The Big Valley (TV Series) The Man from Nowhere (1966) User Reviews

A Fine Episode.

[summerfields · 7/10 · 13 April 2010]

Libby Matthews (a bad complexion day Sheree North) is a squatter - so the law says - and must be driven off of the land she occupies. Enter a mysterious stranger with amnesia....

Really a good character study about a lonely woman with a cranky mother-in-law (Anne Seymour) and her son.

Hubby (the never seen Scott) has never returned and Libby has given up hope that he ever will.

Richard Long is wonderful as always and the ending will give viewers a tear or two.

A mediocre episode which is pleasantly different for the storyline itself.

Mandatory amnesia episode well done

[qormi · 9/10 · 31 August 2020]

Jarrod was certainly knocked senseless without a clue as to his own identity. It would have been cruel indeed at the end if Nick and Heath started calling him "Audra", or "sis". Sheree North, normally very sexy and appealing, was toned down quite a bit in thus episode to make her plain; even homely. The ending was quite depressing... a far cry from the usual upbeat wrap ups.

Amnesia story

[mlbroberts · 10/10 · 1 November 2020]

I'm not much on the obligatory amnesia stories but this one wasn't as bad as many. Away from home trying to work out a solution and get some squatters off State land, Jarrod suffers a fall from his horse, wanders around in a fog all day and ends up in the home of the squatters with no idea who he is or why he's there. We follow him on his quest to find himself and save the people who saved him. A curious twist to the amnesia story is that three quarters of the way through, everyone knows who Jarrod is except Jarrod, and no one will tell him.

I recently had occasion to listen to this show with my eyes shut, not seeing it, and I was surprised and impressed with how Richard Long softened his voice for the role, not a lot but enough to convey Jarrod's uncertainty without making him sound like a forlorn orphan. A nice touch I never noticed when I SAW the episode and didn't just HEAR it.

Every show has an amnesia plot. TBV is not different

[kfo9494 · 6/10 · 5 September 2012]

For some reason, nearly every series has at least one amnesia show. It has been done and redone many many times to the point of near boredom. In this episode it will be Jarrod that has amnesia after a fall from a horse.

Jarrod is actually on his way to help the cattlemen legally remove squatters on farm land. But after taking the fall and losing his memory, it will be the squatters that take him into their care.

The squatters are a family that consist of a women, her small child and an older mother-in-law. And when they take Jarrod in, they do not realize that he was a lawyer on the side of the cattlemen.

But through some paperwork the mother, Libby Mathews, will find out out about his true identity but keep the information to herself. As Jarrod has become a member of the squatter's family bound to protect the land from removal by the cattlemen.

When Heath and Nick set out to find Jarrod- the ruse gets even wider. Libby orders Heath and Nick at gunpoint to get off the property. And when they return she and Jarrod are waiting with guns ready.

Even with the amnesia storyline, the show played well. Not the most interesting episode but one that proves you can actually make a nice show out of a commonly used tactic of writers.

Jarrod gets amnesia

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 22 March 2016]

This Big Valley story was left a little too much up in the air for my tastes. Especially since Richard Long's mission is to solve the problems in that particular region. Lawyer Jarrod Barkley is acting on behalf of the California Land Commission to settle a dispute between the Matthews family and the neighboring ranchers during a drought when the Matthews's have the only water.

But before he gets there Long sustains a fall from his horse and cracks his head pretty good. After that Long has amnesia and he wanders on to the Matthews place where he's taken in. The family consists of Anne Seymour, her daughter-in-law Sheree North, and her son Duane Chase.

The family are on that land awaiting the return of North's husband, but he's been gone for two years. Sheree does have needs, all kinds of needs.

No real resolution here except for Jarrod Barkley's memory returning for the next episode. But I will say Sheree North does a great acting job. Her's was always an interesting career, she was supposed to be 20th Century Fox sexpot at first, but she showed she had real acting ability and that talented stretched her career considerably.

This episode could have used a little resolution.