Gentle Tamers

Script's penal reform agenda never intrudes on compelling drama in exemplary episode, the best of season six. As the three paroled convicts, Anthony Call, Darwin Joston and Don Pedro Colley do more than justice to their sharply written roles, convincing the viewer that their friendship, forged by years of shared duress within the walls, is an enduring bond. The actors also earn extra credit for gumption by hard-riding with Drury and McClure into the episode's pulse-pounding climax. As an undercover spy, supporting player Wesley Lau makes a small acting masterpiece out of his explosive denunciation scene. Long roll-out into the start of a cattle drive is a scene that will stir the red blood of any true western fan.