The Rider Review - Born to Hang
By Johnny Betts
January 2, 2003
PROLOGUE
"I don't get off-track; I just take the scenic route." - Johnny Betts
Sup? I guess I've taken a long enough sabbatical; it's now time to start on the Season 2 reviews.
Did y'all check out my YR Season 1 Wrap-Up? If not, then you probably don't care that that thing took me
a lot longer to finish than I thought it would, so quit being ungrateful and
GO READ IT NOW!
Thanks. Well, you can wait and read it AFTER you read this review if you want.
At the end of the review make sure you participate in the "Born to Hang" Questionnaire. This is a new addition to
the review, and I hope it's wildly successful. This is *your* way to contribute!
Oh, and belated MERRY CHRISTMAS! Consider this review my Christmas gift to you, my dedicated readers. Plus, it's
my way of helping you start off the new year on just the right note. I love all of you, and you know, I want to help
every single one of you to spread love during the Christmas season. What do Sunday School and the spirit of the
season teach us? That it's better to give than to receive, and what do I want for each of you? That's right, for
your lives to be better. So what can we conclude is the best way for you to better your lives? You got it - giving.
So email me and I'll be more than happy to give (thus (bettering myself in the process) you my address and a
Christmas list. I didn't get *everything* I wanted for Christmas, so this is your way to help solve that. Remember,
this isn't for me, this is for *you* and your betterment.
The sad thing is, I don't expect a single one of you to jump at this opportunity to better your life. That's what's
wrong with the world today.
JOSH BROLIN'S BUSY SCHEDULE
Most of you probably don't know this, but our beloved, chisel-jawed hero, Josh Brolin, has joined the cast
of Woody Allen's next movie. I don't like Woody Allen, but I hope this will be good exposure for Josh.
Also starring in the movie will be the likes of Will Ferrell, Amanda Peet, Jason Biggs, and Chloe Sevigny.
The movie doesn't have a title yet, and plot details haven't been released.
Here's hoping that Josh will play a thug who'll straight-up punk Ferrell or Biggs upside the head. That'd rule.
However, chances are he'll die within the first 10 minutes.
Josh has also been recently cast in the movie "Into the Blue." It also stars Paul Walker and Jessica Alba.
It has something to do with scuba divers who find lost treasure that contains dangerous cargo. Josh plays
Jessica Alba's boss. Sounds like it has the potential to be pretty bad, especially since Paul "Keanu Reeves
School of Acting" Walker is in it. Hopefully it'll be more along the lines of "The Fast and the Furious"
rather than the crapfest that was "Timeline."
Meanwhile, rumor has it that Ty Miller's shoelace will appear for 3 seconds in an upcoming "Without a Trace"
episode, and Stephen Baldwin has about 8 straight-to-video titles in the intestine ready to poop out at us.
Speaking of crap, I just HAVE to share with you this dream I had last night. I was watching a new show, and
Cameron Diaz was the lead character. She played a ditzy California detective, very similar to her character
from Charlie's Angels. For some reason, Beck (yes, the singer) was the main bad guy in the episode I was
watching.
Anyway, there was a scene at the beach and someone in the ocean got sick and had a little "accident" right
there in the water. Cameron Diaz noticed this and started doing the "Staying Alive" dance while singing (to
the tune of "Staying Alive") "Ooo ooo ooo ooo Pepcid AC, Pepcid AC."
In the dream I was thinking to myself, "Man, in the next Rider Review I need to write, 'I like Cameron Diaz,
but I'll never forgive her for starting the Staying Alive/Pepcid AC parody that everybody on every beach in America
was doing this summer."
End of dream. I have no idea what lair of my subconscious that was hiding in, but it at least gives you
an inside look at how my disturbed mind works.
YOUNG RIDERS TRIVIA
Since we were just on the subject of Josh and Paul doing a movie together, I'll give you a fairly difficult trivia
question:
What was the first project that Paul Walker and Josh worked on together?
I've either mentioned it in a review before or on one of the message boards, so somebody out there should get this.
Good luck, IMDb probably won't help you.
Haha, one of my favorite Josh quotes is from a recent People.com interview (March, 2003). Josh was asked if he
ever gave his dad a hard time about his ol' Aamco commercials. Y'all remember when Aamco was James' pimp, right?
Anyway, Josh responded with, "I used to leave messages on his machine every day: 'Double A, honk-honk, M-C-O.'"
HAHAHA! That's just funny.
Anybody wanna respond to the
JOHNNY BETTS GUESTBOOK CHALLENGE for January? No? I don't blame you.
RIDER REVIEW READER PARTICIPATION PROGRAM
Let's welcome Australian Ann to the review! She has the distinct privilege of being the very first participant in
the Rider Review Reader Participation Program. If this turns out to be a big success, then we'll have no one to
thank but me for orchestrating this. But if it's a big failure then it's solely Ann's fault.
Ann: Bold move choosing a deviant as your first review participator.
Are you trying to make yourself look stable and wholesome by comparison?
Well, there's that, plus, I figure this will be a good test as to how the RRRPP will work out. I have no doubt
you'll bend this experiment, but if it doesn't break then it might just work. Let me just go ahead and say that
Ann's comments do not necessarily reflect those of Johnny Betts or the Rider Review. It's best to go ahead and
state that up front.
RIDER BEAT
"The Rider Beat = Near-miss bladder crisis. I love the Rider Beat! Let's face it, 99.8% of the
audience is chicks. Acknowledging the draw of the eye candy factor and skewering it -- IT'S WHY YOU ARE
BRILLIANT." - Amy C
Well, you've asked for it, so I figure we might as well try it. Many of you have stated that you'd love to read
the articles from the Rider Beat. And while a sweet gesture, it was quite unnecessary for those of you who said
you'd make human sacrifices to see this done. So my plan is to have a separate section for the Rider Beat. I'll
still include the cover within the Rider Reviews, but I'm going to have a separate section that will contain the
articles. So it'll kind of be it's own magazine. Here's the thing - I want YOUR participation. I'll provide the
article titles (and will write some of the articles myself), but I also want y'all to write articles. I know we
have some talented individuals around here, so take this as a challenge and as an opportunity for others to see
what you've got to offer.
The following articles are needed:
- Ike McSwain: More Than Just Another Bald Head
- Surviving the Alamo and Generic Bad Guys: An Interview With Teaspoon Hunter
- Buck Cross - Bringing the Pimp Vest to the Forefront of Fashion
- Ty's Gay Yellow Sweater (someone has already volunteered for this article)
- Lou McCloud on Bunkhouses and Longjohns, How Does a Girl Cope?
