A State of Siege

After saving Ray Danton's life in a saloon, Bart Maverick is offered the hospitality of his hacienda while in New Mexico. Jack Kelly takes a rain check, but later when his stagecoach is halted due to hostile Apaches Kelly decides to cash in that rain check.

Danton is the inheritor of a large Spanish land grant much reduced since the Mexican War, but still of considerable size. What Kelly doesn't know is that he's walked into a situation involving old Mexico politics in New Mexico.

A nice size mob of people are laying siege to Danton's hacienda because he's having as his guest his future father-in-law Joe DeSantis and Danton's bride to be Lisa Gaye. DeSantis is accused of selling out their cause and they want his head. No matter that this is the USA now, they abide by Mexican laws and tradition.

It's a sticky wicket Bart Maverick has himself in, but he gets out with the usual Maverick gift of gab though not everyone does.

Bart should have stayed at the stagecoach station.

This is one of the better episodes I have seen in this season, especially concerning the fact it is only staring Kelly as Bart Maverick. Despite it being devoid of comedy - and no Beau (which is strange because in the opening credits it actually has both Jack Kelly and Roger Moore come up as staring in the series, even though Roger Moore isn't in this episode. They might do this from now on, I'll have to watch and see). This is a very straightforward story without any strange shenanigans or twists that don't make sense or lend anything to the story.

It simply has Bart staying at a Mexican friend's place, but gets trapped there as a revolution with some Mexicans are going on. One of the reasons this is probably a good piece of writing is that it's actually a story by Robert Louis Stevenson. Yes apparently that one!

The supporting, small cast is also good, the loyal ones of the household. And at the very beginning is a very short scene with Slim Pickens.

It's not the most suspenseful episode but it's got some genuine Western action!