***SPOILERS*** Fans of the show, and T.V. Wyatt are gonna hate me for this one. See, I think that the writers of almost all of these shows forget about a little thing like history. Now, they carry the basic premise through the whole story (all the episodes), but it's usually at the expense of some basic truths. In this case the, the lost fact is that Morgan Earp was NOT an idiot, even IF he was the younger brother. In almost every episode, he is dismissed as a fop, a prettyboy, a fool with a powerful big brother to bail him out of trouble. Also, in this case they treat Wyatt's older brother Virgil (the most competent, and estimable of the brothers in law enforcement) as if he's a fool, too. Played by the excellent veteran actor John
Anderson, who it is always a pleasure to watch, he has to make a totally stupid bet with his brother Morg and lose his herd of cattle (which he never had, in reality). This makes it necessary to stop Morg's winning streak at the poker tables. So far, so dumb, right? And that, my friends is the problem I have with this very good dramatic series. I mean face it - almost all detective and police dramas are silly.
Wyatt Earp In Truth) was a model for the way REAL detectives solve crimes and stop violence: through constabulary intelligence. Until the O.K. Corral debacle, he had a great record of actually keeping the peace. Also, until that sad event, Morgan was a good peace officer, too. Virgil was a lawman till the day he died, practically. The writers played the same game with Bat Masterson in this series, making him seem like a young buffoon with a gun, rather than someone who was tough and smart. As far as the acting, and the action goes, this is a good episode in a good series, it is just the facts that get in the way. I can't do any better than an 8.
Wyatt Earp In Truth) was a model for the way REAL detectives solve crimes and stop violence: through constabulary intelligence. Until the O.K. Corral debacle, he had a great record of actually keeping the peace. Also, until that sad event, Morgan was a good peace officer, too. Virgil was a lawman till the day he died, practically. The writers played the same game with Bat Masterson in this series, making him seem like a young buffoon with a gun, rather than someone who was tough and smart. As far as the acting, and the action goes, this is a good episode in a good series, it is just the facts that get in the way. I can't do any better than an 8.