- David Soul: Getting to the Heart and SOUL of the Man Who Plays the Hawk
- Gregg "Noodle Arms" Rainwater Explains Why Not Even the Ol' 'cross your arms and press your fists against your
biceps to make it look like you have a muscle' Can Help Him
- The Kid: How Jimmy Hickok Saved My Life Once Again
- Saving Kid's Life, A Day in the Life of Jimmy Hickok
- Avoiding Gay Yellow Sweaters and Red Boxers: Josh Does a Photo Shoot Right
- Josh Brolin: How He Went From Shirtless, Mullet-Headed Skateboarder to Chisel-Jawed Hero
- Noah Dixon Sure is a Crazy N-Word, by The Kid.
- Angst, White Pants, and a Whip. Doing a Photo Shoot Noah Dixon Style.
- For the Last Time, I Am NOT Blair Underwood. The Noah Dixon Story.
- Now I Have to Save Kid AND Noah? Jimmy Hickok Reflects on His Season 2 Responsibilities.
- Black in the Saddle With Don Franklin!
Want to write articles for any of the above? Then send me an email
or complete the questionnaire after you're done reading the review.
CHRISTMAS GIFT DISASTERS
Was there ever a time when you got someone a Christmas gift that you really thought was a good idea, but it just
ended up not working out like you planned?
I'll be a man and admit that my biggest mistake of a gift was *swallows pride* a police scanner that I got
Stephanie a couple of years ago. My first mistake, and probably the most embarrassing thing about this whole
situation, was letting a Paul Walker movie influence my gift buying decisions.
Now see, Stephanie and I saw "Joy Ride" in October of 2001. It's a good movie, and after leaving the theater,
Stephanie commented on how it'd be fun to have a CB radio or a scanner. Welp, in my self-supposed infinite wisdom
I took a mental note and ended up getting her a scanner as one of her Christmas gifts. "Oh, cool!" was her
initial excited reaction. Didn't last. After realizing we'd have to study a 100-page booklet to figure out
how to get the stupid thing to work properly, we eventually lost interest. "Well, *you* can figure it out for
me if you want," were her exact words.
I fiddled around with the thing for about 7 minutes, but all we ever really picked up were a couple of police call-ins
about people with expired licenses. Fascinating. I'll either one day figure the thing out, or I'll break
down and sell it on ebay. But for now, it remains the worst $160 I have ever spent on a Christmas gift.
Anyway, we've got a second season to review. So let's begin with Born to Hang ... THE YOUNG RIDERS ARE
BLACK IN THE SADDLE!
BORN TO HANG
Opening credits. HEY! Wait a minute ... WHERE ARE EMMA AND SAM?!?!?!?! Something fishy is goin' on! I
promise you, by the end of the episode I'll get to the bottom of this. I will not rest until I've solved
the mystery.
It's the courthouse! There's Jimmy on his horse! No-name extras are going about their daily business.
They're not wasting anytime getting straight to the action, are they? You'd think they could at
least give us a second to catch our breath. The Young Riders - Starting Season 2 With a Bang.
Guest-starring Della Reese? Is she playing an angel sent to Sweetwater to help Jimmy battle his demons?
I bet Roma Downey Jr. shows up at the end of the episode and tells Jimmy, "God loves you." And if a bad
guy tries to start a gunfight with Jimmy, and all of a sudden he sees Andrew show up, then I would advise
him to avoid the fight.
If you've never seen "Touched by an Angel" then you probably have no idea what I'm talking about. And
trust me, you haven't seen the last of the "TBAA" references. Brush up on your pop culture, chico, and
you won't have anything to complain about.
Ann: I’ve never had the misfortune of seeing Touched by an
Angel, which means there must be a God. The title sounds quite raunchy like some sort of supernatural porn
flick. Not as raunchy as The Young Riders, of course.
While Ann's comments may not reflect those of the Rider Reviewer, I must say that they probably should've
thought of a better name for the show. They were pretty much begging for trouble.
Ann: Della Reese reminds me of a female James Earl Jones.
Except more manly. She grows a thicker mustache.
Ann: Is Roma Downey Jr. Robert’s mother or sister?
I think it's his twin sister, thus the "Jr." Maybe somebody named Mark can clear things up.
Jimmy dismounts and goes inside the newspaper office. Jimmy and the newspaper dude discuss the fact that
there's a blockade at Sumter. For some reason, dude's not finished printing the paper. Says it'll take
him half an hour to finish. Jimmy says he has half that time, which is just enough time for him to grab a bite
to eat. If the paper isn't finished by that time, then Jimmy's gonna come back and stomp a mudhole in the
guy and walk it dry. Then he'll concoct a mixture of salt, rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, and lemon
juice and pour that into said mudhole. Man, Jimmy's starting off Season 2 on a mean streak!
As Jimmy leaves the office, a young woman with her parasol smiles at him. She obviously has a crush.
Jimmy pinches her cheek. And I don't mean face. That may or may not have happened. You be the judge.
Shall I point out that at no point in this episode did a young woman look at Kid with such adoring
eyes? No, I will not point that out because that'd just be a case of me being petty. I shall rise
above that. Uh-oh, looks like there's a slave auction going on.
Ann: Kid should enter this scene any moment now to open the
bidding.
After multiple shots of forlorn looking slaves, a guy is about to win the auction on a woman and her
son. His bid is $300, but somewhere within the crowd we hear a bid of $400. It's a winner. From amongst
the crowd we see a young black man, with a whip by his side, appear from almost out of nowhere. Maybe he's
a black angel? After all, this is a very special "Young Riders Meets Touched by an Angel" episode. Could
it be PAUL WINFIELD?!?!?!?!
The independent, headstrong black man tosses a coin purse to the auctioneer. Blair Underwood? Unbelievable.
Blair Underwood has decided to leave "L.A. Law" and join "The Young Riders"??? Oh, wait. No. My research
shows this is Don Franklin, and he's playing Noah Dixon.
Ann: And I must say, he cuts a fine figure with those snug,
slightly dirty white pants. Noah/Don is in my top 3 smokinest cast members (along with Josh Brolin and Brett
Cullen).
You think he's hotter than Tompkins? Weird.
If you wanna see the similarity between Blair Underwood and Noah then you can find a pic of Blair here:
Blair Underwood.
The auctioneer, who we can tell is bad because they give him a fake Southern accent to go along with his sneer,
asks the "boy" why he isn't up there with the rest of the "stock." The "boy" says because he's free, just like
the two slaves he just purchased are gonna be.
