Taps for Old Jeb

Some of the performances on GS are amazing. We've seen Ed Begley in 12 Angry Men & about a thousand other things - and we didn't know it was him until we looked it up. Not the only time we've done this on GS. Also: Wayne Rogers was good too. He really was wasted on MASH.

Ed Begley is terrific in this episode that features a man with a nose for gold striking it rich. Jeb Crater (Begley) and his partner Sholo (Morgan Woodward), two rough unsophisticated men, have claimed to have hit it big digging for gold in the mountains and returning to Dodge. On the trail they meet a man named Stretch Morgan (Wayne Rogers) that agrees to be their bodyguard. (Stretch is a cousin of Thad)

In Dodge, Jeb takes a bath and while Sholo is in the shack Jeb and Stretch hide the gold. Not really any problem but since Jeb does not believe in banks and since they are going out drinking, he does not want Sholo to know where the gold is hidden. Seems that Sholo gets talkative when he has been drinking and may reveal the hiding place. So they hide the gold next to the water pump in the yard and into town to party.

The next morning Sholo comes riding into Dodge wanting the Marshal. Jeb had been knocked in the head to the point of near death. The evidence points toward Stretch. But soon we may find out that there is more than one so-called criminal walking around the town of Dodge.

Ed Begley is brilliant in this show as he plays the rowdy country bumpkin that talks more than he listens. Morgan Woodward does well cast as the meek partner (a character he does not play many times) that stands behind Jeb. All in all a nice episode.

Note- get a nice square dance call from Doc Adams during the show.

This one is a real gem and I think it's Ed Begley that makes it that way. He was a real character in this one - Jeb and then there was Morgan Woodward as his partner. We can't forget Wayne Roger's-aka-Trapper John from MASH. Jeb just had to brag that he struck it rich, which he hadn't , and then throw the biggest party Dodge had seen for a while. Whole thing sounds great but then what does he do, he tries to make it look like somebody robbed him of his gold. Turns out it was just "fools gold". He really did it this time. Of course we have Matt and Festus looking into this and Thad even gets mixed up in the mess part of it. Fun watch and highly recommend.