Maverick~A Few Episodes
I decided instead of listing my favorite episodes of Maverick I would randomly post about episodes that especially stood out to me, either because they were especially well written or they did something interesting for the time. This entry is going to be the latter where the series examines Maverick's relationship with non-white characters (all of the following are Bart eps).
One thing I dislike about Westerns is how they portray Native Americans, Maverick unfortunately has a lot of disappointing episodes in this regard (and they also have a bunch of other disappointing episodes portraying Mexicans). But 3 eps stand out in this regard.
High Card Hangs
This is Bart's solo episode with Dandy Jim Buckley (one of my favorite side characters) but unlike Dandy's two solo eps with Bret this is a more serious affair. Dandy doesn't try to con Bart and in fact sticks by him throughout the story. Of course to be fair in the Bret eps, Dandy would have stuck by Bret too if he was in the same situation. Dandy is a crook but definitely an honorable one and there was no opportunity for Dandy to be a crook here.
Anyways Bart is accused of a crime along with 2 other men (one played by Martin Landau) and he confesses because he thinks one of the other 2 men will give it away. The plan is a bit crazy (Dandy to his credit thinks so too). But what makes this episode special is the "twist ending".
Early on the episode keeps casually talking about killing Indians/Injuns. It really bothers me but I pass it up for the time period. However the episode surprises me in a good way that it does actually address it in the end.
Devil's Necklace
This was the only 2 parter in the show's history. It's not perfect and it does have Native Americans attacking a fort but the two white male villains are just as bad (and probably two of the strongest villains in the show's history).
But what really stands out to me in this episode was the friendship/romance between Bart and the Native American Girl. Although she is stereotypical in some ways, in many ways she really is the hero of the story who saves Bart. The ending scene between Bart and her has to be one of the sweetest moments of the series. I even partially ship them together (although I am a bit conflicted because I also like Bart/Samantha)
Poker Face
This episode is pretty much Maverick does Stage Coach. The IMDB score for this was low but based on a couple reviews I read I gave it a chance and I am glad I did because I actually feel this is the strongest ep of the 5th season (and a welcome break from the constant silliness).
The story is about some rich snobby passangers and a preacher who give Bart a hard time because he is a gambler and a girl a hard time because she is Chinese. Later on they are held up by Mexican Bandits, but the leader of the bandits is an honorable man. The friendship that develops between Bart, the Chinese woman and Bandit leader is very well done (and later on a romance btw the latter two). And this story has to have the most intense poker game of the entire series.
One thing I dislike about Westerns is how they portray Native Americans, Maverick unfortunately has a lot of disappointing episodes in this regard (and they also have a bunch of other disappointing episodes portraying Mexicans). But 3 eps stand out in this regard.
High Card Hangs
This is Bart's solo episode with Dandy Jim Buckley (one of my favorite side characters) but unlike Dandy's two solo eps with Bret this is a more serious affair. Dandy doesn't try to con Bart and in fact sticks by him throughout the story. Of course to be fair in the Bret eps, Dandy would have stuck by Bret too if he was in the same situation. Dandy is a crook but definitely an honorable one and there was no opportunity for Dandy to be a crook here.
Anyways Bart is accused of a crime along with 2 other men (one played by Martin Landau) and he confesses because he thinks one of the other 2 men will give it away. The plan is a bit crazy (Dandy to his credit thinks so too). But what makes this episode special is the "twist ending".
Early on the episode keeps casually talking about killing Indians/Injuns. It really bothers me but I pass it up for the time period. However the episode surprises me in a good way that it does actually address it in the end.
Devil's Necklace
This was the only 2 parter in the show's history. It's not perfect and it does have Native Americans attacking a fort but the two white male villains are just as bad (and probably two of the strongest villains in the show's history).
But what really stands out to me in this episode was the friendship/romance between Bart and the Native American Girl. Although she is stereotypical in some ways, in many ways she really is the hero of the story who saves Bart. The ending scene between Bart and her has to be one of the sweetest moments of the series. I even partially ship them together (although I am a bit conflicted because I also like Bart/Samantha)
Poker Face
This episode is pretty much Maverick does Stage Coach. The IMDB score for this was low but based on a couple reviews I read I gave it a chance and I am glad I did because I actually feel this is the strongest ep of the 5th season (and a welcome break from the constant silliness).
The story is about some rich snobby passangers and a preacher who give Bart a hard time because he is a gambler and a girl a hard time because she is Chinese. Later on they are held up by Mexican Bandits, but the leader of the bandits is an honorable man. The friendship that develops between Bart, the Chinese woman and Bandit leader is very well done (and later on a romance btw the latter two). And this story has to have the most intense poker game of the entire series.