Big Valley

I grew up watching Big Valley, all the characters that were featured on Big Valley, I think that (Victoria) miss Barbara Stanwyck, stood out to me as a strong western woman with only one thing on her mind and that was to keep her family together. She had three sons and one daughter to raise after the untimely death of her husband, but here comes Heath and this was someone born outside of her marriage to Tom Barkley and this did not phase her at all to know that her husband stepped outside their marriage and had sex with someone else and this in turns made a child outside of wedlock. Now the child that Tom Barkley fathered has become a man, a man by the name of Heath. Heath came to claim what was his and that was the Barkley name, and what ever else that were his heritage he wanted that also. Heath did not like the idea of going to meet the family of the man who was his father. He had hatred for this man and what he stood for, because Heath watched his mother die from a broken hearth. Heath mother waited for Tom Barkley but he never came back to her. Heath heart was cold when he first came to the Barkley ranch he felt like he had to fight to get recognized as part of the Barkley family, but he soon find out that the Barkley’s were a kind and gentle family, with strong family ties. And that he is welcome to be a part of the family. Richard long, the attorney in the family made sure that Heath got his birth right even though it would be taking a big chuck of the family fortune but it did not matter to(Audrey)Linda Evens besides when Heath ( Lee Majors) six million dollar man: Grandpa on Ben 10 : first got there to the ranch, (Audrey) Linda Evens, thought that he was cute, this was before she find out that he was her brother, now she thinks that he just another over protective brother.


Big Valley was one of those westerns that brought a lot of viewers to the television, just to see what was going to happen next to this family? The Barkley's fought hard to keep their ranch and family together and the family stood side by side to make it happen. There were times when all seemed gloomy when one of the family members became ill or got shot. I remember one episode when Nick got bitten by a sick coyote and that he thought for sure that he was going to go insane and die from rabies, and he had to leave home because he did not want his family to watch him go insane and die. So, he made Heath promise that he would not tell anyone what he had planned. So, Nick ended up in a small town and met a woman with a son, and the son was Opie who played on Andy Griffith, Ron Howard AKA Richard on Happy Days, But any way he promise the boys mother that he would take care of her son because a man came to shoot Nick for being at his house and the mother mistakenly got shot instead of Nick, and Nick married feeling that he owed her something, because she had promise him that she would take care of him when he become too ill to do it for himself. Remember he still thought that he was still going to die from the Rabies, but he still promised that he would take care of her son before she died, and after the marriage ceremony which was not true, but he wanted her to believe that her son will have a father after she is gone. So, Nick pretended to marry her and she drifted off died. Nick had to wait to find out what his out come will be from the rabies, and all through the ciaos Nick was not keeping up with the date and time of when he first got bitten, Heath set out to find Nick and when he did he said Heath why are you here, Heath said something somewhat like: boy howdy it’s been more than the time for the rabies to take effect, you are going to be fine. And Opie and Nick wrestled on the ground playfully because he did not have rabies. But for the next episodes the son that he adopted never returned to Big Valley, I don't think that Mrs. Barkley knew she had a step Grandson. I think that if the show was still going on, the son Nick adopted would return to claim what is his also. And the would be another playful wrestling match with his adopted father Nick. I love happy endings.