Noah signs the papers, but that doesn't mean life's gonna be a bed of roses for the now freed slaves.
Looks like Noah figured he'd buy the slaves, set 'em free, and then skip merrily along knowing he'd
done a good deed.
But the woman makes a good point when she says she doesn't know where they'll go now. Noah's solution?
Give her a little money to help her out. Well, that should last her about a day. What's she gonna
do after that? Hey Noah, she has no money and she doesn't know what to do with her freedom. You think
throwing an extra dollar her way's gonna help? Sorry pal, but you can't just sign the papers and shoo
her away! Help her find a job! Do *something*! YOU JUST BOUGHT YOURSELF SOME RESPONSIBILITY!
A white woman that's hanging around tells them that she knows people who can get them to freedom. Out of
nowhere Aretha Franklin shows up and belts out a version of "Think." "Yeah, think, let your mind go, let
yourself be free. Oh freedom, freedom, freedom, yeah freedom. Freedom, freedom, freedom, ooh freedom."
Sorry, but I found the scene highly inappropriate for a YR episode. And I'm deeply offended by the
simplicity of the lyrics.
Noah has a quick flashback. A barn is burning, Noah's dad has a gun, and Della Reese is holding a young
Noah. Young Noah is about to escape the burning barn through an underground passage. And it looks like
Noah's dad is about to be killed, something that will no doubt haunt Noah throughout the rest of the
episode but will likely be forgotten soon after.
Back at the bunkhouse Teaspoon is rounding up the horses. In rides Kid. Kid's apparently a
little saddle sore. And his hair has grown exponentially over the summer hiatus! Holy cow. Shaggy in
da house! Anyway, Kid claims the new bronco's been wearing him down. Um. Kid claims he's breaking down
the bronco's will, but Cody says it's more like Kid's getting his rump tenderized. You know, I'm not
really sure what to make of all that, and I'm scared to try to comment. So I think it'd be best if we
just kind of mooooooooved on.
Ann: He still hasn’t gotten rid of the gay fringed ensemble.
Why does Cody look so much cooler in his?
Because Cody *is* cool. Something about his jacket just looks more authentic.
As Kid hobbles off his horse, Cody (to the jealousy of all three Kid fans) gives Kid a slap on
the butt. Seemed to hurt a bit. I guess they decided that "risqué" was the way to go for
Season 2.
Ann: Oooh, how exciting! This came out of nowhere and totally
upstaged the Buck/Ike relationship.
Exciting? *shakes head* It'd be nice if just once you ladies would quit objectifying us guys.
Kid wonders what Sam and Emma are doing. Cody replies, "Yeah, why exactly weren't they in
the opening credits?" Teaspoon says, "Last I heard, Sam was auditioning for some made-for-TV movies."
Ann: And I fired Emma for not having big enough boobs.
Cody and Kid stared at Teaspoon for a few seconds before Teaspoon realized his gaffe. "Ahem," Teaspoon cleared
his throat, "what I meant to say is that Sam's probably hobnobbing with the governor since he's the new
territorial marshal." Kid shook his head and mumbled something under his breath that sounded like, "crazy old
fart." I can't guarantee that's what he said, but if you listen *closely* you'll see what I mean. Assuming you
have the same Special Edition that I have of course.
So I guess Sam and Emma must be out of town or something. I'm sure we'll see them by the end of the
episode...
Jimmy's at a saloon in whatever city he's in and orders a sandwich. The bad guy slave trader/auctioneer
(whose name is Barnes) approaches Noah (who just so happens to be in the same saloon) and asks where he came
up with all his gold coins. He and his friends figure he got 'em from his master's strong box.
At this point, everyone is waiting to see if the writers drop the n-bomb on the audience. Will they
actually have a *white* guy say it? Will they stoke the fires of controversy??? Will they fan the
flames of shock??? WILL THEY?!?!?!?!
Barnes refers to Noah as "one of them free nigras." Well, they came close, but they will not receive a
controversy cigar just yet. Noah just looks straight ahead and keeps drinking.
Ann: Caressing the glass in his Jimmy-style leather gloves.
I'm sorry, I try to pay attention to story line and character development, and so should you. For shame.
*note to self - now you have to try to avoid drooling all over Rachel in the review else you'll look like
a hypocrite*
You know, this reminds me of one of the most bizarre things that has ever happened in my life. My friend
and I were eating at Taco Bell one day when some guy came in and said to my friend, "you're one of them
free nigras, ain't ya?" What makes this so bizarre is that my friend is whiter than Snow White's derriere
in the middle of winter. We never figured out what the deal was.
Jimmy keeps an eye on the action. Barnes gets mad because of Noah's refusal to answer. He draws his gun and demands
proof of freedom. Noah turns into Indiana Jones and draws his whip and knocks the gun out of dude's hand. He
should have said, "Here's your proof, honky" as he was doing it. *I* would've laughed. *You* would have too,
admit it.
A random no-namer draws his gun and shoots Jimmy, but Jimmy shoots him back. Jimmy and Noah walk out back
to back with their guns drawn. Jimmy asks Noah if he's always this personable. Pretty cool whip action, I
must say. It's a good scene, so let's make it the first "classic scene" nominee. We'll make it brief and
call it, "the scene where Noah turns into Indiana Jones and Jimmy's got his back."
It's dinnertime at the bunkhouse. Cody makes a comment about how his heart may be full because Sam and Emma
got married (ohhhhh), but his *stomach* may not be able to survive Emma being gone. So, just in case anybody else
is wondering what happened to Emma and Sam, this is the writers' chance to say, "Sorry, but, um, Emma and Sam are
married and they moved and will never be back. But thanks for the memories, Brett and Melissa! It's been real."
It's a shame that they got such an unceremonious dismissal.
Ann: It’s a travesty!
As the riders eat dinner, Cody tries to take some more food, but Kid warns him not to do it. Cody's of the opinion
that a man has to keep up his strength, but an old, wainchy German caretaker appears and slams a knife down and says
Cody "eats like pig." Cody should've said, "Yeah, but I punch like bear" and sent the woman sprawling across the
room.
Lou is in super pout mode and leaves. Must be that time of ... no, no, I am NOT gonna go there. I've already felt
y'all's wrath over that subject. Actually, Lou's been upset ever since Emma "moved." Kid leaves to comfort her and
gives Cody his food. Cody's quite happy with this turn of events. Who cares about Lou's despondency? Cody's got
more food to eat!
However, his smile quickly fades when the German woman comes in and tells the boys to clean. Teaspoon excuses
himself to take care of some temporary marshal business. Yeah, I'm thinking this woman won't be lasting long.
