Written and directed by Michael Landon, "The Wish" would remain Landon's favorite Bonanza episode long after its original airing on March 9, 1969. Preparing for a two-month fishing trip, Hoss Cartwright meets Sam Davis (Ossie Davis), an ex-slave trying to make a go of a drought-plague farm. Though Hoss would like to offer assistance, he hesitates, fully aware that Sam is too fiercely proud to accept help from a white man. Conversely, Sam's son John (George Spell) immediately bonds with Hoss-and expresses the disturbing wish that his own father was white! Recalling his participation in this episode, guest star Ossie Davis told TV Guide "I like the script. It shows a black man heading a family and fighting to keep it together. He encounters prejudice. . .There's no pat ending. The story says a great deal without making speeches." Unfortunately, "The Wish" is one of those "lost" Bonanza episodes which, for various reasons, is seldom rebroadcast today.
by Hal Erickson
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