hauls a fish out of the stream, as the old man indulgently tells him it's a fine fish for dinner. Joe decides that some more time lazing in the sun is needed, and the two return to their fishing.

Hoss shows up at the ranch he has been told to buy and finds the man who owns the place isn't interested in selling. The owner's wife, however, wants to sell out. She's pregnant, lonely, and afraid of being by herself when she has the baby. Her husband tries to convince her that the ranch is their future and their child's future, but she continues to pressure him to accept Hoss' offer. The man finally agrees and Hoss, who can see the husband is right, reluctantly makes the deal. The next morning, Hoss is trying to find the rancher and his wife in order to say good-bye, and finds them in the barn where a dog has had a litter of puppies. Cuddling the puppies, the woman tells her husband that she's no longer afraid and realizes her husband was right. She tells him that they should keep the ranch, that she wants to keep the home they've built for their children. The man, however, tells her that he's made a deal with Hoss and can't go back on it. Hoss intervenes, telling the husband that he'll call off the deal but wants something in return (we later find out he wants one of the puppies).

Meanwhile, back at the ranch (don't you love that phrase?), Ben is working hard, stacking the rails and doing the other chores his sons left behind. He is being urged on in his work by Jebediah, who is gleefully quoting old sayings ("idle hands are the devil's workshop") to spur Ben on. It's obvious that Ben is quickly losing his enthusiasm for Jebediah's sayings as well as for Jebediah.

The next scene shows Adam arriving at the ranch where he has been told to evict the couple living there. He obviously finds the job distasteful and tries to see if there's a way to avoid the eviction. But the couple is resigned to their fate, telling Adam all the things that went wrong and prevented them from making the payment to Jebediah. The biggest problem is a broken water pump which kept them from getting proper irrigation for their land. The rancher admits to Adam he has no money to fix the pump or buy a new one. The couple hates the thought of leaving the ranch, but can't see how they can stay, since they're broke. Adam decides to help and the next morning the couple find a shirtless, sweaty Adam (a treat for the Adam fans out there) working in the barn, putting together a new water pump out of spare parts (Adam has spent many hours watching McGiver so he knows how to do this).  He fixes the water pump and assures the couple that he'll get them an extension from Jebediah for the back rent.

Once more back at the ranch, Ben is working hard building a fence as Jebediah watches. By now, Ben has had it with the old man and his continuous quotes. Joe rides up and Ben greets him happily, thinking he can now foist all the work off on Joe. Jebediah demands to know if Joe ousted the squatter, and Joe squirms a bit before admitting he didn't, but tells Jebediah that the squatter has promised to look after the land until Jebediah needs it. Jebediah is angry, but Ben smiles tolerantly as Joe tells his father about the big trout he caught. Hoss then arrives, and, in answer to Jebediah's question about the ranch he was supposed to buy, declares that the owners simply wouldn't sell. Jebediah again is angry, but Hoss ignores him, instead showing Joe and Ben the puppy he got from the ranchers. Finally Adam arrives, and once more, Jebediah demands to know if Adam accomplished his task. Adam explains that the couple on the ranch had some bad luck, and that things are better now, so the back rent will be coming shortly.

Jebediah is furious that none of the jobs he gave to the Cartwright boys was done the way he expected. He begins ranting and raving, but Ben, Adam, Hoss and Joe pretty much ignore him. Jebediah stomps off to his buggy and angrily jumps in, causing the canvas roof of the buggy to collapse on his head. As Jebediah drives off, Ben looks relieved, and begins musing aloud about how wonderful it is to have a fine spring after such a hard winter. He declares that he's had enough of work and he's going into town. Adam, Hoss and Joe exchange knowing grins. As Ben gets ready to ride into town, his sons meet up with him, and the four ride off toward Virginia City.

REVIEWS:

“This is one of the early episodes which is light-hearted, but not really a comedy, although it has some very funny moments. It’s really a story in which each of the boys learns that there are things more important in life than money.” Susan Grote

I don't have much to add to what has already been said, except that I LIKED the family Adam visited. They were believable as decent people stuck in a rough situation. They didn't need to learn anything from the Cartwrights about how to live.  (The couple Hoss visited was more typical Bonanza guests in that regard).  Adam's family had made believable mistakes -- overextending themselves.” Meira

“I liked the way that after the fight, the boys were apparently taking care of each other owies.” Ginny

“There is a scene, usually cut, right after they come back home, Adam is dabbing at Joe's face with a cloth and what appears to be some sort of liniment.  The ministrations always bring a smile to my face.  The drumming of the fingers...Joe's major faux pas regarding the Ponderosa and Ben's frustration with his "children" all combine to create an exceptional start to a wonderful show.  Like father like son...you bet!” Lillian

“Like everyone, I love the mud wrestling sequence and the Joe sandwich.  The vignettes involving each son are just long enough to not get tedious, and Ben gets close to equal time in the scenes where he is putting up with Jedediah.  In watching this episode again, one detail that I never noticed before raised a smile.  While Ben is chopping wood in the Ponderosa yard, not only is the annoying Jedediah sitting idle while he directs the increasingly irritated Ben's efforts, but he is fanning himself with Ben's hat!” Sue W.

“The fight scene has to be my favorite.  Superbly choreographed, the boys are actually quite graceful in their mud wrestling.  Who wouldn't want to mud wrestle with a Cartwright?  My favorite story line in the show would have to be "Adam's mission" I just like how proud the family is and how they don't want to accept any help.  The scene where the farmer's wife asks Adam to buy him tobacco because she isn't too proud to ask always touches me.  One of the best "hear Joe's laugh" scenes is at the end when the old carriage top drops on Jebediah's head.  No way could that be stages.  Vintage LJC and when the boys ask Ben something like, let's get to work and Pa replies, "I'm goin' to town!"  Yeah for Springtime!” Nancy

“The bit where Adam tells the others he's older and smarter than them and that's why he can boss them around, the way poor LJ becomes the meat in the sandwich and the way the other two keep tossing him over their shoulders in the mud hole, like he is just an irritant, even Pa pushes him into the water when he breaks up the fight, just crack me up.” Lynne (Little Joe Forever)

 “One has to love the beginning when the boys are wrestling in the mud and arguing, with poor Joe being squished in the middle. I love Pa’s reaction to it all; it is so true to life. We are always more embarrassed when we are wondering what others think of what is going on. It is a delightful array of some eye candy, what with Joe’s bare feet, Adam’s bare chest and Hoss pulling that adorable little puppy our from his shirt. It was one to enjoy from beginning to end, that’s for sure.” Debbers

“I have several favorite scenes that I replay over and over.  The first, when Joe pushes Adam and he responds with "who you pushin? and pushes him back then ducks so Joe ends up hitting Hoss.  The second is at the house when Joe opens his mouth without thinking and Pa starts in on him, then the shirtless Adam scene (Oh BAYBEE!!)” Gail (bunny bonanza)

“I love to watch the bare-chested sweaty Adam WOWza scene and fondly remember how Bunny Bonanza almost got us kicked out of the Museum of Television and Radio in NYC shattering the silence with "OH BAY Beeeee!" Robin

“Adam, Adam, Adam.”  Layne

“Definitely a rewind, pause, rewind episode.  Did I say it is a great rewind, pause & rewind drool...sigh???? "Hot" may be an understatement!!” Miss Maggie

“Yes, muddy Adam. All that dirty water trickling down that chest.  You know, before Adam I never really liked a hairy chest.” TJ