The writers know the audience wouldn't put up with this. I'm predicting that by the end of the episode they'll
have a sassy little bosom-enhanced caretaker to take her place.
Jimmy and Noah are at the doctor's office. Doc tells Jimmy to rest a few days and charges him two bucks.
Jimmy's forced to pay because Noah claims he has no money left. Real nice. Jimmy saves Indiana Dixon's life and then
gets stuck with the doctor bill? Ladies and gentleman, please welcome Freeload Dixon to the show.
Oooooh, it's "Let's Mention the Episode Title Within the Context of the Show" time! I'm sure y'all love this
as much as I do, so let's tune in. Jimmy tells Noah that if he keeps going around like he did today, then
they'll hang him for sure. Noah doesn't seem to mind and tells him that he was ... DUHN DUHN DUHN ... BORN TO
HANG!!!! Booyeh.
Ann: I’m surprised they didn’t call it "Black Noah."
Haha, now I wish *I* had come up with that one!
Ann: This is one of the cooler episode titles although "Born to be
the token death in the last episode" would have been more accurate.
It is a cool episode title, I've gotta admit.
Jimmy can't blame Noah's feelings, says he'd feel the same way too if he was "colored." Jimmy then gets carried away just a little.
He taps his chest with his fist, tells Noah, "I feel ya dawg," and then makes a comment about how he likes a nice
ghetto booty. Noah just stares at him for about one and a half awkward minutes before saying that it has nothing
to do with being "colored." Folks, I know Jimmy was trying to relate to Noah, but come on, I think we can all agree
that he tried just a little too hard.
In a mark-out remark nominee, Noah says, "You show me a man who can't be broken and I'll show you the tree they
hung him from, unless they don't crucify him first." Well, Jimmy hasn't been broken yet and he ain't swingin' from
no tree! Since Noah doesn't have any money, Jimmy continues his philanthropic streak and offers to treat him to
dinner.
Meanwhile, Kid confronts Lou. She's gettin' her pout-on by scrubbing her horse extra hard. Kid
starts babbling about how Emma has a right to be happy. So does the viewing audience Kid, but that
doesn't stop you from continuing with your philosophizing.
Lou complains that she doesn't have anyone to talk to now. Talking to Kid isn't the same thing.
Actually, it's like talking to a stump. With lots of moss on it. She could share *all* her problems
with Emma. Sappy music starts playing as Kid grabs Lou's hand and tells her to bring her problems to
him. Lou says she can't because sometimes Kid's the problem. Lou leaves. Kid looks stunned. The
viewing audience yawns.
Ann: I guess, as a woman, I’m supposed to give a flying rat’s
[rump] about this scene, but I don’t. We have Lou’s scowling and Kid’s earnest looks, then they touch
hands and Lou storms out. It’s all so dull and badly written. There were more sparks when Cody tenderized
Kid’s rump.
Well, there's at least one woman who didn't fawn once the sappy music was cued. I'm sure I'll hear from the
Kid fans about this.
Back to Noah and Jimmy. Jabba the Hutt rides in on a stagecoach. Oh wait, that's Della Reese.
WHEN YOU WAAAAAAAAALK DOWN THE ROOOOOOOOOOAD! Apparently she and Noah go way back. As she reminisces
with Noah, we find out that he sold his dad's saddle. Tess (whom we shall now call Della Reese's
character) comments on how much that must've hurt. Noah gets racist and says not as much as it hurt
the "cracker" he bought the slaves from. I'm deeply offended by this sheer lack of sensitivity. Tess
supports this racist remark and squeals with delight. Man, has anybody ever heard a more unattractive
laugh? My TV screen almost shattered. Tess then makes an analogy about Noah being black gold, just
like what she's carrying on her wagon.
Meanwhile, the German housekeeper complains to Cody (who is wearing a cute little apron) about the plate
not being clean enough. She says she wants to be able to see herself in the plate, to which Buck replies,
"Must enjoy a good scare." This causes Ike to laugh. It causes me to laugh as well. Are we gonna see
a more jovial, less angsty Buck in Season 2? I hope so. Uh-oh, if Buck continues to be funny, am I going
to have less to make fun of now? Hmm, not as long as he doesn't put any muscle on his shoestring arms.
Ike's laughter causes the German housekeeper to get mad and call him a dummy. Lou jumps
up in her face and is ready to throw down. Lou, I respect your spunkiness, but you're about the
size of one of her legs. Buck knocks the water bucket over and it spills on the housekeep. She runs
out in a huff. Cody laughs and in a way only Cody can say it he replies, "That ain't no woman, *that*
is a force of nature." Cody hasn't changed a bit. And I'm thankful for it.
We briefly see Barnes trying to get Noah arrested for his actions. He has no luck. I'm not really sure what
the point of this scene was. It lasted about 10 seconds and didn't exactly advance the plot.
Stagecoach. Tess is continuing her shrill, banshee-like laugh. WOULD YOU PLEASE STOP ALREADY! Man,
that is just a very non-angelic laugh. Where's ol' Andrew when you need him? She and Noah have a bit
of an ol' chinwag. Not much is discussed except Noah's always had a hard head.
A no-namer tells Barnes that the stagecoach just arrived. They plot to do some whoopin'
and gold stealin'. Wow, things are really heating up, huh? Yeah, not really.
Jimmy's on the stagecoach. Well, if Jimmy's on the stage, then Barnes and his unnamed crony will
be the ones getting whooped! There's another passenger on board who is excited to be riding with
*the* James Butler Hickok. He notices Jimmy's injury and gives him a business card. Looks like
Jimmy had an "Accelerated Reader" summer because he quickly reads the card to reveal the dude is an
undertaker. He even reads the word "enterprises!" Wow. Jimmy then completes a couple of Geometry
proofs. The undertaker loses interest about the time Jimmy mentions how much he loves kinematic
equations.
Ann: You forgot to mention the Jimmy bare thigh shot.
Well, in that case, look to your right.
Tess and Noah continue to talk. The gist is Noah plans to single-handedly defeat the entire world. Or
something. They don't really explain how he's going to accomplish this monumental task. I've stopped
caring. Uh-oh, the stagecoach breaks a wheel. Tess tells Noah to stay downwind of Jimmy's friendship
and upwind of his reputation. It's always cool when Jimmy's reputation is discussed, don't you agree?
I sure hope Tess doesn't change the wheel by herself while Jimmy and Noah play tiddly winks.
