PHENOMENALITY: *naturalistic*
MYTHICITY: *fair*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *adventure*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *psychological, sociological*
“Barbary House” begins a four-part
serial in which Caine finally does catch up to his long-lost
half-brother. Despite Caine’s having seen Danny’s portrait in
“Vanishing Image,” the Shaolin doesn’t recognize his sibling
when they pass one another, Danny leaving San Francisco even as Caine
enters. Danny had to leave after inciting the wrath of saloon-owner
Corbino (Leslie Nielsen), who now wants Danny dead. Caine’s
inquiries lead him to Corbino’s saloon, where brutal boxing-bouts
are held for the entertainment of the masses, and where Danny’s
son Zeke works to assist Corbino’s own stable of fighters. Because
Zeke knows nothing of the enmity between his father and his boss,
Corbino hopes to con Zeke into making contact with Danny and then
going after him. Caine is one of two elements that disturb Corbino’s
plot, the other being a woman named Delonia, who in keeping with the
story’s high melodrama, turns out to be Zeke’s long-lost mother.
Caine fights one bout as “the Shanghai Kid” before he, Zeke and
Delonia flee the city in search of Zeke’s father.
“Flight to Orion” largely functions
to pad out the story’s running time. Though there’s a token
attempt to form a bond between Zeke and his newfound mother, Delonia
must have seemed something of a distraction from the main purpose:
that of both uniting father and son and uniting two siblings. Thus
Delonia dies. The tears on Zeke’s face hardly have time to dry
thanks to another improbable twist. Caine, seeking food for his
companions, filches some provender from a tribe of Indians, and
though he leaves an item of trade, the Indians only want vengeance.
Fortunately, they have a “trial-by-ordeal” custom that gives the
priest an out, as well as allowing for a nice four-on-one dust-up.
While this goes on, Zeke—whom Caine rather unwisely sends away—gets
caught by Corbino, and the gambler tricks the boy into revealing
Danny’s general locale.
“The Brothers Caine” brings the
Shaolin and his nephew to Orion, but Danny isn’t in the town,
having fled to an unknown refuge in the neighboring mountains. Caine
and Zeke get a clue from a local lady named Lulu, another of Danny’s
lady friends, who (just to really pile on the melodrama) turns out to
be Zeke’s surrogate mother, in that Danny had Lulu raise Zeke
during his infant years. Corbino brings another ally with him, for
somehow he’s made contact with General Cantrell, the father of
Zeke’s mother, who doesn’t seem nearly as interested in his
daughter’s death as in having a chance to take control of Zeke, in
effect stealing Danny Caine’s son as Danny stole the general’s
daughter. Additional developments include Corbino employing an
assassin who claims magical powers but demonstrates none in his
battle with Caine. In addition, Corbino attempting to hoax Danny into
killing the brother he didn’t know he had.
By the time “Full Circle” opens,
Danny has accepted Caine’s claim of kinship. However, Zeke, in
order to protect his father, agrees to return to Cantrell’s ranch
as heir apparent to the general. In a complication that’s more or
less rushed out, it turns out that Cantrell already a real son on his
ranch, name of Tigre. Tigre was the son of another vanished mother,
and the implication is that Cantrell could be an “Indian-lover”
but not a “squaw man.” Nevertheless, Tigre craves his father’s
approval and his name, in contrast to Zeke, who doesn’t want what
Cantrell offers. Cantrell is also aware that Corbino plans to set a
trap for Danny, but not until Zeke is placed in danger does the
general pass that knowledge on to Caine. In the end Danny’s life is
saved and Corbino is defeated. The episode’s ending looks as if it
might’ve been intended as an ending for the whole series, but three
more episodes remained to be aired.
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