When it comes to cornmeal at a good price, nothing beats Peterson's supply, selling it at half of what Mr. Hanson charges. Naturally this makes him suspicious, but while this was going on, Laura was taken to see Doc Baker on account of a troublesome tooth. Baker is also the town dentist. This may not be such bad news, because once her tooth was out, Laura could put it under her pillow and the tooth fairy would leave a penny. Cheapskate? Naw, a penny was a lot back then. As he prepares to pull the elusive bicuspid, a local man, Eric Boulton, comes in to tell the doctor of is very ill son, Paul. He had aches and pains and one high fever. Seems Mrs. Boulton was also showing symptoms, but for her, it was already too late. Doc Baker announces it to the church congregation that Sunday and urges everybody to stay in their own homes until he could positively identify this strange disease, but from what he's seen thus far, he's almost sure it's typhus. While out hunting the next day, Charles comes across two more deathly ill folks and buses them to Doc Baker's office. No question about it, it was typhus. The doctor quickly enlists the aid of Charles and Reverend Alden who turn the church/schoolhouse into a hospital, and buy out the Olesons' supply of sheets and blankets. Having been exposed to the disease, Charles keeps a safe distance from others in town so as not to infect them. That was nice of him. So after telling the family of his plan, he heads over to the Boulton's place. Paul didn't make it, and Eric was slowly slipping away...psychosis. Poor fellow.
Day after day, Charles, Doc Baker and Reverend Alden worked, trying hard to keep down the fever, only having simple medicine and ice to work with, and more people kept coming in, contaminated with typhus. Among them, Mr. Edwards. The one question that plagued the doc's mind all this time is what the source of this illness could possibly be, since they all lived so far apart. When Edwards mentioned the cornmeal get got from Peterson's, Charles put two and two together and discovered Peterson's cornmeal may be the root of this mess, so he and Doc Baker race over to Peterson's place posthaste. They discover the old man at death's door and his barn full of cornmeal was infested with rats. That's how the typhus spread by the rats' fleas getting inside the bags. The only logical thing to do now was burn that sucker to the ground. So after they torch it, rats and all, they head back to town, knowing the epidemic was over and would no longer spread. Soon Mr. Edwards and all the others got better, the hospital was dismantled and Doc Baker filled the room with sulfur. They had ridden it out together and made it through alive. For such is the power of hope, courage, and strength.
When hearing all about The Plague, I used to think it was something they obliterated 500 years ago, but it seems some forms of plague are still around and still infecting people today. Typhus is a rather outdated illness, but every now and then it comes around. As for this episode, well written and well performed. Michael Landon and Kevin Hagen really shined. That's Michael's daughter Leslie as the little girl Charles speaks with briefly towards the end. She would later join the cast in Season 9 as Etta Plum, the new schoolteacher; Now in Season 5, this episode was sort of rewritten as "Mortal Mission", except that time they deal with anthrax. Also a good episode, and I think I prefer that one since it's got more of a plot and it involves more familiar characters so we really worry about them. Now even though this may sound silly, there are a few things "Plague" has left me wondering: did Laura ever get her penny? If so, did she spend it on candy? I'm sure she did. Also I wonder how Hanson feels now that Peterson and his cornmeal are gone and everybody has to buy his again. Probably feels like a bittersweet victory.
Day after day, Charles, Doc Baker and Reverend Alden worked, trying hard to keep down the fever, only having simple medicine and ice to work with, and more people kept coming in, contaminated with typhus. Among them, Mr. Edwards. The one question that plagued the doc's mind all this time is what the source of this illness could possibly be, since they all lived so far apart. When Edwards mentioned the cornmeal get got from Peterson's, Charles put two and two together and discovered Peterson's cornmeal may be the root of this mess, so he and Doc Baker race over to Peterson's place posthaste. They discover the old man at death's door and his barn full of cornmeal was infested with rats. That's how the typhus spread by the rats' fleas getting inside the bags. The only logical thing to do now was burn that sucker to the ground. So after they torch it, rats and all, they head back to town, knowing the epidemic was over and would no longer spread. Soon Mr. Edwards and all the others got better, the hospital was dismantled and Doc Baker filled the room with sulfur. They had ridden it out together and made it through alive. For such is the power of hope, courage, and strength.
When hearing all about The Plague, I used to think it was something they obliterated 500 years ago, but it seems some forms of plague are still around and still infecting people today. Typhus is a rather outdated illness, but every now and then it comes around. As for this episode, well written and well performed. Michael Landon and Kevin Hagen really shined. That's Michael's daughter Leslie as the little girl Charles speaks with briefly towards the end. She would later join the cast in Season 9 as Etta Plum, the new schoolteacher; Now in Season 5, this episode was sort of rewritten as "Mortal Mission", except that time they deal with anthrax. Also a good episode, and I think I prefer that one since it's got more of a plot and it involves more familiar characters so we really worry about them. Now even though this may sound silly, there are a few things "Plague" has left me wondering: did Laura ever get her penny? If so, did she spend it on candy? I'm sure she did. Also I wonder how Hanson feels now that Peterson and his cornmeal are gone and everybody has to buy his again. Probably feels like a bittersweet victory.
