Episode 31 - DARK STAR

[Episode Guide]

Date: April 23, 1960

Summary: Joe falls in love with Tirza, a gypsy girl, believed to be possessed by the devil.

Written by: Anthony Lawrence
Directed by: Lewis Allen
Guest Stars: Tirza...Susan Harrison Zurka...Hugo Haas Bruja...Lili Valenty Spiro...Arthur Batanides Bruja's Helper...Argentina Brunetti Doctor Marin...Grandon Rhodes Bob Miles...(uncredited stunt double)


Image courtesy of Calamity

[PJudith]

The episode that makes me wonder just what the writers were thinking that week! Was it supposed to be a comedy and it went over my head? Was there a contest to see how many lame gypsy stereotypes they could pull out of their hats? Did one of the writers catch a late night showing of The Wolfman and became inspired by Maria Ouspenskaya's role as the fortuneteller?

This was not your standard BZ episode. It seemed more like Bonanza meets the Twilight Zone. Sometimes they made Joe seem so flighty the way he fell in love with girls practically overnight,

[ellen]

Shake my head moments:
"She's a fine girl" - Ben to Joe. Ben, I know you wanted grandchildren, but geez, have some pride!
Tirza's bite moved from one of Joe's hand to the other
We see an electrical cord on one of the lamps. Oops.
The old gypsy woman must have been Greek - just like Gus Portokalos in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", she used Windex as a magic potion!

Adam was the smart one - he stayed out of the whole thing. "Protecting home and hearth", my a$$.

[Sharry]

Shake my head moments:
"She's a fine girl" - Ben to Joe. Ben, I know you wanted grandchildren, but geez, have some pride!

Ben, she a hot mess! A lot like Joe at this moment.

[daisy60]

The episode is laughable. Sorry Joe, she's not right for you. After all, she's a fish and you're a tree.

[CowgirlAtHeart]

A lot of things in this episode got on my nerves...particularly the badly-done gypsy stereotypes. But there are some hilarious parts. "Your heart is beating." "You are a tree."

[littlejoenice]

Shake my head moments:
"She's a fine girl" - Ben to Joe. Ben, I know you wanted grandchildren, but geez, have some pride!
Tirza's bite moved from one of Joe's hand to the other
We see an electrical cord on one of the lamps. Oops.
The old gypsy woman must have been Greek - just like Gus Portokalos in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", she used Windex as a magic potion!

Adam was the smart one - he stayed out of the whole thing. "Protecting home and hearth", my a$$.

I never noticed the bite or the electrical cord. Now I have to watch it again! Thanks a lot, ellen!

[Smorgana]

The worst thing is the fight sequence where it is clearly not Little Joe most of the time.

[Horsegirl]

This one I always watch when I need a good laugh. Her freaky stares in the distance and ramblings about being a flippin' fish crack me up. I still don't understand why Ben was just fine with Joe wanting to marry Tirza, not exactly the type you want for a daughter-in-law. You always have to worry about her turning you into a toad or biting your arm. I don't know, maybe he was just used to Little Joe saying he was going to marry a girl every other episode, he figured the moment would pass. Lol

[sapphyr2018]

This episode reminds me of my nephew. He has paranoid schizophrenia and the words he said about "marie" really scared the seat of me that's what reminds me of this episode. Uh oh