EPISODE: Hoss and the Leprechauns

Reviewed by Lori

Episode 146, Season 5, originally aired December 22, 1963

Guest Stars: Sean McClory, Robert Sorrells, Clegg Hoyt, Billy Curtis, Frank Delfina, Roger Arroya, and Nels Nelson

Written by Robert V. Barron

Directed by John Florea

SUMMARY:

This is one of my all time favorite episodes. It is probably the episode that best brings us the infamous "Joe giggle" we all write so much about.  And let us not forget the depantsing of our beloved Hoss. Tighty whities, we find, was not Hoss' style.  Beneath the forever worn brown pants he wears every cowboy's favorite style, the one piece ensemble cut from a fuzzy cottony material.  This allows breathing in areas that need to breathe.

Well, enough said on the trouser tug issue.

Hoss is out fishing when he hears a cry for help. He sees a “little green man” being chased by a bear, and after scaring the bear off, finds a strong box full of gold. Hoss takes the strongbox with him, trying to figure out how explain what happened to Pa. Meanwhile, the “little green man” laments to his friends that a “giant” stole their gold.

At the Ponderosa, Adam and Joe laugh at Hoss’ story about a “little green man” while Pa gamely tries to support his middle son by pointing out they have a strongbox full of gold as proof. (This is the scene where Adam does his little jig as he mocks Hoss’ story). When Ben proposes to take the gold – and Hoss’ story – to Sheriff Coffee in the morning, Joe and Adam are aghast. They are afraid the town will make fun of Hoss and think he’s crazy. But Pa insists.

That night, the “little green men” sneak into the Ponderosa and steal back their strongbox of gold. Hoss hears them, and runs down the stairs in time to see the men crawling out the window with the strongbox. He tries to stop them, and clunks himself on the head in the process. Ben, Adam, and Joe (in various kinds of nightclothes) come downstairs to find Hoss lamenting the loss of the gold and claiming that there was a “whole passel” those “little green men” involved. Ben reluctantly tells Hoss they have to report the theft to Roy Coffee (although with the gold gone, there’s nothing to prove what Hoss is saying is true). Meanwhile Adam instructs Joe to get a butterfly net so they can search for Hoss’ “little green men” (Adam obviously doesn’t believe his brother).

In Virginia City, Sheriff Coffee listens in disbelief to Hoss’ story and tells Hoss and Ben there’s not much he can do without proof (the gold) or other evidence. As the sheriff leaves to check on the new arrivals at the stage station, Ben goes off to order supplies (which the Cartwrights seem to do almost endlessly) and Hoss wanders over to the saloon.

In the saloon, Hoss reluctantly repeats his story about the “little green men” and predictably is laughed at by everyone in the bar. But an Irishman named Professor McCarthy, who is newly arrived in Virginia City, quells the laugher by explaining that Hoss has seen a leprechaun, and if anyone catches the leprechaun, that person will get the leprechaun’s stash of gold. The thought of the gold sends everyone in the bar racing out to the Ponderosa to search for leprechauns.

Ben watches in disgust as a crowd of people swarm over his land looking for leprechauns. Most give up the search eventually, but Professor McCarthy stays. He starts calling out for “Timothy” and while he is searching, the Professor is attacked by the “little green men”, knocked out and tied up.

Hoss also stays to search, and Ben sends Joe to bring his brother home. Joe sees Hoss calling for the leprechauns in a high-pitched voice, and decides to have a little fun. He calls out “Yoo Hoo” is a high squeaky voice, and Hoss immediately thinks he has found a leprechaun. As Hoss calls back in a falsetto, Joe leads his brother on until he finally admits, in his high squeaky voice, that “Pa sent me to bring you home for supper”. Hoss is angry, but Joe is laughing hysterically at his brother. Joe falls to the ground with laughter, but when he looks up, he sees “a little green man” sitting in a tree. Joe is astonished while Hoss smugly tells his brother “I told you so”. Joe and Hoss can’t figure out how to get the leprechaun out of the tree, so Joe goes to get Pa and Adam while Hoss watches and waits.

At the Ponderosa, Joe shouts to Adam and Pa that he and Hoss have found a leprechaun. For a moment, Adam and Pa are stunned, and then they rush out to follow Joe.

While Hoss is watching the leprechaun, Professor McCarthy wakes up and unties himself. He once again goes off looking for the leprechauns.

