| Bonanza episode | |
|---|---|
| “Rock-a-Bye, Hoss” | |
| Season 13, Episode 4 #393 in Series | |
 | |
| Air date | October 10, 1971 |
| Production code | |
| Guest starring: | |
| Written by | Preston Wood & Robert Vincent Wright |
| Directed by | Hershel Daugherty |
| Episode Guide | |
| Previous Episode: Bushwhacked |
Next Episode: The Prisoners |
| External links | |
 IMDbRock-a-Bye, Hoss on IMDb | |
Summary[]
A "beautiful baby" contest that Hoss is judging quickly turns into a circus, thanks to the fortune-hunting parents who are determined to win at all costs.
Plot[]
A bunch of Virginia City businessmen (led by Edward Andrews) decide to hold a contest for the most beautiful baby in town. Naturally every mother with a baby enters the contest. The judges include Hoss (Dan Blocker) and soon he and the others find a second contest going on, as the women try to use any trick or advantage they have with the judges to win for their baby. Hoss is trying to keep an open mind on the contestants (and try to help keep his fellow judges in line) when he zeros in on the one woman in the group that has little to use as a key to winning the contest except for the beautiful baby she has. Unfortunately there is also a well-to-do woman who is pulling out all stops: not only bribes mind you, but economic threats to the judges and the group who set up the contest.
Hoss sees he cannot fight the actions of this wealthy from allowing her to buy the prize. But at the conclusion of the episode the woman discovers three points that Hoss mentions to her. First all the other mothers know she bought the prize (or extorted it) as do the businessmen, the judges, and the townspeople. Second after getting the ribbon for the prize, she goes to show it to the others, and everyone is concentrating on their own babies, and if not they are shunning her because they don't like her. Finally, Hoss points out that her baby is going to grow up having it thrown in his face that his mother did not think the baby could win on his own beauty but had to have her buy the vote for him. The baby won't forgive her either.
Cast and Characters[]
The Cartwrights[]
Recurring[]
- Victor Sen Yung: Hop Sing
- Remo Pisani: Joel Sawyer
Guest Stars[]
- Darrell Sandeen: Mark
- Gillian Spencer: Edith
- E.A. Sirianni: Lon Meecham
- Joyce Perry: Roseann
- Ellen Moss: Elaine Summers
- Jack Manning: Henry Clagger
- Ralph James: Gambler
- Patricia Harty: Cissy Porter
Trivia[]
- German episode title: "Die Qual der Wahl", meaning "The Agony of Choice".
- Most of the "babies" featured in this episode are lifelike dolls, thanks to union laws prohibiting babies from being under the camera lights for more than a few minutes a day.
Gallery[]
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