User reviews

This episode all starts with James Garner winning a ranch and whatever livestock is on it in a poker game. But when he comes to take possession of his property the herd turns out to be sheep.

And as this is cattle country those who own this ranch have a range war on their hands. Which is what Garner walks into when he comes to take possession.

But he's not a Maverick without a few tricks up his sleeve. The two largest cattle ranches are about to merge spreads via marriage between George Wallace and Myrna Fahey. Without telling her who he really is Garner works the old Maverick line on Fahey.

And quite by chance discovers Wallace is not all he seems in the situation either. Wallace is working an agenda all his own.

Some elements of the classic MGM western The Sheepman are present in this episode. Surprised MGM didn't sue Jack Warner.

I guess imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

It is a flock of sheep that gives Bret trouble. He wins a sheep ranch in a poker game and becomes involved in a war between cattlemen and sheepherders. Sheep smell! I tend to take an interest in the women of Maverick. They are an age group, born in the early 1930's. Myrna Fahey as Dee Cooper was born in 1933. She is a tomboy, but a romantic at heart. Bret buys her a fancy dress and sweet talks her. She twirls, feeling pretty and female. Dee and Bret kiss, and she buys his sheep. It is amazing how one slug in the jaw can knock a man out cold. I also marvel at the sound made by a fist striking a jaw. It is that clicking sound heard in all the old westerns.

Except for the shootout climax, this is classic Maverick. Watch sheep flock owner Bret with typical Garner charm duck and finagle his way around sheep hating cattlemen. He's won the flock in a poker game and must now figure out a way to sell them before the cattle boys skin him. Good thing there's a tomboy girl heading up the cattle posse. Seems she's just waiting for someone to bring out her feminine side, and Bret's only too happy to oblige. It's a highly enjoyable episode, with amusing situations and clever dialog. I just wish the writers had completed the story with the same sly humor they use in the buildup. This is one of the entries that carried the series to popular heights.

(In passing—there's more to the cattle vs. sheep feud than just preferences for steak and leather over mutton and wool. Seems sheep eat the roots of plants, thus killing them, whereas cattle do not. As a result, sheep can destroy the forage for cattle. Now, I've seen a number of similar themed shows, but have never seen this underlying fact explained to audiences, and I'm not sure why.)