Meanwhile, a group of the “little green men” sneak up on Hoss, bop him on the head and pull his pants down around his knees. Hoss is sleeping peacefully in this state of undress when Joe, Adam and Pa arrive. Naturally, the leprechaun is gone. When Pa tells his boys to look around, they spread out and Adam finds McCarthy’s hat and cane. Immediately, the Cartwrights are suspicious because McCarthy was supposed to have left the area. Once more they spread out to search and come to the top of a hill. Looking down, they see five “little green men” loading up a wagon, preparing to leave. Ben and Adam can’t believe their eyes, while Joe and Hoss give it the “See! See! I told you so!” The Cartwrights spread out once more in attempt to capture the leprechauns. In the ensuring chase, Adam is run into a rock, Joe is flipped on his back, Ben is tripped, and Hoss is once more knocked on the head and his pants pulled down. Nevertheless, the Cartwrights recover enough to surround the little green men and capture them.

Professor McCarthy suddenly arrives with a gun in hand and holds it on the Cartwrights. He explains that the “little green men” are actually performers. He was their manager until he ran off with the men’s money. Now he wants the gold which “the leprechauns” have panned from a stream. The men in green are reluctant to give McCarthy the gold, but agree to do so when he threatens to kill the Cartwrights. The men dressed in green then jump McCarthy, and Ben smoothly takes the gun out of the Professor’s hand.

In the sheriff’s office, Roy Coffee is sorting out all the charges. He has agreed to run McCarthy out of town. Hoss then tells Roy that he is giving the gold to the men dressed in green, since they’re the ones who found it.

Outside the sheriff’s office, a group of people from the town are trying to get a look at “the leprechauns” and laughing at the little men. The men dressed in green get discouraged, feeling they will never fit into life in Virginia City. But Hoss has another idea.

Stepping out in front of the office, Hoss makes an impassioned plea for tolerance among the townspeople. He points out that “the leprechauns” are the same as all of them, just smaller. He also comments that, because he is so big, the rest of the people in the town look pretty small to him. The townspeople agree, and welcome the men dressed in green to their community.

REVIEWS:

“I feel the Irish (not the Bonanarchist who seems to be the target of every frozen turkey in the western part of this great country - but the nationality itself) folklore was wonderfully represented here with a slight American greedy twist.  The "little people" achieved a wonderful performance with the recycled costumes from THE WIZARD OF OZ. You could kind of say they "killed two birds with one stone" (no pun intended, Irish). The lump Hoss receives on his head in minor compared to the way Joe almost gets his hand slapped by Pa.  The boy is quick, but there’s annoyance and disgust from the parental unit. Let us not forget Adam. How heroic the man in black is in this action-filled episode.  The way he took charge in delegating duties that awful night. "Joe?  You go get a butterfly net."  I swoon just thinking about the authority in the way he delivered the order.” Lori 

"I will never forget the leprechaun that looks just like Donny Osmond.  We like to play "there's Donny" whenever he appears." Jo

"This episode has some fine Pa/Hoss moments in it. After the Lep's retrieve their gold from the bookcase, I love it when Ben is fussing over Hoss' head  bump: Ooh, you've really got yourself a good one..."  and the tender pride on Ben's face as he watches Hoss' speech to the townsfolk is heartwarming." Ginger

"The fact is that Joe obviously spoke Leprechaun when he says “Kakooee". Hmm, makes me wonder--the green jacket--the lifts in his shoes? Could he have been a large leprechaun originally?" Wrangler

"Speaking of what people wear to bed. . . or in Adam's case, don't. . . And oh, did you notice he didn't have time to buckle his belt, either?" Becky

"I don't think anyone has yet mentioned Adam's little dance & "thumbs his nose and flies away over the rainbow" remarks.  That was one of the best Adam scenes ever." Ginny

"Hoss and the Leprechauns . . . absolutely the most fun episode to see with a roomful of other fans.  Yooo hooo, I'm ovah heeerrree." Puchi Ann

"The yoo hoo bit is priceless, but I love the conversation after that, when LJ sees the little man in the tree. They ponder how to get the man down and Hoss says he can shake the tree, but LJ says "Don't do that" cos he's afraid the man will fall and get hurt. I just love the way he says 'don't do that'" Lynne

"Hoss and the Leprechauns" -- the episode where we find out that each of the boys has a secret ambition! Adam obviously wants to be a dancer, as evidenced by his little jig when Hoss first tells his story. Joe wants to be a doctor -- look how he examines the bump on Hoss' head. And there is no question that Hoss has ambitions to be a stripper, dropping his pants whenever he gets a chance. Unfortunately, Pa will have none of this, which is why he locks the gold in a cabinet instead of the safe. He obviously was hoping someone would steal it so his sons wouldn't have the funds to leave the Ponderosa and pursue their secret dreams."  Susan

"My sister and I have YooooooWhooooooo'd each other ever since the first time we saw it! (It can be embarrassing in public places but we always manage to find each other!) Plus,  Yoooooo Whoooooo, being one of the first things my daughter ever said (at 10 1/2 months) MUST mean it's a classic!" Judy