User Reviews

In this Virginian story Trampas and Dave Sutton are sent to Durango to buy a prize bull at an auction. Sutton is sent along as a steadying influence on Trampas who is well known for getting into scrapes.

But it's David Hartman who gets in trouble here as he agrees to pretend to be engaged to flirtatious Julie Sommars. Sommars is a very persuasive woman, the kind it's hard to say no to. She's trying to get rid of Roger Torrey who is trying to get to first base.

Trouble is that Torrey all 6'8" of him is also someone few say no to. So Hartman and Doug McClure find out.

Lots of laughs as Trampas for once is not the one entangled.

Mary hartman, mary hartman or was it david hartman .... like everything he's in he stinks up the film ... julie sommars isn't much better... this was one of those writers on vacation episodes that flopped out of the gate ... i think the prize bull could have carried off the story better

I watched this episode to see a giant as was touted in the episode description, I expected 7'2" Richard Kiel or 7'7" Max Palmer even 6'11" Robert "Big Buck" Maffei but we get an underwhelming obscure blonde actor that is just a micron taller than the rest of the cast. James Arness was taller than this Big Tiny.

Was it too much of a bother for the casting people to scrounge up an extremely tall actor worthy of the moniker GIANT? What was Ted Cassidy and Mickey Morton doing? I think I know why they didn't cast a real giant; the egos of the lead cast would probably be deflated, James Drury and Doug McClure were very insecure I hear.

Oh dear- so many big brains casting giant aspersions on our fair horse opera and it's starring dynamic duo- they should be ashamed of themselves because ALL actors are insecure and 6'6" is giant enough for our purposes here. John Wayne was considered tall at 6'4" ~ and Arness was only an inch taller than Tiny, so Torrey qualifies as 'giant'. It would if it were me. Dogging someone for their height is lame anyway.

Dave Sutton is a little bland, yes, but the stories would have carried him if most of the writers hadn't gone to greener pastures the year before. As it is, David Hartman got a year, Tim Matheson got a year, they revamped and gave Stewart Granger a year, then that was it--they couldn't keep beating a dead horse, the series was done. Nobody's fault. Context is important.

Dave (6'5") and Trampas (6'1") are sent to Durango, Colorado (6,512 ft above sea level vs Denver's 5,280) to get in on a top-of-the-line bull auction. Dave is not really needed if they are able to bring the bull back by rail but space isn't guaranteed this time of year and it may have to be walked back to Shiloh--in that case, Dave will help out considerably.

Arriving finally in Durango, Dave is accosted by an average-height female (Julie Sommars 5'5" playing Martha Carson) who coincidentally has the same problem as the Polish girl in the last show of the first season--a giant (6'2" in that case) man wants her but she doesn't want him but he won't leave her alone. Trampas helped the girl in the first season because he was in love and it was serious. This one is Dave and it's played for laughs--probably because it was also the last show of fiscal year 1968. Big Tiny aired the week before Christmas, the next aired a week into January 1969, so the pace of this show was more likely aimed at little shavers and cowgirls on break from school rather than to negative grownups who thought there would be cattle drives and licorice whips. Santa enjoys Context too.

Trampas earned an extra star for being 'cuddly' ~ it's the only time in nine years of the show imo that you could use that word to describe him. Just like a Trampas teddy bear: soft, warm, smiling and eminently huggable. You'll know it when you see it. Santa calls that a "sugarplum".

This one is easy to watch with your kids on a couch with blankets and pillows and mugs (any size) of hot cocoa if possible. Scrooges will look through your frosted windows and wish they had been more kind.

Thank you Everyone who shares with us in the Joy of the Holidays and in Joyful Appreciation of The Virginian.