"CENTENNIAL" (1978-79) - Episode Ten "The Winds of Fortune" Commentary

"CENTENNIAL" (1978-79) - Episode Ten "The Winds of Fortune" Commentary

This tenth episode of "CENTENNIAL" called "The Winds of Fortune" marked the last one set in the 19th century. The episode also featured the end of several story lines - the troubles with the Pettis gang, Axel Dumire's suspicions of the Wendell family, Hans Brumbaugh's labor problems and Jim Lloyd's romantic problems with Charlotte Seccombe and Clemma Zendt. 

The range war that the ranchers began in "The Shepherds" finally gasped its last breath in this episode. The last remnants of the Pettis gang (the killers hired by the ranchers to get rid of the farmers and shepherds) make one last attempt to exact revenge against Amos Callendar, Jim Lloyd and Hans Brumbaugh - the three men who had killed Frank and Orvid Pettis in revenge for the deaths of two friends. Naturally, it failed during a gunfight against, Jim, Amos and the latter's son.

The Pettis gang's revenge attempt also led to the closure of the story line that featured Sheriff Axel Dumire and the Wendell family. The gunfight at Amos' homestead allowed one Pettis killer to escape back to Centennial . . . but not for long. Dumire led a manhunt for the escaped killer. And in a dark alleyway, he and the Pettis outlaw mortally shot each other. While the outlaw died right away, Dumire suffered a slow death. Before expiring, he summoned young Philip Wendell for a last attempt to learn the truth about the now dead Mr. Sorenson. Although he failed, Philip expressed grief and remorse over his dead body.

Jim Lloyd and Charlotte Seccombe's courtship finally led to a marriage proposal from the former. But their engagement encountered troubled waters when Clemma Seccombe returned to Centennial. Unable to get over his infatuation with the seemingly repentant Clemma, Jim breaks his engagement with Charlotte. The latter tries to bribe Clemma to leave town. But in the end, it took a lecture from Lucinda Zendt to convince the latter to leave. And Charlotte finally married her cowboy. Hans Brumbaugh's labor problems finally ended when political turmoil in Mexico finally drove Tranquilino Marquez to accompany his uncle, "Nacho" Gomez to Colorado. "Nacho" never made it, dying from a gunshot wound on the Skimmerhorn Trail. But Tranquilino and a few fellow Mexicans made it to the Brumbaugh farm and became permanent employees. Unfortunately for Tranquilino, good luck became bad during a trip to Denver, where he found himself imprisoned on a trumped up charge by a local bigot with a dislike for Latinos.

As you can see, a great deal happened in "The Winds of Change". Normally, I would have insisted upon a longer running time than 97 to 100 minutes. But screenwriter Charles Larson and director Harry Falk managed to keep the episode's pace flowing perfectly without any rush or dragging, whatsoever. Following James Michner's novel, they also managed to do an excellent job of connecting the final acts of the two story lines featuring the Pettis gang and the Wendells. At the same time, Jim Lloyd's romantic travails continued during this traumatic time for Centennial.

"The Winds of Fortune" featured at least three outstanding scenes that I need to point out. At least two of those scenes featured deaths of primary characters. Once again, Brian Keith and Doug McKeon knocked it out of the ballpark with their portrayals of Sheriff Axel Dumire and Philip Wendell in a poignant, yet ironic scene that featured the former's death. What I found particularly ironic about this particular scene is that the characters' deep affection for each other could not overcome Dumire's desire to know the truth about Mr. Sorenson's death or Philip's determination to protect his parents to the bitter end.

Another death scene featured "Nacho" Gomez's death on the Skimmerhorn Trail, while he and Tranquilino journey to Colorado. Although A Martinez was pretty solid as Tranquilino, Rafael Campos gave one last superb performance as the dying "Nacho" recalled the best period of his life - those months along the Skimmerhorn Trail. In fact, his character died near the very spot where he first met John Skimmerhorn in "The Longhorns". The last scene was the final confrontation between Clemma and Lucinda Zendt and Charlotte Seccombe. Between Charlotte's determination to pay off Clemma to get her out of Jim's life, and the latter's acidic crowing over her hold of said cowboy, the scene crackled with hostility, thanks to the superb acting of Lynn Redgrave and Adrienne La Russa. Christina Raines gave solid support as Clemma's disapproving mother, Lucinda.

The episode also boasted first-rate performances from William Atherton, who continued his superb portrayal of the solid, yet love sick cowboy Jim Lloyd. Another excellent performance came from Cliff De Young, who shined as ranch manager John Skimmerhorn, in one of his final scenes in which he expressed the blunt truth about the fickle Clemma. The episode also featured fine work from Alex Karras (Hans Brumbaugh), Jesse Vint (Amos Calendar) and delicious performances from both Lois Nettleton and Anthony Zerbe as the conniving Maude and Mervin Wendell.

"The Winds of Change" featured one major problem with me. Ever since "The Storm", the miniseries usually featured flashbacks that hinted a major character's upcoming death. Prolonged flashbacks from "The Longhorns" nearly grounded the episode to a halt, as a dying "Nacho" recalled the events of the Skimmerhorn drive. I could have tolerated one or two scenes. But the flashbacks nearly seemed to go on forever.

Despite the never-ending flashbacks, "The Winds of Change" proved to be another outstanding episode of "CENTENNIAL". Since it became the last episode to be set during the 19th century, it featured the conclusions of several story lines that have been going on since the saga shifted into the 1880s. It was a near perfect finale to what proved to be a rather interesting period of four to five episodes.