Bringing Up Josh

In New Orleans, Daniel and Josh run into a purported Revolutionary War widow (Lori Saunders) with two children who has been forced to the streets; Josh seeks to help her, but Dan is skeptical.

In the third-to-last series installment, what seems to be an urban adventure rapidly snaps back to an around-the-fort outing as Jimmy Dean makes his final bid for a spinoff series. Although a strong foundation is laid, the hope will end in disappointment. He gives it the best frontier schoolhouse try, however, and Fess Parker at least can claim a gentlemanly reason to let his sidekick have the spotlight. Lori Saunders, who would turn in a lot of mileage as the wholesome though not deep Bobbie Jo on "Green Acres" and "Petticoat Junction," is the mother but departs early. (The era when the networks devoted prime time to rural comedies now seems distant indeed.). Of novelty interest is a very young Jodie Foster as one of the kids, and Foster Brooks in a cameo doing his funny-drunk act. (Also dated; after Dean Martin's passing few find alcoholism a big fount of comedy anymore. Rosey Grier is brought on for embarrassment only, being compelled to do a rain dance with headdress and rattles.

Drama is a minimal afterthought here; its another laughs hour centered on confirmed bachelor Josh being pursued by domesticity. At least Becky and Israel are not excessively force-fed into the episode.

No real historical context here, except to note disapproval by the Boonesborough biddies of single fatherhood would find little grounding on the frontier, where many wives died young. And in the New Orleans sequence, we see a French gendarme uniformed as a Maryland Continental with chapeau - but recall that New Orleans was Spanish-ruled during the series period.

The hour might as well have a "Contract Fulfillment" chyron on it, but 1960's Jimmy Dean fans will enjoy his series coda.