User Reviews

Have to dissent from reviewers panning this episode. John Dehner doesn't play as likeable ranch owner as Lee Cobb. Still Dehner is a good character actor with a lot of range. He's not the actor Cobb was. Not many were. Probably just as well Charles Bickford took over for long term. This is a compelling episode. Dehner plays a leader reminiscent of parts Robert Preston played in movies.

I might have had low expectations given some of the reviews here. But I thought it was outstanding. Super acting of course, entertaining, and perhaps a good message as well. Dehner is one of my favorite western actors. And he does not disappoint here.

Losing Judge Garth seems to have been a bigger blow than expected for The Virginian. The replacement with Morgan Star just never felt right at all. His character was written in as a stern uncompromising, taking no inputs, and silent leader, that hurt the feel of everything at Shilo. John Dehner was the perfect fit for this role. While there was some warming of his character, this opening episode was just too hard to shake off. Perhaps that was the plan all along, but the series seemed to falter a bit with Morgan Star in the big house at Shilo Ranch.

Things seemed to get somewhat back on track after Morgan Star when the powerful Charles Bickford cane in as the new owner of Shilo. Still, it was not until the warmth of John McIntyre and the wonderful depth of Janet Nolan that things settled back down again.

The Virginian was such a strong series. The combination of writers and core actors carried the series through many enjoyable years. Even today, The Virginian series is a popular as ever. Enjoy, my friends and a big thank you to IMDb and all it brings to us.

In this episode Judge Garth has been appointed Governor of Wyoming Territory. So as he assumes his new responsibilities instead of leaving The Virginian in charge he sends for an comrade from the Civil War John Dehner.

Dehner is a hardnosed character who does things his way. He angers the other ranchers when instead of hurrying his cattle to market when word of a locust plague comes to Shiloh and the rest of the valley, he decides to stand and fight with a risky fire break maneuver.

Not a good episode though Dehner's Morgan Starr character is in a few episodes further. I can't figure out why James Drury was not left in charge myself. The whole thing made no sense to me.

Many complain about the hardness of Morgan Starr in this episode, but I thought the laughable plot in this makes this my least favorite Virginian episode. It is just not believable and borders on ridiculous in my opinion. It was a terrible way to introduce a new character.