Meanwhile, the other riders are trying to find a new housekeeper. They're "interviewing" a 150-year-old
woman who is talking about her children and grandchildren. What proceeds is one of the creepiest
moments in YR history. The old woman asks that they go easy on old grandma Lou Ellen, and the riders
assure her that they will. Then granny says that if she wants to, then she can turn the whole crew of
'em across her knee. So what's Buck's response to this? He smiles real big and in a sultry voice
says, "Any time!" Then as he's smiling he looks around at the rest of the riders with a look on his face
that says, "Oh yeah." WHAT IN THE WORLD?!?!?!?! Folks, it's truly disturbing. Who knew Buck had a
thing for *much* older women? I am *NOT* making this up. I've been known to embellish a scene or two
every now and then, but I'm 100% serious about this.
Back at the broken down stagecoach, Tess tells Noah that there's enough gold on the stage to take a whole
slew of runaways back to Africa.
Ann: I hope the plans are a little more specific. It’s a big
continent.
All she has to do is give some to the wagon master in Sweetwater. She's
gonna go to Africa if she has to crawl. Noah's mad. He feels that this is their country and as he starts
to say, "My daddy had..." Tess interrupts and tears into him about how she's trying to teach him a lesson that
his daddy learned the hard way. She wants Noah to come home with her and be the black prince that he is
instead of the *ahem* dead N-WORD that they want to make him. They did it! The writers stared controversy
in the eye and dropped the N-bomb on the viewers! America gasped.
Gunshots. It's a few of Barnes' inept cronies. No problem, Hickok and Noah kill almost everybody. Jimmy's
smart enough to take cover behind a chest (no, not Clare Wren's), but for some reason Noah just stands
out in the open. Amazingly, he doesn't get shot. The chest rattles (again, NOT Clare Wren's) and we
see a black boy hiding inside.
Barnes is unhappy with the results of this ambush. I would be too if my men couldn't shoot somebody
running around in the wide open. He gives his informant a rifle to the head. Time for Plan B - they'll
try to catch Tess when she takes the gold to the wagon master.
GRANNY HAS DIED AND IKE IS DUSTING HER DEAD BODY!!!!! Buck and Cody are under the bed scrubbing
the floor. Whoa, THEY KILLED HER AND THEY'RE CLEANING UP THE EVIDENCE! I guess since CSI Sam is
no longer around to do his expert forensics work they think they can get away with anything. Buck complains
about her getting all the rest and them doing all the work. Oh, she's not dead? She's just resting?
Cody tells Buck not to blame this hire on him. It was Buck's idea. After all, Buck was the one who
wanted a flabby-armed spanking. Buck also claimed Teaspoon would love her. Yeah, I guess so, he'd
have somebody his age around. But I'm sorry Buck, your creepy glare already let us all know that *you*
were the one who wanted her. Nasty. Absolutely nasty.
Cody: "Teaspoon ain't the one whose gotta do all her work." Ike circles his hand and then chops
one hand with the other. From those two limited movements Buck somehow translates that Ike said
they had to find a way to get out of this mess and somebody has to fire the woman. Whatever. Ike
was actually saying that they should cut the woman up into little pieces while she sleeps. Sheesh, Ike,
a little extreme, don't you think?
Ann: He was just jealous ‘cos Buck took such an interest in her.
You know, I hope Ann isn't actually on to something here! Hmm, maybe she's just on something. Not that I'm
making the accusation!
A couple of more chops is translated as, "it'd kill her." In actuality, Ike continues his "chop her up" idea
by saying *they* should kill her. Man, there was some scary stuff brewing under Ike's surface. Why didn't
the riders ever catch on?? Cody balks at this and says she wouldn't know the difference. Hahahaha.
Lou runs in and says a stagecoach is coming in like the devil's chasing it. She pauses for a couple of
seconds, can't think of any more cliches to use, and walks out.
Teaspoon talks to Jimmy, Tess, and Noah about the ambush. They didn't get a good eye on who attacked them.
Tess tries to claim that they were bushwhacked because of young Benjamin, a runaway slave. Teaspoon
rightly feels that's a mighty big risk to take for a single runaway. Tess cops a 'tude and Teaspoon backs off.
Come on, Teaspoon, don't be a wuss! Stand your ground! You're right, a single runaway slave is a big
risk for such an ambush, you know Tess is keeping quiet about something!
The doc tells Tess to heal her shoulder, and he prepares to leave. Why is Tess refusing to use her angel
powers to heal her own shoulder?
Noah's "gotta make tracks" and is gonna leave with the doc. As he hugs Tess we're unfortunately treated to
some music that consists of a woman humming. Music with humming in a YR episode? That's not a good sign.
What's next, bongo drums? As Noah leaves, Jimmy follows him outside. Noah isn't big on "thank yous." You
know, Noah almost got Jimmy killed twice in one day. You'd think he could scrummage up a solitary "thank you"
just this once. Jimmy isn't big on "your welcomes," so they shake hands and leave it at that.
Noah walks away juuuuuuust slow enough to give Jimmy time to stop him and ask him to fill in for him on
the Pony Express while his leg heals. Who didn't see that coming? Of course, all the riders come out of
the bunkhouse right at this moment. They need help busting a new bronco, so Noah's gonna give it a shot.
In a shock to no one over 7 years old, Noah's stuntman breaks in the new horse. The riders hoop and
holler. Cody yells out, "That's a man understanding something wild!" to which Tess responds, "understanding
something free." Huh? The horse isn't exactly free. I mean, the thing is in a corral being tamed by a bunch
of humans. What is Tess talking about? Is busting a bronco somehow a taste of freedom?
A young black kid whom we never see again asks "Mr. Wilkes" why Tess doesn't meet them where they're camped.
Wilkes says they can't chance the slavers finding her there.
Later that night the riders are enjoying a Tess-cooked meal. When asked how she knows Noah, she
explains that Noah's dad bought her, gave her her freedom, and then hired her. Noah's mom died during
childbirth, and after Noah's dad died, Tess became mama and daddy both. The whole time Tess is telling
the story, Noah sits there with a sullen look on his face. Great, I detect angst!
Lou wants Tess and Noah to sign on with them. Tess is intent on riding on the ol' freedom train, so she
ain't staying. Ben makes a comment about going "back to Africa." This prompts a conversation that is just
a tad more than out of place:
Cody: Don't you mean "Out of Africa"?
Ben: Huh?
Cody: You know, starring Meryl Strep? Dreadfully boring.
Noah stares at Cody for about 5 seconds and then makes a good point to Ben by saying you can only
"go back" to someplace you've already been.
