Eugene Barkley, we hardly knew ye. The youngest of
the Barkley sons (quick--who portrayed him? That's right; Charles
Briles) is nowhere to be found in The Big Valley's sophomore
season. But lawyer Jarrod (Richard Long), hot-headed Nick (Peter
Breck), soulful "bastard son" Heath (Lee Majors), and coltish
daughter Audra (Linda Evans) get into all the trouble and two-fisted
action they can handle. And there's nothing the close-knit Barkleys,
headed by matriarch Victoria (regally billed as "Miss Barbara
Stanwyck") can't handle, whether it's defending the family name
against the false accusations of an unscrupulous, grudge-bearing
politician, rescuing Heath from a Mexican prison, or being abandoned
in the desert. The drama of Heath's heritage, a focus of season 1,
is settled once and for all in the season opener, "The Lost
Treasure," in which a con man claims to be Heath's father. By
episode's end, even Nick is calling Heath "brother."
Season 2 boasts an impressive roster of character actors, several
at the beginning of their careers. Buddy Hackett, sporting a Lucky
Charms leprechaun brogue, is the con man in "The Lost Treasure,"
with Bruce Dern as one of his marks, and Dub Taylor tending a ghost
town bar. Colleen Dewhurst guest stars in the episode "A Day of
Terror, as outlaw Annie Morton, who holds Victoria and Audra hostage
while her injured son recuperates in a church. James Whitmore is the
mud-slinging candidate in "Target." Warren Oates heads a band of
bumbling brothers trying to open a stubborn railroad station safe in
"The Great Safe Robbery." And that's the future Jan Brady, Eve Plumb
as a little girl trapped in a well in "Hide the Children," an
excellent episode that deals with intolerance as gypsy-hating Nick
gets a change of attitude when he accompanies a gypsy bride and her
family to her wedding. The Big Valley was never a ratings
rival to the venerable Gunsmoke or Bonanza, which still ruled
the prime time roost in 1966. But Western buffs will feel right at
home with this sprawling family saga and its larger than life
characters. Buyers, though, will be paying a higher premium for the
Barkley property this time around. Priced the same as the season 1
set, this collection contains only the first 15 episodes of season 2
and no extra features. --Donald Liebenson
