thanks, John, that's a good one.  the old Ponderosa!  those were the days!

it brings to mind the old family favorite from the 90s:  TOUCHED BY AN
ANGEL.  I'm pretty much a shameless romantic, so I easily endured many of
those episodes, some of which were quite redemptive in a Dickensian sort of
way.

On the other hand, they once aired a Christmas episode featuring MT -- which
I believe many of you will recall, with John Collum as a somewhat more
reasonable interpretation of Sam than the beloved Howard Duff.  Check it out
at:

www.touched.com/episodeguide/seasonfour/413.html

I'm all for spiritual interpretations of old Sam, as many on here certainly
know; however even I find this rendition of MT's final years pretty
sincerely off.

-hb

Harold K. Bush, Ph.D
Saint Louis University