I guess since Kid's from Virginia, Noah decides to drag him into this. He asks Kid what he'd call a bunch
of southern gentlemen willing to finance a ship of "coloreds" back to Africa. Kid's answer is "generous."
Noah, however, calls them scared. Claims they're scared of a new South full of free blacks. Check the North's
border laws, Noah, they were scared of the same thing.
Noah then accuses Tess and her gang of tucking tail and leaving the fighting to people like him who have the
guts to stay and fight. He runs off outside. How ironic. Noah blames Tess for running off and then
immediately runs outside.
I don't know about y'all, but I'm getting a little tired of Noah's whole "I'm a martyr and a hero and the
only person willing to stand up for my race and I WILL conquer the world on my own" attitude. GET OVER
YOURSELF!
Ann: Plus, he was quite rude yelling at the table and storming
out. After all, he was an invited guest getting (another) free meal.
That's true. Sheesh, Noah, show some gratitude!
Tess ain't too happy with Noah's little temper tantrum. "Y'all excuse me," she says with a bit of attitude.
Looks like her foot is about to be planted somewhere south of Noah's waist.
Ann: I wouldn’t mind being plante...*COUGH...HACK...COUGH*
*Ahem* Sorry, got something caught in my throat. Oh, did I mention how Ann's views don't necessarily reflect
those of Johnny Betts or the Rider Review?
She tears off after him, spins him around and slaps him in the face. WOOOOOO!
Ann: [Pimp]slapped by an angel.
Then she snaps her fingers and wiggles her head around. She tells him that he has no right to step on anybody's
dream just because it isn't his. He's never had any irons on his ankles, so he better just step off or she's
gonna break her foot off in his uptight butt. He's full of pride just like his dad, and that pride's gonna kill
Noah (just like it did his dad) if he doesn't listen to the truth. Noah's just fighting for vengeance, but she
and others are fighting for something that's harder to come by and much more worthy of the chase. Ladies and
gentleman, Tess just laid the smack DOWN!
Ann: Actually, when Tess said, “Don’t you stomp on nobody’s dream
‘cos it ain’t yours,” it reminded me of something that happened to me when I was 10 or 11. I remember my mother
bought a brand new pair of acidwash jeans for my brother. I was extremely envious as I wanted a pair myself but
had to wait for my birthday. She washed them immediately (to get rid of the acid, I guess). I watched them as
they hung on the clothesline, gently blowing in the Summer breeze, taunting me. In a fit of rage, I tore them off
and threw them on the ground and started jumping on them. My mother must have seen me through the kitchen
window. She ran outside like the devil was chasing her and yelled, “Don’t you stomp on nobody’s jeans, just
‘cos they ain’t yours.” – True story.
*claps* Readers, let's give it up for the "little Australian Ann" story! I've been such a good influence!
Hahaha.
Later that night Tess heads out to the barn, hops on her horse, and takes off. She shows up at a horse
stable looking for Wilkes. Uh-oh, there's Mr. Wilkes. HE'S DEAD! We hear the click of a gun, and as
Tess turns around we see that Barnes has his gun drawn. He tells her to turn "it" over. When Tess asks
what he's talking about, Barnes' crony smacks her. She falls in the horse pen and gets trampled to death.
Huh. That was just a wee bit anticlimactic. Andrew didn't even show up to give us fair warning! Barnes
isn't too happy about this because they don't know where the gold is. Barnes instructs his crony to pose
as the wagon master. That way they can get the gold AND the slaves. Anybody here think that's gonna
happen? I better *not* see any hands raised!
Noah's doing a little whipping practice, taking care of some apples on a fence post. All of a sudden Sarah
Downs shows up, throws her arms into the air and says, "Don't whip me, I sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeear I'm not an
apple!" Perplexed, Noah stares at her until she tells him to be careful because he never knows "when one of
them meeeeeean apples will sneak up on you." NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! I thought she was in jail! Why
did the writers bring her back?!?!?!?!?! WHY?!?!?!?!?!?!
Kid comes out to talk to Noah, but Noah doesn't seem to be much in the mood for light conversation. I guess it's easy
to get tired when you're planning on taking over the entire world by yourself. It also makes you irritable. Noah's
ready for an argument even before the conversation gets started.
They discuss the issue of Noah selling his dad's saddle in order to buy a couple of slaves. Kid tries to be
sympathetic but Noah just takes the opportunity to use the word "cracker" again. Kid makes a comment about
how where he comes from, they'd hang a man for buying and freeing slaves. Noah says "they did." Kid apologizes
and says he doesn't know if he'd be able to get over a thing like that. Noah comments that his dad sure didn't.
Kid kind of laughs and says, "If you ain't the strangest ni..." but catches himself.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that." Kid claims it just came out. Noah says of course it did. He wouldn't
be surprised if it was the second word out of his mouth, "mammy" being the first. Sigh. Come on, Noah,
get over it. Kid starts to walk away, but he spins around and says he never had a mammy. He gets up in
Noah's face and says (with plenty of emotion) his mother and father were DIRT FARMERS!
Ann: As opposed to cement farmers.
They probably should've farmed crops.
Kid's mad! You go Kid! Show a little life! They're nose to nose. Punches could be thrown at any moment! Do it
Kid! Earn my respect! Let Noah know that the majority of Southerners never owned slaves!
They dance around a bit while Noah talks about how the n-word is all the rage. "Master Webster" even
put it in his dictionary. *Saying* the word is in fashion, but being one is a "horse of a different color."
Noah keeps tapping Kid on the chest with his whip until Kid finally grabs it and tries to push it away.
Hey, I like Kid showing the attitude here.
But what is up with the picture on the left? There's just so many captions that can be used for that
one, so I'm going to let YOU, the reader, NAME THAT CAPTION! Send me your caption for the screenshot
and I'll post them in the next review.
Is it just me, or did Kid's near slippage of the n-word come off as just a little forced? He never
came close to saying it during Season 1, and he was around Ulysses for an entire episode. So I don't know if I
really buy that Mr. Goody Two Shoes would nearly bust that word out in a conversation with Noah. Anyway,
it would've been funnier if Kid had done a better job of covering himself. He should've reacted with
something like, "If you ain't the strangest ni...cotine addict that I've ever seen." Noah: "Excuse me?"
Kid: "Um, nothing, just an expression we dirt farmers use." Ah well.
Or, "If you ain't the strangest ni...xon." Then he could've claimed he thought Noah's last name was
"Nixon" rather than "Dixon." Come now, Kid, you've gotta think on your feet.
