Daniel and Josh are ambushed by tribesmen while singing a duet in camp, Dan MacGyver's a quick response - and that's about it this week for a complete Boone adventure. Josh takes a side trip to the Ford's Run settlement to replace his ambush-smashed guitar, and finds the German instrument-maker he buys from has vanished.
We are in for another redo of "Bad Day at Black Rock" as Josh searches for clues pertaining to his friend's disappearance. Kevin Hagen, who found his way into guest slots in most prominent 1960's genre series, is the first and obvious suspect, and Charles Drake in his second DB role is Josh's past friend.
Ostensibly the hour has a Revolutionary War dating and backdrop, signaled by tavern mutterings about Hessians and the dubious loyalties of German-Americans. But the allusions are vague as to whether this is taking place during the war or after. The historical tangent is dubious - pre-Revolution German settlers and the Hessians had little to no affinity for one another during the war, and evidence is sparse as to the patriots taking out frustrations on German colonists - there were plenty of Loyalist targets for that sort of thing. The depiction of superpatriotism's dangers might be a very late hit on McCarthyism by the writing team.
While exact period accuracy had never been DB's strong suit, especially egregious is the outfitting of Drake's frontier cabin with elaborate furnishings more relevant to a plantation house. The episode does feature an unusual amount of horse usage for a DB hour.
Fess Parker's interests have again led him elsewhere this week, and without its title character the series rapidly shrinks down to a weaker anthology offering. The hour is clearly meant to showcase country singer Dean, who chips in with some ballads, and the storyline contains traces that it might have been a jumping off point for a Dean-centered series. But the action here is limited, the ending rather muddled, and this hour easily settles into filler status.
We are in for another redo of "Bad Day at Black Rock" as Josh searches for clues pertaining to his friend's disappearance. Kevin Hagen, who found his way into guest slots in most prominent 1960's genre series, is the first and obvious suspect, and Charles Drake in his second DB role is Josh's past friend.
Ostensibly the hour has a Revolutionary War dating and backdrop, signaled by tavern mutterings about Hessians and the dubious loyalties of German-Americans. But the allusions are vague as to whether this is taking place during the war or after. The historical tangent is dubious - pre-Revolution German settlers and the Hessians had little to no affinity for one another during the war, and evidence is sparse as to the patriots taking out frustrations on German colonists - there were plenty of Loyalist targets for that sort of thing. The depiction of superpatriotism's dangers might be a very late hit on McCarthyism by the writing team.
While exact period accuracy had never been DB's strong suit, especially egregious is the outfitting of Drake's frontier cabin with elaborate furnishings more relevant to a plantation house. The episode does feature an unusual amount of horse usage for a DB hour.
Fess Parker's interests have again led him elsewhere this week, and without its title character the series rapidly shrinks down to a weaker anthology offering. The hour is clearly meant to showcase country singer Dean, who chips in with some ballads, and the storyline contains traces that it might have been a jumping off point for a Dean-centered series. But the action here is limited, the ending rather muddled, and this hour easily settles into filler status.
