TELEVISION: Westward the Wagons

The prairie schooner stands ominously alone (circa A.D. 1860) on the dreary reaches of the Western flats. The boss of the approaching wagon train is understandably puzzled. He rides up to investigate. Just as he is about to tug at the wagon's flap, he hears a strange whirring. He pulls back just in time to escape the downward thrust of a thin-bladed sword. A samisen twangs weirdly on the sound track and a mustachioed Japanese samurai, complete with formal helmet and robe, emerges into the prairie glare.

"What is it, Major?" gasps a...

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