Episode
Bonanza: The Crucible
Overview
Adam is left to die in the desert after two thieves take $5,000 and his horse from him. Near death, he stumbles into an old prospector named Kane who offers to lend him a mule and supplies in exchange for three day's work at his mine. Kane, however, turns out to be a demented madman. He holds Adam prisoner and tortures him to prove his theory that anyone could be driven to kill, even a man as rational as Adam. This is Pernell Robert's favorite episode along with "The Wooing Of Abigail Jones".
Details
- Series
- Bonanza
- Season
- Season 3
- Episode
- Episode 28
- Air date
- 1962-04-08
- Runtime
- 49 min
Episode context
The Crucible is Episode 28 in Season 3 of Bonanza. It aired on 1962-04-08. The runtime is 49 min.
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Episode 27: The Gamble
In the town of Alkali, the Cartwrights are jailed on false charges of robbery and murder, but Joe escapes and returns with an army of Ponderosa hands.
Episode 29: Inger, My Love
Ben indulges in a nostalgic reverie about Hoss's deceased mother. Having worked his way west to Galesburg, IL., Ben is befriended by a girl named Inger, the fiancee of the tavern owner who gave him a job.
More episodes from this season
Episode 26: Look to the Stars
A young genius, Albert Michaelson, vies for a scholarship. Adam assists Albert in the boy's experiments. Albert only needs the school teacher's approval to be granted a scholarship-which will be very difficult to get considering Albert was expelled from school.
Episode 30: Blessed Are They
When two feuding families argue over the custody of two orphaned children, a reluctant Ben is called upon to straighten out the situation before real trouble erupts.
Episode 25: The Lawmaker
Ben supports the appointment of Asa Moran as Virginia City's temporary sheriff, but Moran goes overboard with his authority, jailing Adam in the process and pistol-whipping a Ponderosa hand.
Episode 31: The Dowry
The Cartwrights get mixed up in the romance of a phony heiress and an equally phony land baron.
Episode 24: The Wooing of Abigail Jones
In order to keep peace on the ranch, Hoss and Joe try to help ranch hand, Hank Meyers woo the the plain-looking schoolteacher, Abigail Jones. When their first plan backfires, they convince Adam (who doesn't want to get involved) to help and this makes things worse because Abigail believes it is Adam who is wooing her and Hank Meyers believes Adam wants to steal her away.
Episode 32: The Long Night
Ben, Joe and Adam travel to Bowleg to pay the yearly taxes on the Ponderosa. After the transaction is completed, Ben and Joe ride over the summit to join the cattle drive. Adam is on his way to Genoa and is carrying a $10,000 bank draft his father has given him. A prison guard rides into town and announces two hombres have broke out and escaped who are holdup men and killers. Elmer Trace and his partner Poindexter were assisted by a guard in escaping prison and they betray him on the trail. Trace takes his clothes, horse and firearms, leaving Poindexter with only a rifle and rides off. Meanwhile, the Sheriff of Bowleg organizes a posse immediately.
Episode 23: The Guilty
When Ben fails to prevent the death of a friend's son, Adam and Joe, concerned by their father's depression, attempt to prove there was nothing he could have done.
Episode 33: The Mountain Girl
Joe promises a dying sheepman he will make sure the old man's granddaughter gets her rightful inheritance from a wealthy San Francisco family. This episode was filmed immediately after "Inger, My Love", which explains why Blocker's arm is still in a sling.
Episode 22: The Jackknife
Adam gives a second chance to a family man he suspects is one of the rustlers who has been hitting the Ponderosa herds.
Episode 34: The Miracle Maker
Hoss blames himself when a young woman is crippled in a wagon accident, and hopes a faith healer can help her walk again.