Samson and Hercules

Ponderosa Episode Review

In which there are puppies.

What Happened

Jack starts up a wolf-fight and sells tickets. Seeing the bloody mess that's left of the loser, Hoss becomes convinced that he should do something to stop the fights and free the animals. Not sure if loosing a couple of pissed off wolves is his brightest idea, but there's the whole episode.

Too late to stop the fight, Hoss sets the winner free and takes the wounded losers to hiding. It takes Adam all of twenty-four hours to charm the truth out of Hoss and tattle to his father. Ben is about to put the wounded Hercules out of his misery, but the four sets of puppy dog eyes from Samson, Hercules, Hoss and Little Joe win out.

While and Hoss and Tess are charmed to discover that Hercules is really a girl, Ben does eventually nudge Hoss into freeing a recovered Samson. A few seconds later, Big Dan shoots Samson when the animal runs at his horse. The Ponderosa catch and release program has not gotten off to a rousing start.

With Hoss depressed and mopey, Ben suggests that he turn his attention to getting wolf-fights banned in town. After considering what will happen to Hercules, Hoss decides to conquer his nerves and speak at the council meeting. Once he gets going, he sways the council, and not even Jack has anything to say about it.

What We Learned

• Of course Jack's got principles.
• It's real important to the Horowitzs that Little Joe have his bath.
• Hoss ain't figured that part out yet.
• Ben doesn't care if they spit together on the moon, Ben wants to know what's going on.
• The first words out of any child's mouth when confronted with an animal will be "can we keep him?"
• He who saves one soul, saves the whole world.

Best Line

Ben: "Where are your brothers?"
Adam: "You mean Hoss and Little Joe?"
Ben: "Those are their names, yes."

What Did I Think?

Aw. I like Hoss. He's a sweetie.