Ike rides up with some news. Emma and Sam were killed in a border war. NO! WHY?!?!?! Well, it would've
at least been some type of closure. Ike points to Noah and then makes a hand motion towards his hat. Kid
translates that as "Stagecoach Sally." Who? Oh, Tess. Now how on earth does pointing to your hat indicate
"Stagecoach Sally"? Does anybody dare defend that? I'm rolling my eyes like crazy right now. In fact, my left
eye just completely rolled 180 degrees backward and I'm now staring at the inside of my head. It's mostly dark,
but I think I see some brain matter. Hang on just a second, I want to try something...
Whoa. Weird. I just went up to a deaf person I know, put on a hat, pointed to it, and she looked at me
strangely and said, "Stagecoach Sally?" I got scared and ran off.
Ike then points off in the distance. According to Kid that means "they found her in town." Sigh. They're
not even trying to make it believable in Season 2, are they? Ike then just holds one hand kind of
near his ear and one hand near his mouth. After Kid dramatically paces around for a few seconds he
reveals that Tess is dead. The Johnny Betts Sign Language Dictionary, however, reveals that Ike was
actually saying, "Somebody better call my mama!" I don't know what that means.
We head to town where Teaspoon makes a comment about the horse getting spooked and stomping Tess, but
Jimmy and Cody point out that she knew enough about horses to keep from being stomped. Teaspoon tries
to figure out why she would have come to town. Nobody really knows, and Noah ain't talking. Noah kisses
Tess, covers her up, takes her gun, and looks like he's ready to go take care of some business. Jimmy asks
where he's going, and Noah says he's taking the horse back.
Noah gets back to the bunkhouse and starts going through Tess' stuff. Lou comes in and asks what
he's doing. She claims Noah doesn't have the right to start tearing Tess' stuff up. Lou wants to
help, but we know by now that Noah is too stubborn to let anybody help him, so Lou tells Noah that
he should at least show some respect for the dead. This causes Noah to turn into Mr. Woman Batterer
as he jumps up, grabs Lou by the arms, and starts shaking her around. Man, the guy is a racist *and*
a woman abuser??? He tells her not to talk to him about respect. You know, Noah has the right to
be upset, but he has no right to manhandle Lou like that! JERK!
Kid comes in and sees Noah grasping Lou. Kid tells him to let her go, and when Noah doesn't, Kid
draws his gun and yells, "NOW!" Man, go Kid! Look at him show some backbone! Can't blame the guy.
If I walked in and saw some guy grabbing Stephanie and shaking her around, I guarantee you my
instincts would kick in and it'd be jiu-jitsu time. Dare I say that Kid is actually tolerable in
this episode?
Ann: No, you daren’t!
Yeah, that's water I'd be better off not treading.
Benjamin runs in and shows off his bad acting skills as he tells them they're looking in the wrong
place. Tess put *it* in the barn. They run to the barn, and Noah finally finds the gold. Kid comments
on it being a small fortune. According to Noah it's a fortune and dreams. Noah asks Benjamin
if he knows where the wagon train is and calls him "boy" in the process. Benjamin informs him he "ain't no
boy." Yeah Noah, show a little sensitivity.
Despite Noah's indifference, Kid goes with him. Jimmy shows up JUST IN TIME to go with them. Lou's
job is to tell Teaspoon what's going on. Woo. Congratulations Lou, I hope you can handle such a
task.
Oh man, why? Welp, let me go ahead and welcome you to one of the worst moments in YR history. As we
see alternating shots of Noah and the riders riding and Barnes holding the slaves, we are treated to some
of the worst background music ever showcased in a YR episode.
Do we need to hear a song with a Jamaican beat and lyrics about the crossroads and Mother Africa?
I really don't think so. It's just so un-YR-esque! I mean, BONGO DRUMS?!?!?! On an episode of TYR?
This is Western music? Who could've possibly thought that was a good idea? I'm really sad right now.
Ann: A better choice would have been Ricki Lee Jones’, “That’s the
way it’s gonna be little darlin’, We’ll go riding on the horses yeah.”
Oooooh, that'd be perfect for a YR episode! I'LL KEEP MY FINGERS CROSSED!
It's hard for even Jimmy to look cool riding up to the tune of, "BOM BOM BOM It's my blood down dere,
something something Africa! BOM BOM BOM." Sheesh. Absolutely horrible. The writers *really* lost me when
a dread-locked Jamaican walked up to Jimmy and said, "Care to have some of mah buttah rum, mahn?" What on
earth? Unbelievable. Songs with lyrics + YR episode = bad idea. With the lone exception of "Bad Company."
And even with that song they messed things up by getting a cover band to do the song.
Noah yells out "wagon master!" Kid corrects him and says, "That should be 'massah.'" Why Kid? WHY?!?!
I guess the fake wagon master didn't respond quickly enough because Jimmy yells, "It's a trap!" and shoots
the guy within about 2 seconds. Gotta act fast I suppose.
Thankfully, the Jamaican bongo music stops, and the fighting commences. It's pretty standard fare. The
riders and Noah ride around in the wide open and avoid getting shot while all the bad guys are well covered
amongst the wagons but most of them still get killed. Barnes hides in the trees. Who does this guy think
he is, Zacchaeus?
Jimmy, Kid, and Noah finally take cover to finish off the few remaining bad guys. For some reason,
Benjamin runs out in the middle of fire to try to take some dude's rifle. Superman Noah makes the save.
In the process, he uses his whip to trip a guy, he body presses a guy over his head, and he gives another
guy a nice roundhouse kick. That was cool. Thankfully, Teaspoon and the rest of the riders show up just as
Jimmy runs out of ammo. Impeccable timing as always. They take care of business, and Lou even gets in an equal
opportunity kill. The slaves celebrate.
Jimmy approaches Noah and says, "Three times in two days, Dixon. Think I'll survive this friendship?"
Haha, good question. Noah makes a comment about how Kid looks self-satisfied. Kid says Noah does too
and walks off. Jimmy pats Noah on the back. Johnny's thumb nearly presses the fast forward button.
Teaspoon addresses the slaves and actually says, "good luck to you people." "You people"? Teaspoon,
Teaspoon, Teaspoon.
Noah gives the gold to Benjamin who claims he won't let Tess down. Benjamin immediately burns the gold,
shapes it into a gold dollar sign chain, and tells Noah, "Thanks for the bling bling. Much love to Tess."
Why?
