The whole appeal of Tom Brewster is that he shy and unassuming and doesn't like violence - but he does like Sarsaparilla - with a dash of cherry. When pressed by people or circumstance he surprises everybody with his moral strength and intelligence. I didn't think they should make him a secret fast gun, (the Mavericks aren't fast guns but they seem to survive). But has tom faces more situations and more dangerous villains, he's also developing capabilities to deal with them, as any hero would. But that's a dangerous game for a writer. You don't want to head into unrealistic territory or turn you hero into something he was never intended to be.
In this episode, Tom is hired to be a bodyguard for an elderly Chinese man who is returning his sone's ashes to San Francisco, to be shipped back to China. He was killed by Don Haggerty, a boisterous Irishman with a pair of spiked brass knuckles and love for head-butting, and scar-faced, hatchet-throwing James Hong, said to be head of the worst Tong. They are after a map to a gold mine the Chinaman has.
Tom first takes on Hong, (both actors are still alive after all these years but in their 90's. Will Hutchins is the last survivor of the stars of the Warner's western shows of the period and Hong was featured on CBS Sunday Morning a few weeks ago. He may have more credits in front of the camera than any other actor.). The outcome is uncertain but a young Chinese woman traveling with them, (Judy Dan), gets ahold of Tom's gun and takes care of Hong. For some reason Haggerty, with his spiked knuckles, is nowhere to be seen.
That confrontation comes in San Francisco, where Haggerty's gang has kidnapped the old man and the woman and their family has refused to surrender the map to exchange them. Tom bets Haggerty that he can win a fight with him. Haggerty head-buts him a couple of times and pokes a hole in his shoulder with the spikes, then lets Tom hit him in the jaw twice, to no effect. What's Tom to do? He goes to the body, where Haggerty turns whimp and doesn't even get another swing off. I just prefer Tom using his wits and moral courage to win the day, not a series of body shots.
Dan is a "slave" and Tom buys her freedom, saying that "We fought a war over that". She offers to become his wife and take care of him. It seems like a pretty good bargain, but Tom avers that his lifestyle wouldn't permit it - he just travels around too much. But why? Cheyenne lost his parents in an Indian raid and was raised by the Cheyenne. Now he's back with the white, looking for a "a place where he belongs". The Mavericks travel to get to the best poker games. Chris Colt is a Federal Marshall. Bronco is just the wandering type. But Tom Brewster is a law student. Shouldn't he settle down with one the pretty girls that always fall for him and read law with an established lawyer, then set up his own practice? His wanderlust seems totally unmotivated.
In this episode, Tom is hired to be a bodyguard for an elderly Chinese man who is returning his sone's ashes to San Francisco, to be shipped back to China. He was killed by Don Haggerty, a boisterous Irishman with a pair of spiked brass knuckles and love for head-butting, and scar-faced, hatchet-throwing James Hong, said to be head of the worst Tong. They are after a map to a gold mine the Chinaman has.
Tom first takes on Hong, (both actors are still alive after all these years but in their 90's. Will Hutchins is the last survivor of the stars of the Warner's western shows of the period and Hong was featured on CBS Sunday Morning a few weeks ago. He may have more credits in front of the camera than any other actor.). The outcome is uncertain but a young Chinese woman traveling with them, (Judy Dan), gets ahold of Tom's gun and takes care of Hong. For some reason Haggerty, with his spiked knuckles, is nowhere to be seen.
That confrontation comes in San Francisco, where Haggerty's gang has kidnapped the old man and the woman and their family has refused to surrender the map to exchange them. Tom bets Haggerty that he can win a fight with him. Haggerty head-buts him a couple of times and pokes a hole in his shoulder with the spikes, then lets Tom hit him in the jaw twice, to no effect. What's Tom to do? He goes to the body, where Haggerty turns whimp and doesn't even get another swing off. I just prefer Tom using his wits and moral courage to win the day, not a series of body shots.
Dan is a "slave" and Tom buys her freedom, saying that "We fought a war over that". She offers to become his wife and take care of him. It seems like a pretty good bargain, but Tom avers that his lifestyle wouldn't permit it - he just travels around too much. But why? Cheyenne lost his parents in an Indian raid and was raised by the Cheyenne. Now he's back with the white, looking for a "a place where he belongs". The Mavericks travel to get to the best poker games. Chris Colt is a Federal Marshall. Bronco is just the wandering type. But Tom Brewster is a law student. Shouldn't he settle down with one the pretty girls that always fall for him and read law with an established lawyer, then set up his own practice? His wanderlust seems totally unmotivated.
