Night of the Wolf

One the best Big Valley episodes in the entire series, really showcased Peter Breck's acting abilities, The Big Valley was always a watch in our home and admired the family dynamic of the Barkley's as it seemed similar to the Cartwright's love for each other, the show was similar to Bonanza where you have grown offspring who still live with their parent and don't have families of their own, and the end of this episode shows how very alike they are.

And we get a young Ron Howard in here too, in what was probably Peter Breck's best story as Nick Barkley. But Nick should stay away from wild animals (he gets attacked by another one later on in the series). I don't know how I feel about Nick up and leaving the family when he is bitten by a wolf believed to be rabid, but it turns out to be a journey of self-discovery for him, and either the wolf wasn't really rabid or Nick had really good recuperative powers. Whichever - Peter Breck was excellent, and Nick learned a lot in this episode. He was not just the shoot-em-up ill tempered Barkley. He was someone who really could look inside himself and learn.

I loved this episode because of the scene with Peter Breck in town, and Ron Howard runs to him. I found it unbelievably emotional acting. Peter Breck's character was usually portrayed as rough and tough. This was so tender. Since Peter lost his son to leukemia, it is such a reminder that the man was a sweetheart! The first part of the story when Peter is attacked shows that he and Lee Majors bonded as brothers. He trusted his newly found brother with information one might have thought he would have trusted to his attorney brother, Richard Long. It gave Peter a story which showed he was his own man, away from the security of his wealthy family and all their resources. I have no idea what a person looks like if they have been bitten by a possibly rabid dog. Peter's symptoms showed sincere suffering. I really admired the entire cast. The family support was so appealing to me. The subplot of the widow and her relationship with Peter and two strangers extending themselves to him in his desperate circumstances showed a particularly charming story of how good it is when people help each other, with no expectations for financial or other rewards. There is the subplot of how Peter wishes he had come back sooner, only to find the woman he knew years before had died in an epidemic.

One goof I need to report. We see Nick standing over the grave of Jeane Price, and we can clearly read the headstone. As he walks away, he passes the same grave around 20 feet to the left.

While riding night herd with Lee Majors, Peter Breck is attacked by a rabid wolf. The only known method at the time for rabies was cauterizing the wound immediately which Majors does. But that leaves Nick with an uncertain chance for survival, time will only tell.

That year causes a lot of changes in Nick Barkley as he goes away for a year. He meets up with Nancy Olson a single woman with a young son and they bond. Olson wants to make it legal because of Ron Howard fresh from the Andy Griffith show playing her son.

That year interlude in the story timeline did something else. It allowed for further acceptance of Lee Majors in the Barkley family circle. There were fewer and fewer references to Heath's illegitimate birth as the series continued.

The scenes with Peter Breck with a new 'family' were poignant and special. One episode for fans of Peter Breck and The Big Valley to treasure.