Mighty is the Word

Name: Mighty is the Word
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Action & Adventure
Released: November 7, 1965
Cast: Dan Blocker, Lorne Greene, Michael Landon

Bonanza: Season 7: Episode 9

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Episode Details & Credits

NBC | Air Date: November 7, 1965

Starring: Dan Blocker, Lorne Greene, Michael Landon

Summary: The new Virginia City preacher, Rev. Watson, is a former gun-fighter who's been on "the straight and narrow" for years. His only interest these days is starting a new church. The brother of one of his long-ago victims, however, comes to town and has not forgiven the pastor.

Creator: David Dortort

Genre(s): Comedy, Drama, Action & Adventure

Season 7 Episodes

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S7:E33. A Dollar's Worth of Trouble
Air Date: May 15, 1966
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S7:E32. The Last Mission
Air Date: May 8, 1966
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S7:E31. Home from the Sea
Air Date: May 1, 1966

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User Reviews

TheWatcherViews

Oct 24, 2021

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. spoiler alert ahead. Also watch the episode before reading this review to avoid any confusion as it contains no summary. There is a man who works for the Cartwrights as a ranch hand. He used to have a twin brother. Who he loved very dearly. He said "we were more than brothers we were friends." (One of the only good lines lines in this terrible episode. )

The self righteous gunslinger killer now turned "preacher" says he feels bad for killing a frightened man (Cliffs twin brother) "who died crying like a baby in my arms" but shows little actual remorse or contrition towards Cliff, the victim's brother (who obviously loved his twin brother very much) other than merely saying "not a day goes by " that he doesn't feel bad about it. Words are cheap. He shows no REAL remorse to the dead man's living brother but we are all supposed to cheer for the gunslinger now that he is a "preacher". The "sin" of the dead man , Cliffs twin brother, seems to be (according to the preacher) that he "was afraid every waking moment of his life." He was "frightened and lonely". In other words its like the writer (who wrote pulp westerns) thinks that being afraid is a sin or makes you a bad guy in some way. It makes you a person who needs help and compassion according the the book the preacher is supposed to obey. ("encourage the weak" and "strengthen the faint hearted")

The dead man's brother (Cliff) wants the preacher to put on a gun to fight him over the death of Cliffs brother but the preacher refuses because now he is a preacher. Cliff does have some honor since he does not want to shoot the unarmed preacher and insisted the preach strap on his gun again. The preacher keeps refusing and Cliff sets off to do various silly things to make the preacher angry enough to shoot it out. Cliff finally coaxes the preacher into a gunfight through various stupid acts (like harassing the preachers wife and wrecking the church in the process of being built) and the "preacher" shoots Cliff and wounds him but doesn't kill him. This is supposed to impress the audience that he has really "changed". When the wounded man Cliff asks little Joe why the "preacher" didn't killl him little Joe (a friend of the preacher) quips "he's too much of a man to kill you" . Huh. Tell the to to Cliff's dead fearful brother he DID kill. He wasn't too "much of a man" to kill him! This episode teaches the viewer the wrong moral. Get this: later in the final scene --not only does CLIFF apologize for his knocking down the church building and so on but wants to help rebuild at the end and the "preacher" forgives him. Forgives Cliff! But the preacher doesn't ask Cliff forgiveness for killing the man's beloved brother! I notice the fake "preacher" NEVER apologized for killing Cliff's brother in the first place in his "previous"life at ANY point in the episode either. He only said he felt bad just before he basically mocked Cliffs dead brother for dying scared for his life. So he felt bad "every waking moment of my life." Big deal. People say alot of things . Its Actions that prove that you mean it. Did the preacher show true contrition TOWARDS Cliff at any point? How about visiting the parents of the dead young man you shot in your previous life as a villain? How about begging for forgiveness from his mother now that he is a "man of God". How about restitution towards the dead mans family? If a criminal robs a bank and becomes a preacher he still has to do jail time. Nope, none of that. What I got from this all this as a viewer was that this character became a preacher out of a fake guilt for the past not real faith towards God. That is the sign of a true coward and a fake "believer". IF he had true faith towards God he would have apologized to Cliff at least. Funny that. I guess the audience is supposed to automatically side with the fake "preacher" because he was a "real man" and not fearful like Cliff and his dead brother. As if fear made it okay to kill the victim? This fake "preacher" is nothing but a sociopath and a narcissist as is his idiot wife.. His wife told Cliff "sorry that your brother died" not "sorry that my husband killed your brother." One of the worst bonanza episodes that teaches people its okay to do evil deeds if you later SAY you repent (not actually repent mind you). Just trash. Thompson, the writer was actually a co-producer for Bonanza. Thompson should not be confused with another Thomas Thompson the editor/author who covered the JFK assassination for LIFE magazine. Not the same man.)… Expand

