I just watched this Bonanza episode on a $1 DVD which has one episode each of several Westerns like Bonanza, Rifleman, Lone Ranger, etc.
I was not surprised to see Ricardo Montalban in a guest role. When I first saw his character's wife, I thought she looked familiar. For good reason! Madalyn Rhue played Lt. Marla McGivers who had a fatal attraction to Montalban's Khan character in the Star Trek episode "Space Seed." Of course this episode was the premise for Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan.
In all these years of reading Trek trivia, I had not come across anything pointing out the two actors having played together previously.
As for the dramatic critique, there are the usual archetypes of the Western TV of the day. I highly doubt that a real life 19th century rancher of Ben Cartwright's stature would have given land to an Indian, even in return for his life. Also, another hole in the story is why Ike wasn't arrested for murder after he shot Hatoya. Ironically, it is revealed in Trek II that Lt. McGivers, who had become Khan's wife, had been killed by parasitical creatures on the planet where Captain Kirk had marooned them. Matsou's anger toward Ike is IMHO quite like Khan's anger with Kirk. There is one line by Matsou that made me think of Khan's "He tasks me and I shall have him..." rant in Trek II.
All said I must give it a 6.
I wonder if Madalyn Rhue's MS was the reason that Lt. McGivers was written out of the Trek II script? She had developed it a few years before that movie was made.
I was not surprised to see Ricardo Montalban in a guest role. When I first saw his character's wife, I thought she looked familiar. For good reason! Madalyn Rhue played Lt. Marla McGivers who had a fatal attraction to Montalban's Khan character in the Star Trek episode "Space Seed." Of course this episode was the premise for Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan.
In all these years of reading Trek trivia, I had not come across anything pointing out the two actors having played together previously.
As for the dramatic critique, there are the usual archetypes of the Western TV of the day. I highly doubt that a real life 19th century rancher of Ben Cartwright's stature would have given land to an Indian, even in return for his life. Also, another hole in the story is why Ike wasn't arrested for murder after he shot Hatoya. Ironically, it is revealed in Trek II that Lt. McGivers, who had become Khan's wife, had been killed by parasitical creatures on the planet where Captain Kirk had marooned them. Matsou's anger toward Ike is IMHO quite like Khan's anger with Kirk. There is one line by Matsou that made me think of Khan's "He tasks me and I shall have him..." rant in Trek II.
All said I must give it a 6.
I wonder if Madalyn Rhue's MS was the reason that Lt. McGivers was written out of the Trek II script? She had developed it a few years before that movie was made.