The Scapegoat

EPISODE: The Scapegoat

Episode 174, Season 6, First aired: October 25 1964

Guest stars: George Kennedy, Richard Devon, Sandra Warner, Jon Lormer, Troy Melton, Bill Catching

Written by: Rod Peterson

Directed by: Christian Nyby

SUMMARY:

The opening teaser: Hoss is riding across the Ponderosa on the trail of a man who is trespassing. Before he meets the man, Hoss finds evidence that points to the man trying to kill himself (a noose hanging from a low branch of a tree, a shotgun rigged up to be fired by pulling on a string attached to the trigger, etc.).

He finds the man over the side of a cliff, very close to falling off. Hoss asks his name, saying he knows what to put on the man’s tombstone, and the man says he’s called Waldo Watson. Waldo says he did try to kill himself, but he can’t even do that right and the only reason he’s hanging off the cliff is because when he tried to shoot himself, he blew his hat over the edge. He thinks that Hoss is one of the men who are after him, but Hoss denies this. Hoss keeps him talking, and then makes a grab for Waldo.

Music and credits: You all know how this goes. ‘Dum diddy dum diddy diddy diddy dum, BONANZA’ plus a lovely view of the four Cartwrights riding across Bourne’s Meadow. (Am I the only one who used to try and guess which Cartwright was going to appear on the screen, first, in the credits? BTW, it’s Joe in this episode.)

Waldo and Hoss wrestle a bit at the cliff edge, and Waldo ends up saving Hoss, but knocks himself out in the process. They eventually get back to the ranch and join the rest of the family at the supper table. Waldo shovels up the food like eating’s going out of style, and the others look on in amazement. Hoss explains that Waldo has been living rough and that he is from back east. He asks Waldo to pass the milk and the man knocks the jug over, spilling milk all over the table. Embarrassed, Waldo gets up and goes outside. Hoss wants to follow him, but Ben suggests leaving him to calm down for a while. Hoss tries to explain that Waldo has had a lot of trouble and he’d like to help Waldo get back on his feet again by offering him a job. Hoss identifies with Waldo, as they are both big men and rather clumsy. Adam and Joe remind Hoss of the times he’s tried to help men before, and they have ended up stealing from the Cartwrights. Hoss insists that Waldo is different. Hoss offers to pay his wages out of his own pocket and says he will keep Waldo away from the others. Ben agrees Waldo can stay, but he wants Hoss to make sure that his trouble doesn’t involve the law. Hoss thanks Ben and goes outside to tell Waldo he can stay. Adam then comments that Hoss has been bringing home strays, since he could walk, and Ben replies that Hoss has a big heart, at which remark, Joe smiles (aw, bless).

Out in the yard, Waldo tells Hoss he is going to move on, as he messes up everything he does. Hoss says Waldo can hire on as a hand, and if he doesn’t, Hoss will have to take him into the sheriff for trespassing. Waldo assures Hoss that he’s not in trouble with the law and that he would like to stay, for a few days at least. Hoss offers to show him where he can bunk (they give him a room in the house, not sure why he doesn’t sleep in the bunkhouse with the other hands) and Waldo says he will eat in the kitchen in future, as it’s closer to the food. Hoss thinks this is a good idea and says he will, too. The two head for the house with their arms around each other. (As is often the case with the Cartwrights, Hoss has made friends in the space of a couple of scenes while knowing nothing about the man)

It’s the next day and Adam rides into the yard then goes over to the barn. Hoss and Waldo are raking up the hay in the loft and Adam asks them if they are looking for a needle, the way only Adam can ask. Hoss explains that there are some rotting timbers that need replacing and they have to move the hay out of the way, first. He says that he expects it’s a bit complicated for a ‘fence mender mind’ like Adam’s got, to take in.

Adam tells Hoss that he met Nancy Collins on the road. Hoss looks worried and wants to know if she was heading for the ranch. Adam answers she wasn’t, but she was asking after Hoss real kindly like. Hoss states he’s not about to get hog tied to no woman, and Adam says can’t he think of any other woman that he would prefer to be hog tied to than Nancy. Hoss tells Adam to keep out of his business. Waldo continues pitching hay and knocks a head collar off the wall, and it lands on Adam’s head. Adam doesn’t remove it; he just stands up and walks out of the barn, wearing it. (I think we are to assume that he’s a bit dazed from the bang on the head).