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Seasons & Episodes

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Series Overview
Season 15

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- Season 15 Overview
  Air Date: September 12, 1959
Season 14

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- Season 14 Overview
  Air Date: September 12, 1972
Season 13

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- Season 13 Overview
  Air Date: September 19, 1971
Season 12

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- Season 12 Overview
  Air Date: September 13, 1970
Season 11

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- Season 11 Overview
  Air Date: September 14, 1969
Season 10

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- Season 10 Overview
  Air Date: September 15, 1968
Season 9

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- Season 9 Overview
  Air Date: September 17, 1967
Season 8

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- Season 8 Overview
  Air Date: September 11, 1966
Season 7

tbd
- Season 7 Overview
  Air Date: September 12, 1965
- tbd
  S7:E33. A Dollar's Worth of Trouble
  Air Date: May 15, 1966
- tbd
  S7:E32. The Last Mission
  Air Date: May 8, 1966
- tbd
  S7:E31. Home from the Sea
  Air Date: May 1, 1966
- tbd
  S7:E30. The Fighters
  Air Date: April 24, 1966
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  S7:E29. Big Shadow on the Land
  Air Date: April 17, 1966
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  S7:E28. The Unwritten Commandment
  Air Date: April 10, 1966
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  S7:E27. The Genius
  Air Date: April 3, 1966
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  S7:E26. Shining in Spain
  Air Date: March 27, 1966
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  S7:E25. The Trouble with Jamie
  Air Date: March 20, 1966
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  S7:E24. Her Brother's Keeper
  Air Date: March 6, 1966
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  S7:E23. The Emperor Norton
  Air Date: February 27, 1966
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  S7:E22. Three Brides for Hoss
  Air Date: February 20, 1966
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  S7:E21. The Code
  Air Date: February 13, 1966
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  S7:E20. Peace Officer
  Air Date: February 6, 1966
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  S7:E19. Destiny's Child
  Air Date: January 30, 1966
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  S7:E18. Ride the Wind, Part Two
  Air Date: January 23, 1966
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  S7:E17. Ride the Wind, Part One
  Air Date: January 16, 1966
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  S7:E16. To Kill a Buffalo
  Air Date: January 9, 1966
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  S7:E15. A Dublin Lad
  Air Date: January 2, 1966
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  S7:E14. All Ye His Saints
  Air Date: December 19, 1965
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  S7:E13. A Natural Wizard
  Air Date: December 12, 1965
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  S7:E12. Five Sundowns to Sunup
  Air Date: December 5, 1965
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  S7:E11. The Reluctant Rebel
  Air Date: November 21, 1965
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  S7:E10. The Strange One
  Air Date: November 14, 1965
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  S7:E9. Mighty is the Word
  Air Date: November 7, 1965
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  S7:E8. The Meredith Smith
  Air Date: October 31, 1965
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  S7:E7. Found Child
  Air Date: October 24, 1965
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  S7:E6. Devil on Her Shoulder
  Air Date: October 17, 1965
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  S7:E5. The Lonely Runner
  Air Date: October 10, 1965
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  S7:E4. The Other Son
  Air Date: October 3, 1965
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  S7:E3. The Brass Box
  Air Date: September 26, 1965
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  S7:E2. The Dilemma
  Air Date: September 19, 1965
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  S7:E1. The Debt
  Air Date: September 12, 1965
Season 6

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- Season 6 Overview
  Air Date: September 20, 1964
Season 5

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- Season 5 Overview
  Air Date: September 22, 1963
Season 4

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- Season 4 Overview
  Air Date: September 23, 1962
Season 3

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- Season 3 Overview
  Air Date: September 24, 1961
Season 2

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- Season 2 Overview
  Air Date: September 10, 1960
Season 1

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- Season 1 Overview
  Air Date: September 12, 1959