Paladin again assists his friend Phyllis Thackeray, M.D., when impatience and panic threaten to generate a smallpox epidemic.Paladin again assists his friend Phyllis Thackeray, M.D., when impatience and panic threaten to generate a smallpox epidemic.Paladin again assists his friend Phyllis Thackeray, M.D., when impatience and panic threaten to generate a smallpox epidemic.
Photos
Sam Gilman
- Laird
- (uncredited)
Fred McDougall
- Cowhand
- (uncredited)
Carl Pitti
- Cowhand
- (uncredited)
Norman Stevans
- Hotel Guest
- (uncredited)
Bert Stevens
- Hotel Guest
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaJohnny Western, who sings the "Paladin theme song" at the end of each episode, makes his only on camera appearance on the show as the character Steve Pauley.
- GoofsPaladin's opening monologue does not match what he actually says in the body of the show.
- Quotes
Sam Barton: [to Dr. Thackeray] You're the wrong sex to be handling a gun.
Featured review
Love in the time of smallpox
This episode mixes together three elements - unfortunately none of them quite convincing enough to make it gripping.
The first, driving the story, goes around the risks of a smallpox epidemic and the difficulties of Dr Thackeray, already encountered by Paladin in the episode No Visitors, to enforce a quarantine upon a band of unruly cowboys. There is not much flesh in it, as the cowboys are really just that, unruly; and the story does not succeed or even, strangely, attempt to create any real dramatic tension around the epidemic, which appears mainly as a pretext.
A pretext for what? On one side - this is the second and more substantial element -, a story of coming of age of a young man who has a hard time being taken seriously by his father, which is where Paladin intervenes to chastise the father and help the son to find trust in himself. This is a recurring theme in the series, more strikingly handled for instance in the episode The Reasonable Man. In the present one, the idea is just illustrated, and not very strongly.
And then, third but not least, there is the possible renewal of a tentative love entanglement between Paladin and the alluring Dr Thackeray, so full of qualities and played by an actress with real charm and personality. But despite of that, is it such a bright plot idea to rekindle a relationship which had fizzled out, when we know in advance - and from their previous acquaintance, Dr Thackeray should know as well - that one of the trademarks of Paladin is being adverse to real love entanglements? One thing we have learned repeatedly about Paladin is that he seems quite satisfied with the highly busy, though absolutely inconsequential love life which he leads in San Francisco while resting and enjoying the simple pleasures of life in between two adventures. He is not even a Don Juan : effortlessly charming good-looking women seems to be mostly on a par with opera, cigars and poker games as the main components of his dolce vita, neither more nor less important, and of very little meaning whatsoever - from what we see of them, his easy conquests are quite interchangeable and obviously not chosen for their strong personalities. And when he goes on his assignments, Paladin appears to have a strong rule not to mix business with pleasure, and therefore never to seek casual conquests. He does not become insensitive : in a few cases - like in episodes The Bride, Ella West, ... - a chance encounter with a stronger feminine character seems to be moving him more than he had planned for, and to require a certain dose of sacrifice to prevent him from pursuing the relation any further. It is however to be understood that on his side, if not for the lady in question, it does provoke a slightly painful but most probably short-lived regret - not being made for lasting bonds remaining his basic tenet. In this respect he is a worthy predecessor of another later charmer not any keener on a lasting bond - James of the same name. During their first encounter, Dr Thackeray had been the one clear exception to his principles. Above average in charm, wits and personality, she had managed to push the hardened bachelor out of his usual comfort zone, towards imagining the possibility of a more substantial and lasting relation. The only thing we had been left to know about it, at the end of No Visitors, was that because of having also been himself struck by measles, Paladin was to spend three more days than anticipated at the place of the good doctor - and that he had certainly appeared rather delighted by the mishap. The rest is deduction : three days of bliss, probably a few more it seems - but in the end they had obviously concluded, maybe with regrets on the side of Dr Thackeray, that they had to go their own way. So now they meet again, at a sick bedside again; so now they remember with slight nostalgy that past bliss; so now they discuss it out again, through rather witty dialogues; and so now, again, they come basically to the same conclusion. Well, how surprising...
The first, driving the story, goes around the risks of a smallpox epidemic and the difficulties of Dr Thackeray, already encountered by Paladin in the episode No Visitors, to enforce a quarantine upon a band of unruly cowboys. There is not much flesh in it, as the cowboys are really just that, unruly; and the story does not succeed or even, strangely, attempt to create any real dramatic tension around the epidemic, which appears mainly as a pretext.
A pretext for what? On one side - this is the second and more substantial element -, a story of coming of age of a young man who has a hard time being taken seriously by his father, which is where Paladin intervenes to chastise the father and help the son to find trust in himself. This is a recurring theme in the series, more strikingly handled for instance in the episode The Reasonable Man. In the present one, the idea is just illustrated, and not very strongly.
And then, third but not least, there is the possible renewal of a tentative love entanglement between Paladin and the alluring Dr Thackeray, so full of qualities and played by an actress with real charm and personality. But despite of that, is it such a bright plot idea to rekindle a relationship which had fizzled out, when we know in advance - and from their previous acquaintance, Dr Thackeray should know as well - that one of the trademarks of Paladin is being adverse to real love entanglements? One thing we have learned repeatedly about Paladin is that he seems quite satisfied with the highly busy, though absolutely inconsequential love life which he leads in San Francisco while resting and enjoying the simple pleasures of life in between two adventures. He is not even a Don Juan : effortlessly charming good-looking women seems to be mostly on a par with opera, cigars and poker games as the main components of his dolce vita, neither more nor less important, and of very little meaning whatsoever - from what we see of them, his easy conquests are quite interchangeable and obviously not chosen for their strong personalities. And when he goes on his assignments, Paladin appears to have a strong rule not to mix business with pleasure, and therefore never to seek casual conquests. He does not become insensitive : in a few cases - like in episodes The Bride, Ella West, ... - a chance encounter with a stronger feminine character seems to be moving him more than he had planned for, and to require a certain dose of sacrifice to prevent him from pursuing the relation any further. It is however to be understood that on his side, if not for the lady in question, it does provoke a slightly painful but most probably short-lived regret - not being made for lasting bonds remaining his basic tenet. In this respect he is a worthy predecessor of another later charmer not any keener on a lasting bond - James of the same name. During their first encounter, Dr Thackeray had been the one clear exception to his principles. Above average in charm, wits and personality, she had managed to push the hardened bachelor out of his usual comfort zone, towards imagining the possibility of a more substantial and lasting relation. The only thing we had been left to know about it, at the end of No Visitors, was that because of having also been himself struck by measles, Paladin was to spend three more days than anticipated at the place of the good doctor - and that he had certainly appeared rather delighted by the mishap. The rest is deduction : three days of bliss, probably a few more it seems - but in the end they had obviously concluded, maybe with regrets on the side of Dr Thackeray, that they had to go their own way. So now they meet again, at a sick bedside again; so now they remember with slight nostalgy that past bliss; so now they discuss it out again, through rather witty dialogues; and so now, again, they come basically to the same conclusion. Well, how surprising...
Details
- Runtime26 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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