Later on, in the yard, Joe is fixing the pump over the water trough, and is balanced on the edge of the trough. Waldo comes through the corral gate, behind Joe, carrying a long plank of wood and knocks Joe into the water with the gate. He then hits Hoss, twice with the plank, and Hoss falls on the ground with a large sack of grain in his hands. Hoss suggests they switch jobs and Waldo then hits Hoss with the sack of grain as he hoists it on his back, and Hoss drops the plank of wood on his own toe.

Then Hoss and Waldo are supposed to be shoeing a stallion for Ben and Waldo manages to lose the horse when he bends down to pick up what he thinks is a four leaf clover. (It isn’t) Ben is incredulous, but won’t let Waldo go after the horse; he does that himself, fearing that his prize stallion might never be seen again if Waldo is put in charge of retrieving it.

Hoss is sharpening a knife and Waldo is chopping wood with an axe, and the wood flies across the yard and breaks a window.

Later, we see the family inside the house, and Hoss is boarding up the broken window. He then apologizes to the family for all the accidents that day. He says that Waldo would be there to say sorry too, but he’s turned in early. Joe expresses concern about how much damage the man can do on more sleep than he had the night before. Adam is surprised at the thought that Waldo will even still be there the next day, and Ben says that, so far, the worst that’s happened is that he has blisters from chasing his horse, Joe had an unscheduled bath and Adam had a headache. Joe adds that Hoss’ toe is black and blue. Ben says he thinks it’s best if Waldo moves on, as round up will soon be starting and someone could get seriously hurt. Hoss agrees he will go and tell Waldo that he has to leave. Then we hear the sounds of Waldo in the throes of a nightmare (Now we know the reason for giving him a guestroom; they must have known about the nightmares LOL). We can hear Waldo saying, ‘No, no, leave me alone’.

All the family goes up to his room and Hoss manages to wake Waldo up and calm him down. He tries to tell Waldo that he’ll have to go, but can’t do it, especially when the man goes on about how grateful he is to the Cartwrights for letting him stay. Hoss leaves it to Ben to tell him, but Ben can’t do it either, and says he can stay a few more days.

Next day, the stagecoach rolls into Virginia City and three men get off. They are looking for Waldo. One of them, Weaver, says that Waldo has his money, but he’s as dumb as they come and once they find him, he’ll be as dead as they come.

Adam, Hoss, Little Joe and Waldo drive into town to pick up some lumber from Mr. Collins’ mill. Joe and Adam take the list to Mr. Collins and tell Hoss that Nancy, his daughter, will supervise the loading. They both tease Hoss about Nancy wanting to marry him and he warns them not to leave him alone with her or else they are going to have some head-bashing (do you really think that Hoss would beat up his brothers? I don’t, well, apart from over Regan, in She Walks in Beauty, oh and Helen, in The Courtship -- so maybe he would, after all, if there’s a girl involved). Hoss takes the wagon round to the back of the store with Waldo, leaving Adam and Joe to their plotting.

Adam tells Joe that Hoss doesn’t want to go to the dance on Saturday night because he’s afraid that Nancy will be all over him like a rash, and Joe says that’s a shame, as Hoss loves to dance. Adam says that Hoss needs their help. (Sure he does, like he needs a hole in the head). He says that Nancy likes big men like Hoss, and Joe adds “Like Waldo”. (What a pair of conspirators those boys are).

At the back of the store, Waldo is sitting talking to Nancy and Hoss is very relieved that she’s not bothering him. Turns out that Waldo knows a lot about wood, as he used to work in a lumberyard. Adam and Joe are loading up, one plank between them at a time, and Hoss is carrying three on his own. Joe says that they told Nancy to talk to Waldo in order to make Hoss jealous. Hoss is happy to have her out of his hair and when she asks if Waldo may accompany her inside to discuss lumber with her father, Hoss agrees. Joe gripes that this leaves them to load the wood, but Hoss offers to do it by himself. Joe and Adam shake hands as Hoss returns to the woodpile to fetch some more; this is obviously what they were hoping for. (Lazy pair).

Once the wood is all loaded, Hoss drives the wagon out into the street and stops outside the store to pick up Waldo. Nancy has invited him to the dance, but he says he doesn’t know how to dance. Nancy tells him that Hoss can teach him, as he’s one of the best.

