Wagon Train (TV Series) Weight of Command (1961) User Reviews

Powerful episode!

[tforbes-2 · 8/10 · 7 July 2011]

The second to last appearance Ward Bond makes on "Wagon Train" is a powerful one, in which his authority is questioned when it comes to dealing with Native Americans. Strangely, it seems as if we almost get to see the real Ward Bond here, as his character is so deeply suspicious of Indians.

Bond's character ends up at odds with his assistants Charlie Wooster (Frank McGrath) and Bill Hawks (Terry Wilson). We get to see a serious, dramatic side of Mr. McGrath, and he shows he has immense acting prowess.

Denny Miller makes his first appearance as a regular on "Wagon Train." Interesting timing!

On the whole, rewarding, and it makes on wonder how it might have been had Mr. Bond lived. But that was over 50 years ago, and the show had such a good ensemble cast that it carried on for four more seasons!

The MASTER PIECE episode

[drystyx · 10/10 · 6 July 2021]

Like most of the dramatic episodes of Wagon Train, there are twists and turns here.

This one involves decision making. A local tribe is supposed to be at peace, but there are signs that Major Seth Adams reads to tell him something made peace go awry.

Meanwhile, his scout, Bill, doubts the decisions of Seth (Ward Bond).

Other characters take a lot of deadly risks to obey the rules, and no one is sure of anything? There is no local news network. Bill is sure that the proper procedure is to trust the peace treaty and the local tribe, and a guide from the local tribe.

Seth disagrees. A rival wagon train takes the guide and proceeds. Who did the right thing?

The answer lies in realizing what life was like in those days. The writers knew.

This became the MASTER PIECE episode of Wagon Train. Was it written to be that way? It was certainly written to be a classic.

What's the right thing to do

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 7 January 2014]

This is one of the last episodes that Ward Bond made for Wagon Train and it centers on a big decision that he has to make. One that will leave Terry Wilson in a position of breaking his word.

Aired posthumously this story has Ward Bond sending Terry Wilson along with Richard Crane and young Tommy Rettig on a buffalo hunt. They find an old mountain man's cabin that they know deserted and that should have raised suspicions. Later on Wilson, Crane, and Rettig are attacked and it's Wilson who goes for help for the other two.

But in the meantime Bond has some good indications that it isn't a few young renegades out doing their thing, it's the entire Cheyenne nation because of a massacre of one of their villages that bears strong resemblance to the infamous Sand Creek massacre. If so the wagon master feels he has to get that whole Wagon Train through a dangerous to safety at an army post ahead.

The episode is entitled "Weight Of Command" and it is an apt title because the wagon master has all the responsibilities of the captain of a ship. You can get signs of indication, but in a lot of ways you are purely guessing what the right decision to make. Wilson is right also because he feels he will have betrayed Crane and Rettig if help does not come forthwith.

Sometimes knowing what the right thing to do is the hardest part of the job of command in any situation.