The Maverick Line
The Maverick Line is our last episode with both Bret and Bart together and the last episode with Bret/James Garner. It's a bit of a weird episode because it airs in the 4th season when Garner had already been replaced by Roger Moore. Apparently it was filmed during the 3rd season and was supposed to air as the 4th season premiere but was held over to see the results of Garner's law suit and hence airs in the middle of the season. This is of course off because throughout the season Bret is gone and then suddenly reappears for one last hurrah.
But that being said it is a very good episode and definitely the best of the 4th season. In fact the more I watch it the more my opinion of it improves. It is just one of those episodes that makes me incredibly happy.
I read somewhere that Bret and Bart have more scenes together in this episode than any other, making it the truest brother episode. I am not sure if that is true (since I never bothered to count the minutes they appear together on screen) but they certainly do have a lot of screen time together in this episode and tons of cute moments like this adorable shot
In the episode they've inherited a run down stage line from their Uncle Micah Maverick (just how many siblings did Pappy have?). Of course the brothers aren't all that interested in running a stage line but they are interested in any money it can produce. There are a bunch of colorful characters that help and thwart them on the way: Polly Goodin a rancher who wants to buy the stage line from them (and who both the brothers try to spend some time with), Atherton Flayger an unscrupulous lawyer who takes small print to the next level , Shotgun Sparks a hired gun who has an odd code of ethics, and finally Rumsey Plumb a Highway Man who uses the Maverick Line exclusively to run his business.
Rumsey Plumb played by Buddy Ebsen is another one of the best one off characters in the shows history but the entire cast in this is a lot of fun.
I also love how Maverick shows us so many means of transportation from stage line to railroad (which also plays a part in this episode) to carriage and covered wagon, to boat and steam ship and finally to regular old horse back riding. So it was fun to see an episode completely dedicated to travel.
Of course this isn't the last time we see Bret and Bart together onscreen. I believe the last time would be in the Bret Maverick episode the Hidalgo Thing. Jack Kelly literally only appears in the last few seconds (he was going to be a series regular if the show had been picked up for another season but alas it wasn't). Still if I was only going to have one more minute of Bret and Bart I couldn't ask for anything more and it shows that Kelly and Garner still had chemistry all those years later. It's perfect that final scene of them they were huggings and laughing. :)
But that being said it is a very good episode and definitely the best of the 4th season. In fact the more I watch it the more my opinion of it improves. It is just one of those episodes that makes me incredibly happy.
I read somewhere that Bret and Bart have more scenes together in this episode than any other, making it the truest brother episode. I am not sure if that is true (since I never bothered to count the minutes they appear together on screen) but they certainly do have a lot of screen time together in this episode and tons of cute moments like this adorable shot
In the episode they've inherited a run down stage line from their Uncle Micah Maverick (just how many siblings did Pappy have?). Of course the brothers aren't all that interested in running a stage line but they are interested in any money it can produce. There are a bunch of colorful characters that help and thwart them on the way: Polly Goodin a rancher who wants to buy the stage line from them (and who both the brothers try to spend some time with), Atherton Flayger an unscrupulous lawyer who takes small print to the next level , Shotgun Sparks a hired gun who has an odd code of ethics, and finally Rumsey Plumb a Highway Man who uses the Maverick Line exclusively to run his business.
Rumsey Plumb played by Buddy Ebsen is another one of the best one off characters in the shows history but the entire cast in this is a lot of fun.
I also love how Maverick shows us so many means of transportation from stage line to railroad (which also plays a part in this episode) to carriage and covered wagon, to boat and steam ship and finally to regular old horse back riding. So it was fun to see an episode completely dedicated to travel.
Of course this isn't the last time we see Bret and Bart together onscreen. I believe the last time would be in the Bret Maverick episode the Hidalgo Thing. Jack Kelly literally only appears in the last few seconds (he was going to be a series regular if the show had been picked up for another season but alas it wasn't). Still if I was only going to have one more minute of Bret and Bart I couldn't ask for anything more and it shows that Kelly and Garner still had chemistry all those years later. It's perfect that final scene of them they were huggings and laughing. :)