Now comes the funniest scene in the episode.

That evening, back at the ranch, Adam and Joe head across the yard to the barn. They hover by the doorway, and watch Hoss teaching Waldo to waltz, using a broom as a partner. Joe is giggling, fit to burst and wants to cut in when they start doing the Virginia Reel, but Adam won’t let him. Adam leads them away and they return to the house.

The three men from the stage arrive at the ranch, and go in search of Waldo, who is still dancing with Hoss, in the barn. The men enter the barn, guns in hand, and a bullet creases Waldo when he protects Hoss from the men. Ben, Adam and Joe hear the shots and come out of the house, but the men ride away.

Waldo and the Cartwrights go indoors and Hoss says that Waldo is lucky to be alive. Waldo decides it’s time to tell them what’s led him to be in this situation. He came from a poor family and started work in a lumberyard when he was just a kid, as he was big and strong for his age. He wasn’t making much money, though, and one day a man approached him and said he could make $25 for one night’s work in a boxing ring. Waldo tells them that he was a pretty good fighter and he made quite a bit of money. (I don’t understand how he was that good, as fighters have to be fairly nimble on their feet and he’s so clumsy). Anyway, then his manager told him to throw a fight and when he didn’t, he lost some gamblers a lot of money. They were the men after him, trying to get their money back, as they thought that Waldo had the bribe money that was given to his manager. Waldo is ready to start running again, as he doesn’t want the Cartwrights getting hurt on his account, but Hoss says he can’t run all his life and Ben decides they will go and talk to the sheriff.

Waldo agrees to stay, but early the next morning, he tries to sneak out. Hoss catches him and says that he’s been wrong in defending Waldo to his family, as Waldo isn’t the man he thought he was. Waldo stays and they get ready to attend the dance. Hoss ties Waldo’s tie, but Waldo insists he doesn’t want to go. Hoss says they have to, since Pa says they must and you don’t mess with Pa. (Wise words from our Hoss)

As they arrive at the dance, there are several girls on the porch, including Nancy who says Waldo is all hers. The other girls grab a Cartwright (lucky things), but Waldo hangs back, so Nancy says they can dance on the porch. He keeps calling her ma’am, but she tells him to call her Nancy. They end up kissing (a bit forward, I would say, for such a shy man).

The gamblers arrive and hold a gun on the smooching couple, leading them across the yard. Hoss comes outside and he, too, has a gun held on him and is taken to join the other two. Waldo tells the men to leave his friends alone and Weaver says he will, once Waldo gives him the money. (He doesn’t have it, but even if he did, why would he take it to a dance with him?) Waldo repeats that he hasn’t got the money, and Weaver says he must have it, as his brother turned himself into the police. (The plot thickens; his brother was his manager). Weaver is about to shoot Waldo, but Hoss starts fighting back, as do Waldo and Nancy. She gets knocked out, and Hoss takes care of her, as Waldo wants to defeat the men by himself. He does so, and when he goes back to Hoss and Nancy, the realization hits Hoss that Nancy is really pretty.

Waldo and Nancy return to the dance and Ben finds Hoss on the porch, jealous that Nancy prefers Waldo to him. (I’m not sure why she does, as Hoss is much nicer). Ben says that all three of his boys are the same; they never realize they’re onto a good thing, until someone else steps in and then it’s too late.

REVIEWS:

“I quite like this episode, as we see a lot of all of the family, which is always a plus for me. I like the scene at the dining table, when Adam talks about Hoss bringing home strays since he was little; that's a nice snippet for us fanfic writers to work with. I also like Ben's reply, that Hoss has a big heart; he certainly does. And I love the scene in town, when Adam and Joe are plotting over Nancy; I always think they are very much alike, at times like that. The dance lesson in the barn is definitely a classic moment. Those two big men doing the Virginia Reel just cracks me up every time I watch it and Adam and Joe's reaction is pretty funny too.” Lynne Coulson

“It's hard to pinpoint the best part of that episode; the whole thing is very good. I like the mixture of comedy and drama. Ben is so right when he says all 3 of the boys are alike when it comes to women.” Ginny