Later that night we see everybody coming from the barn. Kid makes a comment about how Cody took his
time riding to the rescue. Man, Teaspoon and the gang got there about 2 minutes after the fighting
started! What else could you ask for??? Cody says, "better late than never." What he should've said
is, "Well, next time I won't show up at all, Mr. Fancy Pants." Jimmy comments on how hard the slaves
fought, and Noah says it's because they're free now.
Their conversation is interrupted when they see a sultry, young lady sexily ringing the dinner bell.
Check out the "come hither" look she gives the boys as she rings the bell. I'm surprised she wasn't
rubbing a piece of ice around her neck and commenting on how hot she was.
Cody asks Teaspoon who she is, and Teaspoon says he forgot to tell them that he hired a new cook.
A new cook that likes to seductively stare at people while ringing a dinner bell apparently.
She turns around and begins to saunter into the bunkhouse. Jimmy asks, "Can anyone that beautiful
cook?" The young vixen stops at the door, turns around, and flashes the riders a look that says
nothing if not, "Come get me, boys." Cody answers Jimmy's question with, "Who cares" to which Lou
replies, "I do." Cody says, "You would." The boys start to run toward the bunkhouse, while Teaspoon
tells 'em to take it easy on her. She fell off a horse last week.
Kid's not wasting his time getting to the bunkhouse, and Lou doesn't like it. She yells at Kid
and tells him he's drooling. Noah stays behind. Teaspoon invites Noah to stay a while. Noah laughs a
little and says he'll at least stay for dinner. It's a good scene. In fact, we'll make it a "classic
scene" nominee. We'll call it, "the scene where the riders drool over the new cook that Teaspoon hires."
If you don't know, the new cook of which I speak is Rachel Dunne. But you *should* know that.
I love the next scene also. Most the riders are asleep. Jimmy, on the top bunk, is awake biting
a hangnail. Cody, on the bottom bunk and showing a MAJOR amount of cleavage, dreamily asks Jimmy
if he saw the way she carved the roast. Jimmy laughs and says personally he liked the way she passed
the rolls. Johnny Betts shows up out of nowhere and says, "Yeah? Well I love how she buttered her
buns!" Cody and Jimmy look at each other and simultaneously let out a Tim Allen-esque, "Huuuuuuh?"
Johnny darts his head around and disappears as quickly as he appeared. Cody then sighs that
he's a prisoner of love. Jimmy jumps back to reality and tells Cody to go to sleep.
Meanwhile, we see a woman trying to break a shackle off her ankle. Hmmm, wonder who that could
be?? SURPRISE! IT'S THE NEW COOK! As she finally breaks the shackle, the camera pans up and shows
us that Rachel has an ample bosom and we should tune in on a weekly basis to see more of it. The
Emma-Shannon-shirts-to-the-neck are a thing of the past. Rachel's hot. The end.
EPILOGUE
Overall, I enjoyed the episode. But it didn't start Season 2 with the bang I was hoping for. Emma and
Sam's absence, Noah's "I'm the King of the World" attitude, and the Jamaican bongo music really keep me
from making this a definite YRRT (Young Riders Recruiting Tool, for you newcomers). There is a lot of
funny stuff in this episode that's worth watching though. The housekeeper problems, and the boys' reactions
to Rachel make this episode very watchable.
I'll give Noah a chance to redeem himself, but he just spent way too much time in this episode with a chip
on his shoulder. The whip is cool though, so he has potential. And Rachel is hot, so she *definitely* has
potential.
Ann: Noah was the victim of bad writing in this episode. However,
he’s totally hot and should improve on closer acquaintance. I mean, he took an instant liking to Jimmy and an
instant disliking to Kid. Them’s good instincts. Whoever wrote this episode should be whipped. I were glad
when it done finished when it did ‘cuz you isn’t one of my done favourite episodes boy.
Ann makes good points regarding Noah's instincts. He clearly realizes that Jimmy is the man, and because
of that he deserves to be given a fair chance to prove himself.
Mark-Out Remark: Believe it or not, I've gotta give it to Noah with, "You show me
a man who can't be broken and I'll show you the tree they hung him from, unless they don't crucify him
first."
Classic Scene: There were a lot of funny scenes in this episode, but I'm going to
give it to, "The scene where Noah turns into Indiana Jones and Jimmy's got his back." A good mix of tension
and action, plus, it was just cool how Noah pulled out the whip and knocked Barnes' gun out of his hand.
HOW THIS EPISODE CHANGED YOUR LIFE
Ann: The homosexual subtext, which was rampant throughout season 1,
actually started to become text in this episode. Couple that with the whip and perverts everywhere have a whole new
way of interpreting The Young Riders. I also learnt an important rule, wisdom must be imparted using bad grammar.
*Ahem* I think I may have mentioned, but just so there is no misunderstanding let me point out that the statements
and opinions expressed by Australian Ann don't necessarily represent the views of Johnny Betts or the Rider Review.
Why do I feel compelled to point that out so often?
Welp, that's it for "Born to Hang." The only thing left to do is for YOU to respond to:
THE
"BORN TO HANG" QUESTIONNAIRE!
If you have a strange fear of clicking on links, then the URL is:
http://www20.brinkster.com/moviephile/theriderreview/season2/borntohang_questionnaire.asp
Your participation is much appreciated. And you're still welcome to send me
a personal email if you like.
Up next is "Ghosts." It's a conclusion to "Born to Hang" and features one of the more colorful bad guys in TYR
Annals - the Buzzard Eater. Some of you may remember that I recently took a trip to California (and also had my
first encounter with a Rider Review Reader - Aimee). Welp, in the next review I will post a picture of Cody's
hat that is in the Autry Museum in LA, and I will also post photographic proof of me acquiring a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame for Josh. You won't want to miss it.
Oh, but before that I've got a very special surprise for you. Consider this an extra Christmas gift. Someone very
important associated with The Young Riders gave me an interview, and I will post it very soon. I could leave you
hanging and wondering who it is, but since it's so close to Christmas I'm not gonna force you to rack your brains
over this. The interview is with none other than...
...the creator of The Young Riders, ED SPIELMAN! This is a REAL interview folks, not like the mock ones I
do with the characters. It's coming very soon, so stay tuned for more details.
If you're interested in a recent interview with Don Franklin then check out
Raye's site. Who would've thought that
Don and Gregg didn't get along? Oh, and it seems the riders had a couple of real life barroom brawls. Interesting
reading.
In the immortal words of Bethanee, "Don't let the readers clamoring for instant gratification in the form of
quick reviews sway you. These are the funniest things in the YR fandom, and, as there is a finite number of
episodes, I want them to be as long as you can stand to make them."
This is just my opinion, you could be wrong.
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