“I like this episode a lot too, because it featured the whole family. My favorite parts are the bit in the barn - when Adam gets hit with the horse collar. I also like Adam and Joe plotting together especially when Adam says how "Nancy likes big men, like Hoss"... and Joe finishes up "and Waldo!" You can see the light bulb go off in that head!! The barn dance scene is hysterically funny, also. I like how Adam restrains Joe; he knows that it would be very embarrassing for Hoss and Waldo if they knew someone was watching. A very older brother gesture.” Gail (whoa bunny, bonanza)

“It really shows Hoss' kind heart in wanting to help the underdog. I think my favorite scene is the dance lesson with Adam and Joe watching and then Adam not letting Joe go in the barn and tease Hoss.” Leesa

“It's hard to pinpoint a favorite scene in this one because one scene is always a bit better than the next. I like the conversations between them all when Waldo is upstairs sleeping and they decide he has to go for the sake of the ranch. I always thought that Hoss and Joe were a good team, but there are times like this one where Adam and Joe are good together. My faves though would have to be the Adam, Hoss, Waldo barn conversation and Adam getting beamed with the head collar and the dance lesson in the barn with Hoss and Waldo.” Marianne

“Another case of Hoss taking up for an unfortunate fellow who is much to same in stature like himself. It shows Hoss' big, big heart. Hoss always goes out of his way to make a fellow - or gal - feel better about themselves." Michael

“Poor Waldo. I think Murphy's Law applied to him even though his desire to help caused everyone else problems. One of my favorite scenes is when Joe and Adam are watching Hoss teach Waldo how to dance from the doorway of the barn. I felt sorry for poor Hoss, as their snickers seemed so genuine. Ben's statement that his sons were so alike when it came to women, also applies to "stray friends" each of them help along the way.” Miss Maggie

“It reveals in depth a bit more about Hoss' character. There are also some great scenes with the entire family, like you mentioned and Joe/Adam. I love how they tease Hoss about Nancy and I like the idea that this episode actually ends with a happy resolution. Oh sure, some of that great fight scene stuff but Waldo ends up staying and being okay. I guess you could call him a "Cartwright Survivor". Nancy

“I guess George Kennedy was right for the part of Waldo and he could be the great-great-great grandfather of the character Kennedy plays in the Naked Gun movies.” Heidi

“George Kennedy does a great job in this episode of making Waldo seem funny, sympathetic, and yet a bit noble. He reminds me a lot of Hoss, as Hoss says, but Hoss is much more good-natured and patient. This episode is a great showcase for depicting all the things we love about Hoss. My favorite scene is the one in the lumberyard. I get a kick out of all the "plotting" -- Hoss trying to pawn off Waldo on Nancy, Joe and Adam getting out of loading the wagon. For some reason, I really enjoy seeing the wagon driving off with Joe stretched out in the back on top of the lumber. He looks so totally relaxed as he trusts his brothers not to drive the wagon off the road or something!” Susan Grote

“This is one of my favorite episodes. George Kennedy does a good job; it's fun to see him as Waldo in the middle of all the bad-guy roles he was doing at the time. I agree with everyone’s comments about the dance scene in the barn and the many elements in the show - the family interaction, some romance, humor, a little suspense, a good fight scene. Another thing I like in this episode is the language used, such as Hoss' remark about Adam's "fence-mender mind" (there was never enough kidding between those two), Adam telling Hoss that Nancy asked about Hoss "real kindly-like", and Adam telling Joe that Hoss is afraid that at the dance Nancy "will be all over him like a rash". The expressions kept the tone light.” Melissa J.

“I really never liked this episode...It was one of those "Lets do a funny slapstick Hoss episode for the kiddies" stories that just doesn't hold up for me. I don't like the Walter episodes or the Meena ones either...First I hate that they treated suicide as a comedy. YIPES. Love George Kennedy but him messing up continually lost me after a few times... and I hate that the Cartwrights are acting like 10 year old He-man Woman Haters in regard to Nancy. I was waiting for the three Cartwright brothers to exclaim "Girls am de bunk and have cooties! I don't want no girls in my tree house! That is sissy stuff!" Why wouldn't any of them scoop that girl up? She was pretty, smart and her dad owned a prosperous business that would link quite well with theirs? I adore the dance lesson and all the brotherly fooling around but this doesn’t come close to being one of my favorites.” Robin